India seeks EU collaboration in higher education initiatives
The European Higher Education Fair which brings nearly 100 globally renowned European higher education institutions to India from 23 European countries was inaugurated on November 30 in New Delhi by Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Minister for Human Resource Development,. “We are in exciting times in India, with resurgent dreams, resurgent hopes, looking to a bright future for all of us as envisioned by our Prime Minister. 21st century is a century of collaboration and I am happy to note over 100 universities from EU participating in this fair… We are talking to the Ministry of Culture, Archaeological Survey of India and UNESCO to come together for creating the National Centre for E-Library. I seek the cooperation and collaboration of the EU for this initiative,”she said. “Our “Know your College Portal” can have the European Union on it as well which can provide information about the European higher educational institutions which can give direct access to Indian students about opportunities of higher education in Europe,” she added.
Speaking on the occasion, H.E. Dr JoãoCravinho, Ambassador of the European Union said, “ Whether in India or Europe, I firmly believe there is no one single sector that is more important than the education sector. The Fair should further help to foster international cooperation in education and enhance educational opportunities for Indian students.”
“Dwarka Super League”: Promoting sports at grass root level
With an idea of promoting the game of Football at the grass root levels, sports management / education firm Kooh Sports Development Centres with support from Canara Bank organized the Dwarka Super League 2014 – an inter-school Football League for schools in Dwarka on December 7. The final of the DSL was held at Venkateshwar International School, Dwarka where team from Paramount International beats St. Mary’s team by 3-0 and clinch the title of Champion of Dwarka by winning the inaugural Dwarka Super League 2014. Former vice-captain of Indian Football Team Ranjit Thapa came out strongly in favour of promoting sports at grass root level to ensure that the young talent is nurtured well and they can take sports as serious career option.
DSL is a unique football event for schools as a running trophy. This will be an annual event thus establishing a parallel sporting culture at grass roots level. 18 top schools of DWARKA divided into 2 groups of 10 each had battled it out in the league phase with each team playing at least 9 football matches and the top 4 from each group making it to the Quarter Finals. Total number of matches being 98 spread over 6 weekends. The tournament is headed towards establishing a sporting calendar parallel to academic calendar to ensure an active & competitive sporting life for students throughout the year without interfering with their academics.
The event is first of its kind for schools as a running trophy has been instituted which will be competed for annually thus establishing a parallel sporting culture at grass roots which we so dearly need . The whole event being held in non-working (only Saturdays and Sundays) and non-examination days would not interfere a bit either with the academics or discipline.
“We are thrilled to launch “Dwarka Super League”, the initiative that will give the talented young footballers a great stage to showcase their potential and also prove their mettle against a competitive landscape. Our focus at KOOH Sports is on holistic development and training of kids that goes beyond classrooms and into the playing fields, says Chirag Patel, Director – KOOH Sports.”
Pathways School Gurgaon gives free access to nearby school students for art activities
Pathways School Gurgaon extended a willing hand to the untapped talents in the nearby villages remaining hidden for the lack of resources and opportunities. Pathways dreams of an act of selfless motive by providing studio space, free materials to the 10 selected students of Bandhwari village to experience the self-discovery of their artistic talents at the Visual Arts, Pathways School Gurgaon.
Pathways School Gurgaon gave free access to ten young budding artists to explore the fully equipped Printmaking, Ceramic and Painting Studios and the guiding hand of its mentors of the learned faculty. After the initial success of having raised funds through Graphic Printmaking Exhibition, Pathways School Gurgaon aims at raising further regular funds to provide all materials for the fresh talents for the years to come.
The compassionate heart behind the original idea is of Mr. Bodh, a senior faculty and Head of Visual Art Department, Pathways School Gurgaon who did his masters in fine arts from Kala Bhavan, Viswabharati University, Shantiniketan and Higher Diploma in Printmaking from Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, UK.
Cardiff Metropolitan University Signs Art and Design Agreement in India
Cardiff Metropolitan University Vice Chancellor Prof Tony Chapman and Pro-Vice Chancellor (Internationalization), Professor Mohamed Loutfi, recently signed an agreement to work with Qualifications and Assessments International (QAI) to develop Diploma and Advanced Diploma programmes in Art and Design to be offered in India. Once finalized, the programmes will enable students to transfer to study degree courses in Cardiff or to complete their degrees in India at approved centers.
The agreement to develop Art and Design programmes in India builds on the previously-approved QAI qualifications in Business and Management and Hospitality and Tourism, which have been approved by Cardiff Met for advanced entry onto the University’s degrees. These QAI awards are overseen and quality assured by the University. QAI also collaborates with the University to offer an English language test to Cardiff Metropolitan University which is used by the University to assess language proficiency for its international students.
Sanjay Malaviya, Director of QAI stated that: ‘The creative arts are a booming area in India and we hope to offer programmes that will contribute to the on-going success of the industry.”
Centum Learning’s organizes Conference on Emerging Best Practices in CBSE schools
Centum Learning, a NSDC partner company in skills development and vocational training landscape jointly organized a national conference on’ Emerging Best Practices in CBSE Schools- Student First’ with CBSE on December 4. The conference was attended and addressed by Dilip Chenoy, MD and CEO, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Dr. M B Dholakia, Joint CEO, Gujarat Knowledge Society, Santosh Mehrotra, Director General, Institute of Applied Manpower and Research, Planning Commission and Sanjeev Duggal, CEO & Director, Centum Learning Limited, Geeta Dharmarajan, Executive Director, Katha, and Anita Satia, Director, SCERT.
Speaking on the occasion, Sanjeev Duggal, CEO and Director, Centum Learning said, “Providing Vocational Education in schools is one of the most important aspect of this entire gamut of Skills Development. We are committed to working with our partners to create sustainable and scalable skills propositions which will benefit learners from all sections of society.Introducing students to vocational training at an early age is the most effective way to ensure that vocation training earns its rightful place in society.”
The conference included an interesting mix of nearly 150 participants including principals to capture diverse perspectives.
Ravi Maruthachalam wins Young Professor Award for Scientific Innovation
Ravi Maruthachalam, Assistant Professor at School of Biology, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, was selected as one of the top 10 international young faculty members to be recognized with a DuPont 2014 Young Professor (DYP) award. He formally received this recognition from Dr. Ranjan Patnaik, Director, DuPont Knowledge Center (DKC), Hyderabad, on the occasion of the Science Day celebration at DKC.
The DuPont Young Professor program is designed to help promising young and untenured research faculty memebers working in areas of interest to DuPont. “Ravi is an exceptionally talented young scientist with potential to develop into a world leader in the field of plant genetics. His recognition as DuPont Young Professor is a proud moment to all of us.” said Prof. Ramakrishnan, Director, IISER Thiruvananthapuram.
“I am very excited and honored to be one among the recipients of this prestegious award” said Ravi Maruthachalam. Professor Maruthachalam’s interests are in the area of agricultural biotechnology, plant biology and reproduction. His group is working on cutting edge technologies to expedite plant breeding. This technology has the potential to dramatically reduce the breeding time and resources required for hybrid seed production.
Ravi Maruthachalam received PhD from Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Hyderabad and was a postdoc at Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis. He is also a recipient of UC Davis Award of Excellence in Post doctoral research, an early career award from American Society of Plant Biology (ASPB) and currently a Ramalingaswami fellow ( awarded by Department of Biotechnology).
HP CodeWars competition
HP on December 9 announced the results of HP CodeWars 2014, an HP-hosted computer science software competition that was held for the first time in India. The event drew participation from more than 280 senior high school students from more than 55 institutions across Bengaluru and posed a wide range of programming challenges to teams of amateur developers. HP Code Wars events that took place at HP campuses combined the high-tech HP environment with programming challenges that tested participants’ development software knowledge and skills. Winners were Aadi Jain, Abhishek Mitra and Preetham Reddy N from National Public School, HSR Layout, Bangalore. Since its inception in 1998, more than 8,000 students have participated in the competition across the US, Taiwan and now India. Code Wars was founded by HP to help cultivate student interest in engineering, math and computer science (STEM) in order to develop future technology leaders. Antonio Neri, senior vice president and general manager, HP Enterprise Group said,“HP Code Wars supports our goal of developing tomorrow’s engineers and innovators and contributes to our vision to support technology careers in India.”
NIT Agartala team wins Synopsys India’s Analog Design Contest 2014
Synopsys, Inc. a global leader providing software, IP and services used to accelerate innovation in chips and electronic systems, on November 26 announced that Susmita Majumder and Debanjali Nath of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Agartala won first place in the Synopsys Analog Design Contest 2014. To participate in the contest, students had to design a complete schematic, run simulations, and create a DRC/LVS clean layout of a low-dropout (LDO) voltage regulator using an interoperable process design kit (iPDK) and Synopsys’ analog/mixed-signal tools, including the Galaxy Custom Designer® solution, HSPICE™ circuit simular, Custom WaveView™ tool, IC Validator, and StarRC™ extraction product. “Participating in this contest offered us a learning opportunity that we would probably never have had otherwise,” said Susmita Majumder.
7th Global Film Festival Noida 2014
The star-studded event held on November 26 featured Bollywood biggies like Randhir Kapoor, Fugly star Mohit Marwah, Neetu Chandra, Anil Sharma, Jatin Pandit, Aruna Vasudev, Vivek Agnihotri, Pallavi Joshi, Rahul Mittra, Kinley Pelden (Bhutan) Ramesh Meer, Neeraj Pathak, Mahesh Aney, Bhairavi Goswami, Shilpi Sharma, Uttar Kumar and Ashok Tyagi. The gracious presence of H.E. Szilveszter Bus, Ambassador of Hungary, H.E. Darja Bavda Kuret, Ambassador of Slovenia and H.E. Mohd. Abdul Aziz Loum, Charge’d Affairs from Senegal added more gravity to the show.
The Film Festival has remained faithful to its founding purpose: to contribute towards the progression of Cinema and celebrating unity through cinema. The 3 day affair saw screenings of 500 films from various continents like Asia, Africa, North America and Europe and an array of 52 events including photography and painting exhibitions, global awards, workshops, new releases, and master classes, technical classes by Panasonic, Philips and Nikon and poster releases. Live performances by Shibani Kashyap, Tikku Hans and Salman of Astitv Band with the students of cinema and fashion set the stage on fire, hosted by Asian Academy of Film & Television. The festival continues on the road to success with some 15,000 footfalls this year from all over the world.
National Conclave on “Driving India’s Growth Momentum”
The Indian School of Business (ISB) Mohali on November 25 organized a national conclave on – “Driving India’s Growth Momentum”, focusing on the four important verticals of Public Policy, Healthcare, Manufacturing and Infrastructure. The ISB’s National conclave has been organized by the four research institutes Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Max Institute of Healthcare Management, Munjal Institute for Global Manufacturing and Punj Lloyd Institute of Infrastructure Management in line with the school’s mission of driving research that impacts policy, practice and to create and disseminate research-based knowledge in management.
The day-long conclave has witnessed participation from leading members of the government, industry and academia, where insights were shared by some eminent experts/leaders on the need of shaping policies in these sectors that are critical in driving India’s growth momentum.
Speaking about the Conclave, Pradeep Singh, Deputy Dean & CEO of Mohali campus said, “The engines of a solid infrastructure base, a dynamic manufacturing sector and a healthy and productive workforce, coupled with public policy, are the drivers of sustainable growth and development. Today’s Conclave aimed to find some solutions as to how these engines can be best nurtured for India’s growth”.
10th Convocation Ceremony of JD Institute of Fashion Technology
JD Institute of Fashion Technology recently celebrated its 10th convocation ceremony for fashion, jewellery and interior students of degree and diploma courses. It was a day of rejoice, of accomplishments, of learning and celebrations. Celebrity designer Rohit Bal was the chief guest along with Chandrakant Dalal, and. RC Dalal of JD Institute of Fashion Technology.
President attends milestone celebrations at Rama Devi Women’s Autonomous College, Bhubaneswa and of Shiksha Mandal, Wardha
The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee called upon students to devote their energies to three Es education, empowerment and emancipation of women. He was speaking on the occasion of inauguration of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Rama Devi Women’s Autonomous College on November 30 at Bhubaneswar.
Paying tribute to the unique contribution and leadership of Smt. Rama Devi, the President said she was one of the most committed workers in India’s national movement and a devoted disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. She was an organiser, speaker, campaigner and inspirer of ordinary men and women. She worked hard to root out untouchability and communalism. She organised a pada yatra to support Vinobha Bhave’s Bhoodan Movement and gave utmost emphasis to education, emancipation and empowerment of women. He asked for a special effort from studetns – in any way that they can – for the education of the girl child, which would have a multiplier effect on the success of developmental programmes.
Participating in the Centenary Celebrations of Shiksha Mandal on November 26 at Wardha the President pointed out the importance of Wardha in the freedom struggle and said Wardha reverberates with history. Wardha is about the power of simplicity, the power of ideas, the power of commitment and of Gandhiji’s ashram in Sevagram at the outskirts of Wardha.
The President said a quality-oriented education system is the force multiplier that shall transform India into one of the leading nations of the world. India’s future and that of the world it hopes to lead, as a great and powerful nation, is in the hands of its youth. The quality of the faculty is critical. A culture of excellence must be promoted in our academic institutions. We need to develop a system wherein those that deliver quality are supported. We must use education as a means to ensure inclusion and equality for all citizens.
Flintobox bags ‘CII Startupreneurs’ Best Start-up of 2014
Flintobox, Chennai based start-up, which provide developmental toys conceptualized by educators and designers has been awarded the best start-up for 2014 in the Education sector by CII Startupreneurs. CII Startupreneurs Expo is a prestigious forum for emerging start-ups which empowers them to capitalize and grow their respective businesses. Commenting Arunprasad Durairaj, co-founder said “We are honored and delighted to have received this prestigious recognition. I personally believe that it requires immense courage and hard work to start a venture of this scale independently and more importantly to sustain the efforts, and awards like this are a great morale booster to encourage us to scale greater heights.” The seven-month old company founded by Durairaj, 32, and Vijay Babu Gandhi, 33, has already shipped up over 10,000 boxes across 250+ Indian cities.
ACCA’s 110th year anniversary
Established on 30 November 1904, ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is celebrating its 110th anniversary this month. Founded on core values of opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability, ACCA continues to focus on the delivery of public value globally, with a vision for 2020 of being number one in developing professional accountants the world needs. The body has seen significant expansion in the past four decades, growing from 12,500 members in 1970 to 170,000 members in 180 countries in 2014. Helen Brand OBE, Chief Executive of ACCA, said: “A well-co-ordinated international accountancy profession, which demands the highest ethical and technical standards of the world’s professional accountants, is absolutely key to positive economic development. ACCA’s Strategy to 2020, which we launched in this anniversary year, has been designed to respond to specific needs identified in a range of economies around the world. ”
The IIHMR University Observes World Patient Safety Day
Jaipur-situated IIHMR University observed the World Patient Safety Day on 9th December, 2014. Nearly 100 students and 25 faculties and other staff members organised a human chain in a shape of Red Cross to create awareness amongst all the medical fraternities and hospitals to bring in the best possible healthcare facilities and safety models to reduce the number of injuries caused to the patients every year. Additionally, few students also shared their research on Patient Safety under various themes Medication Safety, Safety Goals and Patient for Patient Safety. Patient safety is a new healthcare discipline that emphasizes the reporting, analysis, and prevention of medical error that often leads to adverse healthcare events. Dr. S.D Gupta, President of IIHMR University said, “Patient Safety is of prime importance due to an increasing number of patient safety issues.”
“Career Utsav ’14 held in Bengaluru
Bengaluru’s most anticipated educational mega fair, ‘Career Utsav 2014’ organized by Fuel Media Solutions Pvt. Ltd, was inaugurated by the youth icon and India’s bestselling author, Chetan Bhagat at the NIMHANS Convention Centre, Bangalore on December 6. The fair saw an overwhelming response from the students and as well as the parents who registered themselves and answered the mock CET and Psychometric tests to assess themselves and train better. The students participated in different workshops organized at the event.
Speaking on the occasion, Chetan Bhagat said, “It is important that you don’t get into the wrong stream or profession. Not only you will do things half-heartedly, but will not grow as a person. So chase your passion, what you love to do. Get out of your comfort zone and work hard towards honing your skills. Get into the best institution and I think Career Utsav is the best place to start searching. Under one roof you can explore different possibilities and narrow down to what’s best suited for you”.
Pradeep Naik, Founder and CEO of Fuel Media Solutions Pvt. Ltd., said, “The grand success of 12 detailed workshops & seminars were conducted on New-age Engineering careers, Medicine in 21st century, All about Overseas education, New Age Engineering Careers, Synergies- the way for a career tomorrow, Designing a Career in Fashion, Design in Digital World, Exam Stress & Change Management, How to score Well in Board exams, Architecture- A promising creative career, Off beat careers, Trends in Management and many more. Guidance was also offered to those students seeking study options abroad.
