University of Delhi B.Sc Review By Keisham Koklen Mangang

In 2021 I enrolled in the University of Delhi, Kirori Mal College for my Bachelor's in Mathematics. Right now, I’m applying for my Masters in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Delhi. I have always heard that the University of Delhi is one of the best universities in India and was my dream university during my high school days. So, I applied there for my undergraduate studies. I initially targeted the north campus colleges in the University of Delhi as they are considered better. Fortunately, I got selected in the Kirori Mal College which is one of the top colleges in India. I choose Mathematics for my bachelor's as it has been my favourite subject since childhood and I’ve scored the most marks in Mathematics as compared to other subjects. My experience here has been an amazing one. I learnt many new things and gained new experiences at my time there. I met different people from different places with unique view points and opinions. I made many new friends and shared memories with them. They were helpful and fun to hang out with. I went to different fests at my college and other colleges too. I took part in interactive sessions with renowned people from different fields and gained knowledge. You can also join many societies and cells. So, overall I had a wonderful time during my college days. Kirori Mal College is amongst the top 10 colleges of India and it should be your top choice to study here. I highly suggest this college; you won't have any regret being a part of this college.

For us, the admission process was based on the cutoff system of the 12th standard marks we got. Anyone from the Science stream can apply. Initially, the cutoff was very high but it came down to 96% and I made the cutoff as I scored around 96.6%. Nowadays the admission process is based on the CUET UG entrance exam, due to the introduction of the new education policy. I believe you need to score high marks in the exam to get admission in top colleges like the Kirori Mal College. Also, I believe that any student who has passed the 12th board exam can apply for the UG program as long as they make the cutoff mark of the CUET UG entrance exam. The course of bachelor of Science and Mathematics consists of both applied and pure Mathematics, so students will be able to study a wide range of topics. The students will also be given the choice to select their preferred electives. Each semester they get to study a mixture of different kinds of subjects which will enhance their knowledge. I studied subjects such as Real Analysis, Algebra, Calculus, Ring Theory, Group Theory and Differential Equations along with their practicals on Wolfram Mathematical. As for the generic electives, most students choose subjects such as Statistics, Economics and Political Science. My main motive for selecting Math as my undergraduate course is that Math has been my favourite subject and I like solving Mathematical problems. Moreover, I wanted to gain more knowledge about Math and further pursue my higher education on it.

There are many renowned faculty members in the Department of Mathematics at the Kirori Mal College. There are 18 permanent faculty members in the department. Dr. Sumit Kumar Sharma taught us Calculus. He is a well disciplined and hard working teacher, who teaches well in the class but can be a bit strict towards the students if they misbehave. Semthanga Sir taught us subjects such as Algebra, Differential Equations and Metric Spaces. He is a nice and chill teacher who looks after his students whenever they have a problem and is very easy to talk to. Professor Shiv Kumar Kaushik taught us subjects like Real Analysis, Theory of Real Functions, Riemann Integration and Series of Functions. His teachings allow you to delve into deeper thinking of the subject. Professor Pratibha Kumar taught us subjects such as Group Theory 1 and 2 along with Partial Differential Equations. Her teachings are incredibly good as we can understand her lectures well and solve questions easily. We asked doubts regularly at the end of the class. Sir Vishal Dhawan taught us subjects like Multivariate Calculus, Computer Algebra System and Related Software, Discrete Mathematics, Linear Programming and Applications. He is one of the best teachers I have ever seen in my life as I can easily understand each topic after his class. Moreover, he is friendly to talk to. Dr. Neha Agrawal taught us Linear Algebra 1 and 2. She is also an excellent teacher. We can understand her lectures well. Professor Dinesh Khattar taught us the Ring Theory 1 and 2. He is a well respected person and is the Principal of our college. Overall, the teachers here are more than qualified and have a good grasp on their respective fields.

Yes, we do have a placement cell at our college. It is called Avenues-The Placement Cell of Kirori Mal College. The cell helps students gain a better knowledge about the corporate world. The cell acts as a bridge between the students and companies looking for potential employees. Although, I am not part of the cell here, some of my friends are. They said that joining the cell helps them get a better understand of the corporate world. Some of them are part of internships and have gotten job offers after joining the cell. They have got more work experience and are job ready. There are more than 226 recruiters from different companies in 15 different types of sectors. The average package offered was 8.4 LPA and a total of 183 students were placed. The highest international package was 51 LPA while for the domestic one; it is 36.5 LPA. The cell provides information regarding internships, and many students do get them. This later prepares the students for corporate placements and also provides them exposure. The cell is renowned for its alumni, where some of them are corporate leaders currently. The cell actively takes part in case competition where students gain teamwork skills. There is also a corporate competition, where the cell members take part in. Not only this, the alumni meet up is organised every year to provide career counseling. The cell also organises interactive sessions and fests to develop the cell further. So, based on the above reasons I think that the placement cell helps the students in acquiring jobs. Even some of my friends have gotten jobs through the placement cell.

There is a hostel for boys at the Kirori Mal College. It consists of 90 rooms and can accommodate to about 180 male students. Both Indians and foreigners stay there. Most of the rooms are shared by two or three students together. The hostel has many facilities such as a mess, dining room, reading room, common room, medical room and Wi-Fi. The hostel is managed every day and night by the warden. Outsiders need to take permission to enter the hostel premises. Every room has beds, tables, chairs, cupboards and a lighting system is provided. In the mess, students are provided three meals a day where hostellers eat at dining tables and even non-vegetarian food is served once a week. There are water filters everywhere where students can get cold drinking water. There is a study room where students can study properly. Washrooms are located in multiple parts of the hostel and all basic facilities are provided here. There is also a common room for students to discuss and talk with each other about their daily lives. The students can go to the gym and play sports as the sports ground is nearby. The hostel organises many events every year that makes the hostel life a unique experience. The hostel organises festivals such as Holi, Diwali and many others every year, where hostellers can participate in it together. I'm not a hosteller of the Kirori Mal College Hostel but five of my friends were in the hostel. I would sometimes visit them in their room to talk or take a bit of rest there. According to them, it is quite nice to stay in the hostel. It provides them a wonderful lifestyle as compared to living in PGs or flats.

The college consists of both a Science block and an Arts block. The Science block has three floors where the classes of Math, Statistics and Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology are held. There is a department room for each subject where teachers can read or do academic work. There is a teacher's lounge where they can meet up and chat. There is an academic auditorium where interactive sessions and events are held. Also, there is a computer lab where student go for their practicals. There are lab rooms for each subject, having well-established equipment there. There is a canteen for students to go and eat snacks. The library has many books and reading rooms for students to study. There are lawns near both the library and the canteen, where students sit and chatter. There is also a famous lawn, called the Ashoka lawn where students go there to hang out. There is a sports ground for students to come and play cricket or football. There is a gym, dancing room and a basketball court for the students too.

Some of the best moments in my college days were during fests and social events. The campus life is quite amazing at the Kirori Mal College. You can find students everywhere just chatting and hanging out with their friends. There will be students playing at the sports ground or practicing singing and dancing. Whenever there is an event or fest students from all over the Delhi University come to visit the college. So, you get to interact with all different types of students. There are many societies or clubs that students can join such as debating, entrepreneurship, music, placement, eco club and many others along the respective departmental society. You will get to experience and learn many new things if you decide to join the societies. Each society organises their respective annual festival every year during the month of March or April. They also have other events such as interaction sessions with renowned people from various fields. They bring in small shops to sell things at the college during the fests, so students can buy things from here. The annual festival of the Kirori Mal College is called “Renaissance” and it is organised every year in a grand way. There is a late night party with famous singers being called up. Many entertainment and food shops are also there. Sometimes we organise events to celebrate different Indian festival or college ceremonies to honor things or persons with dance, music or speeches. There is also the NCC where drills are conducted every day. NSS organises social events every week to help out others. So, there is never a dull moment at this college, people enjoy their time here.