Chicago varsities to launch Global Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) Program

By

-

March 17, 2017

Mayor of Chicago, US, Rahm Emanuel has announced that five Chicago-based universities are soon going to launch Global Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) Programme. The five universities are: Columbia College, DePaul University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Loyola University and Northwestern University. During the first year of the programme, the universities will work with the city of Chicago and sponsor 10 to 20 visas for start-up founders.

“We want entrepreneurs to see Chicago as a place where their ideas/their dreams or their companies can happen,” Emanuel said in a press conference. “I believe this initiative … is saying yes to entrepreneurship, yes to diversity and most importantly, yes to the future of the city of Chicago.”

Entrepreneurs will be sponsored by the universities on the basis of their company’s growth. The universities will also employ early stage entrepreneurs on part-time basis to work separately on their companies.

Under the programme, start-ups will get a chance to set up a office at their sponsor university and mentor its students.

It is expected that the applications under this programme would be exempted from an annual cap on H-1B visas, which restricts spots to 65,000, with another 20,000 reserved for those with Master’s degrees or higher.

The universities are allowed to run the admissions and reviews independently for the programme, although the requirements and decisions would be unique.

A programme on similar lines was also launched by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2014, firstly at university’s Boston and Lowell campuses, and later at Babson College.

Government okays setting up of 50 new Kendriya Vidyalayas

By

Akash

-

March 17, 2017

The Central Government has approved to set up 50 new Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) across the country in order to improve the quality of education for around 50,000 students.

According to an official statement, the schools, which will be set up under the civil/defence sector for classes 1 to 5, will “provide quality education to approximately 50,000 students in addition to around 12 lakh students already studying in present KVs,” an official statement said.

For new KVs approximately 650 regular posts will be created to “address the educational needs of eligible students with high quality standards and will play a role of pacesetting educational institutions in the districts concerned,” the official statement said.

By providing, the KVs are intended to ensure from one location to another.

The schools have been operational for over 50 years. A common syllabus and education system is followed across KVs to ensure that the children of government employees do not face education disadvantages while their parents are transferred.

At least 4 acre of land is required for setting up of a Kendriya Vidyalaya in a city. Other norms include concentration of 500 employees in defence or central government and minimum potential enrollment of 200 children for classes I to IV.

“The school grows every year with addition of one more higher class and, when the school grows upto class XII and becomes a full fledged school with two sections in each class, there shall be a requirement of about 4,000 regular posts of various categories including around 2,900 teaching posts and about 1,100 non-teaching posts,” the official statement added.

Setting up 50 new KVs as per the norms based on Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) will cost around Rs 1,160 crore. Presently, there are 1,142 functional Kendriya Vidyalayas including three at Moscow, Kathmandu and Tehran.

MHRD proposes fellowship to IIT scholars with refund clause

By

Akash

-

March 17, 2017

Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) has proposed Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship for selected PhD fellows at Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to provide monthly scholarship of Rs 75,000. The fellowship will only be awarded to those who wish to seek admission in PhD courses directly after their B Tech programme

The proposed fellowship is also having the refund clause and the beneficiaries have to return the entire amount if they leave the course midway.

At present, there are 25,000 scholars enrolled in different PhD programmes in the IITs and those opting for doctoral degree directly after completing their masters get Rs 25,000 per month.

“To improve the quality of research, more students need to be encouraged to register for direct PhD programme after completing their B Tech courses. Therefore, a lucrative scheme has been devised where students will get an amount as good as salaries paid by the MNCs,” a MHRD official said.

“However, to ensure that the students don’t use the opportunity as a stop over arrangement, a refund clause has been inserted,” the official said.

IIT council, the highest decision making body for IITs, has approved the fellowship last year but the same has yet to get the Cabinet’s nod. Fellowship programme’s first batch is likely to start from this academic year with 1,000 fellows initially.

No limit on age or attempts for NEET: Medical Council of India

By

Akash

-

March 17, 2017

The Medical Council of India (MCI) has lifted the age bar and limit on number of attempts for a candidate wish to appear in the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET).

Based on recommendations from the oversight committee and the Union Health Ministry, the MCI said both limitations were being removed. “The oversight committee felt such limitations will reduce the number of doctors in the country. The Union health ministry agreed and suggested recommendation to us. We have passed it,” said MCI vice-president Dr C V Bhirmanandham.

“We give everyone the opportunity to clear the test. Students who don’t make it this year either because they haven’t prepared for the test or because they haven’t applied for the test on time can always try later. It gives even undergraduate students an opportunity.”

An earlier bulletin from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on NEET had said, a candidate can appear only thrice for the test.

It was also clarified that attempts made for AIPMT/NEET before 2017 would not be counted and NEET-2017 would be the first attempt for all aspirants.

Moreover, the upper age limit was fixed at 25 years for candidate appearing for NEET (Undergraduate). Candidates belonging to reserved categories were given a five-year relaxation in upper age limit.

France keen to accelerate library digitisation project with India

By

Akash

-

March 17, 2017

France is eager to accelerate the Indo-French project on library digitisation. The project is aimed to digitise and archive old documents and manuscripts stored in all the major libraries of the two countries.

It’s been a few months since the project was initiated but it failed to gain momentum due to logistics constraints, said, French Consul General, Damien Syed. “Now our government is keen to speed it up,” he said.

The proposed digital database will be available to people of both the countries. “We want to reinforce our strategic partnership with India and education is a key area to do that. Indo-French partnership of archiving our old academic treasures will help us in developing a better bond in that area,” Syed said.

Through the project, France will share its expertise in digitising old documents and manuscripts with India. France also has many old and valuable manuscripts in Tamil and Sanskrit that Indian experts will help decipher.

“On the completion of the project, all documents and their soft copies on both sides will remain the property of the respective countries. But people like students, academicians or researchers will have access to them through our digital library by opening up an account free of cost,” Syed said.

India’s Culture Ministry and the National Library of France have signed a Memorandum of Understanding while launching the project in October 2015. “Though the initial focus of the project is on national libraries of both the countries only, other important libraries may also get included in the future,” Syed added.

University of Denver to host 9th Elets World Education Summit in June

News

By

Akash

-

March 16, 2017

To bring global stakeholders of education ecosystem on a common knowledge sharing platform, Elets Technomedia will host the 9th World Education Summit (WES) at University of Denver, Colarado, United States (US) from 10-11 June.

The Summit will witness the discussion on latest trends, emerging technologies and collaboration opportunities in the US.

Eduleaders during the summit will discuss majorly on three segments of education: Preschool, School/K-12 and Higher Education.

Discussion on preschool segment will focus on research based curriculum, teacher training and assistance, infrastructure and ambience design, and technology aided sensory learning.

Key discussion points in school education will be digital education, pedagogical innovations, experiential learning and education policy.

The higher education related discussions will be based on technology driven education, innovation and technology, and social networking as a learning tool.

During the summit, notable eduleaders will be presented with awards in varying categories to recognise and encourage their participation in the field of education.

Best Asian universities: India more than doubles its representation

By

Akash

-

March 16, 2017

With 33 institutions in the top 300 list of the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings 2017, India has doubled its participation in the newly expanded list, compared to 16 in the top 200 last year. Seven of these institutes are new entrants, and eight in the top 100.

Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is ranked 27, highest in India. Other Indian institutes in top 5o include Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (42), and Veltech University (43).

“It is great news that India has more than doubled its representation in this year’s ranking of Asia’s best universities. It means that India is now the third most represented nation in the table for the first time,” said Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education rankings.

“India’s strong performance is partly thanks to the country recognising the importance of participating in global benchmarking exercises? last year the government launched a new funding backed project aimed at catapulting Indian Institutes of Technology to the top of world university rankings. However, while India punches above its weight in terms of its GDP per capita, it underperforms given its large population of university aged people,” added Baty.

The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur is among the largest gainers on the list that has jumped to 63 from the 101-110 band. The institute has bettered its ranking due to improvements across the board and a particularly high jump in its amount of industry income.

However, several Indian universities have also slipped down in their ranking due to increased competition. For example, the University of Calcutta has dropped from the 141-150 band to the 191-200 cohort while Amrita University has fallen from 181-190 to 251+.

Times Higher Education has expanded this year’s ranking list which includes 300 universities, from 200 last year. For the second year running, Singapore’s National University and China’s Peking University have been ranked first and second respectively in the overall list.

FTII, Canon India ink MoU to promote film education

By

Akash

-

March 16, 2017

Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and Canon India Pvt Ltd have signed an MoU to promote film education across the country. through short term courses.

Several skill oriented short term courses have been proposed under FTII’s initiative Skilling India in Film and Television (SKIFT). These short term courses are likely to be held in collaboration with state governments, universities and educational institutions.

According to an official release, the ‘technology partner’ of SKIFT, Canon, would be providing high-end cameras and accessories free of cost for the courses, an official release said.

Rajyavardhan Rathore, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, said that the initiative would ensure the perfect blend of technology and young talent through the platform of FTII.

The release said that the move would be a “major contributing factor in keeping the course fees affordable while offering an opportunity to course participants to use cutting-edge equipment”.

The places where courses are proposed to be held initially include Guwahati, Jaipur, Vishakhapatnam, Raipur, Chandigarh, Raipur, Bhopal, Leh and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

To begin with, SKIFT would conduct courses such as Digital Cinematography, Documentary Film Making, Screenplay Writing, Acting, Film Criticism & Journalism and Film Appreciation.

IIT Madras to increase industry-funded research, hire foreign faculty

Higher Education

By

Akash

-

March 16, 2017

IIT Madras to increase industry-funded research, hire foreign faculty

Indian Institute of Technology – Madras (IIT-M) will be hiring 100 foreign faculties over the next three years to boost industry-funded research. Initially, the institute is planning to hire 25 foreign nationals as faculty, said an IIT Madras official.

The official also added that the institute is focusing majorly on improving the industry-institute research partnerships, on enhancing the donations from former students, and boosting the placements via drawing more and more corporates.

According to an official statement, one of the major goals of the institute is to nurture entrepreneurial skills among the students of IIT Madras.

According to the official, union government has sanctioned Rs 750 crore as IIT Madras’ budget for the next fiscal. The institute is expected to get first portion of sanctioned amount soon.

Pawan Goenka, Chairman, Governing Board of IIT-M and Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, told reporters, “IIT-M plans to have around 100 foreign nationals as its faculty over the next three years. To start with, the institute plans to hire around 25 foreign nationals as faculty members”.

IIT Madras Director Bhasker Ramamurthi hoped that appointing foreign faculty members will help in conceptualising diverse ideas since not all nationalities think alike.

Cabinet approves bill to declare 15 IIITs as institute of national importance

By

Akash

-

March 16, 2017

The Union Cabinet has approved a bill declaring 15 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) set up under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode as Institutions of National Importance. The bill granted the IIITs degree awarding power.

The Cabinet passed the Indian Institute of Information Technology Public Private Partnership (IIIT-PPP) Bill, 2017 to “grant statutory status to 15 IIITs set up under the PPP mode and declare them as Institutions of National Importance, to enable them to grant degrees to the students in the academic courses conducted by them”.

The Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) had announced to set up 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) across the country under PPP mode, out of which 15 are already functional at Chittoor (Andhra Pradesh), Guwahati, Vadodara, Kota, Srirangam (Tamil Nadu), Una (Himachal Pradesh), Sonepat (Haryana), Kalyani (West Bengal), Lucknow, Nagpur, Pune, Ranchi, Kottayam, Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh) and Dharwad (Karnataka).

It cost Rs 128 crore to set up an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) which is contributed by the Centre, state government and the industry in the ratio of 50:35:15.

LATEST NEWS

Top Trending News

Top Trending Categories