UGC releases guidelines to recognise foreign degrees

Higher Education

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August 18, 2023

The UGC has released draft rules to determine the validity of foreign degrees. However, it does not include degrees obtained through remote learning or online courses.

Notably, these rules do not apply to professional degrees from foreign educational institutions in the fields of medicine, pharmacy, nursing, law, and architecture. The UGC also specified how to accept credentials from offshore campuses and boards in other countries.

This growth coincides with the progress made by foreign colleges in establishing campuses in Gujarat’s GIFT City. Similar to this, Indian universities are aggressively collaborating with foreign universities to offer dual or joint degree programs.

The UGC stipulates that a foreign higher education degree shall be recognized and equivalent if the student enrolls in a reputable institution back home.

Additionally, the program’s entrance standards should be on par with those of a comparable program in India.

Next Education partners with Life Vitae and Hikvision to elevate education offerings with advanced technology

Corporate Updates

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 17, 2023

Next Education, an Indian Ed-tech business serving the K–12 education market has joined forces with Life Vitae, an AI-driven career guidance company, and Hikvision, a global leader in machine perception, artificial intelligence, and big data technologies. By working together, Next Education hopes to incorporate cutting-edge technology into its educational programs and better educate students for the changing demands of the modern workforce.

The collaboration with Life Vitae is evidence of Next Education’s unwavering commitment to utilising technological innovations to enhance the educational experience of its students. The platform from Life Vitae is recognized for leveraging AI to assist students in identifying their talents and selecting their career pathways. Next Education offers a comprehensive educational experience that goes beyond the realm of traditional academics by incorporating this AI-driven career advising tool into the Next Learning Platform.

“We are thrilled to announce these ground-breaking partnerships that will revolutionize learning solutions for our students,” stated Beas Dev Ralhan, CEO of Next Education. By utilising both our extensive educational resources and Life Vitae’s AI-driven career assistance, students are better equipped to plan their futures. By partnering with Hikvision, Next Education is making a significant advancement toward building a safer, smarter, and more individualized learning environment.

According to Priya Sengupta, CEO, Life Vitae, “We are excited to deliver our AI-driven career advise to students, helping them to uncover their actual potential and make educated decisions about their future careers, as we embark on this ground-breaking cooperation with Next Education. We’ll make sure the students at Next Education are well-equipped to handle the difficulties of the contemporary world in both their career and personal life.

The cornerstone of our aim has always been to better prepare the future workforce, according to Richard Ni, Director of Academics at Hikvision. The big data tools from Hikvision can help Next Education discover important things about the behavior, performance, and learning patterns of its students. This data can be used to improve education generally, personalise the learning experience for each student, and customise resources to match their needs.

Unacademy promotes Sumit Jain to Co-Founder status

Corporate Updates

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 16, 2023

Sumit Jain, the head of Unacademy’s Graphy section, has been promoted to partner, which is “like a cofounder who joined at a later stage,” according to Gaurav Munjal, Group Chief Executive, who made the announcement.

In April 2020, Jain joined Unacademy and helped create the Graphy division, which enables creators and educators to start their own online courses. Prior to this, in 2007, Jain co-founded CommonFloor, a real estate website that let users purchase, sell, and rent homes. He served as the company’s CEO. In 2016, Quikr, a classifieds website, acquired CommonFloor.

“Gaurav, I appreciate your confidence in me so much. The journey with Unacademy Group has been an up-and-down experience filled with obstacles and lessons. I wouldn’t accept anything less, either. I’m incredibly thrilled to join the Unacademy Group, Jain tweeted.

For Indian edtech experts, the last two years have been a trying time as the ecosystem struggles with slowing growth, declining pandemic-led tailwinds, a protracted funding winter, and global macroeconomic headwinds.

To increase their cash runway and save costs, players including Unacademy, Byju’s, and Vedantu have implemented layoffs across numerous tranches. Munjal claimed earlier this year that Unacademy had decreased its monthly cash burn to Rs 1.9 crore and had generated Rs 130 crore in revenue in May.

NCERT forms two committees to develop new school curriculum

Schools News

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 16, 2023

NCERT has notified two committees to create new textbooks and school curriculam under the National Education Policy 2020. These committees are comprised of specialists in a variety of disciplines in addition to academia. Members of the core group come from a variety of professions, including philanthropy, athletics, music, the business world, government, higher education, and policy-making.

The 19-member National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC) includes Sudha Murthy, chair of the Infosys Foundation, Sanjeev Sanyal, member of the economic advisory council to the prime minister, Bibek Debroy, chairman of the economic advisory council to the prime minister, music legend – Shankar Mahadevan, U Vimal Kumar, a former Indian badminton player, Sujatha Ramdorai, professor at Canada’s University of British Columbia, and Surina Rajan (retired IAS).

The National Curriculum Frameworks Oversight Committee (NOC), which is made up of Manjul Bhargava of Princeton University, Anurag Behar, CEO of the Azim Premji Foundation, and Indian billionaire businessman Sridhar Vembu, will provide assistance for the committee. M C Pant, Chancellor of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, and Professor Manjul Bhargava share leadership of the NSTC. The committee has also been given the authority “to appropriately revise the existing textbooks of classes I and II to ensure smooth transition from classes II to III”.

The textbooks and other materials will cover all curricular areas and the subjects contained within that are a component of the NCF-SE (National Curriculum Framework – School Education), as well as its accompanying materials such teacher handbooks, according to the terms of reference for NSTC.

Curricular area groups (CAGs) will work with the committee to create textbooks and other teaching resources for each subject. Additionally, the committee is “free to invite other experts for advice…”

The Central University of Punjab’s Jagbir Singh serves as the NOC’s chair, and its mandate is to assure “complete alignment of the curriculum, textbooks, and other teaching and learning materials to NCF-SE 2023. The NSTC has been handed to the NOC with various forms of support and facilitation.

NITIE to be renamed as IIM Mumbai

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 11, 2023

The National Institute of Industrial Engineering, or NITIE, will soon be renamed as the Indian Institute of Management Mumbai (IIM-Mumbai). The decision was made after the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill 2023 received approval from both Houses of Parliament during the current monsoon session.

IIM Mumbai will now rank second in Maharashtra after IIM Nagpur as the country’s twenty-first IIM. This news coincides with the institute’s Diamond Jubilee Year celebrations.

‘The bill will make NITIE join the illustrious family of globally renowned IIMs. India’s established 21st Indian Institute of Management (IIM) established in 1963, the 21st IIM has been synonymous with exceptional management education,” as per official tweet.

The IIM recognition is a source of great pride for NITIE and Mumbai, according to Shashi Kiran Shetty, Chairman of the Society and Board of Governors at NITIE and Chairman and Founder of Allcargo Group. In the areas of industrial engineering, engineering management, and management sciences, NITIE is renowned for providing high-quality instruction. We shall be further inspired to continue our path of academic excellence by fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation to develop tomorrow’s leaders thanks to the inclusion of NITIE in the IIM Act, 2017’.

The President of India will be the Visitor of each institute, according the IIM (Amendment) Bill 2023. The President will have the authority to oversee their operations, launch investigations, and nominate and remove directors.

Notably, the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), founded in Mumbai in 1963 by the Indian government, consistently ranks among the best business schools in India. The institution is listed seventh among India’s management institutes in the National Institutional Ranking Framework NIRF rankings for 2023. NITIE has a campus that is spread out over 63 acres of forested hilltop in Mumbai’s Powai neighborhood, on the shores of Vihar Lake.

With numerous partner universities in North America, South America, Europe, and South-East Asia, NITIE also runs a thriving student exchange program.

Pedagogies Addressing the Country’s Literacy and Numeracy Crisis: Abhishek Goel, SAAR Education (I) Pvt Ltd

Interviews

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August 11, 2023

The inclusion of Social Emotional Learning in schools can solve most of the problems of society, shared Abhishek Goel, Co-Founder, SAAR Education (I) Pvt Ltd in an exclusive conversation with Sheeba Chauhan of Elets News Network. Edited excerpts:

SAAR believes that the world has changed phenomenally in the past few decades but the educational methodologies unfortunately haven’t. What are the practices and methodologies that still need a revamp?

Education is meant to provide enlightening experiences to individuals. The dictionary meaning of education is ‘the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life’. If all educators align their school functioning to the defined meaning of education, it will help each one of us identify the gaps in systems.

NEP (National Education Policy) 2020 provides a clear picture of the gaps that are deeply rooted and surfacing as unemployability in our country. Many publishers and curriculum developers by large have not yet been able to develop products according to the required pedagogical approaches. This has led to wrong teaching methods in school education, thus leading to rote learning rather than skill development. Every subject has a specific way of transferring knowledge and developing skills and it is our duty as providers of educational resources to take ownership of this corrective measure. It is high time that we all look at NEP 2020 and NCF (National Curriculum Framework) 2022 documents as guiding lights and involve methods that are researched, tried, and tested.

Practices and methodologies that need a revamp in education include adopting student-centric approaches, implementing inquiry-based learning, integrating technology effectively, promoting collaborative and project-based learning, emphasising life skills education, incorporating cultural relevance and global perspectives, and providing continuous professional development for educators.

We at SAAR are very proud of being the pioneers of creating and providing educational resources based on researched pedagogies and methodologies in India and training lacs of teachers to implement them successfully in their classrooms. Our resources are completely aligned with NEP 2020; as a result, we are looked at by our customer schools as ‘Partners of Change’.

You have collaborated with brands like Evan Moor, Fitzroy, MyOn, and more. How have these collaborations escalated the success of SAAR?

Brian O’Leary in one of his articles titled ‘From Competitors to Collaborators’ calls out publishers to build “an architecture of collaboration”. SAAR too believes that we must not waste time reinventing the wheel. Our collaborations are with organisations that are pioneers in their areas of education. The education transformation can be brought in by looking at the innovators as our allies who are supporting us in our vision to bring education revolution.

Collaborating with brands like Jolly Phonics (UK), Fitzroy Programs (Australia), Evan Moor (USA), BSD (Singapore), MyOn (USA), Renaissance (USA), Pratham Books (India) and many others has significantly contributed to the success of SAAR. These collaborations have facilitated the expansion of our resources, expertise, and reach, enabling us to provide a more comprehensive and diverse educational experience to our users.

On a deeper level, our collaborations also helped us establish the fact that children across the world have to be oriented towards skill development and not syllabus completion and that some of the problems we are facing in the Indian education system are also prevalent in countries like the United Kingdom and United States of America.

According to a recent survey, over 300 million students are homeschooled worldwide. How is SAAR helping students to be homeschooled?

In India, the homeschooling market is yet to open up, but we understand the increasing need for it. We launched our homeschooling kit at the time of the Covid crisis.

SAAR provides valuable support to homeschooled students through its comprehensive educational resources, personalised learning experiences, and interactive online platform. It offers a wide range of subjects, curriculum materials, and tools that can be tailored to the specific needs and preferences of homeschooled students, helping them receive quality education in a flexible and accessible manner. As mentioned before, we are looking at skills and not syllabi and all our products are pivoted around specific skills. The homeschooling kit works around 4C skills. Parents can even take advantage of our self-paced coding platform with BSD and personalised digital library MyOn for enhancing literacy.

What are the unique practices SAAR includes under SEL (Social Emotional Learning)?

The inclusion of Social Emotional Learning in schools can solve most of the problems of society.

SAAR’s SEL curriculum ‘Learning Skills for Life’ uses the CASEL model. The five broad, interrelated areas of competence according to this model are: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making.

Some of the unique practices of SAAR’s SEL curriculum can be listed as making and keeping friends, learning from mistakes and becoming resilient, being open to others’ views and expressing opinions, acting towards the safe and unsafe touch, respecting all types of families, identifying and managing all emotions, handling bullying and developing coping skills.

The world needs individuals that have resilience and compassion to make a better society and we at SAAR have created provision for a solution for school leaders to work on it from a very early age through our story-based SEL curriculum. Education is the means to bring the big change and we at SAAR are committed to this cause.

The World Education Summit has been igniting transformation in the education industry since its initial edition. What are your thoughts on being a part of the 26th edition of this global platform on 4-5 July in New Delhi?

Being a part of the 26th edition of the World Education Summit in New Delhi on 4-5 July is an exciting opportunity for SAAR.

We view it as a valuable platform to contribute to engage with global discussions on educational transformation. We look forward to sharing our insights, learning from industry leaders, and collaborating towards the advancement of education on a global scale.

Industry-Academia collaborations to foster development in semiconductor industry

Government News

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 10, 2023

The Government of India (GoI) has been concentrating on fostering the nation’s semiconductor ecosystem and igniting the country’s explosive growth in its electronics manufacturing sector. These initiatives will promote innovation and India’s ascent to the status of a major worldwide center for electronics production and design. The Government of India’s objective to develop a talent pool in the semiconductor industry is being strengthened by the Inventors Challenge competition.

The Inventors Challenge 2023 aims to develop university staff and students’ abilities in semiconductor and technological innovation.

Every faculty member and student enrolled in undergraduate and graduate engineering programs in India may enter the competition. Each team should include a maximum of four students and one faculty member. The concept of each team should be based on G20 objectives and sustainability.

The Inventors Challenge-2022 confirmed our convictions regarding the value of industry-academia knowledge exchange. The initiative was enthusiastically accepted, and participant response bolstered our conviction that such interactions should continue, said Prof T.G. Sitharam, Chairman, AICTE.

“At Arm, we think that technology has the potential to create a better world for everyone. Institutions of higher and continuing education are essential to fostering technical innovation in the semiconductor ecosystem, and we collaborate closely with academic, industrial, and governmental partners to push innovations that will have a positive impact. We are forward to see how this year’s contributions will contribute to the advancement of the UN’s Global Goals after the success of The Inventors Challenge 2022”, said Guru Ganesan, President, Arms India.

Embracing Technology: The Future of Education in India – Avinash Alag, Blossoms School

Interviews

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 10, 2023

The National Credit Framework has matured and will serve the best interests of the country’s youth, guiding them towards a bright and rewarding future shared Avinash Alag, Founder, Blossoms School, Meerut in an exclusive interview with Abhineet Kumar of Elets News Network. Edited Excerpts:

As an experienced educator with over 25 years of expertise, how do you envision incorporating technology into your curriculum, considering the latest technological advancements and innovations?

There is an immense diversity in every corner of India, making it neither possible nor practical to have a one-size-fits-all solution. For instance, the extremely privileged student in an elite public school in a cosmopolitan city, or the upper class in an upper medium private school in Jharkhand, or the first generation learner in a newly upgraded government school in a small Tehsil town in Uttar Pradesh, or the Takhti Kalam holding, village art in remote Pithoragarh. However, it is essential and just that the best resources be made accessible to the most disadvantaged and backward child on Indian soil.

Undoubtedly, this is a significant challenge. It’s extremely difficult, but certainly not impossible. Having said that, there is an unshakeable belief that technology will be the vehicle on which future education will journey to its destination. It’s indispensable, imperative, and inescapable. Technology is the path to the future.

Can you provide insights into the ongoing and future assessment reforms undertaken by CBSE to align with the changing educational landscape?

The CBSE deserves every bit of praise for its sensitivity and readiness to implement changes when necessary, a trend that has been increasingly evident in recent years.

Some of the noteworthy progressive steps taken by the CBSE, which merit commendation, include the review of the syllabus size, relevant alterations in its assessment and evaluation pattern, the introduction of new subjects such as coding, and of course, the inclusion of innovative concepts.

There is optimism that the CBSE will persist in its laudable efforts to stay abreast of contemporary trends and future developments, striving to be a board that delivers value and the right momentum to all future generations.

With the alignment of NEP, how you are implementing a multidisciplinary approach and multi linguistic practice at your school?

The school has been implementing these measures since its inception in 1996, long before the latest NEP was even conceived said Avinash Alag, Founder, Blossoms School.

There is very little in the NEP that is new to the curriculum of this school. The practices of these institutions precede the NEP by many decades.

However, when it comes to the NEP, there would be great delight in seeing a high-level implementation commission composed of experienced and dedicated educationists with a long and trusted track record in the field of education.

This task likely cannot be accomplished by bureaucrats in government offices, who may lack the necessary experience, insight, and sensitivity to understand what is happening on the ground, in the classrooms on school campuses. It’s high time that accomplished individuals from the grassroots level of education are brought in to do what needs to be done. There has been an excess of talk and planning.

The National Credit Framework has broadened the scope of the credit system of educational institutions and has opened a wide range of options for students. What will be the impact of the new framework on Indian education system?

There exists a significant divide between those who conceive, compile, and construct policies and those brave individuals on the front lines who are tasked with implementation. These individuals may know little about policies, but they are deeply familiar with ground realities. It is these individuals whose capabilities need to be bolstered. They are the ones who need to be made the ambassadors of the framework and the system. It would be gratifying to see data and actual facts and figures about what the ground staff thinks of and has to say about all these nuances and terminologies being discussed here. Only when this gap has been bridged can this endeavor be truly honest. However, there is no doubt that the National Credit Framework has matured and will serve the best interests of the country’s youth, guiding them towards a bright and rewarding future.

The World Education Summit has been igniting transformation in the education industry since its initial edition. What are your thoughts on being a part of the 26th edition of this global platform on 4- 5 July in New Delhi?

It is my privilege to be here and I express my gratitude to the Organisers. The Organisers have been persistent in their efforts to ignite transformation in the world of education, I would applaud their brave efforts and will be happy to support in whichever way I can, in the transformation of education in our country.

Despite the risk of repetition, it must be asserted that it is not the policies and hefty volumes of directives and deadlines that will enhance the future of the younger generations. It has always been, and will always remain, the quantitative and qualitative implementation at the grassroots level that will determine the success or failure of all these efforts. And it must be kept in mind that until the lowest, slowest, and most marginalised have been uplifted to a level close to, if not the same as, the highest in the hierarchy, there is little point in excessive deliberations.

Countless conferences, seminars, convocations, and conventions have been attended. Each one was left with the hope of seeing the outcomes visibly present in the surrounding world, but so far, the absence of these outcomes is conspicuous.

Empowering Teachers and Engaging Students: Tech-driven Solutions for Next-gen Education – Harshil Gala, NAVNEET TOPTECH

Interviews

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 9, 2023

The formative years of schooling play a pivotal role in shaping a student’s learning journey. By providing innovative solutions to schools, we aim to empower teachers and enhance the learning experience of students at an early stage, said Harshil Gala, Chief Executive Officer, NAVNEET TOPTECH, in an exclusive interaction with Srajan Agarwal of Elets News Network. Edited excerpts:

As you strive to innovate and create solutions that will help teachers go beyond the traditional chalk & board method. Please elaborate on these innovative solutions.

We understand that the education landscape is evolving, and teachers need new-age tools and resources to enhance their teaching methodologies. Our innovative solutions include interactive digital content, learning management systems, digital classroom solutions and educational apps that facilitate personalized and engaging learning experiences. NAVNEET TOPTECH is committed to innovating and creating technology driven solutions that go beyond the traditional chalk and board method of teaching, making teaching and learning more interactive, collaborative, and accessible for students of all abilities.

As your solutions cater to the school education segment, can you please let our readers know, why you have chosen this particular segment instead of higher education?

While higher education is undoubtedly important, we chose to focus on the school education segment because we believe that building a strong educational foundation is crucial for every student. The formative years of schooling play a pivotal role in shaping a student’s learning journey. By providing innovative solutions to schools, we aim to empower teachers and enhance the learning experience of students at an early stage. We strive to make a significant impact on the educational ecosystem by revolutionizing teaching practices and equipping students with the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive in higher education and beyond.

What sets NAVNEET TOPTECH apart from other edtech companies in the market, and what is your vision for the company’s future impact in the education sector?

What sets NAVNEET TOPTECH apart from other edtech companies is our deep understanding of the Indian education system and our commitment to holistic learning. We have been a trusted name in the education sector for over 60 years, with a rich legacy of providing high quality educational materials. Our vision for the future is to continue innovating and expanding our digital solutions while maintaining our focus on delivering excellent educational content. We aim to create a seamless integration of technology and pedagogy to drive meaningful learning outcomes. Our goal is to empower teachers, students, and parents through our comprehensive ecosystem of educational resources and tools.

How does NAVNEET TOPTECH ensure the security and privacy of student data in its digital solutions?

At NAVNEET TOPTECH, we prioritise the security and privacy of student data. We comply with all applicable data protection laws and regulations. We implement stringent security measures to safeguard student data from unauthorised access, use, or disclosure. Our digital solutions are designed with privacy in mind, and we follow best practices for data encryption, access controls, and data anonymization. We are transparent about our data handling practices and obtain explicit consent from parents or guardians before collecting any personal information. We continuously monitor and update our security protocols to ensure the highest standards of data protection.

The World Education Summit has been igniting transformation in the education industry since its initial edition. What are your thoughts on being a part of the 26th edition of this global platform on 4-5 July in New Delhi?

Being a part of the 26th edition of the World Education Summit in New Delhi is an incredible opportunity for us. We are excited to connect with educators, policymakers, and industry leaders from around the globe who are passionate about transforming education. The World Education Summit has been instrumental in fostering dialogue, sharing innovative ideas, and driving positive change in the education industry. We look forward to showcasing our solutions, sharing our insights, and collaborating with like-minded individuals and organisations to shape the future of education. It is an honor to be part of this global platform that recognizes the importance of education and the power of technology in driving educational excellence.

Dharmendra Pradhan announces Incubation Centre at IIM Sambalpur

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 8, 2023

Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Education Minister made the announcement that an incubation hub for regional young entrepreneurs will soon be established at IIM Sambalpur.

The announcement was made when the education minister visited to the IIM Sambalpur campus as the Chief Guest for the plantation drive and campus tour. The union education minister took part in a campus visit and spoke with faculty members and students after the plantation drive.

Pradhan also discussed Sambalpur’s importance as Odisha’s cultural centre and the crucial role IIM Sambalpur will play in developing the area into an intellectual hub. The establishment of IIM Sambalpur is anticipated to further improve the region’s educational landscape, according to the Union Education Minister, who also mentioned nearby prestigious institutions and establishments like Hirakud Dam, Sambalpur University, VIMSAR Medical College, VSSUT Engineering University, and Gangadhar Meher University.

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