AMITY SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS VIRTUAL 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE


SKILL DEVELOPMENT AT ASE

EXCEL WORKSHOP SESSION 1

EXCEL WORKSHOP CONDUCTED BY THE PLACEMENT CELL OF ASE

The Placement Cell of Amity School of Economics conducted its first skill development workshop for the academic year 2017-18 on 21st July 2017 on The Basics of Microsoft Excel. In today’s exceedingly competitive state of affairs especially when it comes to job attainment, a hands-on knowledge of practical software has become extremely imperative. Additionally, students of Economics are now expected to have at least a basic knowledge of MS Excel and software such as SPSS, STATA, R when they sit for their placement interviews.

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The workshop was conducted primarily by Shilpi Gupta, a Masters student and the Head of the Placement Committee. Keeping in mind that a practical knowledge and experience of software shall augment the employable potential of students, the placement committee conducted this workshop for students from M.A Economics. During the session, essential features such as basic and conditional formatting were revised, and an overview of key features such as Grouping, Sorting of Data, and Error Checking was delivered. A systematic review of the functions used was provided, with a special emphasis on Logical Functions of ‘IF’ and ‘Nested IF’.

The workshop was attended by over forty students and feedback was collected. All the students were pleased with what they viewed as a great start to the year, as their general belief was that workshops of this nature shall help them irrespective of the professional field they pursue.

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One of the Master’s students, Neha Thureja was asked about her experience after the session. She remarked, “I have always been afraid of working with data even though my theoretical concepts are strong. I had to seek help when it came to data analysis, but after attending this session I think I will not need help anymore. I am grateful to the placement team for conducting workshops which give students confidence to do things independently.”

After receiving immensely positive feedback, the Placement Cell of ASE shall be replicating such sessions for Bachelors students as well in upcoming future. The Committee also plans to conduct a series of workshops over this year so that when at the end of the year students from ASE sit for the placement interviews, there is nothing that holds them back from getting their dream jobs.


EXCEL WORKSHOP SESSION 2

DATE: August 3, 2017

TIME: 2:30-4:30

VENUE: Room 404 B block

Session began with a group of 25 students of masters of economics final year. A brief recap of previous session and introduction of current session and its agenda was discussed.

Different functions were introduced paste special, random numbers, random numbers in a range, v look up, h look up, match, index, combination of index and match functions, concatenate function and alternate formula for same, trim and length. All doubts were attended well and sorted. How to retrieve data set from RBI website was shown and how to operate upon it was explained.

The feedback forms outcome analysis depicted a positive response at part of the participants. Some students really appreciated the teams coordination. They were satisfied with the query handing.

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EXCEL WORKSHOP SESSION 3

DATE: August 4, 2017

TIME: 2:30-4:30

VENUE: Room 404 B block

Session began with a group of 15 students of m.a. Economics final year. Abrief recap of previous session and introduction of current session and its agenda.

Different functions were introduced offset, count, count a, count blank, average, standard deviation, correl, combination function for percentage change in data. Various ways of using all formulas in the real huge data set was discussed.

On analysis of feedback forms filled by participants depicted a positive response at part of the participants. Some students really appreciated the teams coordination. They were satisfied with the query handing and they expressed their willingness to attend it further in future.

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EXCEL WORKSHOP SESSION 4

Amity School of Economics Placement Cell conducted its fourth excel workshop as a part of the skill development drive. After the positive responses from students for the previous session, this session continued to aim at development of advance excel skills among the budding economists.

This session was themed as the charting techniques used for data analysis. Charting plays an important role in the work of analysts and researchers as it helps in representation of big data sets. The session aimed at making students acquaint with the basis of charting techniques, utility of different types of charts and analysis and interpretation of the same. The data set circulated in the assignment to students pertained to Reserve Bank of India's time series data.

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Initially in the session, the importance of labelling and alignment of axis of charts was stressed upon, as it forms the foundation of a good chart.

Next, the students practiced charting different types of charts including line charts, bubble charts and area charts on the RBI data set. The students were explained the mechanism working behind these charts and how it complied with the economic theory.

Further, the concept of ratio analysis was explained to students which can help them make formulas out of the given data sets. This practice was also conducted on the RBI data set including variables like currency in circulation, reserve money and deposits.

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While the students were practicing the excel techniques discussed in the session, their individual queries were catered to, by the core member of the committee. This was down to ensure that everyone was at pace with the charting and analysis techniques taught in the session.

The workshop was attended by more than 20 students. Post workshop their feedbacks were collected and analysed. There reposes at part of students was positive as they remarked the session helped them understand the foundation and utility of charting. They were now able to improve their presentation by incorporating the appropriate charts that represented the underlying data of the study. The workshop not only equipped the students with the knowledge of how to create charts but also how to interpret and analyse them. Thus, the objective of the session was successfully fulfilled.

EXCEL WORKSHOP SESSION 5

An “Excel” workshop was conducted on Thursday by Amity School of Economics, Placement Cell. This was its 5th Excel session and was held on 14th September 2017. It was held as a part of the skill development drive and aimed at enhancing and improving the skills and knowledge among the students of Microsoft excel.

The session was conducted for both Masters and Bachelors course students. It was conducted by a fellow student of M.A economic course who had the knowledge of excel and wanted to share it with others. The session started with an introduction of “Sumif, Averageif, Countif” function which are categorised as a “statistical function”. Excel provides an extensive range of statistical functions, that perform calculations from basic mean, median, and mode to more complex statistical distribution and probability tests. These functions in excel also serves the same purpose.

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The session began with their detailed explanations where the person conducting the session that is Mahir defined them. He explained that how these function plays an important in easily handling of data in companies and in a researcher’s life. The sumif – adds value if a condition is met, averageif- conditionally averages values. He explained the difference between the two functions, their syntaxes and their usage. Further clarity was brought in the minds of the students with the help of examples and problem solving.

The session concluded with filling up of feedback forms and their collection for future improvements.

EXCEL WORKSHOP SESSION 6, 2017

Amity School of Economics, Placement Cell, conducted its 6th excel session on 12th October 2017.After the positive responses from students from previous sessions. It was held as a part of the skill development drive and aimed at improving the skills and knowledge among the students of excel.

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The session was conducted by Mahir Pasrija of M.A economic department semester II. In this session the-“COUNTIF” function which is categorised as a “statistical function” was introduced and taught. The COUNTIF function in excel counts the number of cells in a range, that meets a given criteria. In plain English it can be explained as a function or a formula that can be used for counting the number of cells that fulfil a condition, within a predefined range.

This function plays an important role in the offices, schools, universities and practically everywhere where, a record is to be maintained. As it helps in sorting and in maintaining records etc. In this session, first the difference between COUNT and COUNTIF was explained by Mahir and then its formula along with syntax. Later on, in class the students were explained the techniques of using this function with the help of examples.

Some questions were then given to the class to solve themselves and while they were trying to solve the questions their doubts were also simultaneously addressed. This was done to ensure that all are at pace. The basics were quiet clear to the students, but it was made crystal clear with the efforts put in by Mahir.

The workshop was attended by master’s students. Post workshop further doubts were answered, an assignment was given and their feedback forms were collected for analysis. On the whole, the session was a successful one.

EXCEL WORKSHOP SESSION 7, 2018

Amity School of Economics, Placement Cell, conducted its seventh excel session on 25th January 2018.It was held as a part of the skill development drive and aimed at improving the skills and knowledge among the students of excel. The session was held in room no 306 post classes.

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The session was conducted by Mahir Pasrija of M.A economic department semester II and was on logical functions. He began by explaining that there are four logical functions: AND, OR, IF and NOT and one can use these functions when has to carry out more than one comparison. He defined Logical functions as those features that allow us to introduce decision-making when executing formulas and functions. These Functions are used to: Check if a condition is true or false. Combine multiple conditions together etc.

This function plays an important role in the work of analysts and researchers as it helps in sorting and in maintaining records etc. In this session “if” and “and” along with “or” function was taught to the students. These are known as “single” logical functions. The students were first explained about the functions then the respective formulas associated with each function were taught to them. Later on, they were made to solve certain examples in class, based on which they were given a few questions to solve. While the students were practicing the excel techniques their individual queries were addressed and discussed. This was done to ensure that all are at pace with the logical functions.

The workshop was attended by master’s students. Post workshop their feedback forms were collected and analysed. The responses were positive as they remarked it helped them in further understanding the techniques of advanced filter in excel and so, the objective of the session was successfully fulfilled.

EXCEL WORKSHOP VDE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES

Placement Team Of AMITY SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS organized an excel workshop with VDE Educational Services . It was organised on 23rd February 2018 i.e Thursday . Venue of the workshop was Conference hall and started at 9:00 am. The student strength of workshop was approximately 60.

The conference started on a motivational note. The two experts who work with Quality Council of India briefed us about the importance of MS Excel in data handing. These expert who have hands on data handling also enlightened students about how MS excel tools and techniques can be adopted by a budding economist for data analysis and handling. Workshop also include discussion on data management techniques that one can use for working efficiently and effectively.

These motivational lines gave students the energy to sit throughout the workshop. Then they started with the basic excel functions which can be applied in huge data sets. Some of the functions were sum, average, max, min etc . These functions give incite into descriptive statistics of data. Then they moved on to complex functions such as logical functions. Students were explained how to use HLOOKUP , VLOOKUP, pivots and their charting etc and their importance.

The workshop was very inciteful and meaningful for strengthening the basic foundation . It was ended on a good note by giving them the vote of thanks.

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India’s aspiration to 5 trillion dollar economy

Amity School of Economics organized a panel discussion with three eminent speakers- Professor Rohit Azad from the Centre of Economic Studies and Planning at JNU, Associate Professor Ashwani Mahajan from PGDAV College of Delhi University and Dr. Radhika Pandey who is a consultant with the macro-finance group NIPFP. The panellists provided their inputs regarding the Indian government’s objective of building a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2024 and it’s feasibility. The discussion took place in the presence of the Head of Institution Dr. Shalini Singh Sharma, faculty and students of the Amity School of Economics.

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Professor Mahajan was the first speaker and pointed out that India had already achieved a 10 trillion dollar economy status in purchasing power parity terms and hence trying to debate the viability of a 5 trillion dollar nominal GDP wasn’t of particular importance. Rather he stressed upon the major issues of income inequality and jobless growth pervasive in the country and cited Thomas Piketty’s book- ‘Capital’which claims that from 1980 to 2014, 30% of the gains from national income expansion were snatched by the top one percent. The professor also questioned Dr. Jagdish Bhagwati’s insistence on economic growth and validity of the trickle down effect which it might accrue. The professor insisted on entrepreneurial development. However, he cautioned against unfettered free trade as it could have devastating consequences for the value of the Indian Rupee.

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Dr. Radhika Pandey addressed the current economic slowdown and tried to explain its roots to the audience. She stated that 2003-2007 was a high growth rate era with low inflation and high bank credit. Banks were loaning without due diligence and started experiencing NPA problems from 2012. An investment shock began from 2012 which then mutated into a policy shock with the hasty implementation of GST and demonetisation, generating a tremendous impact on consumer demand. She claimed that the enacted corporate tax cuts would prove useless given that the economy faces a demand crisis, not a supply one. Such measures were needed in 2012. The surplus incomes of corporations would not translate into investment without consumer demand. Dr. Pandey was concerned about the low credit allocated by public sector banks to MSMEs and stressed on the importance of banking reform.
Professor Azad pointed out that becoming a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2024 was a fantasy given that it requires achieving unreachably high GDP growth rates consistently. He stated that agricultural wages were low during the first tenure of the UPA, they rose in their second tenure and dipped again under the Modi administration. Growth rates in the past 5 years have been comparatively lower than the UPA administration along with an increasing inequality rate. His prescriptions for the economy were to run fiscal deficits to counter cyclical trends, bring a new green deal, increase national floor level minimum wage, increase the allocation to MGNREGA, and universalise access to health, education and transport. In his estimation, low growth rates are acceptable as long as there is equitable development. An interactive Q&A session was conducted post the speakers’ addresses and the event ended with felicitation of the guests and a vote of thanks.

Akash Asthana, Debanistha Khan

Guest Lecture on Higher Education and opportunities for Economics Students

A Guest Lecture on “Higher Education & opportunities available for Economics Students” was held at ASE on 9th of January 2020 at 1:30pm in the auditorium of L1 block by the guest, Mr. Vaibhav Mediratta, Senior Corporate Trainer from Indian Academy of empowerment and Educational Research (IAEER)

The session began with the guest being felicitated with a tulsi plant by Ms Mona Wadhwani.

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He began the session by interacting with the audience about their career interests. Mr. Vaibhav briefed about his experiences in Management Development Programs. He talked about the risky and realistic opportunities that can be availed by economics students after graduation. He mentioned about the supply and demand mismatch in the economy and talked about the opportunities in the fields of Equity Research, Wealth Management, Digital Marketing and Equity Advisory.

The session was followed by an extensive discussion about how to be prepared for a highly demanded job in the fields the guest mentioned. This gave the students an insight into what kind of jobs they might want to do and decide for themselves.
The session concluded by Prof. Dr. Shalini, HOI of ASE , and presented a token of appreciation to the guest.



Guest lecture on “7 Pillars of Success for Corporate Life” by Mr. Nilanjan Mukherjee

Amity School of Economics (ASE) organized a guest lecture on “7 Pillars of Success for Corporate Life” by Mr. Nilanjan Mukherjee (DGM-HR) Relaxo Group, on 11th of January 2020 (Saturday) at 10:30 A.M in the seminar hall of E-2 block.

Mr. Nilanjan Mukherjee has joined the Relaxo Footwears Limited in August 2011 as Senior Manager-Human Resource. He is responsible for the talent Acquisition & HR Operations. An alumnus of IIM Lucknow, he holds 10 years of experience across organizations such as prominent business Group like Motorola and Tata. He is a distinguished trainer and has imparted training on multiple topics to more than 1500 professionals during his course of employment in various organizations including the top management; he has also participated in Socio-Economic Forums on NDTV India.

During his sessions he effectively convinced the audience about the ways of “7 Pillars of Success”, he used the alphabets A, B, C, D, E, F & G to explain the above. He explained these alphabets starting from G and ending to A. These can be explained as:

  • G-Goals: He gave an example of Ms. Florence May Chadwick, the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions, setting a time record each time.
  • F-Focus: He explained the negative focus and the positive focus and emphasized to focus on positive.
  • E-Emotion: He explained this by the article, “The stroke less wonder to palm tree Hitter”. Also, emotion plays an important role in determining success.
  • D-Decision: This was explained by the 100th monkey effect.
  • C-Character: He told that it is not the circumstances that makes the person, it is their character which makes them. Also, he explained the importance of consumer delight.
  • B-Belief: He shared the inspirational story of Mr. Karoly Tokacs on self-belief.
  • A-Action. Lastly, he concluded that without action nothing great can be achieved.

The seminar was organized by Ms. Mona Wadwani (Placement Cell, Advisor) under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Shalini Singh Sharma (HOI). The session was felicitated by Prof. Dr. Shalini Singh Sharma.

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