In Varanasi, Vedic studies go hi-tech

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November 20, 2010

Keeping pace with the introduction of computers at every level of education, Vedic studies have just gone hi-tech. Varanasi, the seat of Hindu learning in India is now producing GenNext pundits well versed in computers.

Visit conservative bastions like the Shri Vidya Mutt and other ashrams in Varanasi and you will see purohits and Vedic scholars, mouse in hand, learning the scriptures on their computers. According to Ganesh, a student of Praveshika (introductory) course in Vedic learning, students key in the words their teacher utters. His Sanskrit teacher Ayyar says computers are facilitating Vedic learning. Though his batuks are more interested in computers than any other subject, he says they are making steady progress in all streams. According to Swami Avimukteshwaranand of Shri Vidya Mutt, while Vedic knowledge is relevant in all ages, we felt the traditional method of imparting it was out of sync with the modern world. Students were developing an inferiority complex and Vedic learning was on the wane.

Kapil Sibal advocates for vocational training at open school

K-12

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November 20, 2010

Recently, the Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal encouraged the National Institute of Open Schooling to look at providing vocational training to students. He said the same in his address while chairing the 19th general body meeting of the NIOS Society. He urged NIOS to look at starting a vocational degree in addition to their normal class XII degree. He also advised NIOS to have a special strategy for states that need the maximum support. The NIOS is an autonomous institution formed by the HRD ministry providing formal education through open schooling system.

First batch of candidates for TCS Research Fellowship Program selected

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November 20, 2010

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, business solutions and outsourcing firm, announced the first batch of research scholars for the TCS Research Fellowship program. By sponsoring the research of Phd. candidates for four years, the TCS Research Fellowship Program is designed to promote quality academic research in India. The goal is to enlarge academic faculty talent pool in India by nurturing academic research across institutes in the field of computing sciences. 'We need to continuously invest to upgrade our education system as well as increase our academic scale. Nurturing research is therefore critical to expand the pool of academic faculty as well strengthen scholastic research in the country,' said N Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD, Tata Consultancy Services. 'This is an important need and we are committed to help academia bridge this gap by providing research scholars an attractive environment to undertake research in Computing Sciences using real-world solution-creation experiences that TCS can offer,' Chandrasekaran added.

Twenty-two candidates have been chosen from across India and an additional 18 will be named by February 2011. TCS plans to fund 200 doctoral candidates over a period of five years to take up Phd programs in reputable academic institutions across the country. Key elements for the selection of candidates include the candidate's and institute's credentials, the selected field of study and the Academic Research Guide's credentials. In addition to research support, TCS Research Fellowships will be paid a stipend, sponsored for academic conferences and will have access to resources and experts from TCS Innovation Labs and the company's Co-Innovation network. Doctoral candidates selected for the TCS Research Fellowship will be able to avail the opportunity of visits to TCS Innovation Laboratories and interactions with researchers at TCS, depending upon their project requirements.

New Director at IIM Rohtak

Higher Education

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November 20, 2010

The newly established IIM Rohtak in Haryana got its new director, P Rameshan, from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode. He is a Ph.D. in Economics from IIT-Kharagpur, and was a coordinator of the activities of the Centre for Strategic WTO (World Trade Organization) Research at IIM-Kozhikode. He had earlier served at IIM-Lucknow. IIM-Rohtak commenced operation in July this year, with a batch of 50 students. Since its own campus is yet to be established, classes are held at the Maharishi Dayanand University (MDU) campus in Rohtak.

Study by Apsiring Minds, Companies are Missing Out On Large Set of Employable Students

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November 12, 2010

According to a study conducted by Aspiring Minds, a recruitment assessment co., it appears that Tier II colleges have a moderate pool of employable talent, which is often ignored by companies and therefore creates an artificial dip in employable talent pool. The study also indicates that females and males are almost equivalently employable. With the ratio of the number of top 100 campuses to the rest is more than 10 times, conservatively estimated that more than 70% of all students employable for IT product sector and more than 80% of all students employable for the IT services/KPO sector are in tier 2 colleges. The study indicates that in tier II colleges (those not in top 100) 3.47% of students are employable in IT product, 16.4% in IT services and 8.26% in KPO. In contrast, 29.4% students in tier I campuses are employable in IT services companies, whereas 10% are employable in IT product companies. BPO and technical-support-job employability do not change much in tier 2 colleges as compared to Tier 1 colleges. It can therefore be estimated that a majority of employable talent lies in tier II colleges and cities which are partially or completely ignored by companies for fresher placements.

Students in Tier 2 colleges show a gap of 20 percentile points in English Communication, Logical Ability and Computer Programming, while the gap in Quantitative ability is 27 percentile points, as compared to students in Tier 1 colleges. This illustrates the gap is maximum in number skills and not in English, as is commonly believed. Also, the current study shows that the difference in employability for female vs. male technical graduates is not more than 2 percentage points in any IT/ITeS sector! The study showed that females performed better than males in English (by 2 percentile points) and Computer Programming (by 4 percentile points), males did better in Logical Ability (by 2 percentile points) and Quantitative Ability (by 11 percentile points). The methodology of the study was as follows. Campuses which fall in the top 100 campus list (according to various credible surveys) were segregated and their employability was compared with the rest of the campuses (called tier 2 campuses in this study). Employability was based on actual testing of students from these campuses on their employability skills using AMCAT, a computer based employability measurement test widely accepted in the industry.
Aspiring Minds has conducted India's first employability study of technical graduates based on the results of a standardized computer-based test called AMCAT conducted for more than 2,50,000 engineering and MCA students (in final year) across the country. AMCAT was conducted in more than 12 states under proctored environment. AMCAT covers all objective parameters for adjudging employability in the IT/ITeS sector including English Communication, Quantitative skills, problem-solving skills and Computer Science and Programming skills. Employability figures are based on actual hiring benchmarks on AMCAT scores set by multiple companies in IT/ITeS related sectors. Since the study is based on a standardized aptitude and skill test, not only does it find the employability quotient, but also helps investigate skills that are deficient in particular group of candidates with regard to different sectors.

ViewSonic launches PJD7383i, interactive projector

Corporate Updates

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November 11, 2010

ViewSonic India has announced the launch of new projector; PJD7383i in its already extensive projector range, directly targeting the education and training sectors. With a multitude of user-friendly features and a convenient classroom set up, the 3D-ready ViewSonic PJD7383i offers important additions to any interactive classroom environment.

The interactive PJD7383i negates the need for costly interactive white boards as it allows you to write on any surface and teachers are able to write directly onto the projected image with the included interactive pen without the need for alignment or calibration. PJD7383i is easy to use. It gets on in quick 3 seconds and instantly gets off. Just plug and start interactive education right away. PJD7383i bundled with ViewDraw software to assist user to write with any kind of application and digital content. ViewSonic iProjector technology enables you to connect the dots within human communication with the innovative PointBlank Pen in hand.

An additional teacher-friendly feature is evident in the 7 Series' 'short throw' projection, allowing 80-inch images to be projected from less than one metre away. This will put an end to teachers being blinded by the bright light. A microphone input is also included and every projector in the range is 3D-ready to help future-proof the investment. The ViewSonic PJD7383i features advanced Crestron network control using the LAN, enabling a central IT department to monitor the status of the devices at all times, taking the responsibility for maintenance and management away from the teacher in the classroom and reducing the total cost of ownership.
'PJD7383i is the Communicative projector which helps the teachers, trainers or presenters to communicate with the audience with a very effective communication procedure' says Amy Wu, VP Sales Asia Pacific & MEA, ViewSonic. 'It provides a break free from the confined presentation space and costly electronic whiteboards, all you need is PJD7383i and PointBlank Pen to improvise an interactive whiteboard at a click' she adds.

Further innovative features the projector include a USB wireless dongle with a WiFi range of up to 328 feet and a driverless, auto display USB presentation functionality allowing the teacher to run a presentation without connecting to a PC. All devices also feature USB and LAN display, providing the flexibility of choose how to send content to the projector either via USB or LAN, rather than having to use a video cable. Packed with 1024 x 768 resolution, 3000 lumens, digital gamma correction and short throw feature, PJD7383i delivers stunning all-digital clarity in virtually any settings. PJD7383i is available in India at a price of INR 129,999/-.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited invests in CSR

Corporate Updates

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November 8, 2010

During the year of 2009-10, Kuthethur-based Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) invested INR 12.70 crore on various corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. This was a quantum jump in the amount allocated for CSR considering that MRPL in 2008-09 spent INR 3.69 crore on such activities. In the present fiscal year, within the first six months MRPL spent INR 2 crore, with many CSR projects in the pipeline.

It was reported by Lekshmi M Kumaran, Deputy General Manager (Corporate communications and CSR), MRPL that the objective of casting various CSR projects undertaken by the company, a subsidiary of ONGC is education and creation of basic infrastructure for the rehabilitation of project displaced families. She added that the relevance and adequacy of projects suggested to the CSR department is evaluated before taking the project forward. The company also responds to requests for aid routed through the district administration, she said, adding MRPL has also responded with contribution in cash and kind whenever the state has faced major natural calamities.

Obama on Indian US education perspective

Policy Matters

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November 8, 2010

India is to witness big international education deals in coming week, by beginning with US President Barack Obama's visit to India. The visit is aimed at making India a global education destination. Singing of pacts with Canada will take place on Tuesday and the UK on Thursday, after finalising projects with Obama's delegation on Monday, top government sources confirmed.

Named after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the US President, the Singh-Obama 21st Century Knowledge Initiative will be the cornerstone of the discussions between officials of the two nations on education this Monday. The US also wants to declare an education summit with top Indian officials. Thursday will witness signing of pact by Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal , of the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) with British minister of state for education and skill David Willetts. Under the UKIERI-2 pact the UK will declare officially a plan to make India a major destination for its students

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