ANTHE 2021 to be held in December
Aakash National Talent Hunt Exam (ANTHE) 2021, the annual scholarship exam of Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL), will be held both online and offline from December 4 to December 12. Up to 100% scholarships for Class VII-XII students are on offer for the institute’s NEET and IIT-JEE coaching programmes. In addition, top scorers will also be given cash awards. This year, five performers across grades will be awarded a free trip to NASA along with a parent. The last date to submit enrolment form is three days and seven days before the date of commencement of online and offline exams, respectively. For more details, visit https://www.aakash.ac.in/
BITSoM opens admissions for MBA programme
BITS School of Management (BITSoM), the Mumbai-based business school from BITS Pilani, has announced dates for the second intake to its two-year full-time residential MBA programme to commence in July 2022. The application process is completely online, and the school has begun accepting applications. The last date for submission is November 21. Candidates must have a recognised undergraduate or postgraduate degree in any discipline from a recognised Indian institution or international university or be in the final year. Standardised Test scores for CAT, GMAT or GRE is required. The evaluation will look at academic excellence in school and undergraduate level, extra-curricular and co-curricular achievements; and strong written and verbal communication skills. Personal interviews will be held between November and December 2021 with results being announced in January 2022. More details at www.bitsom.edu.in
GUVI launches Fly High initiative
GUVI, a start-up incubated by IIT Madras and IIM Ahmedabad, has launcheda new initiative called ‘Fly High’ to provide free employability skilling to 5,000 students from Economically Weaker Sections. Being taken up in memory of its late co-founder, the start-up is also launching ‘Sridevi Arunprakash Innovation Award,’ which carries a cash award of Rs. 100,000, to recognise budding women entrepreneurs with remarkable innovations in EdTech industry. For details of eligibility criteria, visit https://www.guvi.in/flyhigh
Courses in Optometry
Dr Agarwal’s Institute of Optometry (DAIO) invites applications for its B.Sc and M.Sc Optometry programmes. The last date for submitting applications is October 31. The B.Sc Optometry is a four-year programme and the M.Sc Optometry a two-year one. The institute offers UG and PG courses in association with Alagappa University, and Prist University, respectively. The eligibility for B.Sc is a pass in 10+2 from a recognised board with a minimum aggregate of 60% in science stream with biology, while for the PG programme, it is a UG degree in optometry from a recognised university with a minimum aggregate of 50% marks. More details at https://www.dragarwal.com/study/
Future Ready Talent programme
In line with the Skill India vision, Microsoft has launched the Future Ready Talent programme, bringing together a strategic group of partners to empower India’s youth with technology skills for employability. This collaborative internship programme for students in their second year of college and upwards has the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), FutureSkills Prime-a NASSCOM and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) digital skilling initiative, Ernst & Young (EY), GitHub and Quess Corp working along with Microsoft. Eligible students can apply at https://futurereadytalent.in/ and register for open batches. The registration for the first batch has begun.
Virtual Careers Fair
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) plans to introduce a new enhanced Virtual Careers Fair platform, which gives employers an opportunity to tap into professionally-qualified talent to drive business growth. Organisations will be able to list their live vacancies, for free, on ACCA Careers website, using the intuitive guide. They will also get access to ACCA’s resume/CV database, so they can move ahead with making event-day appointments with potential candidates. The Careers Fair will be held on September 29 from 8.00 am onwards. For more, visit https://accaindiavcf.vfairs.com/
Drishti 2021 at IIM Bangalore
Students of the Post Graduate Programme in Enterprise Management (PGPEM) at IIM Bangalore will host ‘Drishti 2021’, Leadership and Business Summit, on September 25 & 26. The theme for this year is theme is ‘Resurgent Growth – Building Back Better.’ This two-day event will feature speaker sessions, panel discussions, and fireside chats, in digital mode. To register visit https://bit.ly/3tWNfKm For more details, visit https://www.iimb.ac.in/drishti-2021/
Viva 13 opens registrations
VIBGYOR Group of Schools has opened participant registrations for the 13th edition of Viva, their annual inter-school cultural festival. Students of all ages from schools across India can participate, showcase their skills and engage in their favourite creative pursuits from the safety and comfort of their homes. All winners will receive cash prizes, trophies or e-certificates. All Viva 13 events have been designed and facilitated by certified coaches, experts from the fields and highly qualified faculty. The last date to register is November 1. For more info and to register, visit www.vibgyorviva.com
TSCFM launches Pune campus
Thadomal Shahani Centre for Management (TSCFM), part of The Shahani Group of Institutions, has launched a new centre in Pune. Classes will commence in September, 2021. The campus will offer TSCFM’s trademark 4-in-1 Professional Diploma in Banking and Financial Services, and Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing, along with their popular Certificate programme in Business English. For more details and to register, visit https://tscfm.org/courses/ or call +919930986000.
IIT Kanpur to work with the Indian Air Force and emerges as hub for innovative ideas
The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and the Indian Air Force will work together to build robust technologies in the academic and research areas of Aerospace Technology. The MoU towards the establishment of the Air Vice Marshal Harjinder Singh, VSM Class I MBE, Chair of Excellence and Research Scholar Program (RSP) for Indian Air Force Officers was signed by Air Vice Marshal Rajeev Sharma, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Education) and Head of Education Branch of IAF and Prof. Jayant Kumar Singh, Dean Resources and Alumni, IIT Kanpur in the presence of Air Marshal Vibhas Pande AVSM VSM, Air Officer-in-Charge Maintenance (AOM) and Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director IIT Kanpur. The aim is to establish long-term relationship for academic and research-based interactions and interchange of technical knowledge to foster knowledge development and promote breakthrough innovations.
The institute is also emerging as the hub of innovative ideas designed to facilitate favourable educational outcomes. IIT Kanpur’s technology business incubator, Foundation for Innovation and Research in Science and Technology, partnered with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to facilitate the MSME Design Scheme and promote the creation of toy clusters. Five enterprises from FIRST IIT Kanpur have received PMAC (Project Monitoring and Advisory Committee) approval and a grant from MSME Development Institute for prototype development of sustainable educational toys.
NIT AP hosts faculty development programmes
The National Institute of Technology Andhra Pradesh hosted a five-day online faculty development programme on ‘Waste to Bio-energy: A Sustainable solution’ to impart advanced knowledge on bio-valorization of wastes to renewable chemicals and biofuels. Prof. C.S.P. Rao, Director, NIT Andhra Pradesh and Dr. T. Jagan Mohan Rao, Head, Department of Biotechnology, NIT Andhra Pradesh participated. Other speakers included Prof. Kannan Pakshirajan, IIT Guwahati; Prof. Ramakrishna Sen, IIT Kharagpur; Dr. R. Vinu, IIT Madras; Prof. Sanjoy Ghosh, IIT Madras and Prof. R. P. Singh, IIT Roorkee.
The institute also hosted another FDP on ‘Advances and Challenges in Chemical Science’ to look at how chemical science can help solve current and future problems. Dr. T. Kurmayya, Head, Department of Chemistry, NIT Andhra Pradesh delivered the inaugural lecture. Speakers included Prof. T. Govindaraju, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru; Prof. M. Jayakannan, IISER, Pune; Prof. Kumar Biradha, IIT Kharagpur; Prof. Kana M. Sureshan and Dr. Veera Reddy Yatham, IISER Thiruvananthapuram; Dr. Praveen Kumar Vemula, Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine, Bengaluru; Dr. Durga Prasad Karothu, New York University Abu Dhabi; Dr. Sangita Roy, Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Mohali; Dr. Amit Ashok Vernekar and Dr. N. Damodara Reddy, CSIR-Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai.
Discoveries through food
As part of FLAME University’s Discover India Programme, a group of 15 undergraduate students from different areas decided to study the street food of Lucknow as their research project. The team’s aim was to explore a city where the food culture has remained relatively untouched, throughout centuries. They adopted a historical, socio-cultural as well as a philosophical perspective while conducting the research, both, off-field and on-field. The primary sources included online pre-field surveys, interviews and oral histories. The secondary sources focused on the books, journals, archives and articles. Apart from being exposed to a variety of ideologies and beliefs, the students also learnt to respect the difference of opinions within the group. The project can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWdUiqM67kM&t=2s
Surveys and results
ImaginXP recently concluded a research on skill gaps and challenges for working professionals. The findings suggest that almost a third of the nation’s (33%) youth currently faces unemployment due to a dearth of future-ready skills. In addition, India will need 2.7 million digitally skilled professionals by 2023. With almost 31% of the respondents stating that their degree failed to equip them with future-ready skillsets, the need for an alternative skill-based educational model was imperative. Further, over 53% of the respondents also confessed that they were unable to find the job of their choice while over 60% admitted they were not earning the ideal salary after duly completing their degree. Almost 75% felt that training in futuristic skills could have helped them achieve greater success in their careers. ImaginXP has, therefore, launched new-age industry-led courses such as RPA, UX Design, Robotics, Cybersecurity, Data Science, IoT, Fintech, Healthtech, Digital Marketing, Product Management, among others.
Coursera, Inc. released a new study that examines the pandemic’s impact on skills and learning trends among women. The Women and Skills Report compares pre-pandemic enrollment and performance data with trends observed on the Coursera platform since the onset of the pandemic through June 2021. Women in India are learning online at higher rates compared to pre-pandemic, representing 44% of new learners in 2021, up from 37% in 2019. With 4.8 million registered women learners, India ranks 2nd worldwide for the highest number of registered women learners on Coursera. However, during this period, women increased their investment in learning new skills on Coursera despite the more difficult labour market conditions.
To understand the role of India’s youth in charity and social work, Delhi-based NGO Wishes and Blessings conducted an online survey on International Day of Charity (September 5). The respondents were in the 14-20 age group. Over 500 people participated and 482 revealed that they want to participate in social service and 490+ believed that NGOs are a necessary element in the machinery of society in general. The published report can be viewed at https://wishesandblessings.net/blog/charity-and-youth-a-study/
LEAD conducted a survey to find out the views of parents about sending children back to school. The findings revealed that 59% of respondents felt that their children suffered learning loss due to the pandemic, and 74% are willing to send their children back to school. They believe that a complete school experience is possible only with reopening. The survey was conducted amongst 10,500 metro and non-metro parents whose wards study in classes 1-10. The survey indicated that, for 22% of parents, vaccination of school staff is a top priority. Besides, 55% of metro parents rated social distancing as most critical, followed by healthcare facilities (54%); whereas parents from non-metros said sports and social distancing were equally important (52%).
TeamLease EdTech launched its latest in-depth analysis ‘Career Outlook Report”, which looks at freshers hiring for the period July to December 2021 across 18 sectors and 14 cities. The study indicates that 17% employers are keen to hire freshers in H2 2021.From a sector perspective, the emerging sectors that have been able to withstand the impact of the pandemic and seen a stronger hiring sentiment are Information Technology (31%), Telecommunication (25%) and Technology Start-ups (25%). Others sectors that are faring well are Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals (23%), Logistics (23%) and Manufacturing (21%). From a location perspective, the leading cities for freshers hiring are Bangalore (43%), Mumbai (31%) and Delhi (27%), Chennai (23%) and Pune (21%). The sample size of the report was 661 businesses across India and 52 globally.
Workshop for Engineers’ Day and Research on wastewater treatment at IIT Jodhpur
On the occasion of Engineers’ Day, IIT Jodhpur organised an online workshop on ‘National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and Action Points for IITs’. The workshop took place in the presence of Rakesh Ranjan, Additional Secretary, Technical Education, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India and speakers included Prof. R.K. Shevgaonkar, Professor Emeritus, IIT Bombay, and Former Director, IIT Delhi; and Prof. Sarit Kumar Das, Institute Chair Professor, IIT Madras, and Former Director, IIT Ropar.
Researchers from the institute’s Environmental Biotechnology Lab led by Dr. Meenu Chhabra, Associate Professor, Department of Bioscience & Bioengineering, have demonstrated that plant-based microbial fuel cells can generate power profitably from wastewater compared to algae-based systems. The results of their work, sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, through the INSPIRE Ph.D. fellowship scheme, was published in the journal Bioresource Technology. The paper has been co-authored by Arti Sharma, Sanjana Gajbhiye, Sweta Chauhan, and Dr. Chhabra.
IIT Guwahati launches CICPS and develops material to help with oil spills
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati has launched the Centre for Intelligent Cyber Physical Systems (CICPS), aimed at developing indigenous technologies. The Centre will target developing a minimum of five technologies a year. As many as 13 Ph.D. students and 18 M. Tech students have already joined the CICPS and will work on the technologies for underwater exploration. The TIH–IIT Guwahati will fund the centre for the first five years, after which it is intended to become self-sustaining.
Researchers from the institute have developed a novel highly porous and water repellent superhydrophobic cotton composite material containing Metal-Organic Framework (MOF), which can absorb oil selectively from oil-water mixture. This has great capability for selective separation of the oils from oil/water mixtures, and can be applied in cleaning oil spills from water sources during transportation. The material is easy to prepare, cost-effective and recyclable. The research team was led by Dr. Shyam P. Biswas, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry. IIT Guwahati. The results were published in the peer-reviewed journal ACS Applied Materials and Interface (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsami.0c21337) of the American Chemical Society.
Universities and Rankings
Study Group’s university partners’ success have been ranked highly in prestigious the U.K. and the U.S. rankings. University of Oxford (number one for the sixth year in a row, and John Hopkins University, ETH Zurich and Imperial College London are among the global top 15 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022). In the Guardian’s Best UK University Rankings 2022, several partner universities for international pathway programmes increased their league table place, including the University of Huddersfield, University of Leeds, Royal Holloway, The University of Sheffield and the University of Sussex. Study Group university partners in the U.S. rank in the top 9% The US News Best Colleges League Table, both nationally and regionally.
The NorthCap University’s School of Engineering and Technology has been ranked among the Top 100 institutions in the All India NIRF Ranking 2021. The NorthCap University has also been ranked in the 151-200 band, for the fourth consecutive year. Among the parameters given, NCU scored in Teaching, Learning and, Resources with a strong faculty-student ratio. Furthermore, NCU has also scored well in the “Graduation Outcome” parameter and in the category of Women’s representation in diverse fields under the “Outreach and Inclusivity” parameter.
O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) has been ranked among the world’s top 500 universities in the QS Graduate Employability Rankings (GER) 2022. JGU’s overall ranking in the QS GER 2022 is 301-500. JGU has also received a score of 86.9/100 in Graduate Employment Rate, a key indicator considered for the rankings that involves measuring the proportion of graduates (excluding those opting to pursue further study or those who have made themselves unavailable for work) in full or part-time employment within 12 months of graduation.
Lovely Professional University has found a place among the best universities in the world in the prestigious ‘Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022’ (THE). The University has been ranked 11th amongst private universities, and 37th amongst all the universities in India. LPU has secured eighth position in the subject ‘Clinical & Health’ among all the universities in India in 601+ band and is ranked 10th in Life Sciences in the 601-800 Band.
ABWA students launch Rainbow Club
The students of Aditya Birla World Academy (ABWA) announced the launch of ‘ABWA Rainbow Club’ on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/abwa.rainbowclub/). The objective is to foster an inclusive environment for LGBTQIA+ students by raising awareness and to address the stigma faced by the community. Through this initiative, ABWA students aim to bring diversity, inclusion and increase the visibility of the LGBTQIA+ community. The students from Classes 10 to 12 have undertaken a series of activities in this regard.
Leverage Edu in the U.K.
Leverage Edu has opened an entity in the U.K. and launched an office in London. The company will work closely with universities to help them build a brand in emerging countries, and digitise their admission operations. The company already provides an array of tools housed under the Univalley.com brand that makes student recruitment more seamless. In 2021, over 50% of the company’s AI Course Finder users were matched to UK Universities. As part of the move, the company’s COO, Digvijay Gagneja, will build the U.K. business alongside his other operational responsibilities. Leverage Edu also plans to provide its B2C admissions offering to students present in the U.K. in the coming year.
Edsanta Education partners with NTTF
Edsanta Education has partnered with Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF) to offer an AI-powered E-learning platform for the institute’s students. The new digital NTTF platform, powered by Elite by Edsanta, will incorporate NTTF’s curriculum and empower students to identify their career paths and overcome skill gaps with highly relevant learning content. Elite by Edsanta Education offers over 300,000+ curated content for over 120 subjects spread across seven diploma programmes and 200+ additional skills.
Unnati for India
Visionet Systems launched Unnati for India last year, to help plug the skilling gap in college curriculum and make the youth future ready. By April 2021 over 600 youngsters had been trained for free and 90% were absorbed into the coporate stream. The program is absolutely free and hence accessible to students coming from smaller towns or economically weaker sections. This year, around 200 such students (of whom 45% are women) have been inducted in different businesses. Most of the hirings have taken place across Mumbai and Bengaluru. The skilling programme is open to undergraduates and graduates from any stream and the 45 to 60-day training will be a combination of classroom and online modules.
Simplilearn launches campaign and aims to train and place more programmers
Simplilearn launched its brand campaign, Ambition #CannotBeLockedDown to celebrate the inspirational spirit of individuals who pursued their ambitions even during the current global pandemic. The films portray the stories of three individuals from Seattle, Chennai, and Mumbai, who managed to successfully complete certifications to achieve career success. The campaign was conceptualised and executed in partnership with the creative agency Bluebot.
The company’s Full Stack Development Job Guarantee Programme launched in June 2020 has seen 200% growth in India. Given this growth, Simplilearn has launched a three-pronged approach to take on the goal of training and placing 10 lakh programmers in India by 2023. The goal is to expand the existing partnerships to the top 50 companies by March 2022 and develop deeper platform integration of assessments with large IT companies looking at recruiting in substantial numbers from this programme.
BMU hosts virtual convocation
BML Munjal University (BMU), a Hero Group initiative, hosted its sixth convocation virtually recently and conferred degrees on 397 students who successfully completed B.Tech, B.Com (Hons.), BBA, MBA and Ph.D programmes. The Chief Guest for the convocation ceremony was N.R. Narayana Murthy, Founder, Infosys Limited, and the event was presided over by Sunil Kant Munjal, Chancellor, BMU. The graduating students joined an event that was streamed in a 3D virtual environment and celebrated the milestone in their educational journey from cities across India. Vice Chancellor, Prof. (Dr.) Manoj K Arora, delivered the welcome address and spoke of the key achievements of the university in the last year.
Akzo Nobel India collaborates with NSIC
Akzo Nobel India Limited celebrated five successful years of its flagship ‘AkzoNobel Paint Academy’, a corporate social responsibility project in Delhi for skill development, and inaugurated its Paint Academy in collaboration with National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC). The guests of honour were Marten van den Berg (Ambassador of the Netherlands to India), P. Udayakumar (Director, Planning and Marketing, NSIC) and Rajiv Rajgopal (Managing Director, Akzo Nobel India Limited). The academy aims to train 200 youth. To promote learning without barriers, it also offers free hostel facilities for outstation students. On completion of the programme, Akzo Nobel India facilitates employment opportunities for successful candidates.
SNU, Delhi-NCR, ties up with Mondragon University, Spain
Shiv Nadar University, Delhi-NCR, and Mondragon University, Spain, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), by which the two institutions will pursue symbiotic opportunities in study, exchange, and collaborative programs, involving students, faculty, and research. Among the multiple areas of collaboration, ‘industry exchange’ will allow students of both institutions to take up internship opportunities in India and Spain. Some of the other areas include: exchange of students and faculty, joint research in science & technology, participation in short programs, seminars, conferences, etc. Shiv Nadar University, Delhi-NCR, has partnerships with nearly 20 universities outside India, all designed to enable global opportunities for students and faculty, and for meaningful collaborations in research.
Ashoka University students selected for UN Millennium Fellowship
Twenty five students of Ashoka University have been selected for the UN Millennium Fellowship, a joint collaboration by United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) and Millennium Campus Network (MCN), a Boston-based global non-profit, for the class of 2021. The programme aims to build young leaders on university campuses worldwide. Some of the projects that the current cohort will be working on include working on enabling quality education, need of water conservation, assisting women and girls in rural areas to set up their businesses, conducting election at the grassroots level in making Indian politics more accessible to younger people, building a network of people to stay connected through shared empathy and vulnerability in order to keep a check on mental health.
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