Education, Careers & Professional News
IITs secret for selection
MUMBAI: The mystery surrounding the selection process that the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) follow has been revealed for the batch of 2008. The 3.2 lakh students who will take the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) on Sunday can now have a fair idea of how their scores will be evaluated, something which has always been an IIT ‘trade secret’.
IIT-Roorkee, which is holding this year’s exam, and IIT-Bombay, which held the JEE last year, have told TOI how the ranks are given.
Clearly, a couple of marks here and there won’t get you past the IIT gates, but if you are among the students scoring in the top 80% of all three subjects-mathematics, physics or chemistry-you are in line for a JEE rank and have taken the first step towards admission.
The procedure to be followed will first eliminate the worst 20% of the candidates in each subject. With every wrong answer attracting negative marks, the lowest scores can be even below zero in the JEE.
After these students are eliminated, the IITs are left with three sets of students-the top performers in each of the three subjects. “Once we have the sets of the top performers in maths, physics and chemistry, we take those who have done the best in all three subjects and eliminate the others. This, however, is only Stage One,” said N Venkataramani, JEE chairman at IIT-Bombay.
This process was followed last year by IIT-Bombay and IIT-Roorkee has said it will stick to the same procedure for Sunday’s exam. All these students receive a rank from the IIT. For instance, last year around 1.42 lakh students were shortlisted in the first stage.
In the second stage, the aggregate marks of the students in all three subjects are considered and approximately 6,000 students-the actual number will be based on the seats available-will be selected for getting into the IITs.
For over a decade, the IITs used a statistical method to draw up the merit list. Scores in each subject were plotted on a graph and the curve looked like a bell, with average scores in the centre and exceptionally good and very low scores at the right and left ends respectively.
The IITs would then pick all the students on the extreme right of the bell and, depending on the seats available, decide a total cut-off mark after shortlisting the top 84% of the students in each subject. This process was discontinued from last year. The IITs, say sources, plan to review their short-listing process next year too.
More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Climate change centre at IIM
New Delhi, April 8: The Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, plans to set up a research facility dedicated to the study of climate change and its impact on business and industry, the first such centre in any Indian B-school.
Called the Centre for Business of Climate Change, the facility is likely to start functioning within three months, IIM Lucknow officials said. The Tata Group, Osram India and international NGO Greenpeace are likely to support the IIM in running the climate study centre, the officials said.
“Risks from climate change are likely to affect Indian businesses in a manner most industries are currently unprepared for. Part of the problem is the absence of sufficient research on the subject here. That’s where we want to fill in,” Sushi Kumar, chairperson of the agri-business section at the IIM, said. Kumar will head the new centre, officials said.
Apart from research, the centre will hold short-term executive programmes to help corporate officials deal with challenges posed by climate change, Kumar said.
“Initially, we do not plan to offer full courses for students at the centre. But eventually, the plan is to develop the centre for academic purposes, over and above its use as a research facility,” Kumar said.
In addition to the executive programmes, the centre will also offer consultancy services to corporate groups to assist them in reducing carbon emission, officials said.
“Businesses are believed to be the worst culprits for the crisis of climate change. There is increasing pressure from society on businesses to become environment-friendly,” IIM Lucknow director Devi Singh said.
More : telegraphindia.com
Diversified Roles on Offer During Summer Placements at VGSOM, IIT Kharagpur
Vinod Gupta students from the School of Management (VGSOM), IIT Kharagpur, their summer placement process for Batch 2007-09 with a wide range of diverse sectors, and roles for selection for their internship program . VGSOM with its unique
6 months of probation was attracted model of the company in all sectors of the economy, ie what was ample room for trainees to work and live for the creation projects a “win-win situation for both companies and students.
Some of the first clock were on the campus of Microsoft, KPMG, Yes Bank, Synovate Business Consulting, Xerox, the Acumen Fund, Horizon Asset Management, Avigo Capital Partners, CavinKare, Cadbury’s, i2 Technologies and Pagalguy.
One of the main strengths of the private placement was the presence of the “Big 4″, ie, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Deloitte, PWC and a wide range of exciting missions in the council, including GRID PWC’s famous profile. Synovate Business Consulting Management Consulting roles, while companies such as Jones Lang Lasalle Meghraj proposed Real Estate Consulting. I2 Technologies and advice offered CGN up SCM as profiles of advice and consultancy work
Wait a minute does IIT have a Cycling team?
They bet we do! Illinois Tech Cycling IIT is the competitive position of the team races mountain bikes. Maybe you saw, in fact, we are around training in the MSV-Lounge, the group or outside the MSV at the beginning of our movement. We are an asset to the team over the past three years, competition in the Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference. We race against teams throughout the Middle West of “Tour de France", the style of racing bike racing known as sport, and our conference is comprised of 34 different teams, teams, whatever , such as northern Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to the South from Kentucky, Missouri to the west of Ohio to the east. Race will be held the weekend of the season from mid-February, with the regional authorities and ending on April 19 at 20. And you thought, baseball was the only sport to go IIT, in early… HA!
There are 4 different categories of college-level qualification in cycling, D, C, B and A, D-Cat is the simplest and Class A, the most competitive. We are a small team, the driver of over 8 above. Anthony Lewis and William Carfang IIT represented in Cat B, Danny Beissinger race in category C, while Loren Bo, Grant Austin, Scott Larson, Jason Soo, and Nick Przybysz D Cat are all runners. With a higher level of competition, more mileage of the race more points for classification as a team.
As a team, we have already competed in 3 weekends of racing where the team has shown some initial strength at DePauw and Mizzou, with Tony trip to Pittsburgh, where the Midwest compete with the East Coast, but week - end dernier, Michigan really shows how the technology competitive cycling Illinois Maybe!
This past weekend, the team has continued in Michigan, where they compete with respect to three courses. Saturday from Michigan State “Git Tough” Road Race was mostly a flat 4.4 miles featured 5 runs, of course, with a 1.2 miles with dirt / mud. Anthony Lewis and William Carfang flew with a strong zone of 30 riders Class B, for a race of 30.8 miles. The race has become a mass market sprint, where Anthony had an impressive 2nd Place, and a remarkable 6th Lewis eventually take place, two points for IIT.
The Cat C course was 22 km long, and Danny Beissinger there are 30 other drivers as the only technology of Illinois in category C Racer’s. Danny has been able to take a second place after the sprint ended, whether points of the team.
The Cat D race was 16 km long, and Scott Larson, Jason Soo, Przybysz and Nick were far from alone, with a field of 51 other drivers to compete. Nick finished 24th, 45th Scott, Jason, and not by mechanical problems with the bike finish.
Sunday, the team from the University of Michigan Circuit Race, in the morning and one Individual Time Trial in the afternoon. A circuit race is a greater intensity, the shorter duration of the race, with shorter cycles for a period of study is a “race against the clock".
For the dissemination of race, a large hill rising, what has changed, and it became clear in the results. Anthony Lewis and precipitated against B 9 in a round of 18 miles of the race. Anthony finished in the back of the main groups, but since most of the riders were in the group because of the high speed, he led until the end of the 7th Location, deeper in the points for IIT. Lewis suffered ill positioning, and was one of the drivers who withdrew from the organization, and, in the 16th. The Cat C race was a little shorter than 6 rounds with a total of 12 km. Danny is mounted in the first, but tries, a movement in the bad weather, and was also supported by the Group abandoned. He finished 18. D The race was even shorter, only 4 laps, and 8 miles. Souffla-nique on a tire early in the morning and forced the race, while lock Scott well, finishing high near 30.
During the trial period, riders have at intervals of 30 seconds, regardless of the category. Everyone climbed 3.5 miles of the race was very hilly and narrow complete corners and finishing techniques time in the field of 9:16 to 18:06 minutes. Out of a total of 102 runners to competition, facing 10:31 Anthony, 32, facing Danny 10:43, 40 Recipe; Nick ready to 11:03, 57 Recipe; 11:05 Lewis arrested, and 61, Scott ended 12:47, 93 th, and Jason 15:05 and finished in 100. In the official results insofar go, Danny and Anthony finished 6th or C. B deserve both points of the team.
Overall, it was a very good weekend for the team. With points that we have received, is the 4th IIT Place in the overall rankings compared to all schools in Division 2! It is the best of the cycling team has always done, and they are on the road to a solid regional and displays this year, in Wisconsin. Keep your eyes peeled for next week, if the update is awarded to the team from the University of Purdue, and Marian for the next race weekend!
Are you interested in learning more about the race or to a member of the team? Head cycling.iit.edu on course for more detailed reports, as well as information about the team itself!
IIM, IIT fee hike: Is it necessary?
THE NEWS is that there is a hike in the fees of various Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) all over the country and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) too are willing to follow suit soon.
So, the question, which comes up is how far is it justified? Are these top institutes really short of money to improve upon their performance? For that matter, Union Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Arjun Singh is, too, irked by this decision. He, in fact, has directed top officials to constitute an independent regulatory authority for higher education. Even the National Knowledge Commission has asked for an independent regulator for higher education.
HRD officials are also irked that they were caught unawares. Two of the ministry’s representatives, higher education secretary RP Agrawal and financial advisor SK Ray did not attend the meeting on Saturday. The proposal to hike the fees was not circulated in the agenda of the board meeting, they claimed.
While ministry officials claim that IIM-A doesn’t need a three-fold hike, which may affect access to economically weaker students, the IIM has, in fact, increased the income-limit for parents of students applying for a scholarship. The existing income limit for parents or guardians of students, who want to avail of scholarships, is two lakh rupees per year. This has been increased to six lakh rupees per year, which significantly widens the net of students eligible for scholarships.
It should also be pointed out here that between 2002 and 2007, the institute raised its fees from Rs 1.58 lakh to two lakh rupees, ministry officials argue for a gradual and graded increase and added that as for expansion, it was the government that would pick up the tab - it has earmarked Rs 53 crores for the IIMs based on the Moily committee’s recommendations.
However, IIM-A officials have their own arguments. They say that the institute is facing a shortage of faculty and in order to get new teachers and retain existing ones, they will have to be given attractive fiscal incentives. At the same time they have to keep in mind the pay commission recommendations for salaries as well as higher salaries for those whom IIM-A want to keep at industry-level salaries.
The recent move of former IIM-A director Bakul Dholakia to the Adani group, where he is heading the education initiatives of the group, is the cause for this fee hike. It is an absolute necessity to keep valuable human resource like him in the institute and therefore pay faculty members like him better salaries. Dholakia is on a year long leave from IIM-A.
More : merinews.com
3.2 lakh to appear for IIT entrance
New Delhi, April 6: almost 3.2 lach seems students in the town of the examination (JEE), April 13 for inclusion in IITs across the country, representing an increase of nearly 70,000 candidates more than the previous year.
There will be no change in the model of this matter of time, “said the official, with the exams. “The format of the examination is the same as before. It is composed of two contributions of 200 marks each,” said the official.
Sept areas of the test. Students, for the entry in the promotion of inclusion in the IITs in Kharagpur, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Kanpur, Guwahati and Roorkee. There are about 4000 places in elite institutions. Contestants are 53000 students from the only area of New Delhi, added the official. The test will take place in 600 centres throughout the country, including 117 centres area of New Delhi.
The IIT-JEE decided last year, model, the provision for the two exhibits. Each document is composed of questions in physics, chemistry and mathematics.
***
Mumbai conflicts on posters Sena
Thanks to our correspondent
Mumbai, April 6: Le petit chose a poster, Shiv Sena a table with the name of a Muslim saint, whereby Flyover aa been designated, the police announced nights in Mumbai on Sunday.
When a word about the Muslim dominated Bhendi Bazaar that the Shiv Sena had desecrated the plate Mahimi Ali Baba Maqdoom saints of the Honourable Mahim dargah, Mobs took out for business in its own hands.
According to eyewitnesses, some members of the quantity pulled the Shiv Sena wants all posters Mumbai Kars Gudi Padwa - Maharashtrian New Year’s Day, which brought the crowd as well.
A throwing stones, on both sides, and soon in the revolt, police took positions in the transmission of densely maze of streets and alleys.
While the police claim that it would have to consider before the finger at any particular group, vehicles Sena office in the region said the violence was the work of the Samajwadi Party.
IIT entrance on April 13, nearly 3.2 lakh students to appear
NEW DELHI: Nearly 3.2 lakh students would appear in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) on April 13 for admission into IITs across the country, registering an increase of about 70,000 candidates over last year.
There will be no change in the question pattern this time, Director of IIT Delhi Prof Surendra Prasad said on Sunday.
“The format of the examination remains the same as before. It will comprise two papers of 200 marks each,” he said.
Seven zones will conduct the test. Students qualifying for the entrance will be eligible to take admission to the IITs at Kharagpur, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Kanpur, Guwahati and Roorkee. There are nearly 4000 seats in these elite institutions.
The candidates include 53,000 students from Delhi zone alone, Prasad said. The test will be held in 600 centres across the country, including 117 centres in Delhi zone.
The IIT JEE last year decided to change the pattern, making provision for two papers in place of three earlier. Each paper consist of questions from Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. The questions are of objective type.
Earlier, the students had to appear for three papers, one each dealing with physics, chemistry and mathematics.
More : economictimes.indiatimes.com
There is no justification for IIMs to hike fees
The steep hike in fees by the Top Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) would have made many prospective students and their parents pray that Murli Manohar Joshi is back as HRD minister. Or was it anticipating such a change that they went for this quantum increase in fees?
I used the Right to Information (RTI) Act last year to get the income and expenditure figures of IIMs. Based on that data, my view is that this hike is unjustified and irresponsible use of autonomy. The IIMs need to clearly specify what they are going to do with the surplus income generated.
When IIMs hiked their fees last year, I had predicted, in this column, that fee hikes were likely to continue if these institutes didn’t lower their dependence on fees for their sustenance. But I didn’t anticipate this kind of increase in one year, especially by the IIMs at Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and Bangalore. The hike has been the maximum at IIM-A. For the flagship course in the institute, a student will have to pay Rs11.50 lakh, a hike of about 150% in one year! If we do a quick analysis of income and expenditure figures of IIM-A that I got last year using RTI, the hike seems unnecessary. For 2006-07, IIM-A’s revenue from fees was Rs17.3 crore, revenue from consultancy was Rs15.22 crore and revenue from management development programmes was Rs9.97 crore. The total income from these heads was thus Rs42.5 crore. Expenditure on account of faculty pay, even if we take into account the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations, won’t be more than Rs10 crore. Besides this, all IIMs together make more than Rs25 crore by sale of application forms.
Again, with an increase in batch size this year, IIM-A will benefit from economies of scale. If even after all this it says it needs more money from students, then it’s a serious mismanagement issue. In fact, if properly managed, IIMs can significantly hike faculty pay without raising the student fee.
Since IIMs have not been transparent about the hike so far, there have been speculative reports in the media, such as those claiming IIMs are taking the common admission test online. Some say the money is to be used to fund the capacity expansion needed to accommodate reserved category students. But students can’t be burdened with such capital expenditure; the government has already made funds available for this. Moreover, some IIMs have a huge corpus to finance such projects.
Some justify the hike in fees by comparing it with the fees of top B-schools around the world. But should they be competing with such schools only in terms of fees? Shouldn’t they be concerned first with delivering similar quality of education? And if we factor in purchasing power parity, they are in fact charging more than some of the top global B-schools. Back home, if the Indian School of Business charges more than Rs16 lakh for its one-year programme, it has some valid reasons. It has to pay not only the professional fee but also travel charges for their borrowed faculty, who charge in dollars. Besides, it has the burden of a huge loan that was taken to set up its campus. But IIMs have used government grants to build their infrastructure. Some of them are still using taxpayers’ money to sustain themselves. This makes it obligatory on their part to charge fees that are sufficient to meet just their running expenses.
One other interesting justification often given for this steep hike is the placements that IIM graduates get. If the average annual salary that an IIM-A graduate gets is more than Rs17 lakh, charging high fees doesn’t seem exploitative. First of all, these salary figures that are released to the media are loaded with many cost-to-company gimmicks. I have written about it in an earlier column (“Placements eclipse leadership role,” 26 March). Then, what about those students who opt out of placements to start their own enterprise or who join non-governmental organizations at low salaries? Won’t this hike discourage such initiatives? True, loan facilities are available for students, but is it a good idea to burden students with huge loans at the start of their career? What if there is an economic downturn and some of the students are not placed at all? This scenario is very much possible when caste-based reservation is fully implemented. Will the management return their fees? If IIMs have to act as just placement agencies, then perhaps they should do it more professionally. Maybe they can take the cut from the salary that each student gets.
More : livemint.com
Governance models for IIMs & IITs
The HRD minister must be congratulated — and thanked — for wholeheartedly accepting the propositions that educational institutions should be governed by their governing boards; and that there is nothing wrong with a plan that delivers self-sufficiency with social justice. We look forward to this being the direction in which he will encourage all educational “navaratnas” to move.
The purpose of this article is to provide facts and perspectives in order to frame the debate on governance of IIMs and IITs and the role of MHRD. It would be a waste of this space to further stir up the already muddied waters of the fee increase issue.
Suffice it to say that social justice is not served by subsidising people who have an average starting salary of around Rs 17 lakh and access to pre-approved loans with banks who deem them creditworthy based on where they are going, and irrespective of what their parental income is. In fact, such subsidy is a social injustice to the urban poor, who, data shows, are walking out of government schools into costlier private schools.
For the record, beyond loans, the IIMA financial aid scheme has graded tuition waivers linked to parental income, and concessions for those who wish to join NGOs, government, institutions of public good, etc., which pay much lower. Further, if there is a concern that such a high fee number would discourage children from the weaker sections of society from even thinking of such institutions, then the solution is not to subsidise fees but to say loudly and publicly through every communication channel available that no one who qualifies will ever be turned down for lack of funds, and that repayment of loans is easy and systematic given earning potential.
If MHRD wants to subsidise something in the name of social justice, they should pay for a continuing ad campaign on television saying this on behalf of all IITs and IIMs; and announce at least 1,000 merit-cum-means scholarships each for IIM and IIT potentials for education from class IX onwards, which will cover all expenses including coaching classes, to enable them to get into these institutions and be role models for others. At the minister’s behest, this can be put into place in the next one month, and we look forward to it.
Now let us move to governance. IIMA has a very visionary governance structure, and is an early example of a sophisticated public-private partnership in education. It is, in theory, supposed to be governed by a Memorandum of Association (MoA) between IIMA Society (a not for profit entity), the central government (CG) and the state government of Gujarat (SG). The MoA clearly lays out board seats’ composition and process for filling them and the powers each party has in running the institute. Just FYI, fee setting is listed in the MoA as within the powers of the society and hence the board (through which alone MHRD can influence). Equally, the MoA states that “all posts are in the cadre and scales of pay as approved by CG from time to time” and that the director’s appointment shall be made on “such terms and conditions” as may be decided by the CG in consultation with the SG.
More : economictimes.indiatimes.com
IIM-K hikes fee to Rs 3 lakh for PG programmes
A reference to her sister in other cities of the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode decided its tariff structure for the two-year post-graduate programmes over a lach rupees in the next academic session.
“Basically, it was decided that the costs of migration lach Rs three for both first and second year of the accession of lots, in June 2008,” IIM-K director, Professor Krishna Kumar told PTI.
During the Institute, was at the time of the operation of loading and Rs 1.90 lach lach Rs 1.95 for the first and second year, the uniform pricing structure is now for both, he said.
“The board of directors have a decision on the migration of the tax are in harmony with other IIMs in the country,” he said.
Recently, IIM, Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore has announced an additional hike.
The issue of more than 100 per cent migration Business School-IIM Ahmedabad, with fees for the first and second year, he said IIMs came, a decision under the review of its cost structure .
IIM-A has migrated its fee of Rs 2.5 lach for two years at Rs 5.5 lach for the first year and Rs lach 6 on the second year from the next academic year.
IIT foray in medical device research
The research in medical technology in the country has received a blow at the hands IIT Kharagpur for accession by Texas Instruments for one to four years.
The research aims to IIT’s School of Medical Science and Technology (SMST), and focuses on the development of semiconductor technology for the early detection of mouth and breast cancer, and MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems)-based bio-sensors, monitor the flow of blood.
Texas Instruments is the funding of research and appliances will collaborative project.
“In India, about 800000 patients to a coronary bypass operation, and each year, one in every 12 women with breast cancer. Cancers of the oral cavity, which is widespread. The program aims to facilitate the treatment of these patients, “said Biswadip Mitra, the Director General of Texas Instruments.
“Our research is the imaging technology to the development of instruments that, whether a tumor is malignant or benign, and it is also to quantify margins,” said Ajoy Kumar Ray, SMST head.
B. Tech students, Mr. Technology, Mr. Mr. statistics or Sc (physics or mathematics) can enroll in the program level. But they must specializing in image processing, neural networks and the identification of a model, the digital signal processor-based embedded system design, bio-sensors, or MEMS.
Students and schoolchildren, in order to be selected, ITI, for a MS / Ph.D program in the Texas Instruments-SMST Research Scheme
IITs, IIMs should help needy students
After the IIMs hiking tuition fees, IITs, too, are planning to double their fees. Is the proposed fee hike justified? Will it lead to better quality of education, at par with world standards? Or will it make higher education unaffordable for many? Former IIT-Madras director Prof P V Indiresan answered these and many other questions.
Raghav: Is the fee hike the reason because only few IITs are there in India? The government should think of adding more IITs since the talent pool is increasing.
PV Indiresan: Talent pool is increasing but the demand for R&D - where IITs ought to be supplying - is not there. Frankly, I suspect that most people want the IIT brand and not the IIT education. That is why old colleges are being renamed as IITs.
Ashutosh Kumar Singh: Sir are there similar plans to pump in more money into R&D? The grant, which M. Tech students get are very nominal. Won’t it be good for a country like ours to pump in more money in R&D sector?
PV Indiresan: R&D definitely needs more money but it needs industrial demand even more. Only when industry poses real life problems will R&D flower. That is not happening because most Indian industries buy technology; they do not innovate. Our problem is less with money than with demand from industry
Nandan Dasgupta: Sir, is it not possible for all professional colleges including medical colleges to follow the Singapore pattern - say, make the fees for MBBS in Lady Hardinge to Rs 5 lakh a year, but give a 99 per cent grant subject to signing a three-year bond for working at a post designated by the government. I’m sure refinement suitable to Indian conditions and for IITs and IIMs can be worked out. That way, the rich can pay and go off abroad or take cushy jobs but the less financially able but capable students need not be deprived of an education. Also, the system becomes self sustaining. I’m sure this must have been considered by the authorities at some stage. If so, do you know what happened?
More : ibnlive.com
IIM fee hike: Planners, politicos in campus face-off
New Delhi: A major controversy could be brewing between India’s education planners, and politicians advocating a populist approach to education.
On Wednesday evening, IIM-Ahmedabad chairman Vijaypat Singhania refused to be persuaded by HRD Minister Arjun Singh to roll back its proposed 150 per cent fee hike.
Hours earlier, the Planning Commission recommended that profit-making should be allowed in higher education, thus paving the way for the entry of corporates in the sector.
The Commission’s proposal, sent to PM Manmohan Singh, could trigger a debate reminiscent of the controversy over OBC quota in institutions of higher education.
The report has its genesis in a similar proposal mooted two years ago by the National Knowledge Commission. The HRD ministry had opposed it then, saying education was a ‘social service’.
Two days ago, Singh had argued for making high quality education affordable for poorer students. His ministry is likely to oppose the Plan panel’s idea this time too — and might find support from the Left for whom private participation in education is anathema.
Those who back corporate participation in education are, however, convinced that the traditional approach has not been greatly successful either in terms of business or in meeting the manpower requirements of India’s $400 million service sector.
Speaking to reporters after releasing the report, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia backed Singhania over Arjun Singh on the IIM fee hike. Costlier education in the IIMs and IITs can be made affordable through easy loans for students, Ahluwalia said.
Emerging from his meeting with the minister, Singhania said IIM-A’s total scholarship amount was being upped from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 8.5 crore, covering 62% of all new students.
“The fee hike is not to make profit,” he said. “The cost of the course has to be met. Our students get into jobs immediately with an annual package of Rs 25 lakh or more,” Singhania said. “Students will be able to repay their loans before leaving the institute as employers are ready to meet the cost of their education.” Singhania said IIM-A would not roll back the hike but would put in place a system to assess students’ family incomes to offer scholarships.
Four new IITs and six IIMs to come up
The government will be four new Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), six Indian Institute of Management (IIM), and 16 medium universities, Human Resource Development (HRD), Arjun Singh, said Friday.
Singh told reporters that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved the proposals by the Ministry of HRD.
The new IITs in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh (Indore), Punjab and Gujarat, while the IIMs, in Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh (Raipur), Uttarakhand and Haryana.
“These new institutions would IITs of eight and seven IIMs proposed in the 11th five-year programme, in terms of end 2012,” said Singh.
The government had already announced that would be an IIM, four IITs Shillong, and would be in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.
There are currently seven IITs in the country - Kharagpur, Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur, Delhi, Guwahati and Roorkee.
Singh added that the government plans to take to the Banaras Hindu University’s Institute of Technology in an IIT.
In addition to the new IITs and IIMs, the government updated 14 public universities in the state of major universities. In addition, 16 universities, as well as in countries which do not have a central university.
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in his annual budget last month, announced an allocation of Rs.344 billion francs for the education sector - an increase of 20% compared with the previous budget
15th Annual National Bereavement Teleconference to be conducted April 16
Each year the Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) presents a nationally recognized distance learning program, live via satellite and webcast, to more than 125,000 people in 2,000 communities. For more than a decade, this annual educational program has been instrumental in educating health care professionals and families on issues affecting end-of-life care.
This year HFA’s 15th Annual National Bereavement Teleconference focuses on “Children and Adolescents.” It will be from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. on April 16 at Huron Medical Center, Distance Learning Center, third floor conference room. The teleconference will focus on the experience of grieving children and adolescents and the ways that all hospice professionals, educators and counselors, parents, social workers, physicians, grief counselors, funeral directors, and clergy can best support these populations as they cope with loss and grief.
This webcast is being sponsored by Heartland Hospice and is offered free of charge. Space is limited. RSVP by April 11 to reserve a place. For more information, call Laura Wisniewski, bereavement coordinator at (989) 269-2472 or (877) 486-6671.
More : money.cnn.com
IIM Calcutta to train soldiers
Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) and Directorate General Resettlement (DGR), ministry of defense, government of India, New Delhi, have entered into an agreement to launch the second batch of six month- programme for training the officers of Armed forces who are about to retire.
The programme would aim at delivering the required inputs on the managerial theories and practices and develop skills necessary to manage the corporate world. The officers undergoing this intensive programme will be trained in all-round management theories.
The programme is divided into three modules of seven weeks each and one of three weeks.
The first batch of this programme has successfully completed the programme and the participants have been placed in many companies all over India as well as abroad.
IIMC plans to run two programmes of six months each once the infrastructure is ready.
The programme will be launched on April 1 in the presence of Maj Gen S G Chatterji, VSM, DGR, New Delhi and Shekhar Chaudhuri, Director, IIM Calcutta. There are Fifty-four participants (Army = 45, Air Force = 2, and Navy = 7) in this second programme who would be issued a Certificate in Business Management on the successful completion of the same.
The programme will be jointly coordinated by Prof Prafulla Agnihotri, Prof Vidyanand Jha, and Prof Sushil Khanna.
More : business-standard.com
IITs: Quality only because of exclusivity
My previous article, suggesting that it is folly to increase the number of IITs without enough competent teachers to teach, has started the biggest (though not the most furious) debate I have noticed so far in response to any of my articles. The debate emerged as a response to my suggestion that there is no point in admitting ill-educated students to IITs and that if only children were well educated from pre-nursery (at least from middle-school stage), children of all cas tes will have about the same chance of getting to the IITs — provided family culture imbues the children with a zest for study.
Several IIT alumni, critical of my proposition, have started a blog suggesting there is so much demand for admission to IITs that the state must meet that demand.
Extending the argument, as many more people want to become MPs, should we increase the size of our Parliament indefinitely? Similarly, is it desirable to expand the size of the Cabinet? Meeting public demand is desirable but, when that idea is carried to the extreme, it will end up like the story of the man, the son and the donkey.
Engineering education is usually assumed to be the study of nuts and bolts. It is philosophical too, an aspect missed by many engineers. Let me give three examples.
The Nyquist theorem is an elegant and very complex mathematical analysis of control systems. Not many people can comprehend that level of mathematics, but almost all IIT students can do it. However, the essence of Nyquist’s theorem is quite simple. Its philosophical import is: it is not possible to build a system that never makes mistakes; it is best to correct mistakes after they occur rather than attempt a system that never makes mistakes.
On that basis, it is acceptable to increase the number of IITs even if it is a mistake. However, the Nyquist theorem explains also that not all systems are correctable; only certain designs are stable. In the case of IITs, once poorly trained students flood the market, their brand image is liable to suffer, quite like Humpty Dumpty — not all the government’s ministers and not all their money will be able to get its reputation back again.
More : thehindubusinessline.com
IIT professors to visit ODF premises next week
SANGAREDDY: The Ordnance Factory (ODF) premises are being readied for conducting the prestigious IIT classes, from next academic year. Officials have been making arrangements for organising IIT classes temporarily in the building from August, 2008.
The IIT special team which had inspected several other buildings along with the factory quarters finally decided to go ahead with the classes in the ODF and directed District Collector Piyush Kumar to complete the arrangements.
Accordingly, steps are being taken for providing facilities to the students.
Two IIT professors from the Centre will visit the district next week to supervise and make necessary suggestions for the arrangements. Both of them will camp in the district for two days (Monday and Tuesday).
Speaking about the issue, the district collector said repairs will be done to the classrooms basing on the suggestions by the IIT professors. The works will be completed by the end of June, he said.
Touching upon land acquisition for the IIT campus in Kandi village, he said that notification had already been issued for acquiring 80 acres of private patta lands. All the lands, along with the patta ones, were assigned by the government, he said but hastened to add that none of the asignees were cultivating the land at present.
When asked about the issue of compensation and the agitation by farmers, the district Collector said they were discussing it and promised to do justice to the victims.
Locations for 8 new IITs, 7 IIMs announced
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) today announced the locations of eight new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and seven Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) along with 30 Central and ‘world class universities’ to be set up in the country during the 11th Plan period.
Out of the eight IITs, first announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his Independence Day speech, one IIT would be set up at Indore in Madhya Pradesh while Orissa, Gujarat and Punjab would get one each.
The ministry had earlier announced IITs for Bihar, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Medak district near Hyderabad has been identified for Andhra Pradesh IIT, according to state government official.
Of the seven new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), envisaged in the 11th Plan, one each would be set up in Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Chhattisgarh. An IIM for the North-East at Shillong was earlier announced and has been named as Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management.
HRD Minister Arjun Singh who made the announcement today also named the locations for 16 Central universities and a new category of 14 ‘world class universities’ to come up in state capitals and major cities. The latter are Central universities which the government says would aspire to world standards.
The 16 Central universities would be set up in Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Goa.
In three states, existing state universities would be taken over by the Central government and converted into Central universities. These are Dr Hari Singh Gaur University, Sagar (Madhya Pradesh), Guru Ghasidas University, Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), and Goa University.
“Establishment of the IITs, IIMs and Central universities in the above states is subject to state governments offering adequate land at suitable locations, free of cost, for the purpose,” Arjun Singh said.
According to officials, each of the new IIT would require about Rs 760 crore to make it fully functional, while an IIM would need Rs 250 crore.
For a Central university, the requirement is Rs 250 to Rs 300 crore (including recurring and non-recurring costs over a period of four to five years). While intake of the new IITs would be around 2,500 students, it would be 120 per year in IIMs, they said.
More : business-standard.com
IIT-KGP develops new male contraceptive
In what could be termed as a major innovation in the field of male contraception, the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) has invented a unique male contraceptive that can have a continued effect for 10 years.
Speaking to Business Standard, Manoj Mondal, senior administrative officer, finance and project management, sponsored research and industrial consultancy (SRIC) cell, IIT-Kharagpur, said, “We have been trying to develop a non-surgical male contraceptive for ten years now. The contraceptive works through an injection that affects the sperm’s ability to fertilise. Simultaneously, we have also invented an antidote which guarantees its immediately reversibility.”
A single 60 mg injection can be effective for at least 10 years. A single dose, which may cost the manufacturer Rs 50, is expected to be marketed at close to Rs 200. This innovation will be made public along with around 50 others patented by the institute on April 5-6.
The institute will host IndAc 2008, a two-day curtain-raiser, to showcase these innovations to pharma majors, corporate entities and entrepreneurs.
“We plan to either sell the technology to corporates and entrepreneurs or get into a revenue-sharing model for their use. All our innovations are ready for commercialisation,” Mondal said.
“Currently, we are testing the contraceptive on humans in Pune and Kolkata. We will disclose the results and a complete report during IndAc 2008,” he added.
Technologies to be showcased include a nano particle drug against prostate cancer. The institute is looking for industry partners to engage in collaborative research to take this forward.
Prostate cancer is said to be the most common form of cancer among men, with the incidence of the latent form going beyond 60 per cent in the age group above 70 years. Till date, there are no proven preventive drugs for this type of cancer.
The institute has also invented an artificial substitute for a human heart, made of polymer and is powered by battery. The innovation is ready for clinical trials.
Other innovations include a heart sound analyser, a knee joint simulator, packaged coconut water, technology to manufacture curd powder, a device for cryogenically freezing fish, meat, fruits and vegetables and a device for cryogenic grinding of spices, vegetables and foodgrain.