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Hi,Following is my take on how to go about preparing for placements. I will try to keep it generic, so that students from other institutes can also benefit from this post.My one line answer is:Invest in yourselfWeren’t the above mentioned 3 words enough for you?If not, then go through the entire answer!Should service base infy and accenture be preferred?Service based companies like Infy and Accenture should not even be considered because an engineer is given a very poor quality of work. The engineers in such companies are not respected, rather they are shuffled from one project to the other like stocks in a share market. The pay is horrible. When I had joined JIIT in 2008, Infy used to offer 3.25LPA and Accenture used to offer 2.75LPA; when I graduated in 2012, the offer was still the same and if I fast forward to present day, the pay is probably still the same.While we are at this topic, you must also go through Siddharth Gulati's answer to What is the difference in work which a software engineer getting 3LPA and 6LPA does? . This answer will talk more about the quality of work expected from an IT service company and product development company.Big tech companies act like fertile grounds for engineers to thrive. Hence, during such an early stage of your career, you should be investing in yourself and try to go for big product development companies and leap frog into a higher orbit.In your 3rd and 4th year, you will get ample time. So use that time wisely. Invest time in identifying what would you really like to do (any specific area of CS). If you come up with something good, then discuss it with your professors, peers and seniors (from the industry). Take their inputs and shape your ideas further and start working on it. Who knows, you might be the next Mark Zuckerburg!In addition to this, you should also take care of the following points:Take your GPA and major/minor projects seriouslyIt is really important that you maintain a high GPA and take up challenging/interesting, “knowledge enhancing” projects as your major and minor. GPA is a reflection of the dedication of a student towards his studies (it is not at all the absolute reflection of one’s aptitude). During the initial screening of a profile, recruiters do consider the GPA. Hence it is a metric worth improving.Good projects are excellent teachers. My dear friend Abhinav and I took up tons of amazing projects during our time at JIIT and they really helped us appreciate the beauty of Computer Science. We learnt a breadth of technologies from the projects we developed and such projects played a pivotal role in shaping our temperament as engineers. If you take up technically engaging projects, then it opens avenues for research as well.The by-product of a good GPA and complex projects is a stellar CV. This would help you if you wish to pursue your higher education.Be proficient in atleast 1 procedural language and 1 object oriented languageIf you want to get into a software developer role, then you are supposed to code (no brainer). A good software developer is expected to have high level proficiency in a procedural language (like C) and an object oriented language like (C++, JAVA, C#). So if you can fluently write a neat, aesthetically pleasing, self-explanatory code, then it would improve your odds of getting selected in a top tech company. You can only pull off such a feat only if you know the subtle nuances of the language and leverage the constructs that the language has to offer.If you want to improve your programming efficiency, you must refer to Siddharth Gulati's answer to What are some of the cool tips and tricks in C/C++ to ease my coding life?Have strong understanding of algorithms and data structuresAgain a no-brainer.No matter which practical aspect of computer science you wish to develop you career in, it is essential you know your algorithms and data structures.As a newly graduated student, you will be evaluated on your mastery of DS and algo (unless you are applying for a specialized job). You should be proficient in searching, sorting, graph theory. It is important that you feel comfortable in different implementation strategies. You must know when to use Greedy, Backtracking, Brute Force, Dynamic Programming, Divide and Conquer etc.Practice atleast 15–20 questions of each type. First attempt the problem on your own. Invest your time and come up with a solution on your own and only after you have exhausted all your ideas, you should look up the solution.While you are at it, think on the lines of memory and space complexity as well. It would be a reg flag for any recruiter if he/she feels that the programmer doesn’t know the efficiency of his/her program.Practice is the only way out.Refer to geeksforgeeks, leetcode, careercup for practice.It could be mind-numbing and frustrating experience in the beginning, but keep at it, you will eventually sail through.Software development is not merely restricted to coding. It is an art, it is a poetry. Try to express more in less. Think of the design, think of scenarios, keep in mind the efficiency of your solution. Don’t develop code which is highly restrictive, rather write one which can accommodate changes with ease. All this requires thinking, time and experience.Good grasp on Standard Template Library (if you are good in C++)If you are programming in C++, then you must be proficient in Standard Template Library. You should be well versed with vector, set, map, dequeue and should know when to use these containers.STL will make your life easy and your code neat.If you feel that you have good mastery over STL, then move on to Boost library, Threaded Building Blocks (TBB) library by Intel.Harness skills on competitive programming portalsYou might be the rockstar of your small universe (your college), but you may be a nobody in the outside world. This is where competitive programming comes into picture.Competitive programming portals like Topcoder, Codechef, SPOJ, Hackerrank etc provide you a platform to harness your programming skills and lets you compete against the best programmers in the world.If you perform well in these competitions, then you stand a good chance to get noticed by recruiters.Learn app development on Android or IOS (or both) platformThese days everything is going mobile. So if you know the basics of Android/IOS development, then you expose yourself to more job avenues.Linkedin profile, CV, Sync with your seniorsKeep an updated profile on LinkedIn, come up with a crisp 1–2 page CV and maintain good relations with your seniors.Please don’t talk mention stuff like “Class 6th Monitor” or “Volunteer in MUN” etc etc. Nobody cares!Thank you for sticking till this point. As a bonus I’ll recommend you to also read my answer for students of all years. The following answer takes a more generic stance on CS/IT undergraduation. It goes beyond the realms of securing a job:Siddharth Gulati's answer to This is going to be my start in first year in computer science and engineering (Btech). I don't have much knowledge about cs,even in school I never studied it.Need some advise?I’ll end this post on a philosophical note:There is no single path to success. Success can manifest itself in many forms. The points mentioned above are a few of them that I could think of. Maybe your experiences will help you come up with your own version of success. So keep trying and keep experimenting!All the best!Do well!Cheers!!

It's been 8000 years since the Game of Thrones universe started. Why civilizations in both Essos and Westeros are stuck in their medieval society, with no progress?A more pertinent question to ask is how the Valyrian Freehold was comparatively stagnant in its four and a half thousand year history.In the real world, the ironic thing about the fall of Rome was that more progress was made in the millennium after the Western Empire’s collapse than the millennium in which the Roman Empire existed. Blackpowder, spectacles, castle construction, doublets, trebuchets, light crossbows, the printing press to name a few, there’s speculation that the Library of Alexandria held a blueprint for a steam-powered engine but nobody bothered with it because they saw it as a novelty.What happened was that with the rise of feudalism the European continent developed a more pragmatic mindset due to the continent shattering from a single entity into scores of fiefdoms and freeholds. With that division comes competition. Rather than building to a standard template, for instance, castle design became incredibly varied as many lords hired the best architects they could afford to build their homes.Rome had a strict template for its forts, but when that unity collapsed, architects became more creative in their designs.I think the same thing happened in Essos. Valyria relied on two things to sustain itself: slaves and dragons. With dragonfire it was able to create a steel that no smith outside of the Valyrian forges could match it’s quality, and when the dragons waned, so too did Valyria’s power.Valyria might have gone the same way as its Classical contemporaries - the knowledge was out there but scholars and designers could have been interested in more esoteric things. After all, how much more useful is a blast furnace when a dragon can bathe your iron in magic super-steel forging fire? Who needs a trebuchet when you have a flying lizard that can sweep the land in a napalm hot enough to melt stone?These inventions led to other ideas so when not explored, those other ideas wouldn’t have revealed themselves.The span of time between the collapse of the Valyrian Freehold and the present story is about 400 years give or take a decade, so we can presume that Planetos’ “dark age” started with the Doom of Valyria. But if that’s the case then the world actually outpaces the development Europe had, as the Free Cities are run by powerful banking families and you have castles (such as the Eyrie, Casterly Rock and the Red Keep) that resemble structures in Europe built between 500–1000 years after the fall of Rome.The Red Keep in particular boasts elements that wouldn’t be seen until well into the Middle Ages and it was only built a century after the Doom of Valyria. Presumably by architects who studied the designs of the former Freehold.So if anything, the world appears to have recovered surprisingly quickly from the collapse of the old world-owning empire. As for the thousands of years before however, well Rome, Greece and Carthage got to where they were with ambition and cultural mixing, and many of its contemporaries didn’t have such impressive architecture. The Dawn Age is suspected to date back to at most 12,000 years ago. By comparison, the first signs of an agricultural society in our own history are in and around the Levant that date from around 10–12000 BC.Coincidence?Now for Westeros. The tales say that the First Men crossed over to Westeros and were armed with bronze weapons and leather shields, which would indicate a somewhat bronze-age society. Shields are normally made of wood, but can be coated in canvas, leather or bronze.We can presume the South became more like Essos as the Andals replaced the First Men kingdoms much like how England was transformed by the French-speaking Normans after 1066. Whatever tactics weapons and politics the First Men had were ultimately inadequate against the Andals who were able to conquer as far north as the modern day Vale of Arynn and the Neck. It’s likely the castle at Moat Cailin was where the Andals were bottlenecked.If First Men culture is anything like Britannic culture, its possible that technological process was stifled by a culture that favoured elders and absolute monarchs, with discussion if high-minded things like philosophy or the nature of men being the preserve of librarians rather than the subject of open forums like what happened in Greece.But it seems the First Men were pretty dang fine architects.Presumably Winterfell and Pyke are prime examples of First Men engineering but looking at their construction we hit a snag: The Wall and Winterfell, both amazing feats of construction, were said to have been built with the help of giants. Like dragons, giants could have been used in place of machinery such as cranes. They were creatures of scary tales and don’t have much in the way of sophistication but that’s not to say they weren’t used as labour as Branndon the Builder was able to build both the Wall and Winterfell with their aid - we’re not told the how or why though it has been inferred with Branndon.When the Andals came and the giants were driven beyond the Wall, it’s not too hard to imagine that eventually the First Men picked up some of the engineering skills the Andals used. Beyond the Andal-ised south, exchange around the Neck or in the ports of the North exposed the remaining First Men to Andal ideas. Knights, touranments and a variety of weapon-armour making techniques might have been imported from the Andals.One of the good things the First Crusade did to Europe was expose it to ideas, foods, fashions and technologies that had been preserved in the East, restoring what was lost with the Western Empire’s collapse . It’s possible the Andal invasion and later Aegon’s conquests (although granted events that moved in things in the opposite direction to the Crusades) did the same thing.

Thanks Alvin Sibi to for the questionWhy did Kerala lose the BMW plant to Tamil Nadu in 2008?BMW plant in ChennaiA very popular narrative that goes in Kerala is that BMW decided to invest in Kochi, but when top executives came to Kochi to sign the MOU, there was a Hartal and some of the cars on the roads were smashed by hartal supporters from CPM, resulting them in backing off.This narrative is propagated for a long time and even some of the intellectuals fell for it including Shashi Tharoor.Sad plight of KeralaHowever, its far from truthBMW was planning to invest in India in 2003 and it was the time, Kerala conducted its first investor meeting- Global Investors Meet- GIM. BMW was invited and an MOU of Interest has been signed. As part of this, BMW officials came to Kochi to explore the possibilities of investment their new plant.BMW was offered with 25 acres of land in Kalamassery at a subsidized price with an option of additional option of 50 acres of land without any subsidies only after 5 years after operation of the plant. This was the offer made by KINFRA, Kerala’s premier industrial facilitation agency. There was no other subsidies like power discounts or water discounts etc. BMW wanted outright purchase, but KINFRA rejected the proposal, citing they can offer only max of 50 year lease or else ownership under JV model ( the standard template of KINFRA where companies invest in KINFRA land where KINFRA picks up stake in the SPV in lieu of land)However when BMW officials came to inspect this land, they found it uneven. Anyone who been to this land (the plot is the one that lies opposite to current Cochin Govt Medical College in Kalamassery), one can understand its a very hilly terrain and the land is not flat, rather at uneven elevation. This means to either BMW needs to level the land where it needs to have factory (for which they need permission of various environmental agencies) or else construct multiple units rather one single factory block which doesn’t fit to the efficiency/line assembly model of most of the car manufacturers.Talks with BMW on Kochi plant soon - Times of IndiaIn this time, BMW also visited and explored the possibility of procuring land from Cochin Port Trust which was then developing Vallarpadam Island (where the current transhipment terminal comes up). CPT offered max of 40 acres of land in the Vallarpadam or Bolgatty Island. The key attraction was availability of a port right next to the proposed unit. But the key problem was the land was not so set. It was just developed thro’ reclaiming and there was a serious concern of foundation at that time. As per many engineering estimate, it should take 4 to 5 years for the land to set, which was too long for BMW. Then another clause also affected them- participate in the tendering of CPT or else BMW needs to get approval from DIPP of Central govt to bypass tendering. That made the proposal unattractive.BMW checks outs Kerala too for manufacturing baseIn this time, BMW was also exploring other cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Gurgaon etc. That time, TN was ruled by Jayalalitha and her efficiency in doing things is well known (due to her dictatorial style of functioning).BMW entered talks with another company- Mahindra Group who offered 60 acres of land in their new project- Mahindra World city at Maraimalai Nagar which is outskirts of Chennai (approx 65 Kms away from Chennai city)The good part was, already Ford India established its unit close to Mahindra World city way back in 1999 and there was already a thriving automobile suppliers market catering companies like Ford, Hyundai, Ashok Leyland etc. This is very critical component as automobile plants depend on suppliers in a big way and Chennai has already a very matured supplier market, thanks to Ashok Leyland and HVF which created a huge spare parts base and engine development base around Chennai cities even in 1960s.For BMW, Maraimalai was so good as it was absolutely flat land and hardly any residential area close it, with open fields and barren land all around. It has potential to expand if required. TN govt waived electricity charges for 3 years then as well as water supply was good enough as Kolavai Lake is so close by. Moreover, the whole project is within Mahindra World city, a self contained gated city. Mahindra was developing a world class city there with quality modern housing, an international school, parks, gardens, shopping etc.Mahindra World city- Chennai, which is a fully developed gated township where BMW came upSRM university, one of the biggest Engineering university is very close by and SRM that time had the biggest polytechnic college in TN. SRM polytechnic used to have add-on certificate course in Automobile Engineering since 1999, as part of its collaboration with Ford India. So already that university was churning out quality Automobile technicians in large numbers as required for BMW. Whereas there was no such course anywhere in Kerala that time (even now, its very rare course). So as in 2004, SRM University made a new diploma in Automobile Engineering, one of the first universities in India to have such a full fledged niche course. This fits exactly what BMW required.For any large scale automobile plant, three factors are requiredLarge landHighly skilled talent forceMatured suppliers marketLandKerala has no large acres of open land unlike TN. What Kerala at best can offer, is parcels of these kind of 20 acres or 30 acres land. Any attempt to garner larger scale land, say 100 acres or 200 acres, it shall be paddy lands and thereby comes under Wetlands conservation act, a highly controversial topic if reclaimed for industrial purposes. So BMW didn’t get any worthy open land in Kerala, while they got almost double the land what Kerala offered in TN.In Kerala, they were offering only barren land. Rest everything BMW has to develop. The best part in TN, they got land within Mahindra World city and Mahindra offered world class city for them. For its executives, its work-home-play concept, as the factory is located next to a world class township. On the contrary, the Kalamassery land offered to them in Kerala was so remote at that time, it looked as if its inside a Forest area and for any civilization, they have to travel 20–30 Kms down into city area. Even now, that area is remote, though a township rose in closer to 10 km rangeMaraimalai Nagar in Chennai where BMW came up. You can see the extend of open flat and Barren lands in the area even todayKalamassery HMT area where the land was proposed to BMW. Please check with terrain map of Google to see the undulating terrain surface of the region and one can see the lack of barren land beyond the HMT area.2. Talent poolIn 2000s, TN had around 209 Polytechnic colleges (now 467) and churned out out more than 30K grads annually. In the same period, Kerala had just 60 (now 83) Polytechnics and churned less than 8k. An Automobile plant primarily relies on polytechnic grads, not engineers. There are so much requirement for blue collar workers. And this is one area, Kerala rarely fits much into. Most of the people looks for white collar jobs, not blue collar. Even people in lower strata tries to get professional education and looks for white collar worksSecondly Polytechnics in Kerala doesn’t have automobile courses. Its focused on traditional courses like civil, mech etc. So the right talent which BMW looks is not available. Even those available, their first preference is to go to Gulf where they earn more. They may work in BMW etc for few months or a year or two, gain experience and use that as experience for opportunities in ME. Whereas in TN, most of these blue collar employees are looking for long term or permanent opporunities.3. Supplier marketAs I mentioned, Kerala has no supplier base. No major manufacturing of parts or engine components etc. Whereas TN do have.Apart from all these, the labour force in Kerala is unionized and seek their rights. I consider that as fair thing, because labourers are not slaves and their rights need to protected. Infact, BMW knows that well, because in Germany too, Labour rights are considered sacred and trade unions do have huge role. Germany is one of the few nations that have labour representatives in the Board of Directors of the company so as there shall be equal representation of all stakeholders. BMW has 10 members from trade unions and employees as Supervisory representatives and Independent directors in their board. Does they have the same system in India?Company PortraitOne key factor is that, labour rights are not that greatly protected in TN, so as hardly any unions etc. Any manufacturing HR Manager/Director loves non-questioning workforce.I agree unions in Kerala are aggressive (no more militant as it used to be in 70s or 80s), but if properly engaged, they will support back.The rumors of hartal or Bandh as a reason for choosing another site is simply faux, because every place has its own cons and pros. Hartals mostly affect trading units or retailers as they rely on customers, hardly manufacturing units, particularly large scale because they are mostly inhouse and outsiders have no access into the facility. Have doubts on that- check with BPCL Kochi Refineries which has not lost one single man day in last 5 years or Apollo Tyres or Modern Bread or Binai Zinc or TCC or FACT or similar plants etcThe news of BMW investing in Kochi was more of hyped by media. Rather it was just exploration onlyBMW’s decision to choose Chennai over Kochi was purely on the fact, Chennai fits exactly what they look for and Kochi don’t fit there anything close. It wasn’t even a close fight at the very first place.Further readingBMW to set up plant in India.BMW?s Kerala plan on fast trackBMW chooses Chennai for car plantBMW to set up plant in Tamil Nadu - mwcArun Mohan (അരുൺ മോഹൻ)'s answer to Why is Kerala not so developed industrially like Tamil Nadu?Arun Mohan (അരുൺ മോഹൻ)'s answer to Why is Kerala not generating many jobs despite having India's highest literacy rate?