Open Challenge Brochure

TCS Ignite Open Lab

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TCS Ignite Open Challenge

"Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"

- Lewis Carroll

Through the Looking-Glass

TCS Ignite Open Lab

   Cover Page:

The paintings in the Ignite cave ecosystem are a homage to cave temples of the early

Pallava Kings. Specifically, these paintings depict the story of twinned temples of

Kailasanatha of Kanchipuram and Tiruninravur. The Tiruninravur temple is the earliest

known example of the realization of a virtual architecture. In the Ignite cave zone,

trainees work with state-of-the-art image processing algorithms to separate reflected

from natural images.

Ruminating Calf © by J.P. Ignite, TCS

 The Artist

J Prabhakar, known as J.P., is a Chennai based artist who specializes in pen-and-ink

line drawings. With no formal education in art, J.P. is entirely self-schooled. Although

his work is focused exclusively on the sacred arts and his themes tend to be temples,

monuments and sculptures, he innovates constantly in terms of technique, technology,

materials, form and content. His pursuit of excellence is a constant source of inspiration.

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TCS Ignite Open Lab

Are you a problem solver?

Are you a creative person?

Do you have a passion for R & D?

Are you ready for the TCS Ignite Open Challenge?

It’s all about you … and the decisions you make

It is about collaborative learning, team work, creativity, efficiency, computational thinking,

learnability, and leadership. Team up with your peers and friends and get set for the challenge

that could shape your future.

Your submissions will give you an opportunity to demonstrate 21st century skills such as

• ability to communicate and collaborate,

• ability to leverage technology such as the computer, internet, audio-visual media to solve

problems

• critical thinking and analytical ability

• analysis of problems

• innovation and entrepreneurial mindset

• ability to learn

Open Challenge will consist of two distinct phases: Open Lab and Open Test which will be

followed by interviews. All the eligible final year students are welcome to participate in the TCS

Ignite Open Challenge.

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TCS Ignite Open Lab

Contents 

Open Lab.......................................................................................................................................... 5 

What is Open Lab?....................................................................................................................... 5 

Can I participate in the Open Lab? .............................................................................................. 6 

What are the challenges in Open Lab? Which ones should I attempt? ...................................... 6 

When must I complete these challenges? .................................................................................. 7 

How can I prepare for the challenge? ......................................................................................... 7 

Can I work in teams? ................................................................................................................... 7 

How long does the challenge take?............................................................................................. 8 

What are the deliverables to be completed?.............................................................................. 8 

What are the attributes that the challenge evaluates? .............................................................. 9 

What if I have queries about Open Lab? ................................................................................... 10 

Open Test ...................................................................................................................................... 11 

What is Open Test? ................................................................................................................... 11 

Who should take the test? ........................................................................................................ 11 

When and where can I take the test? ....................................................................................... 11 

How can I prepare for the test? ................................................................................................ 11 

What is the test question pattern? ........................................................................................... 11 

What is the test duration?......................................................................................................... 12 

Can I use calculators? ................................................................................................................ 12 

Does the test have a negative scoring for incorrect answers? ................................................. 12 

What if I have queries about Open Test?.................................................................................. 12 

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TCS Ignite Open Lab

Open Lab  What is Open Lab? 

Open Lab is a set of project-based challenges handpicked to examine a

variety of attributes that will be relevant to your career in the IT industry.

These include creativity, abstraction, problem posing, problem solving,

algorithmic thinking, software engineering aptitude and team skills. skills.

Open Lab Challenges

Problem Categories

Research and Development

Some of the best and brightest Ignite trainees have opted to work in the innovation labs of TCS and pursue a career in research and development. Most of them are named inventors in patent applications. This section is designed for candidates with a passion for research. Teams are expected to analyse an article of their choice and provide a critique. They will also describe ideas to help extend research.

Problem Solving The challenges in this section will require an ability to understand the problem statement, identify critical aspects, arrive at a solution and communicate the solution clearly.

Software Engineering

To be successful in the software industry some attributes that are necessary are understanding requirements, clarity in specifications, a critical eye for defects, programming ability, ability to learn and so on.

The ability to improvise, think out of the box, experiment, exhibit curiosity and motivation are some important ingredients of creativity. The questions in this section are designed to uncover creative instincts in applicants in various areas. This could be visual arts, UI design, creativity in writing, ability to create unique and interesting questions that would engage a person’s interest etc.

Creativity

Algorithms are well defined and effective instructions for solving problems. Algorithmic thinking is hence a much needed skill in the field of computer science. Teams are expected to analyse problems and provide an approach to solve it in a step-by-step manner.

Algorithmic Thinking

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TCS Ignite Open Lab

Can I participate in the Open Lab? 

If you are a final year science graduate seeking to join the TCS Ignite SASTRA

University MCA Program, you can participate in the Open Lab. i.e. the challenge is open

to graduates pursuing BSc Maths/ Statistics/ Physics/Chemistry/ Computer Science/ IT or

BCA/BCS degrees.

What are the challenges in Open Lab? Which ones should I attempt? 

Open Lab consists of a series of challenges staged across multiple phases. These can be

viewed and are available for download upon registration in the following link.

https://www.OpenSeeSame.tcs.com/OpenChallenge.

You should begin with the kickoff challenge. This will take you approximately one hour.

Phase1 consists of two mandatory challenges listed below. These revolve around problem

solving.

S.No. Name of Challenge Effort

1 The Craft of Problem Solving 1 person day

2 The Art of Problem Posing 2 person days

Phase2 consists of seven challenges, of which you may choose any two. Each of the

seven challenges is centered around a specific career pathway at Ignite. The seven

challenges are listed below along with the effort required for each challenge.

S.No. Name of Challenge Effort

1 Build an Application 10 person days

2 Innovation Challenge 3 person days

3 Evaluate an Application 1 person day

4 Coding Challenge 6 person days

5 Design and Creativity Challenge 2 person days

6 Algorithms Challenge 1 person day

7 Research Challenge 2 person days

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TCS Ignite Open Lab

When must I complete these challenges? 

You must complete the kickoff challenge before 17th February. You must complete the

two challenges in phase1 within a week of completing the kickoff challenge, i.e. by 22nd

February. You can choose to attempt any two challenges from phase2 and complete

them before 29th February.

S.No. Name of Challenge Timeline

1 Kickoff Challenge Closes 17th February 2012

2 Phase1 Challenge Closes 22nd February 2012

3 Phase2 Challenge Closes 29th February 2012

How can I prepare for the challenge? 

The challenges in Open Lab cover a range of skills and abilities. We are interested in

applicants who display proficiency in one or more of these specialized skills. It is thus

important for applicants to wisely choose those challenges that will best showcase their

abilities. You may prepare by referring to books or by seeking information on the

internet.

Can I work in teams? 

Yes. The global IT industry thrives on team work, which as you may well imagine, is

different from group work. The output of a team is generally expected to be greater than

the sum of the efforts of the individual contributors either in terms of quantity or quality,

or preferably both.

You need to specifically provide the name, role, contact details and nature of contribution

of all your teammates and collaborators. You should also provide a list with the

references you have used.

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TCS Ignite Open Lab

How long does the challenge take? 

Each challenge will have a section on the effort required for that challenge. Please ensure

you plan your time accordingly to ensure timely submissions of deliverables.

What are the deliverables to be completed?   

Each challenge will have a section on the deliverables to be completed for that challenge.

In addition you will need to complete a document containing the names of the team

members, their role and their contribution to the challenge. The format is specified below.

S.No.  Name  College  Email ID  Role  % Contribution 

The teams will also list out other collaborators (not necessarily part of the team) and

reference material used. The reference material could be internet links, books, papers,

product web sites etc. Please use the following as the examples citation. To complete the

challenge, you must create a single zip file by compressing all the deliverables for each

challenge using tools like winzip or 7zip.

Source type  Format  Data  Citation 

Full Name of collaborator  Ram Prasad Relationship with applicant 

Classmate Collaborator 

Contact detail  [email protected] 

Ram Prasad, Classmate, [email protected] 

Author’s full name Brian Kernighan, Dennis Ritchie 

Name of book The C Programming Language 

Publisher Prentice Hall software series 

Year of Publishing  1978 

Book   

Page Numbers  40‐45 

Brian Kernighan, Dennis Ritchie; The C Programming Language, Prentice Hall software series, 1978, 40‐45 

Author’s full name  Malcolm Gladwell Article Title  Creation Myth Magazine Name  The New Yorker Date of Publishing  May 16, 2011 

Popular magazine 

Page number (If applicable) 

Malcolm Gladwell, “Creation Myth,” New Yorker, May 16, 2011, 68 

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TCS Ignite Open Lab

Author’s full name Sergey Brin,, Lawrence Page 

Article Title The anatomy of a large‐scale hypertextual Web search engine 

Journal Name (if applicable) 

Computer networks and ISDN systems 

Volume Number (if applicable) 

Volume 30, Issues 1–7 

Year of Publishing  1998 

Journal article 

Page number  107‐117 

Sergey Brin, Lawrence Page; “The anatomy of a large‐scale hypertextual Web search engine,” Computer networks and ISDN systems, Vol. 30,1998, 108‐117 

Site name  Google Privacy Policy 

Last modified date for the site 

March 11, 2009 Website 

Site link http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html 

“Google Privacy Policy,” last modified March 11, 2009, http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html. 

Google search Key word 

Name of the keywords you searched on Google 

“What is the name of the best algorithm for sorting” 

“What is the name of the best algorithm for sorting” 

What are the attributes that the challenge evaluates? 

Product idea

Analytical Ability

Features & Functions

Deliverable Quality

Attention to Detail Teamwork Creativity Coding

Skills

Problem Solving √ √ √

Problem Posing √ √ √

Design & Creativity √ √ √ √ √

Research Challenge √ √ √ √

Coding Challenge √ √ √ √

Algorithms Challenge √ √ √ √

Evaluate an Application √ √ √

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TCS Ignite Open Lab

Conceptualize a Product √ √ √ √ √

Build an Application √ √ √ √ √

What if I have queries about Open Lab? 

If you have any queries, you can write to [email protected]

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TCS Ignite Open Lab

Open Test  What is Open Test? 

The Open Test is an online standardized test of aptitude. The test will be

used to assess your aptitude for comprehension, logical thinking and

quantitative reasoning.

Who should take the test? 

This test is open to candidates seeking to join the TCS Ignite SASTRA

University MCA Program. i.e. the test is open to final year science

graduates with BSc Maths/ Statistics/ Physics/Chemistry/ Computer

Science/ IT or BCA/BCS degrees.

When and where can I take the test? 

You can choose to take the Open Test anytime and anywhere between the 1st and 4th

March. You will need to book a time of your convenience for taking the Open Test.

Booking of slots can be done on the Open Challenge website from15th February 2012.

How can I prepare for the test? 

The topics covered include but are not limited to Arithmetic, Algebra, Number sense,

Discrete Mathematics, Geometry and basic Probability. The content covered is at the

level of eighth standard mathematics. In particular, familiarity with topics in higher

mathematics such as Calculus or Abstract Algebra is not required to write the test.

What is the test question pattern? 

Open test will comprise of 15 multiple choice questions. The questions will be of varying

levels of difficulty and there will be approximately 3 easy, 9 medium and 3 hard

questions, each of which will be scored differently.

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TCS Ignite Open Lab

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What is the test duration? 

The test will be of 60 minutes duration.

Can I use calculators? 

You can use calculators.

Does the test have a negative scoring for incorrect answers? 

Yes, the test will have negative scoring. The negative scoring will vary according to the

question difficulty, i.e. easy, medium and hard.

What if I have queries about Open Test? 

If you have any queries, you can write to [email protected]