Vellore Institute of Technology overtakes most IITs in research

Vellore: The Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) is way ahead of most premier higher education institutions in India in the publication of research papers, a vital factor taken into account the world over for grading a university.

“We have overtaken all the IITs except IIT-Delhi and IIT-Kharagpur. Very soon, VIT will be at the very top. We are aiming to grow as big as the MIT (top-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology)”, said VIT Chancellor Dr G Viswanathan.

Acknowledging the warm felicitations on his 75th birthday at the VIT on Sunday, where his biographies in English and Tamil were released, GV (as he is fondly known) recounted the tough times in building up VIT as the ‘second chapter’ in his life after retiring from politics.

He said along with VIT that was now globally recognised and had about 25,000 students from 50 countries, including China, and almost all the states in India, he had endeavoured to improve the academic opportunities for the underprivileged in the state through scholarships and even free education at the VIT.

Lamenting that India’s GER (gross enrolment ratio), an indicator of students enrolling for higher education, was a mere 19 per cent as compared with USA (89%), Russia (76%) and Korea (over 90%), GV said VIT had started ‘Universal Higher Educ­ation Trust’ to help all the students passing out of plus-two to go for higher education. “I hope this project will create positive ripples in other parts of India as well”.

GV said India had great opportunities of emerging as a major producer in core areas, such as agriculture, technology and education. “And in India, Tamil Nadu has huge potential. We must work hard to get there”.

Former MP Era Sezhiyan, Congress MP M Krishnas­wamy, Satyab­hama Univ­ersity Chan­cellor Jeppiaar, CPI state secretary D Pan­dian and Rafeeq Ahmed, president, Federation of Indian Export Organis­ations (FIEO), were among those present on the occasion to felicitate GV on his illustrious public life.

(Source : DC)

ACCA modules online

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has entered into a tie-up with Chennai-based BRK academy to offer virtual learning classes.

Here is an opportunity for aspiring chartered certified accounants to learn from ACCA itself. BRK academy, the Chennai-based finance lab trainers will partner with ACCA for virtual learning classes.

ACCA requires 14 papers to be cleared and three years of professional experience to become a Chartered Certified Accountant.

“We chose BRK academy for their reputation. They offer unique programmes. These two factors made them our choice for this virtual learning programme,” explains Aziz Tayyebi, Head, International Development, ACCA.

BRK academy pioneered in teaching financial concept analysis and giving practical training for graduates, postgraduates and working professionals. “With the introduction of the ACCA module, BRK will now cater to even school students,” says B. Ramakrishnan, Founder, BRK academy.

ACCA-qualified accountants are in great demand in the market owing to the growing foreign corporation establishments in the country. “Multi-national companies prefer ACCA professionals to chartered accountancy (CA) professionals as ACCA is accepted world-wide. Also, the initial salary for these professionals is quite promising.” There is no specific eligibility criterion for pursuing ACCA. Just like CA, students from Class XI can enrol for classes and clear two papers during higher secondary education. All commerce students are eligible to take the exam.

The students can enrol themselves in a class with flexible hours during weekdays and weekends. “Students can join our regular BRK courses along with ACCA courses,” adds Mr. Ramakrishnan.

“Career prospects are the most lucrative part of ACCA. More than 4.3 lakh students study this professional course. Qualifying this course will enable them to have an international reach due to its acceptance across nations,” says Mr. Tayyebi. Another important fact is that this course covers almost all aspects of finance, which is not common in most other professional financial courses. “ACCA also offers students an International Finance Reporting Standards (IFRS). They will receive a B.Sc degree in Applied Accountancy from Oxford Brookes University in the U.K., with which the U.K.-headquartered accountants’ body has a tie-up.

“Currently we will be learning-partners with ACCA. By the end of next year, we hope to become associate learning-partner,” says Mr. Ramakrishnan. “We are aiming to begin the classes by January 2014. The exams will be computer-based and held at centres approved by ACCA. They will be invigilated and administered by the British Council,” says Mr. Tayyebi.

(Source: The Hindu)

Ireland scholarships

University College Dublin (UCD) has announced scholarships for students from India, reports Aaditi Isaac

To assist more students from India to study in Ireland, University College Dublin (UCD) has announced scholarships at the undergraduate and Masters-level.

“We are looking to reach out to top students in India. Expanding our scholarship base is the best way to emphasise our commitment to these students- by reducing obstacles for them when they look to Ireland and UCD as study destinations. UCD has 260 Indian students as part of its 26,000-strong student body (of which 5,500 are international students – earning UCD the title of ‘Ireland’s Global University’). We would love to see these numbers double across all programmes – particularly those programmes where Indian students don’t typically flock to in great numbers. We have great offerings in languages, politics and international relations, IP & IT Law along with maintaining a strong contact with popular programmes such as mechanical engineering, computer science, biotechnology and public health,” says Jeremy Simpson, associate dean, international studies, University College Dublin.

The scholarship fund will be in excess of 300,000 euro and about 100 scholarships would be available to Indian students. A range of scholarships will be available for students --- full tuition fee scholarship to 50% and 25% scholarships to bursaries of 2,000 euro.

 “The major scholarships, including the four full-tuition VV Giri scholarships are merit-based. The VV Giri scholarship will be launched to celebrate 100 years of VV Giri, the fourth President of India, choosing UCD for law. He studied law in UCD between 1913 to 1916. Many subject areas in UCD enjoy strong profile and the VV Giri association with law is one. Today 10 of the 11 current Supreme Court justices are UCD alumni as well as the university has the largest number of Chief Justices and Attorney Generals in Ireland,” he adds. 

The university is looking to build a robust presence in India and such a move will facilitate that process. The University College Dublin is launching an office in Delhi next year.
(Source : educationtimes)

UK Calling

Tom Rhodes, head, international relations, University of Sheffield (UK), on how universities in the UK are taking an interest in making a long-term commitment to their graduates

As head of international relations, I am aware that many of those who make the journey between India and the UK are students – talented young people who often experience life in another country for the first time.
Today, approximately 30,000 Indian students come to England to study each year – the second most popular destination after the United States. But what kind of welcome will they find in Britain today? 

A few weeks ago, I joined my university’s ‘meet and greet’ delegation as they awaited international students arriving at a local airport. We were not alone. All around us were ‘student ambassadors’ holding up welcome signs and recording arrivals on clip boards before escorting tired but excited new students to awaiting buses and a new chapter of their lives. 

This is a common sight at international airports across the country. Universities realise that the decision to study in another country is a momentous one, and over the years have developed high levels of care and support for those who may be leaving their homeland for the first time to study overseas. Many universities conduct orientation progammes and social events for international students to help them learn not only about their new educational environment, but also the culture of the country while putting them at ease. 

International student support services also include mentoring, personal tutors, financial advice and support, health services, careers guidance and, together with our student unions, a range of social and sporting activities. Additionally, universities are taking a keen interest in making a long-term commitment to their graduates and the communities they come from via alumni associations and through initiatives such as the ‘Tier I Graduate Entrepreneur Scheme’. This scheme allows graduates the opportunity to stay back in the UK for up to two years to set up in business. There is also the recently introduced ‘Doctoral Extension Scheme’ which gives PhD graduates the chance to work in the country for a year after graduation. The desire to welcome talented Indian students is also seen in the range of scholarship opportunities, including those co-funded by universities and the British Council, offered under the GREAT campaign. 

Our communities are international and determined to address global challenges. In 2012, over 5,00,000 international students from 200 countries studied in the country. Indian students who come to a university in the UK meet not only English students, but make friendships with peers from across the world – an experience which will also prepare them to engage confidently in their future careers with people of many different nations. 

An Indian student who arrives at a UK airport has the potential to be part of a story of personal achievement within a higher education system. It is the duty and pleasure of universities to respond to that trust with an experience of student life which will unlock their potential for the benefit of both the UK and India.

(Source : Educationtimes)

Management Entrance Exam Calendar

Today, many top notch B-Schools in India offer specialization in different disciplines of business management. 
The Top 50 B-Schools in India not only offer superlative education and learning, but also attract recruiters offering best packages in India.
The top B-Schools either affiliate themselves to a common national level entrance test or take their own aptitude test to select candidates.

Various common national level tests to get into the finest B-Schools of India are:

1. CAT: All IIMs' and 100+ more institutes.
2. XAT: XLRI Jamshedpur, XIM Bhubaneshwar, S. P. Jain, GIM etc.
3. SNAP: Institutes affiliated with Symbiosis University
4. MH-CET: Colleges in Maharashtra
5. CMAT: All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE)

Various individual tests of some other finest B-Schools of India are: 

1. IBSAT: ICFAI Business Schools
2. NMAT: NarseeMonjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai
3. MICA: Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad
4. IIFT: Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi and Kolkata

S.No.	Entrance Exam	Institute	Eligibility	Tentative Month	Website
1	CAT	Indian Institute of Management	50% in Graduation	November	www.catiim.in
2	IRMA	Institute of Rural Management Anand	50% in Graduation	November	www.irma.ac.in
3	IIFT	Indian Institute of Foreign Trade	50% in Graduation	November	www.iift.edu
4	MAT	All India Management Association	Graduation in any Discipline	September, December, February & May	www.aima-ind.org
5	SNAP	Symbiosis International University	50% in Graduation(regular degree)	December	www.snaptest.org
6	IBSAT	ICFAI	50% in Graduation	December	www.ibsat.org
7	NMAT	NMIMS	50% in Graduation	December	www.nmims.edu
8	XAT	XLRI, Jamshedpur	50% in Graduation	January	www.xlri.ac.in
9	TISS	Tata Institute of Social Sciences	Graduation in any Discipline	January	www.tiss.edu
10	ATMA	Association of Indian Management Studies	50% in Graduation	February	www.atma-aims.org
11	CMAT	AICTE	50% in Graduation	February	www.aicte-cmat.in

 

National Level Tests

S.No.	Entrance Exam	Institute	Eligibility	Tentative Month	Website
1	MAH-CET	Directorate of Technical Education, Maharashtra State	45% in Graduation in any discipline	February/March	www.dte.org.in
2	CUSAT	Cochin University of Science and Technology	Graduation in any Discipline	June	www.cusat.nic.in
3	PAM-CAT	GNDU, Amritsar / PTU, Jalandhar / Punjbai University, Patiala	Graduation in any Discipline	June/July	www.gndu.ac.in www.punjabiuniversity.ac.in www.ptu.ac.in
4	MET-MP	MADHYA PRADESH PROFESSIONAL EXAMINATION BOARD	50% in Graduation	July	www.vyapam.nic.in/
5	TANCET	Anna University, Chennai	Graduation in any Discipline	May	www.annauniv.edu/
6	OCET	Punjab University, Chandigarh	Different Eligibility for Different course	June	www.puchd.ac.in
7	UP-SEE	UP Technical University	45% in Graduation in any discipline	April	www.uptu.nic.in
8	Orissa JEE	Orissa JEE	Graduation in any Discipline	May	www.jeeorissa.com
9	GCET	Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board	50% in Graduation	July	-
10	KMAT	KARNATAKA PRIVATE POST-GRADUATE COLLEGES' ASSOCIATION	Graduation in any Discipline	July	www.kmat-2008.com
11	RMAT	Rajasthan Technical University	50% in Graduation	June	www.rtu.ac.in/rmat/
12	UPMCAT	Uttar Pradesh Technical University	Graduation in any Discipline	May	-

University of Hyderabad scraps cut-off marks for entrance

HYDERABAD: Starting this year, University of Hyderabad(UoH) will do away with cut-off marks in its entrance test for admissions to all courses offered by the varsity.

In 2012, the university had put cut off marks in place for students in general and OBC categories while those from SC and ST communities, were exempted from the same.

This year, all students who score in the entrance examination will be eligible to take admissions, depending on the availability of seats.

About 77% of the students will be benefited by it, university authorities said in a press conference held on campus.

The university is expected to conduct its entrance tests from February 1 to 7 and is planning to fill up all seats available in the new academic year. "This year, just 87% of the seats were filled," said M Rajasekhar, registrar, UoH.

Vice chancellor of the varsity, Ramakrishna Ramaswamy said that in the new academic year, UoH with the funding of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) will start a Hyderabad Lecture Series, where eminent people from across the world would come and deliver talks in various venues in the city.

As a first in the series, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen is expected to deliver a talk on UoH campus on December 19.

The famous economist will also physically receive an honorary doctorate bestowed upon him by the varsity in 1993 on the same day, Ramaswamy said.

An honorarium of Rs 1 lakh will be given to each of the speakers, he said, adding that IRDA has contributed Rs 1 crore as corpus fund for the lecture series.

Announcing the future academic developments on campus, UoH officials said that they have decided to fill 67 teaching posts on campus in the coming academic year. "We are in need of new teachers. There are 150 teaching vacancies on campus and we hope to fill it in a phased manner," said Ramaswamy.

The press meet was held at the venue of the 82{+n}{+d} Annual Meeting of Society of Biological Chemists, India and International Conference on Genomes: Mechanisms and Function.

"The meet is an important fundamental science conference which will help an applied science like medicine and gene therapy later on," said Ramaswamy.

The varsity is also expected to introduce online open courses in the coming academic year. "We will invest in education technologies in the future and hopefully the online education in real time will commence from the coming academic year," said Ramaswamy.
(Source : Times of India)

Central University of Bihar to start integrated MPhil, PhD programme

PATNA: Central University of Bihar (CUB) is all set to introduce an integrated MPhil-PhD programme as per UGC regulations from the current academic session itself. Scholars admitted to the course would receive a monthly stipend of Rs8,000 for carrying out research work.

CUB vice-chancellor Janak Pandey said 20 research scholars would be admitted in mathematics, computer science, environmental science, biotechnology, political science, economics, development studies and Hindi. Applications for admission to this academic programme have already been invited. December 14 is the last date. The course would start from January, 2014.

With the expansion of infrastructure, the university will admit more than 100 research scholars in MPhil-PhD programme each year. It is aimed at meeting the shortage of quality faculty, said Pandey.

The VC said the CUB has also decided to introduce a number of innovative academic programmes for the benefit of talented students. A centre for arts and crafts is being set up under the School of Media, Arts, and Aesthetics where a five-year integrated master's degree would be launched. Students would not only learn the rare art forms but would also be taught contemporary marketing strategies to make these ancient crafts valuable in the real world, he said.

CUB has institutionalized the centre for conflict resolution and social harmony under the school of social sciences and policy to actively pursue the dynamics of Indian society, including the uplift of the socially, culturally and economically deprived sections. To facilitate the smooth functioning of the centre, the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment has granted Babu Jagjivan Ram chair to the university.

CUB is also collaborating with Penn State University, USA, to set up a centre of energy science and engineering under the School of Technology and Energy Engineering in the next academic year. The centre would work for the availability of cost effective energy for powering industrialization in the region. Efforts have also been made for establishing a constituent community college under the aegis of the School of Vocational Studies. The community college, in consultation with industry, business and service sectors, will develop and update courses suitable for the employment of local youth, the VC said.

The Bodh Gaya campus of CUB has already started functioning academically and several courses are being run satisfactorily. The Patna campus, located on the premises of BIT Patna, is imparting quality education to the students with the help of more than 80 competent faculty members in different disciplines, Pandey added.
(Source : Times of India)

All India Pre-Medical Test application process goes online

NAGPUR: Similar to the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) for engineering, the application process forAll India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) too has gone fully online. AIPMT will be conducted on May 4 next year and its exam conducting body, CBSE, is using technology to speed up the application process and at the same time make it error free. Applications can be filled online at AIPMT web site till December 31 without late fee. With a late fee of Rs1,000, the form can be filled till January 31.

In Maharashtra there are just two examination centres, Mumbai and Nagpur. Names of the schools within the city which will host the exam are yet to be declared.

Students have to ensure that they keep a scanned copy of their photograph as well as signature ready while applying online, as those will have to be uploaded with the form. Fee payment can be made online using a debit/credit card or by depositing money in CBSE's bank account with Canara Bank or Syndicate Bank. Fee can also be paid via e-post office by downloading the challan form from AIPMT's website.

In Nagpur, CBSE has designated Bhavans (Civil Lines) as the facilitation centre where students can submit their applications online. Students can utilize the services free of cost during working hours.

AIPMT will consist of one paper containing 180 objective type questions (four options with single correct answer) from Physics, Chemistry and Biology (Botany & Zoology). The duration of paper would be three hours, from 10am to 1pm. The candidate needs to pass in physics, chemistry, biology/bio-technology and English individually and also must obtain an aggregate of a minimum of 50% marks in the qualifying examination (QE). QE is basically the Std XII board exam. Similar to the previous versions of AIPMT, there will be negative marking this time too.

Though AIPMT is back, students must not confuse it with the previous version. In fact, AIMPT-2014 is basically a replica of NEET and won't pose problems to students undergoing coaching for the medical common entrance tests (CET). Firstly, the syllabus will be the same as that of NEET and can be downloaded from MCI's web site (www.mciindia.org). The exam will be conducted for the 15% national quota in government medical/dental colleges all over India except in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. AIPMT-2014 will also be the basis for admission to medical/dental colleges voluntarily participating in the test in selected cities across the country and abroad. Maharashtra plans to fill the remaining 85% seats in government medical colleges by conducting its own entrance test. Pravin Shingare, directorate of medical education and research, told TOI last week that a formal announcement regarding this will be made after the winter assembly session wraps up in Nagpur.
(Source : Times of India)

IBM hires 68 students of Patna Women's College

PATNA: Altogether 68 students of Patna Women's College (PWC) were selected for IBM, Gurgaon, at a placement drive conducted on the college campus on Wednesday. A two-member HR team of the company conducted group discussion, telephonic interview and a written test of nearly 265 3rd year students on December 3 and 4. Earlier, Wipro BPO, Kolkota, had also given expression of interest letters to 30 students of the college. The placement drives were organized by faculty members Debjani Sarkar Ghosh and Sahar Rahman.

Poster-making contest at PWC: At a poster-making contest organized on the PWC campus on HIV/AIDS, Shaym Priya, Pooja and Madhulika bagged the first, second and third prizes. Addressing the students at a guest lecture on 'Role of Capital Market', National Stock Exchange NSE) of India manager Anir Ban Kundu on Wednesday said approximately 50 million skilled personnel would be required in India by 2020 and NSE was assigned with the task of identifying potential educational institutions for conducting special courses. "An agreement to this effect has also been signed with PWC for conducting one such course," Kundu said.

Campus selection: Eleven students of BCA and BBA of Dr Zakir Hussain Institute were selected by ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Mostech Software Private Limited, at a campus placement drive on the college campus. The students selected are Ajit Prasad, Vikash Kumar, Deepak Kumar Dubey, Ram Prakash Singh, Abhimanyu Kumar, Surendra Singh, Vicky Kumar, Mohammad Shakib Zia, Guddu Kumar, Deepak Kumar Jha and Amit Kumar.

AISA protests student's death: The members of All India Students' Association (AISA) on Wednesday protested the death of a student on Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University campus after a police jeep hit him. The AISA members demanded suspension of Bhagalpur DM and SP over the issue and a compensation of Rs50 lakh to the next kin of the deceased.

Prarambhika: Young students of Prarambhika are all set to put up a colourful cultural programme to mark their annual function 'Concord 2013' to be held on December 7. The theme of the function is 'Celebrating works of literature'. Some of the programmes staged on the occasion would be Rajasthani dance, Salsa, The Pied Piper of Hamlin etc.

(Source : Times of India)

India plans IT institute at university in Cairo, Salman Khurshid says

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday discussed the situation in Syria and West Asia with Egypt's foreign minister Nabil Fahmy who has chosen India as the destination of his first visit to Asia. The government said that he had broad ranging discussions with his counterpart Salman Khurshid. 

The focus of the two-hour-long deliberations was to sustain the momentum in India-Egypt bilateral relations and to expand the interactions to wider areas of regional and international issues of interest, said government officials. 

Khurshid informed his Egyptian counterpart of India's approval to establishing a Centre of Excellence in Information Technology at the Al Azhar University in Cairo. The Centre which will be set up as project under the India-Africa Forum Summit is planned for completion in a year after the confirmation of infrastructure by the host institution. Once completed, it will train 500 students annually. 

The Egyptian foreign minister also outlined the developments in Egypt and the roadmap ahead. 

The two ministers also discussed various specific issues related to enhancing economic cooperation including the need to ease work permit regulations for professionals. Currently, bilateral trade between India and Egypt stands at $5.4 billion. India is the third largest destination of Egyptian exports ($2.6 billion) and Egypt is the 11th largest destination of Indian exports ($2.9 billion). 

The Egyptian foreign minister also called on the Vice-President Hamid Ansari and met the national security adviser (NSA) Shivshankar Menon. 

(Source : Times of India)

Karnataka grants funds for innovative ideas

BANGALORE: The Karnataka government has created a fund of Rs 20 crore to provide grants of $30,000 (Rs 18 lakh) each to innovative ideas. 

The first of these grants has been made to biotech researcher and entrepreneur Ezhil Subbian, whose startup string is working to make plastics biodegradable. 

The state government's initiative is in collaboration with three universities in California and TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Silicon Valley chapter, and is part of the San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City Initiative. 

Kumar Malavalli, one of the richest Indians in the US and who is closely associated with the initiative, said the California organizations would vet the ideas and recommend to the Karnataka government those they think should be given the grant.
Malavalli, who grew up in Mysore and Bangalore, was in the city as part of a large delegation from San Francisco that included its Mayor. He co-founded Brocade Communications in1995. Its IPO in 1999 was the largest of the time. 

Malavalli said the funded startup would have the obligation to establish operations in Karnataka. "The funding will be at the idea stage, and we expect the entrepreneurs to use the funds to validate the idea and come up with a business plan. The idea has to be disruptive, scalable and sustainable, and must seek to solve real-life problems," he said. 

The three California universities — Berkeley, Santa Cruz and San Francisco — will vet biotech proposals, and TiE Silicon Valley will vet all other ideas. TiE SV will also offer space free of cost in California for these startups to operate out of for some time. 

"TiE SV has just created a venture fund of $20 million called LaunchPad. Those who receive the Karnataka grant can later apply to this fund. But this fund will also serve those who are not part of the Karnataka initiative," Malavalli said.
(Source : Times of India)