Medical seats to be increased at JIPMER

Higher Education

By

-

February 27, 2009

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approved a proposal to increase the admission strength for Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate courses at the Jawaharlal Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry. In its meeting held in New Delhi on Thursday, the CCEA approved a proposal to develop the infrastructural facilities at JIPMER, within a period of 36 months, so as to comply with the Central Educational Institution (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 at a total cost of INR 384 crores.

The approval means that the UG and PG seats at the institute will be increased to 150 and 122 seats from the existing 75 and 77, respectively, over a period of three years. JIPMER traces its origin to 1823 when a medical school called 'Ecole de Medicine de Pondicherry' was established by the then French Government. In November 1956, the Government of India took over the medical college in the wake of the 'de facto' transfer of Pondicherry. The college was upgraded to a regional centre and named JIPMER on July 13, 1964. The premier medial college is under the direct administrative control of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

India launches Pan African e-network

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 27, 2009

India's ambitious e-network project, linking leading universities and hospitals in this country with their counterparts in 11 African nations via satellite, has been inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who termed it a 'shining example of South-South cooperation.' Mukherjee inaugurated the Pan-African e-network with a brief video-conference call with his counterparts in 11 African countries – Ethiopia, Senegal, Seychelles, Benin, Gabon, The Gambia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Ghana and Burkina Faso. These countries are part of the first phase of the project, which is likely to be expanded to interlink the offices of the heads of state of the 53 African countries.

The second and third phase will see the addition of 18 more countries by the end of June. Describing the project as a 'shining example of South-South Cooperation,' Mukherjee said India has gifted a dedicated satellite for e-connectivity in sub-Saharan Africa to help bridge the digital divide. He said as part of the pilot project, 34 Ethiopian students will graduate in June with an MBA degree from the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), without even leaving their country's borders.

The seven Indian educational institutions associated with the project are Indian Institute of Science-Bangalore, Amity University, University of Madras, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, University of Delhi and IIT Kanpur.

Online medical consultation will be also provided for one hour every day to each participating African country for a period of five years in various medical disciplines. Twelve leading Indian Super Specialty Hospitals are enlisted in the project. They include AIIMS, Escorts Heart institute, Care Hospital, Hyderabad and Narayan Hrudayaylaya, Bangalore. The project, being implemented by state-run Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. has a target of providing tele-education services to 10,00 African students in different courses.

IITs soon to offer joint PhD programmes

Higher Education

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 27, 2009

Here is good news for those aspiring to pursue joint PhD. programme from the Indian Institute of Technologys (IITs), as the Central Government has given its nod to IITs to offer joint M.Sc-Ph.D and joint M.Tech-Ph.D programmes. 'IITs have been allowed to offer joint PhD. programme with an aim to promote research activities in the country. We want more students to opt for research as a career,' said D. Purandeswari, Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD).

These joint M.Sc-Ph.D and joint M.Tech-Ph.D programmes will allow interested students to opt for Ph.D after M.Sc or M.Tech while the other students can leave the course with M.Sc or M.Tech degrees. The proposal was earlier discussed at the IIT-Council meeting held on January 28 in New Delhi.

Canada – IIT Delhi partnership for wireless research

Higher Education

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 27, 2009

Under a new research partnership between Canada and India, a Canadian professor will collaborate with a professor from the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi in wireless communication research. Robert Schober of Vancouver-based University of British Columbia will work with Ranjan Mallik of IIT Delhi to 'tackle some of the most pressing problems in wireless communication system design.' The newly launched International Research Chairs Initiative (IRCI) pairs Canadian researchers with their counterparts in the developing world for research partnerships. Canadian Minister of State for Science and Technology Gary Goodyear announced the first batch of eight research partnerships Wednesday night. Under the programme, the research teams will receive up to $1 million over five years to address key development challenges in health, environmental sustainability, resource management and information technology, a statement said on Thursday.

'The demand for wireless communications will increase significantly over the next decade, especially in emerging industrial nations such as India,' said Schober after his selection for research collaboration with India. 'Collaborating with researchers in India will allow scientists to develop and apply the latest theories and technologies to this fast-growing industry,' he said. The two researchers will concentrate on ultra-wideband technologies, which offer data rates of hundreds of megabit per second, significantly faster than current wireless data transfer rates, said the statement. Their work could help enable faster data transmission and improve power efficiency, battery life and range for billions of people using wireless devices, the statement added.

Microsoft Vista voted world’s top ‘Fiasco’

Corporate Updates

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 27, 2009

Windows Vista garnered 5,222 of 6,043 votes (86 %) entered via the Web to snag top honors in the first-ever Fiasco Awards announced in Barcelona, Spain, today, beating out other contenders, including Google's Lively virtual world, the One Laptop per Child computer (developed by the Nicholas Negroponte-chaired One Laptop Per Child Association, Inc.) and Second Life. Second prize went to SAGA, the oft-malfunctioning administration and academic management system developed by Spain's Catalan Education Department for public school teachers in Catalonia. Vista was announced in July 2005 and hit the market in January 2007 after a mega PR blitz by Microsoft, which promised it would be a slick, secure successor to the company's popular Windows XP operating system. Vista came with an eye-catching graphical user interface, and Microsoft positioned the operating system's Windows Media Center software as a tool that would make the PC the new hub of home entertainment systems. What Microsoft made less clear was that many customers couldn't run Vista without upgrading their PCs.

What's more, the Fiasco Awards Web site points out, the new operating system was complicated to navigate and had compatibility problems with many programs and hardware drivers, leading many people to just stick with Windows XP. Vista was such a dismal failure that many PC makers even recommended that consumers steer clear of it. The company's recent introduction of Windows 7

Guwahati institute now under Central Government

Higher Education

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 27, 2009

The Union Cabinet approved the conversion of the Guwahati-based Institute of Advanced Studies in Science and Technology (IASST) into an autonomous grants-in-aid institute of the Government of India, under the Department of Science and Technology (S&T). 'By this time the institute has been functioning under the aegis of Government of Assam. This would meet the hopes and aspirations of people of Assam and North Eastern Region,' said an official release from the Department of S&T.

IASST would endeavour to spot local scientific talent and inspire them to attain national and global level of competence. This would lead to enrichment of the culture of scientific research and would have significant impact on the development of resources of the Assam and the region as a whole.

Indian President inaugurated Sub-regional Conference on Higher Education

Higher Education

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 27, 2009

The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, inaugurated the Sub-regional Conference of South, South-West and Central Asia on Higher Education at Vigyan Bhavan. The 2-day Conference was organized by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development and the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) in collaboration with UNESCO. The theme of the conference was 'Facing Global and Local Challenges: the New Dynamics for Higher Education' and was part of a series of regional conferences being organized as prelude to the World Conference on Higher Education to be convened by UNESCO later this year. Arjun Singh, Union Minister of Human Resource Development presided over the Function. D. Purandeswari, Minister of State for Higher Education, was also present. The President also released a publication titled, ' Higher Education in India: Issues related to Expansion, Inclusiveness, Quality and Finance' published by the University Grants Commission.

Speaking on the occasion Pratibha Devisingh Patil mentioned that all countries should set up progressive and well-regulated education systems that impart quality education, while meeting the aspirations of all segments of society. 'This challenge translates itself to the target of providing increased opportunities of higher education in a wide range of subjects. Universities and institutes among others, of technology, science, engineering, medicine, law, management and vocational training have a critical role in meeting the requirements of a country for trained professionals with a sound knowledge of their respective disciplines and of a skilled human resource base,' said the President.

Tech-Cultural festival at IP University

Higher Education

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 27, 2009

'InfoXpression 2009', the ninth annual techno-cultural festival of the University School of Information Technology (USIT), Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU), commenced yesterday at the varsity's Kashmere Gate campus. The festival is being held from February 26-28, 2009, this year. It was inaugurated by Prof. Dilip K. Bandyopadhyay, Vice Chancellor, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU), in the presence of V.K. Jain, the Registrar, GGSIPU, Yogesh Singh, the Director Students' Welfare, GGSIPU and B.V.R. Reddy, the Dean, USIT, GGSIPU, among others. In his address to students, Bandyopadhyay urged them to create and sell themselves as brand. He said, 'In the present scenario, how much you are able to convince your employer about your ability and integrity has become highly important.' He further added that since InfoXpression is completely organized by students, it is a good opportunity for them to work as a team and hone their managerial skills. The first day of the festival saw an interesting array of events like Robotics Workshop – where robots designed by the students competed, Internet quiz, Documentary screening, Face painting, C/C++ programming, LAN Gaming, Treasure Hunt, and for the first time at InfoXpression, Fashion Parade. Besides all the fun and frolic, the youngsters also actively debated on the topic 'Power of Pink Vs Sena of Saffron – Have we really been talibanised or not?, in the wake of the recent pub incident in Mangalore.

The festival, which will be held continuously day and night, offers a right mix of technical activities like Website Programming, Mobile Mania and Hacking Assault (which promotes ethical hacking); cultural events including Street-play, Solo singing, Shootout (photography contest), Mr. & Miss. InfoXpression and Stampede (rock show); literary activities like Workshops on Public Speaking, Creative Writing and Camera skills, Internet Quiz; and sports competitions like Cricket match, Football and Badminton; among others. Organized by the students' body of USIT, Society for Information Technology (SAint), InfoXpression attracts over 7,000 students from different technical institutions in Delhi and NCR.

Toolswire announced Gold winner for ITS 2009 award

Corporate Updates

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 25, 2009

Toolwire, a leading innovator of experiential distance learning solutions, announced that they have been chosen by the Institute of IT Training (IITT) as the gold winner for their highly acclaimed 'Innovation in Training Services' award for 2009. The Institute of IT Training hosts the annual IT Training Awards ceremony in February to recognize outstanding examples of high standards, best practice, innovation and excellence within IT training. One of the training industry's most prestigious awards, they are firmly established as the benchmark for excellence throughout the IT training industry. The 'Innovation in Training Services' award celebrates IT training technology and delivery innovation.

'The Innovation in Training Services award pays tribute to the very best in innovative learning methods and techniques,' said Colin Steed, Chief Executive at IITT. 'Toolwire embodies the high standards of the Institute with its performance, best practices, quality, care of its customers, integrity and passion for innovation, which are second to none.' 'Toolwire's Live Labs and Day-in-the-Life interactive Scenarios support the delivery of critical skill sets, enabling on-demand technology apprenticeships for our employees all over the world,' said Charles Jennings, former Global Head of Learning for Thomson Reuters. 'In today's challenging competitive environment, Toolwire's innovative training solutions have helped the company accelerate our time-to-productivity. Thomson Reuters continues to use Toolwire's distance learning programs as competitive differentiators for our human capital investments,' continued Jennings.

September to see online MAT

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 25, 2009

Come September 2009, aspirants appearing for the Management Aptitude Test (MAT) can look forward to doing away with paper work. The All India Management Association (AIMA), the apex body of management schools in India has decided to conduct the exam through online mode. The online MAT will be conducted in addition to the regular MAT. A pilot project has already been done by the AIMA in the last year in seven cities across the country. A two week window to take the test will be given to aspirants. AIMA also plans to outsource the test centres to colleges having the required technology and infrastructure. 'With the test becoming online, the cost for it will increase which may or may not be transferred to the students has to be decided yet,' avers V. S. Bejoy, director, Centre for Management Services, AIMA.

'We are also in process with foreign universities to get MAT to be a part of their selection criteria,' added Bejoy.

LATEST NEWS

Top Trending News

Top Trending Categories