Mumbai Schools will reopen for Classes 8 To 12 from October 4

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October 1, 2021

Mumbai schools will reopen for Classes 8 to 12 from October 4. Schools need to follow all COVID protocols for safety and precautions.

“We are reopening schools for classes 8th to 12 in Mumbai with effect from 4th Oct, and for the rest of the classes we will make a decision in November. All COVID19 SoPs issued by the government will be implemented,” Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Iqbal Chahal told a news agency.

The schools have reopened in different states in a phased manner. The schools will have to follow covid protocols like wearing masks, sanitising, and maintaining social distancing.

Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Education superannuates; Sanjay Murthy to be the new education secretary

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October 1, 2021

Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Education superannuates from his post recently. Amit Khare, IAS, is 1985 batch from Bihar/Jharkhand cadre.

He took charge of the position in December 2019. Sanjay Murthy will take charge as Secretary, Ministry of Education.

While addressing the event, Amit Khare said, “I am not retiring but superannuating and I shall continue to work for the betterment of the Nation. The future of the Nation lies in the hands of our students. Hence we all must nurture them with care and progressively develop their potential through implementation of National Education Policy”.

Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan felicitated him and said, “Amit Khare has set a benchmark in the field of higher education with his expertise and wide range of experience in various domains. He has been instrumental in guiding me on the various aspects of National Education Policy 2020.”

The event was organised by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). It was also attended by Anita Karwal, IAS, Secretary Department of School Education and Literacy, Rajesh Aggarwal, IAS, Secretary (MSDE), Prof DP Singh, Chairman, UGC and Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE.

A Global Celebration Of Children’s Wellbeing

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October 1, 2021

Hyderabad: On 30th September, CHIREC International School joined its global community of 85 Cognita schools across 12 countries and 3 continents with more than 58,000 students, parents and staff members to flag off its Annual Celebration of Global Be Well Day. As a part of the celebration, CHIREC lined up a bevy of activities centered on the theme of the day ‘Connecting via Empathy’ to give the community an opportunity to connect with themselves and others, enhancing a sense of belonging, identity and security.

Explaining the cruciality of the day, Head of Strategic Initiatives & Community Outreach, Aneesha Reddy shares, “Our life as a whole changed due to the pandemic, especially for students. Statistics reveal that in most extreme cases anxiety impacts 7% of children but the pandemic escalated it to 25-40% of children and adolescents suffering from it. The Be Well Day revived us, filling us with a sense of achievement. It felt like that we are back in charge of our lives.”

Also read: Children’s Day: Are children safe in or outside the schools?

Taking into consideration the disruption caused by the pandemic, CHIREC states that adding on to their last year’s promotion of physical wellbeing, this year they encouraged focus on the contributors of mental wellbeing – connecting, doing and giving.

“This is my second year coordinating events for GBWD, and I can confidently affirm that the energy and positive vibes from this program are truly transformative. It is amazing to see the framework of connecting-giving-doing being leveraged by educators in the most creative and thoughtful ways.”, expressed Sumita Gowdety, Head of Social & Emotional Learning at CHIREC.

Throughout the day, students, parents and staff members at CHIREC engaged in purposeful dialogues and activities directed to create a sustainable action plan, embedding wellbeing into daily life routines. “Our students understood the gravity of the wellbeing contributors by going beyond the rhetoric of wellness and happiness. They participated in activities that focused on the importance of nutrition, sleep and exercise for staying fit while enhancing their understanding of empathetic living and compassion via connecting, doing and giving.”, adds Trishanya Raju, CHIREC’s Academic Innovation Coordinator.

Students of CHIREC took on the mantle of mentors and coaches as they shared their journey of connecting to social and emotional causes in society. They surveyed their neighborhood and designed Wellness Kits with medical aid, food and water supplies, stationery items for people, animals and places that needed care and assistance. In addition, students spread awareness about the plight of orphaned senior citizens and ways we can give back to the community, filling their lives with joy and purpose. Students along with their teachers also engaged with the support staff of the school to learn their life stories during the pandemic and showed them appreciation for being the backbone of the institution.

Other activities included action plans to shelter stray animals, home-based recycling projects, compost pits and identifying areas or people whom students can benefit today and much more.

Global Be Well Day witnessed immense enthusiasm and fulfilment across the CHIREC community. From spreading the importance of wellbeing among the participants to fostering empathy, resilience and compassion in them, CHIREC International extended many opportunities to reflect, anchor, and empower oneself, during this day.

“It feels good to see our children being nurtured and cared for beyond textbooks.” says a parent of CHIREC, “Participating with my child in an event like this improved our understanding of each other. Not just this, everybody coming together to do something like this showed the unity of the world – we are all one. That was the most significant moment of this event for me.”

AI COVID WARRIOR CONTEST Winners –’Unique, first of its kind’ Online Contest conducted in India

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September 27, 2021

Highlights

India’s biggest Online contest
Students from Grade 3 to 12 participated and came up with innovative solutions to tackle Covid Problem
6000+ Registrations from 400+ Schools across India
45% all girls’ Teams
Panel of International judges
Prizes include Internships at IIT Madras, Azure, Laptops, Tablets, Vouchers worth over Rs 10 lacs.
Our sincere appreciation and gratitude to all the student participants, parents, School leaders & Management for making the AI COVID Warrior Contest a grand success.

AI COVID WARRIOR CONTEST 2021 – Winners

The Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in March 2020 and the subsequent shutdown of Educational Institutions has posed unprecedented challenges in the education sector. Viewing this as an opportunity, leaders of progressive Educational Institutions have introduced innovative online teaching-learning solutions and engagement programmes while preparing students and faculty for the digital world.

Highlights of the Contest:

‘Unique, first of its kind’ Online Contest conducted in India to find Solutions to fight against Covid–19.
· Students from Grade 3 to 12 across India participated
· 6000+ Registrations, 400+ Registered Schools across India
· 45% all girls’ Teams
· Prizes include internships at IIT Madras, Internships at Azure Knowledge Corporation, Laptops, Tablets, Vouchers, Online Courses, Books and lot more.

We would like to convey our sincere appreciation and gratitude to all the student participants, their parents, School leaders & Management for taking part in the AI COVID Warrior Contest and making it a huge success!

Panel of International Judges for the Contest
Dr Wolfgang Slany, Graz University of Technology Austria,
Dr Ken Kahn, Senior Researcher, Oxford University of Technology,
Mr Roozbeh Aliabadi, CEO ReadyAI USA,
Dr B Ravindran, Head of RBC-DSAI, IIT Madras,
Mr Vipul Shah, Head Education & Skilling, TCS Global CSR.

Contest Winner’s (Code and Without Code) From Grade 3 to 12 across India. (Prizes 1st, 2nd & 3rd)
Overall, Pan India Schools Students won the contests South, West, East & North India.

Over all Top Prize Winners
Grade(9-12): Prize: 1st Place
Name: Aryaman Sharma, Adhiraj Mohan Chanana
School: The Shriram Millennium School
City: Noida
Project Name: Mansik Ashriya

Description:
Our project aims to normalize mental health, create awareness and make an easily accessible diagnostic platform for everyone anywhere. We have asked basic questions about the feelings of a person. The person will be requested to enter a paragraph that will be judged on the basis of positivity and negativity. A questionnaire is provided to the user after they have been found majorly negative while expressing their feelings in the entered paragraph. Our project provides a psychological score of a person’s mental health which will suggest if the person needs any professional help or not.
Our project has endless possibilities and we will continue to work on it to help as many people as we can.
Contest Winners (with code)

a)Grade (3-5):
Prize: 1st Place
Name:Kiaan Amit Sawant,Ruggved Rahul Mehta
school name :Rustomjee Cambridge International School, Dahisar, Mumbai
project name: MISA AI CONTEST
about project: Research to Treatment of Coronavirus uses any technology.
Robots have been used to sanitize whole hospitals, give medication, deliver food, decontaminate and handle biohazardous waste.

b)Grade(3-5):
Prize: AI – 4 Girls
Name: Yaagavi N , Jai Harini
school name : BVM Global @ Coimbatore
project name: AI learning project for Covid Warrior Contest
about project: how Artificial Intelligence learning algorithms can be used to find contactless transactions to avoid the virus spread among the humans.

c)Grade(6-8):
Prize: 1st Place
Name: Neev Datta, Siddharth Rajpal
school name : The Shriram Millenium School, Noida
project name: Introducing CoviBot
about project: Introducing CoviBot how to work on it.

d)Grade(6-8):
Prize: AI – 4 Girls
Name: Simran Tiwari, Saachi Poojar
school name : The Cambria International School, Kalyan
project name: AI learning project for Covid Warrior Contest
about project: Real time face mask detection

e)Grade(9-12):
Prize: 1st Place
Name: Aryaman Sharma, Adhiraj Mohan Chanana
school name : Shriram Millennium School, Noida
project name: Mansik ashriey
about project: Mansik Ashriey is an algorithm developed by us which focuses on the mental health of its users. The program is an effort to help people know about their mental state. It provides a psychological score of one’s mental health which will suggest if you need any professional help or not.

f)Grade(9-12):
Prize: AI – 4 Girls
Name: Trishlaa S.,Madhumithaa
school name : CS Academy, Erode
project name: Treating Depressed people By using AI.
about project: we have designed an AI system by using python and this system will find the mental status of people and give appropriate treatment to them.

g)Grade(9-12):
Prize: AI – 4 Girls
Name: Anusha Patil, Arlyn Bardeskar
school name : Sanjay Ghodawat International School, Kolhapur
project name: how to combat covid 19 Using AI
about project: To use Scratch and Scratch for AI and how there were some minor
differences. It was fun as a beginner in whole programming stuff because we could get more and more accommodated to Scratch.

Contest Winners (without code)

a)Grade(3-5):
Prize: 1st Place
Name: Rehaa Gautam , Nishma Ruparel
school name : Billabong High International School, Thane
project name: AI Covid Warrior Global contest 2021
about project: AI based app design to monitor and control the spread of Covid 19

b)Grade(3-5):
Prize: AI – 4 Girls
Name: Hridyesha Rane , Kashvi Bhavsar
school name : Rustomjee Cambridge International School, Dahisar (Thane)
project name: AI StuBot Model
about project : Our model AI – StuBot works by combining large amount of COVID related data with AI algorithms. It identifies patterns, analyses the data and understands the volume of exposure and infection in the particular area and study the trend of COVID -19 in that area.

c)Grade(6-8):
Prize: 1st Place
Name: Naman Sonpar, Shashwat Shukla
school name : The Shriram Millenium School, Noida
project name: Covid AIO Project report
about project: COVID AIO (All In One), is an application (app) which
helps to reduce the workload of the government, the citizens and
the frontline healthcare workers.

d)Grade(6-8):
Prize: AI – 4 Girls
Name: Nivedita Sandeep, Gauri Maitra
school name : Euroschool, Airoli, Mumbai
project name: AI-driven Prediction Model for Allocation of Future Resources Needed for Covid Patients
about project : Our Concept: Using AI to predict in advance the resources such as Number of Hospital Beds,Oxygen Cylinders, Medicines and Care packages that will be needed for Covid Patients.

e)Grade(9-12):
Prize: 1st Place
Name: Shatakshi Tiwari, Suryaansh Prithvij Singh
school name : Mount Litera Zee School East, Bengaluru
project name: c- BAN
about project: C – BAN is an AI based Watch which regularly monitor our health and if we any symptoms, it will alert us and says the necesaary actions to be taken.

f)Grade(9-12):
Prize: AI – 4 Girls
Name: Tahseen Naaz, Zohra Shakil
school name: Shri Shikshayatan School, Kolkata
project name: self-checkout areas
about project: Advanced self-check out system which is driven by an AI system which reduces the Spread of Covid 19 cases.

Idea behind the Contest:
We at AI School of India believe that with the knowledge of how AI works and
its impact, children have the potential to create innovative solutions to real-
world problems transforming our societies and shaping the future of our planet.
We were really amazed by the projects that we received and glad to see the
ideas of the little minds engaging themselves and expressing their ideas on how
to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to solve real-world problems.
In fact, our judges had a hard time in finalizing the winners as every project that
was reviewed was equally creative and the solutions were mind-blowing.
“The purpose of conducting AI covid warrior contest was to make AI relevant to the ongoing pandemic. Most of the time, it is too theoretical or esoteric for people to understand how to make it a reality. Initially it was a challenge whether school students can take up this challenge and do something practical out of it but after we saw the number of entries we were greatly encouraged and excited.”
– Mr.Ramana Prasad

About the Chairman:
A true visionary Mr Ramana Prasad is also a successful entrepreneur and a widely respected Educationist. Started off his career with Intel in California USA as a New Technology Development Engineer and is now the Chairman and Managing Director AI School of India. He holds a B.Tech degree from IIT Madras and two Master of Science degrees in Engineering from the University of Cincinnati USA.

With a background in STEM and Robotics, Ramana holds the Position of the Chairman of Robotix USA and India and a member of the Advisory Board for the department of Engineering Design and Centre for Innovation, IIT Madras. A person with an immense talent placed at the head of the institution surely paves way for success.

About AI:

AI School of India offers an online self-paced learning platform providing AI experiences to students at home and to K12 schools. We seek to empower children to explore, learn & create with AI in an age-appropriate environment.

We are committed to providing both educators and parents with the most up-to-date curriculum and resources to accelerate learning and help students build a strong foundation of STEM skills preparing them for the future. We work with researchers, institutions, and companies, to enable the latest AI tech to students around the world.

As one of the fastest-growing edtech companies in this space, we have a unique vision to increase access to AI & coding and empower the inventors of tomorrow through both classroom and at-home learning.
We believe that AI learning should be fun, creative, collaborative, ethical, empathetic, inclusive, purposeful & for social good.

AI School of India, www.aischoolofindia.com/covidwarriors

JET 2021- The Gateway To Your Dream Career

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September 27, 2021

JIS University has announced the dates for JISU Entrance Test2021(JET-2021) and invites applications from the eligible candidates in the UG courses offered in B.Tech. (CSE), BCA, B.Sc in Geology, B.Sc in Biochemistry, B.Sc in Biotechnology, B.Sc in Microbiology, Bachelor in Medical Lab Technology, B.Sc in Agricultural Science, BBA, BBA-LLB, LLB, B.Pharm, B.Tech (Lateral), B.Pharm (Lateral), B.Ed, B.Sc In Hospitality & Hotel Administration, B.A. In International Culinary Arts, Diploma course offered in D.Pharm and PG courses offered in M.Pharm, M.Sc in Biochemistry, M.Sc in Biotechnology, M.Sc in Microbiology, MBA, MCA, M.Sc in Remote Sensing & GIS, M.Sc in Applied Geology, M.Sc in Physics, M.Sc in Chemistry, M.A. in Education and MBA in Hospitality & Hotel Administration. Students will have to apply online through the JIS University website- https://www.jisuniversity.ac.in/. The Entrance Test will be conducted from 10th July 2021 to 31st August 2021 on online mode on alternate Saturdays between 11 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 5 pm as per available test slots. The exam can be taken by students from anywhere in India and also abroad.

With prior registration, students can appear in the examination by physically reporting at the University campus at Agarpara, Kolkata as per pre-defined time slots. As the University strictly adheres to a merit-based criterion, students have to qualify in the JET-2021 to take admission at JIS University. The entrance test will comprise multiple MCQ type questions for each examination. Also, the topic of the questions will depend on the course a student is applying for. No application fee is being charged from the prospective students for appearing in JET-2021. The first phase of the Entrance Tests has already begun and has received a noteworthy response from all sections of the student community. Meanwhile, the University is also inviting applications for the various PhD courses offered.

Students aspiring to study at JIS University are assured of quality education as all the courses are duly accredited and affiliated by regulatory bodies like the University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Bar Council of India (BCI), Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) and United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI). An active member of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) since 2017, the university has been constantly evolving its teachinglearning process to keep up with the demands of a technologydriven era. A judicious blend of the conventional methods of teaching and the recent trends in ICT-based education is being followed at JIS. State-of-the-art infrastructure, well-equipped laboratories, well-stocked library, highly accomplished faculty members, a complete Wi-Fi enabled campus with CCTV surveillance, corporate mentorships, various national and international collaborations, project-based learning, student-focused teaching strategies with the help of a supercomputer and cloud server are the few things that make JIS University a trusted choice.

National Education Policy 2020: Reforms in Higher Education

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September 27, 2021

Dr. Manish Kumar Jindal, Dr. Indrajit Bhattacharya

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 focuses on key reforms in higher education that prepare the next generation to thrive and compete in the new digital age, says Dr. Indrajit Bhattacharya, Director, National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET), Quality Council of India & Dr. Manish Kumar Jindal,CEO, National Accreditation Board for Education and Training, Quality Council of India to Elets News Network (ENN).

Introduction

The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), launched on 29 July 2020, outlines the vision of India’s new education system. NEP 2020 focuses on five pillars: Affordability, Accessibility, Quality, Equity, and Accountability – to ensure continual learning. It has been crafted consistent with the needs of the citizens as a demand for knowledge in society and economy called for a need to acquire new skills on a regular basis. Thus, providing quality education and creating lifelong learning opportunities for all, leading to full and productive employment and decent work as enlisted in United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030, forms the thrust of NEP 2020. The new policy replaces the previous National Policy on Education, 1986 and forms a comprehensive framework to transform both elementary and higher education in India by 2040.

The NEP 2020 calls for key reforms in both school and higher education that prepare the next generation to thrive and compete in the new digital age. Thus, there is much emphasis upon multidisciplinarity, digital literacy, written communication, problem-solving, logical reasoning, and vocational exposure in the document.

Higher Education in NEP 2020

The NEP 2020 was conceived to raise the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) from the current 26 percent to 50 percent by 2030 in the higher education space. It aims at building the overall personality of students by strengthening infrastructure for open and distance learning, online education and increasing the use of technology in education.

Moreover, the National Research Foundation (NRF) will be set up to boost research work in the country. A National Accreditation Council (NAC) envisaged as a single regulator for higher education institutions across the country will be established. The Higher Education Council of India (HECI) will have multiple verticals to fulfill various roles. Efforts will be undertaken to set up a National Recruitment Agency for all government recruitment exams, and a Common Eligibility Test (CET) for various recruitment exams of the same level.

Moreover, the courses and programmes in subjects, such as Indology, Indian languages, AYUSH systems of medicine, yoga, arts, music, history, culture, and modern India, internationally relevant curricula in the sciences, social sciences, and beyond, meaningful opportunities for social engagement, quality residential facilities and on-campus support, etc. will be fostered to attain this goal of global quality standards.

Accreditation in Higher Education

Regulatory mechanisms of higher education would have “accreditation” conducted by an independent body amongst other key functions. Institutions will have the option to run Open Distance Learning (ODL) and online programmes, provided they are accredited to do so, to enhance their offerings, improve access, increase GER, and provide opportunities for lifelong learning.

The accreditation scheme for improving credibility of Learning Service Provider (LSP) has been developed by National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET),Quality Council of India (QCI) under Department of Industrial Promotion and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Government of India. Accreditation ensures Quality Assurance of Trainer/Faculty, Infrastructure; Program Design (Development and Delivery); Training Management System (3 Dimensions: Hardware, Software, Humanware / Skinware).

Education and Skilling in Cyber Security

As per the Global Risk Report 2021 of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2021, ‘Cyber Security Failure’ ranks 4th most critical threat to the world. As education and learning have already moved to cyberspace due to the ongoing pandemic, it has become utmost important to protect the privacy and security of each individual. Thus, as adoption of digitisation takes centre stage, it is extremely important to make our networks and cyberspace secure. In this current scenario, it becomes pertinent that capacity building for ‘Cyber Security Resilience’ is given prime importance and is included in higher education curriculum irrespective of stream of learning.

Research and Innovation in Higher Education

One of the key thrust areas of NEP 2020 is to encourage high R&D investments from government and private sectors. This will encourage innovation and innovative mindsets. To facilitate the same, there is a need for a strong industry commitment and close intervention with academia for industry led skilling / upskilling/ reskilling.

Further, it becomes pertinent to inculcate the skill sets for driving knowledge about “Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)” and its protection for delivering benefits from it.

The National Education Technology Forum (NETF)

The NETF envisaged to be established under NEP 2020 is a step in the right direction. The hosting of Quality Ed-Tech tools in all the dimensions of teaching-learning delivery would enable institutions of learning to adapt quickly. The emphasis needs to be towards hosting indigenous Ed-Tech tools on “open-source development platforms” with built-in cyber security resilience to ensure ‘privacy & security’ besides adherence to cyber security standards, adoption of firewalls and Intrusion Detection System (IDS) from external threats and vulnerabilities. This will secure the ‘personal privacy of individual students.’

B S Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology is a leader in Higher Education

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September 27, 2021

B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology (Deemed to be University) established in the year 1984, is the “first generation Self Financing Engineering Institution” in Tamil Nadu. It became a “Deemed to be University” in 2009, under section 3 of the UGC Act 1956. The Institute aspires to be a leader in three dimensions of higher education viz., Teaching, Research and Consultancy & Extension with its long term objective: to become a “Research Intensive University”

Crescent Institute spans over 50.19 acre of sprawling, serene and ever green campus abutting the Grand Southern Trunk Road and Vandalur-Kelambakkam Road with more than 17,00,000 sq. feet built up area. All the buildings have structural stability and fire safety certificate which ensure a secured environment in the campus. The lift and ramp facilities are also available in all the buildings for the specially-abled staff and students. The classrooms are well equipped with the latest technology like Audio-visual (AV) systems, LCD projectors, and Wi-Fi hotspots. The classroom ambience encourages the students to work individually and as a team as well. At Crescent, sports activities are encouraged among the students. The facilities available for sports, games (both indoor and outdoor), gymnasium, yoga and cultural activities are more than adequate and the same is being evident by large number of students’ participation.

Also read: Edumpus supporting higher education in adopting technology

There are 23 departments grouped under 12 different Schools for 7000+ students. These departments offer 30 Undergraduate, 23 Postgraduate and Ph.D. programmes in Engineering, Management, Commerce, Architecture, Law, Pharmacy, Science & Humanities. Office of Dean Academic Affairs is responsible for planning and development of all academic programmes such that it is dynamic, up-to-date, in line with current scientific developments and industrial relevance. As per the norms of regulatory bodies, curriculum and syllabi are framed. As a part of quality initiatives, Choice Based Credit System, Outcome Based Teaching Learning, Continuous Assessments are being practiced in all the UG & PG programmes.

The significant achievements of the Institution in the recent years include A+ Grade by NAAC with CGPA 3.33, 20 programmes accredited by NBA – Tier I, 112th Rank by NIRF India Rankings 2021 under Engineering Category, THE Impact Ranking 2021 : 101-200 (SDG – 6), 101-200 (SDG – 7), Diamond Rating by QS IGauge, QS E-Lead Certification, All India 1st Rank in Data Quest T-School Survey 2021.

The vision of the Office of Dean (Research) is to strive to make BSACIST a Research-Intensive Institution. Apart from the JRF/SRF fellowships, the scholars also benefit from earn-while-you-learn scheme (EWL), and Government funding agencies. Institute has an h-index of 56, i-10 index of 474, 5,800+ research publications, and 18,500+ citations. Post doctoral fellowships and research incentives are provided to encourage quality research.

Crescent Innovation & Incubation Council (CIIC) is the innovation arm of Crescent, and funded by BioNEST BIRAC, Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India. CIIC is positioned as the 3rd Best Bio-Incubator of India 2020 by Biospectrum Magazine. CIIC is recognized by the European Commission for collaborative projects and soft landing of start-ups. CIIC has facilitated the start-ups in raising of Rs. 5.06 Cr. from Govt. agencies and Rs. 41.7 Cr. from private investment agencies with start-ups creating 450+ employment opportunities.

The Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL) was established in the year 2018 to enrich the students, faculty and entire education society with quality educational content. This centre has 510 sq. feet area with recording facilities and additional Console room for editing and instructions. Centre supports through Online Educational Technologies to create e-content by our faculty and offers consultative services. The key focus areas of the centre include staff development, course design & delivery using Video Production Technology.

Data Centre aims to provide the staff and students of the Institution a hi speed internet with 24/7access to wired and wireless computers, storage and networking resources. This will enable access to Lab, Crescent LMS, ERP and to other systems in campus. Educational resources such as NPTEL videos are available via the streaming server. Virtualization and Green Computing are also achieved in the Campus.

Centre for Sustainable Development (CSD) aims to become a globally renowned ‘Centre of Excellence’ in achieving Sustainable Development Goals by solving societal problems of relevance. Centre has established 500kg Biogas plant and a 550 kWp solar PV plant, solar water heater, equivalent to 240 electric geysers. About 50% of the electricity demand of the Institute is met through roof-top solar photovoltaic power plant. Through this the Institute has earned benefits to the tune of 1.8 Cr. and remains sustainable for next two decades.

The Office of Student Affairs provides the students with experiences beyond the classroom that reinforce classroom instruction and complement academic learning, promote appreciation of cultural diversity, improve the quality of campus life, protect relevant rights of students, and contribute to building a sense of togetherness in campus.

The Centre for Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy (CSRIC), in line with its vision, manages more than 85 projects from 2015-2020. Through projects, adequate research infrastructure facilities are created to conduct research in thrust areas of societal needs. The state-of-the-art facilities are created from major Government funding agencies and from Non-Government agencies apart from the self-funding by management.

The Central Library has over one lakh books in the field of Science, Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Pharmacy, Law, Management and Humanities. The Library has membership with National Digital Library of India, Shodhganga, eShodhSindhu and INFLIBNET. For resource sharing and Inter Library Loan, Library is a member of DELNET (Developing Library Network), MALIBNET (Madras Library Network), British Council Division, American Information Resource Centre and Structural Engineering Resource Centre (SERC), Chennai. It has subscribes more than 17 thousand online journals.’

The New Normal: Are the Engineering Institutes becoming future-ready?

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September 27, 2021

Higher education in the engineering space needs to focus on industry-standard curriculums. Namrata Hazarika from the Elets News Network (ENN) writes on how engineering institutions are making students ready for the future job market.

T he COVID 19 pandemic brought in a new set of challenges in front of the higher education system. Remaining resilient and focusing on mitigating the challenges has been the top priority for the education fraternity. The new normal scenario in the engineering sector is pushing educational institutions to revamp themselves and strive hard to build excellence in education, especially in the technical fields.

Current Challenges in Engineering institutions

Dr Reeba Korah, Professor & Dean, Alliance College of Engineering and Design, said, “Sailing through the pandemic for almost 18 months, some educational institutions such as private universities, institutions of national reputation, and standalone institutions have strived hard to be digitally compatible with the situations that arose due to the new normal. However, many public universities with an enormous number of affiliated institutions are still struggling to cope with the situation.”

The need to build digital connectivity is a significant challenge. For instance, the implementation of digital learning in higher education is picking up gradually. “Most of the tier-1 and quality focussed institutions moved to online platforms of their convenience to ensure adequate student engagement without affecting the pre-scheduled sessions,” Korah said.

Digital learning has created learning gaps in students. Hundreds of engineers who graduated are not able to find jobs as they don’t possess the required skills, which the industry needs now. The question is how can we prepare our graduating engineers for future jobs? Engineers lag in digital skills related to artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science and wireless technologies among others. In this context, Shekhar Sanyal, Country Head and Director of Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) India, said, “We are passing through a pandemic which has changed the market scenario. 2020 and 2021 were tough years, however, we anticipate a rebound in the economy and thereby jobs in the next two years. Job applicants need to understand that additional qualifications and broader understanding of the market and non-technical skills will play a major role in their ability to get a job.”

Most of the engineering institutes or colleges need to be equipped with modern facilities and invest in infrastructure development. There should be updated curriculums and course structures. Training the faculty is a must so that they can motivate students to build confidence and focus. Apart from IITs and NITs, most engineering institutions are providing average teachings. A competitive mindset should be developed among engineers to be able to cope up with current industry requirements. Focusing on practical skills should be the priority of the engineering institutions rather than imparting fundamental theories to the students.

“The significant change we observe is the substantive requirement of new-age technical skills, coding skills, and soft skills irrespective of their core specializations.” Korah also added and said there is a need to focus on outcome-based education, which evaluates the skills acquired during the study and creates new knowledge.

Role of National Education Policy

In this case, the National Education Policy (NEP) will play a critical role. The government is focusing, by and large, to implement NEP throughout the country. It will be done in a phased manner and hopefully, the NEP will bring potential results in the next 4-5 years. “The new National Education Policy likely will create awareness in society about the importance of outcome-based education. Future generations will benefit from the changes. At Alliance College of Engineering and Design, we practice outcome-based education which prompts us to upgrade our curriculum and syllabi based on the current industry needs and deliver the same in a project-based/problem-solving learning mode. The core problem-solving strategy we follow is ‘Design Thinking’,” Korah added.

Campus Placement

The COVID pandemic has hit the world adversely. As a result, there have been disruptions in the hiring process for engineers. Many companies deferred the hiring process of freshers due to the uncertain business environment. The trends are changing fast in 2021, the experts think that it is difficult to on board several thousand people at a time remotely. Covid 19 pandemic has a long-lasting impact on the hiring process.

According to data available with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the campus placement in engineering colleges dropped significantly in the academic year 2020-21. Around 59,494 students were able to bag jobs. It was the lowest since 2012-13 with around 63,483 found jobs during the period. Nikhil Jain, CEO & Co founder Foreign Admits also said, “The syllabus should be shorter and crisp. As per the notifications by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and to give the students a shot at placements, the syllabus was significantly reduced and the credits available for project and fieldwork were fulfilled digitally. This didn’t affect the IT industry as much but the core branches like Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering took a big hit. Since a lot of practical coursework was completed through the online module, the students weren’t industry-ready. This seriously affected their employability.”

“A recent report by Naukri.com for the 2020-21 placement season highlighted how about 66 percent of students who got jobs did not receive their offer letters, while 44 percent faced deferred joining dates after being hired. The report also highlighted how another 33 percent of students did not hear back from the employer about the status of their employment,” Jain added.

In addition, these things will change once the job market opens up. The students should focus on subjects that have lucrative opportunities in the 21st century. Areas like automation and robotics, data science and data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, renewable energy engineering, civil and mechanical engineering as well as biomedical engineering will be high on demand. The students should focus on the skills that are currently on demand to become future-ready.

Internationalisation helping schools and institutions to survive in the global market

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digitalLEARNING Network

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September 27, 2021

The main aim to make the schools match the global standards is to earn sufficient revenue, secure national recognition and build international reputation, says Dr Prem Maheshwari, Business Director for South Asia, D2L Asia to Elets News Network (ENN).

Internationalisation is a strategic concept that has been increasingly adopted by tertiary institutes. Over the past three years, 84% of higher education institutions have identified an increase in the level of importance of internationalisation. Today, the practice of bringing the school into the international market and competing on the global sphere is driven by the end goal of increasing revenue, securing national recognition and building international reputation.

Internationalisation helps to expand schools and institutions into the international market. This is done by recruiting students from different countries, tweaking the curriculum to fit an international context, closing the geographical gap by building international campuses and scholars exchange programmes, and increasing research and education collaborations with institutions regionally and internationally.

Internationalisation increases academic and degree mobility in many countries, but there is much controversy surrounding the topic, especially regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. Studies show that the positive effect of internationalisation only reaches a small student population. Moreover, inclusion is often overlooked in the curriculum, despite the large number of international students from diverse cultures and backgrounds.

This dichotomy between greater academic opportunities and lower access to a diverse, inclusive and equal education can be addressed through innovative solutions.

Optimising resource allocation for greater equity

Higher education is becoming increasingly commercialised. As economic goals take precedence over more altruistic rationales, stakeholders might open new offshore campuses despite funding challenges. This profit-driven approach to administration spreads resources more thinly across the board, leading to shortages in terms of qualified manpower, financing and educational resources. This can greatly impact the quality of education delivered to students across the board, raising the issue of equity in tertiary institutions.

It is possible to bring equity to internationalisation processes by harnessing edtech tools to scale education. Edtech tools can support the internationalisation process by optimising resource allocation. For instance, the emergence of the virtual classroom addresses the shortage of human capital as it facilitates partnerships with educators on existing campuses, or even other institutions for the joint delivery of lessons. This ensures that both onshore and offshore campus branches receive the same quality of education, in the most economic way possible.

Moreover, the utilisation of learning management systems (LMS) as a platform allows for virtual classrooms that enables increased class sizes and student intake without having to provision for additional seats in lecture theatres.

Even beyond the internationalisation of higher education, there is a shortage of qualified teachers. A recent projection by UNESCO reports the necessity of scaling education due to the ageing faculty population. By 2030, it is projected that 68.8 million new teachers will need to be recruited for every child to be educated properly globally.

This impossible figure can be reduced by increasing the mobility of current educators or by scaling class sizes. An increased adoption of innovative edtech tools like online learning platforms makes it possible to do both, allowing more students to afford and access their degrees.

Bridging the geographical gap to facilitate inclusion

Geography is a barrier of entry for many students that are not mobile, such as differently-abled students or those living in rural areas. These students might miss out on many higher education opportunities as they do not have the ability to travel to the university’s physical campus.

Moreover, internationalisation is not inclusive for developing countries that do not align with the economic goals of the university. Universities might choose not to offer courses in countries that are projected to have a lower profit margin. This stems from the shortage of resources as well – the high costs of setting up offshore campuses, coupled with manpower issues, might make it difficult for internationalisation of higher education to be inclusive.

Full-service edtech solutions such as the Brightspace LMS can incentivise universities to internationalise into emerging economies at a minimal cost. It can also bring higher education closer to those who are not mobile. Brightspace offers a suite of eLearning tools under a single platform, from training resources to technical support, that can facilitate setting up online campuses anywhere in the world.

Universities can offer virtual degrees in many countries despite geographical barriers, using their existing pool of resources and saving the additional cost of building a physical campus. This creates a win-win situation – degree mobility is made inclusive regardless of physical geographical location and internationalised universities can reap the benefits of cultural diversity.

Integrating diversity into the international curriculum

While diversity is a huge draw in the internationalisation of higher education, the presence of diversity does not automatically translate to the integration of diverse cultures into the student’s lives. A 2017 study points out that the benefits of a global campus do not naturally arise due to the presence of international students. The integration of international students in communities and classes is a primary factor in the internationalisation.

Students will not be enriched by diversity if institutions do not encourage it. Generally, while both domestic and international students acknowledge the importance of social integration, they have limited experiences with people of different backgrounds. A whopping 48% of domestic students reported little experience of mixing socially with people from different backgrounds and 58% of them expressed dissatisfaction with global opportunities provided. The benefits of an internationalised, diverse campus are not being realised to its full extent.

Moreover, the same study finds that most research regarding integration revolves around mixed nationality friendships and group work without exploring other aspects of diversity. International students are also often treated as a single entity, without regard for the differentiation in country or region. The concept of diversity in tertiary institutions is often superficial and international students can definitely be more effectively integrated with the domestic student population, especially in academic and intercultural contexts.

This can be attributed to a homogeneity in international curriculum that does not leave room for students to reflect on their intercultural experiences. With LMS platforms such as the Brightspace LMS , educators from global branches are able to collaborate virtually to tweak the curriculum. They can also be used to engage students in extra activities like inter-branch cultural exchanges that foster a deeper appreciation of different cultures.

Internationalisation is a relatively new concept that holds many opportunities for higher education students around the globe, but it would be naive to say that it is a perfect strategy. With the implementation and continued advancement of edtech tools, internationalisation can grow to be more equal, diverse and inclusive.

The Influence of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education

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By

digitalLEARNING Network

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September 27, 2021

Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) influences all the sectors, India’s higher education is no different. AI-based technologies are becoming popular among higher education for improving the quality of learning. Namrata Hazarika from Elets News Network (ENN) writes on the influence of Artificial Intelligence in higher education and explains why technology is critical.

Since the pandemic started in 2020, higher education is witnessing an increased need for implementing the latest technologies to provide online education. AI has the potential to automate and democratize personalized adaptive learning for students. It will help to mitigate the learning gaps and generate learning interests among students, increase learning ability, language affinity and improve learning pace.

Why is Technology critical in Higher Education?

Vaibhav Gupta, Alliances & Marketing Head, iSchoolConnect said, “With technologies like chatbots, adaptive learning platforms, virtual teaching assistants, and immersive classrooms emerging, several universities and colleges are collaborating with organizations that can help them use AI for their benefit.”

“Tools like chat bots and smart text messaging allow colleges to answer students’ queries at lightning-fast speed, keeping prospective students interested and engaged. Universities can also analyze the data of their applicants to figure out which applicants are serious about applying, how many of them deserve financial aid, and when a student may or may not submit their application,” he added.

Mentioning about platforms like ‘Knewton’, Gupta said that it uses AI to understand a student’s proficiency level, identify the gaps in their knowledge, and provide them with the relevant course material for staying on track. Meanwhile, immersive classrooms and virtual teaching assistants, like Jill at Georgia Tech, are helping students learn in a more memorable way while also saving the staff’s time and costs.

The experts believe that this kind of education platform needs to be implemented by Indian universities and colleges that focus on AI tools to assist students and faculty members. Due to the pandemic, higher education has to shift quickly to AI-based technologies but the adoption of AI in higher education is slowest in India. The universities and colleges in the higher education space need to collaborate with technology companies to empower online learning.

“AI will not only help higher education to transform student experiences, but also free up the university staff to work on and solve more demanding problems. It is essential to remember that the best results will come when we combine the strengths of AI with human ability,” Gupta added.

Shashank Shwet, Founder and CEO, ImaginXP, said, “Artificial Intelligence has acted as the main driver of emerging technologies like Big Data, Robotics, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Machine Learning (ML) and Internet of Things (IoT). It will continue to act as a technological innovator for the foreseeable future. AI has brought upon the big change in learning by effectively implementing social emotional learning frameworks.”

The impact of AI has changed the learning landscape recently. With the help of smart content, students can create their own lessons and do self earning. “AI is simplifying the teaching methodology through automated class management systems, analysing students’ interest in class through facial recognition. Automated grading systems will increase the objectivity of learning and can judge the performance of students. AI helps in curating personalised learning dashboards, based on current knowledge level and provides recommendations,” Shwet added.

In a similar line, Dr. Sanjay Govind Patil, Associate Dean and Director – RICS SBE Mumbai, said, “We all have observed that during Covid 19 pandemic students are able to attend classes from remote areas with the help of technology. However, most of the tools used to deliver classes in online mode are through presentations or live lectures. This immense technological transformation has served the purpose to engage students and complete the task during this trying time.”

Challenges: Adoption of AI in Universities

Are higher education able to adapt to the changing scenario and new-age learning methods? Implementation of AI in higher education comes with its own challenges. The major challenge is lack of access to upgraded technology and its implementation is a time-taking process. It’s also interesting to note that many educators have come up with creative solutions to practice interactive learning and help their students take full advantage of learning from home. AI uses a lot of high-end tools, which affects slowdown in operations. There is less alignment between technology, curriculum and instruction from educators. It requires potential planning, design-thinking and training among educators.

Dr S.S. Mantha, Chancellor, K L Deemed University, said, “Many universities and colleges have entered the digital space by using learning management systems (LMS) for content sharing, assessments, assignments, etc. Bringing AI into current LMS systems can help universities and colleges to increase the student participation through active learning methods and also create a personalized learning experience. However, the technology is in its nascent stage and is evolving continuously. Well established universities are experimenting with AI technologies and paving the way for others.”

He added, “Although democratization of AI is ongoing, one of the challenges we encounter in adoption of readymade AI technology as it needs high investment and therefore, the usage of AI has not reached all tiers of institutions.”

Kavita Khanna, Head of Department Computer Science & Engineering, School of Engineering, The NorthCap University added that AI-based deep learning techniques require a large number of processing resources to complete the tasks. “And it’s always been found that there is insufficient computing capacity to implement these AI techniques. The second issue comes from the internet connectivity at home and campuses. Feeding large amounts of data to AI algorithms would need the personal data of students and faculty which can create privacy and security issues. There is and will always be a strong need for emotional intelligence which AI, at least in the current scenario, lacks. However, it has a long way to go before it can fully meet its potential,” she added.

Industry stalwarts believe AI involves processing a huge amount of data, which can hamper security. Currently, the protection of personal information of students, teachers and parents is a challenge. Cyber-attack is a major issue in online learning and restricts implementation of AI freely.

Dr. Sujata Shahi, Vice Chancellor, IILM University, Gurugram, added, “As covid pandemic stuck, Indian universities used the best practices and modified the learning method to suit the requirements of Indian students. Higher education segment has to enrol industry experts in AI to create new, modify existing or curate novel curricula in the field of AI, both from the management and from technical perspective.”

It is clear that implementation of AI in India’s higher education will take some time to fully incorporate it in the education system. The sector can boom only if the higher educational institutes deal with the potential challenges and show confidence in using technology in imparting learning and teaching.

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