Pearson Education Partners with Banyan International School, Jammu

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November 20, 2013

Pearson has announced their partnership with Banyan International School, the renowned co-educational pre-primary, primary, secondary and senior secondary school in Jammu. Jairam Balakrishnan, Senior Vice President, Pearson Schools, Sneh Gupta, Chairman, Banyan International School and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

Pearson will henceforth take care of the overall management of the school – from the program curriculum being designed and administered to the training of the teachers etc. The move significantly emphasizes Pearson’s footprint in the northern region and is the latest addition to the list of 30 Pearson Schools in the country so far.

“We are extremely pleased about associating ourselves with the prominent Banyan International School in Jammu. Established in 2009 with the purpose of serving the community, we look forward to working with such a highly regarded institution and taking it to greater heights. Given that Jammu is increasingly growing in terms of educational institutions, we look forward to associating with many more schools in the northern region and creating a benchmark in the education sector,” said Jairam Balakrishnan, Senior Vice President, Pearson Schools.

Pearson looks forward to strengthening the offerings of the Banyan International School by introducing initiatives such as digitally equipped class rooms, certified teachers training programmes, unique learning methodology for students, parent-friendly technology and so on.

Speaking on the occasion Sneh Gupta, Chairman, Banyan International School said, “We are delighted with this announcement and welcome Pearson wholeheartedly. We aim at propelling Banyan International School with the world class education that Pearson has to offer. This partnership will strengthen our presence in Jammu and will help us impart meaningful education for all our students whilst preparing them to succeed.”

Job scarcity leaving professional course seats vacant in colleges

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digitalLEARNING Network

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November 19, 2013

Students are giving professional courses a miss this year. It is much evident from the increase in vacant seats in professional courses from 20% in 2011 to a significant 30% in 2013.

According to experts, the reason students are letting such courses a go by is that many professional courses are not able to give value for money due to a number of reasons like poor placement policy of the institutes and scarcity of good teachers. An alarming 30% of 1.11 lakh seats in professional courses in engineering, medical, paramedical, MCA and pharmacy colleges remained vacant this year even after three rounds of admission process.One of the major areas of concern is that there are a large number of self financed colleges, especially in the interiors, which have not been able to attract even 10 to 20 students leading to losses worth Rs 2 crore.

One of the major disappointments for the students after taking up these expensive courses is that they are offered considerably very less salary. Therefore, because of the prospects of the low return, students are opting for more lucrative courses which at least provide an opportunity to get government jobs.

Large number of DU students take on to online courses

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November 19, 2013

Delhi University has got the ‘Massive Open Online Course’ (MOOC) high on its agenda, it aims at mass promotion of information through the internet. Aiming to take education to every door step, Union HRD ministry intends to maximum the use of the available broadband network by embracing the ‘Massive Open Online Course’ (MOOC) program in a big way.

DU is a member of the Global Problem-Solving Consortium, among eight universities, which allowed its students and faculties free access to a MOOC on ‘Confronting Global Challenges’ in October. Taking the initiative, a student from Delhi University’s Shri Ram College completed an eight week course in October. A US based college has also offered to host its learning hub in India through MOOC. While distance learning courses are already quiet popular among students but combining the MOOC with classroom exercise has its advantages of direct interaction with faculty and international courses at affordable prices.

NIT to provide free knowledge support to less privileged students

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November 19, 2013

The National Institute of Technology (NIT- Adityapur) has started free coaching classes for the under privileged children of the surrounding villages with the aim to provide knowledge support to aspiring engineers from the marginalized community.The Centre for Community Welfare of NIT, as part of the social responsibility program has introduced free coaching classes for the students of Class 8th- Class 12th of the adjoining villages.This is also an effort to prepare these students for entrance examination to various engineering colleges. The scheme inaugurated on Novemebr 1, 2013 will help students from marginalised community to make their headway into the institutes of high repute like NIT.The students of the NIT college will be taking up the classes, if required the faculty might join them in the future. Girl students will be highly encouraged to enroll for these classes, said the college administration on the inauguration of the scheme. The NIT management and students are gathering lot of appreciation for this initiative to empower the economically backward children and creating a better future for them.

Mexus Announces iKen Scientifica 2013-14 competition for Students

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November 14, 2013

Mexus Education Pvt Ltd, an education innovations company has announced ‘iKen Scientifica-2013, India’s largest hand-on global science competition for students from class four to class nine. The competition is open to all Students and Schools across the country. iKen Scientifica has witnessed increasing participation every year since its inception. Approximately 5,00,000 students participate every year. This is 7th Year of Scientifica Competition.
Participation categories are divided as Level 1 (standard 4th & 5th), Level 2 (Standard 6th & 7th) and Level 3 (Standard 8th & 9th). The Competition will be conducted in three rounds. Theme for Round-1 is ‘Industrial Science Problems’, based on which participants are required to select a Problem Statement from the given list of real life problem statements. Participants have to find an innovative solution by exploring into the existing solutions, looking into their surroundings and propose the business aspect of their solution. After clearing Round-1, participants will be shortlisted for Round-2, which is the Contraption Challenge (Team Round). In this Round-2 students are expected to make a contraption (a series of mechanisms that can be triggered one after another) based on an interesting theme. Round-3 is a Hands-on Round, where students will be tested on their hands-on and interpersonal skills.
Winners of Round-3 will win a trip to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); all expenses covered by Mexus and four runners up from each level will be rewarded with exciting gadgets.

Announcing the competition, Anil Goyal, Director and CEO of Mexus Education Pvt Ltd said, “iKen Scientifica competition helps students get acquainted with different concepts and hypothesis, which is beneficial for scientific learning and develops their under covered logical and critical thinking aptitude. Also, this competition provides a global platform for students to prove their mettle and learn important life skills like teamwork, leadership and resource management”

Heriot-Watt Expands Academic Frontiers in the UAE

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November 14, 2013

Scotland’s Minister of External Affairs and International Development, Humza Yousaf MSP, formally announced the launch of PhD programmes at Heriot-Watt University’s Dubai Campus. PhD programmes will be available from the University’s School of Management & Languages, School of Engineering and Physical Science and School of the Built Environment.

The year 2012 saw a significant increase in the number of students in UAE enrolling for higher education pursuing bachelors and postgraduate degrees; however, this figure was only 1% for doctoral programmes.
Minister for External Affairs and International Affairs Humza Yousaf said, “Heriot-Watt’s new and extended PhD programme will offer graduates more opportunity to further their studies.

“The Dubai Campus, opened by the First Minister in 2011, now has capacity for 4,500 students and over 100 staff, a testament to the quality of education offered at Heriot Watt and its ambitions as a truly international university.

“Scottish education is renowned for excellence across the world. We have a world-class infrastructure with 15 universities, five specialist higher education institutes and excellent teaching resources, it is sector we are very proud of and a fantastic example of Scotland’s capabilities in delivering world class events which we’ll see again as we host the Ryder Cup and the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

“Education is an international business and it is exciting to see such collaborations with the Emirates come to fruition reaping benefits for the Scottish economy.” The Edinburgh headquartered university is one of the leading institutions in the UK and Scotland with a strong academic legacy of 180 years. Heriot-Watt University Dubai is committed to offering the home campus’s renowned courses and educational quality here in the Gulf. At present the University offers over 40 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
Ammar Kaka, Head of Heriot-Watt University Dubai Campus, said, “Heriot-Watt University Dubai campus understands the requirement for quality academic research options in the UAE and are excited about introducing some of the most prestigious PhD programmes from Edinburgh campus here in the UAE.

“A PhD is a commitment to one subject and it expands the student’s academic expertise in that topic as well as employability. By offering these doctoral programmes the University is keen to participate in developing the Nation’s research capacity and be actively involved in providing highly skilled and professional individuals to the economy.”

NIIT University Launches Microsoft Innovation Center

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November 14, 2013

Established with a vision to bring about innovation in higher education and learning in emerging areas of the knowledge society, the not-for-profit NIIT University (NU) has announced the launch of a Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC) on its campus in Neemrana. A Collaboration Agreement was signed today to formalize the partnership between Microsoft and NIIT University in the presence of Vijay Thadani, Co-Founder, NIIT University, Dr Rajendra Pandey, President, NIIT University and Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation (India) Private Limited.

Under this Agreement, Microsoft will collaborate with NU to facilitate setting up Microsoft Innovation Centre (MIC) with an aim to foster the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship amongst University students, by helping them apply their knowledge and technological know-how to real life problems and thus open employment and entrepreneurship avenues for the students.

Speaking on the occasion Vijay Thadani, Co-founder, NIIT University said, “The unified purpose of promoting a research centric approach, for developing skilled manpower for the Global IT Industry has brought NIIT University and Microsoft together, to launch Microsoft Innovation Center at our University campus in Neemrana. Through this initiative we aim to foster the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in our students.”

Microsoft Innovation Centers (MICs) are state of art technology facilities for collaboration on innovative research, technology or software solutions, involving a combination of government, academic and industry participants. While each center tunes its programs to local needs, they all provide similar content and services designed to accelerate technology advances and stimulate local software economies through skills and professional training, industry partnerships and innovation. Since the launch of the programme a total of 29 MICs have been set up in India.
Commenting on the launch of the Microsoft Innovation Center, Mr. Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation (India) Private Limited, said, “Building avenues for entrepreneurship is critical for enabling India’s continued economic growth. The Microsoft Innovation Centre at NIIT University will give students the opportunity to experience the latest in technology, sparking new ideas and innovation.

The MIC at NIIT University will be among the other such centers worldwide, facilitating collaboration on IT-based research and development, product development and management, technology advancement, professional training, industry partnerships, placement opportunities, skill management, knowledge transfer and strong industry-institute interactions. The University will get access to key resources such as new platforms and software from Microsoft for the effective functioning of the MIC.
Dr. Rajendra Pandey, President, NIIT University said, “With strong focus on innovation and research at NIIT University, we believe that education is a life-long process and real learning happens only through experience. Our partnership with Microsoft Corporation, will give our students an opportunity to innovate and come up with technological solutions to real life problems.”

The NIIT University currently offers 4-year BTech programme in three streams: Biotechnology (BT), Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), and Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE). Each stream has a very strong research-focus and industry aligned curriculum.
The University also offers MTech Programmes in Educational Technology, Embedded Solutions and Convergence, Computing & Communications and Bioinformatics; and PhD programmes in all the above disciplines. The University also offers MTech Programme in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Nestled in the foothills of the Aravali range in Neemrana, Rajasthan, the picturesque 100-acre fully residential green campus of NIIT University is equipped with state-of-the-art technology-enabled methodology that’s backed by a strong research-focused curriculum for facilitating a continuous process of learning and development. Since its inception in 2009, NIIT University has made significant progress in research and innovation in curriculum development and design. Conceptualized as an institute of excellence, NIIT University provides exceptional education based on the four Core Principles that make learning industry-linked, technology-based, research-driven and seamless.

BHC Celebrates UK-India Partnership on Research & Innovation

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digitalLEARNING Network

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November 14, 2013

To commemorate UK-India collaboration on research and innovation, the British High Commission, New Delhi is celebrating Research & Innovation Week from November 11-15. During the week, the UK Science and Innovation Network (SIN), Department for International Development (DFID) South Asia Research Hub and the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) in partnership with Research Councils UK (RCUK) India are bringing together senior academics, research funders, policy makers and key government officials from both the countries.

Research is the fastest growing area of bilateral cooperation. Highpoint of the celebration this week is the announcement of £150mn in UK-India joint research collaboration, since 2008. (Please refer to announcements in the end)

Speaking at the UK-India Research and Innovation Showcase, held in New Delhi, Sir Mark Walport, Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government, said:

“India and the UK make for excellent partners in research and innovation and the relationship has gone from strength to strength. The UK’s research community punches significantly above its weight, producing 14% of the world’s most highly cited research publications. In any field you look at, we truly value the enormous contributions that scientists of Indian origin bring to make British research and innovation great.’’

Jointly hosted by British High Commissioner to India, Sir James Bevan, KCMG, and Sir Mark Walport, the event to celebrate the RCUK India’s fifth anniversary was also held at the British High Commission in New Delhi.

Prof Paul Boyle, RCUK International Champion, said, “RCUK India has a clear goal – for the UK to become India’s partner of choice in research. The joint research programme has gone from an almost zero base prior to 2008 to close to £150mn now, funding more than 80 high-quality, high-impact research projects involving over 90 industry partners – and this continues to grow’’

Dr T Ramasami, Secretary to the Government of India’s Department of Science and Technology, said, “It gives me immense pleasure to congratulate our two countries on building an epic partnership in the field of research and innovation. I am particularly pleased at our advancement towards building academic and industry links”.

The India-UK Collaborative Industrial R&D Programme was launched with an ultimate aim to develop innovative products and services to deliver economic and social benefits. New funding up to £5mn from the Technology Strategy Board which is the UK’s innovation agency, with matched resources from India’s Department of Science Technology (DST) was announced for industrial R&D collaboration. It will support business-led projects between Indian and UK companies.

David Golding, Head of Strategy at the Technology Strategy Board, UK said in New Delhi, “The Technology Strategy Board is very pleased to be working with the Global Innovation & Technology Alliance and the Department of Science & Technology. This is a very important and exciting opportunity. Combining the best of Indian and UK expertise and capabilities has the potential to lead to some truly innovative developments, to the benefit of both countries.”

This is the first bilateral programme to be established between the Global Innovation & Technology Alliance, on behalf of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, and the Technology Strategy Board, UK.

FICCI Felicitates Educationist Sushma Berlia at HES 2013

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November 14, 2013

The 9th ‘FICCI Higher Education Summit 2013′ was inaugurated by Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State, MHRD. On this occasion, FICCI felicitated Sushma Berlia, President, Apeejay Education Society and Chancellor of Apeejay Stya University, for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Education’.

Sushma Berlia was honoured for her continued support and guidance in making FICCI a leading voice in the higher education space. Her passion and out-of-the-box thinking has contributed towards the paradigm shift in the higher education space. As Chair of the FICCI Higher Education Committee, she has steered the group towards taking up critical issues in the sector”.

Thanking FICCI, Sushma Berlia said, “I am honoured to be recognized by FICCI and wish to dedicate this award to my late father, Dr Stya Paul, who not only contributed significantly to the cause of education towards nation building, but was a constant source of inspiration and encouragement in my journey towards excellence in education—not only within the Apeejay Stya Group but also to the cause of education at large.”

Berlia added: “It has been my privilege to be associated with FICCI over the years, and to get the opportunity to work with like minded people committed to the cause of improving the country’s education scenario. It gives me great satisfaction that this incredible synergy has led to the FICCI Higher Education Summit (HES) becoming one of the most sought-after summits for higher education in India and abroad.”