Ordinance for Hindi varsity in Bhopal soon - The Times of India

The state government will promulgate an ordinance soon to set up a Hindi university in Bhopal, so that it starts functioning on December 25, coinciding with the birthday of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The decision to establish a Hindi vishwavidyalaya was taken at a meeting chaired by chief ministerShivraj Singh, who felt that such a step would help contribute to promoting Hindi and help the language get status of a world language. The state also plans to make the inauguration of the proposed Hindi university a big event by inviting renowned scholars from all over the country, a release said.

The meeting also discussed holding of student union elections in universities and colleges at the end of this month. The state higher education department proposed to hold elections in all govt universities on single day.

While reviewing the progress of higher education loan guarantee scheme, the meeting was informed that the state has for the first time fixed a target to provide loans to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore to more than 60,000 students in this fiscal.

The meeting expressed displeasure over banks adopting an ambivalent attitude towards implementation of the scheme and chief minister said there was a need for greater coordination between the banks and the departments concerned for implementing the scheme for achieving the target.

Chief Secretary Avani Vaish and education department officials were among those present.

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Work in rural areas, docs urged - The Times of India

The two-day workshop organized at community medicine department of Mahatma Gandhi Medical College came to an end on Saturday. The workshop was held to enable the students select topics for the community-based research programme, which is a part of their curriculum.

On the second day, students of final year presented their papers on several topics including concerns over public health. They also presented research works done by their seniors in the previous years. Chief guest, state health minister Mahendra Hardia, appreciated the work done by the students. He also encouraged students to work in rural areas and slums to research on the health-related problems of the people.

The minister said that health department will fund projects that are related with healthcare in rural areas. Lending an ear to the problems of medical teachers association, the minister promised to revise the pay of teachers as per UGC norms. Hardia said the decision on this will be taken at the earliest. The minister also promised to give non-practising allowance to the teachers of eight non-clinical subjects in the college as per the sixth pay commission.

The minister asked the HoD of the community medicine department Dr Sanjay Dixit to carry out more research projects which would be of significance for the people of the state. Dean Medical College Dr Pushpa Verma was also present on the occasion. The members in the gathering raised a few concerns with the minister about the college and the basic amenities meant for the patients.

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University World News - INDIA: Ban lifted on distance postgraduate courses

The University Grants Commission has lifted its two-year ban on masters and PhD courses through correspondence, the U-turn apparently forced by legal opinion against the move following protests from universities, writes Basant Kumar Mohanty for The Telegraph.

Open universities like Ignou and several general universities had protested the ban on the ground that their respective laws, passed by parliament or legislatures, allowed them to offer such courses. Ignou even continued to offer such programmes. Faced with the resistance, the higher education regulator sought legal opinion on whether it could override such powers conferred by the acts to the universities.

Last month, the UGC held a meeting where it was decided to drop the ban. "An open university may be permitted to conduct MPhil-PhD programmes through distant education mode subject to condition that it does so strictly as per the provisions of the UGC regulations," said the minutes of the meeting. "We will follow the rules but our regulations are already stricter than those of the UGC," said Ignou Vice-chancellor Rajasekharan Pillai.

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Executive MBA's in India - Business Leaders

Designed to meet the needs of managers, executives and other business leaders, Executive MBA programmes are highly in demand in India

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2 SEP 2011 Admin

What is an Executive MBA programme?

An Executive MBA programme (also called EMBA) is an especially designed course to meet the educational needs of managers, C-level executive as well as other business leaders. In two years or less, an EMBA programme allows professionals to earn a business-related graduate degree while working fulltime. During this period, professionals gain a wide range of new skills and sharpen their analytical abilities by combining coursework with everyday professional experience.

The collective professional coverage of its participants is a unique aspect of the EMBA programme. Most often, a team approach is used to understand the diverse perspectives on a range on topics. This interaction results in a challenging, stimulating learning experience that provides for maximum return on time and resources invested. EMBA programmes have, over the years, expanded in numbers all over the world and in India too.

Even though the course is taught by distinguished PhD full-time faculty, an EMBA programme is much different from a regular MBA.

Firstly, the course is especially tailored to meet the requirements of working professionals and managers who are working fulltime, are in the mid-stage of their careers and want to enrich their educational knowledge. Due to time constraints, EMBA progamme classes are usually held over the weekend. However, thanks to technological advancements, EMBA programmes are further custom-made for working professionals who must balance work, travel and family along with their academic pursuits.

Special Highlights of an EMBA programme

Even though courses offered in an EMBA programme are generally the same as those taught in traditional MBA programs – accounting, finance, statistics, management, marketing and information systems, there are a few unique aspects to an EMBA study programme. The experience is enhanced by the extensive professional experience of its participants. Plus, a great amount of study material is covered in an accelerated manner to fit the timetable of busy working executives. Additionally, principal instructors are mostly senior faculty members who have a rich experience in teaching and consulting.

How are Executive MBA Programmes priced?

An EMBA course can take the participants career to new heights. A successful EMBA study programme is dictated by an excellent faculty, facilities and high quality exposure. So of course, obtaining this degree is an investment on the participant’s part.

However, in most of the cases, students are sponsored fully, or partly, by their employers. Most employers are able to comprehend the advantage they would gain from having an employee whose management skills have been brought to the peak. Students who are not sponsored by their companies are eligible for loans, scholarships, and/or other financial aid.

Typically, in India, the fees for a fulltime one year Executive MBA can cost anywhere from Rs, 1, 50,000 to Rs. 15lakh. Plus, it also depends on the candidate’s choice of programme and Business-school. The fees may be on the higher side but it is important to consider that a 1-year Executive MBA programme can be extremely intensive. The programme is usually conducted through different study modes such as case studies, discussions, debates, learning from each others’ work experiences, assignments, etc.

Some 1-year Executive MBA programmes offered in India are:

· IIM Ahmedabad: PGPX (Post Graduate Programme for Executives)

· IIM Bangalore: Executive General Management programme

· IIM C (Kolkata): PGPX (Post Graduate Programme for Executives)

· Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad

· XLRI, Jamshedpur: Graduate Management Programme

· IMT, Ghaziabad

Executive Courses for professionals in India

In India, the treatment to EMBA’s is slightly different. “Broadly, there are two categories” informs Prof N Bringi Dev, Adjunct Professor & Head - Communication, IIM Bangalore. “A fulltime 1 year course is ideal for professionals with 7-15 years of work experience & can cost anywhere between 19 -20 lakh rupees. On the other hand, other executive general management courses are also offered to students looking for weekend programmes” he adds.

At IIMB, the Executive Education Programmes comprise:

· Open Programmes are anchored on faculty research and expertise across various disciplines of management and draw participants from different organisations. This consists of both short and long durationprogrammes.

· Customized Programmes offered by the Institute are designed to meet the specific needs of organizations.

· International Programmes are offered for the benefit of global practicing managers, in collaboration with top international B-schools and universities.

“We have excellent diversity in the profile of the current batch of General Management Program (GMP - Full Time MBA course for executives with more than 5 years work experience) including doctors, fashion designers, CA’s, bankers as well as professionals and managers from Nuclear Power Operations” says Mr. Rajeev Kumar Shahi, General Management, XLRI, Jamshedpur.

Subhra Sengupta, CFO,TATA Metalliks, N Sunil Kumar, CEO, ABN AMRO Foundation, Subhendu Baliarsingh, Country Head- Marketing, AREVA and Dr Kailash Jialdasani , DGM, Marketing Apollo hospitals are to mention a few names from XLRI, Jamshedpur’s Executive Programme.

Admission to an EMBA course

Ideally, the enrollment to an Executive MBA course is a very individualized process. Professional performance, academic records, GMAT scores and recommendations are all considered before offering admission. While test scores, grade point averages and other objective criteria are all important evaluations, a potential student’s background, work experience, career goals and willingness to succeed are crucial factors in making an admission decision.

An Executive MBA degree represents a refined level of knowledge and skills pertaining to a broad range of contemporary management topics. It helps participants think strategically and plan competitively in the global business world. Thus, it is said that an Executive MBA is one of the wisest decisions managers with three to five years of work experience can make as it offers them an edge over other employees and paves the way for immense career success.

http://www.emba.org/index.htm

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Sibal, Montek differ on foreign education bill - The Times of India

Considered reformists in theManmohan Singh government, HRD minister Kapil Sibal and Planning Commission deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia are not on the same side when it comes to Foreign Education Providers Billand a slew of other educational legislations being planned by the HRD ministry.

Ahluwalia's criticism has come out in the latest WikiLeaks disclosures. After a lot of initial enthusiasm, the HRD ministry is going slow on Foreign Education Providers Bill as a fresh round of discussion has begun.

A cable from the US embassy in Delhi shows Ahluwalia expressing reservations about the Bill to William Burns, US under secretary of state for political affairs. "Hazarding that he was perhaps talking out of turn, Ahluwalia asserted that he was not very happy with the Foreign University Bill and did not think that legislative changes were needed (Note: The draft Bill would allow foreign campuses in India. End note.) To move forward, Ahluwalia suggested that a new bilateral forum identify 8-9 different educational collaboration models and then determine where the US and Indian interest was strongest," the cable dated June 6, 2009 says. The cable was released on August 26.

Ahluwalia also told Burns that his impression about Sibal is that he "wanted to rewrite the bilateral agenda of education to focus on three areas: expansion, inclusion and excellence". "The deputy chairman said that expansion and inclusion were already being implemented, but that raising the quality of education was going to be the 'tough part'. At least part of the solution lie in promoting Indian universities, which offer a global experience through some use of visiting faculty, joint programmes, or "twinning". (Note: Ahluwalia has earlier described this to American officials as a relationship between an Indian and American university where students from either institution spend one year at each university)

In the same cable, Ahluwalia while advocating a "separate bilateral forum on education" told Burns that he "had been in contact with US faculty of Indian origin, who are interested in pursuing new types of collaboration with Indian universities".

But, Ahluwalia cautioned, there is a lack of clarity about what would be best for the US and Indian universities among a "multiplicity of models". He also suggested that to "move forward, a new bilateral forum identify 8-9 different educational collaboration models and then determine where US and Indian interest was strongest. His impression was that American universities do not want to set up entire campuses, but rather facilities where they could take 30-40 students for a semester."

The cable quotes Burns observing that some US universities in recent years have set up in different countries, but Ahluwalia replied that such models would not work in India because they are funded by the host country, which would be perceived in India as preferential to the foreign university. Ahluwalia categorically stated that the "Dubai model" would not work.

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Division of R&D of LPU conducted Workshop for Research Procedures to motivate Faculty & Students

An elaborated Work shop for Research Procedures to motivate Faculty & Students was conducted by the Division of Research and Development of Lovely Professional University at Shri Baldev Raj Mittal Auditorium of the University. First of its kind, this workshop attracted more than 200 PhD aspiring faculty and students from different Departments of the University. Dean Research, LPU, elaborated in details HOW TO WRITE A DOCTORAL THESIS/ a Conceptual Research Paper. All participated actively in regard to learn and interact basically needed research procedures and out puts. Many students showcased and discussed their projects also with the experts.

The Chancellor, Mr Ashok Mittal informed: "Only a few days back, a mentor group led by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has recommended 'the creation of faculty capable of cutting-edge research and high quality teaching to make the institution a centre of excellence'. We are lucky that our University has already been working on the desires of Hon'ble Amartya Sen." Continuing, he said: "We are regularly aiming at providing world class research services to the students in Punjab, the entire nation and the students across the globe. In this regard, we have already announced that a dedicated Research Block would soon come up in the campus. Through it will be provided the best and latest facilities for faculty and the students, so that they are motivated to explore new areas in the field of research and to put their ideas into real formations."

Guiding the participants to the workshop, Dr Sorab Sadri, Dean (Research), LPU explained them in details "HOW TO WRITE A DOCTORAL THESIS". He interacted with them on the necessary more than 40 topics like 'Four things to do/ not to do; what a thesis is; how it should be written; style, presentation; copyright waiver; acknowledgments; references; materials and methods etc'. It offered an opportunity to learn and discuss the techniques of research write-up and publication, thereof. It also helped participants to understand how to structure research papers effectively, enhance their ability to critique, edit and review their own work for proper academic publication process. As such the different modules of workshop included suggested structures of research papers based on all these indications. Further inspiring Dr Sadri emboldened the participants that writing a thesis seems initially a long, difficult task; however, after completion of a couple of chapters it seems as a pleasure towards the improvement in 'technical writing'.

It is worth illustration that 'Seed grant' is being given to the departments and the co-ordinators, who take initiative in hosting of conferences with national and internationally recognized associations. Here, Seed Grant is providing needed money to project ideas and programmes that are just getting started, or to jump-start to put ideas into action. It can also be used towards expanding projects that are already developed and sustainable. On these lines, as an encouragement to the research scholars, the University is providing financial assistance to its staff and students on an annual basis. This is to provide them an opportunity to learn and exchange ideas with experienced people from the Academia and the Industry. As such, Innovations from the research scholars, in concurrence with the vision of the University, will take LPU to glorious heights in the field of research. In this context, the upcoming of the Research and Development Block, in the premises of the University, is being eagerly anticipated by the aspiring Ph D students.

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Rogtak IIM

Rohtak IIM

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NYT: India Measures Itself Against

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