Ignou @ MindSay

"SearchMyCampus – India's Number 1 Campus Classifieds is gearing up to help freshers with their biggest problem – affordable student housing that is located near or on campus. Apart from increasing its housing classifieds, the team is also working on other features like Tips & Information that help students make decisions about where to stay. "

Delhi, India, June 29, 2009 –  Its admission time again in almost every college across the country and student housing is one of the biggest needs fresher needs. To help new students make the right decision about where to stay around campus, SearchMyCampus is extending all its efforts towards increasing the amount of information it offers regarding student housing.

The team has extended all its resources to go out on field and make personal contact with housing providers across various campuses. They are helping housing providers post classifieds on the website advertising student property for rent. They are also encouraging students to post their requirements for roommates. As a result, no matter what the student's budget or location, they should be able to find a suitable room and roommate near the campus with little or no difficulty.

Besides classifieds, the team is also working on answering several questions that students have regarding housing such as 'What are the best areas to stay at around Delhi University' or 'What kind of rents can we expect for paying guest accommodation around Bangalore University '. This information is being collected by the website's student representatives on campus. It is advice by senior students to freshers coming to college. While this feature is only available for select campuses at present, the team hopes to expand it to a large number of universities within a short period of time.

"We hope to offer students all the information they require regarding housing. This includes classifieds, tips and information, and a discussion forum where they can put forth their queries and have alumni or existing students answer these", says Peyush Bansal, founder of SearchMyCampus.

While preparing for students' housing need at the present admissions time, the team is also looking ahead to freshers' needs on joining college. They will be publishing similar data and information for categories like books, tuitions and part time jobs soon.

About SearchMyCampus:  SearchMyCampus  is India's Number 1 campus based classifieds website for students at college. It offers classifieds for jobs, housing, books, coaching, transport, carpools and more. The website caters to over 130 universities across the country at present.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Sanjiv Kumar from India's (and perhaps Asia's) largest university -- Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). We discused the idea of settingup some organised activities to promote the usage of Scilab in India. there were lots of ideas and lots of suggestions and of course the feeling of having a lot of work to do.

Scilab is an amazingly rich software for doing mathematics. Comes from INRIA, Europe's most respected institute for research in computer science. Scilab (and FOSS) is the answer to the prayers of teachers and students of developing countries like India.

I wish IGNOU's initiative will be realised during my lifetime. I would be proud to have been a  part of that vision. If you are interested in joining in, just send me an email. Together, let us build a great India !