The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has unveiled its policies on student internships, examination reforms and training of technical teachers.
Laying down the roadmap for major changes in engineering courses, AICTE recommended that students pursuing bachelor’s degree in engineering have to undergo at least 600 to 700 hours of internships which would earn them credits. The regulator also suggested testing a student’s ability to apply knowledge rather than cram facts through examinations. It has also given the nod for open book exams.
In its revised guidelines, AICTE directed that technical teachers have to undergo an induction course at the time of joining and also keep themselves updating as they progress. According to officials, the policies released by human resource development minister Prakash Javadekar, are focussed on improving employability.
According to the AICTE’s Internship policy document, a minimum of 14-20 credits of internship or entrepreneurial activities may be counted towards B Tech programme and 10-14 credits for the three year diploma course. This will result in about 600-700 hours of total internship duration for B Tech students and 450 to 500 for diploma students.
The AICTE has also suggested an initial induction programme for teachers and updation of their skill set through in-service training programmes.
The Delhi High Court has directed the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to increase a seat in its “Comparative Political Theory” stream to grant admission to a differently-abled student.
The court also directed the university it should work out a mandate under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.
The decision was given by a bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V Kameswar Rao. The bench instructed JNU to grant admission to the student, Dharamveer Yadav, by increasing a seat in the stipulated seven-seat course stating that the seat would be supernumerary and lapse when the student is awarded his degree.
“Also, we find that many reserved seats, at least 15 have gone waste as no person with disability could get qualified, against the said seats. In such an eventuality and in peculiar facts of this case, the court is of the view that the Respondent No 3 (JNU) shall increase the intake to eight in the ‘Comparative Political Theory stream,’ which shall be supernumerary, which shall get lapsed after Dharamveer is awarded the degree,” the bench said in its order.
“It is for the University to work out the mandate of the Act, so that every person with disability, who qualifies get admission. But in no case they can violate the mandate,” it added.
The order was given by the bench while hearing a plea by an NGO – National Federation for Blind (NABH). The NGO challenged admission policy of the JNU for the year 2018-19 after two students with disability, Dharamveer Yadav and Deepak Mishra were not granted admission by the university.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has established an innovation cell at the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE).
The cell is aimed to encourage and brainstorm new ideas about promoting innovation in all higher education institutions (HEIs) across the country. The union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar launched the cell at the AICTE headquarters through video conferencing.
Speaking on the occasion, Javadekar said, “This will be a significant step in institutionalising innovation and developing a scientific temperament in the country. The purpose of formation of network of Institution’s Innovation Councils (IICs) is to encourage, inspire and nurture young students by exposing them to new ideas and processes resulting in innovative activities in their formative years.”
“More than 1,000 HEIs have already formed IICs in their campuses and enrolled for the IIC network managed by MHRD’s innovation cell to promote innovation through multitudinous modes leading to an innovation promotion eco-system in their campuses,” he said.
Emphasising on the need of research in higher education institutes, the minister stated that the varsities are the main research centers of developed countries and because of their research they are at the top in global innovation ranking.
“Now Indian universities are also setting up research centers through the IIC programme and we are expecting good rank in global innovation ranking in next two to three years through this initiative,” he added.
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has signed an MoU with professors Soumitra Dutta and Lourdes Casanova to constitute “The Soumitra Dutta Chair in Artificial Intelligence”.
The two academicians have pledged a support of Rs 1 crore for the purpose.
The Chair has been named after Soumitra Dutta, a distinguished alumnus of IIT Delhi, is envisaged to promote excellence and leadership in teaching, research and development in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is also supposed that the initiative will facilitate more interaction between the industry and IIT Delhi faculty and students.
“I am very grateful to faculty of IIT Delhi for the valuable education they provided to me and I am glad to contribute to the future academic excellence of IIT Delhi,” Dutta said.
Lourdes Casanova, a renowned academician working at Cornell University, said, “The chair recognises the important role of artificial intelligence in shaping the future of India and supports the aspirations ofIIT Delhi for leadership in this important domain.”
Dutta received undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1985 from IIT Delhi and earned a Ph D in Computer Science from the University of California in Berkeley. Dutta is best known for being the architect of the Global Innovation Index, which now has become the global standard among innovation indices.
With JEE Main set to go completely online, Extramarks has launched a new testing app for the aspirants. The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for admission to IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) is going to be conducted online from 2019, announced the newly formed National Testing Agency (NTA).
The IITJEE Test Prep app will assist IIT aspirants by providing them exhaustive practice papers simulating the actual exam environemnt, stated Extramarks.
“The technology platform developed by Extramarks identifies areas of strength and improvement in a student’s performance, thus bridging learning gaps and ensuring mastery over concepts, and helping students crack an effective exam strategy,” Extramarks Education’s Chairman and Managing Director Atul Kulshrestha said.
“Experts and educators with proven test records have been brought on board to create and curate practice and mock test papers,” he added.
National-level weekly test series in the new app will provide students a real-time intelligence backed performance analysis, along with their national peer ranking.
In addition to that, It also contains a set of mock tests, previous years papers and completely customisable chapter-wise tests, through which students can further strengthen their exam preparedness.
“The questions and exam papers available on the app have been specially curated by experts and educators from all over India who have a proven track record, with multiple students gaining high ranks in past JEEs,” Extramarks said.
The company said, “Its network encompasses more than 8,000 schools and students and it employs nearly 3,000 professionals engaged in implementation of digital education. It is present across India, South Africa, Indonesia and Singapore.”
Registration process for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) MBBS examination will begin from 30 November in online mode. Interested candidates may visit the online application link to be available at aiimsexams.org.
From this year onwards, the registration process has two phases— basic and final to avoid any last minute rush and the discrepancy in the application forms. There will be no fee for the basic registration. Candidates can proceed for final registration only after and only after verifying the details entered.
AIIMS MBBS 2019: Basic registration details
In basic registration, candidates have to fill in details like education certificated along with the image.
After that, the candidates will be communicated whether their basic registration is accepted or not. They will be given a unique identification number for the same.
It will help students avoid the pressures of last-minute rush and fear of rejection of applications.
The basic registration process will close prior to the entrance examination so that no further applications can be filled.
AIIMS MBBS entrance examination 2018: Important dates
Commencement of online registration process: November 30
Last date to apply online: January 3
Status update (Accepted & Not Accepted) of Basic Registration: January 7
Correction of deficiencies in basic registration process: January 8 to 18
Final status (Accepted & Rejected) of Basic registration for MBBS-2019: January 22
Uploading prospectus: January 29
Generation of code for final registration: January 29 to February 17, 2019
Final registration: February 21 to March 12, 2019
Admit cards: May 15
Date of examinations: May 25 and May 26, 2019 — Morning shift (9 am- 12 noon) and afternoon shift (3 pm to 6 pm)
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta – The oldest IIM in the country has got its first woman director. Anju Seth, an alumnus of IIM Calcutta, took over as director of her alma mater to lead this prestigious institute.
This is the third instance in the country when a woman has taken the charge as a director in any IIM.
“I look forward to working with faculty, staff, students, Governors and all other stakeholders to build on the Institute’s strong foundations and accomplish new heights of eminence”, Seth said in a statement.
Most recently, Professor Seth held the position of Pamplin Professor of Management at Virginia Tech, US. Prior to joining Virginia Tech, she was Professor of Business Administration at University of Illinois.
Seth, a Ph D from the University of Michigan, has an academic career spanning over twenty five years. She has received numerous awards for her teaching and research and is on the editorial board of many scholarly journals.
“We are delighted that Anju will be the first woman Director of IIMC. She was the unanimous choice of the search cum selection committee and the BOG,” said Shrikrishna Kulkarni, chairperson Board of IIM Calcutta.
Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MHT CET) 2019 will be conducted in online mode, says the notice released by State Entrance Cell.
According to the notice released, the Computer-based Test (CBT) for MHT CET 2019 will have three question papers with each carrying 100 marks and objective questions Paper-I will be of Mathematics, paper-II will be of Physics and Chemistry, and Paper-III will be of Biology (Zoology and Botany).
The questions will be based on the syllabus of Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. While the question paper will cover entire syllabus of class 12, only certain topics from class 11 syllabus will be covered in the question paper. 20 percent weightage will be given to class 11th syllabus and 80 percent weightage will be given to class 12th syllabus, stated the notice issued by Maharashtra CET.
There will be no negative marking. However, the difficulty level of mathematics, Physics and Chemistry questions will be of JEE Main level and the same of Biology paper will be of NEET UG level.
Students interested to know more about the syllabus and marking scheme for MHT CET 2019, can visit the official website of Maharashtra CET available at: https://mhtcet2018.dtemaharashtra.gov.in/
India, Asia’s third biggest economy has all indicators pointing to strong economic growth. But the fact is that the fastest growing Indian economy is struggling in vain to convert the speedy economic growth into employment gain, writes Dr Lakshmi Mohan, Director, ITM Business School.
Dr Lakshmi Mohan, Director, ITM Business School
India is a country where nearly close to 1.6 crore people enter the workforce every year. The World Bank has said that to maintain a stable employment rate, India needs to create about 8 million jobs each year. Opening up the economy, encouraging foreign capital to flow, generation of wealth and creating business opportunities are opinions offered by several analysts to improve the current apathy. Demonetisation and GST have compelled corporates to formalise which can open up restructuring of organizations. Crucial sectors like IT, BFSI and Telecom can be seen undergoing major shifts. Telecom sector has rendered 75,000 jobless, owing to the onslaught of Reliance Jio and another 40,000 people are estimated to be out of jobs. Banks are on digital transformation, cutting jobs that technology has taken over. This year there have been convergences of many disruptions that have shaken up the job scenario.
The expectation of a proportionate increase in job opportunities to GDP has turned out to be a disappointment. ILO has predicted that in the year 2018, unemployment rate will remain at 3.5 percent and further 77 percent of them would come under vulnerable category (self-employed or family run establishments).
If comparisons have to be made, employment had increased by 2% in the 80’s when GDP growth was 4%, while today GDP growth to employment growth ratio is as low as 0.1%. It is not surprising that unemployment among graduates is approximately 16 percent. New investment projects fell by 38.4% and expected foreign direct investments dropped by 15% according to CMIE data. With low buying demands and falling capacity utilisation, the economy has not been an encouraging scenario thus resulting in stunted job creation. Factors such as erratic monsoon, rising crude oil prices, sliding rupee value, exiting foreign investors have added to the agony. Other glitches pointed out which are hampering progress are glacial economic reforms, weak banking sector, stringent labour laws and faulty education system that ignores skill development.
GDP versus Job Opportunities
Gross Domestic Productionor GDP is total value of goods and services produced in a fiscal year. Rise in demand or inflation can increase value of goods. At the same time production increases either because of mechanization or job growth. So in simple terms we may consider GDP growth to increase job growth. In fact Okun’s law clearly states that one percent increase in unemployment makes GDP fall by 2%. But GDP growth may not wholly guarantee job creation. For instance, a company that had requirement for 10 customer service representatives is appointing none as the services will be rendered by chat bots. Mechanization has snatched jobs or replaced humans. The production has increased but not led to job increase. The GDP too has increased but job opportunity is not visible.
Unfortunately, huge wealth in the hands of a few, and hundred millions of middle class is what describes our economy today. Privileged few reap benefits of rising abundance. Inequality has risen from 81.3% in 2013 to 85.4% this year according to Credit Suisse. Economic growth has to be inclusive and would not make sense if it leaves people out. It is said that growth in employment opportunities have not grown to the extent of educated Indians who are age eligible to be part of the work force, thus resulting in unemployment on the rise, despite India sparkling in the slowing global economy. Economists are of the opinion that more work is being carried out by fewer employees, thus creating a crunch in jobs per unit of GDP. Chief economist at Crisil, Mr Joshi has indicated that economy has become less labour-absorbent. This contradicts the growth that India has been experiencing, so the pertinent question is whether growth itself is overstated or it is in less labour-intensive sectors or the correct data is unavailable. Job creation has to also be supported by banks and other investing institutions which is lacking. Ease of doing business in India is a big question which has deterred several organisations to move to friendlier countries with their business proposals thus leaving little scope for job opportunities. Labour reforms have not been progressive adding to the problem of unemployment. Make in India gave Indians great promise of 15 Lakh crore of investment from both Indian and foreign investors, but these projects have not moved beyond paper. Make in India is an excellent venture but yet to create job opportunities.
Campus hiring has become selective as companies are vying quality candidates from Management Schools. At ITM Business School there seems to be a rise in companies visiting campus to select students. The same holds true for institutions that have reputation and quality like the IIMs, ISB etc. While we are witnessing conglomerates laying off employees who have been working with them for long, they seem to be having an appetite to pick up from reputed B Schools. The pre-placement offers after internships too have seen a drastic rise in comparison to previous years. Companies are shifting their focus from mass hiring to handpicked candidates with special acumen in emerging technologies.
AI, Digital, Sales and Analytics would rein the job scenario for 2018. Upskilling and continuous learning and professional development are the mantra to remain ahead in today’s corporate curve. As we see technology is playing truant in stealing jobs but keeping pace with ever changing business requirements is a way to keep oneself in demand. Workplace flexibility is increasing, and greater importance is laid on performance rather than experience, which is leading to layoffs of senior employees. Job search mechanisms have improved and at the same time there is a need to key in words in the Resume aligning to job descriptions, which can catch short attention span of employers. Volume to value is what companies are looking at while hiring and the best way to beat the blues is relentless efforts towards employability keeping industry trends in view. (Views expressed by author are a personal opinion)
