The recent annual conference adds a few more feathers in the cap for STC India. Lizy S Jacob, Brijesh Bhaskaran, and Mak Pandit presented papers at the Las Vegas annual conference. Mak is now also Co-Manager for the Global Membership Committee. Indus continues to receive the appreciation of the judges' panel... overall one cannot ask for a better performance.

While we are doing our best, we need to continue doing what is required. Here are some points to ponder:

• How do we bridge the demand-supply gap? Do we have comprehensive courses at the college level that can prepare students for the rigor of a career in technical communication?
• Are we enhancing our value? We need to understand that there is a direct relationship between cost and value. Companies will not send important work over to India if they cannot see value in doing so. Many companies which initially came to India to reduce costs are now realizing the value of making the move. If cost was the lone reason, these projects would have long left the shores by now. Employers will not be ready to spend on expensive resources unless they bring in enhanced value to their organizations.
• Being non-native speakers of the English language is a big handicap but are we addressing this critical area with enough care? Given the fact that even native speakers need writing support or guidance as folks at WhiteSmoke (http://www.whitesmoke.com) discovered, we need to pull up our socks, identify, and address some imminent needs.

That said, let us not get into a defeatist mindset: self-criticism is healthy to a point; but then, as someone said, suicide is an extreme form of self-criticism. Let us not go to such an extreme in criticizing our own ilk.

Tharun Unni