Education Community

The National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) has faced criticism for removing a number of chapters from textbooks for classes 11 and 12, particularly the chapters dealing with the Mughal Empire. The director of NCERT says that the chapters were removed to lessen the amount of work and content that students must learn. Top NCERT officials have defended their decision, saying that it was made to reduce the workload for students. They have removed some chapters and revised the syllabus. Director of NCERT Dinesh Prasad Saklani told reporters that this textbook revision was carried out as a “professional exercise” to lighten the load for students who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision by NCERT to omit some chapters, including Kings and Chronicles, Mughal Courts, US Hegemony in World Politics, Cold War Period, and other chapters of a similar nature, has drawn a lot of criticism. Many people have claimed that this choice was motivated by a hidden political agenda. The NCERT Director has clarified that the removal of these chapters was done as part of a professional exercise and that there was no ulterior political objective. The NCERT director stated that the COVID 19 pandemic has caused significant trauma for students. In order to lessen the stress on students and prevent learning loss, the chapters have been removed, and the syllabus has been revised. “To help stressed students, and as a responsibility to society and the nation, it was felt that the content load in textbooks should be reduced,” stated Saklani.

A new BTech course in space science and engineering has just been launched at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Indore). Students will be able to learn about and make predictions about astronomy, agriculture, environment, ecology, and climate change as well as communication, navigation, defence, and security. This course may be ideal for you if you find astronomy and space fascinating. An overview of the curriculum, eligibility requirements, and course format is provided below. Students will be exposed to cutting-edge research and technological advancements in the fields of payloads, small satellites, and detector design, data analytics, imaging, and high-end numerical simulations, with applications focused on astronomy, earth observation, climate change, and sustainable development. With carefully selected elective courses and a semester-long research project, students in this course can specialise in one of the following areas: space instrumentation, including detectors and payloads, imaging and data analytics, remote sensing and atmospheric engineering, astronomy and astrophysics. There are 20 seats available for BTech students studying space science and engineering. There are eight semesters in the four-year, full-time undergraduate programme. Candidates must take 6 to 7 required subjects each semester in addition to their choice of electives. JEE Advanced score will be used to determine admission to all three programmes. Candidates must also have passed the class 12 (or equivalent) exam from a recognised state or central board. By enrolling in higher studies, students who take the course can contribute to the research and development of space technology. They can collaborate on projects to advance space technology both with the public and private sectors.

A new initiative to support international research scholars is introduced by Banaras Hindu University (BHU). The scheme aims to support international PhD scholars who do not have access to other fellowships financially while also facilitating and fostering excellence in research. International scholars will receive a credit incentive of Rs 40,000 under the new scheme. This credit may be used to cover user fees for BHU equipment used for research. A further credit of Rs 30,000 would be given if the research scholar is the first author in a Q1 or Q2 journal. For international PhD students at BHU who do not already have a fellowship, the programme established under the IoE initiative of the Government of India will provide financial assistance of Rs 8,000 per month. A contingency similar to the BHU-UGC non-NET Fellowship will also be given to them. Similar to the research incentive provided to BHU-Not NET Fellowship, international scholars who publish papers in Q1 or Q2 journals are entitled to receive an additional one-time incentive of Rs. 84,000. There are currently 57 such students who will receive benefits from the monthly fellowship scheme.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur has joined hands with a Gurugram-based ed-tech startup iXRLabs. To see experience of students with VR, aspirants can check the official website — ivarlab.iitkgp.ac.in. As part of this partnership, iVAR lab will share students’ experiences with virtual reality modules created by iXRLabs in areas like civil, mechanical, electrical, and chemical. Experts are hoping that this collaboration will promote research and innovation in the field of virtual reality for educational purposes. The two organisations hope that their collaboration will significantly improve students’ educational experiences. The modules in these programmes will cover a wide range of industrial settings, including machineries, plant tours, and experiments, such as a jet engine, thermal power plant, and universal testing machine. Also, the iVAR lab will provide inputs in the writing and development of a research paper/white paper based on the pilot project. According to Dr. Kaushal Kumar Bhagat of the iVAR Lab at IIT Kharagpur, “the collaboration will facilitate and foster the research and innovation on the applications of virtual reality in education and training, which will pave the way for a new era of immersive learning experiences that can transform the way students acquire knowledge and skills.”

The MTech in Robotics programme was launched by the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D) today. At home.iitd.ac.in/pg-admissions.php the official IIT Delhi website, interested candidates can apply for this programme. The application deadline for this recently announced programme is March 30. The program’s first batch will begin in the 2023–24 academic year. There are 25 seats available in this programme, and candidates will be admitted using the GATE, a programming test, and an interview. Collaborative robotics, industrial robotics, rehabilitation and medical robotics, and autonomous and intelligent vehicles will all be areas of specialisation in the curriculum. The Department of Computer Science and Engineering, the Department of Electrical Engineering, the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and the Yardi School of Artificial Intelligence in collaboration with the Center of Excellence on Biologically Inspired Robots and Drones (CoE-BIRD) will jointly offer this two-year programme. The new course will emphasise experiential learning along with strong theoretical foundations. Students will be given access to a multidisciplinary curriculum that will provide them with the knowledge and skills necessary to design innovative, intelligent systems and products that can solve today’s problems in the development of robotics platforms and applications.

The SPARK internship program 2023 is the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee’s (IIT Roorkee) yearly flagship program. IIT Roorkee will provide UG students from all around India an internship opportunity as part of the SPARK internship program. Interns will get a stipend of Rs 2500 per week for 6–8 weeks. The selected intern will work with professors from 26 academic departments and centres on research projects. This year, the Mehta Family School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence will also provide internship opportunities. 25 UG and 10 PG internships are offered specifically for students from Institutes within 200 km of IIT Roorkee under SPARK as part of the celebration of 175 years since the establishment of IIT Roorkee. The UG internship’s maximum duration is six weeks, whereas the PG internship’s maximum duration is six months. The deadline to submit an application for an internship has been set for March 31, according to IIT Roorkee. Selected students can begin their internships in the second week of May 2023 after the results are announced in the second week of April. Visit the SPARK website for additional information on the program and the application procedure. IIT Roorkee began offering institute-funded and project-funded summer internships under the SPARK program in 2018. In 2022, the SPARK program received more than 15000 applications, of which more than 120 offers were made. The SPARK summer internship program of IIT Roorkee seeks to provide this experience to all interns chosen following a rigorous competition among the best minds, according to Prof. K.K. Pant, Director of IIT Roorkee. “We hope this internship program will change the life and mindset of some of the chosen minds of our country and create enthusiasm towards their field of study,” he said.

According to UGC Chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar, African and Gulf nations, Thailand, and Vietnam are among the potential destinations for Indian universities to establish their offshore campuses. In a month, the regulations for the same will be announced. In an interview with PTI, Kumar stated that a number of countries are stepping forward to offer infrastructure to Indian universities looking to establish campuses abroad, and the University Grants Commission (UGC) will assist the institutions in selecting the countries where they can do so. “We have in India huge university ecosystem. There are outstanding universities, both in central government, state government funded and private universities. We want to encourage these varsities to set up their campuses abroad. Some countries where they are coming forward to provide the infrastructure to our universities to set up their campus.” “We have countries where we have large Indian diaspora who want our campuses to come and provide education,” he said. Kumar said, “several African countries,” when asked about the nations that have showed interest in welcoming Indian universities. “There is huge potential for setting up campuses in African countries. Thailand, Vietnam and few Gulf countries… there is immense interest and the opportunities are immense too. It is just that we have not had any enabling regulations so far,” he added. The Middle-East and South Asian countries have been requesting to establish their campuses at a number of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). IIT Madras is looking into opportunities in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Tanzania, while IIT Delhi is considering opening a campus in the United Arab Emirates. Moreover, IIT campuses are planned for Egypt, Thailand, Malaysia, and the UK. “IITs are known as institutions of national importance, they function under IIT Council. It has its own rules and regulations under which they can set up their own campuses. Already some IITs are working on that,” he said. Last month, the UGC stated that foreign universities would be able to establish campuses in India for the first time and revealed draft regulations that would allow these universities to manage their admissions policies, fee schedule, and fee repatriation. According to Kumar, the final norms, which will take into account the views from stakeholders, would also be released in a month. Because of the potential benefits to our students, this UGC regulation to allow campuses of foreign educational institutions in India is widely discussed in our country. A finalisation of the rules is now taking place. “We also had discussions with various foreign universities delegations which have visited UGC, we have put draft for feedback and have received very good feedback. In another month or so, we will be able to release the final regulations,” he said. When the ministries of external affairs and home affairs issued no objection certificates, the UGC amended its regulations in 2021 to permit Institutes of Eminence to establish campuses abroad. Source: PTI

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has given candidates seeking to become assistant professors a significant relief. The prerequisite of having a PhD at the time of recruitment has been removed. For the benefit of students and faculty, UGC has made a number of modifications to education and the recruiting process in recent years. The statement was made by UGC Chairman Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar. According to the UGC chairman, clearing the National Eligibility Test (NET) is sufficient to become an assistant professor. At the opening ceremony for the UGC-HRDC building that was just built at Osmania University, Jagadesh made the announcement. The UGC shared the announcement via the official Twitter handle. The UGC chairman had already notified the PBNS that two Australian universities will be opening campuses in India. It is a step in the nation’s higher education system’s internationalisation process. Two Australian universities have announced plans to establish campuses at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), he said, adding that Deakin University, a prestigious Australian institution, is the first foreign university to receive approval from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to establish an International Branch Campus (IBC) in GIFT-IFSC. It’s important to note that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims to make it possible for the best universities in the world to operate in the nation. The UGC released a draft regulation in January addressing ‘Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions (FHEIs) in India.’ The draft discussed building a legislative framework to grant interested international universities exceptional exemptions from regulatory, governance, and content criteria on par with other autonomous institutions of India. Since the draft regulations were released two months ago, there has already been an increase in activity related to international universities in India.

The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur’s Department of Civil Engineering will introduce the country’s first-ever online post-graduate programme in construction engineering. The programme is a brand-new addition to the institution’s eMasters degree programme. “Sustainable construction practises and project management” are its main objectives. The curriculum, created by faculty at IIT Kanpur and business professionals, intends to meet the demands of India’s rapidly expanding infrastructure and construction industries. According to the official information, “This programme aims to equip practising civil engineers and architects with the knowledge and skills to manage projects effectively, using minimum resources and energy requirements, and with a minimum carbon footprint.” It will cover a wide range of topics such as green building materials, sustainable design and construction, project management, and finance for sustainable projects. Applicants who apply to the programme have a choice of one to three years to finish their degrees. The official statement stated, “The Senate-approved degree programme is inclusive of IIT Kanpur campus visit, mentorship, and career support.” At the moment, IIT Kanpur is offering nine eMasters programmes. The application procedure for this programme will begin at the end of March, and the programme will be inaugurated in July. For more information, candidates should continue to check the official website, emasters.iitk.ac.in.

On the 107th birth anniversary of politician Biju Patnaik, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced the establishment of a health university in the state on Sunday. The university will be established in Bhubaneshwar. According to a notification released by the Health and Family Welfare Department, beginning with the academic year 2023–2024, all medical and allied health science colleges and institutions would be associated with the Odisha University of Health Sciences. According to an official, starting with the 2023–24 academic year, all colleges that offer undergraduate and postgraduate level health sciences courses, including modern medicine, ayurveda, homoeopathy, nursing, pharmacy, and physiotherapy, would now fall under the purview of the university. According to him, the Odisha government had previously made the decision to establish the health university in order to organise the state’s fragmented medical education system. The Odisha University of Health Sciences Act was passed by the assembly in October 2021 and notified by the government on August 14, 2022.