All About Education

'Kolaveri Di' Expert gyaan at IIM-A

2012-02-12T21:30:00.000-08:00

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) learned the new management tricks from man who has created a history in viral marketing. National award winning actor Dhanush, who has become so famous after the success of 'Kolaveri Di' delivered a lecture at IIM-A. He discussed the success story of his soup song at the leading institute.

He is so popular among the youth of India that he has created a place for himself in the education market. Dhanush tweeted about the invitation, "Gearing up to make my speech at IIM institute Ahmedabad tom. I don't know good English, but who cares. I'm an Indian. Not English."

The actor delivered hour-and-a-half long lecture regarding the huge success of this 'flop song', its viral marketing and social media to about 130 students of Contemporary Film Industry course at the IIM-A.

This musical delight became a ranging success with more than 10 million downloads online in a short span of time. The IIMs are treating it as one of the best example of viral marketing and included as a case study for its students.

Australian University thinking to establish campus in Gujarat

2012-02-12T21:29:00.002-08:00

An official from the university said that University of Wollongong (UOW) is thinking to set up a 72-acre campus in Ahmedabad.

Craig Peden, Director Corporate Relations, UOW, said, "Indian students have a major presence in our country. So we thought why not establish a campus here which will allow them to get the Australian flavour of education without having to leave their shores."

This is the third international campus of UOW. It has two campuses one in Dubai and another in United Arab Emirates. Gujarat NRE Coking Coal Chairman, Arun Jagatramka will help the university with finance and liaise between it and Indian authorities.

Gujarat NRE Coking Coal Limited (GNCCL) is subsidiary of Gujarat NRE Coke Limited, the largest independent manufacturer of low ash metallurgical coke in India.

Peden did not disclose the amount of investment the company is making in this project. He said that everything is very much in the initial stage and nothing can be disclosed at this level as nothing is yet finalised. He further added that anything concrete can be said only after 2012.

Vice Chancellor General Sutton and Jagatramka in Mumbai signed a memorandum of understanding for establishing a campus in India. Peden also informed that the university was thinking to set a branch of Innovation Campus (IC), a technology and research precinct.

Peden said, "With a view to forge partnership with India in the field of R&D in areas like advance manufacturing, energy storage etc, we are looking for a suitable place here to establish a branch of the IC."

AIEEE 2012 online exam selection date extended

2012-02-12T21:29:00.001-08:00

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to extend the date for selecting All India Engineering Entrance Exam (AIEEE) 2012 online exam till February 15, 2012. Earlier the deadline for choosing the online exam date was February 7, 2012.

This year AIEEE online entrance exam has been scheduled for May 7, May 12, May 19 and May 26, 2012.The EAMCET entrance exam 2012 is also clashing with the AIEEE May 12, 2012 test date. Students who did not know about the EAMCET dates earlier and opted for AIEEE online test on May 12 are now requesting CBSE to conduct the AIEEE tests on a few more days.

EAMCET is a state level common entrance test held by JNTU in Andhra Pradesh for admission to pharmacy, medical, UG engineering and other courses. EAMCET 2012 entrance exam will be held on May 12, 2012.

About 1960000 applicants have applied for AIEEE 2012 online entrance test. For checking the status of the application, CBSE has enabled this link http://aieee.nic.in/aieee2012/aieee/Online/AieeeAppStatus.aspx . Till now, 1140661 applications have been processed. The next set will be displayed on the website on February 17, 2012.

CBSE holds the national level AIEEE Entrance exam for admissions to architecture and engineering courses in IIITs, NITs, Deemed Universities, Centrally financed institutes and other institutes in states and union territories.

IIT-M B.Tech students free from final year project submission obligation

2012-02-12T21:28:00.000-08:00

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) council has decided to make the B.Tech final year projects optional for students of B.Tech program. Till now the final year project submission for B.Tech students was compulsory. Now the students will have a choice between either submitting a final year project or studying an elective subject after consulting the faculty members.

The decision was finalized after some of the faculties claimed that only students with keen interest in projects should be allowed to opt for it. In addition, from now onwards only a single student will work on a project in contrast to a group of students working on the same project. The institute expects that only self-motivated individuals can work all alone on a good project within 4 months’ of time.

Sources from IIT-M reveal that students disinterested in projects can choose any of the simulation-based or a theory-based paper, which will be more beneficial for them. The students will be required to consult their faculties for taking up the electives, which are related to their subject of specialization. However, students enrolled in Dual Degree and M.Tech programs will have to do their projects as part of their programs.

HRD Minister launches vocational education framework

2012-02-12T21:27:00.002-08:00

Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister, Kapil Sibal on February 7, 2012 launched a vocational education structure for engineering colleges, polytechnics and other colleges in India.

While inaugurating the National Vocational Education Qualification Framework (NVEQF), Sibal revealed that a 7 level certification course commencing in Standard IX will be introduced in various areas of vocational training leading to a degree at the end of the 7th level.

The level 1 will start in class 9 and go on till level 7. At the end of the level 7, participants will be awarded a degree. In this 1000 hours course, certain duration will be allotted for vocational competency based skill sets and the remaining for regular learning leading to a diploma for vocational courses. After completing the certificate level 5, participants will become eligible for a degree in vocational courses.

This program will be introduced from the next academic session and will be industry specific. Different sectors include Media, telecommunications, IT, entertainment, hotel, mobile communications, automobile, retail, construction, tourism, jewelry design, food processing, and retail. Later on other course will also be included in the program.

The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) will be responsible for providing the required statutory approvals to the institutions willing to organize these programs across India. The institutions can select a total of 500 candidates in any 5 sectors with 100 participants in each sector.

The aim is to offer the program to a minimum of 5 million students every year for vocational courses and diplomas which will lead to self employment.

AFMC Entrance Exam scrapped, merged with NEET from 2013

2012-02-12T21:27:00.001-08:00

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will be conducting National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) in 2013 where students willing to apply for Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) will have to mention AFMC as their preference of choice. Though AFMC will be conducting online admissions this year, from 2013 onwards the institute has decided to scrap off its entrance exam.

This year AFMC entrance exam is scheduled to be held on May 6, 2012.

Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services (DG-AFMS), while attending the 50th armed forces medical research committee meeting and 60th conference of medical forces revealed that the MBBS program will commence in the month of August and admissions for the course will be held online.

Earlier AFMC raised objections in accepting NEET for admissions to the medical courses as they have certain criterias for selecting students in armed forces. However, the institute still will conduct its own aptitude test for the students qualifying NEET and opting for AFMC.

The DG -AFMS expressed that the Medical Council of India (MCI) has added more number of seats to post graduate courses so that they can create large number of specialists. He also added that various nursing colleges offering diploma courses will now offer degree programs.

The academic committee also discussed about various issues including evaluation methods of training and teaching efficiency and how to measure the objectives. The DG-AFMS also added that medical research committee will evaluate 167 award winning projects and research proposals on the topics such as compatibility in aircraft cockpit and anthropometric changes related to age in air crew and others.

PU answer sheets now available at lesser prices under RTI

2012-02-12T21:26:00.001-08:00

The Central Information Commission has declared that now under the Right to Information Act (RTI), the students will be able to get their PU answer sheets at a fee lesser than that charged by the Board. The students right now have to pay an exorbitant price of Rs 420 to get a photocopy of their answer sheets and Rs 1050 to get their answer scripts revaluated from the PU Boards.

The decision to reduce the fee for PU answer sheets under RTI was taken after CS Shastry of Puttur, an owner of the Photostat shop filed an application to RTI in July last year against the board for charging Rs 420 to get a photocopy of his son’s 2nd year PU economics answer sheet. The board rejected the RTI petition claiming that he had to pay the fee for getting the photocopies. He then filed the complaint at the State Central Information Commission which appealed the joint director of the PU department on January 12, 2012. The board authorities refused to give the photocopies to the petitioner.

The commission then directed the board on January 27, 2012 to hand over the answer sheets to the petitioner within 3 days.

Recently, the Supreme Court also defended a Calcutta High Court Judgment where students will be allowed to get photocopy of their answer sheets for any professional courses exam under RTI Act. The Central Information Commission order also states that a student can appeal under Sec 7 of the RTI Act where the university is obliged to give a Photostat of the answer sheets after payment of the Photostat and RTI application charges.

The sale of memory pills rises with exam season approaching

2012-02-12T21:25:00.000-08:00

The exam season is all set to begin with the Indian School Certificate Examination (ISC) on February 13, 2012. Following ISC, there is a list of exams for which currently the students’ preparations are at its peak. This is the time when students will be doing their revisions and practicing model papers. With exams approaching, the sale of memory increasing pills has gone up. Some stores have even reported a 100% boom in sales.

Under the stress of performing well in board exams, parents and students are resorting to these memory increasing pills which are easily available at medical stores across India. The store owners report that generally the sale goes up every year from January to April. Presently, about 15 to 20 bottles are sold on an average every week. There are different types of pills available at stores. They are also available in different forms such as syrups, tablets and chewable ones. Among these, the chewable ones are mostly asked by the students and parents as they are sweet in taste.

The parents and students are buying these pills without recommending doctors. Even the stores do not ask for any medical prescriptions for selling the memory pills. The price of the pills ranges from Rs 108 for a pack of 50 tablets to Rs 800 for a bottle of chewable ones.

Many doctors have also reported about parents and students flocking in their clinics for recommending memory increasing pills.

With the exam season taking off, most of the students are gripped with the exam fever. Inspite of good preparation they fear about their performance in the exams. Here, parents should support their wards to rescue them from their worries. They should boost the morale of their child instead of scolding them for not studying.

Many schools have also come up with stress relieving initiatives and are conducting counseling sessions regularly to remove the doubts of students as well as parents. In a similar attempt, CBSE has introduced 24*7 call center where they have appointed teachers as counselors to answer the queries of students and parents. They have given the helpline numbers which are toll free and students can reach counselors easily.

Some schools are conducting yoga classes and some are organizing adventure trips to relieve students from their stress. In some schools reading of passages from holy books based on understanding, confidence, peaceful mind and promises is being practiced. Some schools are even employing music therapy to beat the exam fear of students.

However students should understand that exams are just a tool to evaluate their performance and not the end of the world. They must take it seriously but not as a foe. So be patient, confident and give your best shot!

National Seminar and Exhibition on Management of MSMEs, an opportunity to learn new skills

2012-02-09T21:00:00.001-08:00

Every year, institute organizes a Seminar on a theme of relevance and importance to the industry, students and teaching fraternity. This year the theme of seminar is ‘Management of MSMEs’ which is scheduled on Saturday, 11th February, 2012 at Thorale Bajirao Peshwe Sabhagruha in Thane Campus. In the past, eminent speakers like Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Mr. Ajay Piramal, Mr. Nitin Paranjape, Mr. Ashwin Dani, Mr. S. P. Agarwal, Mr. Rajani Patel have visited the institute and addressed industry delegates, our students and teachers.

MSME Seminar Theme: MSMEs play a vital role in the growth of the country. They contribute 40% of gross industrial value added in Indian economy. This sector generates largest employment opportunities in the country other than agriculture. This small survey has indicated that although the Government has formed MSME Ministry and is making every effort to support MSMEs, the members are not fully aware of these facilities or there are lots of hurdles in availing them.

MSME Seminar objective: Aim of seminar is to address Financial, Marketing, IT and Human Resources issues faced by MSME industries in Thane-New Bombay belt (supported by TBIA); Trans Thane Creek-TTC (supported by SSEA); Thane Manufacturers Association, TMA (Wagle Estate); Thane Small Scale Industries Association, TSSIA (Thane); Kalyan-Dombivali (KAMA) MIDC, Ambernath and Badlapur MIDC, Vasai and Palghar MIDCs and to bring together academia, managers, industry researchers & MSME personnel to exchange and share their experiences with overall objective of improvement for MSMEs. Eminent speakers from various sectors of Government and Industry will address seminar participants on topics such as 1) Government Support to MSMEs 2) Business Incubation and Monitoring 3) Marketing Issues of MSMEs 4) Blue Ocean Strategy for MSMEs 5) Use of ICT by MSMEs 6) Financial Issues 7) Talent Management 8) How to grow, not to just survive! this seminar.

Research Volume VII (ISSN No. 0976-2159): Research Monograph on the subject has been published in April 2011. A special publication of Research Volume VII on the subject containing keynote address, contributed papers and presentations will be published in April 2012.

Research Project of MSMES 2012: Subsequent to the conclusion of the seminar and based on the feedback, the institute proposes to conduct a comprehensive survey of management practices of MSMEs in the select areas with funding support from professional bodies like AIMA, AICTE or MSME Associations

A glimpse about Dr. V. N. Bedekar Institute of Management Studies (DR VN BRIMS): The Management Institute established in 1973 was then named as Department of Management Studies. Since inception in 2005-06 and subsequent recognition by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the institute has grown by leaps and bounds.

We have always taken keen initiative in providing platform for open discussion on subjects of National interest. In the last 6 years, the Institute has successfully organized national level seminars as per the following details:

2011 - Innovation and Creativity in Business

2010 - Global Meltdown-Lessons To Be Learnt

2009 - Consolidation The New Business Mantra

2008 - Vision 2050- India A Super Economic Power

2007 - Transforming India- A Paradigm Shift

2006- Challenges for Indian Multinationals

Nido Spitalfields, a place full of modern amenities

2012-02-09T20:59:00.002-08:00

Nido Spitalfields Housing, is one of the three stylish Nido Student Living properties in London. It is equipped with all modern facilities. Nido Student Living accommodates students from any university, but the student should be pursuing a full time programme in London. Nido Spitalfields Housing offers accommodation in:

Single Studios: Presently, 222 students are living at Nido Spitalfields. Offering stylish and spacious living single studios at Spitalfields are very well designed, with modern furnishing and finishing.

Two bedroom Studios: Nido Spitalfields offers 377 two-bedroom studios in the building. These bedrooms accommodate 754 students. Two-bedroom studios are perfect for those who want to live with their friends, but do not want to share their personal space. These studios have separate rooms allowing residents enough space they need for their studies. Some of the studios offer a large desk for studying besides beautiful views of central London . These studios have modern shared kitchen area and a separate toilet.

Shared Apartments: Nido Spitalfields also offers accommodation in shared apartments to students. It is the best choice if you wish to live with your closest friends. The bedrooms are of same size as other standard studios and offer add-on common space including a fully modern kitchen with a dining and living area. There are apartments available with 4, 5 and 6 bedrooms.

Accessible Studios: Nido Spitalfiels also offers 36 single and 4 twin accessible studios for students with disabilities. The studios are well-equipped and fully furnished with modern facilities. They are beautifully designed and extremely spacious.

Courtyards: Spitalfields Housing offers two outdoor courtyards with access from ground floor. It offers you safe and relaxed environment for your studies.

Common Areas: Common Areas are available on every floor of this skyscraper. Spitalfields Housing is a 33-storey building, accommodating large number of students. Common rooms are a mixture of lounge and study rooms.

On the first floor you will have a large lounge space, where you can enjoy and relax with your friends. It also has aflat screen TV for enjoying sporting events and entertainment.

IIM Placements: IIMs come up with new ideas to fight placement downturn

2012-02-09T20:59:00.001-08:00

Indian Institutes of Management are leaving no stones unturned for their placement process to overcome the downturn of the market. IIM-Indore has tied-up with some placement consultancy firms. The main purpose behind this practice is to help all those students who might look other avenues for a job once the placement session gets over.

Anmol Bhalla, coordinator (placement committee) IIM-Indore, said, “The idea is to get jobs in line with students' expectations, both in terms of profiles and salaries.” This year as IIMs are expecting that less number of recruiters will visit their institutes to recruit students, to overcome from this situation IIM-Kozhikode is asking each student to accept just one offer rather than having plenty of options in their hands.

G Sridhar, chairperson, placements, IIM-Kozhikode said, “Recruiters have definitely become more cautious. Many regular recruiters who previously hired in large numbers have decreased their hiring and many others have declined to participate in placements this year.”

IIM- Bangalore is working on the same pattern and made some changes in the process. This year the placement will be held only on weekends. This time they are not following the previous pattern of conducting placement throughout the weekdays. Rajesh Aithal, chairperson, placements at IIM-Lucknow, said, “Many more new sectors and areas have been added - like e-commerce , human resources, among others.”

Atreyi Bose, member, student placement committee, IIM Ahmedabad , said: "We are reaching out to new companies and sectors which students have shown interest in joining." He further added in this context that many companies are still looking for talent from IIMs and want to participate in the placement process.

AICTE to introduce vocational courses

2012-02-09T20:57:00.000-08:00

The students enrolled in engineering, polytechnic and other colleges will now be able to pursue vocational courses from All India Institute of Technical Education (AICTE).

As per the scheme, the courses proposed to be offered will be industry oriented. The program will offer vocational courses in media, information technology, telecommunications, entertainment, mobile communications, construction, automobile, retail, tourism, food processing, jewellery designing, hotels and fashion designing. Since the courses belong to specific sectors, the institute will tie up with respective industries to offer vocational education to the candidates.

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal while introducing the National Vocational Educational Qualification Curriculum announced that the ministry will soon shortlist the industries or their associates to introduce the program.

The AICTE will be responsible for providing the required statutory approvals to the institutions interested in organizing these programs across India. The institutions can select a total of 500 candidates in any 5 sectors with 100 participants in each sector.

The scheme proposes 7 levels where each certificate level will offer a course of about 1000 hours duration. In this 1000 hours course, some time will be allotted for vocational competency based skill sets and the remaining for regular learning leading to a diploma for vocational courses. After completing the certificate level 5, participants will become eligible for a degree in vocational courses.

The minimum qualification required to take up vocational course is class X. There is no age limit. The scheme will also be introduced in schools with the 1st level beginning from classIX at a later stage.

Under this scheme, students will be allowed to opt for a competency based skill learning besides general learning without changing the course and shifting at any certificate level to a regular education system and vice versa. The aim is to make a complete multi-entry exist system between formal education system, vocational education and the job market.

As per the ministry, if even 1/3rd of the institutes are approved to offer the programs then the aim is to offer the program to a minimum of 5 million students every year for vocational courses and diplomas which will provide self employment or a significant employment.

ITIs to now adopt B-schools grading style

2012-02-09T20:56:00.002-08:00

The government of India has decided to revamp the image of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), the not-so-rich extended family of Indian engineering colleges and polytechnics to make them a national brand. The idea is to rate these institutes the way B-schools are rated so that they can be classified into different tiers.

This measure is expected to help students seeking admissions in ITIs to opt and decide their preferred institute. The ITIs have welcomed this idea as the institutes are also working towards improving their image and become more competitive after the decision of government to improve the ITIs by implementing public private partnership (PPP) model in its 11th 5 year plan.

The president & CEO of Vocational Training, CL Educate, branch of Career Launcher claimed that after grading the ITIs, the next focus should be on upgrading the educational standards and quality of faculty members as well as launch new courses. There are 21 ITIs under CL Educate- 15 based in Punjab and 6 based in Karnataka, which have witnessed 100% pass rate in the past years.

Presently, there are 9415 ITIs of which 2244 are government owned and 7171 are private ITIs. The ITIs have a total number of 13.29 lakh seats. Course duration ranges from 6 months to 3 years and minimum qualification required for admissions is from class VIII to Class XII. Since last 6 years, 400 governments owned ITIs have been established with the support of World Bank and 100 through funding in India.

PPP model implies that industry partner will direct the process of improvement of the ITIs. A committee known as Institute Management Committee (IMC) will be formed and listed as a society. This society will then design the ITIs development proposal. The industry partner will offer on-the-job training to trainees and training programs to faculties. Moreover, it will extend financial support and contribute equipments for training. In addition, IMC will receive an interest free loan of upto Rs 2.5 crore from the Central government, which will then distributed to ITIs.

The PPP model imparts financial and academic independence to the IMC. The PPP model will also allow IMC to develop modern infrastructure and promote ITI trades. Presently, ITIs have 7 trades which have increased the demand from domestic candidates.

Both central government and state government will manage vocational training. Central government will look after devising training benchmarks, certifications and preparing syllabus while state governments will implement the training methods. Hence, each state will get to decide their own fee structure which lies between Rs 500 and Rs 3000 for a year.

Currently, the ITIs are also investing on building an improved infrastructure to give them a corporate look so that companies get attracted and start visiting the campus for recruitments. The ITIs have also started hosting entrepreneurship lectures for their students.

HRD Minister launches vocational education framework

2012-02-09T20:56:00.001-08:00

AFMC Entrance Exam scrapped, merged with NEET from 2013

2012-02-09T20:54:00.000-08:00

Manav Rachna International University introduced RFID Smart Degree Certificate on its 1st Convocation today

2011-09-20T22:15:00.001-07:00

Manav Rachna International University Convocation, 2011

Mr. Jim Nickel, Deputy High Commissioner, Canada delivers convocation address, 400 students convocated
RFID based Smart Degree Certificate are introduced for the 1st time in North India by Manav Rachna International University
Degrees of ALGONQUIN College, OTTAWA, CANADA - in Graphic Design, Advertisement, Journalism, Mech Engg Technology and Mech Tool making were also awarded during the function.

Faridabad, 16th September 2011: Manav Rachna International University, Faridabad today hosted the event of the year - Convocation 2011 - for its eleven programmes - 3 M Tech - CE / ECE/ Biotech (Master of Technology in Computer Engineering; Electronics and Communication Engg and Biotechnology) 6 MPT (Master of Physiotherapy - Muscular Skeleton, Cardio Pulmonary, Sports & Neurology), 2 MBA (Master of Business Administration), MJMC and MSC N&D (Nutrition and Dietetics).

The event was graced by the presence of Mr. Jim Nickel, Deputy High Commissioner, Canada who was Chief Guest on the occasion. Dr. O.P. Bhalla, Chancellor, MRIU and Dr. N.C. Wadhwa conferred the degrees.

MRIU has introduced an RFID based Smart Degree Certificate for the 1st time in North India for its 1st batch of graduates. The degrees were given to the Graduates today by the Vice Chancellor of MRIU. MRIU has adopted modern technology not only in enhancing the teaching learning experience but also providing academic credentials which are secured and authenticated.

Chief Guest, Mr. Jim Nickel, Deputy High Commissioner, Canada expressed his thanks & gratitude to MRIU for inviting him to this Ist Convocation & congratulated all the students for their academic excellence and achievements. He advised students to use their knowledge to help India to march further ahead & achieve still higher level of growth & development. He further added, "The world, including Canada, is looking at India as a major knowledge hub with huge base of skilled people. The young student population of India represents India's knowledge potential. My advice to all the degree recipients would be to use their training wisely and make a positive contribution to the society, community, country & world as a whole."

He highlighted about the Indo Canadian collaboration in the areas of education, trade & commerce, energy, agriculture, infrastructure & such areas & looked forward to major contribution from the best brains from India & Canada towards growth of knowledge & well being.

The annual report was presented by Dr. N.C Wadhwa, Vice Chancellor, MRIU highlighting the progress and development that have taken place in various departments. In his address, he said, "I extend a hearty & warm welcome to the Chief Guest Mr. Jim Nickel at this 1st Convocation of Manav Rachna International University."

Dr. Wadhwa while congratulating the students on the successful completion of their courses said, "Technological development alone will take India to the forefront of developed nations and the speed to this technological revolution will be lent by none, but you the present engineers. You should develop not only as skillful professionals in your respective areas of study, but also as good human beings. You will have lots of opportunities to advance your careers". He also mentioned that MRIU's dedicated focus on Quality Education & comprehensive development of students under the visionary leadership of Chancellor Dr. OP Bhalla and advised the students to keep the MRIU flag flying high, with their professional work quality & contribution to society. He wished students very best in their careers & personal life.

Convocation 2011 ended on a high note with students throwing their graduation caps in the air with beaming eyes looking forward to yet another challenging phase of their lives and enjoying the camaraderie of fellow students & faculty members.

About RFID Smart Degree Certificate

RFID based smart degree certificate is temper proof and ensures the integrity of the data written on the chip which is embedded in the certificate that looks like a conventional degree. There is a provision for biometric validity through finger prints of Left Hand Thumb and Right Hand Thumb and digital signature of the issuing authority as well as student concerned, which could be verified through a verification portal. The verification process includes visual verification, data verification and digital identity verification, all of which combined establish the authenticity of the academic credentials of the Graduate. Verification of the degree certificate may be done from a remote location. The RFID chip in the smart degree has read only features for the authorized persons and no data can be written on it once the University finally closes the option.

Adoption of smart degrees for the passed out Graduates shall ensure that fake degree, if any, is easily detected by the employer / institution and all academic credentials of the students including continuous evaluation and term end evaluation are authentic and temper proof. The mechanism also provides for duplicate degree, as and when, the original degree is damaged or lost. If some errors creep in the data written on RFID chip and are duly verified, it is possible to issue a modified degree. In such case the previous degree will have to be returned to the University before new degree issues, but the previous degree will otherwise be cancelled in the database and degree verification / authentication shall depict the result that previous degree is no more valid. Hence, even if a student carries such degree, employer / institution would immediately know that it is not a valid degree.

About Manav Rachna International University

Manav Rachna Educational Institutions (MREI), founded in 1997, has grown to become one of the best education entity in the Country and have built a reputation for excellence in professional education and research. MREI now encompasses Manav Rachna International University, a deemed to be University under section 3 of UGC Act, 1956, Manav Rachna College of Engineering, Manav Rachna Dental College, Faridabad Institute of Technology, M.R. College of Education, Manav Rachna International Schools with emphasis on employable technical and soft skills including communication, team building and leadership, positive attitude and belief in self. The focus at MREI is on all round personality development to enable the pass outs to face any global challenge. Reputed employers and academic experts are involved in development of competency base curriculum aimed at problem solving capabilities.

West Bengal Government pondering upon Common PG Entrance Test

2011-09-20T22:14:00.001-07:00

Council of Presidency University has decided to reserve 50% of its own post graduate seats for undergraduate students. Such practices can also be used by other state universities as well. State Government is planning to introduce a common entrance examination to fill postgraduate seats in all state universities. Reserved PG seats are of less concern when students are interested to get admission to the other state institute as they simply need to crack the exam.

Students are flickered upon the conventional reservation system, as it creates problem for students who want to take admission to certain masters' courses, as various universities reserve a significant percentage of their PG seats for their own graduates. When the Presidency College has decided reserve 50% of its seats for students from its own undergraduate courses, the vice Chancellor of Calcutta University said that some of the universities keep the quota for PG students for their own graduates which are archaic in its approach.

Presidency University which is new and modern should not follow the same criteria. He also said, if he'll be provided with an opportunity then he would remove reservation of PG seats in Calcutta University (CU) as well. The mentor group of Presidency University is also against of this reservation of PG seats.

Unexpectedly, 95% of the PG seats in Calcutta University are reserved for its own graduating students. CU had explained that its strict marking system could become a big disadvantage for its own students while competing for PG seats with other university graduates who would have higher scores.

However, Calcutta University conducts entrance examination for its various PG programmes and seats for the remaining courses are filled on the basis of undergraduate marks.

Candidates fouled up first CET for Banks

2011-09-20T22:13:00.003-07:00

On Sunday, the first ever common entrance test (CET) for public sector banks was held. Candidates fouled it up as more than 100 candidates were refused to enter examination halls in Nagpur itself. As per the officials, students did not have the required documents. Officials who were conducting the exam alienated students at various centers across Nagpur.

Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) conducted CET on behalf of 19 banks for the posts of probationary officers and management trainees. A faction of candidates lodged a complaint over the issue who has appeared for the exam at a center in Nandanvan. Complainants said that they were denied to enter the examination hall and in this concern, they will have a word with the IBPS to conduct the exam again.

IBPS has clearly stated on the website that students have to bring their exam call letter, the original e-receipt/NEFT receipt and photo identity proof in original and a photocopy. Without these three, students will not be allowed to enter the examination hall.

Students acclaimed that, IBPS did not informed about all these things beforehand. The call letter can be downloaded from the internet and it was available on website only a couple of days back. Students also said that they sat for long hours but the system denied the entry. A complainant said that, officials conducting the exam wanted a bank stamp on the e-receipt. But if it is an e-receipt how will it have a stamp on it? Every thing was mismanaged and it was a full waste of time. Some students were refused to enter as they were lacking just one single document.

Invigilators have put all the blame on candidates that they came without the required documents and when half of the students can come with the documents then why not others..?? Candidates wont read the instructions properly and they arrived without documents and some arrived late that's why they were refused to enter.

KOSMOS 2011

2011-09-20T22:13:00.001-07:00

Fest Season in Kanpur!

Dr Gaur Hari Singhania Institute of Management and Research (GHS-IMR), Kanpur, which is one of the most prestigious institute for management education, has announced its annual festival KOSMOS 2011 from 22 October 2011 to 23 October 2011. It will be two days inter college festival which will experience a multitude of management games, sports events and cultural activities.

GHS-IMR developed under the aegis of JK Organization Kanpur, in 1995. It has been established with the objectives to provide formal management education and developing technical, professional and managerial excellence, and social and cultural sensitivity.

Highlights of KOSMOS 2011:

A musical extravaganza by the popular playback singer KK (the melodious voice behind the song Tadap tadap ke iss dil se from the movie ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' and the album Pal)
A mini marathon - KOSMOTHON

Previous KOSMOS was a grand success and it has received praise from all parts of society for its greatness and effective management. KOSMOS 2011 is a step ahead and will bring creativity and ingenuity to life again.

CAT Registration Extended Till 4th October, 2011

2011-09-20T22:12:00.001-07:00

Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) has extended period for the sale of CAT vouchers till 1st October, 2011 and CAT registration has been extended until 4th October, 2011. This announcement has been made by IIMs for the registration period for the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2011.

Else, there will be no change in other terms and conditions which were mentioned in the CAT 2011 advertisement published in major national newspapers on August 07, 2011 and on the official website.

It has been extended in order to offer convenience to students who are interested in applying for the eminent management institutes, including Indian Institutes of Technology and Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi and at the order of some candidates who needs a longer registration period.

Common Admission Test (CAT) for 2011 will be conducted by the IIMs and in partnership with Prometric. It will hold between 22nd October - 18th November, 2011 and you can get the vouchers for CAT 2011 at selected Axis Bank branches.

Keck Foundation Awards $250K Grant to Engineering Dept

2011-09-20T22:10:00.002-07:00

The new Engineering Department at Benedictine College recently received a major boost from the W. M. Keck Foundation; a $250,000 grant. The award follows a $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation in August 2010. The new money will immediately allow for the construction of a combined lab that will include fluid flow, heat transfer and process control. In addition to allowing for expansion and construction of lab space, the two grants have significantly accelerated the overall program, according to Dr. Darrin Muggli, professor and chair of the Benedictine College Engineering Department.

"We established the engineering program through a partnership with the University of North Dakota," said Muggli. "The NSF grant helped us to build a distance-learning classroom and purchase equipment for our first lab. This Keck Foundation grant will provide the funds to establish a fluids lab and rapidly develop our engineering program."

Muggli said interest in engineering at Benedictine has continued to grow and applications to the program are up 60% from the previous year.

Ferris Reports Record Fall 2011 Enrollment

2011-09-20T22:10:00.001-07:00

The energy and enthusiasm of students has returned to Ferris State University for the Fall 2011 semester, and school officials are reporting a seventh consecutive year of record enrollment.

The state of Michigan's fastest-growing university reports that there are 14,560 students enrolled system wide at Ferris. This fall's enrollment total is up 179 students from the Fall 2010 semester figure and that represents an increase of 1.2 percent for the university system. On the main campus in Big Rapids, Ferris has a total of 9,970 students. That is an increase of 39 students from the previous fall term.

"Our growth - particularly in main campus freshmen and online students - demonstrates what an exciting time it is to be a part of Ferris State University,"said Dean of Enrollment Services Kristen Salomonson, who also noted an 8.5 percent increase in freshmen admissions on the Big Rapids campus. "Ferris is a place where students feel welcome and know they will receive a great education that leads them to a successful career. We are becoming the institution of choice for many students from all over Michigan and beyond."

The number of students who are attending college for the first time is up by 200 at Ferris since the Fall 2010 semester, to a total of 2,556.

IT Giants to recruit 2.5 lakh engineering students this year

2011-09-20T22:07:00.000-07:00

IT giants have kick-started their campus recruitment process with a bang and plan to recruit nearly 2.5 lakh engineering graduates from across the country's campuses this year. This means IT students will see ample job offers with handsome salaries from biggest technical companies of the country.

Last year, around 2 lakh engineering students were recruited during campus placements. Campus recruitment, which usually happens in the last semester, has been advanced to the seventh semester this year. Hence, IT companies have sent their HR teams to the campus to recruit the best talent.

Cognizant, a highly reputed IT company, has offered jobs to 807 students of Anna University's Guindy campus, Chennai, 703 to students from PSG College in Coimbatore and 500 students of Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi.. Similarly, TCS has issued offer letters to 702 students of Thiagarajar College of Engineering in Madurai, 515 students of Velammal Group of institutions, 500 of Sairam Group of Colleges and 645 of RMK Group of Institutions, all in Tamil Nadu.

Though the number of job offers to students has increased, pay packages offered by companies will, however, remain at last year level of Rs 3 lakh to Rs 3.25 lakh a year for these engineers.

As far as supply of the engineering students is concerned, states from south India are at forefront. Andhra Pradesh leads the supply side of students with nearly 2 lakh a year, followed by Tamil Nadu with a 1.8 lakh students. Karnataka and Maharashtra supply about 80,000 students a year to the job pool.

However, institutes across India are heaving a sigh of relief as they were expecting that US debt issue might impact placements. Speaking to The Times of India about this, Sivagnana Prabhu, head of training and corporate affairs, RMK Group of Institutions, says, "When we saw the situation created by the US debt deal we thought it would impact placements. But it has not reflected in the placements in our college. It has been better than last year, with 642 students being recruited this year while TCS absorbed 477 of our students in 2010."

The interest the IT companies are showing interest in hiring freshers has impressed NASSCOM. Officials from NASSCOM say that smaller and niche IT companies like Thoughtworks, muSigma, Robert Bosch have also joined the campus placements this year.

IIM-A first choice among foreign students aspiring to study MBA in India

2011-09-18T21:56:00.001-07:00

Indian Institute of Management- Ahemedabad (IIM-A) is very popular among foreign students. Every year, these premier B-schools host several foreign students in its campus. However, IIM-A is about to break its own record of hosting foreign students.

With one more term to go, the leading B-school of India has seen participation of around 67 students from foreign institutes for its flagship programmes, which is popular as postgraduate programme in management (PGP).

Faculty members are expecting that with one more term to go, total number of foreign students will cross last year’s number of 73, which was considered as highest so far (70 foreign students in exchange programme and 3 students in double degree programme).

Of the total foreign students this year, almost 63 students have come through student exchange programme. However, many have come through different academic tie-up with foreign institutes for their Double Degree Programme (2011-12).

These 67 students are from different 13 countries which include Asia-Pacific, Australia, Europe, USA and Canada. Faculty coordinator of the student exchange programme at IIM-A, Prof Arnab K Laha, believes that the institutes will welcome more foreign students this year as compared to last year. He further emphasised that they would know about the final number of the foreign students later as the last term registration will be done in October.

IIMs worried as 58 B-schools boycott CAT 2011

2011-09-18T21:55:00.002-07:00

The Common Admission Test (CAT 2011) has yet again given the IIMs a cause for concern. Despite a successful run last year where it managed to retain its prestige and credibility, almost 60 B-schools, intriguingly, have chosen to not register for CAT 2011. The IIMs are now keen to assess why these institutes have decided not to register for the CAT.

This year, 145 business schools (excluding 13 IIMs) will consider CAT 2011 score for admitting students. Though the total number is not very different from last year, what has turned out to be a cause of concern for the organisers of this test is that 58 institutes, which were registered with CAT 2010, have dropped out. The CAT organisers want to know the reason for their discontinuation.

Of these B-schools that have dropped out from the list are Fostima Business School (New Delhi), Institute of Management and Development (Delhi), J.K. Padampat Singhania Institute of Management and Technology (Gurgaon).

Speaking about this trend, Jankiraman Moorthy, CAT 2011 convenor and faculty member of IIM-Calcutta, says, “Institutes leaving or joining CAT is nothing unusual. Though our core group of institutes is still with us, we have noticed that a large number from last year's list is missing. This is a cause of concern.”

However, CAT organisers are dismissing CAT 2009 glitches as the reason for their disassociation.

IIMs in Bangalore, Calcutta mull over to extend final placement session

2011-09-18T21:55:00.001-07:00

The prestigious Indian Institute of Management- Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has changed its final placement procedure. Following suit, two other leading IIMs- Bangalore (IIM-B) and Calcutta (IIM-C) are planning to make some changes in the final placement process for the coming year. Both the institutes are working on the new layout to make the final placement process convenient for both students and recruiting companies.

IIM-C placement official said, “In the next five-six weeks, we will introduce changes in the placement process. Companies have expressed that they want more time during placements. We, too, realised that it gets too stressful and hectic for students.” The changes in the final placement session also take into account that these institutes have increased their batch sizes. If we look at the present batch of IIM-B, there are 375 students as compared to 350 of previous batch. At IIM-C, there are 362 students and the number will increase up to 425 and 462 students at IIM-B and IIM-C respectively for the 2011-13 batch.

A professor at IIM-B said till IIM-A changed its placement process, most firms visited IIM-A, IIM-B and IIM-C during the same time of the year for final placements. A poor job market in 2009 had forced most Indian B-schools to review their placement strategy. In fact, the changes IIM-B and IIM-C will be in sync with that of IIM-A’s, where students and companies can get ample time to evaluate each other. “A spread out placement process will make our task easier to schedule firms during placements,” said the professor.

IIM-A was the first IIM to bring changes in the placement process last year, by bringing in the cohort-based system. According to this new process, every weekend companies from a particular sector will visit the campus as a cluster to recruit students. International investment banks and consulting firs formed the first cluster. The process carried on for well over a month. This new system will ensure more interaction time between students and firms.

JNU ranked among top 100 universities of the world

2011-09-18T21:54:00.001-07:00

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is India’s largest university. JNU has managed to secure a position in the top 100 QS World University Ranking this year. This is the first time when QS world ranking has published a subject-wise ranking list in which English department of the JNU has been ranked among the top 100 English departments in the world. This is not all, two other departments- geography and area studies, and politics and international studies- too have found a place among the top 100 universities of the world.

Saugata Bhaduri, chairperson, centre for English studies (CES), school of language, literature and culture studies, JNU said, “Though JNU has been rated as one of the top 100 universities of the world in the past, it is for the first time that the agency has considered individual departments around the world. I am proud that CES has been ranked in the bracket of 51-100.”

After achieving this position among the top 100 universities of the world, the chairperson of the department is keen to maintain this position in the coming year too. “I feel that we have to face immense challenges to upgrade to higher levels in the coming lists.”

According to Nunzio Quacquarelli, managing director of QS world ranking, this new initiative will help students in a better way as they have refined their ranking and indicated their excellence in a specific area of study at international level. He gave all the credit of this success to students and the type of research work they conduct with the help of faculty members.

Quacquarelli said, “Students are increasingly looking to pursue their graduate or postgraduate degree overseas. For the students and his/her family, studying abroad represents a major investment, and it is not surprising that people want detailed information upon which to base their educational investment decision. The role of rankings, in this context, is important.”

Study at Les Roches Marbella – Spain Hospitality: Careers without Boundaries

2011-09-18T21:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the world of Hospitality! The “hospitality industry” not only comprises of hotels and restaurants but also travel, tourism and leisure, which are some of the fastest-growing sectors of the global economy and this trend is forecasted to continue. As the industry expands, hospitality graduates are working in a wider spectrum of positions than ever before.

The Travel and Tourism industry is the largest employer in the world with the ambition to keep growing and developing. Its broad spectrum of employment opportunities includes hotels and restaurants but also many other sectors such as travel agencies, transportation, health and spas, theme parks and casinos to name just a few.

EMPLOYMENT: The contribution of the Travel & Tourism economy to total employment is expected to rise from 219,810,000 jobs in 2009, 7.6% of total employment, or 1 in every 13.1 to 303 million jobs are expected in the hospitality business, representing 1 in every 11 jobs worldwide (UNWTO outlook for 2020)

By acquiring the knowledge, the practical and personal skills needed for hotel management, you will have many challenging and stimulating career options. The hospitality industry offers not only an exciting and challenging international work environment but also diverse job opportunities upon graduating from Les Roches Marbella:

Hotels / resorts / Restaurants / Bars and Clubs
Catering
Facilities Management
Entertainment and Leisure
Casinos
Entertainment and Amusement
Theme Parks & Recreation
Airlines / cruise ships / Rail
Travel and Tourism
Shopping Centers
Events Management / Conventions and Conferences
Clinics and hospitals
Health and Fitness /Spas /Wellness
Human Resources
Management Consulting
Education /training
Logistics Management
Real Estate Development
Media

BACHELOR IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (HOSPITALITY)

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

This four year program fully prepares students to enter the hospitality industry with confidence and particularly develops management theories and competencies using a range of teaching and learning processes. The program is structured in 5 semesters of academic study (2 academic / practical “craft-based-learning” semesters) at the School, and 3 semesters completing professional supervised internships at hotels and hospitality establishments worldwide. The program is delivered entirely in English. The degree program concludes with an internship in the industry that will facilitate the students’ employability. The Bachelor in Business Administration (Hospitality)* degree is the best choice for those students who wish to reach leadership positions in companies or step into the international entrepreneurial world and also gives access to post-graduate studies.

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The BBA Program focuses on developing skills of analysis, evaluation and conceptualization. Experience dealing with numerous managerial issues, from human resources to IT decision-making. Classes include: strategic marketing, financial management, yield and revenue management, performance management, HRM planning and development and general education subjects.

NEW BBA SPECIALIZATIONS

Les Roches Marbella is launching 2 new BBA Hospitality specializations to give students a wider choice of academic programs:

Resort Management
This specialization is dedicated to students who wish to acquire specific knowledge about resorts management and related business. The specialization includes specific subjects in Timeshare, Vacation Ownership and Spa Hotel Resorts and Golf Club Management. This stream is highly recommended for students who wish to reach leadership positions in companies or step into the entrepreneurial world.

Event Management
This specialization is dedicated to students who have a passion for events management and related business. It includes specific subjects in Events Management, Convention and Trade Fair Planning. This stream is highly recommended for students who wish to work in international hotel chains or step into the entrepreneurial world and is in high demand from industry professionals.

UPCOMING INTAKES: JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012 AND JULY/AUGUST 2012

For more information on Admission requirements and Applications to the BBA HOSPITALITY Program at Les Roches Marbella log onto www.lesroches.es or write in to the India admissions office at info@kichospitality.com

US shows concern over lesser qualified visa applications

2011-09-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

Much before the Tri-Valley University scam that affected many Indians was exposed in the US, the American Consulate in Mumbai had expressed concern over a huge jump in lesser qualified student visa applications, a leaked US diplomatic cable has said.

According to the cable over the past years, Mumbai recorded a noticeable increase in the number of lesser qualified student visa applicants, many of them even applied to the same universities. A study of student visa revealed that multiple transfers were not unusual and almost 40% of transfer were to a lower level degree programme.

It said, “In a second random sample of applicants issued only for study at universities identified by adjudicators as attracting a higher number of unqualified applicants, the completion rate was lower, rate of terminations higher, and the number of transfers down was greater.”

An extraordinary number of repeat refusal increases the refusal rate per application to 33 per cent. It said, “Unqualified F1 visa applicants appear for third, fourth, and sometimes seventh interviews hoping for a different decision.”

The cable said, “Mumbai's refused student applicants are characterised by difficulty communicating in English (with or without anticipated English training on their I-20s), few or single university applications submitted, poor standardized test scores, financing by extended family dependant on agricultural income, and a rehearsed script of the reasons they selected the particular university.”

Cable also mentioned, “Many of these applicants state that they found the school on the internet, but when pressed during the interview acknowledged that they applied based on a local recruiting agent's presentation.”

The US Consulate in Mumbai carried out a detailed investigation into the students visas issued by it and questioned as to how an Indian student admitted to a university in California was doing a job in suburb of Washington.

MBA Entrance Exams Calendar 2011-12: A Key to Success

2011-09-18T20:45:00.001-07:00

Are you looking for a perfect place for all your queries..??Check out the MBA Entrance Exam Calendar 2011-12 here... MBA entrance exam dates have been already announced and some of them are to reach the registration deadline soon. Some of the eminent B-schools have already declared their application process for the academic year 2012-14.

It is the time to baptize in preparation of the exams but it is extremely important to get all the updates and make sure that you won'lt miss out any important deadlines.

Through this column of information you'll be able to acquire all the important MBA exam dates and get the admission to your dream B-school.

Some Important exams and last date of the application submission date and examination date are mentioned below in the table:
Exams Application Deadline Date of the Exam
IIFT 2011 5th September, 2011, Monday 27th November, 2011, Sunday
CAT 2011 Voucher Sale – 26th September, 2011, Monday
Registration – 28th September, 2011, Wednesday 22nd October, 2011 - 18th November, 2011
NMAT 2012 Registration – 11th October, 2011, Tuesday
Late Registration – 20th October, 2011, Thursday 31st October, 2011- 18th November, 2011
IRMA 2011 30th September, 2011, Friday 13th November, 2011, Sunday
SNAP 2011 November 18th December, 2011, Sunday

The registration process for XAT 2012 and FMS 2011 are yet to start.

Application process of eminent B-schools in the country:

Institute Name Programs offered Location Admission Forms Availability Application Submission Date Application Fees Selection Process
Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon PGPM, PGP-HR, PGP-IM and NMP - 5th September - 20th October, 2011 30th August, 2011 Rs. 1600 CAT scores followed by GD and PI
International Management Institute (IMI) PGDM and PGDM-HR Delhi and Bhubaneshwar
18th November, 2011
CAT score, performance in 10th & 12th, work exp, GD, PI
Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) PGDM (full time) & PGDM Insurance Business Mgt, Retail Mgt and Sustainable Development Mgt
30th September, 2011 31st December, 2011

Online Application- Rs. 1850

Offline Application- Rs. 1800
CAT 2011 scores, Write up, GD & PI
Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management (LBSIM) PGDM & PGDM Finance
25th August, 2011 27th November, 2011 Rs. 1675 CAT 2011 scores, GD & PI

Good Luck!

IITs finally found their way in World's Top Varsities

2011-09-18T20:44:00.001-07:00

Moment of Triumph for IITs!

Few days back IIT Fraternity were in dilemma when top 500 world rankings have been announced by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). IISc was the only institute from India which has made its prestigious place in the top 500 world rankings. It was a dark and stormy night and the rain fell in torrents for IITs but now it's a new morning with new hopes.

It's a moment of triumph for IITs as QS World university rankings have been announced and IITs have finally found their way in World's top varsities. Cambridge Univerity has topped the list and it has been declared as world's best varsities, followed by Harvard University and MIT ranked second and third. These QS World university rankings have a domination of US institutions, which took 13 of the top 20 places.

Five British universities in the top 20:
University Name Rank
Oxford University 5th
Imperial College, London 6th
UCL 7th
Edinburg 20th
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology 18th

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology is the only university in the top 20 which is not from the English speaking world

Ranking of other world universities

The highest ranking Asian universities are Hong Kong at 22, Tokyo at 25 and the National University of Singapore at 28. King Saud University, in Saudi Arabia, at 200 was the highest rated institution in the Arab world.

Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi was the highest ranked at 218th and followed by IIT Bombay at 225th place. It is the second year for Cambridge University when it has topped the list. IIT rankings in the QS world university rankings has boosted the morals of IITs all over again.

Fissure between Harvard and Cambridge was very minute, but Cambridge has made it place because of its student/faculty ratio. Individual attention is one of the key attractions of the Oxbridge tutorial system, said Ben Sowter, QS head of research.

He also said that, UK higher education is still better and cheaper than compared to many US universities, but other international institutions may offer better value for money. QS said that, Universities in the Netherlands, including Amsterdam University (63rd place) Utrecht (80) and Leiden (88), are all in the top 100 and offer English-language courses for less than £2,000 per year.

CAT 2011 Workshop on Sept 24: Arun Sharma to talk on Mock tests

2011-09-18T20:42:00.000-07:00

MBAUniverse.com will conduct a Special Workshop on CAT 2011 on Saturday, September 24, 2011 in New Delhi. The workshop will be held at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Usha & Lakshmi Mittal Institute of Management (BULMIM), New Delhi. The timing is 2 pm to 4 pm. The key speaker at the workshop will be renowned CAT guru Arun Sharma.

If you are a CAT 2011 aspirant, this is a must attend Workshop for you as you will get the opportunity to listen to CAT guru Arun Sharma, who is the biggest name in the domain of CAT preparation.

The workshop will focus on preparation strategy, how to improve mock test score, analysis of new pattern of the exam, and the Do’s and Don’ts.

One of the key highlight of the workshop will be the analysis of the online mock test prepared by Arun Sharma, which you can take at MBAUniverse.com prior to attending the workshop. It is advised that you take the test before coming to the workshop.

You can take the mock test based on the new pattern of CAT at MBAUniverse.com in advance. This is a simulated mock test, developed by Arun Sharma which you can take for free at MBAUniverse.com. You can take the mock test by clicking at the following link:
http://www.mbauniverse.com/mock/mocktest/quizlogin_cat2011.php?section=quantquizarun

At the workshop you can interact with Arun Sharma and get detailed analysis of your test and get your doubts and queries clarified which you faced while taking the online mock test at MBAUniverse.com.

At the Workshop, you can also listen to the test taking experiences and know about life in a top B-School from the past years CAT toppers, who are now students of renowned B-schools like MDI Gurgaon, IMT Ghaziabad, IIFT New Delhi and FMS, University of Delhi etc and interact with them. MBAUniverse.com will also host Quiz Contest at the Workshop.

In order to take the online mock test and participate in the MBAUniverse.com Workshop on CAT 2011, you have to register yourself at MBAUniverse.com. To register, click on the following link:
http://www.mbauniverse.com/mock/mocktest/mockregistercat2011.php

CAT 2011: Toppers mantras for improving your hold on DI, LR

2011-09-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

Following the footsteps of those who have attained success always helps. Similar is the case with the CAT toppers and CAT Exam aspirants. In the previous articles of MBAUniverse.com you have seen how to improve Quantitative Ability & Verbal Ability areas.

In this article, the CAT toppers share their strategy for excelling in the Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning areas, which are merged with Quantitative Ability and Verbal Ability respectively in the new pattern of CAT 2011.

The CAT toppers who have shared their views on the Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning preparation for CAT 2011 aspirants are Ankit Gupta, 99.34 percentiler taken admission in IIM Indore; Shipra Pandey, 94.89 percentiler, taken admission in MICA and Gaurav Swarnkar, 94.34 percentiler, taken admission in NITIE.

As far as these areas are concerned, they are more related to practice and your logical understanding. “Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning in CAT Exam are more related to IQ but still it can be managed,” Gupta says.

Strategy for CAT 2011 exam preparations
As is common among the CAT toppers, practice is the only strategy for excelling in these areas. According to Gupta, understanding the topics and practicing is the key. Pandey voiced similar advice. “I kept solving a lot of aptitude questions for my CAT Preparations,” she says.

According to Swarnkar, speedy calculation is the key to crack the Data Interpretation area. “For Data Interpretation, you should be very prompt with some results like - tables up to at least 20, squares of up to 30, cubes till 12, reciprocal ratios up to 1/25, and square roots and cube roots. This will solve 80 per cent of your DI problems; rest 20 per cent is application of your brain in understanding the problem,” Swarnkar mentions.

For preparations in Logical Reasoning also, Swarnkar feels that practice is the only key. “Logical Reasoning in CAT Exam is nothing but practice, a simple advice is DO NOT APPLY YOUR PERCEPTIONS while solving them. Just stick to the lines written in the question. Pen down every situation and condition given and stick to it till the end,” he says.

The common point between all the CAT toppers is that, practice is the key to success in this CAT Exam section. Be fluent and thorough with the concepts which you can gain through reading more news papers, especially the data given in various forms.

But the amount of practice will depend on your strength and weakness. For Gupta, his strongest section was Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. So he took the least time to prepare for it. “I gave least time for preparation on Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning but everybody has a different set of strengths and weakness so I would like to advice that identify them and capitalize on your strengths and work on your weaknesses for your CAT Preparation,” Gupta says.

Strategy for CAT 2011 exam
Choosing the right question is the deciding factor for CAT Exam. According to Pandey, you should not waste much time on a question which you can't solve beyond five minutes. Data Interpretation is a matter of good choice as well as practice. Choosing the wrong caselets in the CAT 2011 exam can be dangerous but enough practice tells you which cases to go forward with and which traps to leave. “My suggestion is that even if you are stuck in a caselet for five minutes or so and then you realize that its a waste of time and you are not getting anywhere near solving it, it’s better to leave it rather than making it a prestige issue and solving it but leaving the rest of Data Interpretation and also missing out on other sections,” she says.

Improve your test taking skills to increase scores: CL Academic Head at Live Chat

2011-09-18T20:38:00.000-07:00

As the CAT 2011 exam is approaching, the aspirants are getting more and more worked up regarding the preparation pattern. In this last lap of preparation, the main aim is to improve the scores of the mock tests so that they can get a good score in the actual CAT 2011 exam. To guide the students on improving the scores, MBAUniverse.com is continuing with the series of Live Expert Chats on the topic ‘how to improve your mock scores for CAT 2011’. The last AskMBAUniverse.com Live Expert Chat was held on September 16, 2011 with Abhishek Gupta, Senior Manager, Academic Team, Career Launcher.

Read on the excerpts of the Live Expert Chat.

Q: Sid: I am unable to score more than 80 percentile in CAT and loosing all my hopes on CAT. At times I think of concentrating on SNAP, XAT and MAH CET then CAT or take CAT again next year. How to improve in one month?

A: Even SNAP, XAT and MAH-CET aren't going to easy. CAT is your best chance of making it to top B-School. Analyze the tests taken by you thoroughly and find where you missed out. Most of the times, it's not the subject knowledge but the test-taking sills that make a difference.

Q: Aparna: My percentile in mocks keeps varying from 80, 90, 84 and 88. I want to get over 95 percentile. Please help me!

A: Have you analyzed the tests taken by you? Analysis doesn't mean just looking at the explanatory solutions. Try to find if you have done optimally in the mocks. Optimal performance means doing your level best. See if you are missing on some topic repeatedly, or regularly miss sitters etc.

Q: Rohan: How often should I take mock tests? How and what is the parameter to analyze my performance in test?

A: You shouldn't take more than three to four full-length mocks in a week. Analysis of the mocks is more important. Take the next mock only when you have analyzed the previous one very thoroughly and learnt your lessons through it. You should ensure that you don't repeat the same mistakes again.

Q: Samudra Sen: Sir, as only 35+ days are left, which type of mocks would you suggest me to take, sectional or full length mock test?

A: Ideally, full-length tests now. Take sectional tests if you think one of the two sections has got a major problem and needs more attention than the other.

Q: Anand Kumar: Sir which will be the right day to take CAT 2011 exam? Is it preferred to take during the first, middle or end sessions? Also, which time would be better, morning or afternoon slot?

A: Doesn't make any difference. Take it whenever you are most comfortable and have no obligations - social or others - during that one week around the test.

Q: Venu: I have been getting almost 85 to 90 percentile in Career Launcher Mock tests. What are my chances in CAT 2011? Does this score reflect in final day exam? Please give suggestion.

A: You generally tend to score more in CAT than what you get in mocks, provided you don't do anything too different on the D-day. At your percentile, you definitely stand a chance for good B-schools, though not the best ones. There is still some time left, work harder.

Q: Khushbu Sudhir: Sir I'm taking CAT in 54 days & have 45 days for IRMA. I haven't completed Quant syllabus yet. What r my chances? What should be my strategies? Shall I drop this year & take it next year?

A: Start working harder. Quant syllabus won’t take more than 15 days if you are prepared to slog it out. Even if you are planning to take it next year, why not take it this year as well. You don't stand to lose anything apart from a few thousand rupees.

Q: Manisha: I'm doing self preparation for CAT. Please suggest me strategy for this last lap. I'm almost done with Quant, Verbal & DILR. I haven't taken any mocks yet.

A: You answered it yourself. Start taking the Mocks. Take at least 10 to 15 tests before the actual one.

Q: Amaresh Nayak: What should I do to improve my CAT percentile? I haven't joined any coaching. I will join test series. How many mocks shall I take?

A: Join a test series, take at least 10 to 15 tests, analyze each test thoroughly, ensure that you don't repeat your mistakes in the next mock, and improve with every mock to peak at the actual exam.

Q: Manasa Priya: Sir my English knowledge is good but somehow I can't score well in VA. There are many questions which I mark wrong. What should I do to enhance my score?

A: Try and find out what's going wrong with the answers if you think your language skills are okay. Analyze the wrong answers, and don't repeat the same mistakes again. I don't see a reason for you to do poorly every time despite having good language skills.

Q: Suprita Venkatesh: Sir my Quant & DI section is very weak. What shall I do? What should be the strategy to attempt questions?

A: Practice, practice and practice! Develop the art of picking the easier questions from the section. There are enough sitters in the section to give you a decent score despite limited ability.

Q: Preet: Sir my graduation marks is 48 per cent and I belong to OBC category. Am I eligible to take CAT?

A: I am afraid you are not. The cut-off for OBC is same as that for General Category i.e. 50 per cent. Check www.catiim.in for details.

Q: Ganesh: Hello sir. I have completed my 12th in Commerce stream with 84 per cent and I want to do MBA in finance. Can you please suggest me what type of preparation should I start from now so that I can get a good score in CAT?

A: I will suggest just two things at this stage. Do them religiously. 1. Read a lot on diversified subjects. 2. Start loving puzzle-solving. All the best!

Q: Triveni: I completed B. Tech this year with 84 per cent. I want to work for a year and then take CAT. I haven't started any preparation yet. My aim is to join IIMs. Is work ex of one year sufficient?

A: IIMs take freshers as well. So one year that way is not a problem. Start preparing.

Q: Pavan Kumar: Sir I'm doing my B. Tech final year. In my previous semesters I had backlogs and I cleared them. If I get a call from IIMs will there be any problem to my selection due to my backlogs?

A: You may have to answer some very uncomfortable questions about the backlogs. But they can always be prepared in advance. They won't reject you because of your backlogs, but it will need some special answers.

MAT December 2011 to be held in Dec 4 - Dec 10 for computer based exam: AIMA

2011-09-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

The All India Management Association (AIMA) has announced the dates for the Management Aptitude Test (MAT) of December 2011, the fourth MAT exam of the year. The paper pencil based MAT will take place on Sunday, December 4, 2011. The computer based test will be held from Saturday, December 10, 2011 onwards.

Candidates can choose to take the test in either computer based or paper pencil based format. The 2.5 hour test will take place from 10:00 am to 12.30 pm for the paper pencil based test. The computer based test will take place in different time slots.

The sale of MAT December 2011 application forms will begin from Saturday, October 1, 2011.

Application Process
Candidates who wish to apply should be graduates or in the final year of their graduation. The last date for sale of Application Forms is Saturday, November12, 2011. The last date to submit the filled up application forms is Tuesday, November 15, 2011.

The forms can be obtained from select branches of Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank with application fee of Rs. 1,200 or from Study Centers of AIMA with application fee of Rs. 1,050. Online application can also be done by visiting www.aima-ind.org/matdec11.

The candidates have to obtain their Admit Cards seven days prior to their tests, with effect from Saturday, November 26, 2011. Registered candidates can download their Admit Cards from the AIMA website, http://www.aima-ind.org/mat_centre.aspx.

AIMA will announce the list of Test Centers and the participating B-schools by Saturday, October 1, 2011, the day when the sale of forms will begin.

Tips for International Students Applying to Schools in the US

2011-09-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

Some tips for international students to keep in mind and how are they evaluated compared to U.S. students

1. Three things matter for U.S.-aspiring international students.
Steve Loflin, founder and CEO, National Society of Collegiate Scholars

Extracurricular activities matter more than you think. U.S. colleges look for well-rounded students and grades are not enough. Showcase anything you've done outside of classes, from volunteering to work part time, or playing an instrument.

SAT scores matter. Unless you studied an internationally recognized curriculum, odds are that universities will have a hard time interpreting what your transcripts mean. Whether they admit it or not, schools will use the SATs to evaluate whether you have the academic chops to be at that school.

Finally, do well on the TOEFL or IELTS exams. International students' English-speaking abilities are scrutinized because it affects how well you can participate in class and keep up with the work. Universities want to know that you are an advanced English speaker.

2. It's a tough ball game for international students.
Michele Hernandez, president and founder, HernandezCollegeConsulting.com and ApplicationBootCamp.com

International students need to realize that they can't simply look at overall admissions stats to determine their odds because most schools limit the international student population to 10 percent of the overall class. Even though colleges don't admit to quotas, these numbers don't vary much year to year, so they are what I would call virtual quotas. If you look at a school that has a 20 percent overall admissions rate, the admit rate for international students is likely to be closer to 5 percent-not to mention the fact that international students compete with other international students from 80-plus different countries, plus their own country. Schools might receive 300 applicants from China and then accept two or three!

Therefore, students should focus on lesser-known "name brand" schools that all international students apply to, schools that don't receive as many applications from international students. Rural schools for instance or schools outside the Northeast tend to get fewer applicants from international students. Study the U.S.News & World Report list of top National Liberal Arts Colleges and focus on those more than just the Harvard University/Yale University/Princeton University-level schools that have super low acceptance rates.

3. Global is in: It's a good time for international students.
James Montoya, vice president of higher education, The College Board

The number of students crossing national borders to pursue higher education will likely triple in the next decade. The good news is that many American colleges and universities have recently expanded their international recruitment efforts, especially for "full-pay" students. International students who will require institutionally based financial aid should not waste their time applying to those colleges and universities not offering financial aid to international students.

Since colleges and universities seek international students who will contribute both inside and outside the classroom, applicants should definitely highlight in their admission applications what they will bring to the campus academically, culturally, and socially.

4. Applying to U.S. colleges means global competition
Katherine Cohen, founder and CEO, IvyWise and ApplyWise.com

Here are some tips to help you stand out among a highly competitive global applicant pool:
-Emphasize your diverse background. Colleges like the perspective multinational or
multicultural students bring to the classroom.

-Highlight what makes you different from other students at your school and explain why you
have a desire to study in America.

-Looking for a liberal arts education? Demonstrate an understanding of what that type of
education means in America. It can differ from more vertical, professionally oriented college
curriculum that may be offered at the universities in your home country.

-Don't need financial aid? Tell the college! It's much more difficult for international students
who need financial assistance to get accepted.

-Take a practice ACT and SAT to see which test is right for you. Our international students
have performed better on the ACT in many cases.

Also, don't just apply to a school because of its name. Visit the schools to which you plan to apply, in person or virtually, and make sure you can see yourself spending the next four years there.(Find the right school for you)

5. Know each university's specific requirements
Stacey Kostell, director of admissions, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign

Education in the United States is not centralized nationally as it is in many countries, so it's important to note that admission requirements will vary greatly from one university to another. Your academic credentials will be evaluated differently by different universities. Be sure you understand those differences.

In order to maximize your chances for admission, it is a good idea to complete a program of study that qualifies you for admission to selective universities in your home country. As an international student, you may have admission requirements in addition to those for national students, including proof of English proficiency.

IT Giants to recruit 2.5 lakh engineering students this year

2011-09-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

IIM Bangalore placements 2011: ICICI, Deloitte, McKinsey largest recruiters

2011-04-07T01:09:00.002-07:00

IIM Bangalore placements 2011: ICICI, Deloitte, McKinsey largest recruiters

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore completed final placements for its PGP batch of 2009-11 with 461 offers from 135 companies. ICICI Bank recruited the most with 19 offers followed by Deloitte Consulting and McKinsey & Co who made 17 and 12 offers respectively.
The PGP 2009-11 batch strength was 348, of which 16 students deferred their placements with the stated intentions of starting their own businesses.
Total number of students 348
Opt-outs 16
Students who appeared for placements 332
Number of companies that made offers 135
Total number of offers 461
Average offers per student 1.39
Final placements 230
Lateral offers 147
PPOs 84
Domestic offers 387
International offers 74
Finance and consulting companies recruited the largest number of students.

The top 5 recruiters left with almost one-fifth of the batch.
Top 5 Recruiters Offers Made Offers Accepted
ICICI Bank 19 19
Deloitte Consulting 17 14
McKinsey & Co. 12 11
Yes Bank 11 11
Infosys Consulting 12 7
Finance
Investment banking roles contributed to 20% of the offers while Private Equity, Venture Capital, Private & Wholesale Banking, Treasury, M&A and others contributed to the remaining 16% offers from Finance. Goldman Sachs made 7 offers across investment banking and securities divisions. Barclays Capital, Citi Global, Deutsche Bank, HSBC Global, BofA-Merill Lynch, Morgan Stanley made offers in the investment banking division for Mumbai, Hong Kong and Singapore locations. UBS recruited students for three desks across Asia-Pacific locations. A Europe-based Bank offered an associate position in the Netherlands. Olam International offered Commodities Derivatives Trading profile to five students for the Singapore location. Companies that had recruited by making pre-placement-offers were Barclays Capital (Hong Kong), Citi Group, Deutsche Bank (London), HSBC Global, JP Morgan, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, Nomura, Royal Bank of Scotland, Rothschild and Standard Chartered Global across New York, London, Hong Kong and Singapore locations. Morgan Stanley (Hong Kong) offered an associate position to one student. Private Equity firm Blackstone Group recruited one student for their Real Estate Fund. Chrys Capital and o3 Capital too recruited from IIM Bangalore. A venture capital fund picked up one student.
Other recruiters from the finance sector were American Express, Anand Rathi, Allegro Advisors, Avendus Capital, Axis Bank, BNP Paribas, Capital One, Citi Bank, Edelweiss, HSBC, ICICI Prudential, India Infoline, JM Financial, Kotak Wealth, Standard Chartered and Yes Bank.
Consulting
AT Kearney (9 offers), Boston Consulting Group (7 offers), Bain & Co (7 offers) and McKinsey & Co (12 offers based out of India, Sydney and Brussels) were the largest recruiters. Arthur D Little and Oliver Wyman made offers for New York, London and Dubai locations. Some of the other consulting firms that recruited at IIMB were Accenture, Alvarez & Marsal, Booz & Co, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, EXL Services, Infosys Consulting, KPMG, PwC, and Siemens Management Consulting.
Sales & Marketing
Hindustan Unilever (5 offers) and Procter & Gamble (9 offers) were the largest sales/marketing recruiters and offered positions for marketing profiles in India and Singapore. Some of the other recruiters from this sector were Aircel, Airtel, Asian Paints, Aviva, BMGI, Britannia, Diageo, ITC, Johnson & Johnson, Marico, Nokia, Philips and Videocon. Myntra offered the role of Executive Assistant to the Founder while Comviva recruited one student for the role of Chief of Staff.
General Management & others
Around 7% of the offers came from the General Management sector while the remaining 6% of the offers came in the form of Operations & Product Management roles. Aditya Birla Group made offers to 7 students. Some of the other major recruiters in this sector were Essar, Hinduja, Mahindra & Mahindra, Lodha group, Reliance Industries and Tata Administrative Services. Ingersoll Rand offered the ‘Entrepreneurial Management Programme” to 3 students at IIM Bangalore. Narayana Hrudayalaya, a multispecialty hospital, visited campus for the second consecutive year and offered Vice President positions to four students. Global e-Procure recruited three students for supply chain consulting profile.
HCL, Intelenet, McAfee, Microsoft and NetApp offered Product Management profiles. Some of the other firms that participated in the recruitment process were Amazon, Heidrick & Struggles, DPDHL (Singapore), Google, ITW, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd, MTS, SunEdison, TVS Logistics and ZS Associates.
Overseas placements
A total of 74 international offers were made, of which 54 were accepted. The most number of international offers came for jobs based out of Singapore, Hong Kong and London, primarily from Finance companies.

Lateral placements
Those with more than 22 months of fulltime work experience were eligible to participate in lateral placement process. More than 50 companies visited IIM Bangalore as part of the lateral recruitment programme. The total number of offers made during lateral placements was 147 out of which 73 offers were eventually accepted. Management consulting was the biggest recruiter with close to 55% offers coming from this sector. Deloitte Consulting with 13 offers and Infosys Consulting with 12 offers were the biggest recruiters in this sector. Other major recruiters were Accenture Management Consulting, Ernst & Young, PwC, Heidrick & Struggles (Singapore), Cognizant, Wipro, ZS Associates, Siemens Management Consulting and DPDHL (Singapore). Around 15% of the offers were General Management profiles. Aditya Birla Group was the biggest recruiter with 7 offers. Some of the other recruiters from this sector were the Hinduja Group, Adani Group, Reliance Industries, Schneider Electric and Mphasis. Close to 10% of the offers came from the finance sector. Yes Bank made a total of 7 offers across Investment Banking, Risk Management, M&A and Treasury. Private equity fund ChrysCapital recruited 2 students for associate positions. The biggest highlight was a Europe-based bank (name undisclosed) which recruited an IIM Bangalore student for an associate position based out of Netherlands. Rest of the offers came from Sales & Marketing, Operations and Product Management sectors. Some of the firms from these sectors were Philips, Microsoft, McAfee, Google, HCL, InfoEdge, Indus Valley Partners, SunEdison, MTS, Mindtree, Unisys, Infotech, Jindal Steel, Intelenet, NetApp and Technopak.
Acceptance of offers
The ratio of offers accepted to offers made was the lowest during lateral placements. Whereas more than 87% of offers made during the final placements were accepted.

With 65% of the lateral jobs comprising Consulting and Finance offers and acceptance rates for consulting and finance PPOs being as high as 80%, it is clear that recruitment decisions for the most plum finance and consulting jobs are preordained in favour of people with work experience, strong academics or both. Those getting PPOs from these companies would have gotten a summer internship largely on the basis of their pre-MBA profiles.

Another interesting statistic shared by IIM Bangalore shows that acceptance ratios for different types of offers have been falling since the economy improved after the 2008 recession. While in 2009 students accepted whatever offers that came their way, students are now becoming pickier.
This year, IIM Bangalore students have rejected the maximum proportion of overseas offers in 5 years. The interest in PPOs too has fallen by a third since 2009 and nearly two-third of students who interned in sales and marketing, general management and operations profiles have rejected their PPOs in favour of a likely better offer during final or lateral placements.
It is likely that b-schools in the same grade too would be following similar trends.

Salary data for IIM Bangalore placements is unavailable as the institute has maintained a no-salary-disclosure policy since 2006.

Tips to help you ace IIT-JEE

2011-04-07T01:09:00.001-07:00

Tips to help you ace IIT-JEE

The syllabus of Class 11 & 12 contributes about 45% and 55% of IIT-JEE question papers respectively. When you are preparing all the chapters of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, stress may be given, in particular, on the following topics.
Mathematics: Quadratic Equat-ions & Expressions, Complex Numbers, Probability, Vectors, Matrices in Algebra; Circle, Parabola, Hyperbola in Coordinate Geometry; Functions, Limits, Continuity and Differentiability, Application of Derivatives, Definite Integral in Calculus.
Physics: Mechanics, Fluids, Heat & Thermodynamics, Waves and Sound, Capacitors & Electrostatics, Magnetics, Electromagnetic Induction, Optics and Modern Physics.
Chemistry: Qualitative Analysis, Coordination Chemistry & Chemical Bonding in Inorganic Chemistry, Electrochemistry, Chemical Equilibrium in Physical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry complete as a topic.
Planning is the key The way to prepare and deal with the study pressure is proper planning and its implementation.
* Divide the time available on the three subjects.
* Further detail out the chapter-wise, topic-wise time schedule.
* Make summary notes/points to remember of all the concepts topic/chapter-wise and flag the questions with twist, intermingling of concepts requiring analytical skills. This will help in quick revision, a couple of days before or even on the eve of the examination.
The right approach
Students, who have to simultaneously prepare for XII board and IIT-JEE, should start concentrating on Class XII and corresponding IIT-JEE chapters around 21 days before board examination. However, the flame should be kept burning even for Class XI chapters by way of revision till start of board examinations. After the board examinations, focused and concentrated revision of both Class XI & XII subjects will have to be undertaken.
The right approach for those appearing first time or second (last) time is to stick to one source and not to refer to multitude of books/study material available in the market. For example it is sufficient to go through study-packages, IIT-JEE Archives, Review-packages, Work-books, Grand Masters Package/Equivalent, AITS/AIITS series etc., supplied by FIITJEE if the student is enrolled in any of its programmes. To reap benefits, the students, throughout preparation period, should remain focused with a positive attitude to study with utmost concentration. It is quality of time spent and not the quantity alone. A short break of 5 to 10 minutes every one to one-and-a-half hours of serious study is advisable. Total relaxation during the break will supposedly charge the batteries for another intensive spell of serious study.
Don't miss! Searchable database to find an engineering college
Pattern of papers
There will be two three-hour combined papers (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics) to test the aptitude, comprehension and analytical ability of the students. Expected pattern in 2010 is a suitable mix of various types under 2006 to 2009 (view table below).
Importance of practice sessions
To keep focused for better results, the student should strictly follow a well-planned time schedule. During practice sessions speed in working out the questions should be developed. This is a natural byproduct if the student has attempted questions from basic principles in the initial stages. However, it is never too late to practise it. This strategy of solving questions from fundamentals will induce in the student a parallel thinking process so very necessary to increase and master analytical skills with conceptual understanding. The proof of pudding is in the eating. Progress made must be checked by solving Quizzes/Mock Test Papers on a regular basis. The student should aim at 100% hit rate i.e. all attempted questions are correct. This will ensure a competitive edge over others who will be left behind due to negative marking. Speed and accuracy will also allow finishing the papers ahead of time, leaving some time for revision.
Keep mind and body fit
Asanas, Pranayama and Meditation (in that order) every day in the morning and/or evening will help to develop inner calm and power of concentration needed for success. This will ultimately be of immense help on the D-day. Minimum 5 to 6 hours of sleep daily is necessary to keep the mind and body fit.
Smart tip: Understand application of concepts and analytical skills vis-à-vis mechanical/ blind application of formulae/theory.
Facing the exam
The strategy in the examination hall will be to keep cool, to have faith and to harness the examination temperament built during planned preparation. It is advisable to reach the examination centre at least 20 minutes early. A few deep breaths will ward off nervousness. Instructions given in the question papers should be read and followed very carefully. The student should not spend more than 45 minutes on any of the subjects in the first attempt.
He should fix priorities after a concentrated quick reading of the paper and start answering with the question he knows best and move progressively to ones in ascending order of difficulty. Questions with no negative marks must be attempted. The 45-minute cycle should be repeated for the other two subjects. Thereafter the student should come back to the three sections for attempting left out questions, conceptually with well-reasoned logic and for over all revision during the last 45 minutes. Even if some segment/section appears to be tough, one should keep cool since it is the relative performance which will count and hence the student should put-in his best.
Remain positive
IIT-JEE exam tests understanding in application of concepts and analytical skills vis-à-vis mechanical/blind application of formulae/theory. Temporary set-backs or poor performance during practice in some Quiz or Mock Test Paper should not discourage and the student should march onwards with greater and greater will and determination. The success in the IIT-JEE examination is directly proportional to the number of problems solved independently
and preferably by more than one method. To raise the bar and to develop muscles, the weight is to be lifted by the student himself.

TeamLease Services raises Rs 100 cr for expansion

2011-04-07T01:08:00.004-07:00

TeamLease Services raises Rs 100 cr for expansion

Staffing and education firm TeamLease Services today announced that it has raised Rs 100 crore from ICICI Venture and Gaja Capital Partners to fund vocational education expansion.

TeamLease Services, focused on the organised temporary staffing market since 2003, entered vocational education by acquiring the Indian Institute of Job Training (IIJT) in 2010.

IIJT operates over 150 centres that deliver classroom and satellite training in five domains--finance and accounting, IT infrastructure, sales and marketing, retail and English and soft skills.

TeamLease Services said it has also begun work on TeamLease University that will offer associate degree programs in the same domains and will start operations later this year after regulatory and legislative approvals.

The company is also actively engaged with various State governments through Public Private Partnerships (PPP). It runs the only PPP Employment Exchange and one of largest PPP tribal training programs in the country.

"Innovating in India's people supply chain requires operating at the intersection of jobs and skills since companies are looking for trained candidates and candidates are looking for jobs. This fund raise allows us to create a corridor between certificates, diplomas, associate degrees and jobs," TeamLease Services, managing director Ashok Reddy said.

The capital raised will be deployed for the vocational education initiative--a rollout of IIJT centres, national satellite delivery capabilities, building a corporate training business, acquiring a footprint in new domains more suitable for students directly after Class 10 and the TeamLease University project.

Mr Vishakha Mulye, Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Venture, said, the education and staffing sector in India is "poised for an exciting future" as there is clear recognition within the Government as well as the private sector about the need to address gaps in the people supply chain, up-skilling of workforce and quality training.

The National Skill Mission has set a target of making 500 million people employable by 2020.

'RTE Act implementation is challenging'

2011-04-07T01:08:00.003-07:00

'RTE Act implementation is challenging'

The challenge in RTE implementation is changing the mindsets of teachers, parents and the school managements. While during their BA and B Ed teachers are taught that every child wants to learn, once the teachers come to class, their attitude changes. Nandakumar, project officer, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan talks to DNA regarding the RTE Act.
It’s been one year since the RTE act has been enforced, how is the state faring on its implementation?
Since we already have eight years of experience in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, implementing RTE in Mahararashtra, so that every child goes to school, is not very difficult. We have already identified the problem areas and are working towards their solutions. Through School mapping we have realized that we need to create 904 new schools so that all children can be educated. There is no lack of funds. And luckily, due to our SSA experience, most of the infrastructure is already in place. Also, as the census report indicates, the number of children in the country is reducing as people are planning smaller families, so enrollment of students is also not a problem.
What are the challenges faced while implementation of RTE act in the state?
The real challenge in RTE implementation is changing the mindsets of teachers, parents and the school managements. While during their BA and B Ed teachers are taught that every child wants to learn, once the teachers come to class, their attitude changes. They think that all children are not capable of learning and so some children will fail. This attitude needs to be changed.
That is what RTE is attempting to do. We need to engrain in them that every child can learn. Commiting mistakes in learning are their birthright. Schools do not have a right to stop their learning if they do these mistakes. They cannot detain children. Instead, through remedial coaching, schools need to bring these children up to speed. Unfortunately, many schools have not understood the spirit behind this policy. So it is being misused.
What kind of training is being given to the teachers so that they can teach students who have never been to school?
Responsibilities of the teachers have increased. Under RTE, teachers have to teach students who might not even know Marathi. They might be only literate in their native language. So teachers will have to take special efforts to learn ‘one more language’ so that they can reach such students. For instance, teachers in Maharashtra only understand Marathi, so they are unable to communicate with tribal children. They will not even bother to learn their language.
So we have been giving them training on two levels. Motivational training so that they develop a positive attitude and we are training them to increase their skills, creativity , so that they can introduce innovative techniques of teaching that can relate to multiple intelligences in the classrooms.

Road to IIT: Meet Anand Kumar, brain behind Super 30

2011-04-07T01:08:00.001-07:00

Road to IIT: Meet Anand Kumar, brain behind Super 30

Educator Anand Kumar could not attend Cambridge University due to financial constraints. Today, he coaches deserving students for IIT-JEE.
HIS father, a post office clerk in Bihar, couldn't afford private schooling for his children. So, Anand Kumar studied at a Hindi medium government school where, at an early age, he fell in love with mathematics. During graduation, he submitted papers on Numbers Theory that were published in UK's Mathematical Spectrum and The Mathematical Gazette.
He was accepted by Cambridge University and was close to realising his dream of becoming a mathematician, when his father suddenly passed away. The household income dwindled and Kumar and his mother made papad, which he sold door-to-door in the evenings, while writing mathematical theories in the daytime.
Then one day, a well-wisher suggested Kumar teach maths. In 1995, at the age of 22, he rented a classroom for Rs. 500 a month and started teaching. In one year's time, the strength of his classroom went from 2 to 36. Today, his study centre Ramanujan School of Mathematics is renowned, the world over. In a frank interview with Sumita Vaid Dixit, he talks (in chaste Hindi) about Indian education, revolution and his dream.
Q. Why did you start Super 30?
A. Within three years we had nearly 500 students. Although the fee was nominal - Rs. 1,500 a year - some poor students could not pay. Once, a boy came to me and said that he wanted to study but could only pay after his father, a poor farmer, had harvested potatoes. In Bihar, we call it 'aloo ukharna'.
I didn't want to take away the boy's only hope of changing his life because he couldn't pay. That's when I decided that I will form a group of 30 bright students, all from poor families, provide them with board and lodging and prepare them for IIT. This group was called Super 30. My brother Pranav Kumar, a violinist by profession, manages the institute, while my mother cooks for the students.
In the last seven years, 182 students out of 210 have made it to different IITs of the country. And for the last two years, all thirty students of Super 30 have made it to IIT. Parents of some students are bricklayers some work as domestic help. Now many of our students are working in Europe and the US.
Q. What is it about your teaching methods that help students get through to IIT?
A. This success is a combination of three factors. My students have junoon (passion), a fire in them to achieve. Two, our teaching approach is different. I use multimedia slides to make a little story with characters to explain maths concepts. Three, we take tests every day. Well, in a nutshell, we teach our students the how and why! That's all.
Q. But how do you run the place with the little fee you charge the other students?
A. I didn't start the place to make money. There are many coaching institutes in Patna for the rich, but none for the poor. NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) come to me with offers of help, but I wanted to prove that much can be achieved with fewer resources.
Q. Have you been able to prove that?
A. I think I have. There are far too many students coming to us, more than what we can take. And this has annoyed many coaching institutes. As you would know, many of the institutes here are run by criminals. I have received death threats one of my non-teaching staff was stabbed, once they even tried to blow me away with a crude bomb, but I escaped unhurt. I move around with two security guards armed with machines guns.
Q. Does the sight of security guards scare away children or parents?
A. (laughs) Children in Bihar are familiar with the criminal activities here. It doesn't scare them.
Q. Don't you get scared your life may be at stake?
A. I am doing this for society. Yes, mobility is restricted and I get frustrated at times, but it's okay. I get my strength from these kids. But over the past few years, the crime rate has come down and the police support me. Besides, if I get scared how will the others join me in creating a revolution?
Q. What kind of revolution?
A. Making education accessible to every poor child in India. I wish the kids I have taught, come back to their hometowns and do something for their people, their village. At times, it hurts to see that some forget about giving back to the society.
But there's another kind of kranti (revolution) taking place. Earlier when a peon used to work at an IAS officer's residence, he hoped that when his own son became a peon, the officer would treat him well. Today, the peon who works at the IAS officer's house wants his son to become an IAS officer, not a peon. That's kranti! We mustn't forget the sacrifice and hardships parents go through just to make sure their children live better lives, their children go to schools.
Q. Would the HRD minister's proposals bring about a change?
A. Kapil Sibalji thinks that by changing the syllabus or introducing a grading system, education will improve. The system will not change like this. Change will come when teachers have the passion to teach. 'Jab unme junoon hoga'!For that teachers should be paid well. It's ironical that while parents want their children to have great teachers, they don't want their children to become teachers!
The policymakers' idea of education is limited to Delhi and the NCR region. They have no clue of the positions of schools in Bihar or Uttar Pradesh many schools don't have roofs here.
And suggesting 80 per cent as cut-off marks for the IIT entrance exam is ridiculous. You cannot apply this to local boards or to students in villages. There cannot to be true development until the villages of India are also a part of the development process. 'Bharat ki atman gaon mein bassi hain' (the spirit of this nation resides in the villages).
Q. Then what's the way forward?
A. We need two syllabi: one for students with an ordinary intellect and one for students with extraordinary intellect. There are those who can do very well in jobs and there are those who can excel in research, and the first six years of schooling are good enough to evaluate a student's potential. This method is followed by China and Russia.
Do you know that China has topped 15 times in the past 22 years in the International Mathematical Olympiad? In times to come the top researches and scientists will come from China.
So we have to think of novel ways of encouraging our students to get into research. Why hasn't India produced Nobel winners in a long time? The ones that have are those who left this country to pursue their research elsewhere.
Q. And, what are your future plans?
A. I want to extent my programme to students of Class 5 and 6 as many gifted children fade away before they reach class 10. Many out of school to sell vegetables or work at tea stalls. I want to catch them young.
So, now I'm thinking of setting up a chain of free schools across the country, with free board and lodging facilities, where children can study from Class 5 to up to Class 12 and where they are prepared not just for IIT but Olympiad tests in mathematics, physics and chemistry.
Q. But your dream of going to Cambridge still remains unfulfilled?
A. When those eyes full of hope look at me, the respect and pleasure I get seeing my students being placed in large organisations makes me forget about it. But I do keep travelling to the US to give lectures my papers get published in international magazines. I am happy.

Penn State students rally for reduction of state education cuts

2011-04-07T01:07:00.004-07:00

Penn State students rally for reduction of state education cuts

Penn State Altoona sophomore Kimberly Isaac likes it here and has gotten "the hang" of her print journalism major.
But her parents in Queens, N.Y., are struggling with the responsibility to pay her $30,000 a year college costs, even as they pay off her big sister's Penn State loans. So Isaac fears the big tuition hike that must follow if the state follows through on Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed 50 percent cut in higher education funding.
Isaac was among 75 Altoona College students - 500 altogether from Penn State - at the university's annual Capitol Day rally Tuesday in Harrisburg, urging lawmakers to back off the radical cuts.
"It would be a big step" - one she'd be reluctant to take - if she had to go to a smaller school closer to home, Isaac said after the rally.
Her parents are willing to do more, "but there's only so much they can do," she said.
"Everybody fears the worst," said Paige Blawas of Latrobe, president of the Altoona Student Government Association.
Blawas worries she'll need a serious job to supplement the minimal one she now holds during the school year, and that extra effort might diminish her college experience and even her grades.
Her family is middle class, not "well-off" - as one speaker she heard Tuesday presumed to label most of the students, she said.
Her dad has a small business installing stair lifts, her mom helps him part-time and her brother is starting college in the fall.
And the family income isn't guaranteed: "It's all about sales," she said. "And if [my dad] has a bad month."
Ben Clark, SGA vice president, worries that friends may need to leave Penn State or that he'll find at reunions 20 years from now they're still paying off student loans.
He also wonders about increasing numbers of students in his classes due to faculty cuts and even the possibility of closures of outreach campuses, a possibility university officials are examining.
It would seem that Altoona should be safe, being large and close to University Park, making it an easy transition for juniors to the main campus, he said.
But that very proximity might make it easier to close, because this area of the state is already served by the main campus, and because closing a large satellite campus would lop a large part of the overall costs all at once, he conceded.
Still, the situation may not be as dire as it seems, Blawas said, after speaking to aides of state Sen. Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland.
"They said a lot that was reassuring," Blawas said. "They made it seem as though it wouldn't be as big a cut as expected."
Likewise, Clark was pleasantly surprised.
He went expecting to feel alienated, with non-receptive lawmakers.
Instead, he found them "engaging," and hoping to work out something that would "not hit [us] as hard as originally proposed."
It probably helped that his father, Dan, was a state representative for Juniata, Mifflin, Snyder and Perry counties from 1988 to 2002.
Clark talked with state Reps. Rick Geist, R-Altoona, and Bill Adolph, R-Delaware, the latter of which he'd known as a child, through his father.
Clark and the others he encountered Tuesday are "good kids," Geist said.
As for the students' hopes of a smaller cut, "the budget is far from being done," he said.
He thinks Corbett's $27.3 billion total "will hold," but that the items within that budget are "a moving target."
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.

Pell Knell

2011-04-07T01:07:00.003-07:00

Pell Knell
Even if Obama wins on education funding, students will lose.
In February, Republicans unveiled a plan to cut funding for Pell grants by 25 percent and slash the maximum award by $845—changes that would knock funding to below 2008 levels and, according to education experts I spoke to, devastate students who rely on the program for support. The White House responded by offering a preemptive compromise, asking for more modest cuts in an attempt to claim the political center and maintain the maximum grant at $5,500: It called for reductions of $100 billion over ten years, through the elimination of a rule that allows summer students to qualify for additional Pell grants and the elimination interest subsidies for graduate students. "Cuts like these are never easy,” said Education Secretary Arne Duncan, “but in the current fiscal climate they are the responsible thing to do, and the only way to ensure that we can make the investments we need to secure our future."
This may or may not succeed politically. As the White House plays a game of budgetary Uncle with House Republicans this week, President Obama will at best receive what he has asked for, and at worst acquiesce to drastic cuts that would render its slogan of “Winning the Future” utterly hollow. Yet the fact is that even if Obama wins and manages to preserve most Pell funding, students will lose: With cash-strapped states dramatically reducing the amount of support they provide for higher education, the total pool of funds looks to be shrinking precipitously, and anything short of a serious increase in federal support to fill the gap will curtail the dreams of thousands upon thousands of young Americans.
There is no aggregate figure available totaling all state-level reductions since the beginning of the financial crisis, but we do know that 43 states have made cuts to higher education since 2008, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Many of these reductions are gut-wrenching: In Michigan, where state financial aid plummeted by $135 million—or over 60 percent—in the FY2011 budget. Missouri’s FY2011 budget will cut need-based aid by about 60 percent. In Iowa, spending on public universities dropped 20 percent, or $141 million, in the last two years.
In a budget bind, state legislators have long known they can hack at post-secondary education more than other services, because tuition hikes usually cover the funding gap. “It’s basically a way of raising taxes without getting dinged for it,” says Kevin Carey, a researcher Education Sector, a think tank. Sure enough, tuition at Florida’s eleven public universities has increased by 32 percent in the past two years, while the vaunted University of California has also hiked its tuition by 32 percent since the middle of the 2009–2010 school year. Many others have followed suit.
Indeed, with soaring education costs, the maximum Pell grant does less to help students afford college than it did in 1990. (It currently covers just 34 percent of tuition, fees, room, and board at public four-year colleges, according to the College Board, compared to 45 percent two decades ago.) In these conditions, there is an urgent need for more federal help for disadvantaged students—not less. The administration hopes to tie the maximum Pell grant to the Consumer Price Index between 2013 and 2017, which would amount to an estimated $425 bump, but at this point, that’s simply a wish-list item to be determined largely by future Congresses. (Paul Ryan, who will probably still chair the House Budget Committee during negotiations over spending for 2013, has just announced that he supports dramatic cuts.)
And reductions in education funding have real consequences. According to Sara Goldrick-Rab, who has seen the effects of Pell grants first-hand as Co-Director of the Wisconsin Scholars Longitudinal Study—which tracked 3,000 Pell grant recipients for the past three years—grants like these often make the difference between a college education and dropping out. “I have kids in my study who have parents taking on two or three jobs. I also have kids who are taking on two or three jobs. They are skipping breakfast,” she said. “And they’re getting a Pell, and taking away the Pell is going to make continuing in college impossible.”

NIMS-INTELLECTURE-2011 SYMPOSIUM was concluded successfully by active participation

2011-04-07T01:07:00.001-07:00

NIMS-INTELLECTURE-2011 SYMPOSIUM was concluded successfully by active participation

Netaji Subhash Institute of Management Sciences believes that faculty is the principal driver of change through their direct involvement in every aspect of the Institute: Academics, Governance, Research, and Consultancy. To further empower them in knowledge, NIMS initiated the concept of Intellecture-Faculty Seminar Forum. It aims at enhancing the academic and intellectual environment in the Institution by providing faculty members with enough opportunities to pursue research and also to participate in seminars / conferences / workshops. The first major event under this forum, NIMS-INTELLECTURE-2011 SYMPOSIUM, Innovative Management Strategies, took place on the 30th of March, 2011, Wednesday in the NIMS campus.Eminent guests from the corporate and the academic arena graced the occasion and manifolded the intellectual worthiness of this event. Prof Steve Rawlinson, President, JRE group of institutions at Raffles Education Corporation/Educomp,India was the chief guest. Dr K.L Chawla , PGP Chairperson , Fore School of Management was the Guest of Honour. Prof K. V Krishnamurthy was invited as a special guest. Along with Dr D.K. Batra, Director, NIMS and Prof. P.C. Chhabra, Head Academics, NIMS, everyone shared their wisdom with the participants and audience. Through the day’s events, presentations were held under three different sessions which were chaired by eminent corporate guests who evaluated the presentations on various parameters.Dr. Tarun Panwar, CEO , Indian Retail School; Dr Ravikesh Srivastava , Dean, Galgotias Business School chaired the sessions along with the Chief guest, Professor Steve and the special guest Prof. Krishnamurthy.The symposium was concluded successfully by a valedictory speech by Mr A.K. Puri, Director General, ITS Group.

Various colleges and corporates from across Delhi participated in the NIMS Intellecture 2011 Symposium with a lot of innovative management strategies to share. Professors from nine colleges and institutes across Delhi & NCR , namely , Lady Irwin college, Delhi University; Bhartiya Vidyapeeth; Bhagwan Parshuram Institute of Technology; Guru Nanak Institute of Management(GNIM); ICFAI , Delhi ; JIMS Rohini; ITS Ghaziabad; Delhi institute of Advanced studies(DIAS) participated in the event. Research Papers and live case studies were presented in diverse areas like Sustainable Development, Branding, Work Life conflict, Event marketing ,Intrapreneurship, Employee Engagement,Total Quality Management to name a few. The first two winners namely Ms Babita Mehra from GNIM and Ms Amrinder Kaur from NIMS were rewarded with a cash prize of Rs 5000/- each. The following 11 best presentations were awarded a honorarium of Rs 1000/- each along with an opportunity to get their paper published in the special issue of the widely circulated monthly magazine of NIMS “SPOTLIGHT”.

The first international symposium organised by NIMS was certainly a benchmark in its journey of becoming a world class business school, the success of which was proved by the active participation and the involvement of one and all, inspite of the strong desire to witness the much awaited India Pakistan World Cup Semi Final.

Mumbai University yet to declare engineering exam results

2011-04-07T01:06:00.006-07:00

Mumbai University yet to declare engineering exam results

The Mumbai University has failed to declare the results of the exams for first and final year engineering students that was conducted in December, in the stipulated time. The university, by law, is supposed to announce the results within 45 days of the exams. Students who have been awaiting the results, will have practically no time to go in for re-evaluation with the next exams scheduled to begin from May 15.
First year students are awaiting the results of the first semester exams, while final year students are expecting the fifth semester exam results. One of the students, on condition of anonymity, said, “The university promised to declare the results much in advance this year, but has failed to keep the promise. If we have failed in any exam, and will have to appear for the allowed to keep term (ATKT) exams, we will not have any time to get our papers evaluated again. The process for re-evaluation itself is longer with the university.”
The Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena (MNVS) approached the controller of examination, Vilas Shinde, on Tuesday, demanding early announcement of the results. “The university decentralised the paper evaluation process and announced the BCom October exam results in a record time of 12 days. However, the process doesn’t seem to have worked for the other subjects. October exams for TYBCom were only for the repeater candidates, where there are fewer numbers of students. Engineering students are more in number,” said Sainath Durge, from MNVS.
University officials have announced that the results will be out in 10-15days. The university has also introduced an optical mark reader (OMR) for data feeding this year, which will help them reduce the time consumed for evaluation by a week. However, the system too has seemed to fail with fewer numbers of approved teachers participating in the evaluation process.
Vilas Shinde, the controller of examination, said, “The examiners have not reported for evaluation duty. Stringent action will be taken against such teachers. I am trying to get data of teachers who have not reported to work. Their details will be given to college and the colleges will have to take action against them. In the final year, only subjects like computers, information technology, electronics and telecommunication, the results are awaited. Results for the rest of the subjects are out.”

MCI plans to send doctors back to lecture halls

2011-04-07T01:06:00.005-07:00

MCI plans to send doctors back to lecture halls

New Delhi: According to new rules that will be announced by the Medical Council of India (MCI) today, doctors in India might be sent back to lecture halls to study again soon.

The MCI has planned to make it compulsory for all doctors to attend 30 hours of Continuing Medical Education (CME) after every five years, failing which, the council might suspend their registration to practice medicine.

The MCI will announce the maiden national guidelines on CME Credit Hours at the council's ethical committee meeting on Tuesday.

Papers published in "indexed national/international" medical journals will allow the authors and co-authors to CME Credit Hours. Also, doctors who are pursuing postgraduate courses such as diploma, MD, MS, DNB and DM from reputed/recognized institutions in India will receive four credit hours per year for the duration of their course.

Additional credit hours will be awarded to the doctors for participating in departmental and institutional activities such as mortality conferences, journal club meetings, etc.

The council's new rules also say that any medical associations or organizations that are caught issuing fake certificates to doctors that claim they had attended conferences will be barred.

Doctors will also be allowed to attend international conferences and will be issued CME Credit Hours only after they have submitted attendance proof.

A CME organized by a medical drug or equipment company for the promotion of its product will not be considered by the council. Also, CMEs organized by individual nursing homes, hospitals etc for the purpose of marketing will not be given any credit.

JK Lakshmipat Univ: Admissions on for MBA 2011-13 batch

2011-04-07T01:06:00.003-07:00

JK Lakshmipat Univ: Admissions on for MBA 2011-13 batch

The B-school is conducting the admission process for the two year full time residential MBA program for the academic year 2011-13
The last date to apply is Saturday, June 4, 2011. The session will commence from July 2011.
The admissions to the Institute of Management, J K Lakshmipat University, Jaipur, is currently on. The B-school is conducting the admission process for the two year full time residential MBA program for the academic year 2011-13. The number of seats for the program is 140 and the total fees is Rs. 7,90,000.
Selection Process
The candidates are shortlisted on the basis of the scores of CAT, MAT, XAT, JMET or any other equivalent State level MBA entrance exam. Those who have not appeared for any of these tests will have to take JKLU-MET to be held on Sunday, June 12, 2011.
After the candidates are shortlisted on the basis of the exam scores, the GD PI processes will be conducted by the Institute of Management, J K Lakshmipat University.
The last date to apply for the admissions is Saturday, June 4, 2011. The session will commence from July 2011.
Talking about the USP of the MBA program of J K Lakshmipat University, Dr. Upinder Dhar, Director, J K Lashmipat University mentions, “With highly experienced and qualified faculty members from the leading B-schools of the country and abroad, the university offers great promise to the future professionals.”
The institute is located in Jaipur, which according to Dr. Dhar is one of the fastest growing cities. “Apart from having a rich cultural heritage, the city is well connected to other parts of the country.”
Scholarships will be offered to 10 meritorious students of Rs. 30, 000 each. Apart from this, 14 Merit cum Means Scholarships of Rs. 50, 000 each will be given to the eligible students every year.

Institutes offer skills training to youth in Naxal affected areas

2011-04-07T01:06:00.001-07:00

Institutes offer skills training to youth in Naxal affected areas

In the summer of 2010, the International Association for Human Values (IAHV - part of Art of Living Foundation, a not-for-profit, educational and humanitarian voluntary organisation), initiated a three-month project to train young militants from Manipur in Pune. The ministry of home affairs had roped in IAHV when these militants offered to surrender.
The militants were trained in soft skills and vocational modules in cell phone, airconditioner and refrigerator repair, computer skills and electrical works. The outcome: 80 militants, including women, are now employed in companies across Pune.

Indian academic speaks on quality of education

2011-04-07T01:05:00.004-07:00

Indian academic speaks on quality of education

CONTINUOUS assessment of quality of education imparted to schoolchildren on an annual basis creates ripples and stimulates people to think and find solutions to achieve the desired result, says a leading Indian academic.
Dr Madhav Chavan, the president of PRATHAM Education Foundation, India held a meeting with education reporters as he arrived here on Sunday to participate in the national launch of the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) Pakistan 2010.
Dr Chavan said PRATHAM had launched its sixth ASER India report on Jan 14 that assessed quality of education being imparted to schoolchildren.
He said there was a common feature that people keep criticising a lack of qualitative education in schools but nobody had ever tried to see what was wrong inside the classrooms. This concept led to the conduct of ASER India to measure and identify how much was wrong inside a classroom or a school.
Underlining the factors leading to low learning outcomes of students, he said, there was no continuity of policies in India and most students were first-generation learners and they had no support or literate environment at homes.
Dr Chavan said the South Asia Forum for Education Development (SAFED) and Idara-i-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) had decided to replicate the learning outcomes concept and instead of re-inventing the wheel they adopted ASER India tools with certain changes.
He said ASER was assessing students’ learning outcomes at their homes, which was altogether different from conventional assessments in schools. He said another feature of this assessment survey was that citizens were involved to do the survey because ultimately it was also the accountability of public money spending.
Stating that assessment done by citizens themselves is considered more authentic than government’s data, he stressed that this learning outcome assessment initiative could be replicated in any country. Since the ASER India was holding survey, he said, the student enrolment ratio had risen from 92.6 per cent to 96.4 per cent.
He said the ASER India had assessed over 700,000 students (3-16 years age group) in households in 580 districts across India. In each district, he said, 30 villages were selected and 20 households in each village.
Dr Chavan also told reporters that the government was offering mid-day meals to the students in public schools up to Class-VIII because many children in India come to schools without having meals. He said malnutrition was a big issue and it was necessary to provide students hot cooked food in schools. He said the government provided all the required food material and had hired cooks.
He said there could be no magic solution to improve students’ learning but it needed to be ensured that the teachers should attend their classes regularly and impart education in a manner that their students could learn.
About curriculum, he said, it was generally misunderstood as textbooks. “Curriculum is much more than textbooks and refers that what a child is supposed to learn. Textbooks are just an aid,” he said. “There is no need to centralise the curriculum,” he said.
THE Pakistan Caucus at the Harvard Kennedy School, a student body working to promote the country’s image among the international students studying at Harvard University, visited the Lahore University of Management Sciences this past week.
The 10-member students’ delegation held a dialogue with the Provost of LUMS, Dr Zafar Iqbal Qureshi, regarding public policy issues in Pakistan.The students also interacted with the deans, faculty and the LUMS student society members and discussed how the educationists and students from both countries could collaborate to reform the education system.
A presentation on the Flood Maps, which was a recent initiative taken by Dr Sohaib Khan, was given to show that how the LUMS community was conforming to social responsibility. The purpose of the trip was to give the visitors a sense of the vibrant civil society in Pakistan and how the educationists and students at LUMS were exploring new avenues to engage in collaboration to bridge the gap between the two countries.
The six-member ‘Pakistan Caucus’ students’ delegation of Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, USA, also visited the Punjab Education Foundation. PEF’s Managing Director Mohiuddin Wani briefed the delegation on the foundation’s initiatives for the cause of providing quality education opportunities to children belonging to poor strata of society.
THE University of Engineering and Technology’s Teaching Staff Association (TSA) body for 2011 was elected unopposed last week as all contesting candidates withdrew their nomination papers.
The new elected office-bearers are: Prof Dr Muhammad Zafar Noon (president), Prof Dr Akhlaq Ahmad (vice president), Dr Muhammad Shoaib (vice president), Muhammad Burhan Sharif (secretary general), Muhammad Shoaib (joint secretary), Farhan Faisal Sheikh (social secretary) and Muhammad Amjad (treasurer).
The executive members are Dr Khurshid Aslam Bhatti, Malik Akhtar Hussain, Muhammad Arshad, Muhammad Farooq, Rakhshanda Naveed, Shaker Mahmood and Tanveer Qasim.
THE Aitchison College last week won the All-Punjab Quiz Competition 2011 hosted by the Ravians Quiz Society at Bokhari Auditorium. The contest was participated in by delegates from 19 educational institutions from across the province.
The Military College, Jhelum bagged second position and the Services Institute of Medical Sciences third position.
Chief guest Nasira Javed Iqbal lauded the students for their knowledge, saying hard work and sincerity would pay in future.
THE Lahore College for Women University won the Persian essay-writing competition and obtained second position in verse recitation competition under the auspices of the Iranian Cultural Centre, Lahore.
As many as 16 institutions including the Punjab University, the Government College University and the Kinnaird College participated in the competition.
LCWU lecturer Faleeha Kazmi says varsity’s student Maria Umar won the trophy and cash prize in the essay competition. Fiza Batool and Kainaat Azhar were awarded with certificates and cash prizes for their second position in verse recitation.
Chief guest Iqbal Salahuddin, the grandson of Allama Iqbal, presented prizes. Iranian Cultural Centre, Lahore, Director-General Abbas Ali Famoori said Persian was the common asset of Pakistan and Iran.

IMI Opens New Windows of Opportunity in the Eastern Region

2011-04-07T01:05:00.003-07:00

IMI Opens New Windows of Opportunity in the Eastern Region

Good news is in store for B-school aspirants from Eastern India. With two new International Management Institute (IMI) campuses ready for admissions in Bhubaneswar, Orissa and Kolkata, West Bengal? students from the Eastern region will be able to rece

Good news is in store for B-school aspirants from Eastern India. With two new International Management Institute (IMI) campuses ready for admissions in Bhubaneswar, Orissa and Kolkata, West Bengal? students from the Eastern region will be able to receive international-quality management education ? virtually at their door steps and will not have to travel to other parts of the country in search of quality education. All this is in keeping with IMI?s aspiration to scale new heights as one of the top-notch business school in the Asia-Pacific region.

The current move is expected to offset the huge imbalance in the demand and supply of quality management education in the eastern belt. As things stand today, most good b-schools are concentrated in north and west India. But if you look east, there?s nothing in Orissa apart from XIM Bhubaneswar. Similarly in Kolkata, there?s nothing of the stature of IIM Calcutta. Slightly northwards, there?s XLRI Jamshedpur which is top quality. But that?s about it. As a result there exists a wide gap which these two institutions expect to fulfill.

Brand IMI is one of the foremost management institutions of India, promoted by the Rs 17000 crore RPG Group having diverse business interests. IMI?s vision is to be recognized as world-class business school, achieving excellence in management education and research through continuous competency building.

IMI?s journey towards excellence began with the establishment of the first campus in New Delhi in collaboration with IMI Geneva (now IMD, Lausanne) in 1981. Over the last 30 odd years IMI has made a mark for itself among the leading management institutions. It is indeed a matter of pride for the IMI family that IMI Delhi is ranked 14 overall (including IIMs) and 3rd in intellectual capital among India?s Best B-school survey published by Business World (June 28, 2010). Today IMI is India?s first corporate sponsored Business School with sponsorship from corporate houses like RPG Enterprises, Williamson Magor, Nestle, ITC, Tata Chemicals, BOC, etc.

IMIs USP lies in its industry-oriented curriculum and international standard curricula developed in collaboration with reputed academic institutions like International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Faculty of Management, McGill University, Montreal, and Manchester Business School, U.K. IMI Delhi?s educational programs have been recognized by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India. In addition, IMI Delhi has also received national level accreditation from NBA (National Board of Accreditation) and international level accreditation from SAQS (South Asia Quality Systems). The management programmes of IMI are designed to enable young professionals to develop both intellectual as well as perceptive skills as future managers. The underlying philosophy behind this revolves around the notion that world-class business leaders are not mass-produced; they are customized and developed in an atmosphere conducive to learning and knowledge creation.

As the new feathers in IMI?s cap - IMI Bhubaneswar and IMI Kolkata will be offering best international-standard management education. Both the institutes would be offering PGDM programs based on Industry-oriented curriculum. The overall aim is to groom students for immediate employability as well as develop cutting-edge course curriculum and specialized research programmes and other activities of the Institute in collaboration with Industry partners. Both the institutions would like to be known as international-level centres of excellence in learning ? focusing on teaching and research in the field of management in sync with the fast changing interconnected world.

Both IMI Kolkata & IMI Bhubaneswar campuses are ready. And if all goes well the IMI authorities expect to be in a position to run regular PGDM programme from July 2011 after formal approval from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), which is expected in May 2011. Meanwhile applications have started pouring in from prospective candidates.

IMI Kolkata, located in Alipore, a posh locality in the city, which is the largest metropolis of Eastern India, plans to collaborate with top business schools of the world. It has already entered into an arrangement with the Oxford Institute of Retail Management (OXIRM), which is a part of the Said Business School, Oxford University, for joint research in the sphere of retail management.

IMI Bhubaneswar, located in one of the fastest growing metropolis of Eastern India, with its 16 acre Campus, promises to write its own saga of excellence. It has by far the largest campus in the IMI family. The IMI Kolkata campus has an area of 3 acres. The IMI Delhi campus also has an area of 3 acres.

Both the campuses have world-class facilities that stimulate interactive learning with separate academic and residential blocks. The academic block features lecture theatres, faculty offices, administrative offices, meeting rooms and auditoriums that can house up to 300 students. The residential blocks are equipped with wi-fi and can accommodate about 400 students in the campus.

Both IMI-B and IMI-K have completed recruitment of the first batch of faculty members.

Once selected, finances should not be a problem for the IMI students as tie-ups for bank loans will be available.

Each of the new IMIs will have independent directors with the board of governors having a number of common members including the Chairman, Mr. Sanjiv Goenka. In terms of governance, these schools will be independent b-schools.

About International Management Institute

International Management Institute (IMI) is one of the most reputed and fastest growing brands in the business school segment in the Asia-Pacific region. Its mission is to develop outstanding managerial talent capable of providing enlightened and effective leadership as well as further the advancement of knowledge in the field of management by undertaking relevant research programmes and to collaborate with counterpart institutions, industry and government in the development and application of new knowledge for the benefit of society.

IMI Areas of Strength:

-- India?s first corporate sponsored Business School with sponsorship from corporate houses like RPG Enterprises, Williamson Magor, Nestle, ITC, Tata Chemicals, BOC, etc.
-- Recognized by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India.
-- Received national level accreditation from NBA (National Board of Accreditation) and international level accreditation from SAQS (South Asia Quality Systems).
-- Empanelled by the Ministry of External Affairs, GOI, for special Technical Cooperation Programme under which the Institute gets executive MBA students on a GOI scholarship from various developing countries across the world for its 15 months Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management.
-- IMI Delhi is ranked 14 overall (including IIMs) and 3rd in intellectual capital among India?s Best B-school survey published by Business World (June 28, 2010).

IIMs against new government reforms

2011-04-07T01:05:00.001-07:00

IIMs against new government reforms

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) faculty, unconvinced by the government's assurances, has decided to make public their concerns over a series of reforms that had been proposed by the government.

The IIMs are concerned that the proposed reforms will lead the privatization of the IIMs.

On Monday, IIM-Calcutta published a detailed criticism of the government's proposed reforms on its official website. This had been done only 48 hours after Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal had clarified that the reforms would not involve privatization of the prestigious management institutes.

It had been recommended by a panel of the HRD ministry under Maruti Chairman R.C. Bhargava that industrial houses can gain seats in the managing society of an IIM for five years in exchange for a donation of Rs.20 crore.

Individuals and alumni too can gain seats on the IIM societies by giving donations worth Rs.5 crore under the proposals of the panel.

However, it is being argued by the faculty that if the recommendations of the Bhargava panel are implemented, it might lead to the reigns of the IIMs being placed in the hands of private donors.

IIM-C board chairman against privatisation

2011-04-07T01:04:00.002-07:00

IIM-C board chairman against privatisation

KOLKATA: Indian Institute of Management Calcutta ( IIMC) is against the privatisation of IIMs but welcomes corporate contributions to generate resources for new IIMs, the institute's board of governors' chairman Ajit Balakrishnan said on Saturday evening. He was speaking on the sidelines of the institute's 46th convocation.
"We favour corporate contributions for new IIMs as they may not be in a position to generate resources adequately in the initial years," said Balakrishnan. "But privatisation is a no-no." A few days ago, Union human resource development minister Kapil Sibal had ruled out privatisation of IIMs at IIM Bangalore's convocation, amid speculation on the issue after a proposal by a committee constituted by the HRD ministry.

IIMA study says MBAs need to look beyond mgmt

2011-04-07T01:04:00.001-07:00

IIMA study says MBAs need to look beyond mgmt

Do you think studying at a top management college enables you to learn handling financial crisis in a real life situation? While your college authorities may claim so, a study by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) has concluded that in order to make an MBA graduate competent to handle real life crises, a typical MBA programme needs to integrate insights from other disciplines also.
'Finance Teaching and Research after the Global Financial Crisis,' the study conducted by the IIMA, suggests that to teach students to handle or avert financial crisis, an MBA programme needs to integrate insights from disciplines like sociology, evolutionary biology, neurosciences, financial history and the multidisciplinary field of networks theory.
IIM-A Prof Jayant Varma, who undertook the study, observed that typical MBA programmes have failed to keep pace with the developments in finance theories in the last decade or more. Therefore, they need to be more comprehensive now.
"Finance theory itself is constantly evolving and needs to draw on insights from several other disciplines to enrich itself. Behavioural finance has succeeded in integrating several models from psychology into mainstream finance, but the global crisis has demonstrated that many phenomena have their roots in sociological factors," Prof Varma said.
Professor Varma says that apart from sociology, finance must learn from evolutionary biology, neurosciences, financial history and the multidisciplinary field of network theory. "Above all, the increasingly complex world of finance needs more sophisticated mathematical models and statistical tools," he adds.
The professor insists that financial history should be made part of the MBA programme where history of around 100 years is taught. "Financial history provides vital inputs in econometric procedures. Since high quality data do not usually go back to more than a few decades, we cannot fit econometric models directly to centuries of data," he says.
"However," Prof Varma adds, "it is not sensible to limit the estimation process to only the limited sample duration that is available. We need to favour robust models that are qualitatively consistent with decades if not centuries of historical experience. Such models should not only provide a good fit to the high quality data of the recent past, but also allow us to extrapolate far beyond recent experience."
The study states that a lot needs to be changed in finance teaching and finance theory is also due for some changes.Many ideas that are well understood within certain subfields in finance need to be better assimilated into mainstream models. For example, many concepts in market microstructure must become part of the core tool kit of finance, suggests the paper.

IIM Calcutta faculty rejects proposal to restructure IIMs

2011-04-07T01:03:00.000-07:00

IIM Calcutta faculty rejects proposal to restructure IIMs

The faculty of IIM-C has expressed their angst on 'IIM Governance' and 'Faculty & Research at the IIMs' reports that were submitted to the HRD Ministry
On March 31, 2011, Mr. Kapil Sibal speaking at IIM-B had clarified that the reforms were not aimed at privatization.

The faculty of Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C) has expressed their angst on ‘IIM Governance’ and ‘Faculty and Research at the IIMs’ reports that were submitted to the HRD Ministry in October 2010.
The IIM-C faculty have gone public with their thoughts on the reports submitted by HRD ministry panel under Maruti Chairman RC Bhargava. The ‘Position Paper’ prepared by the IIM-C faculty has been published on the IIM-C official site: http://www.iimcal.ac.in/IIMC-Restructuring-Position-Paper.pdf
“Not convinced by government assurances, the IIM faculty decided to take their concerns on the series of proposed reforms to the public,” said a faculty member who did not wish to be named.
There are concerns that the reforms would effectively lead to the privatisation of the IIMs. On March 31, 2011, Mr. Kapil Sibal speaking at IIM-B had clarified that the reforms were not aimed at privatization.
The faculty have totally rejected the proposals that are part of the two reports. The faculty have been irked especially by the following proposals that: Allow firms, individuals to pay donations and earn seats on IIM managing societies; Stipulates each faculty member teaches a minimum of 160 hrs.
An HRD ministry panel under Maruti Chairman RC Bhargava has recommended that industrial houses gain seats in the managing society of an IIM for five years in exchange for a donation of Rs20 crore. Individuals and alumni can also gain seats on the societies for donations worth Rs5 crore under the panel proposals.
But faculty are arguing that the Bhargava panel’s recommendation may place the reins of the IIMs in the hands of the private donors. “The proposed process of enlightened ownership would destroy the reputation built by IIMs over the last fifty years,” the faculty document argues.
The faculty claims that in the backdrop of the recommendations, the Bhargava Committee shows a clear bias for a unicameral system of governance that empowers the board and the director to control the institute.
The faculty have also been irked as MHRD, Bhargava and Balakrishnan committees made no attempt to include the IIM faculty in their deliberations.
The Position Paper by the IIM-C faculty summarises its concerns in the following manner:

“We are concerned that the current set of proposals is impelled by a faulty logic of control and endangers our academic freedom that has been carefully created through years of practice. Instead, we urge the government to be driven by processes that create and foster scholarship. There is enough learning to emerge from our past experiences and from practices in institutions of academic excellence across the world. With a more democratic, inclusive, and dialogical approach on current and future challenges, we can together move forward to truly make IIMs world class institutions.”

The teachers have in their ‘position paper’ also proposed alternative reforms. The IIM Calcutta faculty protest will heat up the battle over the future roadmap for the IIMs.

Hoping for a bright future

2011-04-06T03:25:00.003-07:00

Hoping for a bright future

The jubilant smiles on the faces of the final-year students of St. Joseph's College of Engineering were in anticipation of a bright future as they received their placement orders on Tuesday.
A total of 839 students got the orders at ‘Conquista '11', a programme organised in the college. Cognizant, Wipro, HCL and L&T were among the bulk recruiters. All the offers were through the campus recruitment process of the college.
“This is a dream offer I have in hand, after going through a rigorous screening process. I am placed with a top-notch company that will provide opportunities to bring out the best in me,” said Bina Ratna Devavaran, an Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) student who was selected by Wipro.
Speaking on the occasion, Ramkumar.R, vice-president, corporate marketing of Cognizant, said: “At a juncture when India is poised for economic growth and emerging as an important destination for business, it is a great opportunity for individuals to enter the corporate world.”
On the need for organisations to join social networking sites, he said “The present generation places little distinction between the physical and virtual world. It is also important for the corporate sector to recognise this and provide tools and gadgets for social computing to make the employees more productive.”
R. Srinivas, Assistant General Manager, Ashok Leyland, emphasised the importance of process orientation and time management for students to adapt to the corporate world after college.
St. Joseph's College of Engineering director B. Babu Manoharan and principal Jolly Abraham were present. Many of the students also received awards for their performance in academics and sports.

Harvard Business Publishing to distribute IIM Bangalore Cases

2011-04-06T03:25:00.001-07:00

Harvard Business Publishing to distribute IIM Bangalore Cases

Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) and the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) announced on April 5, 2011, the signing of a Distribution Agreement
As a consequence, Harvard Business Publishing will distribute a collection of teaching cases developed by the faculty of IIM Bangalore for an initial period of three years.
Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) and the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) announced on April 5, 2011, the signing of a Distribution Agreement, the first of its kind between HBP and a top league B-School in India.
As a consequence, Harvard Business Publishing will distribute a collection of teaching cases developed by the faculty of IIM Bangalore for an initial period of three years. IIMB joins a select group of business schools such as the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, and the Darden School of Business that also distribute their cases through HBP.
On the occasion of the signing of the distribution agreement, Professor Pankaj Chandra, Director, IIMB said, “The partnership with Harvard Business Publishing is a significant milestone in the Institute’s journey to achieve its long-term vision of establishing itself as a global centre of management research and education. The occasion marks the recognition of the relevant and in-depth research being carried out by faculty at IIMB. We have consciously invested in research-based publication, and this agreement will add impetus to our efforts in this area.”
Vinay Hebbar, Managing Director of Harvard Business Publishing in India said, “We are pleased to offer cases from a leading Indian b-school, like IIM-Bangalore, to our community of educators globally. This is consistent with Harvard Business Publishing’s endeavour to source quality content, ideas, and research from India and bring it to our audiences in India and worldwide.”
Maureen Betses, Vice-President of Higher Education for HBP in Boston, said, “For quite some time we have hoped to distribute a collection of cases from a renowned Indian business school. The IIMB cases are a great addition to our catalog and will be popular with educators who come to us for high-quality course materials.”
HBP will immediately start by distributing 12 cases and their associated Teaching Notes, which have been developed by the IIMB faculty. IIMB plans to add 24 new cases to the IIMB case collection every year.
Professor U Dinesh Kumar, Chairperson, Research and Publications, IIMB said, ”IIMB has worked closely with Harvard Business Publishing for over a year now, and our cases meet the exacting standards set by them. HBP and IIMB will continue to work together to further improve the quality and style of the cases that we are developing. IIMB will be happy to share its experience and knowledge with the Indian academic fraternity and to contribute to the development of India-based cases and teaching aids.”

Govt sticks to HEC devolution plan

2011-04-06T03:24:00.002-07:00

Govt sticks to HEC devolution plan

ISLAMABAD: The government has refused to listen to the increasing voices against devolution of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) under the 18th amendment, although the institution had played a major role in improving university education over the last one decade.
Since the announcement of the HEC`s devolution plan by the Chairman, Parliamentary Commission on the Implementation of 18th amendment, Senator Raza Rabbani in the last week of March, the academicians have largely been opposing the decision.
Besides protest demonstrations by the HEC scholars and students of local universities against the government decision, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) also joined the chorus, asking the ruling PPP to take back its earlier verdict on the future of the commission.
According to the HEC officials, the status of the commission which is an autonomous body is very much protected under the 18th amendment in its fourth schedule. Officials of the HEC say key provisions covered under the federal legislative list of the new amendment have direct link to the higher education sector of the country. Hence the HEC could not be devolved to provinces as announced by Senator Rabbani.
These key provisions are: (a) all regulatory authorities established under a federal law (b) national planning and national economic coordination of scientific and technological research (c) legal, medical and other professions (d) standards in institutions for higher education and research, scientific and technical institutions (e) inter-provincial matters and coordination.
Whereas, according to Rabbani, under the 18th amendment, HEC stands dissolved to the provinces and it is a just matter of a formal issuance of the notification to this effect.
He said the HEC act would be revisited and reframed in the aftermath of the 18th amendment.
The 18th amendment has given the eight-member implementation commission the powers to issue orders, undertake proceedings and make amendments to regulations, enactments, notifications, rules or orders as may be necessary.
According to Senator Rabbani, a separate commission would be constituted under the cabinet division to look after verifications of degrees with no role of whatsoever as a funding agency, like the HEC had been doing in the past.
Talking to Dawn, HEC`s top bosses said when first news about the HEC`s devolution under the new amendment broke, they had a detailed discussion with the authorities concerned who assured that the commission would not be disturbed.
They said, of late, when they came to know about the implementation commission`s final decision on the status of the HEC, they had another meeting with Mr Raza Rabbani led commission and again briefed them about perils that would entail for university education in the country following HEC removal from the national scene.
However, they said, despite best efforts, they failed to convince Senator Rabbani led commission about the importance of the HEC in improving the level of university`s education.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Ahsan Iqbal, chief spokesperson for the PML-N termed the decision of devolving the HEC as an irreparable loss to the university education and research in the country. “It the federal government does not take back its decision, people will perceive it a revengeful act by the ruling party against the commission for taking an independent stand on the issue of verification of lawmakers` degrees”, said Mr Iqbal.
Mr Iqbal, who was also member of the 27-member parliamentary committee which recommended 18th Amendment, said the PML-N had submitted a dissent note on the issue of devolution of education ministry to the provinces. He said in all federations of the world, education remained a centralized department therefore the government should reconsider its decision of HEC`s devolution.
In the Senate on Tuesday, opposition leader, Senator Wasim Sajjad of the PML-Q while moving a bill for the amendment to bring back education ministry under the federal control, said every wrong could be rectified. “If we have made a mistake in devolving education ministry to the provinces, it can definitely be rectified,” said Senator Sajjad.

Educational Testing Service launches customer support centre for TOEFL test takers

2011-04-06T03:24:00.001-07:00

Educational Testing Service launches customer support centre for TOEFL test takers

Kolkata, Apr 5: Educational Testing Service (ETS) has announced a new toll-free customer support centre to serve TOEFL test takers in India.

The TOEFL India Customer Support Centre offers guidance and timely information for students regarding the TOEFL test.

The new centre is accessible by phone toll-free directly from India at 000-800-100-3780.

In addition, student inquiries can be sent via e-mail to TOEFLsupport4India@ets.org.

The centre is available to assist students with identifying test preparation materials, locating test centers, obtaining their score reports, ordering additional score reports and other pre or post administration inquiries.

''We are pleased to announce the TOEFL India Customer Support Center to support the growing number of TOEFL test takers,'' Executive Director of the TOEFL Programme Teresa Sanchez-Lazer said.

''The customer support centre is a resource uniquely designed to assist and support Indian students during the TOEFL testing process.

India continues to be in the top five countries with the highest number of TOEFL test takers.

''We are committed to developing new resources, such as the customer support center, to make the process easier and more efficient for students in India,'' she added.

The TOEFL test is the most-widely accepted English language assessment in the world, recognised by more than 7,500 colleges and Universities in more than 130 countries.

Globally, the TOEFL test is available at more than 4,500 testing sites in more than 165 countries.

To date, more than 25 million students around the globe have taken the TOEFL test.

EDI grads promise Swayam to give back to society

2011-04-06T03:23:00.002-07:00

EDI grads promise Swayam to give back to society

During the 12th convocation celebrations at the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI), as students got ready to bid adieu to their institution and faculty, Ashish Kumar Jha, a graduating student himself, set the ball rolling for his social enterprise, Swayam.
Jha from Madhubani district, Bihar, chose this grand occasion to get his very own social enterprise inaugurated by deputy governor, Reserve Bank of India, Dr KC Chakrabarty, RM Malla, president of EDI & chairman of IDBI and Dinesh Awasthi, director of EDI.
"Although I have been brought up in Delhi, I have always wanted to give back to my home town and hence I started this venture, Swayam, which deals in hand-made cards, corporate gifting and handicrafts. I started this venture with an approximate budget of Rs4 lakh and intend to break even within 6 months," Jha explained.
Jha further said, "I have also designed products for Indian youth - calledTanishtha. My products will display a lot of Madhubani work while my friends and other students from NIFT would be assisting me with the overall design of the products."
Jha also aims to export these products. According to him, most exporters are unaware about the changing patterns of handicrafts and therefore he intends to educate the exporters on the pattern change.
Students of Post Graduate Diploma in Management - Business Entrepreneurship (PGDMBE) and Post Graduate Diploma in Management of NGOs received their diplomas from Dr Chakrabarty and Malla.
In all 74 students were awarded diplomas, of which 58 were from PGDMBE, 31 from New Enterprise Creation, 17 from Family Business Management, 10 from Services Management and 16 from Management of NGOs.
However, while all of these students had opted for an entrepreneurship course, 14 have opted for placements in companies in order to have a feel of the corporate sector before venturing into their own businesses. Ramkrishna Mistry, placement cell officer and faculty at EDI said, "The highest package offered was by an international firm, of UAE 5000 dinars per annum, which turns out to be around Rs7 lakh per annum and the average salary offered was approximately Rs3 lakh."

Dr. Nirupam Bajpai shares mantras for sustainable development

2011-04-06T03:23:00.001-07:00

Dr. Nirupam Bajpai shares mantras for sustainable development

Dr. Bajpai is Senior Development Advisor & Director, SAP, Center on Globalization & Sustainable Development, The Earth Institute at Columbia University
The days of American glory are now behind. The seeds of this downfall were sown in 1980 with President Ronald Reagan's idea of Reaganomics: Dr. Nirupam Bajpai

Dr. Nirupam Bajpai, Senior Development Advisor & Director, South Asian Program, Center on Globalization & Sustainable Development, The Earth Institute at Columbia University, New York, USA, was at BIMTECH on 3rd April 2011, to interact with the students and faculty on the theme “India and China in the Global Economy”.
Dr. Bajpai began his discourse with some broad but insightful remarks on Indians and India’s development story. “Solution is there for all problems; what is missing is action on ground. Indians are not good team players, especially in public policy. There is a lack of attention to rural sector. If the policy is not right, the investment will not be right,” said Dr. Bajpai.
Since 2004, Dr. Bajpai has been an economic advisor to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and many of his Cabinet ministers. He has also been an economic advisor to the former Prime Minister Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and several of his Cabinet ministers.
According to him, the ideas that he takes to the Prime Minister and his Ministers, are the outcome of his learnings from villages and the rural sector.
In his global overview, he began by commenting that the US economy was on a decline and there was no revival in sight. He remarked, “The days of American glory are now behind. The seeds of this downfall were sown in 1980 with President Ronald Reagan’s idea of Reaganomics, which propagated privatization and deregulations. The subsequent presidents- George Bush, Sr. (1988-92), Bill Clinton (1992-2000), George Bush, Jr. (2000-08), also did not focus much on economy.”
US economy is not in good shape, opined Dr. Bajpai, and with the rising of China and India, it is becoming worse for them.
Touching upon China, Dr. Bajpai informed that there were only two countries in the world that began with economic reforms without any preceding economic crisis- China and South Korea. Agricultural reforms were initiated in China in 1978; but, did not work for the lack of a clear political ideology. However, one smart move of locating SEZs in the coastal areas, where nobody would, normally, prefer to live owing to very tough condition, made China the “world factory” manufacturing even furniture for US homes. As a result, it not only witnessed an export-led double-digit economic growth rate, but also became engine of global economy. At the same time, China faces two major challenges: political reforms and climate change, according to Dr. Bajpai.

Talking about Sub-Saharan Africa, countries like Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, Dr. Bajpai remarked that they were very poor, and 45-50 years behind India in development. It is like India was before Green revolution. More than 400 (out of every 1,000) women die during child birth. They depend on the rest of the world for practically everything.

“It is a very sad story. The world has not paid enough attention and much more is required than what is being done,” said Dr. Bajpai.

Coming back to India, Dr. Bajpai referred to the 1991 initiative to open up the economy taken by the then Finance Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, which led to a surge in growth, especially in IT and Telecom. He also stated the following three as the main challenges facing the country today:
1. How to sustain the high growth rate for the next 25 years;
2. How to ensure that the growth was inclusive- benefiting the bottom 20%; e.g., there is a need for 16m jobs p.a., but we are doing only 2m. The private sector must be given the right climate to create jobs. But, the difficulty could be because the labor laws were under State governments; and
3. Planning and managing climate change.
Further, Dr. Bajpai referred to Public Health and Education as the two most critical areas needing proper attention and timely action. According to him, “We have neglected Public Health. There are hardly any schools, except for Dr. Shreenath Reddy’s Public Health Foundation of India. Similarly, enough attention has not been paid to primary education in India but education cess of 2% is one definite action.”
According to Dr. Bajpai, what was needed was “political awakening”. In the next one decade or so, “action on the ground” would make all the difference. Growth in the next 35-40 years would help emerge a different India, wherein the social side would be very important. Investment in clean water and immunization would be saving spending on Public Health with lesser number of Public Health Centres required.

In the QA session, quite a few questions were asked by the students. One after the other, the questions kept coming in a buzz. These questions ranged from implementation of the existing public policies to how students could make a difference in the management of the public and social sector. One of the questions pointed out that how despite having the adequate resources; the objective of public health professionals was still not being fulfilled. Dr Bajpai gave a comprehensive answer how the problem was not resources but the actual utilization of these resources. He also explained with references to the ‘barefoot doctors’ of China. Finally, according to Dr. Bajpai, what India needs the most at the moment is “collective thinking”, “political will’ and “performance orientation”.

Distance MBA: Bridging the gap (Part 1)

2011-04-06T03:22:00.002-07:00

Distance MBA: Bridging the gap (Part 1)

Are you a working professional devoid of an MBA? Do you feel low for not earning enough green bucks at the end of every month? Here is how we help you to get closer to your MBA dream, by providing a detailed review of distance MBA.

WHAT IF you are a busy working professional who just cannot afford to attend the daily classes in brick and mortar classrooms? Then quality Distance MBA is what you can rely upon.

We have explored in depth the various facets of Distance MBA in this three part series. Here is the first one, bringing to you an overview of the basic elements encompassed by distance MBA, and that how it is different from a regular MBA, including the views of the experts whom we exclusively interviewed.

What is Distance MBA?

Imparting the essentials of management without the physical boundaries of a classroom, at a time feasible to the schedule of the students is the basic concept behind the correspondence MBA. “Distance Learning in MBA lends flexibility and convenience to the distance MBA takers. They get an option to learn online while doing their jobs.” says Anand Sudarshan, MD & CEO, Sikkim Manipal University-Distance Education.

For Whom?

At the same time, it’s a well known fact that without learning the basic concepts behind management and mastering the skills of decision making, financial analysis, interpersonal relationships etc. associated with it, their career will grow at a turtle pace.

Also, distance MBA proves to be a boon for those who cannot find access to the B School campuses for their own reasons.

Generally, the ones opting for MBA through Distance Learning are those who are already working with an organization and want MBA to enhance their efficiency.

Distance Learning MBA vs. Regular MBA

Distance Learning MBA degree differs from a regular MBA in that it is earned through a college or university with a distance learning format. Students who enroll in an online degree program do not attend classes at a brick and mortar school; rather, they receive assignments through an interactive web-based portal and complete required work as per their own convenience.

Though compared to regular MBA, the enrollment ratio in Distance MBA lags much behind. “In India the inclination towards distance learning is still low as distance learning is in growth phase in India. Though it is growing at the rate of 30 per cent per annum,” states Dr. Kamal Singh. Director, AIMA-CDL.

As far as the course curriculum of Distance MBA is concerned; the institutions offering distance education claim it to be at par with that of regular MBA.

Advantage Distance MBA

Regular MBA candidates might scorn at the idea of distance MBA education, but such MBA has its own set of target students. The USP of distance education MBA lies in the fact that it provides job-oriented knowledge that can be immediately practiced as one works alongside. Distance MBA allows you to enjoy the comfort of learning from your home, at a time which is most convenient for you and doesn’t interfere with your busy work schedule.

“One of the major advantages of distance learning programs offered by us is an AICTE approved PGDM/PGDITM degree. Students may take the course anywhere in India with wide network of study centers. They get well-recognized degree at comfortable fee structure,” tells Dr. Singh of AIMA – CME.

Hence, distance education proves to be an icing on the cake for those who are already working professionals, as adding an MBA degree can enhance their skills multifold and also guarantee a thicker pay package.

In our next article, we will extend our research to the different key players offering distance MBA, and compare the programs and pedagogy offered by them. So, stay tuned.

Aus education industry witnesses drop in foreign students

2011-04-06T03:22:00.001-07:00

Aus education industry witnesses drop in foreign students

Australian instititions have witnessed a 30 per cent drop in enrolment by Indian students while total admissions by overseas students decreased by 2.5 per cent during February this year as compared to the same period last year.
Melbourne, Apr 6 (PTI) Australian instititions have witnessed a 30 per cent drop in enrolment by Indian students while total admissions by overseas students decreased by 2.5 per cent during February this year as compared to the same period last year.
According to latest figures, released by Australian Education International, enrolments by Indian students across all sectors dropped 30.3 per cent during February this year but China recorded an increase of over eight per cent. Total enrollments from India stood at 45,904 this February against 65,960 last year's.
India is the second biggest market for international education, with a 12.3 per cent share, behind China on 30.5 per cent of overall education sector Down Under.
The sharp fall has been noticed as compared to the average February growth rates for enrolments since 2002 of 10 per cent per year, hitting the Australia's billion dollar international education industry. The biggest drop was witnessed in vocational courses - cooking and hairdressing - with a 21.5 per cent fall.
The sector raised concern over the rising Australian dollar which would further slump the market. The rising dollar combined with high costs of living in capital cities would make it more difficult to persuade potential students to choose Australia, Simon Marginson of Centre for Study of Higher Education at Melbourne University was qouted as saying by ''The Age''.
"Because of the cost of living and housing you would find there would be places in Australia that are more expensive than the US," he said. The change in visa rules by Federal government last year is a bigger problem than the rising dollar, Marginson said, but that the two combined would cause a lot of potential students to look elsewhere.
China, one of Australia''s largest source markets for international students, would look to places such as the US and Canada if problems surrounding visa processing were not fixed, he said.
"The US has a prestige advantage and if the cost trend is working against us and the US retains its prestige advantage, then that makes things difficult for us." Universities Australia chief Glenn Withers expects the slump to continue through 2011 and into the future
. He said the problem had been caused by visa changes, the rising dollar, aggressive competition in the international student market and image problems including the recent attacks on international students.

AKGIM Ghaziabad offering merit scholarships of Rs. 5 Lakh

2011-04-06T03:21:00.004-07:00

AKGIM Ghaziabad offering merit scholarships of Rs. 5 Lakh

Ajay Kumar Garg Institute of Management, Ghaziabad, which offers PGDM program, is conducting admission process for the academic year 2011-13.
The number of seats in Ajay Kumar Garg Institute of Management, Ghaziabad is 120. The fee for the institute is Rs. 5 Lakh.

Ajay Kumar Garg Institute of Management, Ghaziabad, which offers PGDM program, is conducting admission process for the academic year 2011-13.
The program is AICTE approved. The last date to apply is May 15, 2011.
The candidates will be shortlisted on the basis of the scores of CAT, MAT or XAT. The shortlisted candidates will have to appear for Group Discussion and Personal Interview processes.
The number of seats in Ajay Kumar Garg Institute of Management, Ghaziabad is 120. The fee for the institute is Rs. 5 Lakh. The last date to apply for Admission 2011 is May 15, 2011. The session will commence from July 2011.
Talking about the unique feature of the MBA institute, Dr. Rajiv R Thakur, Director, Ajay Kumar Garg Institute of Management said, “The USP of our institute is practice-oriented learning, contextual to business as well as the society. Curriculum design, pedagogy, activity orientation, and a closer industry interface.”
Based on the merit of the students, the students of AKGIM are given scholarships of Rs. 5 Lakh under the CSR initiative of the institute. The MBA institute also facilitates loans for the students with local branches of Bank of Baroda and State Bank of India.
“This is perhaps one and only scholarship of its kind offered by any institute in India. The students have to register themselves free of cost on AKGIM website www.akgim.edu.in and submit certain information based on which the merit list shall be drawn up. All the details regarding, parameters, scores, registration are available on the website,” said Dr. Thakur.
Dr. Thakur also mentioned that in order to promote merit and quality intake, AKGIM also offers scholarships up to Rs. 1 Lakh for B. Tech and non-B.Tech students joining the PGDM program of AKGIM.
The B-School is located in Ghaziabad and it has its own advantage. “The B-school has all the advantages associated with Delhi NCR, namely, industrial hubs like Ghaziabad, NOIDA, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Meerut, Moradabad, Hapur and beyond, high quality industry practitioners and eminent faculty pool, melting point for students from across the country, a bigger and vibrant market exposure, Govt. and PSUs,” said Dr. Thakur.
AKGIM is a relatively new MBA institute which was established in 2008. For the first two batches, the placements were 100 per cent.
For the MBA aspirants, who would like to take admission in AKGIM Ghaziabad, Dr. Thakur said, “The institute would insist the aspirants to visit AKGIM campus and talk to faculty, students and staff for the real picture to understand.”

AICTE notification: EPSI meet on legal strategy, 8 April

2011-04-06T03:21:00.003-07:00

AICTE notification: EPSI meet on legal strategy, 8 April

The Education Promotion Society for India (EPSI) is organizing a meeting of the Chairmen and Directors of PGDM Institutions of the country on April 8 in Delhi
It is expected that the Supreme Court will hear the matter again by mid-May after considering both the responses of AICTE & the B-schools.

The Education Promotion Society for India (EPSI) is organizing a meeting of the Chairmen and Directors of PGDM Institutions of the country on Friday, April 8, 2011 in New Delhi.
The meeting is being held in the background of the verdict given by honourable Supreme Court on 17 March 2011 on the AICTE notification. The court had granted interim stay to the B-schools against the notification by AICTE.
It is expected that the Supreme Court will hear the matter again by mid-May after considering both the responses of AICTE & the B-schools.
The meeting, being convened by EPSI, will debate and build consensus on the legal strategy and brainstorm on the ‘Vision 2020’ document for the PGDM institutions of the country. Additionally the meeting also has on its agenda the task of preparing the blue print of the ‘Code of Conduct for PGDM Institutions’.
The meeting will be presided by Padma Shri Dr. Pritam Singh.
Dr. Harivansh Chaturvedi, Alternate President, EPSI and Director, BIMTECH Greater Noida told MBAUniverse.com, “In view of ongoing litigation at Hon’ble Supreme Court, all PGDM institutions need to join hands to put maximum efforts to get the final verdict in our favour on admission, fee, board’s constitution and all other matters related to the autonomy engaged by PGDM institutions during the last so many decades.”

94 Percent of 2010 Augustana Graduates Accept Employment

2011-04-06T03:21:00.001-07:00

94 Percent of 2010 Augustana Graduates Accept Employment

In spite of a still-challenged economy, 94 percent of 2010 Augustana graduates seeking employment have accepted a position related to their major or chosen field.
In addition, 68 percent of 2010 graduates accepting employment remained in South Dakota. Of the 162 graduates now working in South Dakota, 129 were originally residents of the state.
"Augustana has long been a net importer of intellectual capital to the state of South Dakota," said Rob Oliver, president of the College. "These numbers illustrate that the College continues to add to the talented reservoir of innovative professionals who contribute to our state's economy, and to the future viability of cities and towns east and west of the River."
In addition to those accepting jobs after graduation, 25 percent of 2010 graduates are now enrolled in graduate programs. Of those, 35 percent are in medical school and nearly 10 percent are in law school.
As investments stabilized and the markets returned to a more regular rhythm, business and computer science graduates enjoyed better job opportunities than in the past several years. One hundred percent of graduates seeking jobs in human services reported accepting a position and more than 90 percent of graduates who majored in business or related fields now hold jobs related to their field of study.
"A 94 percent job placement rate speaks volumes about the caliber of Augustana graduates, the professors who nurture and support them and the value of our liberal arts curriculum," said Sandi Vietor, director of the Career Center at Augustana.

NMIMS Reaffirms Faith of Corporate World with Successful 2011 MBA Batch Placements Overview:

2011-04-02T00:54:00.002-07:00

NMIMS Reaffirms Faith of Corporate World with Successful 2011 MBA Batch Placements
Overview:

Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai (NMIMS) completes 2011 batch placements. NMIMS, a leading B-school across the country has underlined its dominance and authority after successfully placing the entire 2011 batch. Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies continued its legacy of successful placements with participation of top companies from diverse sectors, new and loyal recruiters offering excellent profiles to the students and large number of offers being extended to the students.
This year NMIMS was required to place a substantial number of students from 4 diverse MBA Programs. MBA Core Program consisted of total 300 students whereas the MBA Focus Program in Capital Markets, Banking and Actuarial Science consisted of 30 students each. The MBA Core has existed for quite some time and is quite renowned now. The new Focus MBA programs have also created a strong position in their own particular areas.

Placement Statistics:

NMIMS 2011
Total Companies at NMIMS 112
Final Placement Batch (Students) 372
No. of Companies Extending offers 96
Average Salary
13.1 Lakhs p.a.
Percentage of New Recruiters 34%

Sectoral Division of NMIMS

The students of NMIMS have been placed in different sectors of the industry in 2011. The various sectors with percentage of students recruited in every sector is mentioned below in the graph:

Banking & Financial Services

Banking and Financial Services Sector recruited 19% of the MBA Core Batch of 2011. JP Morgan Chase and ICICI Bank were the leading recruiters from the finance sector. Major financial players such as Barclays Bank, Citibank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Nomura Holdings and Goldman Sachs extended offers to the students. Financial services firms such as Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Angel Broking, Darashaw, ICICI Lombard, HSBC Global Resourcing, Kotak BANK, India Infoline SBI Capital Markets and Tata Capital participated in this placement season of NMIMS. Some of the profiles that were offered to the students were Asset Management, Product Management, Retail Banking, Branding, Strategy, Transaction Banking, International Banking, Treasury and Investment Banking.

FMCG/Consumer Durables

FMCG Sector recruited about 9% of the students from core MBA Batch. The FMCG companies that were present in the placement process were Wipro CCL, Marico, L’Oreal, ITC and Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages (HCCB). The novel FMCG players who participated in the process were Wrigley’s., Nutrela, Reckitt Benckiser and VVF Ltd. The consumer durables sector accounted for 2% placement of the core MBA Batch. The important players who participated from the sector were Videocon, Whirlpool, Godrej & Boyce. The profiles that were offered were Marketing and Distribution, Sales and Branding.

Consulting

The consulting sector recruited 9% of the students from the core MBA Batch. The companies that participated from the consulting sector in the placement process were i3 Consulting, Cognizant Business Consulting, Capgemini, Avalon Consulting, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG. The profile range offered was Infrastructure Consulting, IT Consulting, Operations Consulting, Marketing and Strategy Consulting, Financial Advisory and Risk Advisory.

Information Technology

Nearly 23% of the students joined Information Technology sector. Some of the permanent IT recruiters who participated in the placement process were Mindtree, Hewlett Packard, Genpact, KPIT Cummins, Accenture, Mphasis, IBM, HCL Technologies, Wipro and Infosys. The novel IT companies that participated in the placement process are Virtusa, Tally Solutions, Polaris, Indus Valley Partners and IGate. The profiles that were offered to the students were Business Analysis, Pre-Sales, Project Management, Business Development, Consulting and Account Management.

Conglomerates

9% students of the batch were absorbed by the group companies or conglomerates such as Triton Group, Welspun, Manipal Group, Larsen & Toubro, GE and RIL. The profiles offered were Sales & Marketing, Strategy, GE, Financial Services and Power and Sales & Distribution.

Others

The manufacturing firms that participated in the placement process were Titan, Cummins and Asian Paints. The telecom sector’s leading players such as Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Airtel extended substantial number of offers. DHL, a global logistics player offered roles in Marketing and Supply Chain.

Conclusion

This placement season students chose their own profiles, which reflects the optimism of the growing economy and reaffirms the faith of the recruiters in NMIMS and their quality students. NMIMS through creating synergy with the corporate sector wants to achieve greater heights in the field of management education.

ISACA Extends CRISC Grandfathering for Risk and Control Professionals

2011-04-02T00:54:00.001-07:00

ISACA Extends CRISC Grandfathering for Risk and Control Professionals

Due to overwhelming demand, ISACA, a nonprofit association of more than 95,000 IT professionals worldwide, has extended the grandfathering program for its new Certified in Risk

Due to overwhelming demand, ISACA, a nonprofit association of more than 95,000 IT professionals worldwide, has extended the grandfathering program for its new Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) designation until 30 June 2011. The grandfathering program permits those with appropriate experience to become certified without taking an exam. Since the grandfathering program opened in April 2010, more than 9,000 IT and business professionals have applied for the certification.
?Managing risk is growing rapidly as a business issue. CRISC is already valued by employers because it helps them identify candidates who demonstrate an ability to effectively manage IT-related business risk,? said Urs Fischer, CISA, CRISC, chair of ISACA?s CRISC Certification Committee. ?Earning CRISC or another globally recognized certification is also a great way to differentiate yourself in the market.?
The CRISC (pronounced ?see-risk?) credential helps professionals gain recognition of their ability to design, implement, monitor and maintain effective risk-based information systems controls. The domain areas of practice covered by the certification include:
• Risk identification, assessment and evaluation
• Risk response
• Risk monitoring
• IS control design and implementation
• IS control monitoring and maintenance
The CRISC grandfathering program enables highly experienced professionals to apply for the CRISC credential without taking the CRISC exam by exhibiting eight years of related experience. Details on the CRISC certification grandfathering program are at www.isaca.org/criscgfapp.
The first CRISC exam will be held on 11 June 2011. For additional information, visit www.isaca.org/crisc.
ISACA also administers the following three certifications, which are globally recognized by many industries, government entities and professionals:
• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), earned by more than 84,000 professionals since 1978
• Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), earned by more than 16,000 professionals since 2002
• Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT), earned by more than 4,600 professionals since 2007
Additional information about ISACA certifications is available at www.isaca.org/certification.
About ISACA
With 95,000 constituents in 160 countries, ISACA� (www.isaca.org) is a leading global provider of knowledge, certifications, community, advocacy and education on information systems (IS) assurance and security, enterprise governance and management of IT, and IT-related risk and compliance. Founded in 1969, the nonprofit, independent ISACA hosts international conferences, publishes the ISACA� Journal, and develops international IS auditing and control standards, which help its constituents ensure trust in, and value from, information systems. It also advances and attests IT skills and knowledge through the globally respected Certified Information Systems Auditor� (CISA�), Certified Information Security Manager� (CISM�), Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT� (CGEIT�) and Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control? (CRISC?) designations.
ISACA continually updates COBIT�, which helps IT professionals and enterprise leaders fulfill their�IT governance and management�responsibilities, particularly in the areas of assurance, security, risk and control, and deliver�value to the business.

IIT fees not to increase: Government

2011-04-02T00:53:00.004-07:00

IIT fees not to increase: Government

The students who are planning to take admission to Indian Institute of Technology can take heave a sigh of relief as the government has rejected the proposal to hike the fee of undergraduate programmes of the premier technical institutes by about four times.

The Anil Kakodkar committee, which was established to study the roadmap the autonomy and future of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), had recommended that the fees be raised from Rs. 50,000 per annum to Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 2.5 lakh per annum.
On the other hand, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal rejected the proposal, saying it would act as 'restriction' to aspiring students, said source in the Ministry. The committee has been asked to rework on the fee structure considering aspirants from all section of society. Sibal announced to establish new 50 research parks at a cost of Rs. 200 crore during the 12th Plan Period.
The proposed research park would be established on Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode that will encourage private players to carry out research activities in collaboration with government institutions. One park is already in existence in Chennai.

Goa government retains existing education system

2011-04-02T00:53:00.003-07:00

Goa government retains existing education system

Panaji, Apr 1 : AICC General Sectretary and in charge of Goa desk Jagmeet Singh Brar today said the party and Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat had come out with a very balanced and dignified decision on retaining the existing system of primary education in the mother tongue and the upper primary education in English medium.
He said people in every state love their mother tongue, while English is world language spoken all over.

Mr Brar, who was on a two-day visit to the state, said this was his first visit to the state after taking over as the incharge of Goa desk, replacing B K Hariprasad in the newly-constituted congress committee.

He said during his visit, he met Congress Ministers, MLAs personally and also addressed members of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee and other frontal organisations.

He said youth Congress membership drive is on in the state in a full swing and added that he will visit all the 40 constituences in the state to strengthen the base of the party.

He expressed confidence that the Congress will win with thumping majority the state Assembly election, scheduled in 2012.

When asked about some leaders in the state speaking against the party, Mr Brar said he will consult party leaders in Goa and try to intervene as discipline has to be maintained.

When asked about going alone in the next state Assembly election in Goa, Mr Brar said, "We are at present an alliance government. It is too pre-mature to comment but we are asking party cadre to strengthen the party and walk on our own feet. We are preparing in all constituencies to go alone.''

FORE School of Management Opens Admissions for its three-year Post Graduate Programme (Part Time) in Management (PGDM) for Working Professionals

2011-04-02T00:53:00.001-07:00

FORE School of Management Opens Admissions for its three-year Post Graduate Programme (Part Time) in Management (PGDM) for Working Professionals

Admissions are now open to the FORE School of Management?s three-year Post Graduate Programme (Part Time) in Management (PGDM), which is sure to propel any career straight into the fast lane to success.

Admissions are now open to the FORE School of Management?s three-year Post Graduate Programme (Part Time) in Management (PGDM), which is sure to propel any career straight into the fast lane to success.

Students seeking admission are required to be working professionals who have been in their career for a period of at least two years.

This programme, based in Delhi, is a boon for young professional living in the capital. It is an opportunity for them to enhance their professional qualifications in a structured yet innovative way. It enables them to take charge of their career and become the boss of their future.

Incorporated in 1992, the PGDM is a tried and tested course. Through the years, FORE?s PGDM students have proved that this is truly an avenue working youth seek out. It is a method of enhancing their knowledge, setting new paradigms, creating fresh niches and climbing the career ladder comfortably, consistently. PDGM students continue in their careers, getting to use what they learn real life, practical scenarios. For them, the Management qualification is a very important bonus they earn to keep them ahead.

The PGDM is a very well thought out and practically conceived course with a clear focus on developing managerial skills. Students enrolling for the PGDM are already working and have been in their careers for over two years in middle or junior level executives with public or private sector organizations.

The faculty at FORE are all highly qualified academician and corporate professionals, well known in their field. Each one of them brings expertise, commitment, immense knowledge: all developed on the strong foundations of their educational qualifications. They are chosen for their skills in making the entire three years spent at FORE a transformational experience that will be etched in memories right through their lives.

Held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of every working week, classes are held between 6.15 pm to 9.30 pm on Thursdays and Fridays. On Saturdays, classes are between 2.30 pm and 9.30 pm.
Course fees: Rs. 3,60,000 and will be paid in six equal instalments.

About FORE School of Management:

Foundation for Organizational Research and Education (FORE) was established in 1981. FORE?s main aim is a commitment to the development of Management Education, Research, Training and Consultancy. Through the 30 years of its existence, FORE?s contributions to the global business environment has been tremendous.

With over 3000 students having graduated since its inception in 1992, FORE School of Management operates under the aegis of Foundation for Organisational Research and Education founded in 1981. This Three Year part time PGDM programme has been running successfully since 1992 and the admitted students and alumni belong to various reputed organizations in some of the most leading industries,? says Dr. Jitendra K. Das, Director, FORE School of Management.

City part of Oz education plan

2011-04-02T00:52:00.004-07:00

City part of Oz education plan

KOLKATA: Several educational and research institutions in the city are set to join hands with their Australian counter - parts for a series of collaborative projects. These will include PhD programmes and scientific projects in areas where experts and students from either country have the opportunity to share knowledge.

Announcing this at an India-Australia partnership programme on Friday, Australian deputy high commissioner Lachlan Strahan said it was time to take educational exchanges between the two countries beyond just enrolling in each other's universities.

"India has a fabulous depth of scientific capabilities which could benefit both countries. By joining our programmes, they will have access to the latest technology and facilities that will help them realize their potential better. We, on the other hand, will benefit from their inputs and contributions in our projects. Both countries are worried about their water and food security and I am sure these projects will help us optimise use and cut down wastage of both," said Strahan.

Commenting on relations between the two countries, the deputy high commissioner said it has been rather indifferent till 2005. "We were like two ships passing each other in the dark. Till, the effects of economic reforms in India brought us closer. We now have half-a-million people of Indian origin in Australia . From just 12,000 students a few years back, we now have 100,000 Indian students in various Australian universities. But we now need to look beyond just courses and degrees," added Strahan.

Several research institutions and a university in Kolkata have been identified for collaboration. "We have sounded them out and talked about the possibilities of joining hands. A deal will soon be struck with some of them," Strahan said.

A delegation of leading Australian corporate leaders and industrialists will be visiting India soon as part of the partnership initiative. They will be interacting with their Indian counterparts on furthering business collaborations and bilateral trade arrangements.

China scores low in English test

2011-04-02T00:52:00.003-07:00

China scores low in English test

Beijing: Chinese have "poor" English skills despite huge efforts by the government in language training, according to a study.

China was ranked 29th in the English Proficiency Index, behind other Asian countries like Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, the Shanghai Daily reported.

Test-oriented, memorized learning habits did not give Chinese students the real language skills, education experts said.

The report was based on a free online English test, where two million adults from 44 countries where English is not the native language took part. IANS

University tuition fees rejected by lecturers' union

2011-04-02T00:52:00.001-07:00

University tuition fees rejected by lecturers' union

Lecturers have voted to stand fast against tuition fees in Scotland despite increasing numbers of job losses and course cuts.
Meeting in Dundee, the University and College Union rejected calls from principals for graduates to pay towards the cost of their degrees.
They want spending shortfalls to be filled by a tax on businesses that benefit from higher education research.
Members also called for an inquiry into compulsory job losses at universities.
Gordon Watson, the new union president, said: "Fewer people would go to university so the money we would take in wouldn't be the same.
"Higher education would become a small and elitist affair."
He added: "Higher education has to expand for this country to go forward."
Redundancies proposed
The University of Stirling has already confirmed 17 redundancies at the department of aquaculture.
The UCU believes that until now there have been only isolated cases of forced redundancies in Scottish higher education.
They are concerned that other universities trying to tackle the 8% cut in their budgets from the public purse may consider similar action.
Dundee, Edinburgh Napier and Glasgow universities are among the institutions that have already announced proposed redundancies.
Delegates addressing the hall said they were concerned individual members of staff at institutions across Scotland may be singled out for redundancy because they are not on close terms with managers.
Universities are seeking to make savings as they have agreed, in response to soaring demand for places, to maintain the current number of students despite sizable cuts in their budget and revenue from investments.
Funding gap
The representative body Universities Scotland says principals are concerned by a gap between public funding north and south of the border.
They believe analysis of the figures indicates this could be £200m, a figure disputed by the education secretary Mike Russell.
Tuition fees were abolished in Scotland in 2000, two years after their introduction by the Blair government at Westminster.
A one-off graduate endowment fee of just over £2,000 was scrapped by Scottish ministers three years ago.
However, there is increasing pressure to find a new method of funding for Scottish universities, especially after tuition fees in England increase next year.
Funding for Scotland's university sector will reduce by £67m in the year ahead, as part of a cut of about £1bn in the 2011-12 Scottish budget.
Students at English universities currently pay £3,290 a year but this could rise to as high as £9,000 at some institutions when new rules come into force.

Sibal wants IIM boards to select chairman, director

2011-04-02T00:51:00.002-07:00

Sibal wants IIM boards to select chairman, director

Bangalore: The government is in favor of granting full autonomy to the boards of the state-run Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) to select their respective chairman and director, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said on Thursday.

"We want the IIM boards to select their respective chairman and director so that we (the government) distance ourselves from the (selection) process. The board can set up a search committee and give us the names to be appointed," Sibal told reporters here.

Reiterating that the boards of B-schools should function cohesively and effectively, Sibal said the managements would given the kind ofautonomy they need to function in an environment in which they can provide solutions to the government.

"The governance structures of the B-schools must also change. Their boards must be effective, cohesive and efficient. We want all stakeholders to be represented on the board," Sibal said on the margins of the IIM-Bangalore 36th annual convocation.

Noting that the board must have a leadership of its choice to lead the institution, Sibal said the IIM-B was blessed with a leader (Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries Ltd) as its chairman, who has shown the global community how in the most difficult of circumstances, Indian companies could be global players.

"For him (Ambani) to chair for a second term and take the kind of interest is something I feel grateful for. It shows how our business community has realized that without excellence in education and investment in education, not in terms of just money but time, the country cannot move forward," Sibal said. IANS

Right to Education is still elusive in Karnataka

2011-04-02T00:51:00.001-07:00

Right to Education is still elusive in Karnataka

It’s been a year since Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the coming into force of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, guaranteeing education to every child in the country. Karnataka, however, is yet to notify the Act, let alone implementing it.
According to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the agency that officially monitors the Act, only six out of 28 states in the country have notified the Act till date: Sikkim, Odissa, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
“It’s sad that Karnataka is yet to notify the Act even after the passage of one year. The government seems to be least bothered about providing education to the poor,” said Vasudev Sharma, senior member of Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR).
Sources at the education department said that about `2,000 crore will be neededto implement the Act.
They said that a tussle between the Centre and state over the share of financial responsibility was delaying the implementation of the Act.
“The implementation of the RTE Act will change the face of education, as Karnataka has millions of children who are still out of school,” said Dr Padmini, trustee, Child Rights Trust, Bangalore.
Experts allege that government has yielded to pressure from the private school lobby. Private schools of Bangalore have already expressed their displeasure over the RTE Act being thrust on them against their will.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is hearing a slew of petitions by private and unaided schools, challenging the constitutional validity of the RTE Act and saying that it would not be possible for them to implement the law on various grounds.

Relief for disabled PG medical students

2011-04-02T00:50:00.002-07:00

Relief for disabled PG medical students

Two physically disabled students, who have topped the common entrance test (CET) and completed their under graduate course in medical and dental, and wanted to pursue post graduate courses, got a major relief from the Bombay high court on Friday, the authorities have been directed by the court to consider their application for non clinical and para clinical courses, under the physically disabled category, on the basis of their performance in the CET.
The petitioners Sachin Ganpat Makne, 25 and Dr Abhijeet Anil Bhavsar, 25, were disqualified by the authorities on the grounds that the duo were over 70 % physically disabled and thus they could not be eligible for post graduate courses like dentistry and medicine which includes surgery. The non-eligibility, was as per rule 9 (1) (a) under section 33 of the Indian Medical Council Act.
Appearing for the petitioners advocate Vijay Thorat and Pooja Thorat, argued before the division bench, “What is to be seen is that whether they are able to function and not their disability. The issue raised is not only limited to the present petitioners but the medical council has to consider the functional capacity before deciding the eligibility”.
The bench initially was apprehensive about the allowing of the petitioners to be considered. It thus asked the petitioners to walk in court. After being satisfied, the court admitted their petitions and directed the authorities to consider their pleas.

NCPCR seeks redressal mechanism for RTE law

2011-04-02T00:50:00.001-07:00

NCPCR seeks redressal mechanism for RTE law

New Delhi: The absence of a clear grievance redressal structure for the Right To Education (RTE) law was questioned on Thursday by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).

The NCPCR is the apex body that ensures the implementation of the RTE Act in the country.

It has been a year since the law had been brought to action in India. However, the NCPCR has cited the lethargy on the part of most state governments that have failed to notify key rules for the successful implementation of the RTE.

National RTE Coordinator at the NCPCR Kiran Bhatty said that there was definite tardiness in the implementation of the act. "We have written to the state governments repeatedly and would still keep on writing to them," she said.

Guidelines for a redressal mechanism for the RTE have also been proposed by the NCPCR to the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry. These guidelines are currently being examined by the law ministry.

According to the RTE Act, the NCPCR, chaired by Magsaysay Award winner Shantha Sinha, is the watchdog body for the implementation of the right to education all over the country. The NCPCR had been given the role with the aim to ensure and the implementation of and independently monitor the law instead of the HRD ministry.

Section 36 of the RTE Act says that the state governments are required to appoint designated local authorities who are empowered to sanction prosecution of school or government officials for conducting screening tests, corporal punishments or running unrecognized schools.

Vinod Raina, a member of the National Advisory Council on the RTE Act has informed that only 13 of the 36 states and union territories have notified about the rules accompanying the Act or notified the authorities.

MBAUniverse.com Exclusive: MBA destinations - Kolkata

2011-04-02T00:49:00.000-07:00

MBAUniverse.com Exclusive: MBA destinations - Kolkata

Kolkata is amongst the major education hubs in India. Kolkata offers many benefits to MBA aspirants who wish to study in the B-schools in and around the city

Kolkata is counted amongst the major education hubs in India. Kolkata houses 12 Universities and numerous colleges affiliated to them or to other universities located outside. The main universities of Kolkata are University of Calcutta, Jadavpur University and Vishvabharati University.

In terms of management education, Kolkata can be considered as the pioneer as the first institute in India to offer an MBA degree of any Indian university was set up here. The Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management (IISWBM) was established in 1953.

Also, the first IIM of the country was established in this city. IIM Calcutta has produced leading business minds in the nation like Indra Nooyi, Chairman, PepsiCo.

If you want to pursue MBA from Kolkata, some of the best options available here are as follows:

IIM-C- The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) was established as the first national institute for Post-Graduate studies and Research in Management by the Government of India in November 1961 in collaboration with Alfred P. Sloan School of Management (MIT), the Government of West Bengal, The Ford Foundation and Indian industry.

IISWBM- The Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management (IISWBM) was the first institute in India to offer an MBA degree of any Indian university (XLRI, the oldest management institute in India, did not offer MBA degrees ever since its inception). It was established in 1953. IISWBM was set up in collaboration with the Government of West Bengal, the University of Calcutta and the business community of West Bengal to promote management education.

IIFT, Kolkata- The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) was set up in 1963 by the Government of India as an autonomous organization to help professionalize the country's foreign trade management and increase exports by developing human resources; generating, analyzing and disseminating data; and conducting research. Today it is one of India's most prestigious business schools.

Apart from these, the other notable MBA institutes in Kolkata are ISB Kolkata, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Eastern Institute for Integrated Learning in Management, IBK Kolkata, Heritage Institute of Technology, IILM Business School, Institute of Business Management & Research, Institute of Management Study, Institute of Engineering and Management, Future Innoversity, to name a few.

Kolkata offers many benefits to the MBA aspirants who wish to study in the B-schools in and around the city. Among all the metropolitan cities, Kolkata has the lowest cost of living which attracts people from other states to settle in the city. This has made Kolkata a true cosmopolitan city.

Other advantages are: Kolkata is the main business, commercial and financial hub of eastern India and the north eastern states. Kolkata also has Calcutta Stock Exchange, India’s second largest stock exchange.

The major industries in Kolkata include IT, Infrastructure, FMCG etc. Kolkata is home to many industrial units operated by large Indian corporations with products ranging from electronics to jute.

Some notable companies headquartered in Kolkata include ITC Limited, India Government Mint, Haldia Petrochemicals, Exide Industries, Hindustan Motors, Britannia Industries, Bata India, Birla Corporation, CESC Limited, RPG Group, Bengal Ambuja, Philips India, Eveready Battery, Coal India Limited, Damodar Valley Corporation, PwC India, Peerless Group, United Bank of India, UCO Bank and Allahabad Bank.

IT Sector: As in many other Indian cities, information technology became a major growing sector in Kolkata since late 1990s, with the IT sector growing at 70 per cent yearly — twice that of the national average. The major players of the IT Sector in Kolkata are Infosys Technologies Limited, Satyam Computer Services Limited, HCL Technologies Limited, L&T Infotech Limited, NIIT Technologies Limited, i-Gate Global Solutions Limited, etc. Salt Lake Sector V is the hub of the IT sector in Kolkata.

Infrastructure: In recent years, huge investments are made in the housing infrastructure sector with several new projects coming up led by companies like DLF Limited and Unitech Group.

FMCG - Hindustan Unilever LTD, Nestle India LTD, ITC India, Reckitt Benckiser India LTD, Agro Tech Foods LTD, Tata Chemicals LTD, Dabur India LTD Factory and many more.

Consulting firms: Aon Consulting, Deloitte Consulting, Ernst & Young, Frost & Sullivan, Hewitt Associates, SAP Consulting, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro Technologies, to name a few.

Telecom: Vodafone, Airtel, Reliance Communications, Uninor, Idea Cellular, Aircel, Tata DoCoMo, Tata Indicom, Virgin Mobile and MTS India.

Health Sector: Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals Ltd, Dum Dum Medical Centre, The Calcutta Medical Research Institute, Renaissance Hospital Private Limited, etc.

Media: The Economic Times, The Financial Express, Times of India, The Telegraph, Business Line and Business Standard are the English Dailies which have their publications from Kolkata.

Bengali 24-hour television news channels include STAR Ananda, Tara Newz, Kolkata TV, 24 Ghanta, Ne Bangla, News Time and Channel 10.

Bengali newspapers like Anandabazar Patrika, Bartaman, Sangbad Pratidin, Jago Bangla, Aajkaal, Dainik Statesman and Ganashakti are widely circulated.

Kolkata also hosts Tollywood, the Bengali film industry, which is the biggest in Eastern India and also contributes in the Indian Film Industry through several national award winning movies.

Transport: The Kolkata Metro, run by the Indian Railways, is the oldest underground system in India since 1984. Buses are the preferred mode of transport and are run by both government agencies and private operators. Kolkata is India's only city to have a tram network, operated by Calcutta Tramways Company.

Kolkata will never cease to entertain the people over there. The city has also been nicknamed as the City of Palaces. This comes from the numerous palatial mansions built all over the city. One can move around and relax as there are a number of tourist spots and beautiful monuments situated in Kolkata.

Some of the beautiful sight seeing places are the Victoria Memorial, The Indian Museum, Birla Industrial & Technological Museum, Science City , Marble Palace, Netaji Bhawan, The National Library of India to name a few.

Kolkata also exhibits the element of art and culture through numerous Theatres, Art galleries like Nandan, Shishir Mancha, Star Theatre to name a few.

INTERVIEW SKILLS

2011-02-23T22:29:00.001-08:00

INTERVIEW SKILLS
Pitfalls To Be Avoided

In the previous articles, we have already discussed that the interview is the most common method for assessing a candidate's suitability for a job. We have also discussed that over the years, the nature and technique of the interview have undergone a sea change, as the requirements of different jobs and responsibilities have kept changing with the passage of time. Across the globe, employers are depending on the interview as a method of selecting the suitable candidates. Western as well as eastern world generally operates according to the principle of supply and demand. There are a number of factors which determine how much a candidate is deserving. The first is the demand for the type of job we do and the next how efficiently we do our job and how difficult it would be to make do with people like us. The only security you can count on has to come from within yourself It is based on your knowledge, skills and know-how.
It is in this perspective that your performance in the interview becomes very important, be it at the entry-level or the management level. In the previous two articles we have already discussed the ten common mistakes that people often commit during an interview. In this article, we will discuss five more mistakes that people often commit in course of an interview. They are:
• Inability to handle supplemental tests
• The belief that concluding part of the interview is the most important
• The idea that all the references have equal importance
• Inability to learn new things
• Lying with regard to resume
Inability to handle supplemental tests: Not necessarily all, but some employers may ask you to fill out additional questionnaires or take a test during the hiring process. You have to be aware of this fact and it must be taken seriously by you. What you are supposed to do in this regard is to do your best to gather as much information as possible in advance so that you can prepare thoroughly for it. You should ask the organization for specific details on exactly what the tests or written supplemental questions will be about.
Never try to guess. Always try to know. Be sure to think exactly the way you are required to. Always try to follow directions for all written answers. Read again and again to correct, if there is any mistake. Sometimes, employers give equipment-simulation tests, typing tests, computer tests, written tests, personality tests, problems to solve, materials to proofread, work to analyze and priorities, etc. You should learn as much as you can and practice in advance. On the day of interview, however, you should revise again. Practice will prevent you from getting nervous. Some employees may want you to undergo a drug test. You must comply with their demand.
The belief that concluding part of the interview is the most important: You must remember the fact that the most important part of an interview is the first impression, not the concluding part. It is the beginning of an interview which matters most, because the interviewer makes the decision regarding your selection at the very outset. The interviewer decides in the very beginning to listen to you. If you have made a very strong first impression, the interviewer will allow you to demonstrate your skills. You will be given an opportunity to show your abilities with proven examples of work you have done in the past. In fact, all the time an interview takes is important, not only the last part of the interview.
The idea that all the references have equal importance: All the references are never equal and thinking that they have got equal importance is a great mistake. The fact is that some individuals, with whom you have worked in the past, can help you in being offered a good position. But there may be some individuals who can deter an employer from hiring you. You should, therefore, be careful while choosing references. You should consider testing them out to find out exactly what they may say about you. You should ask a friend to call and get a reference on you. Have that person report back. Help all the references by writing a letter or sending them an e-mail and request them to remember the experiences and abilities you would like them to discuss. They will be reminded of everything and they will refresh their memories of 'the time you spent working with them. You are advised never to refer to a boss who may say negative things about you. Instead, you should find someone else who, in no circumstance, will tell about your minus points and will talk only about your strengths and contributions to the organization you have worked for, even if you were fired. Mind you, you have to be very careful while choosing your references. Before giving any name as a reference, check that all the information regarding the reference is correct-title, address, phone number, e-mail, etc. None of your references should be unavailable, if he/she is contacted.
Inability to learn new things: In an interview, never answer any questions in such a way that you may give an impression that you are not willing to be adaptable. Never show the interviewer that you are not ready to learn new things, and to take up new tasks that are needed. Actually, you have to be aware of the fact that all jobs undergo change in some form or another. Your answer should show that you are always ready to learn new things regarding a job; you are willing to do whatever is needed to help the department you are going to work for. You should convince that your adaptability will help the company achieve its goals right from the moment you join and take up an assignment.
Lying with regard to resume: Candidates are very often caught lying about their education and educational qualifications, Never presume that the employer is not going to check for, if your details are scrutinized, you are sure to be rejected or fired, even if you get selected. Never state that the last salary drawn by you was very handsome, because it can be ascertained very easily. The best approach is to leave the salary request blank. Always try to state things in a positive manner and do so very honestly. Integrity should be a priority for you.
The interview can be brief or long. You should not get nervous with the thought of not performing well. All you have to do is to try to deliver your best. Always bear in mind that employers must be seeking to validate your strengths and uncover your weaknesses. You ought to be thorough and careful in your preparation for the interview. Always remember that employers want to hire people who have undergone different types of experiences. It is the amount of experiences undergone by an employee who determines his/ her ability to capitalize on his/her losses, if any and ability to do the job assigned in a better way.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR GROUP DISCUSSION

2011-02-23T22:28:00.000-08:00

HOW TO PREPARE FOR GROUP DISCUSSION

Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well. Man is a social animal. He cannot live without a society. Consequently he is required to compete in the society. So is the case with a woman. While there is a society, there is a group. One will have to be the leader of the group. Group is not a new concept, hence a group discussion. Modern societies have developed Group Discussion as a tool to increase efficiency by giving people a sense of participation. While Group Discussion was first introduced as a test in western countries for the selection of personnel for their armed forces, gradually the utility and significance of this method to test the intrinsic knowledge of a candidate made it popular and provided acceptance among other organizations also around the world. It has now become an important tool of the selection procedure of some of the government institutions, management institutions, service selection boards and other recruitment boards. Even when the merit of a candidate has been tested through written tests, the final selection in many management institutes and organizations is made only after a group Discussion. Indeed the importance lies with it.
Thought always comes from inside. In a Group discussion, no single person imposes his or her opinion on others. It is essentially a sharing of experience, and not doing or thinking what someone has al ready decided. Every person has- his own experiences. As a result he can come to certain conclusions about what is right or what is wrong, His conscience has been educated to certain extent or he may not have come to any definite conclusions Group Discussion shows him what the experience of others has been and why they have come to certain conclusion. In doing this it throws him back on his own experiences and on the conclusions he has reached. It makes him to re-examine the foundations of his own opinions. This may result in a change in his opinions or the strengthening of his convictions. But in either case he has examined himself and his convictions in the light of the experiences of the others. It is rightly said: Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
While selection tools and techniques like tests, interviews etc. provide good data about an individual, they fall short in pro viding real life data of how an individual would be performing in a real life situation especially a group like situation. Team work being an integral part of corporate world's work profile, it is important to asserting group and interpersonal qualities of an individual. Group Discussion is a useful tool to ascertain these qualities and many organizations use GDs as a selection tool along with personal interviews, aptitude tests etc. a GO is an activity where groups of 5 - 8 candidates are formed into a leaderless group and are given a specific situation to analyses and discuss within a given time limit which may vary between twenty minutes and forty five minutes. The group may be given a case study and asked to come out with a solution for a problem. They may be given a topic and asked to discuss the same.
Type of Group Discussion
Group Discussions can be classified into three types viz.
(a) Factual Topics, (b) Controversial Topics, (c) Abstract Topics.
Factual Topics: These are about practical things, which an ordinary person is aware of in his day to day life. Typically these are about socio-economic topics. These can be current i.e. they may have been in the news lately or could be unbound by time a factual topic for discussion gives a candidate a chance to prove that he/she is aware of and sensitive to his/her environment.
Controversial Topics: These are the one that are argumentative in nature. They are meant to generate controversy. In GDs where these topics are given for discussion, the noise level is usually high, there may be tempers flying. The idea behind giving a topic like this is to see how much maturity the candidate is displaying by Keeping his temper in check by rationally and logically arguing his point of view without getting personal or emotional.
Abstract Topics: These are about in tangible things. These topics are not given often discussion, but their possibility can not be ruled out. These topics test your lateral thinking and creativity.
Case-based GO: Another variation is the use of a case instead of a topic. The case study tries to simulate a real life situation. Information about the situation will be given to you and you would be asked as a group to resolve the situation. In the case study there are no incorrect answers or perfect solutions. The objective in the case study is to get you to think about the situation from various angles.
Preparing for a Group Discussion
While GD reflects the inherent qualities for an individual, appearing for it unprepared may not augur well for you. These tips would help you prepare for GDs:
Reading: It is the first and the most crucial step in preparation. This is a never ending process and the more you read, the better you are in your thoughts. While you may read anything or everything, you must ensure that you are in good touch with current affairs, the debates and hot topics of discussion and also with the latest in the IT and ITES industry. Read both for the thoughts as well as for data. Also read multiple view points on the same topic and then create your point of view with rationale.
Mocks: Create an informal GD group and meet regularly to discuss and exchange feedback. This is the best way to prepare. This would give you a good idea about your thoughts and how well can you convince. Remember, it is important that you are able to express your thoughts very well. The better you perform in these mocks, the better would be your chances to perform on the final day.
How To Face GD:
A group discussion consists of:
(a) Communication Skills
(b) Knowledge and Ideas regarding a given subject
(c) Capability to co-ordinate and lead
(d) Exchange of thoughts
(e) Addressing the group as a whole
(f) Thorough Preparation.
Communication Skills
The first aspect is one's power of expression. In a group discussion, a candidate has to talk effectively so that he is able to convince others. For convincing, one has to speak forcefully and at the same time create an impact by his knowledge of the subject. A candidate who is successful in holding the attention of the audience creates a positive impact.
It is necessary that you should be precise and clear. As a rule evaluators do not look for the wordage produced. Your knowledge on a given subject, your precision and clarity of thought are the things that are evaluated. Irrelevant talks lead you nowhere. You should speak as much as necessary, neither more nor less. Group discussions are not debating stages.
Ability to listen is also what evaluator’s judge. They look for your ability to react on what other participants say. Hence, it is necessary that you listen carefully to others and then react or proceed to add some more points. Your behavior in the group is also put to test to judge whether you are a loner or can work in a group.
You should be able to convey your thoughts satisfactorily and convincingly before a group of people. Confidence and level headedness in going so is necessary. These add value to your presentation. In case you are not good at it, you might gain by joining an institute that offers specialized courses in public speaking. For instance, British Council Division's English Language Teaching Centre offers a wide range of courses like conversation skills, business communication skills. Mostly people attend these courses to improve their communication skills. Students here are involved in activities which use communication skills and teachers provide inputs, monitor and facilitate the classes. The course at the Centre makes you confident enough to speak before people without any nervousness.
Knowledge and Ideas Regarding a Given Subject: Knowledge of subject under discussion and clarity of ideas are important. Knowledge comes from consistent reading on various topics ranging from science and technology to politics. In-depth knowledge makes one confident and enthusiastic and this in turn, makes one sound convincing and confident.
Leadership and Coordinating Capabilities: The basic aim of a group discussion is to judge a candidate's preparation. Your group behavior and communication skills are on test i.e. how you convince the others and how clearly you are able to express your points of view. You should be articulate, generate ideas, not sound boring, should allow others to speak and adopt of stand on a given subject. During the course of the GD, this stand can even open to accommodate other's viewpoints. Additional marks may be given for starting or concluding the discussion.
Points to Remember
• Knowledge is strength. A candidate with good reading habits has more chances of success. In other words, sound knowledge on different topics like politics, finance, economy, science and technology is helpful.
• Power to convince effectively is another quality that makes you stand out among others.
• Clarity in speech and expression is yet another essential quality.
• If you are not sure about the topic of discussion, it is better not to initiate. Lack of knowledge or wrong approach creates a bad impression. Instead, you might adopt the wait and watch attitude. Listen attentively to others, may be you would be able to come with a point or two later.
• A GD is a formal occasion where slang is to avoid.
• A GD is not a debating stage. Participants should confine themselves to expressing their viewpoints. In the second part of the discussion candidates can exercise their choice in agreeing, disagreeing or remaining neutral.
• Language use should be simple, direct and straight forward.
• Don't interrupt a speaker when the session is on. Try to score by increasing your size, not by cutting others short.
• Maintain rapport with follow participants. Eye contact plays a major role. Nonverbal gestures, such as listening intently or nodding while appreciating someone’s viewpoint speak of you positively.
• Communicate with each and every candidate present. While speaking don't keep looking at a single member. Address the entire group in such a way that everyone feels you are speaking to him or her.
Exchange of Thoughts: A group discussion is an exchange of thoughts and ideas among members of a group. These discussions are held for selecting personnel in organizations where there is a high level of competition. The purpose is to get an idea about candidates in a short time and make assessments about their skills which normally cannot be evaluated in an inter view. These skills may be team membership, leadership skills listening and articulation skills. A note is made of your contributions to the discussion, comprehension of the main idea, the rapport you strike, patience, assertion, accommodation, amenability ere. Body language and eye contact too are important points which are to be considered.
Addressing the Group as a whole: In a group discussion it is not necessary to address anyone by name. Even otherwise you may not know everyone's names. It better to address the group as a whole.
Address the person farthest from you. If he can hear you everyone else too can. Needless to add, as for the interview, attend the group discussion in formal dress. The language used should also be formal, not the language used in normal conversations. For instance, words and phrases like "yar", "chalra hai", "CP", "I dunno", etc. are out. This is not to say you should use a high sounding, pedantic language. Avoiding both, just use formal, plain and simple language. Hinglish, (mixture of Hindi and English) should be discarded. Confidence and coolness while presenting your viewpoint are on help. See that you do not keep repeating a point. Do not use more words than necessary. Do not superfluous. Try to be specific. Do not exaggerate.
Thorough Preparation: Starr making preparations for interview and group discussions right away, without waiting till the eleventh hour, this is, if and when called for them. Then the time left may not be adequate. It is important to concentrate on subject knowledge and general awareness. Hence, the prime need for thorough preparation. Remember, the competition is very tough. Only 460 candidates make it to the final list from 2.75 Lakh civil service aspirants each year.
It may so happen that you are called for interviews and group discussions from three or four organizations but are not selected by any. The reason obviously lies in your not being well prepared.
Some Facts of Group Discussion
Q. What is the normal duration of a GD?
A. A GD is generally of 25-30 minutes duration.
Q. How many panel members are there to evaluate?
A. There are usually 3-4 Panel members to evaluate.
Q. Is there time given for preparation after the topic is given and before starting the GD ?
A. Usually some time (5 minutes) is given to collect one's thought, but there could be instances when this does not happen, so it is best not to bank on this.
Q. Should one address the panel or group members?
A. Don't ever make the mistake of addressing the panel members. The GD is between you and the other members, not the panel members. You must avoid even looking at the panel members while the GD is in progress. Just ignore their existence.
Q. How should one address the other group members?
A. If you are initiating the discussion, you could do so by collectively addressing the group as "Friends". Subsequently, you could use names (if the group has had a round of self introduction prior to starting the discussion and you remember the names) or simply use pronouns like "he" or "she".
Q. Suppose one has a lot to say on the topic, should he say all of it?
A. You would not be looked upon favorable if you kept speaking all the time and did not listen to anyone else. Contrary to the misconception, the person who talks the most is not necessarily the one who is judged the best, the quality and not the quantity of your contribution is the success factor.
Q. Can one take a definite stand in the GD and then later on during the GD, switch over to another stand?
A. Yes provided you do it the right way. In a GD it is quite likely that some other participant's counter-argument convinces you to your point. If this happens, then it is best if you accept his argument and explain to the group how your previous arguments was true within a narrow range, and how the new argument is applicable to a broader range. Naturally, it is safer not to make any rash statements for or against a topic before you learn the facts of the argument. Blindly taking a stand will definitely lead you to trouble. This does not mean you should sit on the fence. You may participate actively by pointing out both sides of the issue in a reasonable and logical manner.
Q. Are we expected to stick to the normally accepted line of thought or can we come up with something radical?
A. By all means you can. It would demonstrate your creativity and originality. Just make sure it is relevant to the topic.
Q. If one feels strongly about an issue, should be voice his feelings?
A. It is important to be cool and emotionally objective in a GD. If you react emotionally you are likely to lose control over yourself during the group discussion. You have to be calm and logical, not emotional in a GD.
Q. Can one use technical terms or jargon, which is clear to him, but not to the group?
A. If you have to use technical terms, please do not use abbreviations. After mentioning the term in full take time out to explain to the group what is means. It is quite likely that other participants of the group have a different academic background from you, and you should make sure you are all on a level playing' field.
Q. Does one begin one's participation by requesting the group's permission to do so ?
A. It is not likely that you will get a chance to ask for such permission, It may also go against you (as appearing weak on your part).
Q. What is the right time to enter a GD to ensure that he is heard properly?
A. In any GD, there are crests and troughs during the discussion. The crest is when the noise level is at its peak. The trough is when there is almost total silence. Ideally, you should enter the GD during the trough period. But in competitive GDs, the crests occur more often and troughs may not occur at all. In such cases, you could identify the stages in the GD, where ideas dear to you are being discussed and enter the GD irrespective of the noise level.
Q. How does one participate which the noise level is too high?
A. You could try the following strategy Identify the most powerful speaker in the group, and note down the points that he/she is making. The moment the noise level reduces interim summary, if the discussion is already well focused.
Q. What does one do if someone else has already said what he wanted to say?
A. You have two choices:
1. Agree with the point made by that person and add on to it by displaying the applicability of the argument to different situations. By doing this you will have broadened the scope of the argument.
2. Drop the point and think of fresh points. To avoid getting into a situation where someone else has already spoken your points, do speak in the first 4-5 minutes of the GD. If you wait longer, it is almost inevitable that someone would have spoken your points.
Q. It is true that the person who speaks the most in a GD is the one who is most successful?
A. This is a myth. Generally the person who has a sound knowledge of the topic and is clear thinker speaks more. This leads the students into believing that whoever speaks most is successful. But just speaking for the sake of speaking will not take you far.
Q. Is motivating other people in the group to speak looked upon favorably?
A. Depends on how it is done. If you openly request someone to speak, you may be putting the other person in a difficult spot, and the evaluators will not look that upon favorably. It is therefore better to use other means of motivation, such as agreeing with a halting speaker, adding on to their points, implicitly supporting and giving them direction.
Q. What does one do if one member is very stubborn and aggressive?
A. You could use any of the following methods.
• Ignore him and address the other members of the group.
• Be assertive and tell him that his argument is faulty.
• Point out to him that his point is well taken and that the group must progress further by discussing the ideas presented by others.
Q. What are the acceptable ways of interrupting somebody else, so that he makes his points? '
A. You can interrupt in any of the following ways:
• "Excuse me, but I feel that what you are saying isn't universally true?
• "Yes, I agree with your idea, and I would like to add on to it?"
• "Yes, I think you are right when you say that, but could you clarify what is?"

Some essentials of Group Discussion
• Be as natural as possible. Do not try and be someone you are not. Be yourself
• A group discussion is your chance to be more vocal. The evaluator wants to hear you speak.
• Take time to organize your thoughts. Think of what you are going to say.
• Seek clarification if you have any doubts regarding the subject.
• Don't start speaking until you have clearly understood and analyzed the subject.
• Work out various strategies to help you make an entry: initiate the discussion or agree with someone else's point and then move into express your views.
• Opening the discussion is not the only way of gaining attention and recognition. If you do not valuable insights during the discussion, all your efforts of initiating the discussion will be in vain. Your body language says a lot about you-your gestures and mannerisms are more likely to reflect your attitude than what you say.
• Language skills are important only to the effect as to how you get your points across clearly and fluently.
• Be assertive not dominating; try to maintain balanced tone in your discussion and analysis.
• Don't lose your cool if anyone says anything you object to. The key is to stay objective: Don't take the discussion personally.
• Always be polite: Try to avoid using extreme phrases like: 'I strongly object' or 'I disagree'. Instead try phrases like: 'I would like to share my views on? ‘or 'One difference between Y5)Ur point and mine?' or "I beg to differ with you".
• Brush up on your leadership skills; motivate the other members of the team to speak (this surely does not mean that the only thing that you do in the GD is to say "let us hear what the young lady with the blue scarf has to say," or "Raghu, let us hear your views"-essentially be subtle, and listen to their views. Be receptive to others' opinions and do not be abrasive or aggressive.
• If you have a group of like-minded friends, you can have a mock group discussion where you can learn from each other through giving and receiving feedback.
• Apart from the above points, the panel will also judge team members for their alertness and presence of mind, problem-solving abilities, ability to work as a team without alienating certain members, and creativity.

Narotam Sekhsaria scholarship programme

2011-02-19T00:56:00.001-08:00

The Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation offers merit-based loans for postgraduate studies. The scholarships are offered at institutions in India and abroad, in the fields of science, humanities, law, architecture and management.

Financial support: The foundation gives interest-free loan scholarships to Indian students for an amount up to Rs 10 lakh, depending on the foundation's assessment. Students need to start repaying the loan a year after they complete the course.

Eligibility: Graduates from a recognised Indian university with a good academic record as well as students in their final year can apply. The scholarship is offered to Indian nationals residing in India. Applicants must be below 30, as of Jan 31, 2011.

Procedure: A completed application form along with an application fee of Rs 300 must be submitted. This should be accompanied by copies of all relevant marksheets and degree certificates, an application letter or the offer letter from the University for the postgraduate programme, an attested copy of the student's passport and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. The deadline is March 18. More information available on: www.nsscholarship.net

TOEFL scholarship programme

2011-02-19T00:55:00.001-08:00

Educational testing service (ETS), the creators of the TOEFL test, are offering nine scholarships for Indian students. These are valued at Rs 27.14 lakh and reward academic excellence in TOEFL test takers.

Financial support: The nine scholarships include three scholarships worth Rs 4.52 lakh each and six worth Rs 2.26 lakh each. These will be awarded for the 2011 academic year at a university listed in the TOEFL directory.

Eligibility: The scholarship is offered to Indian students living in India and beginning their study in 2011. Applicants must possess a valid TOEFL score and hold a grade point average of 80 or more on a 100-point scale, or its equivalent.

Procedure: Applicants must send in a completed application form with their TOEFL scores, a written essay and official transcript by April 15. The applications will be evaluated and the shortlisted candidates will be interviewed. Selected students must submit the university acceptance letter by June 1. More information available on: www.ets.org

Study On Net Will Be Possible For All In Next Two Years: Kapil Sibal

2011-02-18T23:43:00.001-08:00

Study On Net Will Be Possible For All In Next Two Years: Kapil Sibal

According to the Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, the government has planned to lay out fibre obtics connecting every village and city of India to facilitate the students to opt for education right from their homes in the next two years. All the colleges will be linked to the top universities in the country through Internet. The expenditure for the project has been estimated to be around Rs 1,000 crore. The move will help about 20 crore students who have no access to higher education today.

SC Gives Another Opportunity To 44 Deemed Universities Under Threat

2011-02-18T23:42:00.004-08:00

SC Gives Another Opportunity To 44 Deemed Universities Under Threat

The Supreme Court has offered a temporary relief to 44 deemed universities, with an enrollment of nearly 2 lakh students, which were under the threat of being de-recognized because of the deficiencies in their infrastructure, faculty and other facilities. The court has given two weeks’ time to the central government to issue notices to these universities, pointing out the deficiencies, and offering them another opportunity to remove them. The universities will have another two weeks to reply to the notices.

IIMs, Finally, Reveal Their Scoring Methods

2011-02-18T23:42:00.003-08:00

IIMs, Finally, Reveal Their Scoring Methods

With Engineers gaining perfect percentiles, IIMs have faced a lot of public wrath and litigation forcing them to reveal the CAT scoring patterns just a day after CAT 2010 results were announced. The CAT website says that each correct answer is awarded three points while a point is deducted for wrong answers to calculate raw scores. The website also reveals methods it uses to equate these raw scores and the scaling model it uses. Besides, all IIMs have also published the list of candidates they have shortlisted based on their CAT results.

AICTE Allots 20% Quota In Professional Colleges For Polytechnic Students

2011-02-18T23:42:00.001-08:00

AICTE Allots 20% Quota In Professional Colleges For Polytechnic Students

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has introduced new reform to allot a 20% quota, instead of 10% quota available previously, for polytechnic students in professional colleges. In Andaman Nicobar, Lakshadweep and Diu Daman, the quota for polytechnic students is 30%. The diploma holder students will also get admission directly in the second year of the degree course. The council has also allowed these institutes to start a separate batch of up to 60 students, only for polytechnic students that are allowed lateral entry in the professional degree courses.

Madras HC Grants Interim Stay To National Medical Entrance Exams In Tamil Nadu

2011-02-18T23:41:00.002-08:00

Madras HC Grants Interim Stay To National Medical Entrance Exams In Tamil Nadu

The Madras High Court granted interim stay on the Medical Council of India’s (MCI) notification on Thursday, which means that the single national entrance exams or CET for admissions to the MBBS and Post Graduate Medical Courses in Tamil Nadu will not be conducted this year. HC also stated that conducting CET throughout India without reference to different streams of education prevailing in different states is highly arbitrary and illegal, and pointed out that the Dr M Ananthakrishnan Committee had suggested its abolition.

AICTE Now Bans Important MBA Entrance Exams Such As XAT, ATMA And MICAT

2011-02-18T23:41:00.001-08:00

AICTE Now Bans Important MBA Entrance Exams Such As XAT, ATMA And MICAT

A shocking reform introduced by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has put a ban to important MBA entrance exams such as the XAT, ATMA or MICAT as entry points to PGDM programs in AICTE-approved B-schools. Only CAT, MAT and state-run exams (such as the Maharashtra CET) will be accepted by AICTE affiliated business schools. However, Dr Prabhat Kumar Sahoo, Director and regional officer of AICTE, Western Region said that he was sending in his suggestion to include XAT in the list so it may stay as one of the entrance exams for B-schools.

Single entrance test for MBBS from 2011

2010-08-16T22:10:00.005-07:00

Single entrance test for MBBS from 2011

NEW DELHI: In a landmark decision, the Medical Council of India has decided to hold only one common entrance test in the country for over 31,000 MBBS seats and over 11,000 MD seats in all government and other medical colleges in the country.
The decision in this regard taken by the Medical Council of India has been accepted by the Union Health Ministry and has been conveyed to the Supreme Court on Friday bringing huge relief to lakhs of aspiring doctors.
Under the new system, there will be just one entrance test each for MBBS and MD courses offered by all the 271 medical colleges, 138 government-run and 133 under private management institutes which together account for 31,000 MBBS seats and over 11,000 MD seats.
Earlier, students wanting to take up pursue medical courses had to appear in several entrance tests and face stiff hurdles like clash of entrance exam dates and long journeys to distant places for counselling for allotment of seats.
It may be mentioned that Simran Jain, an MBBS aspirant had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking the court’s intervention for creation of a single window system for admissions.
The apex court had expressed its concern over the sorry state of affairs of some private medical colleges and their admission process had come for some serious scrutiny in the apex court.
In 2009, the Court had even asked the then Director General of Health Services to look into allegations of malpractices in admissions into some Government medical colleges in various states. (Agencies)
Source: The Shillong Times

Source Link: http://www.neinews.com/single-entrance-test-for-mbbs-from-2011.html

NID students showcase futuristic designs at jewellery week

2010-08-16T22:10:00.003-07:00

NID students showcase futuristic designs at jewellery week

Mumbai, Aug 15: Students of the National Institute of Design (NID), the only institute participating in the India International Jewellery Week (IIJW), presented a unique and futuristic jewellery collection which left the spectators enthralled on the inaugural day today.
The edgy and funky collection, called New Adorn, was put together by five students - Swati Agarwal, Chetan Sharma, Avantika Kumar, sanjeev Gupta and Gauri Pandey - of the Lifestyle Accessory Design department of the NID, which is a premier institute in the field of design education and research.
"We always associate jewellery with precious and non-precious gems but the fact is that the beauty of the jewellery piece lies in the beauty of the material, whatever it may be. The whole focus of our collection was to make use of unusual and different materials to make jewellery designs," Pandey told IANS.
Models sashayed the ramp in black outfits wearing uncommon and experimental designs for neck pieces, waist chains, rings and earrings among other pieces. Few models also sported jewellery pieces at places which are not usually adorned
"We are have tried to make designs which are not typical. When we were working on the designs, we realised that there are so many other places in the body that you can adorn with a piece of jewellery. So we created designs by discovering new geographies of adorning the body," Pandey added.
The students also stressed on the fact that their designs are eco- and nature friendly.
"We also tried to make the designs eco-friendly and close to the nature by using integrating recycled cans and cold drink bottle crowns since we felt that that will be the basis of designs in the future," said Agarwal, another student of the team.
The team also said that their collection revisited cultural aspects of Indian traditions to explore alternative techniques and materials to lend a bold, alluring and exhuberant appeal to their work.
IIJW is India's first-ever jewellery week and will run till Thursday at the Hotel Grand Hyatt, Santa Cruz.
The extravaganza will showcase the collections of 30 designers, including Farah Khan Ali, Varun D. Jani, Bina Goenka and Rhea Nasta. Well-known jewellery brands like Mirari, Gitanjali, Amrapali, Tanishq and Ganjam are also participating. (IANS)

Source Link: http://headlinesindia.mapsofindia.com/education-news/college,-campus/nid-students-showcase-futuristic-designs-at-jewellery-week-60276.html

Navi Mumbai to host 4th Asian Science Camp

2010-08-16T22:10:00.001-07:00

Navi Mumbai to host 4th Asian Science Camp

Navi Mumbai, Aug 15: Navi Mumbai will be the first Indian city to host the Asian Science Camp starting on Tuesday.
The three-day camp, which will be held in Navi Mumbai's Vashi township, has been earlier hosted by Taiwan in 2007, Indonesia in 2008 and Japan in 2009.
"Eleven world renowned scientists from India and abroad, including Nobel laureates Richard R. Ernst from Switzerland and Makoto Kobayashi from Japan will be the speakers at the camp," said H.C. Pradhan, director of the the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education.
Over 200 science students and 30 teachers from 20 Asian countries will be participating in the 4th edition of the camp.
The Asian Science Camp aims to enlighten talented science students through discussions and dialogue with top scholars of the world. The programme comprises plenary sessions, round table discussions, student-master dialogue, creative poster competition, social events and excursions.
M. Barma, director of TIFR's School of Natural Sciences; C.N.R. Rao, chair of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and R. Chidambaram, principal scientific advisor to government of India will lead the discussions at the camp.
Jainendra Jain from the Pennsylvania State University, Paul Matsudaira from the Singapore National University, Martin Poliakoff from the University of Nottingham and T.V. Ramakrishnan from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore are also among the dignitaries who will lead the discussions.
The camp is being funded jointly by the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Atomic Energy.(IANS)

Source Link: http://headlinesindia.mapsofindia.com/education-news/educational-programmes/navi-mumbai-to-host-4th-asian-science-camp-60259.html

National seminar on cinema held at Asian School of Media Studies

2010-08-16T22:09:00.002-07:00

National seminar on cinema held at Asian School of Media Studies

The changing trends in Indian Cinema must be brought to lime light through seminars at film schools

“INDIA IS the largest film producing country in the world. More than 900 films are produced in 28 languages .There are 13000 theaters in the country and 10 million people watch cinema every day. We sell 3 billion tickets every year, largest in the World” , stated Sandeep Marwah, President of Marwah Studios and Director of Asian School of Media Studies (ASMS) in his the opening statement at National Seminar on Cinema at Noida Film City.

“We are proud film makers of this country, we have given some of the finest films to the nation even without the availability of any extra ordinary techniques earlier” said Ketan Mehta popularly known for his films like Bhavni Bhavai, Holi, Mirch Masala, Hero Hiralal, Maya Memsahab, Sardar, Aar Ya Paar, Mangal Pandey, Rang Rasiya etc.while inaugurating the seminar at ASMS.

” The changes in Indian Cinema can be condensed to the changes in techniques, the contents and the presentation ”, Mehta added.

Writer, Director Shakeel Shamsi of Sahara emphasised on the requirements of the good subjects and scripts. “The changing perception of masses and their expectations plays a vital role in finalizing the subject” he added. R.K.Singh, Dean, ASMS conducted the program.

Others who spoke and covered the different subjects on cinema were Gurbir Grewal, Dy Director AAFT known for films Mannat and Coffee House, A.S.Bedi writer of feature film Silsala, Ashok Tyagi Dean, Cinema and popularly known for his films Bharat Bhagya Vidhata, Return of Jewel Thief, Ardh Satya, Satha Se Uthta Admi, Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai, Surkhiyan etc.

Rahul Sehgal, Dr. Om Gupta, Deepti Pant also spoke about the various facets of cinema. Later, Sandeep Marwah honoured Ketan Mehta with the life membership of International Film And Television Club of ASMS. The seminar ended with a question and answer session by the media students from all over India and abroad.

Source Link: http://www.merinews.com/article/national-seminar-on-cinema-held-at-asian-school-of-media-studies/15828686.shtml

IMT benefits from EU academic program

2010-08-16T22:09:00.001-07:00

IMT benefits from EU academic program

Students and faculty of the Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad – a signatory to the European Union (EU)’ s educational programme Erasmus Mundus – have started reaping the fruits in form of scholarships.
Erasmus Mundus is the global avatar of the Erasmus programme, supported by the EU that encourages academic collaborations between prominent universities and academic institutions by providing better mobility for students and professors. It also provides scholarships for graduate and post graduate students.

As part of the agreement, six management students from IMT have been awarded scholarships to pursue an academic term for five months at Erasmus partner institutions. A research scholar from IMT got a scholarship to pursue further research in a joint doctoral degree for one year. Ten students from universities across Europe have been selected to pursue academic terms at IMT. “Four students have already arrived and have integrated themselves with the academic rigour and culture at IMT. The International Relations team at IMT believes this exchange will prove to be a great learning experience for the students and will help in improving IMT’s international standing further,” said Jayanthi Ranjan, chairperson, international relations, IMT Ghaziabad.
Ranjan said four faculty members of IMT have been awarded scholarships to pursue post doctoral research at various partner universities. Four more faculty members were also selected for Academic Staff Exchange.
Going ahead, the institute is in the process of negotiations for providing international internships and placements to students. “With this kind of long-term international exposure in the field of business and management, the students of IMT stand a better chance to obtaining international placements as well,” she added.
IMT has signed five independent bilateral agreements to explore further opportunities for other international academic exchange programmes. Talks are on with four more institutions. IMT along with its partners are also in the process of establishing joint-degree programmes at the post graduate and post doctoral levels.

Source Link: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/imt-benefitseu-academic-programme/404651/

IITs, IIMs to dump grades? - India - The Times of...

2010-08-16T22:08:00.002-07:00

IITs, IIMs to dump grades? - India - The Times of...

Each institute, autonomous in nature, has its own grading system. Most IITs[56] award a cumulative performance index (CPI) on a scale of one to 10 but IIT-Kanpur does not award odd-number grades. And, among the IIMs, those in Ahmedabad[57] and Bangalore[58] award a CGPA on a scale of one to four — like American universities — but IIM-Calcutta grades its students on a range of one to nine points.
This, according to PSUs, creates a lot of confusion and hence the move to ask for a more conventional ...

Source Link: http://www.ubervu.com/conversations/timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/IITs-IIMs-to-dump-grades/articleshow/6316744.cms

ICFAI plans to invest Rs 400 cr to set up 8 universities in 2 years

2010-08-16T22:08:00.001-07:00

ICFAI plans to invest Rs 400 cr to set up 8 universities in 2 years

MUMBAI: THE ICFAI Group, known for its chain of B-schools, is planning to set up eight universities in as many states in the next two years with an investment of Rs400 crore, says a senior official. It has received the necessary approvals from the governments of Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, said SK Sharma, director, planning and coordination, ICFAI.

Full Story: Economic Times
Related Topics :

Source Link: http://newspolitan.com/forum/art/india/bangalore/HE2DENRVG3AVISKD

Coast Guard with Maritime University offers international level course

2010-08-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

Coast Guard with Maritime University offers international level course

The Coast Guard has joined hands with a Maritime University in Chennai to offer an international level course focusing on oil spill assessment and shoreline clean-up exercise to train officials in tackling such disasters.
The Coast Guard and the private AMET University recently entered into an agreement to offer the International Maritime Organisation Level-II Oil Pollution Preparedness Response and Co-operation (OPRC) programme for senior and middle level managers of oil firms and ports.
The course offers intensive training sessions conforming to the IMO guidelines and would cover oil spill assessment, combat techniques, planning waste management, legislation compensations and applicable claims and shoreline clean-up exercises.

Source Link: http://www.minglebox.com/article/news/Coast-Guard-with-Maritime-University-offers-international-level-course/data-0001-fdbffe842a6b33bb012a6b6d43242237