The question we need to ask ourselves is, “What are we bringing to the table?” ❤️

Think Tank | The Staff-Student Study Circle

Wednesday, 3rd September 2025 | 2.30 pm

A Report

It was a memorable day today, with the College Onam festivities in full swing at the Boxing Ring, which saw students attired in their ethnic best! The celebrations got over by 1.30 pm.

Following which, we had today’s Edition of Think Tank at 2.30 pm at Writers’ Nook. 

The first to give a talk was Ms. Pooja S. Lal from III BA Economics. She spoke on Journalling as Therapy.

I started journalling when I was in my 10th Standard during Covid days. I used to write about how I spent my day, the little memories that came along with each day etc.

Diary writing gives us a space for self-reflection, since we write it from the bottom of our heart with deep conviction. I don’t like to get angry with people. I hate it. Hence I give vent to my frustrations through my diary.

That way, my diary is my best friend. I feel I have a good listener in my diary. If you start writing a diary now, you will see how much you’ve evolved over the years,

signed off Pooja.

Ms. Srija Dutta spoke next, on the topic, “Political Consciousness in Education: A Foundation for Responsible Citizenship and Integrated Development”.

We don’t have a subject on National Studies. Political and Legal consciousness is lacking in today’s education. It’s high time we gave a though to it.

The national or state budgets don’t necessarily belong only to the domain of economics. It affects all of us, just as the Covid or the Great Depression affected everyone in society.

Including National Studies in the curriculum helps to protect us from confusing narratives. Moreover, it’s very important for us to educate ourselves on what’s happening in our country.

The question we need to ask ourselves is, “What are we bringing to the table?”

That’s what matters,

signed off Srija.

Mr. Koshy from II BA Economics spoke next, on the topic, “The Consulting Blueprint: Cracking Internships as a College Student”.

He started by outlining the meaning of consulting.

“It’s having a whole range of problems around one complex problem, and you start peeling off every layer of the problem, one by one, using strategies”.

It’s hard research. It’s a lot of work. Added, the most important thing about consultancy is the presentation. The consultant comes up with a design.

You can be a food consultant, a policy consultant, etc.

There’s this tendency where students simply feel that, “It’s not my field, and so I need not care about it. That’s because of another narrative that prods us to taken the well-trodden path of ‘study well, get a good GPA and then land a good job’.

What are you doing after 1.30 pm? That matters a lot. I conducted a survey in Chennai, and found out that, many companies require consultants to help them.

As a case study, Koshy cited an example from the University of Bath, where a second year student worked on a project for a Canadian animal sanctuary as an Engagement Manager for 180 Degrees Consulting. The team’s recommendations were implemented and that led to the profits for the sanctuary, he added.

And as a final takeaway, Koshy exhorted the participants to network with people through LinkedIn.

Then, we had the Great Debate of the Day, moderated by Mr. Jim Isaac, III BA Political Science, and Ms. Prisella, II BBA. Ms. Harshini, III BA Pol Science was the ‘time monitor’ for the debate.

Each speaker was given 60 – 90 seconds to speak.

The topic was, “Should Promoting Human-Animal coexistence be Primarily the Duty of the Government or Citizens/NGOs?”

Interestingly, the topic was put to vote yesterday in the Think Tank Whatsapp Group, by Mr. Jim, and we had a total of 12 responses, with six favouring the Government, and six others siding with Citizens/NGOs.

Those in favour of Government were called G, while those who sided with Citizens/NGOs were called, ‘C’.

“It’s the duty of the government, since they are the ones who do the vaccination and sterilisation drives,” said G Group.

“One of the main duties of the citizen is to help the government. Let’s think about human beings as a species, or as human beings in a democracy. Won’t you help your fellow human being?” Countered C. Be the change you want to see, said Mahatma Gandhi. So it’s the duty of each and every citizen of the nation to take this forward”, said C.

A collective action framework can be done by the government because it comes under the regulatory framework. It is a model that explains how a group of individuals can work together to achieve a shared goal. Theoretical framework can be done by the people.

Economist Mancur Olson in his influential book titled, The Logic of Collective Action, introduces the concept of the ‘free-rider problem,’ – a problem that occurs when individuals can benefit from a public good or service without contributing to its creation or maintenance. For example, a person may choose not to pay for a community park, knowing they can still enjoy it if others do pay. This can lead to a failure of collective action, as everyone waits for others to do the work.

During Diwali, the government allows us to use crackers only during particular timings in the evenings. But how many of us obey it? C countered.

Most of the street dogs are getting vaccinated. So the government is doing its work. However, if regulatory laws are violated, the government should impose huge fines, and stricter laws. In Bengaluru they have stricter penalties for littering the streets. However, in Bihar it is a distant dream, said G.

Will you go to a government hospital for your treatment? You won’t, since you are certain that the efficiency of the government is not up to the mark. So we personally don’t trust the government with implementing these practices.

But wait! If a street dog bites a person, who is to blame? Do you blame the citizen or the government? If you point fingers at the government, then I think it’s the duty of the government to implement stricter measures to ameliorate the human-animal conflict.

Street dogs give us safety. The diseases in street dogs are actually caused by humans who discard stale food and rotten food in the street, which, when consumed by these dogs, they get all kinds of infections. It’s only because of our carelessness, and our preferences for exotic dogs that our street dogs, which are native to our areas, are being recklessly abandoned. We are living in an interconnected community set-up, where it’s our duty to take care of this conflict, countered C.

To be continued…

Coordinator’s Remarks: It was a very remarkable and memorable edition of Think Tank, today. Hats off to the Event Managers, Ms. Venkata Vishnupriya and Ms. Swarna Rekha for being time-conscious and ensuring that, the event started on time, and ended sharp at 4.15 pm, as we had planned!

Next week’s Edition of Think Tank will be on Wednesday, 10th September 2025, at at 2.30 pm as usual. Students interested in presenting their ideations may contact the Event Managers. 

Ms. Swarna Rekha and Ms. Venkata Vishnupriya will be the Event Managers.