Education News
Chhattisgarh aims to provide international standard education to school students: CM
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday said government schools in the state will be run as per international standards to provide quality education to students on the lines of the Swami Atmanand Government English Medium Schools, also known as SAGES. He said the state government will also set up ‘Balwadi’ (kindergarten schools) for children above three years of age. The CM made these announcements under the ‘Chhattisgarh school education vision document 2030’ while addressing the opening ceremony of the two-day Jawaharlal Nehru Rashtriya Shiksha Samagam, a congregation of educationists and innovative teachers being held here to mark the birth anniversary of the country’s first prime minister.
“On the lines of Swami Atmanand Government English Medium Schools (SAGES), (government) schools will be run in the state as per international standard to provide quality education to children…There should be schools of international level so that students from the state could shine at the international platform and bring laurels to the state,” Baghel said.
The state government had launched the SAGES scheme in November last year under which government Hindi medium schools were renovated and modernized into English medium schools. As many as 171 SAGES are being run in the state.
IIT Madras Re-Launched MS In Entrepreneurship Programme
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has re-launched its MS in the entrepreneurship programme.
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has re-launched its MS in the entrepreneurship programme. Postgraduate (PG) and undergraduate (UG) degree holders across India can apply on the official website– research.iitm.ac.in. Candidates can apply for the entrepreneurship programme till November 30.
Before applying for the programmes, candidates can check the list of topics/projects from the official website of IIT Madras. Applicant can apply for one to three topics that are of their interest. Candidates will be shortlisted on the basis of a set criteria and will be called for an interview.
The research programme was commenced by the Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras in 1982-83. These entrepreneurship-focused programmes helped scholars and their start-ups in getting many awards and recognition. After the success of the programmes, it is now being launched as a course.
‘Virtual’ Book Fair Held For Government Schools In Delhi
The book fair, inaugurated by Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia via a video conference, enables the government schools in the city to select books for their libraries online.
A first-of-its-kind “virtual” mega book fair was organised for government schools across the national capital on Sunday. The book fair, inaugurated by Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia via a video conference, enables the government schools in the city to select books for their libraries online. As many as 8,000 books and titles from a panel of over 220 publishers will be showcased in the book fair till December 1.
“It is for the first time in the country that all the schools of a state are participating in such a virtual book fair together. Books play a big role in the all round development of children. Realising its importance, the Delhi government has made very important changes in the libraries of government schools of Delhi in four-five years,” a statement quoted Mr Sisodia as saying.
The government has allocated Rs 9 crore to 1,031 schools for purchasing books this year, said Mr Sisodia who is also Delhi’s deputy chief minister. According to Mr Sisodia, the online module of this program has been designed in such a way that all the teachers and students can take a virtual tour by visiting the website of the Directorate of Education (DoE), and a scrutiny committee decides whether the books are worth purchasing and useful for the library or not.
“The schools and students can also give their suggestions regarding the books of their choice on the website. The objective of this programme is to ensure active participation in various academic activities, especially in the selection of books for the schools for their libraries,” he added.
Education News
IIT-Mandi invites applications for startup grand challenge, winners can get Rs 50 lakh funding opportunit
Startups, innovators and aspiring entrepreneurs can participate and win Rs 5 lakh cash prizes and Rs 50 lakhs funding opportunity during the event.
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mandi’s Technology Business Incubator is hosting the fifth edition of its annual flagship event, Himalayan Startup Trek (HST) on December 11 and 12, 2021.
In its fifth edition, HST 2021 will host the ‘HST Startup Grand Challenge’ – startup pitch competition in three thematic areas including i) New Age Alliance – Human-Computer Interaction with prize money of Rs 2 lakh, ii) Foothill Innovators Challenge – Build for the Himalayas with prize money of Rs 1.25 lakh and iii) Habitable World Challenge – Environment and Sustainability with prize money of Rs 2 lakh.
Startups, innovators and aspiring entrepreneurs can participate in this challenge and get an opportunity to win Rs 5 lakh cash prizes and Rs 50 lakh funding opportunity during the event. The last date to apply is November 25, 2021. Applications can be filled at iitmandicatalyst.in/hst/.
Each thematic areas have prize money of up to Rs 2 lakh to be distributed to the top 3 startups in the given themes. Apart from this, top startups will also be provided with incubation support and funding access for prototyping as well product development through various funding schemes hosted by Catalyst and provide upto Rs 50 lakh of funding.
Education News
IIT-Delhi students raise concerns regarding hybrid mode of exams
Some students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi have alleged that the administration’s decision to conduct examinations in hybrid mode is not offering a level-playing field.
Institute officials, however, rejected the allegation, saying there will be a single exam whether students appear for it from home or from campus and there is no scope for any biases.
According to students, those who have returned to the campus have to report to their departments and appear for their exams in a classroom environment while those who have not returned yet have the option of taking online exams which will create a “non-uniformity”.
“Not everyone has onboarded, which means there is a substantial number of people who would still be taking exams from the comfort of their homes. We cannot have this for the same reason we don’t have 50 pc students taking JEE at home and the rest being called to exam centres. Further, examination environment is important and this disparity in and of itself creates a non-uniformity that is unfair,” according to an online petition started by IIT students, which has over 650 signatures.
“We have received the notification of offline majors on very short notice, by the time most people had either offboarded or booked tickets home. We don’t see why the institute did not plan this earlier and why and how it is fair to ask offboarded students to book expensive tickets on short notice to travel from all over India and on board again when they should really be preparing for exams. This, especially when people who didn’t onboard aren’t expected to do the same,” it added.
Shantanu Roy, Dean, Academics, said, “There is no scope for any biases. As long as students are there on campus, I don’t see a problem in reporting to the classroom and appearing in exams. The exam is the same for them and what is unfair in appearing in a classroom environment.”
Education News
104-year-old Kerala woman sets to inspire, scores 89/100 in literacy test
A 104-year-old Kerala woman from Kottayam scored 89 out of 100 in the Kerala State Literacy Mission’s Test.
104-year-old Women from Kerala has become an inspiration for all after she scored 89 marks out of 100 in the Kerala State Literacy Mission’s Test. The test, also called the Saksharatha test, was organised in the Ayarkunnam Panchayat of Kottayam District.
Kerala’s education minister congratulates her
The news was spread by Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty, on his Twitter handle. He tweeted, “104-year-old Kuttiyamma from Kottayam has scored 89/100 in the Kerala State Literacy Mission’s test.”
He further expressed his joy and devoted his respect and love towards her. “With the utmost love and respect, I wish Kuttiyamma and all other new learners the best,” he tweeted.
The education minister also added Kuttiyamma’s photo with a contagious smile on her face to his tweet.
Kuttiyama proves age is just a number
Kuttiyamma has proven that age is no barrier when you are keen on doing something. Kuttiyamma has never been to school and couldn’t read or write before.
Saksharatha Prerak Rehna helped her in her studies. She is now eligible to appear in Class 4 after scoring such a good score on the literacy test.
She has added another star to the state literacy rate, which is already always ahead of the other states of India. But this time, the rest of the nation is also applauding the local star.
Twitter celebrates her achievement
Twitteratis commented on Sivankutty’s post, congratulating Kuttiyamma- One user tweeted, “With due respect, I salute Kuttiyamma for her dedication. It will inspire others for sure.” Another tweeted, “Inspiring. (With a red heart).”
Education News
IIT Gandhinagar research scholars win Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Awards 2021
Two research scholars of IIT Gandhinagar — Harini Gunda, a PhD student of Chemical Engineering, and Dr Chandan Kumar Jha, a PhD alumnus and now a postdoctoral fellow in Electrical Engineering, have won the Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Awards 2021.
n a twin achievement by the research scholars at IIT Gandhinagar, Harini Gunda, a PhD student of Chemical Engineering, has won SRISTI-GYTI Award 2021, and Dr Chandan Kumar Jha, a PhD alumnus and now a postdoctoral fellow in Electrical Engineering, has won BIRAC SITARE-GYTI Appreciation Award 2021.
About the Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Awards
Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Awards celebrate the spirit of student innovation in all the fields of engineering, science, technology and design through extremely affordable/frugal solutions or the ones that push the technological edge for various areas of social and industrial applications.
The awards are announced every year under two categories, 1) SITAREGYTI given by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and 2) SRISTI-GYTI given by SRISTI.
The award recipients are selected after a rigorous review process by eminent professors and scientists in respective fields, who assess the entries from all over the country.
Why did Harini Gunda from IIT Gandhinagar receive the award?
Harini has received this award for developing ‘Novel Boron Nano-additives for Improving the Performance of Solid Propellants’.
This innovation is part of her PhD under the supervision of Prof Kabeer Jasuja (Dr Dinesh O Shah Chair Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering) in collaboration with Prof Chinmay Ghoroi (B S Gelot Chair Professor, Chemical Engineering) at IIT Gandhinagar.
These new boron-rich nanomaterials are a promising single substitute for multiple fuel additives used in space and defence applications because they result in a superlative enhancement in the performance of solid propellants used in rocket propulsion systems.
Moreover, this new nano-additive takes only 1 wt.% compared to 30 wt.% of the total weight taken by conventional fuel additives.
This can help to carry additional payload in a defence aircraft or more satellites into the space orbit.
The synthesis methodology developed by her is easily scalable and economical making it more promising in the market. The team estimates that its production will also be 40 times cheaper than the conventional additives.
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