Private School Students Perform Better than their Government Counterparts in Karnataka

 * The report released jointly by the Central Square Foundation and Omidyar Network India, highlights that nearly 40% of students in Karnataka attend private schools.

The recently released ‘State of the Sector Report – Private Schools in India’ highlights that Karnataka ranks 14th in private school enrollments with 41.1% school-going children attending private schools. This report by Central Square Foundation, a non-profit organisation working towards ensuring quality school education, and Omidyar Network India, an investment firm focused on social impact, also stresses that the number of students attending private schools in Karnataka has grown significantly over the past decade. It calls for improvement in student learning in private schools.

The report was released by Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog at a virtual webinar in July 2020, and gives a comprehensive analysis of existing research and evidence on the sector. It provides details on the size of the sector, dives into the challenges faced by it, and outlines potential reforms to ensure improved learning outcomes for students in each state. Specifically, in Karnataka, the report finds that reading and numeracy skills in rural private schools have witnessed a slight improvement in the last six years. It also emphasizes that private schools in the state perform better than their government counterparts on the reading and Mathematics parameters: 23% of grade 5 students in private schools are able to do division as compared to 19.6% of government school students. However, learning levels are not at par with grade-level learnings and this is a cause for worry.

Ashish Dhawan, Founder-Chairman, Central Square Foundation talks about how we can improve student learning in private schools: “It is important to acknowledge the significance of the private school sector which educates nearly 1 in 2 children in Karnataka. We need sectoral reforms to improve learning levels and ensure inclusion of regulations based on quality. Key stage assessments in grades 3, 5, and 8, as suggested in the new education policy, can help build a regulatory structure which focuses on learning outcomes. This can also become an indicator that empowers parents to compare learning across schools and choose the best school for their child.”

Roopa Kudva, Managing Director, Omidyar Network India adds: "We need to empower parents to make informed decisions based on learning quality when choosing a school. In the absence of meaningful information on how schools perform on learning, parents tend to give weightage to tangible parameters like school infrastructure or English as the medium of instruction. Philanthropic capital can play a vital role in setting the ground in three main areas: greater awareness building, increased transparency from the schools themselves and improving the quality of engagement between parents and the schools.”

Keeping in mind the challenges and the current needs of the sector, the report makes certain recommendations for sectoral reforms that will create an enabling environment for the private school sector:

●       Create a universal learning indicator to help parents compare learning performance across schools and make informed school choices

●       Develop a pragmatic accreditation framework that factors in constraints of low fee schools and state capacity to implement while focusing on learning outcomes and child safety                      

●       Establish an independent regulatory agency for the private school sector

●       Review non-profit mandate and existing fee regulations to attract investment and enable easy access to credit for schools

●       Strengthen RTE Section 12(1)(c) which mandates 25% reservations for underprivileged children to ensure more robust targeting and fee reimbursements

According to the demographics cited in the report, in Karnataka, 37.8% of girls and 44.2% of boys attend private schools. A higher share of OBCs but a smaller share of SCs and STs attend private schools than the state average. Further, Bengaluru U North, Bengaluru U South and Bengaluru Rural districts have the highest enrollment share, whereas Uttara Kannada Sirsa, Koppal and Haveri have the lowest. Among districts, Bengaluru U North has the greatest private enrollment share at 79.8% and Haveri has the lowest with 22.7%..

Lucknow-Boy Himanshu Singh Beats 2.52 Lakh+ Coders Worldwide to Become Code Gladiators 2020 Champion

Himanshu Singh is an Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi graduate, he passed out college just one month ago and is working with an IT firm in Bengaluru.

* Of the total 2.52lakh+ participants, only 38% were students and rest 62% were professionals  

* Developers from Italy, US, Singapore, Ireland, Germany, Norway and Bangladesh also participated 

* TechGig Code Gladiators 2020 edition ran for 165 days and concluded with a mega virtual finale event – a first such conclusion for this Guinness World record holder event 

* More than 29 winners were felicitated in a grand virtual finale ceremony 

* Winners from 4 theme hackathons - namely UiPath RPA hackathon, Times Internet Multi-Label Classification, Microsoft Hack on Azure and IBM Call for Climate Change – were also crowned 

“Everybody has that one significant achievement in life which he cites as his ‘biggest win’; for me winning Code Gladiators 2020 will be ‘that biggest win’”, said Himanshu Singh - the newly crowned coding champion of the world’s biggest coding competition - TechGig Code Gladiators 2020. Himanshu Singh, who passed his college – the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi - just a month ago took over 2.52lakh+ coders and won the much-coveted champion’s crown!

Code Gladiators is the annual coding extravaganza hosted by TechGig and felicitated with Guinness World record and Limca Book record for its massive participation. Code Gladiators celebrated its seventh edition this year, and the first one to have a virtual grand finale. TechGig Code Gladiators 2020 edition was announced in March and saw swarming participation by developers – both Indian and international - despite the COVID-19 situation.  

Himanshu Singh won the 165-day long competition in a nail-biting coding finale. The finale rounds for coding and theme hackathons were held on August 8 and 9, respectively. From August 9 - 13, leaders from the participating companies evaluated and judged the finalists to select the winners.

TechGig Code Gladiators 2020 had four theme hackathons – namely, UiPath RPA hackathon, Times Internet Multi-Label Classification, Microsoft Hack on Azure and IBM Call for Climate Change. Theme hackathons are usually centred on finding business solutions to real-world problems. This year the last two hackathons were specifically focussed at finding tech solutions to combat COVID-19.

Explaining more details about the competition, Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig said, “In March 2020, we sensed that the COVID-19 situation could slip out of hands, and very quickly we decided to have a grand virtual conclusion to our mega coding competition. We were staring at a mammoth challenge to bring the grandeur of a worldwide recognised event to the virtual format and ensure that all our 2.52lakh+ participants get a slice of this event. I’m happy to share that we’ve been able to live up to all our expectations. We had a few international participants as well, which makes me think that maybe the virtual mode is better than the offline mode”.

International participants Ahmed Makki and Yurasik Ol participated at Code Gladiators for the first time. Ahmed Makki was jubilant about making it to the finals in his maiden attempt. “I feel the virtual mode is better because had that event been held in its usual offline format then I would not have been able to participate owing to visa and COVID-19 restrictions”. 

Talking about the virtual aspect of grand finale event Pourab Karchaudhuri – runners up at theme hackathon Multi-Label Classification, and a theme winner at Code Gladiators 2019 said, “The mood and tone of Code Gladiators don’t flicker’. “The experience is cool considering everything is online and extremely well managed,” he added. As for Lucknow boy Himanshu Singh, the journey has just started. He has recently joined an IT firm and hopes to do his best at his new job. 

The coding champion took home Rs 3 Lakhs and the theme champions won Rs 1,50,000. Collectively, all winners took home prizes worth Rs 50 Lakhs. The complete winners’ list of Code Gladiators 2020 is:

Coding Champions: 

Winner: Himanshu Singh

 1st Runner up: Chaitanya A

 2nd Runner up: Kalash Gupta

 3rd Runner up: Jyothi Bugatha

 4th Runner up: Rahul Dugar

Code Diva Award Winner: Kruti Dharaiya

 Coding Powerhouse:

 Winner: Colruyt IT Consultancy 

 1st Runner up: CDK Global 

 2nd Runner up: IG Infotech

Jawaharlal Nehru University Signs Strategic MoU with TechGig to Power Online Assessments for Faculty and Students

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has recently collaborated with TechGig Assess Online – a cutting edge assessment platform – to facilitate its academic assessments. TechGig is India’s one of the largest technology community and is a part of India’s leading digital media conglomerate – the Times Internet Ltd.

Both JNU and TechGig have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to corroborate this alliance. JNU hosted a workshop on 10th August, 2020 for its faculty members to announce this partnership followed by a hands-on demonstration of the platform by the TechGig’s team.

Online is becoming the preferred medium to ensure learning and education continuity amid the COVID-19 situation. In such a scenario, this new-age talent assessment has been developed by team TechGig indigenously, keeping the Indian education scenario in mind.

While inaugurating the digital platform, Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar, Vice-Chancellor, JNU expressed his optimism that Assess Online will be a big boon for students residing in the far-flung areas of the county. “We were concerned about the future of the students – specially the terminal students. These students need to complete their exams so that they can continue with their higher education or apply for jobs, thereafter. This is where online assessment platforms come very handy. At JNU we have a ‘continuous evaluation’ system and I hope that Assess Online will be much help there”. Its noteworthy that JNU was the first higher education institute to introduce remote ‘viva’ for its students, which helped many to take exams from their respective locations, without worrying about visiting campus for just one exam day.

Talking about the partnership with JNU, Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig said, “We are thrilled to partner with one of India’s most reputable educational institute. Assess Online is India’s very own platform designed specifically to eliminate the struggles of Indian school/colleges teachers and students. It has advanced plagiarism detectors and remote proctoring measures to ensure a fair assessment. I am hopeful that JNU’s faculty and students will find it immensely helpful.” He also informed that Assess Online is already being used in 25+ colleges and 35+ schools pan-India. About 57,000+ assessments have been created and facilitated on Assess Online.

Assess Online is an easy-to-use platform that lets the teachers create the desired assessments using multiple tools. Its ‘auto-evaluation’ reviews students’ performance automatically, offering a lot of time for teachers to focus on enriched learning.

JNU plans to train its faculty members as well as the students through series of training programs to equip them well with state-of-the-art technological knowledge to enable them to deal with the present pandemic situation.

NSDC and Simplilearn Announce Collaboration to Upskill Professionals in Digital Skills Across India

 * The partnership will help deliver learning in digital skills and technologies 

* Access to over 1,000 hours of free eLearning, available exclusively on the Simplilearn Android and iOS mobile apps

The temporary shutdown of institutions and universities due to the COVID-19 lockdown has affected the overall learning of a large number of students and professionals alike. To support the continuity of digital skilling of the Indian workforce, Simplilearn, a global provider of digital skills training, today announced its partnership with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). Through this collaboration, Simplilearn will host more than 1,000 hours of free learning in digital skills and technologies for learners across India. Aspirants can find program details on NSDC’s eLearning portal - eSkill India - and access the learning programs on the Simplilearn Android mobile app (bit.ly/simplicertified) and iOS mobile app (apple.co/30pnzsm)

Aligned to the Skill India Mission, the collaboration aims to create a future-ready workforce by leveraging the power of technology.   Strengthening the digital learning ecosystem, both Simplilearn and NSDC will enable access to over 1,000 hours of digital programs and technologies under the categories of AI and Machine Learning, Big Data, Data Science & Business Intelligence, Cyber Security, Software Development, Project management, and Digital marketing. All programs are designed with a unique industry relevant curriculum, which provides learners theoretical understanding and enables them to get an indepth knowledge about the evolving industry trends. 

Commenting on the collaboration, Dr. Manish Kumar, MD & CEO, NSDC, said, “The dissemination of future-ready skills require technology platforms with high outreach capabilities. Through its partnerships, NSDC promotes online learning for accessing exciting work-opportunities that the fast-changing world offers.”

Speaking on the partnership, Krishna Kumar, Founder and CEO Simplilearn, said, “In these uncertain times we have witnessed a surge in the usage of digital platforms and technologies, indicating the creation of new job roles in the days to come. It is of utmost importance that the current workforce is well-equipped with digital skills to meet the industry demands of tomorrow. As part of Simplilearn’s continued partnership with NSDC, we are happy to support and contribute to NSDC’s efforts in the skilling of India’s workforce to prepare for a digital future. Through Simplilearn’s mobile app, learners will have the opportunity to upskill in IT and new technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science, making for a job-ready workforce.”

To date, Simplilearn has helped more than one million professionals across 150 countries upskill and prepare for the digital future and now aims to help build a career for the future professionals in the field of Information Technology. 

NSDC’s eSkill India portal provides learners a platform to explore online skill-courses anytime, anywhere. The portal leverages technology to enable skill seekers to accelerate their learning through methods like virtual learning and remote classroom. eSkillIndia catalogues more than 450 e-learning courses in multiple Indian languages through leading knowledge providers.

Springboard Secures $31M in Series B Funding Led by Telstra Ventures

Springboard, a mentor-guided online learning platform that prepares people for in-demand careers, announced today it has raised $31 million in Series B funding, bringing its total capital raised to more than $50 million. This round was led by new investor Telstra Ventures, with participation from Vulcan Capital and SJF Ventures, and returning investors Costanoa Ventures, Pearson Ventures, Reach Capital, International Finance Corporation (IFC), 500 Startups, Blue Fog Capital, and Learn Capital. 

Springboard launched India as its first geography outside the USA in 2019 and has placed its learners in Fortune 500 and world-renowned companies such as Samsung, Salesforce, Visa, LinkedIn, Cisco. The latest round of capital will enable Springboard to double down on student employability in response to the current job market in India and globally, by creating new hiring-focused products and strengthening employer partnerships to help graduates land their dream careers. 

Since inception, Springboard’s programs were designed to be entirely online, yet heavily supported by human interactions with mentors and a network of career experts. The new capital infusion will help Springboard further support job-seeking graduates by building several innovative tools for India and global markets:

The Hireability Forecaster, which provides early indications of student success and potential employability roadblocks by combining the power of Springboard’s predictive technology and the insights from its global community of almost 1,000 industry mentors. With 80% of Springboard mentors indicating they would hire their mentee, mentors and coaches will have the ability to indicate student achievement and intervene to course correct if students fall behind. 

Springboard Introductions, which offers Springboard students personalized, targeted introductions and job referrals from its community of over 13,000 mentors, alumni, fellow students, and employer partners that collectively represent over 50% of the Fortune 500 across 108 countries. Candidates who are internally referred are 15 times more likely to be hired than those who apply on a job board.

Student-Job Fit Recommender, an AI-driven job matching tool, which recommends open roles at Springboard’s employer partners that match each student's unique background and skill set. 

"India is witnessing one of its toughest challenges owing to the recent job losses that have impacted a large section of the workforce. It is therefore imperative for displaced workers to make the difficult transition into new, in-demand careers,” said Parul Gupta, Co-founder, Springboard. “Our remote-first, mentor-guided model is uniquely positioned to serve not only these individuals, but also universities and employers who need help navigating today's new economic reality. We're delighted to partner with a great group of investors, as we continue on our mission to transform over one million lives by 2030."

“Technology used to be a niche area but that’s no longer the case. As more and more companies are built on tech, the need to understand concepts like Data Science, AI, ML, UI/UX has become more homogenous. For learning to be meaningful, it needs to encompass state-of-the-art curriculum with real-world projects as well as mentorship and that is what Springboard stands for. With this funding we are in a good position to build on our strengths to provide in-demand job skills and holistic support at every step,” said Vivek Kumar, Managing Director, Springboard.

“The education sector is facing a tectonic shift. As enterprises and countries alike seek more and better talent with digital skill sets, the technology training market is set to explode,” said Albert Bielinko, Principal, at Telstra Ventures. "We invested in Springboard because the strong educational and job placement outcomes achieved by its students are a big differentiator. Springboard's highly personalised approach is built with the online learner in mind first, not as an afterthought, and offers a life-changing value proposition for Springboard's graduates.” 

Started by co-founders Gautam Tambay and Parul Gupta in 2013, Springboard pioneered a learning model that has enabled thousands of successful career transitions into the most in-demand technology fields via its job-guaranteed programs that are taught entirely online. Unlike most online learning companies that stop at teaching technical skills, Springboard focuses on employability -- 94% of eligible graduates secure a job within a year, earning an average salary increase of $26,000. Springboard’s unique strength is its remote-first yet human-centric approach that matches each student 1:1 with a personalized mentor—an industry professional working in their chosen field—who provides weekly feedback to keep students motivated and accountable. This approach has resulted in 330% student enrollment growth from June 2019 to June 2020. 

Furthering its commitment to student employability, Springboard is expanding its career services. It has tripled the number of virtual apprenticeship opportunities to build portfolio-worthy content and provide real-world work experience. The career services team has grown its career coaching capacity by 4x to provide more access to office hours, mock interviews, and a team of placement experts assigned to each student. To provide additional support during the job search, Springboard has extended its professional mentorship after program completion. 

In the coming months, Springboard plans to grow its industry-leading course offerings outside the high-tech industry to include additional skills gap disciplines. The company will also look to deepen its partnerships with universities and employers, enabling them to adapt to evolving reskilling needs in a post-pandemic economy.

upGrad Filling Up Senior Leadership Roles Amid COVID-19, Plans to Double Employee Base

While most companies have gone on a hiring freeze or rationalizing their human resources, growing sectors like edtech are on a hiring spree.  upGrad, India’s largest online higher education company in its most recent development onboarded Rohit Dhar as the new President - Products, this July. Rohit, who had co-founded Brainybatch Internet, India’s first lending platform focused on making education affordable by providing short-term, has over 13 years of experience in managing products for leading companies like OLX, Flipkart, e-Bay, PayPal, and StubHub. He will be leading the entire Product, Data Science, Analytics, and Design teams at upGrad.

Prior to him, the company onboarded Puneet Tanwar as President - Technology who will be leading the Technology vertical at upGrad. Puneet has accumulated over 20 years of experience in software development and joins upGrad from 1E, a UK-based software product company where he was Head of Engineering, India. Prior to this, he has held leadership positions in Engineering in firms such as Diebold Nixdorf, Microsoft and Electronic Arts.

In June upGrad also appointed Deepak H. Singhka, who started his career at Mahindra & Mahindra and went on to work at BYJU’S. There, he was responsible for initiating the ‘Field Sales’ across multiple cities in India, along with ‘Inside Sales’ in the Bengaluru office. His notable contribution includes helping the edtech set up their e-commerce channel with Amazon and Flipkart. As the Vice President - Business, Deepak will help steer the entire business towards growth and manage as well as improve upon success rate for working professionals, the college, and the academy business.

Talking about the recent hiring’s, Mayank Kumar, Co-Founder & MD, upGrad said “COVID-19 is an opportune time for the edtech sector and our strategy is to make the most of the opportunity and double-up our workforce. Leadership hiring plays an integral role in this, it is the right time to invest in senior talent which will help us to get ready for the new normal of workplace and learner dynamics. With our newly assembled team, we look forward to creating an impactful talent pool within the organisation that will help us drive new businesses and provide learners with the best edtech products.”

On April 1st, upGrad had onboarded their CEO – India, Arjun Mohan, who was erstwhile serving as the Chief Business Officer (CBO) at BYJU’S. The company is geared towards doubling up its workforce to 2000 by the end of this fiscal. The hiring will happen across all spectrum between fresher’s as well as lateral hiring. On the employee front, upGrad has announced salary reversal on the first day of this quarter owing to the positive business growth in past months and have declared work from home until the end of this year, in order to end the growing apprehensions amidst its workforce.

About upGrad:

upGrad is India’s largest online higher education company. Founded in early 2015, upGrad has onboarded over 30K paid learners and impacted more than half a million individuals globally, within a short span of 5 years.

upGrad provides online programs in the areas of Data Science, Technology, Management and Law to college students, working professionals and enterprises. These programs are designed and delivered in collaboration with top-notch universities like IIT Madras, IIIT Bangalore, MICA, NMIMS Global Access, Jindal Global Law School, Duke CE, Deakin University, Liverpool John Moores University and others.

With an 80% program completion rate, robust tech platform, outcome-based learning approach, industry-relevant curriculum, finest university credentials, strong mentorship, and steadfast placement support, upGrad has established its position as the leader in the Indian education system.

IIIT Bangalore and upGrad's PG Diploma in Data Science is India’s first-ever PG Diploma to be recommended and validated by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM). The program is India's largest Data Science program with over 10,000 alumni & learner-base, which now provides learners with certification from NASSCOM FutureSkills, thereby making the program aligned to Government approved National Occupational Standards (NOS) to facilitate the upskilling of India’s IT workforce and make them abreast of the new-age skills. Through this first-of-its-kind collaboration, upGrad joins NASSCOM’s mission to make India a hub for innovation and a global hotspot for a skilled talent pool.

upGrad has been awarded the title of ‘Best Tech for Education’ by IAMAI in 2019. upGrad received the ‘Best Education Brands’ award by Economic Times in 2018, Most Innovative Companies in India' by Fast Company in 2017 and has made it to LinkedIn’s ‘Top 25 Startups’ two years in a row in 2018 and 2019.

Students of Global Indian International School Shine in CBSE Class X and XII Exams

Students of Global Indian International School (GIIS), a network of premier international schools, achieved noteworthy academic feats in the recently announced CBSE Class X and XII results. The examinations were held in February 2020, before the nation was under lockdown due to the emergence of Covid-19. 

Commenting on the performance of GIIS students, Mr. Rajiv Bansal, Director-Operations, GIIS India said “It is extremely gratifying to see our students perform well in the board exams with many students scoring centum (100) and near perfect scores (99) in various subjects. At GIIS, our NINE Gems Framework is designed to focus on the holistic development of our students and academic excellence is a critical aspect of our pedagogy. The constant support from our teachers and the sincere efforts of our students has enabled GIIS to achieve such good results across the country. We are extremely proud of our students’ achievements and want to thank the parents for their constant support in nurturing the leaders of tomorrow.”

Out of 7 GIIS campuses in India, students of Noida, Surat, Ahmedabad & Whitefield (Bengaluru) campuses appeared for their Class X exams and achieved a 100% pass percentage. While students of GIIS Surat & Noida campuses appeared for Class XII exams, this being the first batch for GIIS Noida.

Sameeksha Srivastava, student of GIIS Noida topped her Class X batch with 97.6% while Dhanay Agarwal and Priyamvada Sinha scored 96% and 95% respectively to secure the second and third positions. Nehal Kaul, a science student of Class XII topped the school with 96.6% marks followed by Ronit (science) and Pratham Chhabriaa (commerce) scoring 90.4% and 86.2% respectively. Pratham Chhabriaa has also been selected and received a scholarship in University of Waterloo in Canada, where he will be doing his Honours in Economics with Business.

Batch of Class X in GIIS Surat achieved 100% pass percentage. Kanishka Khandelwal topped the class with 94%, followed by Ishan Mittal and Suraj Rajput with 92.8% and 90% respectively. With respect to class XII, Neha Mishra topped the class with 91.2%, followed closely by Khushboo Mishra with 90.4%, both from the Commerce stream.

A scholar at the Advanced Learning Centre for bright students by IISC, Bengaluru, Sri Uma Maheshwari from GIIS Whitefield campus topped her class scoring 96.4%, and a perfect 100 in Mathematics in CBSE Class X examinations. Among other toppers from the batch, Anirudh Pradyumnan Srinivasan scored 95.6% and Himanshi Sarkar secured 3rd position with 94.4%. And Rushil Verma, who has scored a centum (100 marks) in Hindi, is an achievement worth mentioning.

At GIIS Ahmedabad, student Vaidehi Thanaki topped the batch with 93% in her Class X CBSE examinations. Aakriti Roy and Gaurav Nathani with 91.8% and 91.6% secured the second and the third rank respectively. The campus also achieved a 100% pass percentage.

GIIS’ focus on delivering quality education to its students with a strong emphasis on enhancing their learning outcomes has been a crucial factor in the excellent performance showcased by its students.

EuroSchool Bangalore Students Secure 100% Results in CBSE Examination

All three Bangalore campuses of EuroSchool (Whitefield, Yelahanka and Chimney Hills), have announced great performance in the CBSE Class X results of 2020 having witnessed 100% results.

Miss Ariya Samir Wadekar from EuroSchool Whitefield scored 97%, topping the three campuses in Bangalore. Ten students of EuroSchool Whitefield scored above 90%. The highest marks in Maths was 100 and 99 in Second Language.

Ms. Shruthi Arun, Principal, EuroSchool, Whitefield, said “It is a proud moment for us at EuroSchool, Whitefield as our students once again, have excelled in the Class X results reflecting years of hard work. It is the deep commitment of our faculty that has helped our students to prepare not just for the board exams but also for their professional careers and life after school. 

Miss Ariya Samir Wadekar from EuroSchool Whitefield says about her success, “Enjoy your present and work hard towards your goals. I invested my time in reading curriculum books, reference books, getting extra information from the teachers and combining all these to ensure clear understanding about a topic before moving to next. Just remember, whatever you are going to do is in your hands.”

Ms. Shruti Sampoorna Mishra from EuroSchool, North Campus, Bangalore scored 95% topping her school. She scored 99% in Second Language, 98 in Maths and 93 in Science. Ms. Brunda M from EuroSchool, Chimney Hills scored 91.60%, topping her school, followed closely by Ms. Greeshma D Holeyannavar, with 90%.

The current academic module at EuroSchool lays emphasis on learning with technology. The virtual schooling programme runs on the proprietary Digital Learning Ecosystem (LMS) ARGUS ensuring effective Home Engagement with students to ensure #UninterruptedLearning.

EuroSchool currently has a presence of 11 Schools across six cities in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Surat.

About EuroSchool International:

EuroSchool, is a network of 11 K-12 Schools, across 6 cities in India. A division of EuroKids Group, the School Operates on the philosophy of ‘Discover Yourself’ wherein the core focus is to encourage children to realise latent talent, ascertain areas of interest, hone individual skills, thereby uncovering varied facets of their personality. The profound realisation that the skills that are required to face the challenges we will be up against in the future must be imparted from a young age evolved into the philosophy of ‘Discover Yourself’ which is delivered via the ‘Balanced Schooling’ pedagogy. Their Learn - Reinforce - Practice - Apply methodology, paves the way for the students to do well in academics, with the co-curricular activities helping children to develop their creative, sporting and musical aspirations. 

All EuroSchools are affiliated either to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) or the Indian Council of Secondary Education (ICSE) and select EuroSchools also offer the CAIE, Cambridge Assessment International Education (IGCSE).  It is India’s 1st chain of Schools to receive the ‘Safe School’ certification from a global audit firm.

Vedantu Launches Target JEE/NEET- Early Preparation Camp in India

Coaching camp

* Aimed to benefit aspirants speed up their academic preparation

* LIVE Non-stop FREE revision covering the entire syllabus

* Students will benefit from motivational classes and 400+ hours of LIVE sessions

A pioneer in LIVE online learning, Vedantu has launched a special initiative - Target JEE/NEET, designed by India’s top teachers and coaching experts for all JEE and NEET aspirants appearing in 2020-2022. The 4 Day LIVE online camp will help students get ahead in their academic preparations with specialized LIVE classes and unlimited in class doubt solving, motivational talks with various achievers and JEE & NEET toppers, complete plans with test and other study materials. The LIVE online camp will be conducted from July 13th- 16th, 2020 and registrations are now open for students to participate. Over 80,000 students have already registered for the camp.

The initiative is designed by India’s best teachers & Co-founders of Vedantu to provide access to a plethora of study material and tests along with revision videos from the best teachers, LIVE teaching from experts across India, and 100% guaranteed scholarship.

The program will cater to students from grade 11-12 and droppers covering Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics & Biology. All the learning resources are personalised keeping in mind the student’s curriculum are of premium quality. Parents & students can be rest assured as they can have uninterrupted learning from safety of their homes. Some of the key highlights of the camp include:

400+ hours of classes, by India's best teachers LIVE

Career and Parent counselling sessions

MasterTalk with Toppers & celebrities

Assured Scholarship for everyone who takes the test, from 10cr+ pool

Cash prizes to the highest scorer in the diagnostic test

Most students preparing for competitive examinations have doubts but don’t find a quick solution or the right answer to the same. To address this common problem the 96-hour nonstop doubt solving feature will be a great value add for students. The highest scoring student for Target JEE/NEET will win an Alienware laptop.

LAVA Invites You to Design the Next #ProudlyIndian Smartphone

Indian mobile handset brand, Lava International Limited, announced the launch of its ‘Design in India’ contest. Through this unique contest, Lava is inviting entries for designing the next Indian smartphone. Lava’s Design in India contest is open for B.Tech/B.E/B. Des/M.Des students/professionals. Students and professionals from Engineering (ECE/IT/CS/Mech/Industrial Design) departments can participate in this contest in groups of 1-3 members and win a chance to work for Lava’s Design-in-India team. 

Speaking about the contest, Tejinder Singh, Head- Product, Lava International said, “Our country stands at a very important juncture right now. We envision India to be the next global manufacturing hub. We have the potential to be self-reliant too. Through this unique initiative, we want to give the youth of our country a platform to play their part in this nation building process. We invite them to use their creative skills and bring fresh perspectives to our design methods.”

The registration process for this contest will be open from 2nd July- 9th July 2020.

For T&C and to register, please visit- https://www.lavamobiles.com/design-in-india-challenge/

Lava’s Design in India contest will be conducted in three parts- Ideation, creating a prototype & presentation to the jury. Lava’s Design team will mentor the contestants throughout the competition. Contestants will be judged on three parameters- Creativity, functionality & uniqueness. The judging panel will be led by Sanjeev Agarwal, Chief Manufacturing Officer, Lava International.

At the end of the competition, top three winning teams will get a pre-placement interview opportunity at Lava. They will additionally receive a cash prize of Rs. 50000, Rs. 25000 and Rs. 15000 respectively. 

Sanjeev Agarwal, Chief Manufacturing Officer, Lava International said, “Designing in India has been a very big strength for our brand over the last few years. It not only helped us translate customer insights into products but also let us build unique propositions for our customers. Being mentored by the Lava Design team can be a very meaningful opportunity for the young talent of our country.”

Lava has always been at the forefront of Govt. of India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. Lava was the first mobile brand to take a lead in support of this important nation building program and had set up a design team in India, becoming the first brand to design phones in the country. With this ‘Design in India’ initiative Lava is now the only Mobile handset company that makes truly ‘Made In India’ phones with complete control on design and manufacturing within the country. 

Ken42 Launches the StartNXT Ideathon for Students to have a Chance to Walk Away with Rs 6 Cr Funding

Bengaluru-based startup Ken42, India’s superapp edtech platform, has announced the launch of their annual StartNXT Ideathon programme for college and university students across the country. Backed by Turbostart, Ken42 has kickstarted this programme to facilitate innovation and entrepreneurship in India, where the Top 3 winners will receive funding upto Rs 2 crores each, along with internship opportunities with leading startups and firms. Candidates will also receive one-on-one mentorship by industry stalwarts including Turbostart advisories like:

1. Ullas Kamath, Joint MD Jyothy Laboratories;

2. G S Krishnan, Former Regional President/ MD Novozymes;

3. Nirankar Saxena, Hon Deputy Secretary General, FICCI;

4. Shiv Kumar Janardhanan, Strategic Investor and Former CEO of Essilor Group;

5. Natarajan Ranganathan, Co-Founder, Foundation Partners LLP;

6. Aniruddha Ganguly, Former Executive Director of the GMR Group;

7. Vivek Mansingh, General Partner YourNest VC Fund;

8. Venkat Raju, Angel Investor & Silicon Valley Entrepreneur;

9. Sunil Bhumralkar, Former Partner Ernst & Young;

The future is about encouraging students to be ingenious, stemming from their passions, capacity for innovation, awareness and sense of responsibility to shape the world for the better. Through the Ideathon programme, Ken42 aims to provide a solid impetus to all students- the company has announced that it will be giving away up to Rs 10 lakh each in prize money to the runners-up as well.

Talking about the acceleration program, Ganesh Raju, Founder and CEO, Ken42 said “Evidently, the process of funding for upcoming ventures has run dry over the past couple of months owing to the global pandemic. We have observed several startups struggling to keep their head above the water, let alone students who have to put an indefinite halt to the launch of their entrepreneurial journey. In the age of acceleration, young innovators can use their diverse perspectives while harnessing technology to create innovative applications that lead to a better society for all. Hence, it is imperative to provide them with a recognised platform to turn their ideas into businesses. This was our core motive behind launching the StartNXT Ideathon during testing times like these. Ken42 welcomes all students from all universities across the country to participate in the Ideathon, providing an impetus to be future-ready and bring in a wave of new-age startups in India.” The Ideathon will be conducted in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) with support from multiple corporate giants.

The first leg of the programme begins with identifying problem statements and goes on to enable candidates to deliver integrated business plans to achieve tangible outcomes by applying innovation in ways that add value. Throughout the course of the 6-month Ideathon, students will be presenting pitch decks and business plans to a jury panel comprising leaders from the academic, corporate, investor and entrepreneur community.

During the course of the programme, students will also have access to one-on-one mentor sessions with noteworthy Turbostart advisories where they will receive guidance from industry experts, along with resources, operational support as well as networking opportunities.

The core purpose behind the Ideathon is to aid learners and students dwell into their creativity, provide them with a prominent platform to build upon their ideas, and in turn cultivate successfully-running businesses as well as entrepreneurs.

Registrations for the Ideathon are open from 6th July till 31st August 2020.

Vedanta's SESA Football Academy Continues to Foster Skill Development in Sports Across the Country

SESA Football Academy (SFA), a flagship CSR program of Vedanta which aims to identify, nurture and groom young footballing talents in the country, felicitated young graduates during Convocation Ceremony 2020 through virtual platforms. 27 boys who completed their football training at SFA were felicitated and awarded with E-certificates in the distinguished presence of Mr. Annanya Agarwal (President- Sesa Football Academy), Mr. Sauvick Mazumdar (CEO- Vedanta Sesa Goa Iron Ore Business), Mr. Brahmanand Sankhwalkar (former Captain of Indian football team and  Arjuna Awardee), Mr. Denzil Franco (Former Indian team player, ISL player and an SFA alumnus) and Ms. Leena Verenkar (Head- Group CSR , Vedanta Limited).

The event witnessed an active impressive line-up of core team members of SESA Football Academy and young sports enthusiasts cheering for the graduating students and wishing them for their future endeavors.

Sesa Football Academy was established in the year 1999 with an aim to identify, nurture, create platforms and build talent for Indian football. Till date, around 200 footballers have graduated from the academy. Apart from this, football initiatives undertaken by SFA have also positively impacted over 500 young players belonging to Goa and other cities of the country through various grassroot training programs. The residential academies provide systematic and robust football training through its team of national and international football experts, along with formal education of the trainees during the training period.

While congratulating the graduating batch, Mr. Annanya Agarwal, President, Sesa Football Academy said, “I am extremely happy and equally proud to see that we could produce another talented pool of 27 footballers, who will be next generation football icons of the nation. In line with our vision to contribute towards development of Indian football through robust grassroots training programs, we at SFA are taking significant steps in providing world class training to budding footballers to nurture their talent and groom them as professional footballers. I wish all our graduating players great success and a bright future.”

The SFA alumni have very good track records, making their mark in premier national football platforms including Indian national team, ISL teams and other prestigious football clubs across the country.

Mr Sauvick Mazumdar, CEO of Vedanta Sesa Goa Iron Ore Business said, “At Vedanta, community engagement is at the core of our business philosophy. Sesa Football Academy, developed on reclaimed Sanquelim mine with an aim to provide a training platform for Goan youths, has immensely contributed to Goan football & nation at large. Despite difficult business situations for past several years, Vedanta has continued with our flagship CSR initiatives, especially SFA, to ensure uninterrupted contribution towards development of Indian football. I congratulate all our graduating students and wish them a very bright & successful footballing career.”

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Brahmanand Sankhwalkar, former Captain of Indian football team and Arjuna Awardee said, “SFA has been doing praiseworthy work for the football community in Goa and country at large. The academy is producing good football talent by grooming them through grassroot training programs. I am happy to see these young players get such amazing training opportunity at SFA which is helping them pursue their career in football”.

Former Indian Football team player and SESA Football Academy alumnus, Mr. Denzil Franco congratulated all players and said, “I take pride in being a part of SFA. Contribution of SFA towards honing skills of young and talented footballers of Goa is immensely commendable. I am confident that the students graduating today from SFA will achieve greater heights and bring laurels for the academy boosting its legacy further."

SESA Football Academy also aims to raise the standard of women’s football in the country through Vedanta Women's League, which is helping in development of women footballers by providing them a platform to showcase and hone their talent. Vedanta’s contribution in development of sports is recognised by FICCI, and was conferred “Best Organisation Contributing in Sports through CSR” at the FICCI India Sports Awards 2019.

VMSIIHE, Turismo de Portugal Offers Students from Hospitality Institutes an Opportunity of a 2 Week Online Programme

Five leading hospitality institutes based in Lisboa, Setubal, Coimbra, Algarve and Douro-Lamego have curated the online course. The course will be conducted in English and is free for students of hospitality. Prior registration is required. The course will cover a wide range of subjects ranging from gastronomy and wine pairing to demonstration of recipes unique to the region. Virtual tours of wineries, oyster farms and the neighborhoods of Lisbon and Coimbra are included in the course

 

As part of the existing knowledge exchange programme between India and Portugal, students from across hospitality institutes now have the opportunity to engage and participate in a 2 - week online programme initiated by V. M. Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Education (VMSIIHE) in collaboration with Turismo de Portugal (TBC). Five leading hospitality institutes based in Lisboa, Setubal, Coimbra, Algarve and Douro-Lamego have curated the online course.

Scheduled to be held from 29th June to 10th July, the courses will be held over two hours each day and will cover a wide range of subjects ranging from gastronomy and wine pairing to demonstration of recipes unique to the regions to sessions on understanding the nature of food ingredients from the Mediterranean regions more closely. Virtual tours of wineries, oyster farms and the neighborhoods of Lisbon and Coimbra are included in the course.

V. M. Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Education (VMSIIHE) had recently renewed and extended the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Turismo de Portugal during the visit of the Hon’ble President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa while on a state visit to India. The MOU was signed by Prof. Irfan Mirza, Director/Principal of VMSIIHE and Louis Araujo Head of Turismo de Portugal (TBC), in the presence of the Hon’ble President of Portugal Mr. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Honourable Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant, Smt. Dipti D. Salgaocar, Vice President Corporate Communication VMSalgaocar Corporation and Shri Ajit M. Gude, Director, VM Salgaocar Corporation at a ceremony held in February this year.

Held from Monday to Friday for two consecutive weeks, participants will have the opportunity to interact with professors from Portugal during demonstrations and classes.

The course will be conducted in English and is free for students of hospitality. Prior registration is required for which interested participants can reach out to V. M. Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Education (VMSIIHE). In one of the sessions a professor from Coimbra will take students through the journey of grapes from the vineyard to the wine cellar and demonstrate some of the more popular cocktails in the region. The session on oyster breeding, opening techniques, conservation and a lesson on pairing oysters with wine being conducted by the Escola Setubal is another interesting one.

Said Professor Irfan Mirza, Director/Principal, V.M Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Education, “The lockdown has been hard on students. This opportunity which arises from our existing alliance between our institute and Turismo de Portugal will offer students of hospitality, a peek into the culinary intricacies and culture existing in regions in Portugal without having to travel to the country in these circumstances. We are opening the doors to students from other hospitality institutes who can avail of this opportunity without having to pay a fee.”

The existing MOU focuses on a shared vision, to encourage and develop the training and qualification of personnel working in the field of tourism, as well as to offer internship and placement opportunities to successful students. The two countries will continue to work together in the fields of research, trainings, teaching-learning methods and other aspects in the near future.

AESL Launches “Long-Term Courses through Aakash PrimeClass” for Students from Class VIII to XII and XII Pass

Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL), the national leader in test preparation services, has launched “long-term courses for students” from Class VIII to Class XII and XII Pass through Aakash PrimeClass, a one-of-its kind Extended Classroom course delivered through New Age Satellite Technology. While one to two year Foundation courses will be offered for students from Class VIII to Class X, courses will also be conducted for one and two years for students from Class XI and XII and XII Pass who wish to become doctors and IITians.

Students can log in at www.primeclass.aakash.ac.in for more information.  Specific information on courses for JEE and NEET aspirants can also be seen at https://www.aakash.ac.in/prime-course-jee/and https://www.aakash.ac.in/prime-course-neet/

Giving prime importance to the safety of the students during this unprecedented time, sessions will be live streamed to the student’s home through YouTube. Aakash PrimeClass is a two-way interactive medium that will enable students preparing for Olympiads, JEE and NEET to study in a classroom environment while being in the safety of their home interacting with the Faculty@Aakash based in Delhi live on screen.

The program aims to impart an integrated learning experience to aspirants who are preparing for ‘Boards’ and competitive exams. The classes are delivered through a unique AV setup using a high-definition projection system and high-resolution classroom camera. AESL faculties also use smart assessment system, audio-video facilities, smart attendance system etc. to see, hear and talk to the students. They can see, listen and participate in a lecture while interact and raise queries to the faculty spontaneously as in a regular classroom set up.

Commenting on the launch of the long-term courses, Mr Aakash Chaudhry, Director and CEO of AESL, said, “During this challenging time, we want to ensure full cooperation to students preparing for JEE and NEET exams as well as Olympiads, irrespective of the geographical location. At Aakash PrimeClass, Innovative learning experience coupled with continuous testing and analysis will give students better insights and exposure to improve their academic performances. Our sessions will be interactive, allowing students to clear doubts, ask questions and be able to address their queries and concerns. We hope that students and educators will take advantage of this unique initiative.”

The Aakash PrimeClass courses will be delivered through the national network of AESL. The centres are VSAT-enabled and with the help of state-of-the-art studios & telecommunication facilities, they will channelize audio, video and data-enabled high-quality, faculty lectures to students.

Advantages of Aakash PrimeClass

* Aakash faculty is among the best in the country and have produced stellar results year-after-year

* The study material provided by AESL is acknowledged as the best among peers & is highly sought-after by discerning aspirants

* Web-based Text and Multimedia lessons are used to set the pace for upcoming topics along with PLA (Pre learning assessment)

* In-Class exercises are conducted to assess the learning of in-class teaching. It also enables Learning-Gap Analysis and Corrective action by student & faculty

* Post Class Assignments are provided for recall, revision as well as higher-order preparation

* A dedicated team is set up to resolve the doubts of students

* Planners are provided to inform and make visible class schedule, tests, and assignments

* All sessions conducted are recorded and are available in the students’ id which can be used for later review. Parents can also have a look at all the sessions

* Online review sessions are conducted to jointly review performance and plan accelerative or corrective steps

* Academic Help Desk for Query record and query tracking

* E-mail/SMS alerts are shared on events, changes, scores, assignment completion/ Incompletion, to parents and faculty

With Aakash PrimeClass available in their hometown, students from small towns will no longer need to shift to a bigger city for their preparation. They will get tutelage of the most experienced faculties of Delhi. Best in class content, tests, 24x7 doubt resolution and video archives will also be available. Plus it takes away the worries of parents about their child’s health, safety and security. 

Mentors Murthy, Nilekani, Premji To Help IISc Students become entrepreneurs

Learning from mentors who change the way you live and think is the chance of a lifetime. Homi Bhabha, Vikram Sarabhai and Satish Dhawan did it in the past. Azim Premji, N R Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani and C Ramadorai are doing it now. If you couldn’t spend time with greats of the past, how about taking lessons from legends of the present?

The IISc Alumni Association has come up with a cracker of an idea — it is setting up a ‘mentoring system’ in which great entrepreneurs (initially) will act as mentors or thinkers to students and research scholars, who wish to launch small firms or startups, or turn their research into technology and eventually take the entrepreneurial route in life.

The mentors will be from across the globe, including Bangalore, and will keep in touch with students identified and selected for mentoring.

The man behind the idea, Association president Dr K R Srinivasan, told TOI that “already a few top people” had agreed to be mentors. “They include people not associated with IISc but who can, and are, willing to make a contribution to IISc. They are people in the league of Narayana Murthy...”

Net connect

Srinivasan said a website will connect the mentor and student/ scholar in the first phase of interaction. “The website will have the mentor’s profile and expertise and the student’s request. A software will bring together the request and expertise to see if they match. If they do, then the mentor and student will get into live interaction. So interests of both have to match.”

The mentors will act as thinkers and shape the form and direction of a project that the student hopes to turn into a product or start-up company. “The mentors will take time out and be in personal touch with the student or mentee. They will make concrete suggestions, offer advice, show routes that could be taken. The system will be open to IISc and IIT students, initially. If it turns out positive and productive, it will be extended to engineering colleges too. We wish to leverage the strengths of alumni as well as non-alumni, who are genuinely interested in turning ideas into products of some sort,” Srinivasan said.

Infosys, Wipro and TCS are not just companies but stories of extraordinary entrepreneurship and creativity in an atmosphere of red tape, bureauracy, large-scale public lethargy and corruption. Some of the great space labs, like the ones at Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore, Mumbai and Sriharikota, were creative battles against dormant mindsets. IISc Alumni Association hopes to replicate some of these stories.

Timesofindia.com

Avail IT education tourism in India from IBM

IBM today announced the launch of an education programme that it said would enable IT professionals and students to come to India and receive IBM certified training here.

To avail of this offer, an individual needs to register for a course from the IBM Power and IBM System Storage Curriculum, the company said in a statement.

All visa formalities, tickets and accommodation requirements are arranged and facilitated by an IBM training partner, it said.

The IT education tourism programme, slated to start next month, is a unique initiative where IBM has partnered with Stratom IT Solutions Pvt. Ltd., India to introduce IT education tourism as a package for global students and IT professionals.

IBM plans to target around 300 participants in India for a minimum of 30 days this year.

As part of the programme,IBM would offer a comprehensive portfolio of technical training and education services for systems designed for individuals, companies and public organisations to acquire, maintain, and optimise their IT skills, the statement added.

Agencies

Will the Obama's policy on US firm to pull back jobs have effect on India?

Sallie Mae, a US-based company which gives loans to students, Monday announced to move back as many as 2,000 overseas jobs, including those from India, even if it means an additional financial burden on the company because of higher labour expenses.

"It's the right thing to do," said Sallie Mae Chief Executive Albert Lord at a press conference which was attended by Democrat Congressman Paul Kanjorski and Senator Robert Casey in an apparent reference to the large scale job losses in the US in the last one year.

The value of a company's franchise is essentially measured in financial terms, but there are a lot of values in a company that relate to the long-term value of a franchise. It's a wise investment in the company's future, Lord said.

"The current economic environment has caused our communities to struggle with job losses. They need jobs, and we will put 2,000 of them into US facilities as soon as we possibly can," he added.

In the next 18 months, some 2,000 overseas jobs would be moved back to the US. These jobs are primarily in India, Mexico and the Philippines and are basically call centres, information technology and operations support positions.

The move would cost the company $350,000 per annum as the workers in the US would have to be paid a much higher wage than those in countries such as India.

Sallie Mae is the largest US-based student loan provider. It employs more than 8,000 people in the US. For quite some time, it has been struggling during the credit crunch to finance loans to students.

In the fourth quarter the company had reported a net loss of $216 million, in which it made $4.8 billion in student loans. Through its subsidiaries, the company manages $180 billion in education loans and serves 10 million student and parent customers.

Agencies