VidyaDaan scholarship programme
Deeksha invites applications for its flagship scholarship programme, VidyaDaan, for promising children from economically-disadvantaged families who have done outstandingly well in their middle and high-school years. Under VidyaDaan, full academic scholarship is awarded to children enabling them to pursue pre-university Science courses along with the coaching for competitive exams. Similarly, scholarship for the Commerce stream includes coaching pre-university Commerce courses coupled with Deeksha’s signature Focus 360 programme.
Eligibility: Apply at http://tiny.cc/VidyaDaan2021 or writing to vidyadaan@deekshalearning.com, or calling 9513743925.
Availability: 100 scholarships
Deadline: September 10
O.P. Jindal Global University ADVANCE Fellowships for Afghan students
O.P. Jindal Global University recently launched a special Advancement of Afghan Nationals in Comprehensive Education (ADVANCE) Fellowships for Afghan students, in response to the complicated geo-political situation in the region and the need for Afghan students to have credible educational alternatives to pursue their academic goals,
Availability: 10
Description: Selected students from Afghanistan can pursue Ph.D. degrees at any of the schools or institutes offering doctoral programmes and work closely with the global faculty of JGU, where they can understand and appreciate the nuances of academic research. The policy will be applicable from Spring 2022 (January 2022) semester.
Facilities: The university will provide a suitable accommodation, dining hall facility and annual health insurance coverage to research scholars, in addition to the fellowship.
Eligibility: All Afghan students who have completed a Master’s programme or M.Phil.
‘GREAT Talks’ series on Space and Astronomy
British Council is organising a series of lectures focusing on space and astronomy, as part of the GREAT Talks series that gives Indian students and learners access to some of the world’s brightest minds. Professor Carole Mundell, Professor of Extragalactic Astronomy, Head of Astrophysics at the University of Bath, will throw light on what threatens our delicate space ecosystem and how important it is for humans to keep it healthy and safe. Students, astronomy enthusiasts and space explorers from India can join the online session.
Date & Time: September 2; 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.
Register at https://bit.ly/3mKljHP
IIT-Kanpur installs 10 indigenous oxygen plants
IIT-Kanpur’s Mission Bharat O2 initiative — led by Prof. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, Professor in-charge, Innovation and Incubation, IIT-Kanpur; Srikant Sastri, Director, FIRST-IITK and Chairman, I3G Advisory Network; and Rahul Patel, Head of Strategic Initiatives and Acquafront Infrastructure — recently installed 10 oxygen plants of 500 and 600 LPM capacities in U.P., M.P., Karnataka, Haryana and Bihar. Mission Bharat O2 is one more step towards the larger vision of SIIC to develop a self-sustainable healthcare ecosystem in India.
Big win at Matific’s Junior Maths Championship
With over 1,200 schools and 5,00,000 students across India participating in Matific’s Junior Maths Championship, Police Public School, Bengaluru recently secured the first position won a cash-prize worth ₹4,50,000. Kairos International School, Hyderabad, and Cambridge Court World School, Jaipur, secured the first and the second runner-up positions along with cash prizes of ₹2,50,000 and ₹75,000 respectively.
Finplan International Education and Auro University collaborate
Finplan International Education recently signed an alliance with Auro University for collective efforts in education, research and placements. Students can now pursue B.Com in International Accounting at Auro University. The alliance, aimed at providing business-relevant qualifications, will witness a blend of international knowledge and globally-relevant skills through academic programmes, research projects, trainings, internships and so on. Students will gain the ACCA Professional qualification and be recognised as a Global Chartered Accountants (Global CA) across 179 countries, along with their specialised Bachelor’s in International Accounting Degree. To enable a quality exchange, faculty will receive in-depth training as a part of the Train the Trainer programme by international trainers.
IIAD’s virtual orientation programme
IIAD recently welcomed its new batch of design students in their respective programmes, and embraced the new normal by hosting its orientation event virtually. Students and parents were introduced to the IIAD community and familiarised with resources and facility, rules and regulations, and calendar of academic events.
CareerLabs partners with HelloIntern
Careerlabs recently partnered with HelloIntern to provide career-track internships to college students and professionals across the country. The partnership will allow students to choose internships from over 50 domains, based on their location, choice of field, stipend structure, and more. The internships will cater to students from different backgrounds such as Engineering, business development, content management, analytics, and more. Additionally, the partnership will provide students with the opportunity to enhance their profile for placements by gaining hands-on experience on industry projects.
Record-breaking research journals
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences recently set a record in research by crossing 10,000 publications in Scopus. Till date, Saveetha has published 10,061 research papers, which includes 6,417 affiliations alone by Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, and 2,173 journals by Saveetha School of Engineering followed by 731 and 730 affiliations by Saveetha Medical college and Hospital, and Saveetha Engineering College respectively.
ABEA launches Project Samarth and Project Oorja
Aditya Birla Education Trust, in a virtual launch event, recently announced its collaboration with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to bolster BMC schools with two futuristic projects — Project Samarth and Project Oorja. The objective is to strengthen and upskill the English-medium school teachers and provide counselling interventions to students, while creating awareness by training teachers on Mental Health Literacy and Mental Health First-aid. Project Samarth will be delivered by experienced trainers at Aditya Birla Education Academy whereas Project Oorja will be driven by a team of psychologists from Mpower’s Outreach and Cell verticals.
IIM-B hosts international conference and special address by Palanivel Thiaga Rajan
The Centre for Public Policy (CPP), at IIM-B, recently inaugurated the XVIth International Conference on Public Policy and Management, with a special address by Dr. Mahesh Rangarajan, Vice Chancellor, Krea University. Describing himself as a student of environmental history, Dr. Rangarajan talked of the role of public policy in India in the context of extreme events like the pandemic, climate change and ecological shifts.
In his special address on Federalism, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Minister for Finance and Human Resources Management in the Tamil Nadu Government, focused on the complexity of administering public policy. Stepping back to when he forayed into public administration from international banking, he said he had assumed that running the government would have access to performance data, institutional memory, and infrastructure/ systems. He added that while the bureaucracy-deemed IAS and the exam-written IAS cadre had a direct connection with ministers, there was adequate continuity in administration as they are rotated.
National Education Policy Programme inaugurated
The Sharda University has undertaken an extensive exercise to discuss and deliberate on the National Education Policy to bring out in sharper focus the areas on which higher education institutions need to concentrate. In this context, the university recently focused on Institutional Development Plan for Academic Excellence in Higher Education in a seven-day plenary sessions with Chief Guest Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE. Over 20 speakers from reputed colleges spoke.
Lenovo Aware
Lenovo recently announced its ‘Lenovo Aware’ smart learning solution for consumers, which will come pre-bundled with the latest generation of IdeaPad Slim 3i and IdeaPad Slim 5i laptops. Lenovo Aware software aims to support a superior remote learning experience by addressing some digital challenges brought to light this past year during the lockdown, such as how to keep young students focused during online classes and improve their digital well-being, among others.
Pre-semester learning
Pearl Academy recently designed a Pre-semester Learning Experience (PSLE) which will go on until the formal academic session begins. It has been designed keeping in mind the different disciplines and courses students have joined and the diverse backgrounds they come from. With three gamified modules — ‘Explore 4 senses’, ‘Who are your Hoomans’ and ‘From me to we’— PSLE covers multiple human aspects and skills such as ideation, curiosity, playfulness, collaboration, awareness, leadership, and personal development. These modules enable students to get in touch with their creative, imaginative side while helping them hone their technical and social skills.
Platform Eduten launched in India
Eduten recently announced its official launch in India. Eduten Playground is a gamified and adaptive AI-based maths system that comes with a content library of more than 2,00,000 pedagogically high-quality online tasks for students between the ages of 6 to 15. The purpose is to introduce schools to Eduten Playground and study its impact on teaching and learning. The project will take four weeks and includes teacher training.
Harappa’s Bridge The Gap survey results
Harappa recently conducted a survey to understand the distinct need gaps and challenges faced across the education-work continuum. Harappa’s Bridge the Gap survey sampled 200+ academics and talent leaders to decode various nuances of young talent employability in India. It revealed the top three skills that employers look for in young talent are the ability to proactively problem-solve, self-motivation, and an affinity for teamwork. Other skills highlighted were excellent communication skills, resilience, reasoning logically, time management and learning on the job. Talent leaders identified creative problem-solving as one of the biggest need gaps, followed by critical thinking, effective collaboration, decision making, logical reasoning and others, along with several other key findings.
Strategic alliance
Sommet Education recently entered into a strategic alliance with the Indian School of Hospitality. With this, Sommet Education supports the development of its two institutions to India: École Ducasse and Les Roches. With this alliance, École Ducasse will offer programmes in culinary and pastry arts aimed at young students and professionals. Les Roches with campuses in Switzerland, Spain, and China will enrich ISH’s undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
Brainly survey
The latest survey by Brainly recently revealed how Indian students have adapted to the new study-from-home paradigm in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Key findings include that 8 out of 10 of Indian students miss in-person engagement with their friends and peers, a majority of Brainly students (78%) use their free time to study, and almost half of Brainly students said that online learning platforms make studying from home easier.
KL University researchers introduce innovation in VitD testing
Researchers from KL Deemed-to-be University recently developed a handmade paper sensor that can measure Vitamin D deficiency with high accuracy. Developed by the team of Dr. Pradeep Kumar Brahman, Department of Chemistry, and Tummala Anusha, Research Scholar at the institute’s Andhra Pradesh campus, the paper was recently published in the Microchemical Journal, Elsevier (https://bit.ly/2VfK9nk). This technology can lead smaller clinics, dispensaries in remote areas, medical facilities in geographically inaccessible locations, and smaller facilities to measure Vitamin-D deficiencies without any bulky equipment or labs.
Advance certificate programme in Cloud Computing and DevOps
Electronics and ICT (E&ICT) Academy, IIT-Roorkee, and online learning platform Intellipaat recently signed an MoU to launch advanced certification in Cloud Computing and DevOps. This advanced certification programme curriculum includes Cloud Computing concepts, DevOps tools, AWS, Virtualisation, Cloud Security, and so on, which will help students build a career in this domain. Through this seven-month online programme, learners will undergo multiple hands-on exercises and project work.
Research in Drug Discovery
National Institute of Technology-Andhra Pradesh recently organised a five-day online faculty development programme on ‘Drug Discovery: From lab to industry’. It aimed to bring advancements in the field of Biomedical, healthcare and drug discovery research to faculties, scientists, research scholars and industry professionals working in drug discovery research as well as pharma sector, to impart advanced knowledge and cover areas such as Structure Based Drug Designing, High throughput virtual screening of lead compounds, Role of Technology in Healthcare, and more.
MIT-WPU Announces its first National Conclave
MIT-WPU’s School of Government (MITSOG) recently launched a year-long campaign programme Overcoming the Colonial Mindset, and organised its first National Conclave (online) of this campaign. Some eminent personalities who addressed the conclave included Dr. Subramaniam Swamy, Member, Rajya Sabha and Former Union Minister; N. Gopalswamy, Former Chief Election Commissioner of India; Dr. Lalit Bhasin, Eminent Lawyer, New Delhi; among others.
SRM University-AP celebrates Founder’s Day and inaugurates Freshman Orientation programme
SRM University-AP recently celebrated the birthday of Founder-Chancellor Dr. T.R. Paarivendhar. Dr. M. Malakondaiah, former Director-General of Police, Andhra Pradesh, was the chief guest. The inauguration of Prerana Vanam, a week-long event of planting trees across the university was held as part of the celebrations. Prof. Vajja Sambasiva Rao, Vice-Chancellor; Prof D Narayana Rao, Pro-Vice-Chancellor; Dr. Vinayak Kalluri, Registrar; and Wg. Cmdr. Venkataachalam Sekkappan, Director-CLM addressed the gathering.
The university’s virtual inauguration of the Freshmen Orientation Programme-2021 took place on August 25. Dr. P. Sathyanarayanan, President; Prof. V.S Rao, Vice-Chancellor and Prof. D. Narayana Rao, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, welcomed the freshers into the university. The orientation will continue till September 7.
International internship opportunities
Teerthanker Mahaveer University, Uttar Pradesh, recently signed an MoU with Edu Brain Overseas to facilitate an international platform for students for obtaining world-class industrial exposure in international companies. For more details, visit www.edubrainoverseas.com .
IIT-Guwahati develops Pseudocapacitive Hydrogels and collaborates with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
A group of researchers from IIT-Guwahati recently developed hydrogel-based electrodes that could enhance the performance of an energy storage device. The research group at Department of Physics, IIT Guwahati led by Dr. Uday Narayan Maiti, in collaboration with Prof. Subhradip Ghosh, IIT Guwahati and Dr. N. Padma of Physics group, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, under BRNS (Board of Research in Nuclear Science) project has developed a new soft hybrid material, known as hydrogel, to increase the energy storage performance of supercapacitor devices.
IIT-Guwahati is also collaborating with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, to help enrich academic programmes and promote exchange of students between the two institutions. The two institutions will encourage cooperation between their faculty members, departments, and research centres including visits of faculty members to deliver lectures, conduct seminars, discussions, research and supervise student studies. Student visits to attend courses and jointly develop teaching programmes will also be encouraged along with collaboration in research projects.
Practically partners with Almoe
Leveraging the rapid adoption of technologies in education, Practically recently tied up with Almoe Digital Solutions Pvt Ltd India, a part of Dubai-based Almoe, to provide free access to Practically School Solution. Through this partnership, Almoe will assist Practically in offering immersive content and learning experiences to 3,000 schools where 50,000 Promethean and Specktron Interactive Displays are already in use.
StayQrious launches Science programme for middle-school students
Realising the gaps in the existing middle-school STEM, StayQrious recently launched its mastery-based Science foundation course. It understands that a holistic evidence-based learning pedagogy plays an important role in driving the curiosity of students for STEM subjects. Therefore, focussing on STEM foundations, well researched learning techniques and 21st century skills, the course is specifically curated for young learners from Classes 6 to 8, and will delve into core concepts necessary to develop a strong science foundation.
SkillEnable collaborates with Institute of Engineering and Management
SkillEnable recently collaborated with IEM-Kolkata’s B.CA and M.Sc. (Computer Science) Departments to raise awareness about the data science tool called R and gave students an opportunity to work with it. The two-hour classes covered the topics with live case studies so that students could gain relevant knowledge. The objective was to educate engineering students about the variety of career options.
Mentor Conference 2021 findings
The Mentor Conference 2021 Polls, recently conducted by ForeignAdmits, showed that 64% of Indian students planned on studying abroad in the U.S. and Canada despite the pandemic. ForeignAdmits has helped the students get an insight in the current trends for international studies, through its Mentor Conference 2021 Polls, which comprised of 12,000 individuals majorly populated in India and a minor share from 17 countries internationally in mid-July. The sample space included a good mix of high-schoolers, undergraduates, postgraduates, and working professionals.
Countingwell Survey findings
A new survey among school teachers by Countingwell revealed that 90% teachers have seen a significant increase in their workload during the pandemic. Nearly 45% of the respondents reported an increase of two hours a day. However, about 30% felt that ready-made lesson plans and worksheets could help reduce this workload. Additionally, 54% believed that learning apps aided them with tools and complemented online classroom learning. Around 400 teachers from across the country took part in the online survey.
