Indian campuses to see more UK students

Higher Education

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June 4, 2008

In a unique development aimed at encouraging bilateral Indo-UK ties in education, UK Minister of State, Lifelong Learning (Further & Higher Education) Bill Rammell announced various measures by the UK government to encourage more students from the country gain education in India.

The UK minister announced this on the eve of a recently concluded skill seminar in the capital. The seminar was organized by the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) in association with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The minister also announced many other initiatives by the British government to strengthen education ties with India.

'We have a similar model in China, which is very popular. In fact, it is over-subscribed and we are confident that with India's rising economic importance, many British students would be keen to visit India to get a first-hand experience of the country's politics, education and culture,' said Rammell.

The UK minister, after a meeting with the Minister of State for Human Resource Development (Higher Education) D Purandeswari, said that the two sides have agreed to form a working group to streamline the regulatory framework in this regard.

Rammell further said that the UK is all set to invest more funding for UKIERI, to boost research collaboration with India.

'Research is a strong feature in our renewed educational ties with India. We also plan to open a Research Council office in Delhi by September, to identify areas for further research collaboration. We would like UK to be India's first choice for education partnerships,' Rammell pointed out.

Majority of engineering graduates not employable: Experts

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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June 4, 2008

India awarded 2.3 lakh engineering degrees in 2006, but only a small fraction of these engineers are actually employable by industry, leading education experts and industry executives said.

A majority of these graduates come from tier-III and tier-IV colleges, which have very poor infrastructure, they added. On the other hand, tier-I and tier-II colleges, namely the IITs, IISc and the NITs produce, less than 1% of engineering graduates, 20% M.Techs and 40% PhD in India, said Prof Rangan Banerjee of IIT Bombay at a panel discussion on 'India's leadership in manufacturing role of engineering education' in Mumbai.

The discussion was based on the report 'Engineering education in India' written by Banerjee and Prof Vinayak Muley of IIT Bombay and sponsored by Observer Research Foundation. This has created a dearth of engineers for Indian industries, he added. However, industrialists on the panel said that the numbers apart, the skill level of these individuals also did not match industry requirements. 'There are many engineering graduates from tier-III and tier-IV colleges that one has never heard of and they are not employable according to industry standards because of poor skills. However, this can be overcome by setting up more polytechnics across the country and encouraging students to pursue a diploma.' said advisor to the national HRD network of India Vivek Paranjpe.

He believes that a diploma will create better job market for the youngsters, who can fill lower positions requiring skilled labour for electrical, plumbing, etc, by the industries. Most engineering graduates from a C-grade college are not employed in a hi-tech job and in the process of finding the 'right job' they shift jobs constantly, Mr Paranjpe added.

On the other hand, JK Tandon , Director (Projects) JSW Steel said that the interaction between faculty, students and the industry was needed at regular intervals. The institution could help in the holistic development of the student preparing him or her for a hands-on job in the industry. Industries must set up a research centre or sponsor certain departments and students to work on projects, giving them a first-hand feel of the job, he said.

'Money is an important incentive for the students while applying for a job. A chemical engineer prefers a finance job over an industrial job, as the software companies are willing to pay more,' said Prof Deepak Pathak of IIT Bombay.

Even a topper will prefer to switch gears to a financial or consulting firm as the monetary prospects are higher here. As Indian engineering companies are now competing with other global leaders in the field of automobiles, chemical, telecom and engineering equipment , the demand for a highly skilled graduate is increasing. And the search for one, beyond the tier-1 and tier-2 is not an option until the low-rung colleges are on par with industrial standards, the experts agreed.

Education ventures mean serious business for IIM, IIT graduates

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June 4, 2008

Working in the education sector was always a weekend activity, not a potential employment avenue. But in an emerging wave, students from the best academic institutes are getting inclined towards making a mark in the field of education.

Think of an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) or Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) graduate, and the first thing to come to mind is a plush job either in investment banking, consultancy or IT. However, the likes of Vardan Kabra and Ankita Diwekar-Kabra

UGC opens centre to aid research work

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June 3, 2008

The first summer school by the networking centre of University Grants Commission was opened in the department of Radiophysics and Electronics of Calcutta University.
UGC had identified the department as a networking centre for Physical Science in February ths year. A grant of Rs 5 crore will be provided by UGC for a period of five years for setting up the centre.
The ministry of human resources development has asked UGC to set up ten such networking centres all over the country to carry out research work in Physical Science, Chemical Science, Life Science, Material Science and Mathematical Science.
The centre will run three-week long summer and winter schools where for research scholars. The centre is expected to organise ten such schools in five years. Training will be conducted for both researchers, faculty members and MTech / MSc students. A close cooperation of research scholars and their mentors will also take place at the networking centres.
Prof Suranjan Das, Vice-Chancellor of CU said much needs to be done in Science and Technology. Around 40 per cent students in the country do not have any access to higher education, Prof. Das said. Drawing a comparison with the scientific and technological advancements made by China, Prof. Das said that in 1980, India had produced 10,000 research papers compared to 600 produced by China. The situation got reversed in 2005, when China produced 73,000 research papers while India could managed only 25,000 research papers. The Vice-Chancellor said that the state has progressed much in IT sector, with a growth rate of 46 per cent, much higher than the national average of 32 per cent.
CU would also start a dual degree course including the syllabi of BTech and Mtech. The course duration will be of four years instead of five years and students will have to take couple of additional courses in the third year.
State IT minister Debesh Das, who inaugurated the centre today, said, such activities are needed for industrial growth.

Students from smaller cities hog top ranks at IIT

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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June 3, 2008

The maximum number of students who have made it to IIT this year are from the Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi zones, but Bihar produced the all-India topper, Shitikanth. He will go on to join IIT-Kanpur despite a new IIT coming up in his hometown, Patna.

The all-India success rate dipped from 2.94% in 2007 to 2.8% this year. Mumbai too saw dipping fortunes, with only 5% making the grade as opposed to 6.7% last year.

The Mumbai zone also fared more poorly than last year. Despite 61,396 students taking the exam from the zone this year, only 2,551 cleared it. Last year, fewer students (45,246) took the exam, but more qualified (2,640). However, the Mumbai zone's qualifying percentage in 2008, 4.15%, was the highest of all seven zones. Kota, the coaching class mecca that is part of the Mumbai zone, had a success rate of 11.8%.

In April, the IITs had announced that the 2008 Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) scores would be used to also admit students to the three new IITs coming up in Bihar, Rajasthan and Hyderabad. However, what came as a bonanza for students on Friday was that the IITs have decided to start campuses in Gujarat, Punjab and Orissa as well from this year. Sources said the “sudden” decision followed a directive from the HRD ministry that came on Wednesday. The six new IITs translate into over 700 more seats. This year, of the 3.11 lakh students who took the exam, 8,652 have been declared qualified to seek admissions to 6,872 seats in the 13 IITs.

This year too, JEE results saw students from smaller cities making it to the top ranks. Aurangabad-based Nishant Totla, whose All India Rank was second, said that he had been hitting his books for the past two years. “I sacrificed a lot for this rank. It was not easy,” he said. Today, the 18-year-old says he's never been happier.

Safdarjung Hospital to start a degree course for nursing

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June 3, 2008

If all goes as planned, one of the largest hospitals here in the Capital under the control of the Directorate-General of Health Services, Safdarjung Hospital, will be offering a degree programme for nursing beginning this academic year.

A senior health official said, “Safdarjung Hospital will soon be offering a four-year Bachelor of Science (Honours) nursing course for students. A total of 100 seats will be available to students who will be selected through a written test. The institute has been running a diploma course in nursing which would be scrapped as and when the degree course is introduced. The three-year diploma course had an annual intake of only under 40 students.”Confirming that Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University had got a proposal seeking affiliation for the degree course in nursing, its Vice-Chancellor K. K. Aggarwal said: “We have received an application for affiliation for a four-year degree in nursing and it is under active consideration. We should be able to give a response in a couple of weeks.”

Stating that the latest move would enable the college to offer quality education to its students, a senior official said: “The course has been brought in understanding that a degree course is much better than a diploma which we are currently offering. There is a huge demand for trained nursing personnel in this country and courses like these will certainly go a long way in ensuring that the gap between the demand and supply does not widen. We have the infrastructure and staff to be able to sustain a course of such standard. Also adequate hostel facility is also available for our students. The main requirement for running the course is the need for space and infrastructure which is available with us”.

Ernst and Young announces community partnership with Pathways to Education Canada

Corporate Updates

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digitalLEARNING Network

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June 3, 2008

Pathways works to ensure young people from low-income and under-represented groups get to school, stay in school, graduate and move on to post-secondary education. Ernst and Young's new relationship with this not-for-profit organization is one of many steps the firm is taking towards improving access to higher education in Canada.

“All opportunity begins with education,” explains Lou Pagnutti, chairman and chief executive officer of Ernst and Young. “This mission is about more than providing funding. We're getting involved and working with students in groups and one on one. We're using our unique skills and talents to teach and mentor these students, and inspire them to see the opportunities education offers them.”

Access to post-secondary education continues to be a real challenge for bright, talented young Canadians.

– While 46% of the wealthiest families attend university, only 20% of those in lowest-income families enter university, and even fewer graduate.

– Those numbers sky rocket in certain cultural groups. For instance, 58% of First Nations people between the ages of 20 and 24 surveyed had not completed a high-school education.

– Another survey showed 40% of students polled did not know how to apply for a student loan and, in some cases, didn't know loans were even available.

Pagnutti says he hopes other companies will follow suit and join Ernst and Young on this mission. “Improving access to post-secondary education isn't just a smart thing to do. It's critical to the success of Canada's future workforce and the economy overall.”

Carolyn Acker, CEO of Pathways to Education Canada, says the partnership is a great opportunity for Ernst & Young and Pathways to use their combined skills to achieve a shared community vision. “Pathways is proud to be aligned with a corporate leader like Ernst and Young. The funding they are providing together with the expertise of their employee volunteers is going to have a real impact on the lives of thousands of young people in many communities.”

Ernst and Young is also pledging support to the Canadian Post-Secondary Access Partnership, a recently announced leadership convening group aimed at improving access to post-secondary education. Ernst and Young is working closely with the group to develop volunteer and mentoring opportunities for all Ernst and Young's people to support the YMCA “You Can Go” program.

B.Sc. programme streamlined and made easier

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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June 3, 2008

Students applying for Delhi University's B.Sc Programme can heave a sigh of relief. The B.Sc. programme is all set to become more popular after being revised, pruned and streamlined.

“We have rationalized the syllabus and the course content has been reduced. There was also a lot of overlapping of topics in different subjects, which have been deleted,” said Savithri Singh, Principal, Acharya Narendra Dev College.

Difficult topics from various subjects have also been deleted. “The course was difficult in parts. For instance instead of two papers, Chemistry will have three

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