Page 4 CAREERS IN FOCUS Education Mail, New Delhi, Tuesday, December 21, 2010 ON THE SHELF Frances Cairncross, rector Are you getting ready to enter of Oxford University’s the job market or planning to go abroad for higher education? fourth oldest college, was SAUMYA PANT reviews four useful books that will prepare in Delhi and Mumbai to you for the big plunge, covering areas as diverse as getting your resume right to how to crack tap funds for scholarships the International English aimed exclusively at Language Testing System (IELTS). Indian graduate students JOB AT FIRST SIGHT: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO YOUR FIRST JOB By RADHIKA MADHAVAN; RUPA, `95 If you’re doing your course RADHIKA MADHAVAN is a professional consultant work seriously, you’ll barely and trainer based in ‘ Bengaluru. In her 15-year get six hours to sleep. We career, she has worked in would like our students not research, communica- ‘ tions and HR. Having to worry constantly about interviewed, hired and trained thousands of col- working after completing lege students over the years, she shares her their academic work. experiences and insights into the art of FRANCES CAIRNCROSS, Rector, Exeter College, University of Oxford getting one’s first job. The book covers the entire job hunt, from giving step-by- step directions on how to write an By Sourish Bhattacharyya impressive resume to advice on ways of developing and using one’s networking skills. Madhavan has made the book very easy to read by peppering it with exam- HAT was common to ples that give the reader an idea of how Pakistan’s first prime min- to prepare or conduct oneself to get ister Liaquat Ali Khan, one’s dream job. India’s one-time education minister, Humayun Kabir, INSTANT MBA: THINK, PERFORM AND EARN and Pakistan-born writer LIKE A TOP BUSINESS SCHOOL GRADUATE and filmmaker Tariq Ali? WWhat’s the common thread in the lives of J.R.R. By NICHOLAS BATE; RESEARCH PRESS, £14.99 Tolkien, the man who wrote The Lord of the NICHOLAS BATE has Rings, and Martin Amis, one of Britain’s best- worked extensively with known contemporary novelists best-known for individuals and teams in organisations as similar London Fields? And what’s the link between and different as the first man to run a mile in less than four min- Microsoft, Marks & utes, Roger Bannister, and the actor Richard Spencer, Philips, Hudson Burton? They all went to Exeter, the fourth Global and Intel. The oldest constituent college of the University of benefits of a Master of Oxford founded in 1314. Business Administration Normally, the rector of an Oxford college with such (MBA) degree can be distinguished pedigree and a reasonably good endow- massive — fast-track career advancement, ment wouldn’t have a reason to come here to raise a big fat salary packet and a top-notch funds for scholarships aimed at Indian graduate stu- executive lifestyle. But studying for an MBA dents. But Frances Cairncross, formerly a senior edi- Exeter plans more isn’t something to decide to do lightly. It is a tor with The Economist and the second woman to be big investment to take a year or more out made rector of a college that did not admit female of your career path, or commit endless students till 1979, believes that Indian students fit weekends to a part-time version, and for seamlessly into Exeter’s culture of questioning many the cost of either of these options is received wisdom and not accepting a position with- prohibitive. Instant MBA is the must-have out argument. guide to making the most of yourself and “We find these qualities in Indian students more than schols for Indians your career prospects, whether you’re studying for an MBA or just out to improve your prospects while you work. It is There aren’t more than 10-12 Indians at INDIAN PRESENCE AT EXETER packed with inspiring expert practical Exeter. Cairncross proposes to change this. advice on everything you need to know, The number of Indian students enrolled at from the original tried-and-tested busi- Exeter is not more than 10-12 and they go there ness models to the newer ideas such as their peers from many other societies,” says Cairncross, mainly to read the sciences, especially the life emotional intelligence and inspirational an economist and journalist who succeeded Marilyn sciences. Here’s what Frances Cairncross had leadership, which modern MBA courses Butler as rector in 2004. “Amartya Sen’s expression The to say about Indian students at her college: are focusing on. Argumentative Indian sums up the great tradition of original thinking in India.” Exeter has a very small stu- dent community — 540 in all when last counted — and Indian students opt for the courses in which BARRON’S IELTS WITH AUDIO CD: not more than 10-12 Indians study there. Cairncross Exeter has a reputation, namely, Biology, INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH proposes to change this fact forever. Pathology, Pharmacy, Electrical Engineering and LANGUAGE TESTING SYSTEM She was in India to unburden wallets for a worthy Computer Science. cause — raising the number of scholarships aimed By DR LIN LOUGHEED; NEW AGE entirely at Indian students from the present two to Plant Science is the area of specialisation of INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHERS, `395 10-12, a number Cairncross wishes to reach with help “one of the cleverest Indian students”. from philanthropic Indians. “India is seeing a rapid THE IELTS is interna- rise in personal wealth and wealth creates opportuni- The emerging favourites at Exeter are Financial tionally recognised as ties in philanthropy,” Cairncross said, explaining why Economics and Law and Finance. There’s a lot fulfilling English lan- she was optimistic about rolling out more graduate Exeter College, alma mater of celebrated authors competition for admission to these courses. guage testing require- studies scholarships for “clever young people from J.R.R. Tolkien and Martin Amis, was founded in 1314 ments for admission modest homes”. To make it possible she met “a num- into academic courses ber of good friends, including people who are very view. It is this characteristic what separates Oxford Cairncross makes her thoughts on this prickly issue by more than 380 interested in Oxford University” during her short and from most universities on the other side of the Atlantic. abundantly clear: “If you’re doing your course work American colleges and unpublicised visit. “America is so vast that you get to see the world only seriously, you’ll barely get six hours to sleep. We would universities, as well as Cairncross pegs the cost of an education at Exeter at from the American point of view,” says Cairncross, who like our students not to worry constantly about work- by higher education £30,000 (`21 lakh) a year. It is indeed steep, but she’s read Modern History at St Anne’s College, Oxford, and ing after completing their academic work.” The schol- institutions in Australia, quick to point out that students get much more indi- Economics at Brown University, USA. arships the rector is putting in place promise to open Canada, Ireland, New vidual attention because of their low numbers. Does Exeter encourage students to work while study- doors for more Indian students by freeing them from Zealand, South Africa, and the United Intellectually, too, an education at Exeter is fulfilling ing to recover a part of their investment in an education the burden of making ends meet. Kingdom. This brand-new test prepara- because students are exposed a more rounded global in the UK’s most acclaimed university system? [email protected] tion manual covers all parts of the IELTS and all of its question types: multiple- RAMESH SHARMA choice, short answer, sentence comple- tion, flowchart completion, graphs, tables, making notes, summarising, Hong Kong univs seek out Indian students labelling diagrams and maps, classifica- tion, matching, and selecting from a list. By Shara Ashraf The manual also offers four practice tests with answers, and listening and reading modules with answer keys. HE YELLOW Emperor Huang Di has intrigued Kshitij Tiwari since POWERFUL VOCABULARY BUILDER his childhood and that explains his obsession with kung-fu. But By ANJANA AGARWAL; NEW AGE TTiwari, an old student of DPS R.K. INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHERS, `299 Puram, is not a martial arts pro. He’s a ANJANA AGARWAL has first-year engineering student at the been teaching English lan- Hong Kong University (HKU) and is one guage and literature for of the recipients of the HKU Foundation more than 12 years to sec- Scholarship For Outstanding ondary and senior sec- International Students 2010-2011. ondary classes. For the For Tiwari, studying in China means not only past eight years, she’s also mastering kung-fu moves, but also making been associated with invaluable contacts that would help him work international organisa- in that part of the world. Hong Kong is emerg- tions that test the English ing as a popular destination for Indian stu- (Above) The Hong Kong University (HKU) campus; (right) Prof. John Spinks, language skills of students. dents, which explains why Indians today make senior adviser to the HKU vice-chancellor, says the number of Indian students Her book aims at helping up 9 per cent of the university’s overseas stu- applying for admission to the university has risen three-fold this year students build their dent population. vocabulary — they are introduced to words Spink and other delegation members met from US$9,000 (`4.13 lakh) to Prof. John Spinks, the HKU vice-chancellor’s HRD Minister Kapil Sibal to discuss opportuni- US$13,000 ( 6 lakh) per year.