University of Sheffield
Computer Science Excellence Scholarship
The University of Sheffield, the U.K., is offering the Computer Science Excellence Scholarship 2024.
Value: £2,000
Eligibility: Candidates must attain A level grades of A*A*A (or above), or equivalent, including an A* in Maths; must make the University of Sheffield their first (firm) choice in the UCAS application process for 2024 entry; must apply to study a full-time undergraduate programme in the Department of Computer Science; must be classed as an overseas fee student for tuition fee purposes; must be taking all prerequisite subjects for their selected degree.
For details, visit https://bitly.ws/393Ls.
Environmental Science BSc
The university has opened admissions for the Environmental Science BSc course.
Commences: September 2024
Duration: Three years
Eligibility: Applicants should have scored 75% in class 12 (India – CBSE, CISCE and Maharashtra State Board), 70% in class 12 (India - West Bengal Board), and 80% in class 12 (India – Other state boards). IELTS grade of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each component, or an alternative acceptable English language qualification.
Fee: Overseas students annual fee is £25,540
Scholarships: The university is offering 75 International Undergraduate Merit Scholarships worth £10,000 per year (subject to a 60% average) and are available for new international students who meet the eligibility criteria.
For details, visit https://bitly.ws/Yf4H or contact geography@sheffield.ac.uk
International Green Warrior Olympiad
CREST Olympiads launched the International Green Warrior Olympiad (IGWO). It gives students the chance to become passionate about environmental care, and is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.
Eligibility: Students upto class 12 can participate individually or through the school
Mode and duration: Online, one hour
When: January 17 to 19
Fees: Individual registration fees is Rs. 225, and through schools, free of cost, for students studying and residing in India. For International students, the fee is $ 15.
For details on syllabus and to register, visit https://www.crestolympiads.com/green-olympiad-gwo.
Those interested in volunteering for a variety of olympiad activities, visit https://forms.gle/4AHfcR3spLW7A1ru9.
Azim Premji University public lecture series
Arthur Eisenkraft, Professor of Physics and Director, Centre of Science and Math in Context, University of Massachusetts Boston, will feature in the Azim Premji University public lecture series, at the Bangalore International Centre, 4.30 p.m. to 6 p.m., on January 13. He will speak on The Nature of Motion – A Lazy (OR Very Efficient) Universe.
PhD DRIVE at BITS Pilani’s SIRE
BITS Pilani recently launched the School of Interdisciplinary Research and Entrepreneurship (SIRE), an online space to advance research and innovation. Its primary activity will be to offer various interdisciplinary PhD programme, including the PhD DRIVE. Thirty Ph.D. scholars will be recruited by March 2024 under the PhD DRIVE scheme. The deadline to apply is February 15. For details, visit, https://sire.bits-pilani.ac.in/.
PGDM programmes
Jaipuria Institute of Management invites applications for its PGDM programmes across its Lucknow, Noida, Jaipur, and Indore campuses.
Duration: Two-year, full-time
Application fee: Rs.1000/-
Application: Online
Eligibility: Bachelor’s degree from a recognised Indian university, with a minimum of 50% marks or equivalent CGPA; final-year graduation students can apply, with proof of completion required by October 1, 2024; valid aptitude test scores of CAT 2023/CMAT/XAT/MAT/GMAT.
Deadline: March 31
Apply at https://apply.jaipuria.ac.in/
Specialised Nursing Batches
Physics Wallah recently launched three specialised Nursing batches to —Aarogyam, Ayushman, and Nightingale. Each batch caters to specific exam preparations and career goals, including AIIMS NORCET, RRB Staff Nurse Exam, ESIC Staff Nurse, State Level and CHO Exams. The courses cover various Nursing subjects, exam strategies, and future career prospects.
Fees: Aarogyam – Free; Ayushman – Rs. 1999; Nightingale – Rs. 2,499/
To register and for details, visit https://bitly.ws/39C3M, https://bitly.ws/39C44, and https://bitly.ws/39C3U.
Dronacharya Test-360 Degree Diagnostic Scholarship Exam
Eligibility: Students of classes 5 to 11.
Exam dates: January 28 and February 4
Deadline: January 26 (for the January 28th exam), and February 2 (for the February 4 exam).
Register online at https://admissiontest.fiitjee.com or offline by visiting a nearby FIITJEE centre.
Pro Piercing Course
Aliens Tattoo Art School will start its five-day Pro Piercing Course in Mumbai.
When: January 22 and February 19
Venue: Aliens Tattoo Art School
Eligibility: Anyone over the age of 18 years
Fee: ₹ 19,500 for five days
To register, visit https://www.alienstattooschool.com/pro-piercing-course
Advanced Tattoo Course - Black n’ Grey Realism and Portrait
Aliens Tattoo Art School will start its 45-day Advanced Tattoo Course in Mumbai.
Commences: February 5
Venue: Aliens Tattoo Art School
Fee: ₹ 1,50,000
To register, visit https://www.alienstattooschool.com/advanced-tattoo-course
Admissions open for Symbiosis MBA
Admissions are now open for the 2024 MBA programmes in Marketing and BFSI at Symbiosis University of Applied Sciences (SUAS) Indore.
Eligibility: Candidates must clear SUAS’s Skill CAT or possess a CAT/SNAP/MAT/XAT scorecard (minimum 50 percentile).
Skill CAT date: February 10 and March 9
To register, visit https://skill-cat.ac.in/, email helpdesk@skill-cat.ac.in, or call 9285333010, 9285333012 , 9285333023.
NIIT University (NU) announces early admissions for 2024
Admissions are now open to UG programmes such as BTech in Cyber Security, and Integrated Masters in Business. Students can also opt for BTech in Computer Science and Engineering, BTech in Electronics and Communication Engineering, BTech in Biotechnology, BTech in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, three-year BBA and four-year integrated Master’s in Business Administration (iMBA) programmes after class 12. Admission will be determined by students’ academic performance in class 10 or their results in specified national-level entrance exams. Applicants with JEE scores are exempted from the NU Aptitude Test. For details, visit https://niituniversity.in/admissions.
Events
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham organised the Amrita Research and Innovation Symposium for Excellence; 24 of its researchers who were acknowledged as among the top two percent scientists globally, were honoured.
The Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, supported by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (IC Section), Government of India, recently organised a two-day international conference on Infusing Technology in the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Sector. It was aimed at fostering innovation and technological advancement in the MSME domain. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: India Report 2022-23, providing insights into the country’s entrepreneurial landscape, was released.
At a felicitation ceremony held to commemorate the accomplishments of its inaugural January 2021 batch, JAIN Online, in partnership with CertOnce, recently unveiled Blockchain Secured Degrees.
The Manipal Institute of Technology recently hosted a workshop on Standardisation Ecosystem, in collaboration with the Bureau of Indian Standards.
Centurion University of Technology and Management, Odisha, recently conducted a faculty outreach programme in Kanpur, where nearly 150 people participated including teachers, educational experts, principals and owners of coaching institutes. They emphasised the need for skill-integrated education in India in accordance with the guidelines of NEP 2020.
Woxsen University, Hyderabad, recently held an international conclave focusing on ‘India-EU as Strategic Partners for the Future of Higher Education’. Its primary objective was to establish a platform to foster constructive dialogue among key stakeholders from the realms of diplomacy, higher education, and business.
First-semester MBA students from the CMR Institute of Technology recently conducted a school outreach programme at the Government School in Kuguru village. The initiative involved creating informative charts covering subjects from the Arts, Science, and Commerce streams, which included topics related to Uthe PSC exams, CET for Engineering and Medicine, and information about the Armed Forces. Students were also taught about ‘Good touch and Bad touch’.
Rewards and laurels
Class 10 students of Shiv Nadar School Gurugram, Faridabad, and Noida showcased technical prototypes solving real-life concerns at Colloquium 2023. The first prize went to Aaditya Seth, Samaira Taneja, Vanij Gupta, Armaan Srivatsan, and Sehraj Kapoor (Team Communica) from Gurugram.
The Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Bengaluru, concluded its MAHE B’LRU interschool quiz. Hansel Riju Mathew and Varun Goyal from Christ Academy, Bengaluru came first.
The Vishwakarma Awards 2023 announced winners for its three tracks — Water and Sanitation; Clean Technology, and Smart Mobility. Under Clean Technology, Golden Plastics by Rajdeep Singh Devra and Urvish Shah won Best Product Design while Design Prototype of Bio-filter to Treatment of Carbon Dioxide Gas Exhausts by Saunam Halder, Pranadipan Sahoo, Vedant Sanghavi, Aditya Gupta was declared Most Innovative Solution.
Under the Smart Mobility track, ROV-Remote-Operated Underwater Vehicle by Saket Joshi, Sanskruti Gondaliya won Best Product Design while SQUADRON: Heterogeneous Swarm Technology by Aryank, Anjali was declared Most Innovative Solution.
Under the Water and Sanitation track, IoT-enabled real-time Water Monitoring System with Remote Data Accessibility by Satyam by Tarun Gangar won Best Product Design while Pushpak by Mohit Kumar Gupta, Jatin Jain Anurag Meena, and Harishit Sharma was declared Most Innovative Solution.
Shiv Nadar University Chennai (SNUC), recently conducted EduQuest 2023-24, for students in classes 9-12. As part of its project competition, ProjectX themed STEM for Sustainable Development, the winners were S. Naren RajaSekhar, M Senthil Kumar, M Vishal from Pushpalata Matric Higher Secondary School, Tirunelveli. The winners of the SNUC QuBiz- Quiz Competition were R. Shyam Sundar and Arjun Vaidhyanathan from PSBB KK Nagar, Chennai while Vishruth Murali Dharan and Ashwin from PSBB Millenium Coimbatore came second, and Gagan G Tumkur and Atulithan M S from Vidhya Niketan Coimbatore came third.
LEAD recently announced the winners of the LEAD Championships 2023. In the English Champs category for students of classes 6 to 9, Areeba Rizwan Qureshi from Vidya Sabri Public School, Bareilly, was winner; in the Reading Champs category, it was Nida Dumba from Poornima International school- new Raichur, Karnataka; from the Quiz Champs category, it was Prithviraj Wagh from Kids Kingdom Academy, Sonai, Maharashtra. In the senior category for students of 6 to 8 of Quiz Champs, the winners were Anitha P and Aradhana.S fro, Little Flower Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Sathyamangalam, Tamil Nadu.
Prof. Ramgopal Rao, Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani, received the VSI Lifetime Achievement Award 2024 by the VLSI Society of India. The award recognises his contributions towards the development of the VLSI Design and Semiconductor ecosystem in India.
Team Krypton comprising L Achintya, Adithya Vedhamani, K Lohith Saradhi and Vishwa Kumaresh, third-year students at Shiv Nadar University, Chennai, bagged the first place in the Encryptocon Hackathon, organised by Shaastra, IIT Madras, and Temenos. The team focused on Behavior Analysis of Financial Fraudulent Transactions.
Surveys and studies
Internshala Trainings rolled out its year-end e-learning trends report. Some findings include: a 6.3-fold increase in the number of students opting for online certification courses over the past five years and the most sought-after skill courses was Web Development closely followed by Digital Marketing and Programming with Python; in 2023.
Zell Education released a report highlighting a surge in placements within the finance and accounts domain for 2023. Some key findings include: 74.63% of students are from metropolitan areas and 25.37% from non-metro regions, graduates aged 19-25 years constitute 51.40%, students from diverse academic backgrounds are actively pursuing global certifications.
The Unstop Winter Student Sentiment Survey published its findings which insights into students’ priorities and concerns. Some key findings were: 47% of students are pursuing roles with their dream companies and only 28% were willing to compromise on their initial opportunities and 61% feel that technology has restricted their career while 63% believe that AI will play a crucial role in coding jobs.
The Oxford International’s Student Global Mobility Index study provided insights into the preferences and challenges faced by UG students seeking higher education opportunities abroad. Key findings include: 50% of Indian students cited better career opportunities as the primary motivation to study abroad, while 42% cited cultural experience and 35% of the Indian students feel they will have the opportunity for a better-paid career as a result of studying abroad.
MoUs and partnerships
Rishihood University signed an MoU with Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Malaysia, for joint efforts in industry-led global immersion programmes for students, research projects, conferences, and cross-cultural development initiatives.
BITS Pilani signed an MOU with Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya to propel collaborative efforts in research and development, teaching, executive education, curriculum development, and more.
Futurense has introduced a dual coursework pathway with over 14 additional US institutions and IIT Jodhpur/IIM Indore in India, creating new avenues for Indian engineering students. This expanded collaboration includes institutions such as Drexel University, Case Westerns, Rutgers, Tulane University, and more.
Gopalan Foundation partnered with Whitefield Area Commerce and Industries Association to bridge the academia-industry gap and skill students. Students will get to collaborate with WACIA member companies on real-world projects.
Pearson partnered with Buddha Group of Institutions to offer its BTEC Higher Nationals (HN) Art and Design and Business Management courses to students at the Buddha Group of Institutions.
Physics Wallah (PW) signed an MoU with ETS India to guide students prepare for the GRE and TOEFL exams. It has launched PW UNigo to provide free one-on-one counselling sessions, and other resources for students in tier II and III cities.
Kotak Mahindra Bank has partnered with IT for Change to implement a Continuous Professional Development programme to enhance digital pedagogical skills of higher primary teachers in Karnataka’s government schools.
Counsel India and Medhavi Skill University have launched Pragati 2024, an approach that aims to shape the future of skill development. For details of programmes offered, visit https://www.counselindia.com/
LEO1, in collaboration with NSDL Payments Bank, launched a numberless Prepaid ID card for students and educational institutions with MasterCard as network partner. It will provide educational institutes and students with a cost-effective payment solution
AU Foundation partnered with Ambuja Foundation to launch ‘Future Skill Academy’ that will impart IT skills to Rajasthan’s marginalised youth. Graduates (or third-year students) from Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths backgrounds can enrol for this programme.
OC Academy has partnered with Learna to launch Post Graduate Diploma and M.Sc. programmes, awarded by the University of South Wales and the University of Buckingham, in India. For details, visit https://bitly.ws/39doa.
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants recently signed an MoU with Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur, for academic collaboration, R and D, professional development, among others.
News from the IITs and IIMs
IIT Roorkee’s Department of Humanities and Social Sciences recently organised a workshop titled ‘Social Determinants of Lifestyle Related Chronic and Non-Communicable Diseases among Adult Women in India.’
IIM Sambalpur conducted a Faculty Development Programme (FDP) for the executives of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar. Thirty-six mid-career faculty members in two batches participated. The FDP focussed on their professional growth and development in Management education in agriculture.
Cogoport, in collaboration with IIM Amritsar, recently concluded the inaugural batch of the Post-Graduate Certificate Programme in Global Logistics and Freight Management.
Rishu Raj, Mayank Goyal and Prakansh Mishra, the team of PGP students from IIM Bangalore, recently stood first in the TAPMI Bloomberg Championship.
CASE Construction Equipment has signed an MOU with IIT Indore to set up a CASE Centre of Excellence at the campus. It will have a range of lab equipment for technical assessment contributed by CASE, and will be ready by this March.
A research paper and study on the use of a special alloy that could make it easier and affordable to convert and store energy from renewable sources, by Prof. Krishanu Biswas of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, IIT Kanpur, and fellow researchers from IIT Mandi, IIT Kharagpur and IISc Bangalore, was recently published. It was highlighted by Nature as one of the ‘high-impact research papers from India that are shaping science’. Titled Low-cost high entropy alloy (HEA) for high-efficiency oxygen evolution reaction (OER),’ it was published in the Nano Research Journal (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12274-021-3802-4).
