IIM-Ahmedabad scraps bachelor’s degree as criteria for MBA admissions

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January 19, 2022

The admission committee of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad has decided to scrap the bachelor’s degree as a criterion for admission to the postgraduate programme (PGPM), for the 2022-24 batch. The institute has taken this decision in view of the fact that for the last two years due to the pandemic, many universities were unable to conduct exams. The results for students were prepared on the basis of varied alternative criteria.

The Academic Rating (AR) score will now be computed on a scale of 25 on the basis of Class 10, Class 12 marks, and the candidate’s work experience. “The AR now will be computed on a scale of 25 (considering class 10 and class 12 marks as well as candidate’s work experience) and the points will be pro-rated to 35,” stated an official notice by the institute.

Also read: IIM Ahmedabad to provide management training to CAs

The CAT committee in 2021 had decided to allow candidates to take the CAT- 2021 exam without requiring any minimum percentage of marks in bachelor’s degree.

Haryana ACS Higher Education promoted

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January 18, 2022

Chandigarh

The Haryana state government has promoted the Additional Chief Secretary of Higher Education department, Anand Mohan Sharan, to the grade of Chief Secretary.

Also read: Ashish Chauhan Appointed As Chancellor of the AU

This was stated in an official statement released by the state government on Tuesday.

Edtech Innovator Square Panda India wins National Startup Award 2021

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January 18, 2022

National Startup Awards 2021 Certificate - Square Panda India

In a recently held online ceremony, the Government of India announced the winners of the National Startup Awards 2021, with Square Panda India winning in the category ‘Education & Skill Development for Teacher Training’. The Ministry said that six parameters were used to decide the winners – innovation, scalability, economic impact, social impact, environmental impact, and inclusiveness and diversity.

This was the second edition of the National Startup Awards that recognises and rewards outstanding start-ups that have demonstrated measurable social impact, and high potential of employment generation or wealth creation. A total of 46 startups were felicitated for their contribution in their respective sectors.

The award has been organised under the aegis of the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s Startup India initiative, which has been successful in its efforts to catalyse India’s startup culture, building a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship across the country, thereby driving sustainable economic growth. This has resulted in India emerging as the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world.

Offering his thoughts, the Hon’ble PM said, “I congratulate all the innovative startups that are flying India’s flag high. It is my wish that India’s startup culture reaches every corner of India, which is why we have decided to establish 16th January as National Startup Day henceforth.”

The ceremony was also attended by the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal, who while quoting PM Modi said, “Today, India is rapidly moving towards hitting the century of unicorns. I believe the golden era of India’s start-ups is starting now. The Government is standing with our innovators, and so is the entire country. Let’s Innovate for India, innovate from India!”

Square Panda India was accorded this award for its technology-based solutions, such as its Teacher Training Programmes that upskill custodians of education in keeping with the objectives of NEP 2020. This includes expertly designed programmes created and contextualised for India using global best practices ensures holistic, continuous professional and skill development of educators, which in turn results in improved learning outcomes for all.

Commenting on this momentous honour, Square Panda India MD Ashish Jhalani stated, “We are humbled and honoured to be given this award in recognition of our education interventions across India’s grassroots. We thank our diverse partners that have been an integral part of this journey of ours, and pledge to continue furthering India’s growth story through comprehensive and innovative tech solutions that help every stakeholder realise their full potential. Through this, we envision driving better learning outcomes for children across the nation and building India anew.”

“The Award recognises Square Panda India’s contribution to India’s education system and its role in shaping the nation’s socio-economic landscape and will continue to inspire the organisation to usher social change via the transformative power of education,” Jhalani added.

Along with being felicitated during an award ceremony, Square Panda India and a few selected startups were given the opportunity to present policy recommendations to Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, outlining how to leverage education and skill development as key enablers for inclusive growth & sustainable development.

All government schools in Telangana to become English medium by next academic year

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January 18, 2022

Hyderabad, Telangana

The Telangana state cabinet has decided to introduce English medium in all government schools of the state from the academic year 2022-23. It has also decided to regulate the fee structure in private schools, junior and degree colleges.

According to the official statement issued by the state government, a decision to this effect was taken at a meeting convened on Monday. The cabinet has constituted a subcommittee of ministers headed by Education Minister Sabita Indra Reddy to study and prepare guidelines on these issues.

Also read: Telangana TS inter result 2021 announced; check details here

The government also decided to draw up an action plan to train teachers to impart education in English to students at the primary level, to make the environment in the schools attractive for the children, keep the premises clean and tidy and improve the mid-day meal programme.

Employers need to prepare syllabus for better employability : Rajesh Agarwal

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January 18, 2022

New Delhi

“We have seen the education policies evolving over the last 70-80 years. The 1950s saw the emergence of IITs and ITIs. IITs for producing world-class engineers and ITIs for technicians. We were the best in education before independence and post independence, our initiatives were towards regaining that lost glory.” This was stated by Sri Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India. He was delivering the inaugural address of the 22nd Elets World Education Summit, organised by Elets Technomedia at New Delhi recently.

Agarwal started his address talking about India’s glorious past. “Many centuries ago, India was the world’s number one nation by any standards, in terms of GDP, exports, education and skills. We had the world famous Nalanda and Takshila universities. We had Ajanta paintings and sculptures, mining and minerals. Our craftsmanship in Textiles was extremely famous across the world. We were best in education and skills,” Agarwal said.

Commenting on the growth of Indian infrastructure, Agarwal said, “We had to build the roads, dams, power plants, pharma plants, steel plants, and aeronautic plants. That’s how all public sector units came up. We always had a very good philanthropic streak in the country, right from 1000s of years ago.” He further added, “We have now set sector skill councils across the country in multiple sectors. We have the best people in the industry, guiding the councils, creating syllabus and curriculum.”

Agarwal added that for more employability, the syllabus needs to be prepared by employers. “Our education system and skill system are not producing kids or graduates who are employable. They require training. Hence our courses have to be dynamic. We have to join hands with the industry and the syllabus has to be prepared by the employers themselves.”

Commenting on NEP, he said it focuses on employability. “The new education policy talks a lot about entrepreneurship, the relevance of job roles, dynamism in the syllabus, and how it should be flexible. Everything has been put in a concrete framework in this policy.” He concluded the address by mentioning the new additions in the skill sector. “Soon you will see a credit transfer framework and before the next academic session, you will see courses for carpentry, electrician, or AI. In the skill sector, we are attracting a lot of new philanthropic money. Our skill university is setting up labs and doing a lot more. And I am happy to be a part of this change.”

IIT-Kanpur launches two new departments of design and space science

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January 17, 2022

New Delhi

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur is all set to open two new departments in the fields of Design, Space Science and Astronomy, making the total tally to 20 academic departments. The institute has already given approval for setting up this new department.

The institute’s design programme has been in existence since 2002 and it will now be transformed into the Department of Design. The institute is also planning to launch a Bachelor of Design programme starting as early as 2023.

The Design Department will be headed by Professor Nachiketa Tiwari, the current Head of the Design Programme. It would have a design cell to address the needs of the industry in areas of new product conceptualization and development, product design, engineering design, branding, user experience, and packaging.

Also read: IIT Kanpur launches programme on Earth Science

The Department of Space Science and Astronomy will be devoted to the broad field of space, planetary, astronomical sciences and engineering.

The institute claims it to be one of the first-of-its-kind departments in India to bring together engineers, astronomers, astrophysicists, and planetary scientists in order to meet the growing requirement of education, training and research in some vital areas of research, such as instrumentation for space missions and Astronomical observatories, Spacecraft design, and Space Mission planning, among others.

AICTE & UGC say ‘franchise arrangement’ between colleges and edtech companies is not permissible

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January 17, 2022

New Delhi

The University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have warned their recognised universities and institutions against offering courses in distance learning and online mode in association with Ed-tech companies, saying no “franchise” agreement is permissible as per norms.

The UGC and AICTE have also advised students and parents to check the recognition status of any programme on their websites before enrolling in any course.

“Such a franchisee arrangement is not permissible and action will be taken against defaulting EdTech companies as well as Higher Education under applicable laws, rules and regulations. All the students are also hereby advised that they should check the recognition and entitlement status of the programmes on the UGC website before enrolling in any course,” he added.

In another notice, the AICTE has also warned against the franchise arrangement between institutions and Ed-tech companies. The Education Ministry had earlier this month issued an advisory to parents and students dealing with edtech firms, asking them to exercise caution while making payments. The ministry had said the parents, students and all stakeholders in education have to be careful while deciding on opting for online content and coaching being offered by a host of Ed-tech companies.

NEP has the potential to make India ‘Vishwa guru’ : Dr Pankaj Mittal

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January 17, 2022

New Delhi

“COVID has changed lives altogether. The new normal exists not only in India but all over the world. And in such times, National Education Policy was also launched in India.” – This was stated by Dr. (Mrs) Pankaj Mittal, Secretary-General, Association of Indian Universities (AIU) who was delivering an address at the 22nd World Education Summit, organized by Elets Technomedia in New Delhi recently.

Dr. Mittal spoke on how technology changed the education scenario of India. “When COVID struck and all the universities and colleges were closed, our students and teachers were not used to online education. But then I realized that if anyone has to be given the best teacher award in 2020, it should be given to COVID-19. Due to the pandemic, teachers and students started using technology to a large extent. The online platforms, the blended mode of learning and using technology for teaching-learning escalated like anything,” Mittal said.

In the virtual address Dr. Pankaj also mentioned that “I am from UGC and we have been trying to use technology from the last 5 to 6 years. But with covid, it became the need of the hour. The pandemic taught everybody how to go online, how to teach online, how to learn online, how to collaborate online, how to do internships online, how to do placements online. A large part of the curriculum should consist of technology, not only how to use the technology, but also how to learn using this technology.”

She further elaborated on how NEP has brought a lot of changes in the education system. “It is very important that our students should learn technology. They should be learning about the latest advancements in technology, whether it is artificial intelligence, IoT, robotics, drones, virtual reality or augmented reality or even space tourism, they are going to be the new thing in the future. So, wherever the new jobs would be existing, say in 2030, that has to be taught in the institution and that is being advocated by the National Education Policy,” Mittal said

Dr. Mittal also highlighted the new concept of blanket education. “Here you give audio video text to the students in advance. Students will study at home and in the class only things like discussions, understanding, reasoning will happen and rationale will be developed. In India, students study in class and revise at home but abroad, students study at home and then come to the class. This is the flipped classroom model. It is very important that teachers should know how to prepare their own e-content, which means their own videos or audios or text whatever they want to give, or they should know where to find the e-content.”

D2L Unveils New Brand

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January 17, 2022

D2L, a global learning technology company transforming the way the world learns, launched a new visual brand identity and narrative. This underscores D2L’s longstanding commitment to transform the way the world learns with a deeper focus on personalised learning, strategic partnership, growth, and human potential. The brand launch marks a new chapter for D2L as a public company.

“As founder of D2L, it is, of course, hard to say goodbye to a logo you helped the team craft. That said, the real joy in a brand exercise comes from the fresh look at what our brand represents – why we are here, what we are doing and who we are doing it for. Our brand renewal deepens our connection to our mission and charts a path to our future. Great brands are alive and grow,” said John Baker, Founder and CEO of D2L. “We work hard to help people build engaging learning experiences that inspire learners to achieve more than they dreamed possible. Our work has never been more important. I am deeply grateful for the hard work of our team to help us strengthen our identity and story – as we focus on our next chapter of growth in close collaboration with our clients.”

Also read: XLRI unveils new brand identity and brand architecture

Created in partnership with Zulu Alpha Kilo, an award-winning, Toronto-based creative agency – D2L’s new brand positioning and visual identity system distinguishes its industry-leading technology and approach:

1. New Corporate Identifier

D2L’s new master logo embraces green to reflect evergreen learning, an exponent to symbolise the potential of partnership and collaboration, and a bold, strong typeface that speaks to innovation, simplicity and accessibility.

2. Expanded Market Category

Learning is at an inflection point with unprecedented transformation underway that requires more than a learning management system (LMS). With this brand launch, D2L steps into an expanded category with a Learning Innovation Platform that defines the flexible, powerful and personalised experience and breaks free from the restrictive, one-size-fits-all limitations of a traditional LMS.

3. D2L Brand Family

The sophistication of D2L’s new logo carries throughout the design system – unifying a new brand family of orange and blue product logos for D2L Brightspace and D2L Wave respectively, introducing a stylised portrait approach to photography, and supporting a modern and clean look that complements the product sets.

“Design is one of the most essential tools we have for conveying brand identity. Our new brand harmonises the evolution of our company with the transformative impact we’re making for learners around the world,” said Aly Scott, Chief Marketing Officer of D2L. “It has been an enormously exciting year for our business in solving challenges for our customers and delivering continuous innovation. We’re excited to usher in a new era of personalized learning with a new brand that is inspired by the people we serve and the limitless potential of learners around the globe.”

The brand launch marks a new chapter for D2L as a public company. D2L customers, partners and learners will experience a new look and feel across the company and its channels, including a redesigned website and digital presence. To learn more about D2L’s new brand, visit D2L.com/brand. And please stay tuned for D2L’s upcoming, fully integrated brand campaign in February.

IGNOU invites applications for admissions in January 2022 session

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January 17, 2022

New Delhi

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Delhi, Government of India has invited applications for admission to various courses in January 2022 session under which admission can be done in Undergraduate, Post Graduate, Diploma, Certificate and PG Diploma. The last date to apply is January 31, 2022.

Also read: IGNOU extends the admission deadline for UG, PG Programmes again

Giving information about this, an official spokesperson said that online admission can be taken in IGNOU through the admission portal https://ignouadmission.samarth.edu.in, for which the candidate will have to first register himself. The application fee can be paid through online mode. It is necessary to take a printout of the form after the payment of application fee.

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