IIT Kharagpur to start 3 year executive MBA in Bhubaneswar and Kolkata

Following is an excerpt from a report in pagalguy.com.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur’s Vinod Gupta School of Management is starting two MBA programs for working executives at it Kolkata and Bhubhaneswar campuses. Working on a 3-year structure that will allow participants to work while they study, the courses are largely targeted towards the local population of each city they shall function in. While the Executive MBA at the Kolkata campus has a general management bent the Knowledge Industries MBA (KIMBA) at the Bhubhaneswar campus would focus on the IT and ITES sectors, explained EMBA coordinator Prof Gautam Sinha.

The intakes for both the programs would be 15 to 30 students each while the minimum eligibility will be three years of work experience and either an engineering education or post-graduate education in commerce, science or economics. More about the application system to the courses on the VGSoM website.

Prima facie, there are few differences between the EMBA and KIMBA except for a couple of core courses. The IT/ITES focused KIMBA has courses such as Technology Management and Services Management, which in the EMBA are replaced by International Management and IT & Business Applications Laboratory. Interestingly, the KIMBA has two courses on Financial Accounting while the EMBA has none. Both courses cost Rs 6 lakhs in fees, including a one-year international immersion program, which according to Prof Sinha may be carried out with one of IIT Kharagpur’s 99 tie-ups with various international institutions.

While both the courses look similar to 3-year part-time MBA courses in structure and content, Prof Sinha argues that several executive MBA courses across the world follow the part-time model. While that may be true, popular executive MBA programs in the USA or Europe wrap up in an year’s time, recognizing that the opportunity cost for working executives to stay away from work is high. To that extent, VGSOM’s Executive programs seem like 3-year part-time MBAs that give you an Executive MBA degree at the end, thus keeping you away from the stigma attached to the ‘part-time’ bit of part-time MBA.

Prof Sinha defends the three-year pattern of VGSOM’s Executive MBAs saying, “One-year or two-year programs are high pressure situations which might not be conducive for people with families.”

The links for the two programs are:

1. E-MBA at Kolkata  for all industries
2. KI-MBA at Bhubaneswar  for knowledge industries like Information Technology sector.

Note that earlier IIT Kharagpur also introduced 3 year weekend and after hours M.Tech programs in both cities. See https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/4118.

1 comment May 12th, 2010

Takshila School to open in Bhubaneswar; advertises for teacher positions

The webpage http://www.takshilaschools.in/ mentioned in the ad below is not functional yet. However, a webapge with a similar logo is functional at http://www.takshila.net/. Following is the ad obtained from a report in breakingnewsonline.

2 comments May 12th, 2010

NALCO to set up a research and training facility in Bhubaneswar

Following is a from a report in RTT news.

State-run aluminium major Nalco is to set up a research and technology center on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar by mid- 2012, media reports said quoting company Chairman-cum-Managing Director A K Srivastava.

The Navratna PSU has acquired 18 acres of land at Gothapatna to build its world-class research and technology center that would help enhance growth of aluminium mining in India.

The company will initially invest Rs.88 crore on the center and once completed it would get technical support of foreign countries. Initially the center would work on alumina, aluminium and bauxite, which could be extended to other fields, Srivastava said.

He said the company had already undertaken at least 15 collaborative R&D projects with different research institutions.

May 12th, 2010

National Archive of India New Delhi; with centers in Jaipur, Bhopal, Puducherry and Bhubaneswar

The website of the National Archives is http://nationalarchives.nic.in/. The page for the Bhubaneswar record center is http://nationalarchives.nic.in/WebContent.aspx?id=8&type=homemore. Following is from that page:

The Eastern Zone Records Centre of National Archives of India was set up on 1 March 1996 in Bhubaneswar with a view to cater to the need of 12 states in eastern and north-east India and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Centre at present is functioning in a rented building. The Government of Orissa has provided 2.29 acres of land on ex-gratia basis in Madhusudan Nagar, a prime location in the city for construction of its functional building. The construction of the building has already been assigned to CPWD.

The Centre at present houses approximately 40,000 files, registers, loose documents, bound volumes, copied and plam-leaf manuscripts, rare books and many other items. Its library also consists of more than 1,000 books, journals and Gazette of India. The details of record holding follows:

How to Reach: The Centre is functioning in a rented building in Shatabdi Nagar, Unit 8 which is five kilometers from Railway Station, three kilometers from Bhubaneswar Bus Terminus and four kilometers from the Biju Pattnaik Airport. It is located in a lane connecting the main road between Siripur Square and Delta Square. The list of records holdings of Records Center, Bhubaneswar follows:

a. Public Records

b. Private Papers

c. Library Holdings

The complete postal address is as follows:

For R.T.I. Telephone/Fax  0674-2560043

National Archives of India, Records Centre (Eastern Zone)
1078-79/ 3355-56, Shatabdi Nagar, Unit-8, P.O. – Baramundaa Colony
Bhubaneswar – 751 003
E-mail: nai@ori.nic.in

Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India which suggests that the National Archive and its centers will be more accessible now. With the eastern zone record center in Bhubaneswar this will benefit people of Odisha a lot.

… The National Archives holds detailed administrative records from the time Akbar sat on the throne in Delhi in the 16th and 17th centuries to the present. In addition, there are thousands of private papers, such as letters written by stalwarts like Dadabhai Naoroji to Shrinivas Ramanujam, the great mathematician. There are also the so-called Oriental Records, which refer to revenue grants made by Mughal rulers and treatises maintained by their court historians.

Under the present laws, only a ‘research scholar’ can read anything kept in the National Archives. This too involves a considerable amount of red tape, as a person must fill up a form to show s/he is enrolled in a recognised university and doing genuine academic work related to the subject. Consequently, most people can’t view such historical records.

Now, a review panel constituted by the National Archives has suggested certain changes to the Public Records Act of 1993, which governs access to such records. Firstly, it has proposed that the term ‘research scholar’ be replaced with ‘user’, so that ordinary citizens too can ask to see documents kept in the archives. Secondly, people will be given readers’ tickets so that they can enter the premises of the National Archives. That documents as fascinating as the original court proceedings of Bhagat Singh’s trial or field reports filed by British military officers in 19th-century Aawadh may soon be in the public domain should bring special cheer to writers, scriptwriters, filmmakers and other professionals who would be able to get first-hand access to primary sources on which they may base their work.

Another change in the law suggests that government departments declassify documents and transfer them to the National Archives within 20 years of their creation, and not 25 as is the case now. This would also harmonise this particular law with the Right to Information Act, which says that even documents exempted from the public domain should be made available two decades after their creation. "It was observed that records from the post-Independence period were not being transferred to the National Archives by various government departments," said a culture ministry official.

2 comments May 12th, 2010

Mahanadi Institute of Medical Science and Research, MCL, Talcher, Odisha: Some details from tathya.in

Following are excerpts from a report in http://www.tathya.in/news/story.asp?sno=4070.

… The institution has been named as “Mahanadi Institute of Medical Science and Research, MCL”. 

This will be a 500-bed Medical College and Hospital at Talcher in Angul district. 

Earlier the Board of Directors of MCL has already approved for setting up of a Medical College at Talcher by the coal company.

The institution will be managed by a trust.

Accordingly a trust has been formed and registered in the name of “Mahanadi Medical Education Trust” under Registration of Society Act-1860.

The CMD,MCL will be the Chairman of the Trust. 

… The Odisha Government recently gave its no-objection certificate (NOC), said a senior official in the Department of Health & Family Welfare. 

The Medical College would be set up on a 60 acre patch of land along the same lines as Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Lucknow. 

… Pending laying of Foundation Stone, all other activities required for the opening of the Medical College at Talcher are being taken.

In this regard a meeting of the Trust will be held very shortly to discuss the further course of action to be taken, said the release.

MCL will also upgrade its Nehru Shatabdi hospital to a super specialty hospital, said sources.

2 comments May 12th, 2010

Excerpts from the revised concept note on Innovation Universities

The revised concept note is at the same location where the earlier concept note was: http://www.education.nic.in/uhe/Universitiesconceptnote.pdf. (We also have a local copy of it at http://www.public.asu.edu/~cbaral/concept2.pdf.) The earlier note was 21 pages and  the new note is 24 pages. (We have kept a copy of the earlier note at http://www.public.asu.edu/~cbaral/concept1.pdf.)  We gave excerpts from the earlier note at https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/3136. Following are some excerpts from the revised concept note that was absent in the earlier note.

Each University would focus on one area or problem of significance to India and build an ecosystem of research and teaching around different related disciplines and fields of study, which are relevant thereto, and search for solutions that are globally valid and in the process develop education at undergraduate and higher levels. For illustration such areas/problems of relevance could be the challenges of urbanization, environmental sustainability in relation to growth and progress of life on earth, public health.

…

MODE OF ESTABLISHMENT:

While Government is seen to be the prime mover in respect of these Universities, in terms of finances, innovation universities would also be set up in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode using the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) route with promoters having significant interest in higher education and a demonstrated capacity to deliver, either on their own or in collaboration with those who have such capacity, higher education of a high standard. Financial and academic/ research credentials of those promoting partnerships would be a determinant of their suitability. Alternatively, Universities of world-class standards elsewhere in the world may also be invited to set up its establishment and research programmes functioning under the broad parameters of the law governing such an initiative, while the teaching function of the University (except for the scholarships/fellowships sponsored by the Central Government) shall be fully funded by the promoting University. Corresponding modifications shall be made in the governing law to free such Innovation Universities from the oversight of Government which are related to funding of the operational aspect of the University namely its teaching function. However, accountability to Parliament shall extend to the research grants or Endowment funds provided to the University by Government.

Three distinct approaches are possible in establishing Innovation Universities – first, new green field Innovation Universities focused on distinct issues of national importance to India and building various disciplines and fields of research around such issues.

The second approach is that of identifying a few of the existing universities and other institutions of repute and with marginal top-up investment encouraging them to attain world class standards through innovation in chosen areas of knowledge. The advantages are obvious, the investment would be marginal, it would be an acknowledgment of our existing national assets, a recognition that several faculties within such institutions and universities are indeed world-class or near world-class, and that innovation in knowledge does take place, even if in a limited manner, in some of our institutions and universities. The attendant problems of such an approach are obviously that of managing the transition and change; of selecting through transparent and competitive modes those few institutions and universities from the existing ones, which could be invested in; of identifying those disciplines or areas of knowledge which need to be encouraged for transiting in to the sub-sets that would in aggregate overwhelm the other sectors so that those few deficiencies that remain in them do not come in the way of transition to Innovation Universities.

The third approach is that of identifying a few educational hubs (cities) in the country where a few institutions and universities of excellence by national standards are located, and creating the architecture of an Innovation University by building synergies for inter-disciplinarity and strong research and teaching among such institutions. The advantages of this geographical approach are again that of marginal investments maximizing returns, assured outcomes if it works, recognition that some of our specialized institutions are at par with globally reputed universities at least in respect of the disciplines within foreign universities that such institutions specialize in. The problems with the approach include the challenges of managing change and resistance to change, overcoming inter-personal issues and neutralizing ‘domain egos’, finding iconic personalities to head the super-structure or the ‘shell’ built over institutional and organizational pillars. It would be difficult to make different organizations and institutions volunteer to forego the legacy built over time, but in theory such a geographical approach is also feasible.

The "Mode of Establishment" section is completely new and was not there in the earlier concept note. The third approach mentioned above is similar to the idea mentioned in the TOI article by Prof. Devesh Kapur. Although the concept note mentions it, from the tone it seems they do not think that the idea is practical at this point of time. If and when the innovation universities become a brand it may become practical. Now the possible constituent units have their brand identity and coming together of several such units to form an unbranded entity may not pass muster.

With the above information, now one can guess a bit more about the intentions behind the report mentioned in https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/4441. My interpretation is that for innovation universities that will be made based on the second and third approach the government may be willing to shift the location inside the state to a location that is more suitable for the 2nd and third approach as they are location specific.

May 12th, 2010

CUO Koraput to offer Diploma in Public Health with the help of Public Health Foundation of India

Update: Following is from Samaja.

This is a good move. We need more locals in KBK with expertise in public health issues.

1 comment May 9th, 2010

Demand to upgrade BOSE to an engineering College: Dharitri

It may be a good idea to consider upgrading all the government diploma colleges to also include degree programs. See the list at https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/4122.

May 8th, 2010

NASA Ames Space Settlement Design Contest 2010: Prateeksha Das from Rourkela has the top individual entry

The web page of this contest is at http://settlement.arc.nasa.gov/Contest/. The results of the 2010 page is at http://settlement.arc.nasa.gov/Contest/Results/2010/index.html. Following sentence is from that web page.

Prateeksha Das, Ispat English Medium School, Odisha, India’s entry "Paradise Reclaimed" won the inaugural Bruce Clark Memorial scholarship which goes to the top individual entry.

She is from the 11-12 grade.

Following is from Dharitri.

Last year a team from Bhubaneswar co-won the grand prize.

16 comments May 5th, 2010

List of recognized teacher education institutes in Odisha: From ERCNCTE site

The following is from the ERCNCTE (Eastern Region Committee, National Council of Teacher Education), Bhubaneswar site at http://www.ercncte.org/. (The head office of NCTE is in Delhi and its four regional centers are at Bhubaneswar, Bangalore, Bhopal and Jaipur.)

7 comments May 4th, 2010

IIPH Bhubaneswar starts with a 1 yr PG Diploma in Public Health Management

Note that currently this program (PG Diploma in Public Health Management) is not offered by AIPH Bhubaneswar. Currently AIPH offers a certificate in Public Health Management, PG Diploma in Public Health Informatics and MPH (in collaboration with Ravenshaw University).

May 4th, 2010

CIPET ad for M.Tech and Ph.D at its Bhubaneswar center: Samaja

May 3rd, 2010

DAV Colleges in Odisha

India has several DAV Colleges and Schools. A listing of them can be obtained from http://www.davcmcdircol.org/index2.aspx. Some of their top colleges in India are DAV  College Chandigarh and Hansraj College Delhi. They currently have 4 colleges in Odisha.

Based on the claims in their web page, the DAV School of Business Management seems to be doing very well. 

Currently there are four DAV Public Schools in the Bhubaneswar area. 

• DAV Chandrasekharpur
• DAV Unit 8
• DAV Pokhariput
• DAV Kalinganagar

There are many DAV Schools in rest of Odisha. This includes

• DAV School Berhampur
• Four DAV Schools in Cuttack city (Raja Bagicha, CDA, Gandharpur, Alisa Bazaar)
• DAV School, Basanti Colony Rourkela
• DAV School Sovarampur Balasore
• DAV School Paradeep
• DAV Talcher Thermal
• DAV MCL
• DAV Jharsuguda
• DAV Burla
• DAV Badambagarh, Cuttack
• DAV Brajarajnagar
• DAV Sundergarh

See http://www.adhyapak.com/schools/orissa/orissa_schools2.html for a bigger list.

May 3rd, 2010

The IIIT Bill, 2010 is expected to be introduced in the Monsoon Session of the Parliament

Following is an excerpt from a report by Kalpana Pathak in sify.com.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) may soon introduce a Bill in Parliament to facilitate the establishment of 20 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) under the public-private-partnership (PPP) model.

… The IIITs will offer under-graduate, masters and PhD programmes. Each institute will have an intake capacity of about 1,000 students within a period of six to seven years of their functioning.

"The IIITs will be governed by an Act to be modelled on the lines of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Act. These institutes will enjoy autonomy and also have the power to frame their own ordinances and statutes," said the director of an existing IIIT in the north. The IIITs, till date, have been functioning as bodies registered under the Society Registration Act and therefore governed by its regulations and by-laws, he explained.

The PPP model, as envisaged by the HRD Ministry, entails that each Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) would be set up at an investment of Rs 200 crore. Of this amount, 85 per cent will be borne by the Centre (50 per cent or Rs 100 crore) and state governments (35 per cent or Rs 70 crore). The remaining 15 per cent (Rs 30 crore) would be invested by the IT industry.

Land for the institutes will be provided by the states, for a completely integrated campus with science and technology parks. Each institute will specialise on specific area of Information Technology. Each IIIT will be a centre of excellence in that domain.

… "The Planning Commission has given an in-principle approval for this. We are, however, waiting for a nod from the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) after which it would be moved to the aCabinet for final nod,” the director added.

May 3rd, 2010

SUIIT admission announcement: Ad in Dharitri

• Main Link: http://www.suniv.ac.in/suiit.pdf
• Prospectus: http://www.suniv.ac.in/SUIIT-Prospectus%2010.pdf
• Application form: http://www.suniv.ac.in/SUIIT-App.%20Form.pdf

2 comments May 3rd, 2010

Xavier University bill getting fine tuned; plans to offer undergraduate programs

Sources suggest that the Xavier University Bill is getting finalized and may be introduced in the Odisha assembly in the upcoming assembly session. There is plan that the proposed Xavier University (which will be established by the XIMB people) will have undergraduate programs including in Arts and Commerce.

This would be a Godsend. While Odisha now has top notch programs in Engineering (at IIT, NIT, VSSUT, CIPET), Science (NISER), Law (NLUO), Business (XIMB), Social Work (NISWASS), Public Health (AIPH, and soon IIPH) and Education (RIE), and soon will have a top notch program in fashion design (NIFT) and medicine (AIIMS-like Institute), it does not have top programs in Commerce and Arts. Thus the proposed Xavier University offering these programs will fill a huge lacuna. There are several reasons I believe that the Arts and Commerce programs at the proposed Xavier University will be top notch.

• They have track record in Odisha and India. Their XIMB is among the top ranked business schools in the country.
• The top ranked Arts and Commerce programs in the country include many other sister Jesuit institutions such as Loyola Colleges, St. Xavier’s colleges and St. Joseph’s colleges.
• Xavier University being a university will be able to modernize and revise its programs at will and thus will have advantage over other colleges that need to work with their universities. (Some of the top ranked colleges are now autonomous though.)
• Many of the other top ranked colleges are uni-disciplinary. Xavier University will be able to share faculty among multiple programs and thus able to create more multi-dimensional programs.

The proposed Xavier University offering top notch arts and commerce programs would help the other institutions to improve their arts and commerce programs and may even encourage other groups (such as KIIT and ITER) to establish good programs in Arts and commerce.

Thus the Odisha government should not delay and speed up the creation of Xavier University.

Following is from India Today’s 2009 list of top ranked Arts and Commerce programs in India.

May 2nd, 2010