Lily Wilkinson

Sunday, December 2, 2018

UGC to set up a committee to revamp the guidelines for the research papers

Keeping in view the fact that India in current time is one of the largest markets of the substandard research journals, the University Grants Commission has decided to set up a Consortium of Academic and Research Ethics (CARE), which will be responsible for approving the new list of academic publications. Bhushan Patwardhan, UGC vice-chairman said that CARE will become operational within three months and will completely replace the existing system of approval for the official journals. A special committee has been constituted by the UGC under the guidance of Padmanabhan Balaram, former director of IISc-Bangalore which will review the existing guidelines and will recommend new suggestions in order to “promote quality in research”. “Members of CARE will prepare lists of quality journals in their respective disciplines within a defined time frame. These lists will be critically analysed and curated for quality by a special cell at the entrusted institution using defined criteria,” Patwardhan said. “Finally, a dynamic ‘Reference List of Quality Journals’ will be maintained by the CARE and this will be used for all academic purposes. The existing UGC-approved list of journals will remain valid till the CARE Reference List of Quality Journals is released,” he said. Patwardhan further said that CARE will be established in the category A university and will have representatives from around 20 statutory bodies, including National Council for Educational Training and Research (NCERT), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR).

source https://www.brainbuxa.com/education-news/ugc-to-set-up-a-committee-to-revamp-the-guidelines-for-the-research-papers-8905

To promote research in Neuromorphic Engineering, IISC Bangalore and Western Sydney University signs MoU

To further expand the ongoing partnership in the area of neuromorphic engineering, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and Western Sydney University (WSU), Australia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). An official statement from IISC said “this alliance will enable collaborative research and exchange of students between the International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems (ICNS) at WSU and the Brain, Computation and Data Science (BCD) Group at IISc”. The MoU was signed in the presence of Prof Andre van Schaik, Director of the International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems, Western Sydney University; Prof Barney Glover, Vice Chancellor of Western Sydney University; and Prof Jayant Modak, Deputy Director, IISc. "Today's formalization of this important collaboration between IISc and WSU marks a significant advancement in research that has the potential to address problems of international significance," said Prof van Schaik. "This alliance will enable capacity building in neuromorphic engineering at both institutions, but more crucially, it will develop capacity in this vital research field across the globe," he added. Under the agreement, WSU will host up to six students pursuing their Master's and Ph.D. studies at IISc for a period of 6-12 months so that they can carry out their research with the ICNS. Similarly, IISC will host Ph.D. students from ICNS for 3-6 months so that they can carry their research at the Institute campus in Bengaluru, India. Both universities will also establish an IISc-WSU Neuromorphic Systems Award to provide Ph.D. scholarships to meritorious IISc students who will complete their Master’s project at WSU. "Computational approaches to understanding brain function form an important and growing area of interdisciplinary research. Gaining a detailed understanding of the human brain has been termed one of the grandest challenges of the 21st century," said Prof. Jayant Modak, Deputy Director, IISc.

source https://www.brainbuxa.com/education-news/to-promote-research-in-neuromorphic-engineering-iisc-bangalore-and-western-sydney-university-signs-mou-8904

AICTE offers a tuition fee waiver for MBA, MCA and other PG courses

All India Council for Technical Education’s move to extend the TFS scheme to the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Computer Applications (MCA) and other postgraduate diploma courses was welcomed by the students of the nation. AICTE has already extended the TFS scheme to the students engineering and other bachelor courses. Under this scheme, a maximum 5% of sanctioned intake per course is allowed for a waiver. Students, whose family income is less than 6 lakh per annum from all the sources, are eligible to apply for the benefits of the scheme. “We have been getting requests from various quarters to extend the benefit of TFW Scheme to other postgraduate courses. The matter was placed before the Executive Committee which deliberated and approved to extend the existing tuition fee waiver scheme only to MBA, MCA, PGDM, PGDCA courses in which no scholarship/stipend is available,” read a release from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). College management said that many of the students are eligible for the fee reimbursement scheme in Telangana but not many have opted for it. “But, definitely having an alternate option should encourage more students to opt for postgraduate courses,” said Goutam Rao, president, Telangana Private Engineering Colleges Management Association.

source https://www.brainbuxa.com/education-news/aicte-offers-a-tuition-fee-waiver-for-mba-mca-and-other-pg-courses-8903

UGC: International Ph.D. holders are now directly eligible for assistant professor posts

According to the UGC, doctoral candidates from the top 500 universities are now directly eligible for the direct recruitment as assistant professors in Indian Universities. Rankings provided by the world university ranking systems -- Quacquarelli Symonds (QS ranking), Times Higher Education rankings (THE ranking) and the Academic Ranking of World Universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University will be taken into consideration. “The direct recruitment eligibility of international Ph.D. holders is applicable for the disciplines of arts, commerce, humanities, education, law, social sciences, sciences, languages, library science, physical education, journalism and mass communication. This will help students learn from global talent in India itself,” a senior University Grants Commission (UGC) official said. Earlier, candidates with minimum 55 percent marks in the Ph.D. in the concerned subject from the Indian university or accredited foreign university were eligible for the post. Along with the minimum marks requirements, candidates were also required to clear the National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by the UGC or the CSIR or similar tests by the UGC such as SLET, SET. The Ph.D. holders from the Indian University with minimum required marks are eligible for the direct recruitment but for the international Ph.D. holders, UGC has waived off the minimum requirements. “The direct recruitment eligibility only grants candidates an exemption from the written test but their performance in the interview will be a deciding factor for their appointment,” the official added.

source https://www.brainbuxa.com/education-news/ugc-international-phd-holders-are-now-directly-eligible-for-assistant-professor-posts-8902

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Teachers are the backbone of society and respected citizens: Meghalaya HC

Providing a huge relief to many teachers of the state, the Meghalaya HC said that all teachers (school/college/deficit/ad-hoc/aided) are equally qualified, provide equal service to the nation and are entitled to equal pay, pension and other benefits. Meghalaya teachers had filed writ petitions in which they raised the issue of denial of pension to the deficit/ad-hoc/aided college teachers serving in the state. The bench comprising Chief Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir and Justice SR Sen was listening to the petition. According to the bench, if the benefit of pension is extended only to teachers of government college keeping aside the teachers of government deficit/ad-hoc/ aided colleges then it is arbitrary, discriminatory and violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India and the Directive Principles of State Policy. In its judgment, the bench observed: “Government should remember that teachers should not be considered as beggars, they are one of the most respected citizens of the country and the backbone of the society. It is also known to all of us that in different parts of the world, teachers are respected and well paid.” Further emphasizing the role of teachers, Justice Sen said: “We must remember that teachers are the backbone of the society and it is through their contribution, dedication and hard work which has molded us to become what we are today; be it a Judge, a Minister, a Lawyer, a Doctor or an IAS Officer etc., and that, we can never forget. Though the government has got the power to make a policy but such policy should not go against the common people’s interest. We all know that the retired teachers and employees of the government deficit/ad-hoc/aided colleges suffer due to non-availability of the pension and live a very uncomfortable inhumane life, some even die due to starvation and cannot get proper treatment due to financial constraints.” The bench further added “equal pay for equal work is mandatory and the government cannot shut their eyes on the miserable life condition of the teachers due to non-availability of proper/adequate pension and other benefits. We always see very often teachers sitting on Dharna and claiming their rights for adequate salary, pension and other benefits, but no one has the time to think for those depressed and oppressed class of teachers which is really unfortunate and is a shame for all of us”. The bench disposed of the writ petitions after it issued several directives to the state government for addressing the degrading service conditions of the teachers.

source https://www.brainbuxa.com/education-news/teachers-are-the-backbone-of-society-and-respected-citizens-meghalaya-hc-8901

JNU signed a pact with the DIAC for studies in Sustainable Development

On Friday, Jawaharlal Nehru University inked an agreement with Dr. Ambedkar International Centre (DAIC) to conduct joint research in policy formulations which will enhance the sustainable development and promote the socio-economic transformation of the nation. The MoU was signed by JNU vice-chancellor M Jagadish Kumar and Director of DAIC, Atul Dev Sarmah in presence of Union minister Thaawarchand Gehlot. DIAC is the nation’s state-of-the-art quality research center in socio-economic transformation and is a think-tank when it comes to preparing policy briefs. In the field of education, JNU has earned the title of 'University of Excellence' and is a renowned center for teaching and research activities. The university has also signed collaborations and MoUs with several universities across the world in research projects, conferences, and publications. "The MoU will facilitate and enhance research activities and policy formulation aimed at socio-economic transformation and sustainable development. The two organizations resolved to cooperate within the scope of their mandates and sphere of competencies to work for these issues. The parties recognized the benefits to be derived from increased collaboration, cooperation and interaction for the further promotion and understanding of high performance in research training and organizing various programs including conferences, seminars, symposia and lecture series," the ministry said in a statement.

source https://www.brainbuxa.com/education-news/jnu-signed-a-pact-with-the-diac-for-studies-in-sustainable-development-8900

Government appointed Arvind Saxena as a new Chairman of UPSC

Arvind Saxena has been given the charge of the chairman of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). UPSC is a government body that conducts the exams to select bureaucrats, diplomats and police officers in various bodies of the government of India. Saxena will serve as the chairman of UPSC until August 7, 2020, when he attains the age of 65 years. Saxena has been working as the acting head of Union Public Service Commission since June 20. According to the official statement, the appointment of Saxena as the chairman has been cleared by President Ram Nath Kovind. As a member, Saxena joined UPSC on May 8, 2015, and prior to his appointment in UPSC he was serving as a director in the Aviation Research Centre (ARC). Saxena is an alumnus of Delhi College of Engineering and completed his MTech from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, in systems management. Saxena was selected for the civil services and joined the Indian Postal Service in 1978. In 1988, he was appointed at the Cabinet Secretariat where he worked on strategic developments with neighbouring countries. As of now, Saxena has served in different states of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. According to a statement, he is a recipient of the awards for meritorious services (2005) and distinguished services (2012).

source https://www.brainbuxa.com/education-news/government-appointed-arvind-saxena-as-a-new-chairman-of-upsc-8899