09/10/2013
Education updates in India
DU only Indian varsity to produce global CEOs
Delhi University is the only university in India to find a place in an international list of 100 top institutes that produced CEOs of the Fortune Global 500, 2013. The inaugural Alma Mater Index: Global Executives released by Times Higher Education ranks the top 100 universities that have educated the most Fortune Global 500 CEOs. India at 68th position is represented by only Delhi University.
Digital classrooms for govt school students
Come September 1, students at many government colleges and polytechnics will sit in digital classrooms attending live lectures. This is thanks to the Edusat programme, expected to benefit 130 government first-grade colleges and 32 polytechnics in the first phase. "In the next three months, all government first-grade colleges, polytechnics and engineering colleges will have Edusat. This will benefit students in rural areas," said higher education minister RV Deshpande. The programme will not replace teachers, but supplement their efforts for better learning.
Varsity to post its students' theses, researches online
The University of Rajasthan has decided to make the on-going projects and research work available online. This will not only help in sharing the research but will also reduce chances of plagiarism which happens to be a major cause of concern for the university administration.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1884787/report-varsity-to-post-its-students-theses-researches-online
All varsities to get common calendar
The Karnataka government plans to introduce uniform academic calendar for all 17 universities in the state vis-a-vis date of opening of institutions, examinations and results. A committee of Vice-Chancellors has been constituted for making recommendations in this regard for introduction of such a measure from the coming academic year (2014-15). Another committee of Vice-Chancellors has been formed for making recommendations to the government on designing courses relevant to the industry, trade and business and to suit employment needs.
Scholarship online in Haryana
With a view to giving an opportunity to all the deserving students, the Higher Education Authority of Haryana has made scholarships online. Now, the deserving students simply have to click on the website of the Higher Education Authority of Haryana to get all the information regarding eligibility for the scholarship. "Many students are not aware of the various schemes and scholarships offered to them. It is also difficult to get all the information online. So we have uploaded all the information regarding various scholarships offered to the students. They have to just fill up the form and submit with another click," said an official of Haryana department of higher education.
Sibal upholds ‘pro bono lawyering’ in law schools, legal institutions
Even as many fresh graduates from the country’s premier law school — the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) — made their choice clear to tread upon the corporate path, Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal batted for encouraging “pro bono lawyering” in law schools and other legal institutes. Mr. Sibal said the concept should be “strongly encouraged” in India as it would “allow underprivileged sections to have access to quality legal services.” NLSIU Vice-Chancellor R. Venkata Rao, who also spoke during the convocation ceremony, urged the government to consider making the university a Centre for Excellence.
IIT, Taiwan varsity sign Mandarin deal
Inaugurating the Taiwan education programme to teach Mandarin for students of IIT-Madras on Wednesday, Tien Chung-Kwang, ambassador, Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre, said that a mere 500 students from India pursue various courses in Taiwan and the country has thrown open lot of opportunities for Indian students. IIT-Madras and National TsingHua University (NTHU) in Taiwan signed an MoU to promote Mandarin among Indian students, and to facilitate better understanding between higher education institutions of both the countries.
India second largest in edX enrolments- Hindu
It all began with a simple idea. This led to a single course, offered by a professor from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), drawing 1,55,000 students from 162 countries in 2011 when first launched. But now it has become a favoured massive online open course (MOOC) destination for students from India. edX, a not-for-profit MOOC platform founded by MIT and Harvard University, gets a large fraction of traffic from India from where second largest enrolments come from.
Wipro launches soft-skills programme for undergraduates
Wipro has announced the launch of a nation-wide initiative to impart communication and soft-skills training to undergraduate students, predominantly from non-engineering colleges in India. Named Wipro Integrated Skill Enhancement Program (WISEPro), this initiative aims to improve the employability of the participants in the Information Technology, Business Process Management (BPM) and other service sectors. Students who successfully complete the programme will be awarded a certificate, post an assessment by Wipro and will be eligible for a placement at Wipro, if they are able to successfully clear one round of interviews.
HRD ministry launches all-India survey on higher education
The HRD ministry launched the third edition of an all-India survey on higher education for 2012-13 with an aim to have a better perspective of the state of affairs. The survey compiles and manages statistics directly online from respondent institutions. The main items of data collection under survey are basic details, programme details, teaching and non-teaching staff, student enrolment, examination results and scholarships.
Foreign degree in India an attractive option, say students
Tanvi Sharma, a third year student in University of Delhi, who wants to go abroad to pursue a Master’s in Business Administration, felt that given the rising cost of going abroad for education receiving a foreign degree in India itself is an attractive option. There are also those who feel a big part of going abroad for higher education was to experience a different culture and as such expand one’s horizons.
Students think beyond engineering as career option
In Hyderabad, students seem to be finally opting for career choices other than technical education. After intermediate admissions concluded in the state last week, it was revealed that a sizeable chunk of students has opted for courses other than engineering, including medical education, chartered accountancy, commerce and humanities, officials say.
Raising the bar
With legislation to allow and regulate entry of foreign educational providers hanging in Parliament for three years, the government has used the executive route to permit and streamline their entry. Universities ranked high on one of three respected indices will now be allowed to register as non-profit companies (as per Section 25 of the Companies Act), set up campuses in the country and award degrees. The objective of the order is obviously to allow Indian students to avail of quality education, in a way that augments local infrastructure and inducts pools of excellence into the domestic landscape.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/raising-the-bar/1167883/
UGC unveils one law for central varsities
The University Grants Commission unveiled the draft of a common law to govern the 39 central universities that it controls. Its key provisions include the creation of a council of vice-chancellors to coordinate the activities of central universities, setting up of a teacher recruitment board that will set the standards for appointment of assistant professors, having an ombudsman in each institution to address grievances, external review of the institutions and periodic assessment of teachers’ performance. The human resource development ministry had set up an expert panel to draw up a common bill to provide for uniform practices in all central universities.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130918/jsp/nation/story_17362020.jsp#.Ujr8DdLTyi4
IITs plan to increase student intake by 60%
The council of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) on Monday decided to increase the number of students admitted to the prestigious engineering schools by 60%, market brand IIT in India and elsewhere, and engage with global ranking agencies to improve the standing of the schools. At the same time, the council, the apex decision making body of the 16 IITs, signalled that the schools would remain independent of government interference. The council also decided that the IITs would form a committee comprising administrators and members of the alumni network to engage with ranking agencies such as the UK-based Quacquarelli Symonds and Times Higher Education ranking.
Competition update –
Australia costlier than US: Will higher cost of studying make it less attractive for Indians?
Richa Shrivastava, who along with her husband Sandeep runs a healthcare solutions venture in Gurgaon, is just back from the US after dropping off her son Kartik at Purdue University in Indiana, where he has joined a pre-law undergraduate course. The depreciating rupee - which has lost a fifth of its value in 2013 - is of course not lost on the Shrivastavas
Japanese universities woo Indian students
Promoting itself as an "affordable" destination for higher education as compared to the west, 20 Japanese universities participated in an education fair here Friday to attract Indian students aspiring to study abroad.
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