1) What are your thoughts on completely digitizing education in India?

Ans- India is one of the fastest growing tech-hubs in the world, companies are flocking to us at a breakneck pace for the brilliant minds we offer for hire. To keep up with these continuously growing demands we have to make education something more than textbooks and notes, we must truly revamp and digitize our education system, ensuring that every man, woman & child can fully take advantage of the myriad of wonders that technology has to offer.

2) How can we increase student’s participation in class with the help of technology?

Ans- I believe that interactive classrooms are the future of education, with students following the teacher on the journey that he/she chooses to lead. An increase in already prevalent technologies and proper adaptation is the key to ensuring that every child unlocks the hidden potential they have.

3)What do you think of ‘computers are the best teachers’?

Ans-Every child in their own best teacher, with an introduction to computers they can find guidance in the comfort of their own homes, with crowd sourced forums and expert opinions, acquiring knowledge goes from a task to something akin to a hobby.

-Sangeeta Rana

With the central government’s efforts to digitise the country in full swing, it is indeed the right time for us to pause and reflect on the pros and cons of the digital revolution that is soon to follow. Digitisation on one hand will be lights of hope to millions of people all across the nation. People in the rural parts of India will have better access to essential information and will be able to escape from misinformation and exploitation due to lack of knowledge. On the downside, it is unexpected to what extent this might lead to a dependency on gadgets all across India making people less hardworking and ‘cellphone addicts’.

We wholeheartedly support the government’s ‘Digital India’ initiative but with precaution that each step should be taken with proper deliberation and thought.

-Shekhar Sharma

How can you prevent misuse of internet at schools and help children utilize the time they spend on the internet?

1. While the internet is a handy tool in teaching, students are misusing the facilities provided to them. Internet access should be password protected in school computers and the internet when allowed by the teacher should be used for facilities such as Google Classroom, and online resources such as W3 schools.

What are your views on ‘Internet of Things’?

1. ‘Internet of Things’ is a very pragmatic tool. For example, it can be used to connect household appliances and systems to create an interface where all things can be centrally controlled from your phone/computer.

What is your favorite programming language and why?

 3) In a programming language, you look for flexibility and versatility of use. C++ provides this basic, broad based usefulness and is versatile. It is a very fundamental and directly applied language and is hence my favorite.

-Nandini Dasgupta

1.What are the specific fields where technology can be used for social welfare?

1) There are a variety of fields where technology can be used for social welfare. The internet can be used to connect to depressed people, discuss their problems and calm them down. This can actually help in reducing the number of suicide cases among both school students as well as other people.

2.How can artificial intelligence be useful for defense forces like drones,etc?

2) Drones and other surveillance systems employ the use of artificial intelligence to a large extent. AI is used to create autonomous machines that can perform a variety of tasks and can be controlled remotely. They have the feature to learn and store experiences and create databases corresponding to them, thus creating an integrated expert system.

3.What will be the job opportunities for those who want to pursue robotics?

3) Engineers and robotics specialists are being employed to create and control comprehensive systems that are taking over in fields such as space exploration, industrial manufacturing, defense, expert systems in medicines and many others. There is a high demand for personnel trained in robotics in these fields, and robotics is slowly taking over from their human counterparts in these fields.

-Ajit Kumar

What skills are essential for a student to be a good programmer?

Technology is always evolving and the skills and abilities a programmer has today will likely be outdated in a few years. It’s important for a student to be very logical and be of a mathematical bent of mind. A programmer must follow the latest trends and be eager to participate in any continuing education opportunities that are available.

What do you think of ethical hacking?

Hacking  is ethical if the hacker does it with the permission of the owner to show him or her the risk of being attacked by cyber criminals. But this practice becomes unethical when the hacker possessing the permission of the owner starts misusing the information and loopholes in future for material gains or with malicious intent.

Hackers are required but there should be another set of Hackers who need to monitor the activities of the hackers as a check to to avoid any potential threat of the owner or the system. Metahackers, perhaps.

How can we improve computer science education in India

Computer Science has both educational benefits and economic benefits. It can and should be part of every student’s education, just as other core subjects like physics, maths, chemistry. It should be made a compulsory subject at school from an early age. Computing education is not yet mandatory in schools in India. It is an elective subject from the 9th grade (age 14) on wards, for which the various boards have prescribed syllabi. It is often left to the school to decide when they want to start this subject, or what to teach until 8th grade. If the teachers are given proper training and an infrastructure is improved then computer science education will automatically improve in India.

-Anjana Virmani

What do you think of Quantum Computing?

Quantum Computing has the potential to revolutionize the industries.The vast increase in power could revolutionize fields such as medicine, space exploration, and artificial intelligence. Quantum computers are more human-like in their problem solving approach, and that will make them better able to complement human tasks.

How do you view Game development as a career?

Excellent career in today’s time. It helps you develop your creative and programming skills. I recommend starting with something that doesn’t involve coding, such as Scratch, or Game Maker. They both offer tutorials and ample resources to teach yourself and explore your creativity.

What do you think of the recent advancement of 3D printing industry?

The main strength of 3D printing lies in the fact that it gives you the freedom to make customized products.3D printing is already being used in making customized dental caps, prosthetic eyeballs and femur and facial reconstruction for a fraction of a cost of the traditional manufacturing components.

This technology will lead to a paradigm shift in the coming 2-3 decades in the manufacturing where design will become the key and not the manufacturing method. This is probably too futuristic, but then I am quite confident of the same.

–Aashima Nagpal

• How are Google apps useful for education?

The most interesting fact about the Google apps is if you can type, you can use, which emphasizes their ease of use. The Apps are designed to provide organisations with a safe platform for data, offering better security and reliability than most schools could achieve on their own. Moreover, the apps include dozens of security features specifically designed to keep data safe, secure and in your control. It has removed the bottlenecks and and now we can spend more time on learning and teaching, making it an ideal environment for learning. Fast and easy collaborations now help students to display their creativity in learning. Google Docs and Google Classroom are the best examples which allow users to access files via mobile phones, even the Apple iPad, and of course from desktop computers and notebooks.

• How can automation (use of robots) affect job opportunities in IT fields?

Present day automation is affecting the job markets in a big way. Many people are of the idea that it will reduce the job opportunities while others are of the view that in the near future the requirement of IT specialists will outnumber the supply. I personally believe that the use of automation in the field of IT will generate more job opportunities for skilled people in all fields, in the years to come.

• What do you feel about virtual reality?

“The world of the computer was something behind the screen, before,” but now VR gives people a way to enter it. The truth is that Virtual Reality is likely to fundamentally change how people communicate and create a social impact as big as the telephone or the internet.

-Mukesh Nagpal

1. Wearable technology is in trend today. Should it be allowed in schools?
2. How can educational simulations augment current curricula and inspire new curricula?
3. Should tablets be introduced in schools in order to go paperless?
4. How do you rank India in the world of technology?

1. Wearable Technology is trendy but I don’t think it is required in schools. This generation has a high level of technology quotient and we find them misusing wearable technology instead of using it purposefully.
2. Educational simulations are very inspiring. They give a new meaning and depth to subject understanding and enhance student interest. They also inspire curriculum enhancements and modifications as it helps a learner to explore and navigate his/her learning capacity.
3. Tablets are already being used in schools, though not on a very large scale. The concept of going paperless has already begun as it is the need of the hour. We have to take the owe of saving our planet and schools can play a protagonistic role.
4. India is way behind in this ranking. It is nowhere near the world leaders such as The USA, Japan and Germany. Even China, Russia and The UK are ahead of India. We have talent but lack necessary infrastructure to tap that talent. Maybe by the next decade we will see a vast change in our ranking. I pray to God that it takes place sooner than expected.

-Romi Sharma

What are your thoughts on increasing number of startup companies?

The increase in number of startups indicates that more and more people are coming up with innovative solutions and ideas, which leads to better use of technology by the masses and also generates employment opportunities. It also leads to free thinking and unfollowing of  stereotypes in business. A startup allows better growth and learning for an individual.

How do you compare e-commerce and physical commerce?

E-Commerce allows flexibility to an individual to buy and trade at his or her convenience of time and location. Leads to less overhead expenditure and access to unlimited stock. E-commerce has definitely brought about a revolution but the charm of the physical commerce stays on, as it allows interaction with people and prevalence of seeing is believing culture.

What are your views on social media’s influence on people?

Social media is a double edged sword. It has brought more awareness, unity amongst people and mass sharing of thoughts and views. It also leads to miscommunication and generating panic due to it. Overall it depends on an individual and his responsibility towards society.

-Hema Jain

There is a photographer within all of us. However, it depends on the extent to which a person wants to hone this skill. In the earlier days, only those with the resources could afford this ‘elite hobby’. The cameras were themselves very expensive. The photographer would have to wait for that right moment and photographer has to take settings like aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance and many more into considerations while preying on the perfect click. Photography, today, has grown over time. The cameras have become smart: they cater to exotic features like instant transfer through wifi, bluetooth sharing, smart settings, and expandable memory. These features have allowed the photographer to focus on the frame rather than on the fine technicalities.

She/ he can take hundreds of photographs without a single thought of using up one of the 16 film reels and eventually select the best that she/ he finds the perfect click.

Technology has taken a step ahead by incorporating cameras within our cell phones. A phone without a camera, well, without two cameras are losing their value in the minds of the general audience. Everyone cares about the camera of the phone. This hypothesis has been proven by Apple and Google’s focus on the optical stabilizing camera, which specifically provides low light photography. Not only these global giants but other companies competing in the mobile phone market have made their concern over the photographic aspect of the phone. This, in turn, empowers the people to click photographs, share, and capture memories without even possessing the luxury of a DSLR camera.

Despite all the amenities provided by the phones, photography enthusiast tend to prefer the DSLR camera since these too have evolved to present an image that is close, if not better, to the image captured by the best camera in the world- the eye.

-Sarika Kaushal