TERI University’s Dialogue on Sustainable Water Resource Management & Cleaning of Indian Rivers
Despite cleaning of rivers being a major agenda for the Government, there is a significant decline in water quality – arising from growing population, increasing urbanization and industrial growth, which needs to be tackled with expertise. Against this background and with an aim to address the foremost challenges in water resource management, Coca-Cola Department of Water Studies at TERI University which started this year with 21 students organized a high Level Dialogue on the theme “Cleaning of India’s Rivers – Design of Participatory Approaches’. Union Minister of Water Resources, Uma Bharti, was present on the occasion, along with Dr R K Pachauri, , Dr Leena Shrivastava, VC TERI University and Venkatesh Kini, President, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia.
Delivering the keynote address, Uma Bharti, Union Minister for Water Resources said “We need to analyze why rivers, that were unpolluted for thousands of years, have suddenly become severely polluted during the past 40-50 years. Today, even animals cannot take a dip in the waters. We need a judicious mix of knowledge from global and national best practices to clean up our rivers, as it has happened in Sabarmati, Thames and the Rhine. The most important task is to ensure minimum ecological flow of the river. Even treated water should not be allowed to flow into the river…the industry needs to realize that if rivers die, the industries would die too. We have to save the mother, the baby must not suck her blood instead of milk. ”
According to Dr R K Pachauri, Chancellor, TERI University and Director-General, India’s rivers are polluted to an extent that does not allow any life to survive in them. Government of India is placing great emphasis on cleaning of the country’s rivers. However, success in this regard would involve not merely action by the government efforts alone. TERI University is preparing its students to provide systemic solutions to the critical sustainability challenges that we face today.”
Students from TERI University also presented an analysis of the evaluation and quality restoration plan for river Yamuna and linkages between public perception of water quality, their willingness to participate in water management projects.
The High-Level Dialogue held today is the first in a series of upcoming interactive seminars, which will be hosted by the newly-formed Coca-Cola Department of Regional Water Studies.
Manav Rachna International School, Gurgaon bags ‘Best Emerging School’ Award
Manav Rachna International School (MRIS), Sector 46, Gurgaon has been chosen as this year’s recipient of the ‘Best Emerging School’ award at the South Asia Education Summit Award 2014. MRIS has been bestowed with this prestigious award for its innovative work in the field of inclusive education, leadership and impact on the society. The award was handed over by Huma Masood (Programme Officer-Gender & Education, UNESCO New Delhi Cluster), Prof. Marmar Mukhopadhyay (Chairman, ETMA Council) and Prof. Supten Sarbadhikari (Project Director – CHI of the National Health Portal GOI). South Asia Education Summit Award is a dedicated platform to explore the latent potential of innovation in the education sector across 8 countries in South Asia: India, Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka.
Speaking on the achievement, principal, Dhriti Malhotra said “This award re-iterates the fact that we are moving in the right direction.”
Labour Law and Governance Reforms Seminar at XLRI
Xavier School of Management, in collaboration with International Labour Organization – Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV) organized the first ever seminar on “Labour Law and Governance Reforms and Labour Rights in India in the Era of Globalization” on 29th September. The seminar witnessed Trade Union Representatives, Representatives from ILO, Academicians and students debate and discuss upon diverse perspectives related to labour issues and rights. The seminar marked a first of its kind association between two very well established bodies, namely XLRI and ILO and also brought together Central trade union leaders from the INTUC (Indian National Trade Union Congress), BMS (Bhartaya Majdoor Sangh), CITU, HMS and AITUC to the same platform.
Some of the eminent guests at the seminar were Mr. Raghwan, Asia Pacific Desk Officer, ILO ACTRAV, Bureau for Workers’ Activities, Geneva; Professor Dev Nathan, the Institute for Human Development, New Delhi; Dr. Pravin Sinha, Indian Industrial Relations Associations; ; Trade Union representatives, Mr. Chandrashekhar Prakash Singh and Mr. Shyam Sundar Sharma; Ms. Ramapriya Gopalkrishnan advocate from Madras and an ILO Consultant Madras High Court, Ms. Christine Nathan, a former ILO ACTRAV official and currently an ILO Consultant.
The Trade union representatives across party affiliations threw light upon the dismal state of labour in the largest democracy of the world. “The working people throughout the country are going to face a severe onslaught on their rights and livelihood in the days to come from the corporate-servile polity in power at the Centre. Already, such a move is reported to be afoot in respect of a number of labour laws,” they commented.
Professor Praveen Kumar Jha from Centre for Informal Ssector & Labour, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi said that amendments in the Factories Act propose to increase the threshold limit of employment for factories operating without power from 20 to 40 and from 10 to 20 for factories operating with power. Complaints against the employer about violation of this Act would not receive cognizance by a court without prior written permission from the state government.
Ramapriya Gopalakrishnan informed, “The proposal of the central government in Contract Labour Act will be applicable only to companies that employ more than 50 workers, against the current 20. Amendments to the Apprenticeship Act call for a third-party training provider, along with easing the rules to add more trades.”
Prof. K. R. Shyam Sundar, Professor, HRM Area, XLRI and the convener commented “The issue of labour rights in the era of globalization has become a huge area of concern in the current context. The seminar will bring out diverse perspectives on not only the topical theme of labour law reforms but the basic issues concerning labour rights”.
Experts’ share mantra to crack job interviews with 800 IITians
It is that time of the year again when students across the country worry about their future. What will they do after completing graduation, which company to work for, how to reach their dream career goal, and so on. To answer these, and many more such questions, on September 14, 2014, IIT Delhi Alumni Association, in collaboration with Training & Placement Cell, IIT Delhi and Board for Student Welfare IITD organised a ‘Career Counselling Seminar and Panel Discussion’, at IIT Delhi to assist students in deciding what was their calling in life from the abundant career choices available to them.
IIT Delhi Alumni Association is dedicated to bringing together the alumni community on a common platform to build another channel of personal and professional support to members through ‘self-help’ within community. It has a membership of over 38,000 graduates from our alma mater and is growing at about 1,700 members a year. Apart from serving as a base for information about the alumni, it initiates programmes and organizes events important to alumni, their alma mater, and in the national interest. The seminar and panel discussion witnessed a full house with more than 800 IITians. Renowned experts of diverse field such as Mr. Pradeep Gupta, Chairman, Cyber Media (India) Limited; Mr. Sameer Garde, CEO, Samsung; Mr. Gaurav Agarwal, CTO, Healthkart; Dr. Jai. P Menon, HT; Mr. Navyug Mahnat, CEO, QAI India Ltd; Mr. Saugat Sen, VP, Cadence Design Systems; Mr. Ashok Kumar, IPS, IG; Mr. Alok Aggarwal, Managing Partner and CEO, Milestone Capital and Advisors and Mr. Rajat Mishra, CEO, EfkonPvt Ltd. to name a few, were a part of the elite panels.
The first session had an integrated discussion on prominent themes such as how students’ could improve their performance during campus interviews and comparing various career options available to them. The session moderator Mr. Sanjiv Narayan, M.D, Calypso Design Systems, made the discussion engaging by posing intriguing queries to the panel, which shed light on many aspects of interviewing. It was felt by the experts that presentation and confidence of a student could make a world of difference to his/her performance during a job interview. If the student is able to open with the right introduction and end with a comprehensive conclusion, it made the interviewer take notice of the interviewee’s methodical approach. The panellists shared interesting anecdotes revealing their experiences both as the interviewee and interviewer.
The second panel discussion was graced by expert panellists having decades of industry experience. They shared valuable viewpoints about how they evolved and expanded their career graph, hurdles they conquered, milestones they achieved, career transitions they made, maintained work-life balance, and values and ethics they followed to reach the pinnacle in their careers.
The two discussions were guided by alumni now experts in their profession, who are a part of the committee, which conducts pre-placement talks and campus recruitment in various colleges, including IITs. They advised students to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses and to remain focused to confidently sail through their placement and job interviews.
Mr. Ashok Kumar, President, IIT Delhi Alumni Association, said, “Interviews are a vital part of everyone’s life. It is natural to face anxiety and tension and through this you will learn about the true journey of corporate life. We organised this session to lower down the tension levels and provide some practical tips that will help the students in the voyage of life as well.”
IIT Delhi Alumni Association hosts I2SES 2014
IIT Delhi Alumni Association in collaboration with Foundation of Innovation and Technology Transfer, IIT Delhi and Knowledge Resource Development and Welfare Group, a nationally recognised NGO hosted an ‘International Innovation Sustainability and Entrepreneurship Summit’ (I2SES), on 26th September 2014 at the IIT Delhi campus. The discussion revolved around how entrepreneurship can only be achieved through innovation. India is a youth centric country and India needs job for 10 million people in next 10 years. “The aim was to fetch student innovators, entrepreneurs, senior bureaucrats, scientists at national level, university heads and corporate leaders on the same podium”, said Mr. Ashok Kumar who is the current president of the association.
Sharda University signs collaborations with 3 foreign universities
Sharda University is collaborating with some of the reputed global universities for research and training in various fields. The universities are Missouri State University, USA; University of Baltimore, USA; University of Central Arkansas, USA & King’s College, Canada. The tie up with these universities will led to better understanding and global exposure for students and faculties through various exchange and twining programmes.
In the collaboration programme with Missouri State University for MBA, students of Sharda University shall get a chance to study one year in India and one year in US to understand the international standards of management. While the agreement with University of Central Arkansas, USA will felicitate the Sharda University Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A) and Master of Business Administration (M.B.A) to the Master of Business Administration (M.B.A) at the University of Central Arkanasas for credit transfer degree seeking students as well as for 1 semester credit transfer study abroad non-degree seeking in order to stimulate international programs and projects between the two institutions. The tie-up of Sharda University with University of Baltimore which in US news ranks the among the top 25 public universities in the North of the United States of America for 2014 and with King’s College, Canada has agreed to develop collaborative activities in the following areas of mutual interest like exchange of faculty and administrative staff, exchange of scholars, graduate and undergraduate students, short term customized courses visit by students on credit transfer/study abroad programme basis, conducting collaborative research projects, conducting lectures and organizing symposia, exchange of academic information and materials, promoting collaboration in fields of mutual interest, promoting other academic co-operation.
India Robot Olympiad 2014 at Genesis Global School
Genesis Global School, Noida, hosted the national level of the Indian Robot Olympiad (IRO), at their Multi-Purpose Hall recently. Bringing science, technology and education on a single platform, the event themed on ‘Robots and Space’ saw participation by several teams from across the country.
The event, held annually, was organized by India STEM Foundation, a not for profit organization to provide a platform for young scholars to develop their problem solving skills, creativity and level of education in subjects like Science and Mathematics. Schools that participated in the Robotics Olympiad were Genesis Global School, Manav Rachna School, Apeejay School, Jamna Bai Narsee School, Dhiru Bhai Ambani School, Amity International School, and Delhi Public School.
The regional Chapters of Indian Robot Olympiad were held in 9 cities across India. The Delhi event was held on the 23rd & 24th of August 2014. The teams which qualified in the regional level, went on to compete in the nationals, which was held on September 27th & 28th.
There were a total of three categories in the Olympiad, namely Open, Robo-Soccer and Regular. Each category could be won only by clearing several levels. For example, the ‘Regular’ category consisted of – Elementary, Junior-High & Senior-High level. The winners are going to compete in the World Robot Olympiad, which is to be held in Sochi, Russia on November 23rd, 2014.
Pramod Sharma, Director cum Principal, Genesis Global School was the chief guest at the championship. He remarked, “Indian Robot Olympiad (IRO) is one of the largest Robotics competition in India for students between the age group of 9 to 19. At Genesis, we want to make our children familiar with this technology at an early stage to prepare them to embrace this technology with enthusiasm as they enter the professional world.”
IMI enters into agreement with Russia’s RANEPA
International Management Institute (IMI) Delhi, has recently signed a MoU with the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, the biggest federal state-funded institution of higher professional education located in Moscow, Russia for cooperation in education. IMI Delhi has made it a point to rope in RANEPA to bring forth a unique and creative blend in its management education. IMI Delhi, with the agreement aims to make the management courses more industry relevant and specific, catering to the needs and requirements of the industry from time to time. This strategic partnership will assist the probationer, which can be beneficial to acknowledge the industry players and leaders of the future. RANEPA is the largest leading higher education institution in Russia and trains more than half of MBA students in the country.
‘World Mental Health Day’ at MRIU
Manav Rachna International University (MRIU) in association with District Legal Services Authority, Faridabad and Asian Institute of Medical sciences organized a seminar on “Mental Health Issues and NALSA and HSLSA services for the mentally ill persons and persons with mental disabilities”on the occasion of the World Mental Health Day at the MRIU campus on October 10.
Inderjeet Mehta, District & Session Judge-cum-Chairman, District Legal Services Authority, Faridabad; Dr. Prashant Bhalla, Chancellor, MRIU; Dr. N. K. Pandey, CMD, Asian Institute of Medical Sciences; Dr.(Mrs.) Manchanda, Sr. Consultant Secretary, Asian Institute of Medical Sciences; Dr. N C Wadhwa, Vice Chancellor, MRIU; Jasmine Sharma, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faridabad; Dr. Chavvi Bhargava Sharma, Dean, FMS, MRIU; along with other senior dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Prashant Bhalla shared the continuous endeavors of the Manav Rachna Educational Institutions towards the betterment of the society.
Dr. Prashant Bhalla, Chancellor MRIU honored
In recognition of his unparalleled enthusiasm, dedication and perseverance that has translated into remarkable changes in the knowledge, practice and education of dentistry, Dr. Prashant Bhalla, President, Manav Rachna Educational Institutions has been honored with “Lifetime of Achievement and Contributions to the field of Dentistry”. This prestigious honour was bestowed upon Dr. Prashant Bhalla on the occasion of Section of Defense Forces Dental Services (SDFDS) Conference, a chapter of the Federation Dentaire Internationale organized by the Army Dental Corps recently in New Delhi. The award was given by the Chief Guest of the Conference, Air Mshl DP Joshi, PVSM AVSM PHS Director General of the Armed Forces Medical Services in the presence of Major General Yimin Zhao, the President of the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an China and the Organizing Chairman of the SDFDS, Lt Gen Vimal Arora, AVSM VSM & Bar, PHDS Director General Dental Services.
ISB Alumni Team wins Hult Prize
A group of five alumni from the Indian School of Business (ISB) has won the prestigious Hult Prize and a USD 1 million funding support from the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). The prize was given away by Bill Clinton, former president of the USA and Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, at a high profile event held in New York city.
Tata ClassEdge crosses 10,000 classrooms milestone
Tata ClassEdge, a leading digital teacher support solution, now reaches more than 10,000 classrooms across 1200 plus schools, within three years of its launch. Tata ClassEdge provides an innovative and comprehensive instructional solution that empowers teachers to teach better, with an effective blend of curriculum-mapped classroom activities and interactive multimedia. Commenting on the occasion, Nirav Khambhati, CEO of Tata ClassEdge, said, “Crossing the 10,000 classroom mark is certainly an important milestone, but what really matters is the positive change that Tata ClassEdge has managed to bring to classrooms across the country—higher engagement, greater participation and a passion for learning. We are proud to be associated with the schools that have taken the initiative to implement Tata ClassEdge in their classrooms to significantly improve the teaching-learning experiences of their teachers and students.”
Ashok Katariya honoured with honoured with ‘Lifetime Achievement Award in Education’
Ashok Kataria, Chairman of the Ashoka Group has been honoured with the ‘Life time Achievement Award’ by the School of Educators (SOE) supported by the AICOI (All India Conference Of Intellectuals), felicitating intellectuals for more than 3 decades. Speaking on the occasion Mr. Katariya mentioned that the future of education depends on the quality of teachers that are emerging in modern India. Ashoka Education Foundation’s B.A. / B.Ed & B.Sc/ B.Ed courses are specially focussed on ensuring that the next generation of teachers is more equipped to be in sync with the need of the hour.
EMC and ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu to train engineering graduates on skills for Cloud and Big Data
ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu has announced that it has tied-up with EMC to train and certify 10,000 graduating students with skills on Cloud Infrastructure Services (CIS) and Big Data Analytics during the current year. The training will be delivered to the students through the Train-The -Trainer model by training the faculty members from participating institutions. M Sivakumar, CEO, ICTACT said “ICT Academy is focused on developing advanced skills for teachers and students introducing them to emergent technologies like Cloud, Big Data, Analytics, Mobility etc., In partnership with EMC, the ICT Academy takes the Cloud skills among the academia in the state and aims to develop 10,000 cloud certified graduates in this year”.
OVER $2 MILLION RAISED FOR PRATHAM AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART GALA
The New York Chapter of Pratham USA welcomed more than 600 guests to its annual gala held on Thursday, September 18 at The Museum of Modern Art. A “who’s who” of prominent Indian Americans, philanthropists, corporate executive and Wall Street elite turned out for this year’s festivities. The evening raised over $2 million for Pratham’s programs to educate underprivileged children and youth in India.
Washington Post journalist, CNN host and New York Times best-selling author Fareed Zakaria delivered the night’s keynote address and spoke on India’s recent election and his hope for India’s ability to instigate change.
“The most heartening part of this last election is that for the first time in many, many years, an election was held on issues, on substance, on policy,” said Zakaria. “This election was about the idea of development. It provides a framework that India has not had in a generation.”
“There’s never been a better opportunity for India to take advantage of current momentum,” he added, closing out the speech with a call to support Pratham. “The Ministry of Education is not going to solve India’s education problem. Pratham is.”
