Page 1443 – Elets digitalLEARNING
Home Blog Page 1443

Cracking CAT ’09

MBA is a career that is preferred by many engineering students, as the industry requires candidates from technical as well as management backgrounds. The motive behind the preference for this strategic combination is that a techno-management candidate can implement the best of both fields in his job. A candidate opting for a career in management has to undergo an aptitude test, followed by a group discussion and a personal interview. One of the most challenging entrance exams for entering the management stream at an all India level is CAT (Common Admission Test), which is conducted by seven Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) for admission to their PG programmes in management. The most common question in the mind of a candidate aspiring to get into the IIMs is, 'Why is CAT considered to be one of the toughest exams?' Probably the IIMs want to absorb only the best of the lot or perhaps the MNCs prefer hiring the most talented candidates. IIMs like to spring surprises to keep the charm and unpredictability of the exam intact.

Let us now take on the big question, How to crack the CAT? Generally, engineering students undertake CAT preparation from their sixth semester onwards. The syllabus of the CAT is based on eighth, ninth and tenth standard mathematics, along with verbal ability and reasoning, which includes reading comprehension, synonyms, antonyms and similar topics. The methodology for cracking the CAT involves regular study for two to three hours, which includes reading books, problem-solving sessions and answering time-bound mock tests. It is recommended that candidates meticulously deal with each topic in the syllabus and be absolutely clear about the concepts. The CAT always tests your understanding of the basics. Once the candidate believes that his concepts are sound, he should attempt problems from the lowest level and gradually increase the difficulty levels.

HU faculty to cut US$ 220 million from its budget in next two years

Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the teaching body for most undergraduate classes at Harvard College, will slice US$ 220 million from its budget over the next two years because of endowment losses. The faculty will form six working groups composed of teachers, staff and students to help determine which programs to trim because of the 19 % cut, said Michael Smith, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, in a talk with teachers and staff yesterday. The faculty, which also includes Harvard's engineering, continuing education and graduate arts and sciences units, has a budget of about US$ 1.15 billion. He said that investment losses that are expected to slash the value of Harvard University's endowment by 30 % are demanding that cuts be made in the school's academic programs, Smith said. The working groups will be charged with finding ways to make those reductions.

The working groups aren't being formed 'to squeeze more efficiencies out of the system,' Smith said in a talk on the school's campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 'We have to get running with this, in the right direction, which is to reshape the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.' Building programs, new hiring, and an expanded financial aid program have all added new costs at the school, Smith said, 'These are things we don't want to go backward on.'

Most Ahmedabad primary schools can’t prove safety

Nearly 80% of the 10,000-odd primary schools in Ahmedabad having classes I to VII can't produce recent proof to show their buildings are safe. Simply because the state government hasn't made it mandatory for them to conduct periodic building safety audits. In the event of an evacuation process during earthquake or fire, children would be in danger of stampedes or asphyxiation. The Kumbakonam fire tragedy five years ago in Tamil Nadu and Dabwali incident in Haryana in 1995 are tacit reminders of what could happen. Officials say many primary schools operate from unsafe buildings because of the requirement of one-acre space for 250 students in Bombay Primary Education (BPE) Act, 1949. 'In cities like Ahmedabad, we didn't have that kind of space to set up a primary school, so many clauses were compromised through subsequent notifications and amendments,' admits a senior state education official.

Today, you can see several primary schools operating from shopping complexes and apartments across the city. Nursery schools that have mushroomed don't even figure in the BPE Act. 'We take an assurance from primary school administrations that they should install fire safety measures and obtain Building Use (BU) permission. But, a regular audit of safety features in buildings is not commonly done,' says district education officer PB Gadhvi. As for nursery schools, district primary education officer SP Chaudhry says, 'They were never considered part of primary education. So, provisions of BPE Act don't apply to them. The safety of their buildings needs to be looked into.'

Computer Science Curriculum to be revised in Nigerian Local Universities

With the dawn of the information and communication technology (ICT) revolution, computer science education was introduced not only as a full degree/diploma and certificate programmes in Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, as well as at other levels of the Nigeria education system, but it has also been made a mandatory requirement for every Nigerian university graduate at least at the appreciation level, so as to produce graduates that can fit into the workplace and be competitive in the dynamic, fast-paced global information economy. The move as brilliant as it is was based on an academic framework that is not only outdated but counter productive, as it led to the production of graduates of poor quality that can not fit into the marketplace, let alone competing with their counterparts from other parts of the world. The reason for this is not far-fetched.

Apart from non periodic review of the curriculum to meet changing requirements of the time, the teaching facilities (labs, library, PCs, software, books et cetera), teaching methodology and available expertise was not only inadequate but below standards as obtained in advanced countries.

 

Computer science, as a specialized field of discipline in the physical and applied sciences require training in diverse fields apart from general sciences like mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry and biology. A computer scientist is expected to have demonstrable competence in the field of software development, database administration, networking and communication systems, computer engineering and maintenance, Operating Systems programming, information management and security et cetera. To achieve the above stated aim, Nigerian universities introduce their computer science students to structured computer programming languages like BASIC, FORTRAN, PASCAL and COBOL that are not only limited in their scope of applications but also obsolete.

 

As a result the students’ ability to perfect their act in the critical field of software development, which has fetched India billions of dollars through software job outsourcing by governments and multinational corporations, is seriously hampered as they are not taught with industry-standard object-oriented programming languages like JAVA, C, C++, VB/VB.NET et cetera, that are the norm in other climes. Coupled with this is the non-standardization of the operating system used for teaching the course, leading to a situation where computer science students are taught with desktop operating systems like Microsoft Windows XP Professional, instead of network operating systems like UNIX, LINUX and its variants like Fedora Core Release 5 et cetera.

 

The importance of computer science education as a tool for social, cultural, economic, political and technological emancipation, empowerment, and advancement cannot be overemphasized. Asian and Western nations recognizing this strategic importance invested heavily in IT education decades ago and are currently reaping the benefit of their investments. Without putting in place the right academic framework in the form of IT education curriculum, necessary facilities and expertise it would not have been possible. Today, most IT jobs by governments and multinational corporations in banking and finance, insurance, energy, aerospace and aviation, oil and gas, defence systems et cetera are outsourced to India because of its quality IT manpower, netting billions of dollars in the process.

University of Southern Queensland and Toshiba to use Tablet PC technology

A partnership between the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) and Toshiba has allowed the university to be the first in Australia to use Tablet PC technology across the campus. The University of Southern Queensland (USQ) is taking the use of technology within education to a new level, thanks to a burgeoning partnership between the university and Toshiba. In a cutting-edge new project funded by a USQ Senior Learning and Teaching Fellowship as well as the deans of all faculties, more than 50 USQ academics have begun using Tablet PCs to aid their teaching. While it's not a new technology, project leader Dr Birgit Loch said USQ was the first university in Australia to fully explore its use across faculties in tertiary education in a co-ordinated approach.

While the tablets may look like an ordinary laptop their special hardware allows users to write on the computer with a special pen known as a stylus. The PCs are more expensive than ordinary laptops because of their specialty nature, however international technology provider Toshiba is so interested in the project it has decided to partner with USQ and has provided the university with discounted computers for the fellowship project. Toshiba Queensland representative Mason Wong said Toshiba was supporting the university's initiative because it mirrored the corporation's own attitude toward technological advancement.

Sambalpur University (India) receives fund under e-Governance

Soon after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), the Sambalpur University in Orissa (India) has introduced e-Governance at a cost of Rs. 2.5 crores received from the government under the twelfth finance commission for effective management at the University.

Participating in the programme organised by the Sambalpur Press Club, Vice-Chancellor of Sambalpur University P.C. Tripathy said the State government had sanctioned Rs. 2 crores for the repair of university buildings. The University Grant Commission has also sanctioned Rs. 12 lakhs for the implementation of different adult education programmes and has organised education and awareness programmes for Bidi workers in 48 villages. Prof. Tripathy added that the university was strengthening research activities in post-graduate departments besides opening self finance courses business administration for executives, integrated law at Rourkela, finance and control, international business, actuarial science, biotechnology and bioinformatics.

National ICT Innovation Institute has opened at Canterbury

The NZi3 National ICT Innovation Institute has opened at University of Canterbury. The new purpose-built facility has also been recognised as the most environmentally-friendly educational building in the country. Prime Minister the Hon John Key was the official guest at yesterday's opening. He was joined by three other Cabinet members, senior representatives of the Institute's founding partners Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Jade Software Corporation and Tait Electronics, and other stakeholders. The New Zealand Government awarded the University of Canterbury NZ$ 9.7 million for the development of NZi3 through its Partnerships for Excellence programme, on the proviso that it secured matching funding from the private sector. NZi3 Director, Darin Graham, said that the Institute with its location on the edge of the University of Canterbury campus and its external focus, would allow greater interaction between researchers and industry.

Tait Electronics Managing Director, Michael Chick, spoke on behalf of the Institute's founding partners. He paid tribute to his company's founder the late Sir Angus Tait who, he said, was a 'powerful mover in the establishment of the Institute.' The opening coincided with the announcement that the New Zealand Green Building Council had given the new purpose-built facility a five-star green rating. The NZi3 building is the first educational building in New Zealand to be awarded a 5-star rating.

Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) may convert into a media university

As per the two-and-a-half-year-old proposal by the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) to upgrade the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), a 45-year-old state-run media school, into an international university may be approved. A draft is being prepared by the Information and Broadcasting ministry on the subject in consultation with the institute, according to a report of the standing committee on information technology tabled in Parliament last week. The committee is dissatisfied at the way the proposal for the conversion has moved, and has recommended that the I&B ministry expedite all approvals for the change to university status. The report said that an outlay of Rs44.03 crore for the conversion has been proposed in the 11th Plan through 2012.


IIMC (Delhi) director Sunit Tandon, who was appointed last month has declined to comment on the plan to convert the institute into a university. However, he acknowledged that there are plans to upgrade the institute. He said it was difficult to say what shape it will take and how and when it will be done. Cabinet approval can be sought only after the I&B ministry receives approval from the standing finance committee (SFC); a separate draft SFC memo is under consideration by the ministry in consultation with its integrated finance division, IIMC and the Educational Consultants India Ltd (Ed.CIL). Ed.CIL is part of the ministry of human resource development (HRD) and offers consulting and technical services in education and HRD. The report of the standing committee says the I&B ministry has sought advice from the ministry of law and justice (legislative department) on the draft Act prepared by Ed.CIL.

The department of legal affairs has asked the ministry to examine the proposal from a policy and administrative perspective and prepare the draft cabinet note. The plan to upgrade IIMC

DU to receive INR 33 crore of the Special Grant from Union Government

Delhi University will receive a grant of INR 33 crore from the Union Government as the first installment of the INR 100-crore special grant promised to the institution last year. 'This is the first part of that grant. In fact, we will soon get the next instalment also,' said Vice-Chancellor Deepak Pental on Tuesday.

He added, 'We will spend most of this INR 33-crore grant on buying equipments for the new M.Tech courses. The second installment will be used for creation of new facilities for the Faculty of Management Studies that will be shifted to the South Campus and the Department of Mathematical Sciences.' Professor Pental also said the University planned to send some faculty members abroad to study certain subjects. 'Several Western universities have good courses in subjects like mathematical finance and bioinformatics. Our teachers will go and study these subjects.'

IIM-B registered itself amongst top 10 B-schools in Asia Pacific

Employers are making a beeline for IIM-B, as per global survey 2009. The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, (IIM-B) has registered itself among the top 10 preferred B-schools in the Asia Pacific region. The QS Global top 200 business schools 2009 survey has put IIM-B at sixth position in the region. IIM-Ahmedabad, IIM-Calcutta and ISB Hyderabad are at 11, 12 and 13th rank respectively. Many factors were considered in which four major areas are

LATEST NEWS