CollegeDekho Announces Assured; To Address India’s Skilling Gap In The Higher Education Space

Highlights

Offers internship and job surety to the students across 200+ partner organisations 

Students can enrol in 8+ courses across technology and management programmes; the company plans to introduce other streams soon 

Post completion of 300 hours, students will get certification from AWS, Facebook, Google, PrepBytes, etc  

Over 1200 students have already been placed in the pilot phase 

CollegeDekho, India’s largest college admissions and education services platform, has launched CollegeDekho Assured, an online learning platform offering a series of live, interactive courses across multiple streams such as technology and management. The programme aims at upskilling and enhancing the employability of India’s 38.5 mn college students* while also helping those with limited access to an industry-focused curriculum. 

CollegeDekho Assured is designed to complement India’s National Educational Policy 2020 and address the current skill gap in the higher education space. A ManGroup’s report released in the year 2022 highlights that while nearly 63% of employers expect to increase their staffing levels, however, 83% of them feel it will be difficult to fill the open positions owing to a massive talent shortage.  

“With 20 mn students** globally opting for both short-term and long-term online courses and over 65% of students agreeing how these digital courses are helping them understand subjects better, digital learning can play an important role in helping India achieve its Education 4.0 vision. At CollegeDekho, we and our students have already seen some phenomenal results from the courses we have designed alongside the industry experts and academia. We are optimistic that Assured will take this a notch up with courses being offered at an affordable cost alongside assured internships and jobs,” said Mr. Ruchir Arora, Co-Founder & CEO, CollegeDekho. 

The programme will give college students access to a curated curriculum to be job-ready and flexibility to customise the course. Students will also be aided with industry-focused skills through Project-based immersive learning and real-world exposure through industry visits and its Advanced Placement Ready Courses. CollegeDekho Assured will also assist students with resume and profile building alongside 100% internship and placement assurance with top companies. In the pilot phase, 1200 students have already been placed across top organisations like Motilal Oswal, Trantor, Stratemis HR Technologies, and CloudQ. College students begin their Assured journey from the first semester onwards as spreading the 300 hours of study material across 4-6 semesters will help them better focus on their college curriculum as well as enhance their academic performance by learning from industry experts. 

Alongside customization of courses and flexible learning hours with CollegeDekho Assured, students will also get unlimited access to recorded lectures, videos, and reading materials prepared by industry experts and academia. This will help them with self-paced learning and revisions. To enable wholesome learning, students will also get live interaction sessions with the faculty members and a 24x7 operational forum for doubt clarification and discussions. Students will also be provided access to questions from previous editions of relevant exams in case they plan to apply for their masters or specialised courses.  

CollegeDekho receives more than 25 cr of yearly student traffic on its platforms, which is about 50% of all college searches in India. Since its beginning, the company has successfully guided more than 44 lakh students across India while securing around 70,000 admissions to various streams, colleges, and nations. 

About CollegeDekho 

Founded in 2015, CollegeDekho is on a mission to institutionalise students’ counselling in India in the higher education space. It connects prospective students with colleges using its proprietary technology and AI-based chat conversation bot. Its Common Application Form platform, which enables students to apply to multiple colleges with a single click, is India’s largest of its kind. Since its inception, CollegeDekho has counselled more than 44 lakh students and has helped more than 1500 colleges with their student recruitments. For study abroad students, CollegeDekho provides a full stack of services from profile building, test preparation, university selection and visa assistance. The company recently announced a Fintech vertical that offers students with end-to-end financial assistance and CollegeDekho Learn, an online learning platform that helps students prepare for their future course of studies and placements. The company is backed by investors like ETS, an organisation responsible for conducting GRE and TOEFL exams globally. (www.collegedekho.com)  

Mohan Bhagwat Delivered The First Convocation of Sri Sathya Sai University For Human Excellence, Kalaburagi, Karnataka

Dr Mohan Ji Bhagwat presided over the first convocation of Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence in the presence of Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai, the Founder of the University and a galaxy of dignitaries. Bhagwat Ji’s presence at the event carried a special significance for the fact that this University is one-of-its-kind to provide higher education completely free of any cost to needy rural youths, on the foundation of the ancient Indian gurukula system of learning and living in a residential set-up.

A note-worthy point is that 50% of the graduands who convoked this year from the University were first generation literates, most of whom were also the first higher educated literates in their whole village. These students have been trained for fulfilling the very purpose of education, which is to serve the needy in society and hence they shall join their almamater – Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Gurukulam Group of Institutions which is running 27 school campuses across 22 districts in Karnataka, 1 in Telangana and 1 in Tamil Nadu, completely free of cost to the rural children.

The first convocation of the University celebrated achievement and altruism by honouring six eminent personalities from various fields of excellence with honorary doctorates.  Dr R Chidambaram – India’s most distinguished experimental physicist, Dr K Kasturirangan – Former Head of Indian Space Research Organisation, Mr Sunil Gavaskar – Cricket Legend, Pandit M Venkatesh Kumar – renowned hindustani classical vocalist, Ms Purnima Devi Barman – wildlife conservationist from Assam, and Mr C Sreenivas – Chairman of the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Child Heart Care Centres, were bestowed their honorary doctorates by Dr Mohan Ji Bhagwat.

Bhagwat Ji also visited a multi-speciality hospital  that provides completely free of cost healthcare – Sri Sathya Sai Sarla Memorial Hospital, which is soon to become a teaching and training hospital for the world’s first free medical college in the same premises.

Dr Mohan Bhagwat spoke thus in his convocation address – “The act of offering education completely free of cost to needy children has truly impacted the lives of these children beyond their imagination. The motive behind using individual excellence to bring about collective excellence is the goodness behind this University. Transformation is the need of the hour—the kind of transformation that shall change the face of Bharath is what I am witnessing here.”

Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai remarked – ““Our work is our identity, our work is our worship. This first convocation of the Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence has produced graduands who will dedicate their knowledge and skills for the service of the society. Being a right example to the society is the highest form of service one can ever render, and these graduands will be exemplars of this kind of service.”          

About Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence

Inspired by the ancient Indian way of education that caters to all aspects of human development with spiritual evolution at its very core, the Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence was established as a Private University under the Karnataka Legislative Act 2018 at Navanihala Village, Kamalapur Taluk, Kalaburagi District in Karnataka. The University encapsulates values-based integral education in a unique residential environment, with the core idea to create individual excellence in all fields of knowledge, and with the purpose to promote and propagate science, humanities, all forms of fine arts, and spirituality, free of any tuition fees or other charges, based on the ancient Indian gurukula system of education, to all students without any discrimination.

‘Redemption of one’s own self and the welfare of society’ is the principle on which the Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence has been founded. The emphasis at the University is, first and foremost, on a perfect balance between spiritual education and material education, or rather, between the means of living and the ultimate goal of life.

About Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai

Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai spearheads the mission of love and service as propounded by Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Walking in the footsteps of Baba, his Guru and God, Sri Madhusudan Sai is instrumental in establishing various humanitarian service projects across 33 Countries. Since 2011, he has been leading dedicated volunteers and passionate individuals to establish institutes of excellence in Education, Healthcare, Nutrition and Spirituality across the world.

Today, four super speciality paediatric cardiac care hospitals, a multi-disciplinary secondary care hospital, two exclusive mother and child hospitals, 27 values-based educational campuses in South India, a veda gurukulam to promote learning and research in vedic studies, and a morning nutrition programme which nourishes over 500,000 school-going children every single day, have been established to offer services absolutely free of cost to children from needy and impoverished backgrounds.

Over 170,000 little hearts have been mended at the temples of healing and 5,000 rural children have been empowered with values-based integral education at the temples of learning, and 11 Centres for Human Development in 11 countries have been established to carry out spiritual and service activities across the world. The life of Sri Madhusudan Sai is indeed a reflection of Baba’s message of love and service, as several lives are being illumined through these benevolent acts of service every single day.

Mindtree Starts FY23 With Strong Growth And Record Order Book

* First quarter revenue up 5.5% sequentially in constant currency; EBITDA margins at 21.1%; highest-ever order book at $570 million

Mindtree, a global technology services and digital transformation company, announced its consolidated results today for the first quarter ended June 30, 2022, as approved by its Board of directors.

“We are excited to report a strong start to FY23 with robust revenue growth, solid margin, and a record order book, demonstrating our continued industry-leading growth momentum,” said Debashis Chatterjee, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Mindtree. “With revenues of $399.3 million, up 5.5% sequentially in constant currency on the back of a healthy demand for our digital capabilities, this was our sixth consecutive quarter of more than 5% revenue growth in constant currency. Our EBITDA was 21.1%, underscoring our disciplined execution and operational rigor. Our highest-ever order book of $570 million reflects the relevance of our value proposition in delivering business-critical transformation at scale. We are proud of our dedicated teams who continue to exceed client expectations with passion and purpose.” 

Key financial highlights:                                                 

Quarter ended June 30, 2022

·       In USD:

Revenue was $399.3 million (growth of 4.0% q-o-q / 28.6% y-o-y)

Net profit was $60.3 million (decline of 3.8%) q-o-q / growth of 29.7% y-o-y)

·       In INR:

Revenue was ?31,211 million (growth of 7.7% q-o-q / 36.2 % y-o-y)

Net profit was ?4,716 million (decline of 0.3% q-o-q / growth of 37.3 % y-o-y)

Other highlights:

·       Clients:

274 active clients as of June 30, 2022

$10 million+ clients increased by 3, total 35

$20 million+ clients increased by 4, total 18

·       People:

37,455 professionals as of June 30, 2022

Trailing 12 months attrition was 24.5%

Some key deals won in Q1 FY23:

A leading U.S.-based airline chose Mindtree as a preferred digital product development partner. As part of the multiyear deal, Mindtree will help the airline accelerate growth by transforming its core systems and digital channels.

A healthcare technology provider awarded a three-year digital transformation contract to Mindtree for business-critical application development and maintenance services.

A leading hyperscaler selected Mindtree for a multiyear managed services deal as part of which Mindtree will provide a wide range of technology and program management support to the company’s digital stores worldwide.

A leading global specialty insurance and reinsurance company selected Mindtree as a preferred partner for a multiyear managed services program spanning cloud, IT infrastructure, and security.

A leading audio technology company chose Mindtree as a preferred partner for a multiyear managed services deal consisting of cloud, development, and testing services.

An Australian wealth management group selected Mindtree as a partner of choice for its core modernization and digital transformation program.

Recognitions:

Recognized as a major contender by Everest Group in its Healthcare Payer Digital Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2022.

Named an Aspirant by Everest Group in its Sustainability Enablement Technology Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2022.

Achieved certification from the British Standards Institution (BSI) for seven ISO standards across 18 locations — including five new ones added this year — in the U.S., the UK, Poland, and India.

Topped CRISIL’s ESG evaluation of more than 575 companies in India across 53 sectors and accorded the “Leadership” position in CRISIL’s Sustainability Yearbook 2022.

Ranked among Asia-Pacific’s top ten companies on the FT-Nikkei-Statista Asia-Pacific Climate Leaders list for achieving the greatest reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity over 2015-2020.

Recognized with BEST awards by the Association for Talent Development (ATD) for driving impact and solving business challenges through talent development practices.

Won the Golden Peacock Award for Risk Management 2021 for business excellence and maturity in enterprise risk management.

Won the BW People HR Diversity and Inclusion Award for outstanding D&I initiatives.

About Mindtree

Mindtree [NSE: MINDTREE] is a global technology consulting and services company that enables enterprises across industries to drive superior competitive advantage, customer experiences and business outcomes by harnessing digital and cloud technologies. A digital transformation partner to approximately 275 of the world’s most pioneering enterprises, Mindtree brings extensive domain, technology and consulting expertise to help reimagine business models, accelerate innovation and maximize growth. As a socially and environmentally responsible business, Mindtree is focused on growth as well as sustainability in building long-term stakeholder value. Powered by more than 37,400 talented and entrepreneurial professionals across 24 countries, Mindtree — a Larsen & Toubro Group company — is consistently recognized among the best places to work. For more, please visit www.mindtree.com or @Mindtree_Ltd.

upGrad Acquires WOLVES Recruitment Firm To Become The Largest Tech-Talent Powerhouse

 
~ WOLVES India will operate independently as a 100% subsidiary of upGrad Rekrut and strengthen its Tech placement portfolio ~

upGrad Rekrut a 100% subsidiary of global higher-Ed major upGrad announced the acquisition of WOLVES India, a Recruitment and Staffing firm for an undisclosed amount.  

The Bengaluru-based 7-year-old WOLVES India specialises in placing high-quality Tech talent across startups, along with mid and large-sized organisations in India and overseas. With 70 professionals, WOLVES has closed over 5000 placements in technology and product roles. 

It has also been addressing complex hiring challenges across the aero-space segment through its proprietary product - Quasara, thus helping global businesses to set up their offshore centres. 

Commenting on the development, upGrad Co-founder & MD, Mayank Kumar said, “Our acquisitions reflect our commitment to drive career outcomes for our learners. While with upGrad Rekrut we saw our learners receiving record-breaking CTCs during FY22, the joining of WOLVES India will give us an edge in the tech ecosystem. It shall foster wider employment opportunities for our learners in the form of highly paid tech roles and enhanced career acceleration.” 

The Tech industry in India will continue to observe steady demand for skilled talent and is expected to become a $350 billion market by FY26. “We are thrilled to welcome Raghu and his team on board to partner with upGrad Rekrut to offer an enhanced placement portfolio, thus enabling upGrad learners with the Tech jobs of tomorrow. This aligns with our ambition of becoming the global talent superpower in the next few years,” said Ajay Shah - Managing Founder and Husain Tinwala - Co-founder of upGrad Rekrut. 

WOLVES India will continue to operate independently under the leadership of its Founder and Director Raghu S. He further added, “WOLVES’ passion lies in enabling the perfect matchmaking between corporates and the right set of talent through analytics, market research and innovative strategies. Therefore, I’m confident that WOLVES India will support upGrad to present world-class tech job opportunities to its learners and together with upGrad Rekrut create a market leader in Tech hiring.”

About upGrad 

upGrad - started in 2015 is a pioneer in the online education revolution, focused on powering career success for a global workforce of over 1.3 billion. It is one of the few Integrated LifeLongLearning Tech Companies in the world - spanning the college learner to the working professional from the age group of 18-50 years and across Undergrad courses, Campus & Job Linked Programs, Studying Abroad, short form to executive programs to Degrees, Masters and Doctoral - with a learner base of over 3 million across 100+ countries and over 300 University partners and a robust enterprise business with a client base of 1000 companies worldwide.upGrad’s Global Learning Engine rests on four pillars - (a) its large repository of original & owned content and IP, (b) its own best-in-class proprietary tech platform, (c) it's high touch human-led delivery service backed by coaches & mentors, and (d) an 85% course completion track record, backed by a further 80% career outcomes guaranteed performance. Already termed Asia’s higher EdTech leader it has offices in the UK, U.S., Middle East, India, Singapore & Vietnam, and with a presence in many more countries.

Vedanta Collaborates With IIT Madras Incubated Start-Up For AI Based Safety Technologies

-  Company implementing AI-based safety monitoring as part of its commitment to Zero Harm

Vedanta, India’s leading producer of metals and oil & gas, has teamed up with Detect Technologies, an IIT Madras incubated start-up which is a winner of the Vedanta Spark program, to implement AI based safety incident detection by deploying T-Pulse® HSSE Monitoring System across all Vedanta business units.

The collaboration is in line with Vedanta Group’s commitment to Zero Harm by implementing AI enabled safety monitoring of workplaces which is a key initiative in its digital transformation roadmap.

Vedanta Group CEO Sunil Duggal said: “This partnership will further augment Vedanta's capabilities on technology led safety enablement. Detect Technologies' AI and computer vision solutions will help us enhance our digital safety monitoring across all business units."

The solution will utilize and detect Vedanta’s infrastructure for relaying and analyzing feeds and dashboard reporting. The module will be implemented to identify Unsafe Acts & Conditions under various categories such as Job Safety/ Hazard Communication, Work at Height, Traffic Interference & Vehicle Safety etc.

T-Pulse® offers centralized and scalable technology stack designed for plug and play deployment. Engineered for risk minimization and mitigation through actionable insights, T-Pulse® has witnessed proliferated deployment across major caution intensive workplaces such as construction, petrochemicals, logistics, power, metals, mining, pharmaceuticals, and fabrication yard. In deployment across Vedanta facilities, it has been instrumental in augmenting compliance by enabling effective responses in environments ranging from onshore drilling to Zinc manufacturing.

Detect Technologies is an IIT Madras incubated start-up and the winner of Vedanta SPARK 1.O initiative. It is a leading Industrial AI enterprise, offering SaaS based solutions primed at re-engineering and automating industrial processes to achieve 100% safety compliance and zero downtime of assets.

Vedanta Spark is a global corporate innovation, accelerator and ventures program which aims to enable start-ups that leverage transformative and sustainable technologies to create large-scale impact in partnership with group companies of Vedanta. Last month, Vedanta rolled out the SPARK 2.O accelerator program for start-ups with a focus on driving sustainable digital transformation in the natural resources sector.

About Vedanta Limited:

Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa and Namibia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector. Vedanta is committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner and has pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the transition to net zero operations. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company’s flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars, have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. Under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s social initiatives, the Vedanta group has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on social impact programs with a thrust on nutrition, women & child development, healthcare, animal welfare, and grass-root level sports. Vedanta and the group companies company have been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index 2020, and was conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020, CII Environmental Best Practices Award 2020, ICSI National Award 2020 for excellence in Corporate Governance, People First HR Excellence Award 2020 and certified as a Great Place to Work 2021 & 2022. Vedanta’s flagship Nand Ghar Project was identified as best CSR project by Government of Rajasthan. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.

Young Baker To Host Haking Fundraiser To Help Badminton Player See Success In World Ranking

Vinusha MK, a 12-year-old chef from Chennai is one of the youngest, creative minds who runs a bakery called Four Seasons, inspired by the four seasons around the year.

She has initiated an interactive fundraiser on Milaap 360, the newest holisitic online giving solution from Milaap to help Hruitvik Ambekar, an international badminton athlete to reach a higher world ranking in Badminton. Vinusha has worked with Milaap, India’s largest crowdfunding platform, to conduct a fundraiser baking class two years ago. At that point all the proceeds went towards helping the street vendors of Chennai who lost their jobs owing to the COVID pandemic and the lockdown.

The teenage entrepreneur who mostly runs the cafe from home, is hosting a fundraising baking workshop on Milaap 360, an “all-in-one” fundraising platform this Saturday July 16 at 4pm. Vinusha invites participation in her fundraising and requests parents of young children to help them get registered for the baking session.

Vinusha started her journey as a baker three years back, with her first attempt to bake a perfect birthday cake for her mother, on her birthday. After trying out a few more items, she hit upon the perfect recipe and consistency for baking a cake and never looked back. She also conducts live classes on social media to drive more and more people to the world of baking in addition to running her entrepreneurial venture at this tender age.

To participate in this fun session, please register at https://mlpi.milaap360.org/hruitvik/Event

Milaap 360 is designed to guarantee a hassle-free virtual fundraising experience for the online-natives of today while seamlessly integrating the traditional methods of running a fundraiser. Each organizer on the platform will have the liberty to design their own page, with their branding, content, logo, updates as per requirement.

Infiniti Mall To Offer Its Valuable Customers A Flat 50% Off Along With A Chance To Win Great Prizes

Mumbai’s premiere shopping, food & entertainment destination - Infiniti Mall is ready to commence the sale of the year. The time of the year has arrived when guests can shop more and get more with a flat 50% off on their favorite brands along with a chance to win exciting prizes and gifts.

Offers: 

Flat 50% off on your favorite brands

Details:

When: 16th July 2022 at Infiniti Mall (New Link Road, Malad West)

17th July 2022 at Infiniti Mall (Oshiwara, Andheri West)

Time: 10 am to 12 midnight 

Rewarding their customers for their constant love and support, Infiniti Mall has also announced that all inloyal members (loyalty memberships offered by Infiniti Mall) will earn 3x points on every purchase on the sale day. This offer excludes electronics and jewelry.

At Infiniti Mall (Malad), along with great discounts, customers stand a chance to win gold jewelry when they shop for Rs. 5000 and more. High spenders can get a chance to win free movie tickets. 

Come, be part of and enjoy the sale of the year at Infiniti Mall - the most preferred leisure, shopping, and entertainment destination!