Robert Kaplan Is the Global Management Guru

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November 8, 2012

Harvard Business School professor and one of the most influential management thinkers Robert S Kaplan has been chosen for the second Global Management Guru Award (GMGA).

The award is given by Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH).

Prof Kaplan has to his credit many theories and innovative management practices. He is scheduled to visit India early November to receive the award and to deliver the award lecture at New Delhi, November 9.

Some of the breakthrough contributions of Prof Kaplan at Harvard Business School and Carnegie Mellon University include ‘time-driven activity-based costing’, Balanced Scorecard, Strategy Maps and the Kaplan-Norton strategy execution.

The GMGA award instituted in 2011 has an evolved process of short listing 25 global thought leaders that is followed by an international survey and jury process. The 2012 jury was led by eminent management educationist Dr Pritam Singh. This initiative has been spearheaded by one of India’s top business schools, the BIMTECH, New Delhi NCR, set up by the Birla group.

W Bengal To Set Up 4 B-schools

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November 8, 2012

The West Bengal State Government, for the first time in the history of Bengal, has decided to set up four B-schools in the state to cater increasing demand of management courses. The state will set up four engineering colleges as well, after a gap of a decade and six years. The management schools will operate from these engineering colleges. The B-schools will be set up in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Murshidabad and Purulia and will offer two-year courses partnering with industries.

The decision has been taken in the wake of exorbitant fees charged by most management schools. High fees charged by these colleges are very often unaffordable by many.

The government schools, on the other hand will charge reasonable fees and also offer subsidy. The government has also ensured upon the quality of education in these schools.

Each B-school will have 60 seats and students will have to either appear for a test conducted by the West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT) or sit for GMAT to get admission.

The colleges will be set up entirely with government funds.

Ganguly’s Cricket School Coming Up in Siliguri

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November 8, 2012

Famous former cricketer Sourav Ganguly is gearing up to set up a higher secondary school near Siliguri to prepare next-gen cricketers.

The cricketer’s school, Wissen International, which will have state-of-the-art sports and fitness equipment, is coming up in Matigara near Siliguri. Ganguly will coach the boys personally along with other trained teachers.

Ganguly first attempted to set up a school in Salt Lake in Kolkata, but ran into a land dispute and had to give up the plot after a high court directive.

Ganguly said the school will be affiliated to the Council of Indian School Certificate Examination. The school will set up on a 2.6 acre land.

Ganguly said education is the backbone of the society which is the reason he is setting up a school instead of a cricket academy. He underlined the need of better sports education highlighting that sports often take a backseat in many schools and many schools do not have proper equipment for sports.

The construction of the school will begin next month and the building will be complete in two years. The session will begin in May 2014.

Prof Manna New Director of IIT Kanpur

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November 8, 2012

Prof Indranil Manna has taken charge as new director of the IIT Kanpur. Prof Manna took over from Prof Sanjay Govind Dhande who was the director of the institute for over a decade.

Prof Dhande had applied for voluntary retirement and his request was accepted by Chairman Prof M Anandkrishnan, and the board of governors of IIT-Kanpur.

The new director Prof Indranil manna joined in the presence of senior IIT-Kanpur faculty members and other dignitaries of the institute. He was greeted and welcomed by the outgoing director and other office-bearers.

President of India in his capacity as visitor of the IIT Kanpur approved the appointment of Prof Indranil Manna as Director of IIT Kanpur for a period of five years.

Before joining IIT Kanpur, Prof Manna was director at Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI) since 2010. Prof Manna is Bachelor of Engineering from Calcutta University (B E College). He achieved M Tech degree in 1984 from IIT, Kanpur. He joined IIT, Kharagpur in 1985 as lecturer and rose to the position of full professor in 2003 until he joined CGCRI as director.

CBSE Introduces ‘Values Education Kit’

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November 7, 2012

CBSE has introduced ‘Values Education Kit’ to schools in order to reinforce values in students. The kit serves as a broad guideline for teachers on moral education and released in the presence of new HRD Minister M M Pallam Raju. “Universal ideals of love, peace, tolerance, forgiveness, humility, non-violence and sacrifice are the corner stone of the education,” Raju said launching the kit.

Although value education would be inculcated among all students in age appropriate ways, the board issues specific guidelines to assess students for three to five months in each subject at the summative assessment level in classes 9 and 10. The assessment will be done through questions which will be integrated with the content of the subject and analyzed on the basis of the values it reflects.

The Education Kit comprises a handbook and vaule cards besides CD of songs symbolising values of peace, solidarity and respect for nature. It will serve as a model for providing value education and at the same time allowing for variations that schools using it may want to adopt. The handbook also deals with ways to integrate values into the curriculum. It also highlights some critical concerns like the need for strengthening home school and community partnership, concern for parents’ involvement in school on education of children.

Maharashtra Universities Get Ready For Pilot Project For ICT Reforms

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November 7, 2012

17 state universities in Maharashtra may soon switch to online to ensure leak-free exams. The state Higher and Technical Education department will conduct a meeting on Wednesday to finalize things for a pilot project. On the basis of response and feedback received for the pilot project, the module may be extended across other universities. The decision has been taken in light of recent paper leaks in Mumbai University.

The state Governor K Sankaranarayanan recently held a meeting and directed vice-chancellors of various univarsities to build infrastructure for a full-fledged online mechanism to be put in place across universities soon. The meet followed a presentation to the governor over the use of technology to bring about reforms in the existing exam system.

“We will soon finalize the tender for a pilot. Once implemented successfully, it could be extended to all varsities in the state,” said state minister for higher and technical education D P Sawant.

It is learnt that several IT firms including TCS are ambitious to participate in the pilot project. The initiative is part of recommendations made by government’s exam reform panel, which submitted its report recently. It has suggested several reforms, including online examination and submission of thesis online. Headed by state IT secretary Rajesh Aggarwal, the committee has also recommended a pilot project for starting technology-based examination in the universities.

Vodafone Starts Education Camps for Special Children

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November 7, 2012

Vodafone has collaborated with Anjali Foundation in the state of Odisha to organize education camps for Children with Special Needs (CWSN). The initiative has been taken up to impart special skills to these children that will help them utilize their talent and be independent.

Many CWSN are blessed with unique capabilities which, if provided the right support and direction, can help such children to live a life without having to be dependent on others. At these education camps, specially-abled children from urban and rural locations will be equipped with knowledge and learnings that are structured to address their needs as per their environment.

Vodafone, in association with Anjali Foundation is also providing financial assistance to facilitate teaching infrastructure, therapists and medical teams and modern tools and training manuals. These camps will aim at promoting self-employment and long term sustenance for these specially-abled children.

Rajsekhar Metgud, Business Head, Vodafone, Odisha said, “Our constant endeavour is to make a difference to our workplace, marketplace, environment and community. This initiative is a part of our commitment to make a difference in the lives of these specially-abled children from all across Odisha. We are happy to partner with Anjali Foundation for this cause and hope to make a meaningful contribution to the society.”

FDI Must to Transform Education

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November 6, 2012

“Sound higher education infrastructure is must to leverage knowledge and innovation that could contribute to high-end manufacturing and high value-added services,” says a report released by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India.

The report underlines the need of huge investment to achieve ambitious targets set by the government in the area of gross enrolment ratio. The government aims at doubling the ratio by 2020. However, according to estimates, it will require support in terms of huge capital and funds for operating expenditure, which is unlikely to be provided by the government all by itself, says the report.

“The role of private sector in higher education has significantly increased in the last decade. However, due to various impediments the amount of FDI attracted by this sector since 2000 is dismally low at just USD 400 million. It is very important for foreign investment and experience to flow in this sector in order to transform our higher education institutions into the world’s top league,” it added.

The report also highlights the attractiveness of the higher education sector and the opportunities it provides for Indian private and foreign investment even within the existing framework. India has the third largest higher education system in the world in terms of enrolments, after China and the US.

Classteacher Learning Systems Goes to Australia

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November 6, 2012

Classteacher Learning Systems, a brand of Mind Shaper Technologies Pvt. Ltd, has launched its product ‘Language Lab’ for students in Australia. It is an online learning platform that caters to K ?12 students. The product will cover Hindi, Mathematics and Science. The company has already begun the Hindi Language Lab. Rest two subjects are expected to be launched within 3-6 months.

One of the established player in e-learning industry in India, Classteacher Learning Systems is presently teaching more than 1 million children online. Mind Shaper Technologies is one of the first companies in India to introduce Digital White Boards; develop and introduce digital content and ClassPad. Classteacher Learning Systems is the only company to have a complete range of solutions in Digital Interactive Classroom Program, ClassPad, Assessment Program, Digital Math Program, Digital Science Program, Online Program and Digital Language Program.

With increasing migration of Hindi population into Australia, the number of school-going children from the community has crossed the mark of 30000. According to Mr. Sameer Buti, Executive Director, Classteacher Learning Systems, “Market size will keep on increasing with increasing migration and growth in families here. As majority of these immigrants speak the Hindi language and their religious scriptures are in Hindi, they wish to continue teaching their children the language. There has been initial survey done by Class teacher in Sydney and it’s found that there is 100% acceptability of the product.”

Engineering Colleges Fail Industry Link Test: AICTE-CII Study

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November 5, 2012

Only one in every five established engineering colleges in the country is in synergy with industry, a joint survey by CII and the government suggests, fuelling fears of a disconnect that threatens the employability of the country’s youth. On a score of 100, only 19% of participant engineering schools secured even 46 marks in the survey conducted by the industry chamber and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the country’s apex technical education regulator.

“It is a big worry,” AICTE chairman SS Mantha said, calling the findings a “benchmark.” The survey is the first comprehensive effort to analyze the quality of linkages between the country’s engineering schools and industry, he said. “The results will help us understand where we need to intervene.”

The country has over 3000 engineering schools, and the survey looked at those which have existed for at least 10 years. Of the 1070 schools that are at least a decade old and are approved by the AICTE, 156 responded to the online survey which was conducted in September.

“Finding gainful employability for the youth of this country is a priority to prevent them from picking up guns instead,” junior minister for human resource development (HRD) Shashi Tharoor said. HRD minister MM Pallam Raju, and Jitin Prasada, the other junior HRD minister, have both also spoken about bridging the gap between higher education and employability as an area of focus.

In his first interaction with the press after taking charge of the HRD ministry on Wednesday, Raju referred to a recent report by a thinktank that found only 17% of the country’s engineering graduates employable in the IT industry. “That is a concern,” Raju said.

The government’s latest detailed employment statistics, based on the 2011 survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), paint a grim picture of the job scenario for the country’s youth.

Unlike the US and Europe, India has maintained a GDP growth rate of over 5 % even during the current economic slowdown. But more and more young Indians are working in jobs that don’t match with their educational qualifications, leading to the increasing frustration that Tharoor referred to.

“If you can’t get a commensurate job after an engineering degree, that degree really has no meaning,” Mantha said. “In professional education, that’s how things work.”

Source: HT

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