Page 531 – Elets digitalLEARNING
Monday, April 28, 2025
Home Blog Page 531

Know the new date of U.P. Polytechnic Entrance Exam

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-
UP Polytechnic Exam date

The last date of filling up UP Polytechnic Exam 2019 has been shifted to 30th March 2019. Earlier the last date to fill this exam was 14th March got changed due to the upcoming Lok-Sabha Elections.

The examination date of U.P. Polytechnic Exam has also been changed from 28th April to 26th May 2019. The time of correcting the application forms has also been increased from 1st April to 4th April 2019.

The applicant needs to login in the official website of U.P. Polytechnic Entrance Exam i.e. jeecup.nic.in. This exam will be conducted in different polytechnic colleges for getting the admission in Polytechnic course. The duration of these diploma courses ranges from 1 year to 4 years. And the eligibility criteria is also different for getting admission in different courses.

What do employers mean by ‘good communication skills’?

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-
Communication Skills

The multi-device world that we live in has almost exacerbated this requirement as we now need to be effective communicators across a variety of mediums, writes Shubika Bilkha, Founding Partner, Edpower-U.

Shubika Bilkha, Founding Partner, Edpower-U
Shubika Bilkha, Founding Partner, Edpower-U

When was the last time you saw a job description that didn’t include good communication skills within its top 5 selection criteria? Whether the most technical or least people centric job roles, communication skills always seem to appear at the forefront. In this over-engaged, highly sensitized and digital driven world, there is little opportunity for a poor communicator.

So then, who teaches us how to be better communicators?

Authors Riley Mills and Robert Dean Duncan in The Bullseye Principle talk about the importance of communication as essential to professional and personal success. They provide a definitive guide for people looking to ace high stake conversations, presentations and collaborations as they focus on a key principle of intention-based communication. The goal of the intention based technique is that focuses on delivery- how you say it- to ensure the audience feels, thinks and behaves in sync with the message you would like conveyed.

An interesting observation that the authors make is that because we communicate all the time, we assume we must be good communicators. The reality is that developing effective professional communication takes time, needs practice and is a lifelong personal development exercise.

So whether at an interview, a meeting, in your marriage or even on a date, being an effective communicator is your pathway to success.

Communication skills are, however, more than just verbal or written in nature and include a number of non-verbal cues such as kinesics, proxemics, paralinguistic, in addition to human centricity and being able to successfully communicate in a low touch low feel world. It is about communicating positively with clarity, developing strong active listening skills, being able to read other people’s behaviors, effectively managing conflict, navigating difficult conversations successfully, being empathetic and adaptable.

Some work-place communication hygiene checks that can help make us more effective communicators include:

  1. Be Self Aware: Take feedback from your peers or friends and family, and observe the impact of your communication on others. Self- awareness is the first hurdle in the communication journey. Once the awareness sets in, the improvement will follow.
  2. Know when there is TMI: In the workplace, limiting communication to what is absolutely essential is important to be effective. Whether it’s in a client meeting or at an interview, it is important to communicate with clarity without indulging in TMI. Your personal life should largely remain outside the realm of the work place.
  3. Keep it Positive:  Begin all communication on a positive note and focus on offering solutions rather than merely highlighting problems. Refrain from negative comments or making excuses for tasks that have not been accomplished. Speak with conviction and showcase you command over the situation through confident communication.
  4. No ‘Phubbing’: For millennials and Gen Z, this is very important to remember. When in meetings or at job interviews or generally in a conversation at the workplace, make sure your devices are on silent or put away to prevent you from ‘phubbing’ the other person. This indicates that you value another person’s time as much as your own.
  5. Don’t Fake It: Remember, non-verbal cues speak volumes! After all, there is no point in giving a compliment or a raise or saying how much you like this company or individual if your body language says otherwise.
  6. Show that you Care: A little empathy goes a long way. Be human-centered in your approach towards all stakeholders and it will enable you to build meaningful relationships in the workplace.
  7. Confidence not Arrogance: Being well-informed, having clarity of thought and precision in your communication will demonstrate confidence at meetings or at interviews. Remember there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance and people resonate better with confident people not arrogant ones!
  8. Think Twice: In the workplace effective ‘phrasing’, being ‘measured’ in your communication and using ‘professional language’ will take you a long way. It is especially important to self-managein moments of irritation, anger, anxiety or stress.
  9. Navigate Mediums Successfully: The biggest challenge that we face today is being able to successfully communicate across all mediums. In a largely low touch, low feel world messaging services have become a challenging primary form of communication. Make sure you stay professional in your language and approach across these mediums, and follow the requisite protocol irrespective of offline or online communication.
  10. Intellect Mind: As Vedanta philosophy suggests, your rationale and reasoning should guide you to better manage emotions and desires. The more you conduct yourself in line with your ‘intellect’ the more evolved will you be as a professional.

NIIT University: Delivering distinctive education

By
Akash
-

At NIIT University, technology is leveraged to improve teaching-learning process by innovating new pedagogies that match the requirements of individual learners, says Prof V S Rao, President, NIIT University, in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

What does NIIT University (NU) Focuses on for its students? How does NU ensure that its students have great careers?

Prof V S Rao, President, NIIT University
Prof V S Rao, President, NIIT University

NIIT University is dedicated towards forging strong industry linkages as one of its core principles. This ensures that the University is connected with the best organisations and institutions, in India and globally. The Centre for Industry Collaboration (CIC) assists students in their endeavours to enrich their education, careers and lives and make lifelong contributions to society.

Also, NU is increasingly becoming known for providing learners with an environment of ideation, innovation and entrepreneurship. The University is indeed sowing the seeds of entrepreneurship on its turf, teaching students to think differently, come up with ideas that create the wow effect, and take these concepts to market fearlessly. Recognizing that there is a thrust on start-ups in India, NU is encouraging its students to be job creators rather than job seekers.

As a University that boasts strong linkages with industry NU is exposing learners to the entrepreneurial world through internships as well as visiting teachers who are drawn from successful start-ups and other organizations. The institution’s deep research-orientation has also enabled it to foster innovation and instil the culture of entrepreneurship in the DNA of its learners.

What is your take on new digital age careers and getting the students ready for them?

Digital requires a new breed of people with an all new set of skills that enable them to interface with these technologies and become more relevant to the digital scenario. This is because people and machines are expected to work together in the new age organization.

A research by India’s IT-BPM industry spearhead NASSCOM indicates that India is on track to be a trillion-dollar digital economy backed by government’s collaborative approach to encourage private sector participation. To get there, and in order to keep pace with the automation of the sector, the workforce will need to have the right skills. There is also a need for constant reskilling to stay relevant. Armed with this right mix of upskilled, repurposed employees—basically Pi-Shaped people who can work on multiple platforms, interface with design colleagues and drive Digital innovation—organizations can deal with the evolving DT requirements of their clients.

The Digital age is throwing up new job profiles and, in the future, career seekers will have to align themselves with these new work opportunities. Profiles such as Digital Leaders, Digital Innovators, Digital Developers, Digital workers and Digital citizens will all need people who have different levels of skills. Within enterprises, employees will have to scale their capabilities and reskill by undergoing special DT training programs. They must rid themselves of complacency, remove the rust that envelops them and scale their existing knowledge. Their focus must be on remaining employable, relevant and valuable to their employers.

Individuals wishing to build careers in the DT realm will have to be made aware of its high potential in terms of remuneration. News is that DT professionals are likely to draw salaries that are at least 50-60 percent higher than the industry average!

Towards this, NIIT University provides B.Tech Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) program which emphasizes on Digital Transformation technologies with a view of making available Next Gen digitally skilled engineers to the IT industry.

What is NU’s initiative towards the new exciting areas like business analytics/ Data Science etc.?

The massive data explosion and the growing need of data analytics in business, education and government agencies have created the need for a new breed of professionals. Data Scientists who have expertise in such specialized areas such as machine learning, statistical modelling, data warehousing, predictive modelling and large-scale database architecture and management are in demand.

Towards this, we offer cutting-edge programmes in data sciences in association with industry leaders. B.Tech. Computer Science Engineering with specialization in Data Science with IBM has been designed to create graduates already trained in data science therefore fulfilling the requirements of the industry. The students of this programme attend their 6-month long Industry Practice course in the eighth semester at IBM and got an opportunity to start working with IBM, post their internship. NU also offers MBA in Business Analytics with WNS, a leading provider of global Business Process Management (BPM) services. The programme is designed for students who have an aptitude for analytics and management and offers a guaranteed job at WNS in mid-managerial position.

NU also offers a two-year work-integrated MBA programme in Intelligent Data Science in partnership with NIIT Technologies. The MBA programme is focused on nurturing talented professionals to become next generation data science leaders who will drive business transformations.

What is the importance of research in undergraduate education?

Research should be made an integral part of higher education at every level. Students investing in higher education must be given exposure and opportunities to be able to use all that knowledge to evolve themselves as well as be able to contribute in the discipline with better research and studies. Students when involved in research-based learning are bound to learn more and better than they would without the integration of research.

Research is at the core of the NU’s curriculum and we believe in engaging undergraduate scholars in research work through a well thought out course called the R&D Project. Students start working on research – right from year one at NU. The course aims to help them acquire research orientation that can be applied in their future jobs where there is a dire need for creative problem-solvers. Quite a few of our student start-ups have the genesis of their business from the research work done during various projects.We also encourage our students by providing financial assistance through NURAP (NIIT University Research Assistance Programme).

NU’s research efforts are further enhanced through creative collaborations with leading research institutes and consortia around the world. The faculty at NU is focused not only on carrying out fundamental research but also the applications that flow from it.

Can you please give some insights on the placement data of the last batch?

NIIT University is dedicated towards forging strong industry linkages as one of its core principles. This ensures that the University is connected with the best organisations and institutions, in India and globally. The Centre for Industry Collaboration (CIC) assists students in their endeavours to enrich their education, careers and lives and make lifelong contributions to society.

From the past 5 years, NIIT University has achieved 100% placement for its B Tech programme. NU has achieved 100% placement in B.Tech. – CSE, ECE, Biotechnology and M.Tech. – GIS. Owing to the excellent performance of NUtons during their industry practice, 56% of the batch received Pre-Placement Offers from their organization. The highest domestic salary offered this year was Rs 14.3 Lakhs Per Annum (LPA) while the highest International Salary was 26 LPA. The average CTC for the batch was Rs 5.57 LPA, which is a 20% increase from the previous year.

Recalibrating Engineering Education: Making India Globally Competitive

By
Akash
-
Engineering Education

India has over ten thousand engineering institutions and over fifteen lakh students graduating from these institutions every year. Factually, a large number and a lion’s share of global engineering talent. Leading global companies seek to hire top talent from India. Indians in top management roles of tech giants and most IT Product Development teams have a good proportion of Indian Engineers, writes K Sridhar, Chief Business Officer, TalentSprint.

K Sridhar
K Sridhar, Chief Business Officer, TalentSprint

The largest recruiter from the engineering colleges is the IT Industry. Demand for talent from the core sector is muted. While focus on Make in India and Infrastructure Projects are expected to enhance the demand, currently it is well below the supply generated from the colleges. Hence, top talent from across the spectrum of engineering education prefer the IT Industry.

Engineering Education and IT Industry

These facts should typically mean great news for the Indian IT Industry.  We should be the home for new generation technologies and in fact lead the way towards the future.  However, the fact is different. Reports suggest that only 7-10% of the engineers are employable that too in the general technology areas. IT Companies are struggling to find the right talent.  Core reasons identified for the gap is lack of basic foundation in maths and science, logical thinking and communication skills.

The impact of these shortcomings is not just on employability at the individual level. These shortcomings have major impact on the business and India’s competitiveness itself. While the quantum of workforce available is helping India in IT services segment, our competitiveness in the product side is low. And the current technology products are automating coding and need for solutions. The result is quite evident with regard to new technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning etc. India is well behind the curve and USA and China are leading the pack.

This is getting further complicated by the fact that of the 750 occupations currently in vogue and identified by the McKinsey Global Institute, 51% of job activities are highly susceptible to automation – and that’s through adapting currently demonstrated technology, leave alone new disruptions. It is going to necessitate the redefinition of most occupations and related skills and requires getting ready for the same.

Two Pronged approach to Re-calibrating Engineering Education

We need to look at two key areas when we seek to move towards the right direction. One is competence building and other is the curriculum relevance.

Competence Building

Competence level plays a wider impact including getting ready for the future and more so creating the future. This step will have an impact across industries. Hence, let us look at the Competence first.

There is a globally accepted framework for competence building, the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy. The figure below clearly articulates the levels of competence and what is expected from each of them.

Engineering Education

As you will notice, the lowest competence level is remembering followed by understanding.  When we closely look at our current education system, other than the leading research based institutions (which contribute a very small percentage of the total graduating students), most of the focus goes on to these two levels. There is very little focus on Applying (which is why the industry does not find the students employable and job ready even for a generic technology role) leave alone Analyzing, Evaluating and Creating.

For India to be competitive in the global arena, there is a need for a graduate in general and engineering graduate in particular to move up the competence levels to the level of Evaluating and Creating. The entry tests into IITs and other premier institutions earlier used to push aspirants to move up to higher level of Analyzing. However, the exam prep business which helps one prepare for these exams have reverse engineered to enable aspirants clear such exams by cramming up and remembering.

This brings out the question on how should assessments be done. Clearly people work towards what they are being measured on. From institutional perspective, remembering is easy to assess and to automate assessment. Simple multiple choice questions will do the trick. This reflects that the assessment process favor competence level of remembering in most situations and hence that level of competence is achieved.

To evolve further, the current assessment process needs to evolve to higher levels.  Competitions like Hackathons help one to move up to apply and analyze levels. Case Studies, Discussions, Essay Writing, Thesis Writing and Presentations (which are not scalable and automatable for assessment) are necessary to help one go up the level of competence. Unless we move to such assessment methods in colleges, we will continue to generate competencies at lower levels only.

Curriculum relevance:

Another area of focus is curriculum.  There is not much focus on keeping the curriculum current.  Industry is moving at a far higher pace than what the academic institutions can cope with. Framework for making the industry and academia work together is not strong. Hence, the industry – academia gap continue to exist.

There have been a lot of discussions on the currency of the curriculum in line with global new trends and the break neck speed at which innovation and disruptions happen in the market.  There is a lot of merit in bringing in curriculum to include new age courses on machine learning, Blockchain and other emerging technologies.

Having said that, generally there is a very little difference between the curriculum of top globally leading engineering school and a tier 3 institution in India. But, the real difference is how is the curriculum delivered and what level of competency is built.  This requires a very strong focus on the building blocks: Mathematics, Science, Analytical Skills and Communication Skills.

Hence, while curriculum needs to improve keeping pace with the change, without fixing the problem of competence building curriculum relevance can only bear very little fruit.

The primary focus has to be to ensure that the Engineering Education churns out high competence graduates on a wider scale as against the current status of very few institutions who enable that. This can happen only when the evaluation system pushes more towards higher level of competence. Even at the cost of quantity (which is currently in far higher supply than need) if this can be achieved, the engineering education system will churn out far more globally competitive, high-end engineers and make a mark for India in the global hi-tech marketplace.

Must considerations for students while selecting an online course

By
Akash
-
Keyboard with
Blue "Courses" Button on Computer Keyboard. Background for Your Blog or Publication.

In the traditional scenario, the process of choosing the right University is fairly effortless where most students use online research to compare and select colleges and courses basis their interest and higher-secondary board results. However the dynamics of academic planning is completely divergent for an online learner who aspires to study off the campus, writes Shantanu Rooj, Founder & CEO, and Uditendu Bose, Vice President, SchoolGuru Eduserve Private Limited.

Shantanu Rooj
Shantanu Rooj, Founder & CEO, Schoolguru Eduserve Pvt. Ltd.
Uditendu Bose
Uditendu Bose, Vice President,SchoolGuru Eduserve Private Limited

For today’s online learners, many considerations have to be taken to account. Right from the bona fide status of the University to licensing, permissions, accessibility, flexibility, fee structure and course portfolio, are all key deciding factors for students. Additionally the learning system, evaluation mechanism and the infrastructure of the University are significant decision drivers when it comes to selecting their ideal courses.

Three key legs of consideration for candidates while making a choice of online courses and colleges are:

Licensing and permissions: It is absolutely mandatory for universities providing online education to have proper accreditation by the UGC. One can easily validate the status of the University on the UGC website which lists all the Universities allowed to offer such courses. Candidates must carefully inspect this as any degree minus UGC validation is not considered for either government jobs or for admissions into higher education courses.

Moreover, colleges providing online learning/ distance education need to have a defined jurisdiction within which they have to carry their examinations. However, students of other regions may take admission in any university as long as they are willing to travel to the nearest examination centre. Candidates must note that UGC permits only Universities with a NAAC ranking of 3.25 and above (out of 4) to provide online learning courses. Additionally these Universities should also feature among the top 100 universities by NIRF.

Robust infrastructure and processes: Strong digital and physical infrastructure should be key elements for candidates while selecting colleges. Universities must have suitable number of accessible examination centres equipped with proper assessment facilities. They should ensure that students receive valid mark sheets and results timely. Additionally, UGC mandates all digital learning entities to have proper technological infrastructure with a dedicated portal/mobile app providing learning material to students on time.

There must be an unique user id and password provided to all students, using which they can access the wide pool of learning materials, tutorials, assessment papers, discussion forums, progress tracking systems and so on. The enrolment process from application to KYC verification, fee clearance and other necessary process should be easily accessible online. Call centres should be set up to provide students with required support so they don’t have to physically travel to Universities when they face issues.

Assisting students, connecting degrees, creating employment: Universities must have a robust support structure and issues resolution system for students. Such a system is conducive to the growth of students. Beyond this, skill training is also imperative in the case of e-learning. UGC has mandated all distance learning Universities to provide additional employment skills which will enhance the employability quotient of candidates and also connect them to the right jobs. Online education providers must have functional placement cells which are effectively assisting the students to connect to the right jobs. Before on-boarding a University, check out for past placement trends, frequency of placement opportunities, stature of organizations participating in the hiring process etc!

Also Read: Recalibrating Engineering Education: Making India Globally Competitive

Higher education ecosystem in India as well many countries worldwide is at a challenging phase fighting the trinity of cost, quality and scale. To combat this and create a large scale learning framework, online education today with the convergence of technology, onsite training and new-age educative methods are a must. The speed at which industrial revolution is taking place and job demands are changing, it is imperative for the education system in India to evolve and undergo revolutionary change to stay relevant.

Telangana Marching Towards Excellence in Higher Education

By
Akash
-
Higher Education in Telangana

Telangana’s capital city of Hyderabad today enjoys a world class reputation for its nationally and internationally known educational and research institutes. Top-class infrastructure and the Government initiatives are laying the foundation of a solid economic growth model, creating finest possible educational opportunities for all, observes Sudheer Goutham of Elets News Network (ENN).

The city bespeaks an impressive growth model being boosted and shaped up by an able State leadership of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao.

One of the most fascinating factors of Hyderabad is its consistent emphasis on consolidating itself as an attractive education centre. Today, it is steadfastly progressing to evolve as the biggest higher education hub of the country.

The Hyderabad has already made its mark as the IT Hub on a global platform and in the last few years it has also emerged as a Start-Up capital of India by promoting, encouraging and incubating the idea of startups over the years through various pro-active initiatives and policies.

Hyderabad – A Land of Premier Educational and Research Institutions

Higher EducationHyderabad holds a rich academic tradition and houses some of the most premier educational institutions of the country. It incorporates a large number of universities, management colleges, research centers and technical institutes.

In addition to one of the country’s oldest universities — Osmania University, the city of pearls, as the Hyderbad is described in common parlance, has three central varsities, including the University of Hyderabad, English and Foreign Language University (EFLU), and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad National Urdu University. The first technological university of the country – Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad (JNTUH and Hyderabad Central University, which are featured as one of the top universities in the country for academic excellence, as per Ministry of Human Resource Development’s survey conducted among 3,500 higher educational institutions.

Besides, these varsities, Hyderabad seats several research institutes such as the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Centre for Cellular Microbiology (CCMB), National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and some of India’s premium defense laboratories and space institutes.

Moreover, the city and its surroundings present an excellent mix of top-class business schools, engineering colleges, research institutes and Start-Up Incubators like the Indian School of Business (ISB), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), ICICI Knowledge Park, Tata Institute of Social Science Research, Narsee Monjee, ICFAI, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and T-Hub which are continuing to boost Hyderabad as a Higher Education hub by attracting and generating a significant amount of talent while widening the city’s scope for advanced research and entrepreneurship.

On the other hand, the National Institute Technology, Warangal, IIIT, Basar (RGUKT), IIT, Medak and more than 300 private engineering and medical colleges and business schools are also significantly contributing and working as a catalyst.

Quality Education for All

To provide equal, qualitative as well as professional qualification to girls and boys, the State government is introducing various educational initiatives across Telangana.

Navin Mittal, Commissioner, Collegiate and Technical Education Department, says “The vision of the State Government involves three-pronged approach. First thing is to improve Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) which is around 36 percent. Though, the GER of Telangana is nearly 10 percent higher than that of the national average, the access of education to every student in the State is the top most priority of the Government.”

“The second focus area of the Government is ensuring basic infrastructure in both government and private sector. A lot of focus is on maintaining the infrastructure which includes buildings, laboratories, libraries, equipment, furniture and other basic amenities.”

“The third is improving overall quality in terms of teaching and learning. The latest practices are integrated into the education system of the State to improve the quality,” observes the Commissioner.

According to Ajay Misra, Special Chief Secretary, Department of Education, “The Government has initiated various schemes for the underprivileged and economically weaker section of the society including Residential Education Institution for socially backward classes, Ambedkar Overseas Vidhya Nidhi among others which are yielding excellent results.”

“Ambedkar Overseas Vidhya Nidhi (AOVN) has been introduced by the State Government to enable the benefit of higher education in foreign universities for PG & PhD courses to the meritorious SC Students. Under this scheme, a grant of Rs 20 Lakh in two installments — First installment of Rs 10 lakh on production of landing permit / I-94 (immigration card) and the second installment of Rs 10 lakh on production of second semester results is awarded.” T

TASK has been collaborating with various corporate and multi-national companies that will work towards setting up a ‘train- and-hire’ model for students of mechanical, electrical, electronics and aeronautical domains in TASK-registered engineering colleges.

The grants are issued for study in the foreign universities covering 10 selected countries – Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Singapore, United Kingdom, USA and others. So far, over 405 students have been given these grants after through screening of academic background.

“Also, the Government has instituted over 30 Women Degree Colleges in last four years to benefit young girls from Scheduled Caste community. This move has yielded excellent results with more than 80-90 percent pass outs, said the Special Chief Secretary, Department of Education, Government of Telangana.

Moreover, Telangana Social Welfare and Tribal Welfare Residential Education Institution Societies have been catering to students from these underprivileged sections, providing high standard education in junior and higher education.

All these initiatives are in line with the Union Government’s vision of aligning the students with modern means and promoting innovations.

Telangana Academy of Skill & Knowledge (TASK)

Higher EducationTASK is a not-for-profit organisation created by the Government of Telangana for bringing synergy among institutions of Government, Industry and Academia with an objective of offering quality human resources and services to the industry.

Value for Students: Granting access to modules for enhancing their technology, personal and organisation skills at highly subsidised rates.

Value for Colleges: Forging partnerships with colleges to create environs conducive for growth through faculty development, research pilots and help colleges provide quality education for the leaders of tomorrow with a focused systematic programme.

Value for Corporate: Programmes to help corporate gain access to a pool of trained graduates for suitable roles. Our students are trained extensively in latest technology to help companies find the right candidate.

TASK has been collaborating with various corporate and multi-national companies that will work towards setting up a ‘train-and-hire’ model for students of mechanical, electrical, electronics and aeronautical domains in TASK-registered engineering colleges. Companies have designed various training modules across these domains to help students get practical industry exposure.

Speaking over one such collaboration, TASK CEO Sujiv Nair said the industry-academic partnership such as these help bridge gaps, ensuring students stay relevant to the ever- changing requirements of the digital world.

Infrastructure and land space for Education Hub

The Jawaharnagar Education Hub after receiving a formal clearance from the Union Human Resource Development Ministry, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority decided to go ahead with its mega Education Hub plan, which is further transforming Hyderabad into a ‘Knowledge City’.

According to K. Gangadhar, Real Estate Officer, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), “Of the total 2,370 acers of land for Education Hub in Jawaharnagar, over 1,700 acres are in the position of HMDA are available to be given the education institutions. BITS Pilani has been given 200 acers of land for their phase 2 extension of the campus, where they came up with an excellent world- class infrastructure. Similarly, other educational institutions and associations like All India Institute of Management School, Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, Delhi has also applied for the land and have given advance amount for the institutions,”

Metropolitan Authority plans to develop and manage other infrastructure centers under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) module, such as sports complexes, housing arrangement for delegates coming over to conduct or attend conferences, hostels for students, and quarters for scholars, faculty, and staff members

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), in association with the Centres of Excellence, has prepared a blueprint for the Jawaharnagar Education Hub, and has already acquired 700 acres of land, where 500 acres of land will be set aside for establishing campuses, and the remaining 200 acres for supporting infrastructure facilities like roads, hostels, and auditoriums.

Premier institutions like BITS Pilani, Army Dental Sciences College, and Geethanjali College of Engineering and Technology already have campuses in the area. While other institutes of global and national repute in various fields like science, medical, journalism, sports, defense, and aerospace have been approached to set up their campuses in the education hub.

As per the proposal, HMDA will allocate land between 5-25 acres to each educational institution, depending on the academic activity they intend to take up. Besides land, infrastructure facilities like electricity, water, sewer, communication, connectivity, and transport would be provided by the Metropolitan Development Authority.

Additionally, the Metropolitan Authority plans to develop and manage other infrastructure centers under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) module, such as sports complexes, housing arrangement for delegates coming over to conduct or attend conferences, hostels for students, and quarters for scholars, faculty, and staff members. Facilities like cafeteria and shops would be set up purely on a commercial basis.

There is also a good demand for spaces in the Jawaharnagar Education Hub, as various educational institutions like the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, All India Management Schools Association, and XLRI Jamshedpur have already expressed their interest and placed requisitions for land to set up campuses.

The easy availability of required facilities is attracting a slew of educational institutions as well as domestic and multinational companies, who are on the hunt for high-quality talent. It is worth mentioning that the talent pool generated by Hyderabad is socially diverse, considering the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of backward sections in Higher Education here is one of the highest in the country, according to the All India Survey on Higher Education 2015-16. All of these factors combined together are pushing Hyderabad to emerge as a major higher education hub in the years to come.

Women’s role in education sector is enormous: Temjen Imna Along

By
Akash
-

“Women in our country are doing great and in education sector, their contribution is enormous,” said Temjen Imna Along, Higher and Technical Education Minister, Government of Nagaland.

The Minister was in Chandigarh today to be a part of 10th Higher Education and Human Resource Conclave as Guest of Honour.

He inaugurated the conclave in the presence of other eminent dignitaries including Navin Mittal, Commissioner, Collegiate and Technical Education Department, Government of Telangana; Manish Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, National Accreditation Board for Education and Training – Quality Council of India; Dr Dalip Kumar, Additional State Project Director, RUSA, Department of Higher Education, Chandigarh Administration; and Dr Madhu Chitkara, Vice-Chancellor, Chitkara University, Chandigarh.

Emphasising on the need of country’s development to face the challenges ahead, Along said, “Governments may come and go but we must stick to one belief that our every action must lead the nation on the path of development.”

“Our country can only grow when all the States grow together in every sector including education,” the minister added.

During his speech, Along touched various aspects like importance of digitisation in education, need of North East States’ inclusion for holistic development of the nation and important factors to impart quality higher education in the country.

Temjen Imna Along also unveiled a special issue of digitalLEARNING magazine along with other dignitaries. The magazine has touched challenges, scope, and opportunities in higher education sector of India. It has also featured the “Top Private and Deemed to Universities of India Ranking 2019”.

The senior IAS officer Navin Mittal, Commissioner, Collegiate and Technical Education Department, Government of Telangana emphasised on the Government, industry and academia collaboration for all round development of students.

He said, “We have to increasingly collaborate to bridge the gap between Government, Industry and Academia which will lead to holistic development of students.”

Sharing his views on how technology is transforming the learning practices, Mittal said, “In coming future, students will need not to go to campuses for studies rather the technology will facilitate anytime and anywhere learning.”


Manish Kumar, CEO, National Accreditation Board for Education & Training – Quality Council of India, said, “We need to shift from subject-based assessment or evaluation to competency based evaluation of students.”

Dr Madhu Chitkara, Vice-Chancellor, Chitkara University, Chandigarh, said that the incubation centre at Chitkara University aimed to nurture “Job Creators”.

The day-long summit witnessed sessions on higher education and human resource such as: New Age Innovations Redefining Higher Education Landscape in the country – Transitions and Transformations; Present Digital Era and its Implications in Human Resource Management; Changing Enrolment Trends at Indian Institutions; and others.

During the 10th Higher Education and Human Resource Conclave Chandigarh, over 20 institutes were felicitated from across the Northern region of country to showcase their exemplary contribution to impart quality education.

The summit also included industry presentations from renowned edupreneurs, stakeholders, and industrialists on their latest innovations and the best practices.

Chandigarh to host 10 th Higher Education and Human Resource Conclave on Friday

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-
Chandigarh to host HE HR Conclave

Chandigarh is all set to host 10 th Higher Education and Human Resource Conclave on Friday. Top-notch edu-leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders from the industry will gather in the city to deliberate upon the best practices in higher education.

The day-long conference is meant to foster partnership between Government, industry and academia and bridge the gap between the three.

The summit is scheduled to be organised by Temjen Imna Along, Minister, Higher & Technical Education, Government of Nagaland in the presence of Navin Mittal, Commissioner, Collegiate and Technical Education Department, Government of Telangana; Manish Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, National Accreditation Board for Education & Training – Quality Council of India; Dr Dalip Kumar, Additional State Project Director, RUSA, Department of Higher Education; and Shankar Ji Shah, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Panjab University.

Powered by NoPaperForms, the 10 th edition of the conclave is going to be organised by Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd with Chitkara University as university partner and QS I-Gauge as Supporting Partner.

The summit is supposed to showcase the best Higher Education and HR practices from across India to boost employability among students.

A special issue of digitalLEARNING magazine will also be launched during the 10 th Higher Education and Human Resource Conclave Chandigarh showcasing new challenges, scope, and visions of the education sector, especially in higher learning, and an evolving role of HR professionals in the corporate world.

Also, there will be panel discussions on various current challenges with expectations to enhance innovation and entrepreneurship among higher education students.

During the conclave, top universities, B-schools and engineering colleges ranked by digitalLEARNING magazine will be felicitated. HR leaders for adopting or innovating the new policies or practices for boosting employability will also be felicitated during the conference.

Microsoft introduces free Artificial Intelligence Courses for industry leaders

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-
artificial intelligence courses

Microsoft is releasing a new set of artificial intelligence courses framed for business leaders which will involve free instructional videos and case studies.

These videos and case studies will be focusse on the less technical aspects of the technology as it applies to top executives who are trying to integrate AI, including strategy, company culture and ethical responsibilities, into their operations.

They’re the latest in a series of instructional materials Microsoft has released, as it looks to address the usual shortage or absence of educational resources and talent in the Artificial Intelligence sector.

Also Read: Is Artificial Intelligence redefining Women Power?

As per Mitra Azizirad, Microsoft’s Corporate VP of AI Marketing and Productisation, the study material is the result of three-year conversations that Microsoft has had with client executives, who opined that there was a dearth of educational resources on AI that reached beyond the nuts-and-bolts technical level.

“We wanted to make sure we were meeting the needs of business leaders and really empowering them, no matter where they were on their journey, to drive an AI transformation with a focus on strategy, culture and governance,” Azizirad added.

The development comes about a week after the publication of a Microsoft-commissioned survey gauging executives’ priorities when it comes to implementing AI.

Is Artificial Intelligence redefining Women Power?

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-
Is Artificial Intelligence redefining Women Power?

Nandita KoshalArtificial Intelligence is nowadays one of the most popular topics to discus upon. It only continues to significantly increase in its role in business and daily life in general. It is important to discuss that what role women are likely to play in the world of Artificial Intelligence, writes Nandita Koshal, Research Associate, International Institute for Higher Education Research and Capacity Building, O P Jindal Global University.

AI and IoT technologies are increasingly being fashioned on women and their perceived roles. They play the role of our guide as GPS that takes us to our destination; as Cortana and Siri they become our personal assistants who aid in expediting our day to day commitments; and as Alexa and Google play they become our companions and friends who respect and fulfil our requests. It often makes one wonder why all these technologies have woman automated voices along with feminine names. The argument becomes even more compelling when we see the existence of social humanoid female robots like Nadine and Sophia. And now as women Artificial Intelligence have started dominating in the popular entertainment culture as Tony stark’s trusted AI ‘Friday’ in Avenger series (a selection made after being betrayed by his own creation Ultron), a lonely man’s sole companion in ‘Her’ or as conscious synths to ‘Humans’, a stronger attention to this trend is drawn.

There is a growing concern amongst a certain section that such technologies may provide a direct competition to the roles that have been traditionally viewed as the domain of the women, signaling to the society that the role of women is replaceable by technological innovation and AI This is further accentuated by the reports by World Economic Forum and IMF that have highlighted that women face a higher risk of being pushed out of the workforce by automation and Artificial Intelligence an inference incumbent on the fact that occupations that have the highest risk of automation like cashiers, caregivers, and sale operators, employ higher proportion of female workers. Therefore, can we conclude AI is a threat to women at both personal and professional fronts? Not necessarily.

Also Read: IIT Hyderabad partners TalentSprint to equip young talent in AI

While it indeed makes one think why developers have made AI inherently feminine, the probable reason could be to make technology more trusting, acceptable and seductive. The traits of trust, loyalty, patience, effective communication, empathy, care, companionship are often associated more with women. Using automated female voice for AI or IoT makes one less vary and more open to their usage. The trust that they emanate enables them to become more intimate part of our lives both at home and at workplace. However, as AI takes over these mundane jobs, should women be worried about their role and positions? On the contrary women should view Artificial Intelligence and technological innovation as an elixir for rejuvenating their perceived roles.

As more and more routine jobs are automated, it provides women with a much needed impetus and push to explore the hitherto less ventured field of technology. According to Amrita Choudhury, Lead Asia-Pacific Internet Society-Women Special Internet Group and President & Director, CCAOI, “The advent of new technologies such as A.I is an opportunity for women especially in emerging countries like India to acquire new technological skills, apply for new types of jobs and get into new bastions which till now have been male dominated. Such an environment will also encourage more women to take up STEM studies”. Her statement acquires special significance in the light of the findings of various agencies on growing skill gap.

Also Read: IIT-Kharagpur to launch course on Artificial Intelligence

The National Sample Survey of India has pitched the ratio of men to women in highly skilled occupations to roughly four to one. Similarly, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has propounded the gender gap especially among Artificial Intelligence professionals to be more than three times and has expressed concern that “unless women are encouraged to enter the field of science, technology and engineering, the gender skill gap could widen”. In this context, the area of AI and new technologies presents a massive opportunity for women to narrow down the gender gap and break into new fields as programme developers, coders, technological entrepreneurs, heads of technological organizations, and policymakers. In fact, Vera Songwe, the Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa recently observed that ‘increased access to the Internet would bridge women’s skill gap’.

Concurring with Vera, Shveta Kokash, Vice-President, ISOC (Internet Society) India Mumbai, an international not-for-profit, says, “A good understanding of Internet and related e-learning applications, technologies, machine learning undeniably provides women with greater opportunities in the job market. Artificial Intelligence hold the promise of reinventing our professional experiences as a woman. To leverage this, technology related skillsets and self-awareness will play a critical role.”

AI and other technologies in a way are giving women a chance to redefine and reimagine their roles, passions, professions and lives. It would hence be difficult to say if woman is reshaping Artificial Intelligence or AI is redefining the woman, but one can foretell that future of AI is Woman.

1...530531532...1,726Page 531 of 1,726

LATEST NEWS

whatsapp--v1 JOIN US
whatsapp--v1

Top Trending News

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma outlines vision for a New Assam

News digitalLEARNING Network -

UGC launches new rules for UG and PG courses from 2025

News digitalLEARNING Network -

Historic First: IIT-Delhi’s Prof. Manmohan Prasad Gupta Takes the Helm at IIM Lucknow, Redefining...

News digitalLEARNING Network -

Dubai Hosts the 32nd Elets World Education Summit 2025: A Premier Platform for Global...

Press Release digitalLEARNING Network -

Global Education Leaders to Converge in Dubai for the 32nd Elets World Education Summit...

Press Release digitalLEARNING Network -

Ministry of Education appoints Vineet Joshi as Interim UGC Chief

News digitalLEARNING Network -

Pramath Sinha announces launch of Jetri as Next Chapter in transforming Indian education

News digitalLEARNING Network -

India launches ‘Skills Accelerator’ with WEF

News digitalLEARNING Network -

Punjab announces ₹4.25 crore school projects under 54-day Sikhya Kranti

News digitalLEARNING Network -

PhysicsWallah eyes UPSC prep market with potential acquisitions amid IPO push

News digitalLEARNING Network -

IIT Kanpur launches free 30-day NEET 2025 crash course on SATHEE platform

News digitalLEARNING Network -

SiglQ.ai secures $9.5M seed funding

News digitalLEARNING Network -

Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu Pushes Food Education in Schools

News digitalLEARNING Network -

Punjab launches Sikhiya Kranti as AAP pushes for better education and a drug-free future

News digitalLEARNING Network -

Andhra Pradesh unveils LEAP education model

News digitalLEARNING Network -

UGC bids farewell to Prof Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar

News digitalLEARNING Network -

Top Trending Categories

© Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.