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IGNOU to train resource persons engaged in distance learning

The Staff Training and Research Institute of Distance Education (STRIDE) has brought out its calendar for 2009-10. STRIDE is an Indira Gandhi National Open University wing that intends to develop capacities among resource persons engaged in open and distance learning. Organisations of all types including government and semi-government, private, and partner institutes which need their staff to be trained will now be able to apply for teachers' training at IGNOU. The calendar covers a wide range of training schedules in various disciplines. The training programmes are short-term including academic, technical, professional, non-academic and administrative. The target groups are employees of IGNOU, State open universities, correspondence course institutes and other agencies and organisations across the country and overseas.

STRIDE also identifies training needs of different target groups in open and distance learning, builds up a resource base of up-to-date information and training material, courses and expertise, organises and conducts staff development activities and offers degree programmes leading to M.Phil./Ph.D. Training of teachers being key to quality education in the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode of pedagogy, STRIDE conducts various training programmes for the faculty, administrative and support staff engaged in ODL in India and abroad.

International Management Institute Organizes Prahelika 2011

Theme of Prahelika'11 -“Infrastructure financing”: Investing in India's growth

New Delhi-based International Management Institute launched a two – days event 'Prahelika' on the 15th & 16th of October 2011, which over the years has seen senior executives from India's finest corporations coming together in an attempt to share their insights on contemporary issues of high Finance.

This first day of the event was marked with the presence of eminent personalities like Mr. R.M Malla (CMD, IDBI), Mr. B.A Prabhakar (ED, Bank of India), Mr. Shashank Ojha (Sr. e-Government Specialist, World Bank), Mr. Pradeep Kumar (CEO, Indian Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd.), Mr. Debashish Majumdar (CMD, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd.) and many others.
With a strong line-up of speakers and panelists, the summit had a total of 4 sessions covering all relevant and burning topics-India's Infrastructure Financing, Debt Financing of Infrastructure projects, Multilateral Institutions: Experiences and Lessons and Infrastructure Financing: The Equity Route.

Over this occasion Dr. Pritam Singh, Director General IMI said “We at IMI are making successful efforts to spread the illumination of knowledge far and wide to the very hearts and minds of young generation which happens to be our future. For this very cause legendary personalities in finance, banking and corporate whose work has had a deep impact on our lives and the way we perceive the world are invited to share their distinguished vision at Prahelika every year.”


The day ended with the panel discussion on Green Energy Generation, the panelists were Debashish Majumdar (CMD, Indian Renewable Energy Development AgencyLtd.) Mr. Deepak Verma (COO, Emergent Ventures) Mr. B L Chandak (Vice President, Corporate Finance, Power. CESC Limited).

US varsity to promote Hindi and Urdu Teaching

Indiana University in the US has been given a government grant of US$119,999 to educate middle and high school teachers and students in Hindi and Urdu, two of the three 'strategic languages spoken in some of the most populated countries.' The University's India Studies Programme has been given the grant from the 'STARTALK' funding for a four-week residential immersion programme for high school students in Hindi and Urdu, two languages largely spoken in India and Pakistan. The STARTALK programme of the National Security Language Initiative (NSLI) seeks to expand and improve the teaching and learning of strategically important world languages that are not now widely taught in the United States.

 

It has also awarded IU's Centre for Chinese Language Pedagogy two STARTALK grants totaling US$169,993 to continue a teacher training programme in Mandarin Chinese for 20 middle- and high school instructors and for a new four-week language programme for 20 secondary school students. The two centres last year received total, initial STARTALK funding of about US$204,000. Both student programmes begin on June 22 at IU Bloomington. The free summer intensive program for Hindi and Urdu provides the equivalent of one semester of university-level instruction. Between June 22 and July 17, students will meet in 20 hours of classes each week and participate in cultural activities. They will go on field trips to cultural sites and learn about the south Indian classical dance bharatnatyum, south Indian carnatic music, yoga, and even popular sports such as cricket and kabbadi. Twenty students from Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, California and Hawaii have been accepted for the Hindi and Urdu programme.

Talent, Innovation inspires Delhi Technological University

The Delhi Technological University (DTU), formerly known as the Delhi College of Engineering (DCE), recently completed its hundred days of being accorded the university status. It is now all set to root its foundation in its future endeavors. The National Network of Education (NNE), DTU Vice Chancellor Prof. P.B. Sharma discloses some of its immediate agendas, announcing the beginning of new programs including dual degree programs and integrated Master's programs in areas of relevance to our country in Medical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Bio-informatics, Clean Energy and Environment Technology, New and Smart Materials and Nano-Technology.

The VC Told that DTU's board of management has already given its nod to construct a multi-storey academic block; a teaching block housing ICT enabled lecture theatres and additional hostel facilities for both boys and girls. A finishing school in partnership with the industry and alumni to further boost employability of their graduates is also in the wish list of the VC. A Staff College for Tech faculty development will also be set up in DTU to support the Faculty Development mission.

Jamia invites ace photographer for a workshop

Jamia Millia Islamia students are all set for a date with ace photographer Atul Kasbekar this coming week. Jamia is organising a workshop by Atul on Monday, April 27, in Mir Taqi Mir Hall on the campus. The renowned photographer, who specialises in media, film and fashion photography, will be sharing his work with the students, which will be followed by a question-answer session. He will also hold a demonstration of his techniques.

Apart from photography students of AJK Mass Communication Research Centre and Department of Architecture and Fine Arts at Jamia, students from Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University and National Institute of Fashion Technology are also expected to attend the workshop. The day-long workshop will be opened by Professor Farhat Basir Khan of MCRC, who is the convenor of the event. The workshop will be inaugurated by Vice-Chancellor Mushirul Hasan.

South Dayi people urged to provide ICT facilities for students in communities

The people of South Dayi have been urged to help provide ICT facilities for pupils and students in their communities. The MP for the area, Edem Asimah, made the call at the inauguration of a computer centre and library at the Peki-Tsame Basic Schools. He commended Peki-Tsame for setting the pace by establishing the first ICT centre through the instrumentality of Mawutor Ndenya-Akpedonu, who provided eight laptops and twenty-two desktop computers worth US$30,000. Ndenya-Akpedonu, who is resident in the US, is the Development Queen of Peki-Tsame. She also provided books worth ten thousand dollars for the basic school library and promised to equip the ICT facility with Internet. The MP said the knowledge of ICT has become an important factor in the global community and therefore a must for all children if they are to fit into the global village. He therefore commended Ndenya-Akpedonu for helping her community and called on the leaders of Peki-Tsame to maintain the computers.

The Chief of Peki-Tsame, Togbe Baduvie, thanked Mrs. Ndenya Akpedonu and her colleagues from the USA for the gesture. He said the pupils are fortunate to be given a head start in ICT education which has been integrated into the Basic school syllabus. The Chairman of the Accra branch of the Peki-Tsame Central Union, Samuel Bortsi, said the community has refurbished two classrooms at a cost of GHC2,500 to accommodate the computer centre and the library. He said the community has also employed staff to run and maintain the two facilities.

Maharashtra to have lighter schoolbags

Worried about the health hazards posed by the heavy bags children carry, the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) on Wednesday directed all schools to strictly implement guidelines issued by the Department for School Education to make bags lighter. Failure to comply would mean imposition of penalties on the school. Permissible bag weights range from 1.75 kg for Class I students to 3.65 kg for Class VII.

While no permissible bag weights were specified for higher classes, the guidelines make it clear that students should bring only books specified by the government. Others, like workbooks and study guides, are banned. The MSHRC directed the department to ensure that the guidelines were followed 'in real sense and true spirit.' Munshi asked the department to take stern action against errant schools. Taking note of the 'inadequate' steps taken to ensure the guidelines' implementation, Justice Munshi sought quarterly status reports from the department on measures taken to reduce bag weights. The MSHRC was acting on a letter written by a retired high court judge, R.G. Sindhakar, who had stated that despite clear directives 'matters remained where they were.' Recognising that heavy bags caused problems like backaches, the government had in January 1997 decided to reduce bags' average weight substantially.

Joint Admission Board rejects HRD’s SC/STs privilege in IIT-JEE

A recent proposal by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to provide more attempts to SC and ST students in the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE), conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has been rejected by the Joint Admission Board (JAB) yesterday saying that SC/ST students are already being given special preference for admission to the elite institutes. JAB is the highest body to take decision on IIT-JEE. Currently, all students are given two attempts to crack IIT-JEE.

'We need to maintain the status quo. The JAB thought that what is given to SCs/STs is sufficient,' said an IIT Director. The members at the JAB were of the view that SC/ST students were getting separate merit list with relaxed cut-off was being drawn up for these students. Preparatory classes are conducted for SC/ST students whose level of competence is not at par with that of the general students.

Live training by Akshaya for online counselling programme

A training programme organised by Akshaya, an Information and Communication Technology dissemination project in the Indian state Kerala, in association with the National Informatics Centre (NIC) on the Internet-based counselling evoked enthusiastic response from students. Nearly 350 students took part in the live demo-cum-training sessions held at the Malappuram Collectorate in Kerala in three batches.

P.K. Basheer Ahamed, district officer of the NIC, showed the students all steps involved in the online CAP. Even when asking the students to exercise vigil, he showed them how easily and effectively the CAP can be done through the Internet. He walked the students through step-by-step Internet pages required to complete their registration and options. The best thing, according to Mr. Ahamed, is to take a printout of the pages and work on them before one actually goes on line. Students should keep the entrance brochure with them to ensure the college and course codes.

He cautioned the students against disclosing the roll number, admission number and the key in the admit card to others. One can scuttle the chances of a student by setting a false password if one gets to know the key. Another vital point the NIC district head made was about entering options. A student who opts a subject as a fifth preference, for example, can never get sixth or seventh preferences. Rather the student can get a higher option like fourth or third preferences if seats are available.

Showing them how to navigate through the site, Basheer said there were two ways to complete the online formalities. While the first method can take one to courses and colleges, the second can take the candidate through categories. The NIC official pointed out that the data entered could not be retrieved from the computer or from the Internet history files by others. This makes the programme secure and unique. As many as 4,000 students have already booked and 1.3 lakh options entered as the online counselling began. Malappuram became the sole district in the State not only to provide training in online CAP but also to offer extensive facilities for students through the Akshaya network. Explaining the online facilities available at the 327 Akshaya centres with Internet link in Malappuram, M. Salim, Akshaya district secretary, called upon the students to make use of the Akshaya broadband connectivity.

Zee Learn to open Mount Litera Zee Schools

Zee Learn Ltd is targeting 400-500 schools across the country in 5-7 years under the Mount Litera Zee School banner. The schools will be set up largely through the franchisee route while a considerable number will be management contracts and owned and operated institutions.

There are currently 42 operational schools with another 70 in the pipeline. Next year Zee Learn will add 24 schools followed by 35 more the year after. Sumeet Mehta, CEO, Zee Learn stated that in terms of signing the projects, we should cross 100 schools by next month. The plan is to add 30-40 schools every year under franchise system.

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