CAPS TRAINING SESSIONS FOR OCTOBER 2020

2nd week (5/10-11/10) 

5/10/2020 at 4 PM- COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS- Stress management- Rinu Varghese Sir 
Stress is the physical, mental and emotional reaction of the body caused by a multitude of demands (stressors) such as an inadequate fit between what we need and what we are capable of and what our environment offers and what it demands of us.
Stress can be categorised using two ways
1) based on impact
a) Positive stress
b) Negative stress
2) based on duration
a) acute stress
b) chronic stress

Balancing stress
• Balance that the working individual needs between the time allocated for work and other aspects of life
• State of equilibrium between professional, social and personal life
• Set goals around what you value highly
• Manage your time effectively
• Create a boundary between balancing work and personal time
• Build flexibility and have a positive attitude
• Avoid stress, mental exhaustion and burnout
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle
• Enlist a good support system-learn to delegate
• Enjoy your work
• The ways to reduce stress are
• If you cannot change the stressor, change yourself
• Exercise- a key to de-stressing
• Write it down
• Reach out
• Be aware of your unhealthy coping mechanisms
• Maintain a balanced diet
• Affirmations
• 96% of students feel anxious about exams
• 59% of students feel pressure from family
• 64% of students would like more support with exams and exam stress

Exam anxiety and stress is normal
Dear stress, let’s break up
Don’t worry over your worry. That just adds to your stress, take power and be proactive, you are in control

The best way to deal with stress is to feel in control!
One way of dealing with stress is removing the thing that causes you stress. However, that is not always possible.
We all have different things that cause us stress.
ROSES rule that covers the essential Do’s to be kept in mind
• Revise and recap
• Organize your time and study load
• Sleep and rest
• Exercise and eating healthy
• Speak your heart out to near and dear ones-whenever, wherever!

The 5 “A’s” for Controlling the Exam Stress
• Acknowledge the stress and strain
• Appreciating what causes your stress
• Alleviating the pressures
• Altering your lifestyle

6/10/2020- 4 PM- CORPORATE AND RISK ANALYSIS- Group Discussion Skills-Mitul Sir  

We the students of “Corporate Risk Analysis” Committee had an enriching Skill Development Session on the topic – Group Discussion which plays a vital role for the development of student’s communicative skills and which provides room for enhancement of knowledge about the latest developments that are happening around us. This session was led by – Mr. . Mithul Joseph from CAPS , sir was instrumental in engaging the students in fruitful session on enhancing our Group Discussion skills which plays a key role not just in academic endeavors and the job market. The Group Discussion Skills will help the students to improve  their overall personality which will take us to places is the key takeaway of the session.
The session started off with the basic understanding of the Group Discussion and the learning outcomes of the students  were  put forth by the Professor . 
Group Discussion – Involves discussion on the given  topic in a fair and just manner . It consist of identifying solutions to the problems. In Group Discussion – the participants must be active listeners and communicators . The participants will be provided with the topic on the day of the event and the preparation time will be within 20 minutes .Each participant must talk  in favor and dis favor for  the topic that has been assigned. The  candidates who are participating in Group Discussion he must have the following attributes namely –
 Knowledge – he or she must be able  to apply the knowledge and must portray their skills through the means of effective communication skills .
 The candidate  must possess knowledge about the current affairs and general awareness .
He must maintain good body knowledge and he must maintain eye contact. 
The session was fruitful for the students as they learnt how to develop effective communication and leadership skills that plays a vital role in the Group Discussion. 
Professor told us important points that we have to incorporate and avoid during Group discussion. 
Thus  enriching session came to an end – where the professor briefed about the importance of conceptualizing our thoughts and the tool of effective communication and leadership skills which are vital in the competitive environment.

8/10/2020 at 4 PM- MEDIA- Distinguishing Credible News and Fake News (2 hours)

We the Students of MAIS , had an enriching and fruitful learning experience with regards to the understanding the major component of News and how to differentiate and  identify the news into  - Credible News and Fake News. This is the most important component that a writer or an individual who is aspiring to enter the media field. Dr. Mithul Joseph from CAPS, engaged into fruitful discussion on understanding and identifying News into Credible and Authentic sources and the News which comes under the category of Fake News. We the students engaged in  activities of identifying the sources and  the credible of the news article which was displayed through slides. The major take away from the session was to do our analysis on the article or news piece from credible news sources – from traditional media and the non-traditional media platforms such as – Social media sites – Facebook , Instagram and twitter. The thumb rule of Journalism – 5W and 1H was discussed in the session – Sir , also mentioned the usage of thumb rule is one of the important component which will help the Journalist or any media personality and readers in general to identify the aunthencity of the news. The reader must look for various sources and do their own analysis and thus it serves as the major ground of identifying  the credibility of the news.
 The following are the tools and techniques that must be adopted to check and identify  the credible news they are -
Source 
Motive 
Authority 
Review 
Two source check 
Apply PIER Model to Analyze the news –
P- Proximity – refers to how close is the evidence 
E – Expertise – What is the Expertise 
T- Transparency – Does the source has credibility 
Reliability – How reliable is the source  can a reader trust it 
Interest Point – the affiliation associated with the source .
Professor  gave us tips that we must adopt to identify and distinguish between Credible and Fake news they are –
Firstly – Review it and check the facts carefully and look for the same news from more than two websites and credible sources like – the Guardian , Washington Post , Hindu and then come up with reliable conclusions of a particular news story. Make sure to double check the facts before drawing conclusions.
Secondly – Uphold Media Ethics at all times  - remain true to yourself while repotting a story 
Thirdly – Analyze the news in different perspectives and look for official press release 
2 Theories of Media – Media Gratification 
Agenda Setting Diffused in Society 
The following are the tools and techniques that must be adopted to check and identify  the Fake news and social media  they are-
Source – Source is one of the prominent component of identifying the “Fake News”  in social media platforms like Twitter – you can amplify it when you share , like or comment or whether you have plagiarized the quote or image from outside source .
One thing  the writer must always keep in mind is that – you must do original reportage of events 
Language – Language must be kept in mind while commenting to post – one shouldn’t use any kind of language which harms the sentiments of any community or nation state, and it shouldn’t target the others.
Look closer to image – Think before posting 
Hence in brief – the way you write , structure and the source – the resource person or the websites all comes under the criteria of the fake news.

10/10/2020 at 2 PM- COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS- Newspaper Reading

We the students of the Competitive Skill Development Committee  had informative session on – “News Paper Reading Skills. Mr. Mithul Joseph, held the informative session and gave some insightful  tips and techniques to crack the exams. The class was started off by briefing the students of cultivating the habit of reading newspaper which will help us to enhance our knowledge on the wide variety of issues that are taking place across the globe. Firstly , Sir informed the students to do be smart – in picking the topics that we need to concentrate while we read and make notes from the various newspaper. Sir , taught the students to be practical in our approach and one must choose the most credible  newspaper . The essential key for being and honing the skill of newspaper reading for any kind of competitive examination is to  look through the syllabus and then the candidates must focus on  the wide variety of topics that are mentioned in the portions – which includes – law , polity , economy , science and technology . the second  step involves , looking through previous year questions paper and choose a topic ad question based on that start reading from various newspaper sources – and look into key words , to know more about a topic or the subject  look for the year when it appeared on the newspaper.
The reader must focus on how to gather and read the news and do analysis while you read and make notes – the structure of the newspaper .Then look into key words , phrases or terms post that do further research and do homework about the topic , included analysis and bring about arguments while you make notes.Always one must look for the question based on theory – which must be connected to current affairs.
The smart tricks to so smart reading
Always remember to look into the front page as this page contains headlines which are of national importance which contains topics such as – polity and economy. Understand the concept through newspaper reading , do further research and analysis and come with argument on the topic that you read up. Make suitable notes based on context and concept  from newspaper.
Second page – involves regional news look into them to know what is happening in your state or region.
Business news – is important to know more about the economic aspect which will be serve a great deal  while you appear for the exam 
Fourth – International News -must be read , researched and analyzed to understand the relations between them , we must question while you read and make arguments regrading what led to the conflict and why they signed the agreement  to and what steps they might take to resolve  the crisis.
Sports news is in the last page – it is equally important to understand sports and sport events
Editorial Page – Brings about two perspectives and it is usually based  on current scenarios 
While we read, we must ask ourselves why it happened, and we must go back and do personal research .Remember to come up with arguments and make notes 
Rather than looking into opinion look into the writing style always keep in mind to  come with suitable argument to either support or oppose a particular stance taken by the writer on the particular issue. Look into how they added facts , criticize or neutral stance on the issue. 
 Thus newspaper reading must be cultivated on a daily basis as this will help to crack the exam and interviews. This will also help you to substantiate the argument with the theory.

3rd week (12/10-18/10)

13/10/2020- 3:30 PM- CORPORATE AND RISK ANALYSIS - Appearing for job interview
We the students of MA , International Studies  and the “Corporate Risk Analysis committee”  had enriching and fruitful session by Mitul Joseph from CAPS , on the topic – Appearing for Job Interview. This session was further focused on how to crack the interview in the corporate  environment. Sir divided  the session by giving the students the brief insights about the various interview platforms and the professor also mentioned about the changing interview trends we all have to give in our homes amidst the changing world order due to pandemic that has hit us. Despite all these sir encouraged the students the learning and unlearning curve must go on 
 The following are the types of interviews –
Traditional Interview – are the face to face interviews which involves one on one conversation between  the interviewer and the interviewee this usually takes places during college admission scenario or it may take place in an office scenario  where the candidates goes to that specific place to give the interview.
The key points one should take a note during traditional or online interview  are –
Body Language 
Communication skills 
Problem solver 
Critical and analytical  thinking 
 Leadership skills 
Panel Based Interview – is set of potential  employers sitting in front of you and judging  the interviewee on all levels – from knowledge , skills and attitudes and how they approach a particular situation and resolve  the crisis  that is in front of you. In face to face interview always maintain eye contact and during current times always look into the camera.
Behavioral Interview – This type of interviews serves value  where in the employers learns a lot about yourself through means of your interactions and how you deal with the situation. Examples -UN Organization and Young Professional Programs 
Telephonic Interview – happens via a telephone employers look for immediate quality and proximity 
Stress Interview – Major takeaway is to remain calm and confidence 
Pre Interview Stage – 
Have a strong resume 
Research where you are applying and the position 
Make sure you fit the bill 
 Objective is a must and it must talk about yourself and it must also involve  job description the company that matches the job profile of the  recruiters 
Include hobbies 
Include your educational qualifications and achievements in CV 
Skillset is a must be clear of all these but make sure not to fake yourself which will lead to rejection of a job 
 Show how credible you are – to yourself and company 
Always be honest while writing resume quite often  the interviewer might ask within the resume 
Be analytical in approaching and dealing with questions and problems during the interview.
Prepare well for GD and personal interview 
 Mention about pervious job experience – as internships if any 
Post Interview 
Follow up through writing a well-structured email regarding the status of your job 
Maintain professionalism at work place  before and after getting placed in. the organization and add value and maintain ethics 

15/10/2020- 5PM – MEDIA- Analysing and interpreting the news, unbiased writing, discussion on implications and criticism in the context of relevance of International Relations

We the students of MAIS had an enriching Skill development session on – how to do analyses and interpreting the news , Unbiased writing and its implications and its relevance in International Relations. The session was taught by Mitul Joseph from CAPS. Sir started the session by introducing us to basic concept and theories such as – Agenda Setting Theory and Inverted Pyramid Model as these theories lays a firm foundation on – analyses , interpretation of news and unbiased writing  which is very essential component that an individual needs id he / she wishes to pursue a career in media field.
 The following are key features  of the session - 
 Agenda Setting Theory 
The Agenda setting theory emphasis on setting up an agenda in a newsroom and deciding upon the placement of news in newspaper and  television . The producer plays a key role in deciding the order and structure of placing the news stories in newspaper it is known as – cover page / 1st page and in television it is known as the Prime Time News – the most important topic is placed in prime time news where in which the most important source person from a particular filed as covid 19 – the doctors and medical professional are invited for a discussion / debate which is engaged for a stipulated time period by anchor who is in charge  of hosting a particular show 
Media always reports based on the rules and norms of the media institution , but as a beginner always remember to uphold media ethics while reporting and hence report based on facts and information you have received  by your source person 
Gate keeping and analyses from different news sources  must be practiced 
Remember to think , act , analyze and write like a journalist 

Inverted Pyramid Model
Inverted Pyramid Model helps students to understand the structure and placement of news stories in newspaper and how the newspaper and media organizations functions 
Firstly the most important news comes in cover page 
Less important story comes in 3 or  5 page 
Least important story appears in last page or supplement paper – mostly soft news and feature stories 
Unbiased Writing - sir informed the students to first get int other habit of reading one news from various source and analyze in different angles. Sir mentioned that the best way to identify the unbiased writing are – is it from  credible  source or how they  have written and reported  left wing or right wing political party lineages.

4th week (19/10-25/10)

20/10/2020- 4 PM- CORPORATE AND RISK ANALYSIS- Stress management

SKILL DEVELOPMENT SESSION REPORT 
 HELD ON OCTOBER , 20, 2020 
CORPORATE AND RISK ANALYSIS 
TOPIC – STRESS MANAGEMENT 
Session Coordinator – Daniel John from CAPS 
CHRIST DEEEMD TO BE UNIVERSITY 

We the Students of 3MAIS  , had a fruitful and Stress Buster session on “How’s  and Why ‘s of coping with Stress. The session coordinator was Daniel John , from CAPS. The topic of the session was Stress Management.
Across the globe is facing serious health crisis of the century and pandemic was  made our lives change over a period of time and all of us are “ Safe Haven of  our bedrooms “ and are busy with college and office work and our rooms have been converted into  mini work stations. Stress is inevitable part of human existence and it is stuck from the day we are born and in our growing up years and it has taken a leap of faith and stress that we face now have evolved itself in our adulthood and  simply had taken to  a next level especially – during the pandemic struck Global Order.
He explained theoretical  concepts during presentations-
Such as – Stressor , Stress and Stress Response – sir explained students how each of them are connected and it mostly involves with individual and how one respond to a situation at hand which they are currently dealing with.
Stress divided into 5 types –
Type A Personality
Type B Personality
Perfectionist personality 
Excessive Self – Worth Personality 
Anxious Personality

All these were mainly dealt with psychological theories of dealing with stress and Stress Management .
The session was kick started off by fruitful interactions and discussion regarding how each students perceive stress , panic , fear and how they lose all hopes and feel that everything will fail miserably when they can’t cope with a particular task at hand. Discussion evolved in two aspects firstly student level and in how to handle stress when you start working post masters and for both the scenarios sir gave us simple tips to follow in order deal with a stressful situation . The simplest form of advice was to jot down the do to do list in a journal , plan your day before you sleep and fix a time for all the extracurricular activities and academic work. So, that you can ace all the things and it will resolve the issues and he / she will not freak out in the end .

22/10/2020- 5 PM- MEDIA- News Gathering 

MEDIA SKILL DEVELOPMENT SESSION 
OCTOBER 15, 2020 
TOPIC -NEWS GATHERING 
COORDINATOR – MITUL JOSPEH , CAPS 

We the students of MAIS had an enriching Skill development session on – how to properly gather news and what resources to use while collecting the news for broadcasting and/or publishing purposes. 

The session was taught by Mitul Joseph from CAPS. Sir started the session by introducing us to basic concept and theories which is important for any media personnel to keep in mind whenever they come across an event or happening that can be reported. He also laid emphasis on the previous session topics on the grounds that they are not to be considered as standalone sessions. All of these are a part on of one whole major element dubbed as ‘media’.
The following are key features  of the session - 
The sources from where to gather what news
News Channels
News Channels are considered to be the major source to become aware of what happening has taken place and where has the incident occurred. While many might not go by this source, it is important for a media personnel to understand that though they might be their competitors and rivals in the professional world but in actuality they are the best source to gather news from. 
But an important fact to be kept in mind is to keep one’s eyes open for reliability in any and every source being used. 

Exclusives
This is one very important element to be comprehended whenever the process of news gatherings is being referred to.
Basically utilized to report something of extreme prominence. Can be news of national prominence also. 
This is an essential factor to be understood in great detail by the media personnel as they might sometimes be the only one reporting such an incident or be responsible for its final outcome to the public. 

Reaching out 
Yet another essential and crucial element to be paid attention to is the process of reaching out towards the sources. This process ultimately decides how a news will be interpreted by the public i.e. whether it will be taken up as a fake news or a credible news, just from the first glance alone. 

There are three main types of sources the media personnel can use:
Primary:
Where the correspondent is directly linked to the event or happening. Is usually revolving around a person of authority. These sources provide with a much better and clearer idea of the incident.
Example can be taken of : Press Releases, Written Documents, an employee of a person with authority (if involved with a news happening)

Secondary:
These sources might be indirectly involved with the news happening, they might or might not provide information that is the actual truth about the whole incident. Information gathered with the help of these sources is also referred to as ‘Supplementary Information’ .

Tertiary:
These sources are not readily available, they can be leaked documents or information. Are often taken up as unreliable and the media personnel can’t always be public about the source if it falls under this category. 

However in cases of investigative journalism , primary sources are mostly understood as leaked information , then it falls completely in the hands of the person reporting the incident whether or not to consider it reliable enough to publish it. 

Lastly two major factors falling under the criteria of information overload and underload , should also be well understood by the media personnel so as to avoid any future contradictions with their own work , these are : Timeliness and Proximity. The factors on the basis of which the public judges news articles on.  

23/10/2020 at 2 PM to 4 PM - COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS- Essay Writing
SKILL DEVELOPMENT 
REPORT – ON COMPETATIVE EXAMINATION  SESSION 
TOPIC – ESSAY WRITING 
 HELD ON 23 OCTOBER , 2020 
 COORDINATOR – MITHUL JOSEPH , CAPS 
CHRIST DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY 

We the students of 3 MAIS  had an enriching and thought provoking session on how to tackle the “ Essay Writing” section for the students who are planning to sit for competitive exam . Our coordinator Mr. Mithul Joseph sir , from CAPS , involved the students into fruitful discussions and taught us – the basic trick and tools that we must “Adopt and Adapt “  to ace the examination in flying colours .
The following are some of the take away from the sessions –
Reading – Reading is the first step that each one of us must cultivate in order to be successful in our chosen career paths. As a UPSC and Bank Exam aspirant one must read a lot from NCERT to the graduate level books from the recommended authors. 
News Paper reading and Current affairs – One must read at least 3- 4 newspaper-National, international , Sports news must be give prime importance. Once must read the OPED  and analysis way the author has written in such a way – futher one must do their own homework and further ask questions – come up with one analysis and argument 
Analysis and argument – Reading helps an individual to expand his knowledge and it gives the power to think and shape an individual ‘s writing style thus it comes with time , effort and practice. Reading nurtures you and writing helps to express our thoughts and opinions – thus our thought process is transformed into beautiful words . Thus I would like to quote – ‘Pen is Mightier than Swords “ and it hold true un all walks of our life . Academic writing or essay  writing to crack competitive exam.
In an examination they test you on – how well you have analyzed  and shaped the argument 
Hence communication , listening and writing skills moulds our character and it is significant  part of our lives and being a writer is fascinating and one must explore it not feel it is as a burden.

NOVEMBER 

9/11/2020- 4 PM- CORPORATE AND RISK ANALYSIS- Power Dressing 
SKILL DEVELOOMNET SESSION – CORPORATE RISK ANALYSIS 
TOPIC – POWER DRESSING 
CONDUCTED BY – LIZIL JOHNSON MA’AM , CAPS 
HELD ON – 9TH NOVEMBER , 2020 

We the Students of 3 MAIS , had enriching session on “Power  Dressing Skills’”  which one has to adopt and adapt as part of their work place environment when he / she enters the Corporate or MNC Environment.
Power Dressing – plays a prominent role in an individual life – Power Dressing commands and expresses – Authority and Professionalism.
It focuses on the thumb rule-  Less is More  and Dress how you  would like to be addressed
Focuses on following Parameters – 
Colours – 
   Dark Colours – symbolizes  power and gives professionalism touch – during meeting and formal setup 
Bright colours – Symbolizes Energy and Radiate Enthusiasms – Informal Events and Ethnic Events 
Pastel Colours – Symbolizes calmness – it sets the right  and gives good impression about  you to the employer and looks pleasant 
Patterns – Light or strips 
Accessories –
Earrings – Stud and Pearl – it is a sign of elegance for women 
Watches – Best accessories – it displays your professionalism and Ethics in a work place 
Bags -Keep it Dark or Neutral and keep it plain and simple – for workplace 
Belt – for boys keep in mind that belts must always match your shoes 
Foot wear – wear flats and wear the shoe which covers the toes 
 Don’t wear sports shoe 
 Men – Polished and Ironed shirt 
Applies to both Men and Women – Dress to the Occasion and Appropriate for  the situation 
Smart / Business casuals for men – polo shirts with colors / blazer / coats 
Girls – always tie your hair up / pony tail to look professional 
Women – saree , Kurta and formal western wear for corporate environment  
Always remember to wear  minimal makeup
Always remember to follow the above rules throughout your career.
 

13/11/2020 at 4 PM-COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS- Academic Writing 

SKILL DEVELOPMENT SESSION 
CONDUCTED ON 13 NOVEMBER , 2020 
COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION COMMITTEE 
TOPIC – FINDING THE RIGHT BOOK 

We the Students 3 MAIS, had an enriching and informative session on the topic – Finding the Right Book. Mr.Mithul Joseph from CAPS – gave a lecture in the interest of the students regarding how to find the right book when it comes to taking up the competitive exam and while we are undertaking research work which will help us  in our academic endeavors.
Steps to be followed
Go through previous year question paper and analyses it – the manner in which question is asked 
Go through the syllabus – read a lot and practice writing – through your analysis and bring in your opinions and arguments
Go through article –  DO  analysis  from newspaper  article 
Read and track all the latest news - Politics ,Economics , sports and International News.
Look into Index page – Author name and page number – look if there are information that is related to my topic .This can be done for reference purpose.
Look into the questions and look for key words  in the book – it will serve the purpose while you are preparing for exams and undertaking research