Jaguar Land Rover Finds the Teenagers Writing the Code for a Self-driving Future

Tomorrow’s engineers are learning to code self-driving vehicles of the future today thanks to the unique Land Rover 4x4 in Schools programme.

Self-driving cars will require an estimated one billion lines of computer code1 – almost 1,000 times more than the 145,000 lines required by NASA to land Apollo 11 on the moon2. To meet the growing need for more coders to deliver these future autonomous and connected vehicles, Jaguar Land Rover is looking to inspire the next generation of software engineers.

The talented teenagers competing in this year’s Land Rover 4x4 In Schools Technology Challenge world finals - a global education enrichment initiative aimed at encouraging young people to take up STEM careers - were able to write 200 lines of code in just 30 minutes, to successfully navigate a scale model Range Rover Evoque around a 5.7-metre circuit.

David Lakin, Head of Education from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), said: “We’re in the midst of a digital skills shortage – the UK alone requires more than 1 million software engineers to fill the growing demand for roles requiring a knowledge of coding, software engineering or electronics.

"Digital skills are vital to the economy, which is why the IET is proud to support initiatives like the Land Rover 4x4 In Schools Technology Challenge to ensure we inspire, inform and develop future engineers and encourage diversity across STEM subjects from a young age. If we are to safeguard jobs for the next generation, we must equip the workforce of the future with the skills they will need to engineer a better world.”

As of 2018, there were 23 million software developers worldwide but this population is expected to grow to 27.7 million by 2023†,  with World Economic Forum research suggesting 65% of students today will end up working in jobs that don’t currently exist*.

This year, Jaguar Land Rover will launch a new Digital Skills Apprenticeship programme to attract the brightest computer engineers to help code its next-generation electric, connected and autonomous vehicles and support the factories of the future.

Nick Rogers, Executive Director of Product Engineering at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Computer engineering and software skills are more important than ever in the rapidly changing automotive industry, and that will only increase as we see more autonomous, connected and electric vehicles on the roads. The UK will need 1.2 million more people with specialist digital skills by 2022, and as a technology company, it’s our job to help inspire and develop the next generation of technically curious and pioneering digital engineers. The Land Rover 4x4 In Schools Technology Challenge is just one of the ways we are doing this, as well as our new Digital Skills Apprenticeship programme we are launching this year.”

The Land Rover 4x4 in Schools programme has helped the company reach more than four million young people since 2000. This year 110 students from 14 countries qualified for the world finals  held at the University of Warwick, with NewGen Motors team from Greece lifting the trophy following two intensive days of competition.

Mark Wemyss-Holden, former teacher and Curriculum Content Developer, said: “Coding is high on the agenda across industry and teachers do a fantastic job delivering the curriculum, but schools have competing priorities and are hamstrung by limited budgets and time. The private sector, and programmes like Land Rover 4x4 In Schools, have a real opportunity to bridge the gap between what learners enjoy studying and how that translates into a future career.”

Jaguar Land Rover is a leader in the development of Autonomous, Connected, Electric and Shared (ACES) mobility services and has invested in Global Pioneering Hubs around the world to capitalise on– including Shannon, Republic of Ireland; Budapest, Hungary and Portland, in the United States.

John Cormican, General Manager for Vehicle Engineering, Shannon, said: “Shannon has an important role to play in realising the company’s vision for autonomous and connected vehicles, but we cannot deliver this future without the very best minds - individuals who could write the next chapter for Jaguar Land Rover. It's fantastic to see the company taking such an innovative approach towards investing in the next generation.”

Unity Technologies Announces the Open Beta of the Unity Distribution Portal at GDC 2019

At this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC), one of the biggest gaming conferences in the world, Unity Technologies, creator of the world’s most widely used real-time 3D development platform, announced several updates to its platform, enabling developers to move further towards innovation. In Unity’s annual keynote address, the company provided an exclusive first look of The Heretic, the first ever real-time digital humans featured video, introduced the Lightweight Render Pipeline (LWRP) is coming out of preview this year, announced the open beta of the Unity Distribution Portal (UDP), and much more.

The Heretic, is a short film by Unity’s award-winning Demo Team, the creators of Adam and Book of the Dead. The Heretic is also Unity’s first ever showcase of real-time digital humans. Unity’s demo team combined data acquired through both 3D and 4D scanning, and then built a complete pipeline from data acquisition to real-time rendering in Unity, aligning services offered by various commercially available service providers.

Additionally, Unity announced that the Lightweight Render Pipeline (LWRP) is now out of preview and will be ready for production use in the 2019.1 release. This rendering pipeline has been designed from the ground up to offer the most scalable solution for Unity graphics, with a lean and optimized approach that allows optimum performance on the maximum amount of supported Unity platforms.

Unity also announced the open beta launch of the Unity Distribution Portal or UDP at the conference. UDP allows developers to scale their business and expand their player base globally by distributing mobile games on apps stores in emerging markets. Distributing a mobile game to different apps stores comes with a lot of hurdles, complexities, and challenges. UDP automatically creates builds for each of the participating stores and enables distribution regardless of individual store requirements.

“We believe that the world is a better place with more creators in it,” said Hubert Larenaudie, President Asia Pacific & Global Lead Unity Distribution Platform at Unity Technologies. “We invest heavily in our technology to ensure that we’re powering our community’s ideas and enabling them to create, operate, and monetize on our platform. Our announcements at GDC 2019 underscore that commitment”.

Manipal Hospitals Whitefield Appoints Dr. Venugopal as Consultant in Neuro Surgery

Manipal Hospital Whitefield announced the joining of Dr.Venugopal Subramaniam as Consultant in Neursurgery Department of the Hospital. Dr.Venugopal will be available for OPD Consultation on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays between 9.00am to 2.00pm.

Having an experience of over a decade post qualification, Dr.Venugopal is having hands-on experience in various subspecialties of Neurosurgery, which includes complex Brain and Spine diseases in both adult and pediatrics.

His special interests are in Neuro oncology, Deep brain stimulation(DBS), Epilepsy surgery, Spinal deformity and Minimal invasive spine surgery (MISS). With Functional Neurosurgery getting more importance in the area of today’s  Neurosurgery, Dr. Venugopal’s academic contribution and interest in  research work on Stem cell Transplant for Parkinson’s disease, Deep Brain Stimulation and 3D printing technology for spinal deformity surgeries is an  added advantage which can aid patient’s seeking highest order of treatment in these respective disorders.

“Manipal Hospitals Whitefield is focused and committed to quality healthcare at par with International standards.”, says Dr.Venugopal. “This a great opportunity for me to leverage my expertise and experience to boost up Manipal Hospital’s endeavour in creating a patient-centric System”

About Manipal Hospitals:

As a pioneer in healthcare, Manipal Hospitals is among the largest hospital network in India serving over 2 million patients annually .Its focus is to develop an affordable tertiary care multispecialty healthcare framework through its entire multispecialty delivery spectrum and further extend it to homecare. With its flagship quaternary care facility located in Bangalore, India, 7 tertiary care, 5 secondary care and 2 primary care clinics spread across India and abroad, today Manipal Hospitals successfully operates and manages 5,900 beds across 15 hospitals. Manipal Hospitals provides comprehensive curative and preventive care for a multitude of patients from across the globe. Manipal Hospitals has one-day care clinic in Lagos, Nigeria.  Manipal Hospitals is first in India to be  awarded accreditation by the AAHRPP for ethical standards in clinical research activities. It is also NABL, NABH and ISO certified. Manipal Hospitals is also the most respected hospital company in India and the most patient recommended hospital in India by consumer survey.

Intel's Director Jitendra Chaddah Appointed New Chairman of IESA

India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), the premier industry body representing the Indian Electronic System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM) industry today announced its new Executive Council (EC) for the year 2019-20 with Jitendra Chaddah (JC), Senior Director - Operations and Strategic Relations, Intel taking over as the Chairman.

Speaking on the occasion, Jitendra Chaddah, Chairman, IESA said, “I feel extremely honored for taking up the position of IESA chairman at a time when the Indian electronics and semiconductor industry is poised for exponential growth. The opportunity for electronics system design and manufacturing is tremendous, given the rapid momentum around Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud, Smart & Connected Devices, and 5G. This requires accelerated focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, IP creation and manufacturing in the ‘Intelligent Electronics’ space. I am looking forward to the continued partnership with the industry, government and academia to achieve our goal of making India a global hub for design-led manufacturing in Intelligent Electronics.’

JC has over two decades of industry experience with excellent international exposure and experience of working in both emerging and mature markets – USA, Latin America, Asia Pacific. At Intel, he has played multiple leadership roles ranging from Program Management of large and complex programs to running operations and setting strategic direction for large R&D sites at different Intel locations. JC also plays a critical role in leading multiple industry initiatives to accelerate technology adoption and innovation in the country. Recently, he led the conceptualization of Semiconductor Fabless Accelerator Lab (SFAL) and IESA’s Vision Summit.   Currently Jitendra is the Senior Director, Operations and Strategy at Intel India, leading operations of Intel’s largest R&D center outside the US, forming strategic alliances with the tech eco-system and creating impactful initiatives for technology acceleration in partnership with Government, Academia, Media and Industry.

“It gives me immense pleasure welcoming JC as the new chairman. We look forward to further strengthen our footprint globally with his visionary expertise & contemporary outlook in managing large enterprise products, leading vision groups with governments, fostering entrepreneurship, Start-Up culture, innovation and resilient academia relationships. This will help IESA taking India to leadership position globally in design and manufacturing of intelligent electronics products and solutions”, said Rajesh Ram Mishra, President, IESA.

The IESA Executive Council also saw the appointments of Dr Satya Gupta, Co-Founder & CEO SenzOpt Technologies India being as the new Vice Chairman and Veerappan V, Co-Founder & Director, Tessolve Semiconductor as the new Treasurer two new members; along with Anoop Dutta, CEO, EmuPro Consulting Pvt. Ltd. and Sanjay Gupta, Vice President & India Country Manager, NXP Semiconductors as Executive council members.

About India Electronics and Semiconductor Association: India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) is the premier industry body committed to the development of the Indian Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) ecosystem. The IESA’s vision is to bring stakeholders from the Indian industry, government and academia on a common platform to work towards making the Indian ESDM sector globally competent. The IESA’s member base of 300+ companies represent a spectrum from Large Global Corporations to Large, SMEs and Start-ups from Domestic Technology companies in ESDM space, including Academic Institutions and Venture Capital firms.

Adani Foundation Enables More Than 3 Lakh Children to Dream Big on Project Udaan

Adani Foundation achieved a milestone in April 2019 when it reached out to more than 3 lakh students and youth through Project Udaan. Udaan is a one of its kind initiative of Adani Foundation, which aims to inspire students and youth to dream big.

The Udaan project is geared towards motivating the students of our country and encouraging them to achieve greatness as well as inculcating an entrepreneurial spirit in their lives.

Udaan is inspired by the life-changing story of Mr. Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group. As a child, Mr. Adani had visited the Kandla Port in Gujarat, and when he saw the expanse of the Port, he dreamt of having a Port of his own one day.

Udaan focuses on inspiration-based educational visits of school and college students to various business locations of the Adani Group at Mundra and Hazira in Gujarat, Tirora in Maharashtra, Kawai in Rajasthan, Dhamra in Odisha and Udupi in Karnataka. Under this project, an exposure tour is organised wherein students are given a chance to visit the Adani Port, Adani Power and Adani Wilmar facilities to get an insight about the large-scale business activities being carried out. When young minds are given exposure, it helps them to understand their own potential and get motivated to work towards the same.

Students are provided transportation, boarding, lodging, food and at every Adani Group business establishment, they receive knowledge about the operations of the business. The project covers students and youth in 5 States across the country and has reached out to 3,00,063 students and youth through 4143 exposure trips.

About Adani Foundation

Established in 1996, Adani Foundation today has widespread operations in 18 states that include 2250 villages and towns across the country with a team of professionals who work with an approach that embodies innovation, people participation and collaboration.

Touching the lives of more than 3.2 million people annually and passionately working towards creating social capital with focus on four core areas – Education, Community Health, Sustainable Livelihood Development and Infrastructure Development, Adani Foundation acts towards inclusive growth and sustainable development of the rural and urban communities, in turn contributing towards nation-building.

Alcohowl’s Pub Crawl Reached Over 2 Lakhs Digital Users!

Alcohowl is India’s first digital magazine for everything related to spirits, cocktails, nightlife and beyond. The magazine covers everything about the experience of fine drinking by shifting away from the mundane and diving into a world of niche spirits and drinks. The bespoke, specially curated content by a panel of experts makes sure that the readers are updated with the latest trends in fine drinking across the globe.

Alcohowl aims at creating the perfect blend of alcohol-related events, reviews, tastings and trends to give alcohol connoisseurs a different outlook on the art of fine drinking. Nightcrawlers, this IP event is one of its kind themed pub-crawls. The fifth edition of the crawl was held on 5th April, at Inorbit Mall, Malad. The event was met with tremendous response digitally which congregated as a healthy footfall on the event.

A pack of 70 enthusiasts were part of the Nightcrawlers. The event started at Haagen Daz Ice creams which featured exclusive flavours curated based on the series, followed by a fun time at the Timezone arcade where patrons got to indulge in free bowling games. The crawl then moved to Chili’s where the attendees engaged in the game called ‘Many Faces’ -- a version of ‘Guess the Character’ – and enjoyed loads of options in starters and drinks. The party continued to Beer Café where the attendees got to taste the coveted Night King shot especially made for the event and play fun games like ‘Break the Northern Wall.’ This was followed by a Fun Limbo session at Irish House with attendees having a dance off like never seen before with community platters and beers on the side.

The night was filled with games, trivia, drinks, giveaways and laughter. Everyone signed off with smiles on their faces, newly formed friendships, and beautiful memories.

Alcohowl reached over 2 lakhs users on the digital platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook & others.

Pallavi Naidu, CEO, Alcohowl commented, “Nightcrawlers as an IP is specifically focused towards bringing people together for an unforgettable thematic experience. After many successful editions, Nightcrawlers has garnered a huge following of loyalists who swear by the idea of Nightcrawlers and are always looking forward to the next one. As a concept a “bar crawl” hasn’t been explored much in India and Alcohowl is proud to say that we are the pioneers in this space. Watch out for many more exciting editions coming out soon.”

Naviin Ibhrampurkar – Head- Marketing and Corporate Communications Inorbit Malls said, “This was a unique themed crawl in our mall which bought patrons to the mall via online registrations. A crawl is great fun, especially when you are in groups and at Inorbit we believe giving our customers engagement that they remember as memorable experiences. We look forward to having more such events in future and thank team Alcohowl for managing it so well!”

About Alcohowl (https://alcohowl.com/):

Fine drinking isn’t just about what’s in the bottle, but the story and soul behind every sip. Welcome to Alcohowl, India’s one and only platform for fine drinking experiences.

With Alcohowl, we’ve aimed at creating the perfect blend of alcohol related events, reviews, tastings and trends to give alcohol connoisseurs a different outlook on the art of fine drinking.

So, we know you like Martinis stirred and not shaken. Exactly why, our cellar full of tastefully curated articles and audio-visual content will ensure there’s something for you to indulge into. Trust our Owl to uncork the perfect night-out for you with a list of the coolest events and hippest places to suit your mood. And whether it’s a Friday night soirée or a Sunday sundowner, stir up some new memories with our range of easy and delicious cocktail recipes. Also, to add a little magic to the mundane, we’ve got a list of tailored events that are sure to keep your spirits up. Quite literally!

How Rap Music Is Helping 5 Time Congress MLA Krishna Byre Gowda Talk To First Time Voters?

The coming election will see over 30 lakh first time voters casting their vote. And it's becoming extremely important for the mainstream parties to appeal to them. Krishna Byre Gowda, or KBG as he is known, the joint Congress and JD(S) candidate for Bengaluru North Parliamentary Constituency, has a secret weapon on his side.

Folk rap.

The Elements Mall on Bengaluru city was witness to folk rap performance by young musicians appealed to young voters to vote carefully, vote with a conscience and to vote for a future free of hate and violence. The performers also took up KBG's campaign promise “With You For You” and detailed - in rap - why he was their candidate of choice.

The lines from the song —"Ishtu varshavadaru innu unemployment, sullu matugaligella agabedi silent/Agadidre kelsa bejaragi koorabeka navu prati divasa?" (Unemployment exists even after these many years/Don't be silent listening to falsities/Should we sit jobless everyday?) seem to resonate a sentiment that is shared by many.