I have completed my first year of engineering (Electrical and Electronics branch). And now I have vacations of about 2 months. I don't want to waste this time and I have to do something in electronics. I am really confused what to do. I have some basic knowledge about electronics. I have worked on arduino and AVR. I don't know much about SPICE (just some basics). Should I work on development board or just read books on electronics or attend some course like circuit designing etc etc. I really want advice from you experienced guys. Please help.
Thank you.
Reading books on electronics is not the Arduino way.
Arduino is for fast prototyping. You learn more by doing things, like using sensors and controlling loads. You have to read datasheets and info on the internet along the way.
A course about circuit designing could be useful. It is a very complicated field (for example GHz designs) and knowledge of both programming and hardware will make you a better designer.
You could try to use Eagle for schematics and circuit board design.
Another field to explore is communications. For example the Arduino with RS-485, 433MHz, 2.4MHz, Bluetooth, and so on.
Build a 4x4x4 LED cube, or something fun.
With a fairly minimal investment in hardware you could make a temperature logger or something like that. For an extra challenge, record the temperatures to an SD card.
Rohit, if you were in the US, which I don't think you are, I'd say go down to the
local Barnes&Noble bookstore, which typically carries 10-12 books on Arduino,
and look through them and find an interesting project. Then, buy an Arduino
board such as the UNO, and go at it.
Teach yourself to program in C, which isn't very hard to do, and you'll be doing
everything by summer's end. Don't worry about SPICE, as the electronics is
mainly interfacing, and not very difficult.
IOW, don't read books on electronics, rather read about Arduino, and jump
right in. Erdin has good ideas, but take things in order,
- read about Arduino - for 2 days ;-).
- buy an Arduino board.
- learn simple programming and interfacing.
- build some simple projects.
More advanced [ie, do them later on],
- add in some RF hardware.
- learn pcb and circuit design.
Thank you Erdin and others.. oric_dan - thank you for your guidance. I have done upto some simple projects in my last semester. I know programming and I have worked on arduino. Can u guide me how should I learn circuit and pcb designing? And I will work on RF hardware soon.
Also tell me how about working in some local electronics company?
Rohit, I can't answer the last question, but sounds like you're through the basics.
Electronic and pcb design are a little outside the Arduino realm. You might look
around and come up with a somewhat challenging Arduino project of interest
to you, and work on that. You'll learn a lot along the way. Eg, get an ethernet shield
and learn how to connect into your local router. Or get an XBee shield and mount
an RN-XV [wifi] module, and connect that way.
Rohitchampion:
I have completed my first year of engineering (Electrical and Electronics branch). And now I have vacations of about 2 months. I don't want to waste this time and I have to do something in electronics. I am really confused what to do. I have some basic knowledge about electronics. I have worked on arduino and AVR. I don't know much about SPICE (just some basics). Should I work on development board or just read books on electronics or attend some course like circuit designing etc etc. I really want advice from you experienced guys. Please help.
Thank you.
I'd suggest you BUILD A KIT. Solder some parts together, make it work, troubleshoot. Just build something.... get your fingers burned, poke, cut. Develop some blisters. 
And when I say build, I don't mean buying pre-fabricated modules or shields that you just snap together, or connect with cables. No... I really mean insert the component into the board, solder it, etc. You need to learn the skill of soldering and working with the ACTUAL , REAL-WORLD components... and not just looking at it from a CAD representation or a Spice simulation.
Build something REAL. The experience and skills you'll gain will be invaluable.
Don't be like the others that graduate engineering school and have no fucking idea which end of a soldering iron to hold, or do such a crappy soldering job it's not even acceptable.
Rohitchampion:
And now I have vacations of about 2 months. I don't want to waste this time and I have to do something in electronics. I am really confused what to do.
Make a TV-B-Gone kit.
Go to the local shopping center. Test it. Go to another shop. Test it. Keep doing that. Try to keep a low profile.
There was a an article a while back about someone who sewed the relevant parts (the IR LEDs) into her clothing and hid the circuit board in her pocket. She managed to turn off a lot of TVs without looking suspicious.
pick a goal...
pick something you want to 'do'..... or 'make'...
thats it.
then work towards that goal, learning all the steps/processes along the way.
what are your interests or hobbies?