CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (CSIR-IMTECH) has partnered with Merck to establish a ‘High End Skill Development Centre’ in Chandigarh.

The Proposed centre in Chandigarh will be equipped with the next generation technologies, like gene editing and single-molecule biomarker detection. India’s premier National Research Laboratory CSIR-IMTECH in partnership with Merck – leading German science and technology company will help accelerate healthcare research and train Indian students and researchers in latest life science technologies and make them industry ready, said a statement from Ministry of Science and Technology.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding, Merck in collaboration with CSIR-IMTECH will use their expertise in Life Science to build a centre which will help researchers and students develop advanced competencies and analytical skills required for life science research.

The first of its kind, Academia-Industry-led, laboratory in Chandigarh has been established to augment Government of India’s initiative for skilling India in the area of Life Science, said the statement. The centre will facilitate hands-on experience to learning and real time sample analysis.

The proposed state of the art Centre will integrate Work-based and Research-based learning by providing next generation lab set-up for carrying out real time sample analysis and learning workshops for selected group of technologies in the domain of Life Sciences.

This High-End Skill Development Centre will function on the principle of “no-profit, no-loss” basis and has been primarily created to augment Government of India’s initiative for building skills in the area of Life Science, added the statement.

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.

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.

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“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)