All Science can be clubbed under the umbrella heading of ‘Natural Science’. This may be further divided into Applied Science and Basic Science.
Applied Science courses are technical domain courses with a practical application. These courses are somewhat different from Basic Science courses in that the Basic Science pursue the understanding and practice of Science as an end unconcerned with the practical usage of the findings. Examples could be Astrophysics, Astronomy, Geography etc. On the other hand, the scientific pursuits which are motivated with an Application or Return on Investment motive, may be categorised as Applied Science. Having said that sometimes the boundaries between the two do get blurred, especially when a hitherto Pure Sciences pursuit take a turn towards real-life application, be it for altruistic, or for commercial, exploitation.
In India Science qualifications are treated as second fiddle to Engineering qualifications, even though Applied Science has been receiving a lot of attention abroad. Many Universities offer specialised qualifications in Applied Science which are treated equivalent to Engineering. Several domains of Applied Science are closely aligned and related to Engineering. For our purpose, we have considered the following domains and programs
- Computer Science: BSc Computer Science, BSc IT, MSc Computer Science
- Computer Applications: BCA, MCA
- Electronics: BSc Electronics. MSc Electronics
- Physics: B Sc Physics, BSc Applied Physics
- Math and Applied Math*: BSc Math, BSc Applied Math, MSc Math etc
*Mathematics sits somewhat ambiguously in the middle of the division between Basic and Applied, with some scholars classifying it as a Basic science, while others recognising the applied nature of it, and that it is the genesis of computer science we have taken the latter view and clubbed it in the domain of Applied Science.
** BSc also include BSc(H) courses
With mushrooming of Engineering colleges in India, Applied Science courses are getting marginalised and not getting their due position. A summary evaluation of syllabus, content, question paper level of courses like BSc Electronics, BCA or MCA reveal that they are no less, and in fact are quite similar, in scope and complexity to analogous Engineering courses.
Career Avenues
Career Avenues for Applied Science after graduation:
- Pursue higher qualifications, get UGC-NET qualified and get into Teaching profession.
- Get employed in Industry, and compete with Engineers and alike
- Sit for Government Recruitment Exams. Here also they may be competing with Engineers.
- Study for GATE. IAS and Allied Services
- Based on own knowledge, set up a Business Enterprise.
To be successful in any of the above, the graduates need adequate conceptual framework and domain knowledge no less than that available to Engineering students. However, it is matter of great concern that Science teaching in many Indian colleges is quite poor. Owing to poor research facilities and pay scales, most of the science colleges fail to attract quality teachers and infrastructure investments, and consequently they fail to attract quality students who could have distinguished the Institute with their achievements. Until this cycle of mediocrity is broken, Institute’s eco-system continues to sink to lower standards.
If, for whatever reason, students do find themselves in such a morass, it will be up to the individual student to break this cycle on their own.
One of the ways to become independent of the system and become self-reliant in their pursuit of academic distinction is to subscribe to a coaching or course which provides them with genuine, complete, exhaustive, exam-oriented preparation of core subjects of their curriculum, and helps them meet and exceed the expected standards of knowledge by a fair margin.
Examination Body List and Programs
Course Layout
Each Course is organised into Units and further into Sections. A Section is a logical collection of related Topics. Each Topic is covered through a set of Learning Outcomes (LO). A Learning Outcome states what the student should be able to know, or do, upon successful completion of Learning Activities for that Topic.
Each LO is approached through a Learning Module, which is a Video Lesson including the associated Knowledge Check (KC) questions at the end of it. The student must view each LM carefully, make notes as advised; pause, rewind or speed-up the video as required to ensure they understand the concepts being taught. If student is not able to successfully answer the KCs, they are advised to re-view the lesson before proceeding forward.
After LMs for the Topic are completed, the Student should attempt the Outcome Review and Summary Quiz module. The ORSQ module comprises of higher order Past Year Questions (PYQ) for the completed Outcomes of the Topic. In addition, the Teacher will summarise the LOs, discuss the applications and related information.
Problem-Solving Module or PSM is an exam focussed module. For Theoretical topics, the teacher will list and detail the types of exam questions that can be expected from the Topic and how to successfully respond to them. For Numerical topics, the teacher will list the types of PYQs, and proceed to solve one problem of each type. The student is expected to solve a similar problem of each type before proceeding to the next type. PSM will also state their own Outcomes which broadly mirror the LM Outcomes.
Through its sequence of Learning Modules, Outcome Review & Summary Quiz, and Problem-Solving Modules, an exhaustive treatment of each Topic is attempted.
A Section Review Test will help you revisit and revise the overall concepts in the section.
A Unit Review Test will similarly help you revise the concepts covered in the Unit.
You may pose your doubts in the Course Forum. Here you will also see previous conversation threads which could address your current problem. Being an active participant in the Course Forums could really help you.
Several such current and upcoming features are developed to help you develop concept-clarity, and proficiency in the Subject.
Study Plans
Usually courses of study guide the student on What (and what not) to study (Syllabus) and How to Study (method and content), but mostly are unable to guide When to Study (Schedule). However proper scheduling is the crucial gap between success and failure specially in time-bound, self-study programs. With a view to bridge this gap, 2LearnDipEng is offering two Study Plans options namely, a) Own Study Plan (OSP) or, b) Guided Study Plan (GSP).
Own Study Plan
- Own Study Plan allows students to commence study from any Unit and any Section. Within each Section however, the order of coverage of Topics is fixed in accordance to principles of laddered learning. Similarly, the coverage of Learning Activities is also fixed within the Topic. This is understandable since a student will not be able to attempt the Quiz without going through the Learning Modules first, or not be able to do justice to Problem Solving Modules unless they have completed the underlying concepts in the LMs.
- Once completed the topic may be accessed at will.
- OSP is beneficial if the student has studied the Topics previously, or they wish to synchronise with the Unit/Section sequence followed at their Institute.
Guided Study Plan
- Guided Study Plan may be opted by students looking for the optimal method to cover their syllabus and prepare for their exams.
- Based on the number of Topics in a Course, GSP is designed to run for a defined number of days from the date of enrolment in the Course.
- A set order of coverage is defined across the Course as per principles of spaced recall. For instance, if LMs, ORSQ and PSM are set for a Topic, LMs and knowledge check would be scheduled on Day1, ORSQ on Day 2 and PSM on Day 6.
- Scheduling ORSQ after at least one night’s rest allows the learned concepts to consolidate in the sub-conscious mind of the student. Specially with the foreknowledge that they must retrieve the next day.
- Scheduling PSM after at least 4 days allows the memory of the concept to decay sufficiently. Retrieval after such a period refreshes the memory and helps establish new neural pathways for better memory recall.
- Apart from the above, Section Review Test, Unit Review Test will be scheduled to refresh the concepts.
- Student’s memory and concept understanding will be challenged periodically with Flash Cards and short quiz posed intermittently on the covered topics.
Rapid Revision Program
- Short duration RRP will be offered in select courses.
- RRP are designed as Semester-exam focussed ‘Crash Course’. Typical RRP is for 12-15 hours only.
- Typically RRPs will be released approximately 1 month before Semester exams.