VMware Gets Industry Support for VMinclusion Taara, as Unique Return to Work Program Reaches a New Milestone

Up-Skilling Program

* 6,000+ women now registered for the free VMware certification courses in digital transformation technologies 

* NTT Ltd. pledges support for the program

VMinclusion Taara, one of India’s largest up-skilling programs, that aims to help women restart their careers after a break has recently reached a new milestone of 6,000+ registrations. The program that trains women in latest digital transformation technologies which include Cloud Management & Automation, Data Center Virtualization, Networking and Digital Workplaces is now supported by more industry partners with the latest addition of NTT Ltd.

As the program is now more than a year old, several women have reached advanced stage of the curriculum and have received employment. Stories of women from the program can be found here.

NTT Ltd., one of VMware’s leading partners in Asia Pacifc and Japan has come forward to support the program in India, and create greater awareness for improving female representation for women in tech. The company will also consider evaluating talent coming from VMinclusion Taara program to help more women return to work.

“India has one of the highest number of STEM graduates globally and yet the number of women dropping out of work is staggering. I am thrilled that industry leaders such as NTT Ltd. are coming forth to help us in supporting these women. The fact that the program has had such a great response in India, reinforces our belief about how most women on career breaks are looking for the training and the right opportunity to rejoin work.” said Duncan Hewett, senior vice president & GM, APJ, VMware.

“We believe that diversity in the technology sector is key to our success. We consider it our responsibility to encourage and ensure women who have had to leave the industry, are given every opportunity to return. We are delighted to be a part of the VMinclusion Taara journey, to help women build skills in the latest technology trends. VMinclusion Taara provides the training for free with flexible timelines. NTT Ltd’s partnership with VMware will reinforce this vision and support more women to return to our industry.” said John Lombard, CEO, Asia Pacific at NTT Ltd.

In October 2018, VMware announced VMinclusion Taara to address the increasing gender gap in the technology sector. The courses listed in this program are free of cost. Keeping in mind that the women participating in Taara may have other life commitments to attend to, all the training is delivered online. Any woman, who is a citizen of India and residing in the territorial jurisdiction of India can join the VMinclusion Taara program to retrain in the latest digital transformation technologies and become a VMware certified professional. Some experience or education in the field of Information Technology (IT) is preferred. However, this is not a limiting criteria for a woman who wants to learn and build a new career in IT. VMinclusion Taara equips women with foundation-level training courses on digital business transformation. Candidates can expect to cover cutting-edge cloud technologies like networking, virtualization, data center, storage and security. Any female citizen of India who has taken a career break of 6 months or more is eligible to apply for this program.  Any woman who has completed her graduation at least 6 months ago, and not found employment yet can also enroll for the VMinclusion Taara program to become a VMware Certified Professional. NTT Ltd. Partners is the latest organisation to offer support to VMware’s VMinclusion Taara.  Several key organizations like State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel and Cognizant have supported this program and will be open to considering women being certified on VMware’s digital transformation solutions for relevant openings within their organisations.

Women who want to register for this program can do so at – VMinclusion Taara page - https://www.vmware.com/taara/  or drop an email to taara_vminclusion@vmware.com

Manipal Hospitals Performs Rare Surgery and Saves the Life of Patient Suffering with Severe Kyphoscoliosis with Respiratory Insufficiency

The doctors at Manipal hospital, Old Airport Road, performed a very complicated and miraculous lifesaving surgery on a 36-year-old patient suffering with severe Kyphoscoliosis with respiratory insufficiency in Jan 2012. Dr S Vidyadhara, HOD & Consultant Spine & Scoliosis Surgeon, Manipal Spine Care Centre at Manipal Hospitals, Old Airport Road, Bangalore and his team worked with great commitment and vigor to give Faisal a new lease of life. Kyphoscoliosis, which means, abnormal lateral and forward curvature of the spine, is a serious and life-threatening condition due to its ill-effects on the lungs and heart. The patient, Mohammad Faisal Nawaz, underwent the extremely risky surgery here at Manipal hospitals Old Airport Road and survived it through sheer determination and grit. The dedicated team of doctors was successful in performing the 8-hour long surgery, carrying a death risk of 50% and a ventilator dependence risk of 90%, giving the gallant Faisal a new lease of life.

Faisal had been battling severe health related problems since a long time. In his early childhood, he started having trouble in breathing due to severe Kyphoscoliosis problem and chest wall restriction. He also suffered from post-polio residual paralysis. These conditions worsened as he grew up resulting in over 50-degree-curvature in his spine. The only way to cure this was through surgery. Therefore, at the very young age of 13 years, Faisal underwent Spinal Fusion Surgery at St. Stephens Hospital, Delhi.

However, the problems did not stop there; he was again admitted at the age of 17-years for a Polio shoulder surgery. He had to undergo a procedure called Arthrodesis where fusing of bones is done with the use of screws. Within a year he underwent a screw removal surgery, as some of the screws had loosened. The complications never seemed to end for Faisal. In the year 2011, he discovered that there was a failure of childhood spine fusion surgery. The only way to save his life was through another surgery, but it was too risky as his oxygen saturation was only 65%. If he hoped to survive another surgery, he had to somehow increase this level of oxygen saturation.

The recurring problems and complications could have broken the faith of any person. However, Faisal was determined not to let the disease win. Through the entirety of this extremely difficult journey Faisal decided to fight his battles with determination, hope and a positive outlook. Through various exercise regimens and self-determination, Faisal was able to increase his oxygen saturation to 85% which was an amazing achievement. After consulting with various spine surgeons, Faisal decided to undergo surgery at Manipal Hospitals, Old Airport Road, Bangalore.

Dr S Vidyadhara, HOD & Consultant Spine Surgeon, Manipal Spine Care Centre at Manipal Hospitals, Old Airport Road, Bangalore said, “A comprehensive analysis of his condition was done at Manipal Hospitals. The scoliosis curve measured was 105-degree while the kyphosis was nearly 165-degree and there was pseudarthrosis as revealed through CT & MRI scans. All the possible surgical and anaesthetic risks such as peri-operative death, paraplegia, ICU care, and ventilator were explained to Faisal”

Speaking on the procedure performed to treat Faisal, Dr Vidyadhara said, “Posterior Spinal Scoliosis Correction & Instrumented fusion T1-L4 with costoplasty T3-8 was successfully performed. Post-surgery Faisal was breathing well and within two days was able to walk independently. He was discharged five days post-surgery and the X-rays done revealed that the scoliosis curve was corrected to 50-degree and the kyphosis was corrected to 60-degree. A month and a half after his surgery, Faisal’s chest constriction has eased, and his quality of life has improved significantly”. It is now 8+ years since surgery and Faisal is happily married since Dec 2019. He has undertaken and completed four marathons (4-kms) as a champion with disability with support of oxygen cylinder to raise awareness for scoliosis. He has to his credit to be involved as disability rights activist for discussions on oxygen supply to people with respiratory insufficiency during air and train travel.

“The unique combination of the expertise of the surgeons and the determination of the patient were key factors in making this challenging surgery a success” said Dr Vidyadhara S. “The experience of the doctors, the state of the art technology and the dedicated medical staff at Manipal Hospitals ensured that Faisal made a nothing short of miraculous recovery”

Since his survival, Faisal has voluntarily dedicated his life to spreading awareness about Scoliosis. He founded ‘SCOLIOSIS INDIA’, a first of its kind interactive platform on Kyphoscoliosis. This platform comprises of members that impart counselling, motivation, guidance and mentoring to people who are suffering with the disease. It provides detailed insights about the various surgical and non-surgical options to manage Kyphoscoliosis, the case studies of people who fight and win this extremely debilitating condition to provide hope to many people who are battling this disease. ‘SCOLIOSIS INDIA’ provides advanced research and treatment available for spine disorders throughout the world.

The platform has also submitted a plea at the Delhi High Court to initiate early screening for scoliosis among school going children this will ensure early diagnosis of the condition. Even during the recent lockdown, he has taken the initiative to run “Unlock Curve” – India’s first virtual campaign successfully. He believes in the following about Kyphoscoliosis

My pain is mine,

My love is divine,

I can roam,

I can run,

Doesn’t matter,

If I have a bent spine.

Manipal Hospitals has decided to join and help Faisal in his noble cause of spreading awareness about Kyphoscoliosis. Speaking about this collaboration a spokesperson at the Manipal Hospitals said, “We wholeheartedly support Faisal in his vision of creating a Scoliosis free society. We wanted to do our part in helping him achieve his dream, so we have joined hands with Faisal and ‘SCOLIOSIS INDIA’ to spread awareness and help people suffering from this disease. The spine specialists at Manipal are advising patients to visit ‘SCOLIOSIS INDIA’ (www.scoliosis.letsendorse.org) for counseling and motivation. The Spine Surgeons at Manipal Hospitals also provide their valuable inputs to the platform regarding scoliosis, diagnosis and management of the condition.”

Dr. Majeed Foundation Contributes Rs 10 Crore Towards PM CARES Fund to Combat COVID-19

Dr. Majeed Foundation, a non-profit institution founded by Dr. Muhammed Majeed, Founder and Chairman of Sami-Sabinsa Group, contributed ₹ 10 crore to PM CARES Fund, to help combat the widespread outbreak of COVID-19.

The Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund was created on 28 March 2020, following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in India. The fund will be used for combating, containment and relief efforts against the coronavirus outbreak and similar pandemic like situations in the future.

Dr. Muhammed Majeed, Founder and Chairman of Sami-Sabinsa Group said, “We have always believed in supporting the less fortunate while also giving back to the society and the nation. Today, as Covid-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented challenge for the country, the contribution of ₹ 10 crore towards PM CARES Fund is a step towards helping combat the virus.”

In addition, Dr. Majeed Foundation, also recently contributed ₹2 crores to Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority.

Dr. Majeed Foundation has been actively supporting people in distress, by ramping up its community outreach programs to reach out to the poor and vulnerable communities. Especially to those who have been most affected by the pandemic in Bengaluru and Hyderabad and provided them with essential food items, protective equipment, hand sanitizers and health supplements.

Recently in Chokkasandra, Peenya, Bengaluru, Dr. Majeed Foundation distributed a total of 2,000 food kits - each food kit containing essential grocery items with 5 kgs of rice, 1 kg toor dal, 1 kg atta, 1 kg sugar, 1 kg salt, I ltr oil, one bath soap and a reusable face mask.

In Hyderabad, Dr. Majeed Foundation distributed a total of 1600 food kits to the residents of Turkapally village, an old age home, and various slum-dwelling units.

Coders Turn COVID-19 Fighters at the World’s Largest Coding Contest TechGig Code Gladiators 2020

Code Gladiators

* TechGig Code Gladiators has 15,617+ registrations at two hackathons focussed on limiting COVID-19 pandemic impact

* Guinness book record holder event, Code Gladiators is hosting its seventh edition this year with more than 2lakh+ registrations 

* Code Gladiators 2020 is hosting five hackathons in total, all focussed on new-age technologies like Machine Learning, RPA, Cloud 

Will a computer programme ease the COVID-19 crisis? Going by the heaps of ideas suggested at TechGig Code Gladiators 2020, the answer could very well be - a ‘yes’. 

With the world gripped in the COVID-19 crisis for more than 100 days now, it’s the right time for the coders to join hands with the frontline health staff and pharma researchers to keep the indomitable Coronavirus at bay. 

TechGig Code Gladiators 2020 has recorded more than 15,617+ registrations in two hackathons focussed on finding tech-based solutions to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. They are IBM- 2020 Call for Code Global Challenge and Microsoft HackOnAzure. Microsoft HackOnAzure is solely focussed on finding COVID-19 solutions, while IBM- 2020 Call for Code Global Challenge has two tracks – COVID-19 & Climate Change. The other hackathons at Code Gladiators 2020 include UiPath RPA Hackathon, Automated Multi-Label Classification by Times Internet and the Open Coding Round where the participants can submit codes in any of the 50 programming languages offered.

Participation is free at https://www.techgig.com/codegladiators 

Code Gladiators - the Guinness world record holder programming event - is hosting its seventh edition this year. Code Gladiators 2020 edition kicked off on March 23, 2020, and has recorded 2,35,375+ registrations till now. This edition is particularly interesting because the COVID-19 lockdown has forced most professionals to work from home, giving them more time to participate in this globally acclaimed hackathon.  

TechGig surveyed to understand the participants’ experience at the present hackathon, where more than 68% coders affirmed that they could concentrate well on the hackathons owing to the lockdown. About 62% of participants also said that they were excited about the event’s upcoming online mega grand finale since this is the first time that the event will conclude with a virtual finale. 

 

Elaborating on the Code Gladiators 2020 hackathons, Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig said, “Every year TechGig Code Gladiators resolves to find solutions to the real-world business problems posed by the participating IT companies. This year, we found an opportunity amid the despair. Presently when most countries are battling the COVID-19 outbreak, Code Gladiators presents a unique opportunity to coders to find a tech-based solution to limit the virus impact. The other hackathons at the contest are equally interesting where coders are challenged to solve complex business problems using a trending technology such as RPA (Robotic Process Automation).”

Citing some of the solutions as ‘very promising’, Sanjay Goyal added that TechGig’s team and the entire IT industry is keenly waiting for some of these solutions to take shape. The first round of registrations at Code Gladiators 2020 is presently on and will conclude on June 22, 2020.

Cure.fit to celebrate International Yoga Day with Ten Million Surya Namaskar Challenge

With International Yoga Day right around the corner, cure.fit, India’s leading integrated holistic healthcare services provider, will embark on an endeavour to achieve ten million Surya Namaskars being done on the day. The challenge, which will be launched on the cure.fit app on Yoga Day, 21st June, hopes to see participation from one million people doing Surya Namaskars, a movement that is at the very core of Yoga.

 

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has led to all cure.fit and mind.fit classes being conducted digitally, 170+ live Yoga classes will be held all day to mark the occasion. Surya Namaskar will also be a part of the warm up and cool down regimen on that day for non-Yoga formats too to encourage more participation. A live counter will keep track of the number of Surya Namaskars being done and we will also be hosting quizzes on the app for our users.

The day-long event will have Q&A , information sessions with experts,star trainers and see participation from all of cure.fit’s employees.

“This challenge is part of our initiative to keep people moving and healthy in their homes in a safe manner. Yoga is one of the best ways to increase strength, improve mental health and build immunity—the key requirements for all of us today. We want to use this challenge as a way to encourage everyone to embrace all the health benefits that this practice can provide,” said Ankit Nagori, Co-founder, cure.fit.

IBM Launches Watson Works to Address the Challenges of Returning to the Workplace

 

IBM has announced Watson Works, a curated set of products that embeds Watson artificial intelligence (AI) models and applications to help companies navigate many aspects of the return-to-workplace challenge following lockdowns put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Returning people to the workplace during the continuing global pandemic demands new approaches to promote the health, safety and productivity of workers in a privacy-preserving way. Watson Works provides data-driven insights to help employers make informed decisions on workplace re-entry, facilities management, space allocation and other COVID-related priorities.

“We’ve designed Watson Works to help businesses navigate the workplace with the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis as effectively as possible,” said Bob Lord, Senior Vice President, Cognitive Applications, Blockchain and Ecosystems, IBM. “Applying AI models and applications is especially useful in this context, where there are so many different sources of information businesses must consider, and every aspect of the situation is in flux.”

Subram Natarajan, Chief Technology Officer, IBM India, said "It cannot be overstated just how disruptive the COVID-19 pandemic has been to businesses worldwide. As most of the global economies and businesses reopen, organizations are facing the complex challenge of returning people to workplaces in a way that prioritizes the health, safety and productivity of employees. Watson Works has been made available to enable companies to leverage AI for reinventing themselves to adapt to the new normal and emerge smarter."

Watson Works is designed to help companies with these elements of returning to the workplace as they respond to COVID-19 related challenges:

* Manage facilities and optimize space allocation by using real-time data provided by the employer including WiFi, cameras, Bluetooth beacons and mobile phones. This data, collected in a way that is designed to preserve employees’ privacy, enables managers to quickly reallocate spaces, designate no-go zones, arrange for cleaning and monitor crowding, social distancing and mask-wearing.

* Prioritize employee health by enabling employers to make evidence-based decisions about when to have employees return to the workplace and when certain offices or worksites should be closed. Facilitate the collection and analysis of real-time data from multiple sources, including local infection rates and trends, voluntarily shared employee symptoms and test results, employee and household health risks, and state and local regulations. Additionally, managers can be swiftly alerted to relevant updates.

* Communicate with employees, vendors and other stakeholders. Through virtual agents and apps that use Watson’s Natural Language Processing capabilities, employees can get answers from employers to COVID-19 and HR questions, self-report symptoms, or learn whether or not they should report to work that day. Employees can also find out what time the employer thinks is the best time to arrive at the office, to avoid overcrowding.

* Maximize the effectiveness of contact tracing by assisting organizations with support for care agents and contact tracers. When employees voluntarily notify their employers of a positive test result and give consent, contact tracers can conduct interviews and use information from multiple sources to help identify individuals who should be notified of potential exposure, document all case-related information in a secured, privacy-preserving system, and trigger employer designed case management workflows to support employees while they recover.

IBM has long been a leader in the responsible stewardship of technology and clients’ most valuable data. Watson Works will conform to the company's high ethical standards, long-established Principles for Trust and Transparency and guidelines for deployment of technologies in response to the COVID-19 emergency.

Watson Works is a curated set of products based on capabilities in IBM Return-to-Workplace Advisor, IBM TRIRIGA, IBM Watson Care Manager and IBM Maximo Worker Insights.

Join the Millions of Meditating Hearts on "International Day" of Yoga to Make Compassion Contagious #YogaforCompassion

Compassion takes centre stage on International Day of Yoga 2020. This year, it also happens to be World Music Day. Heartfulness Institute, in partnership with the Ministry of AYUSH and the United Nations Department of Public Information, will be hosting a global Yogathon, with a call to make compassion contagious, music, conversations on Yoga, and an opportunity to meditate together. This event has the overwhelming support of more than 500 social, professional and cultural organizations in North America and India. 

As we continue to figure out how to face the challenges caused by the pandemic, and the personal, financial and social challenges of our times, the need to live a life of compassion is paramount. Compassion will help soothe hearts laden with fear and insecurity about the future. This event will showcase the need for compassion and will inspire people how to live a life of compassion. The transformative powers of compassion have been chronicled extensively in all the great world scriptures, and it is time for us to remind ourselves of them.

The following luminaries will be taking part in the Yogathon: Kamlesh Patel (Daaji), Guide of Heartfulness; YogRishi Baba Ramdev; AYUSH Minister, Shripad Naik; The Indian PM’s Sherpa, Shri Suresh Prabhu; UNIC India Officer-in-Charge, Rajeev Chandran; musicians Padma Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj, Padma Vibhushan, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Padma Shri Shankar Mahadevan; wellness experts Shaina NC and Mickey Mehta; sports stars PV Sindhu, VVS Laxman, Navdeep Saini; actors Omi Vaidya, Sudhanshu Pandey, and others.

Commenting on the theme of the event, Daaji said, “Compassion is contagious and can transmit faster than any virus, while making us stronger. International Day of Yoga is a very apt platform to spread the message of compassion, and celebrities from all walks of life have readily agreed to lend their voice to this cause. This international Yogathon will help bring consciousness to the need for more elevated acts of compassion, allowing all our lives to be more peaceful and meaningful.

The event will go live on 20 June 2020 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time in the US and on 21 June 2020 at 7 a.m. in India.

Commenting on the Yogathon as a co-host Mr.Shripad Naik said, “ This International yoga day 2020 will be a significant milestone in the journey of bringing yoga practices to the world. This vision inspired by our Honorable Prime Minister is now adopted by the United Nations and is a global movement. The tradition of yoga is time immemorial and is another contribution to the heritage of the world, a fact that should make all Indians proud wherever there are. It is our responsibility to nurture and share the benefit of this phenomenal practice so that the future generations are also able to enjoy this gift to mankind.”