Odisha HRD

New NIDs (National Institutes of Design) at Hyderabad, Jorhat, Gwalior/Bhopal and a location in North India

Update: As per a sify report, the location in the North will be in Haryana.

Since we last reported on the NIDs, some of the new locations have been firmed up and a new controversy has started. Hyderabad and Jorhat have been announced among the new locations. There is no decision on the Northern India location yet. Controversy has arisen because the central government recently told the Madhya Pradesh government, that the NID will be in Gwalior (from where the state minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Jyotiraditya Scindia, comes from) instead of Bhopal which was announced earlier and the state had already allocated land there. This has led to a big controversy.

In any case, from Odihsa’s perspective the chance of getting an NID during the 11th plan is bleak. Of course, nothing is impossible; but I don’t see any effort to push the issue. The previous central minister of commerce and Industry (Mr. Kamal Nath) had almost promised (see here and here)  that one NID would be in Odisha. So Odisha could and should make an issue of it and the CM should pursue it. If efforts continue, then if not during  the 11th plan, Odisha could get one during the 12th plan, which begins only 2 years away. Moreover one can argue that Jorhat is in the north east and there needs to be an NID in the east; in Odisha.

1 comment March 27th, 2010

Tourism and Higher Education minister Shri Debi Mishra proposes establishment of hotel management schools in Balangir and Rourkela

Update on May 9th 2010: Following is from a report in Daily Pioneer.

The Food Craft Institute, Balangir, has been awarded as the best food craft institute all over India for its excellent all-round performance. Established jointly by the Union Ministry of Tourism and State Department of Tourism, this institute offers diploma courses in Food Production, Food and Beverages Service, Front Office Operation and House Keeping Operation. … The institute is going to be upgraded as a State Institute of Hotel Management. Recently, a Central inspection team visited the campus.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

… the state government has sought the conversion of the status of Food Craft Institute at Bolangir into an Indian Institute of Health Hotel Management (IIHM). The state government would provide additional land for it. Besides, the government has also urged the Centre to set up a IIHM at Rourkela, Mishra added.

Note that the Institute of Hotel Management in Bhubaneswar started as a Food Craft Institute in 1973. It became a centrally funded Institute of Hotel Management in 1984.

March 27th, 2010

National Research Institute for Management of Wetlands and Coastal Ecosystems to come up in Odisha in two campuses; Wetland research at Chilika and Coastal Eco-Managment research in Bhubaneswar

Following is an excerpt from a report in tathya.

… The Union Minister for Forest & Environment has approved the first ever National Research Institute for Management of Wetlands and Coastal Ecosystems to be set up in the state. 

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik last year requested for the same. 

… Minister Mr.Ramesh has favored an investment of Rs.30 crore for the project. 

Upendra Nath Behera, Principal Secretary Forest & Environment was informed by V N Kaul, Director Environment in the Ministry of Forest & Environment (MOEF) about the decision of the Union Government here on 26 March. 

Mr.Kaul said the Union Minister recently has green signaled not only for the project, but also funding for the same. 

Rs.10 crore recurring grant will be available for the institute for research and development of eco-system of coastal zones and wet lands. 

… Located 100 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, Chilika is known to support the largest concentration of migratory waterfowl in India. 

At least a million birds are seen at the lake every winter. 

They belong to 165 species, of which 93 are migratory and 72 are residential.

The Institute will have one campus at Chilika and another at Capital City, said sources. While Chilika Campus will look after wetland research, the Bhubaneswar Campus will be dedicated for Costal Eco-Managment researches, said an official.

March 27th, 2010

Asian Institute of Public Health (AIPH) Bhubaneswar starts PG Diploma in Public Health Informatics; Signs MOU with Ravenshaw University to offer MPH

Update2: Excerpts from Expressbuzz.

An MoU was signed between Ravenshaw University Vice- Chancellor Devdas Chotray and AIPH founder secretary Dr Pinaki Panigrahi for the launch of the Masters in Public Health (MPH) programme. Besides imparting comprehensive skills in public health, the course would turn students into experts on occupational and environmental health, public health informatics and clinical and behavioural sciences. With an extensive hands-on experience, they will pass out as professionals ready to shoulder the challenges of the rise of chronic, infectious, occupational and environmental health problems that are vital contributors to high infant and maternal mortality in the State.

The first of its kind programme in Orissa is accreditated by the Council of Education on Public Health (CEPH) under the USA Government. The students would also gain credit points that would facilitate pursuance of higher studies in the US if they so willed.

But, foremost, the programme would churn out the much needed manpower in the State. There are at least 10,000 jobs for public health professionals in the district and block level under the National Rural health Mission. This apart, public health professionals are much sought after by private health sector enterprises, national and international agencies.

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Update: Dharitri’s take on this.

The Asian Institute of Public Health in Bhubaneswar has announced a PG Diploma program in Public Health Informatics. This course will start in September 2010. Some details on the course obtained from their page http://www.aiph.ac.in/academics.html is as follows: 

Post Graduate Diploma in Public Health Informatics (24 Credits, 12 months course begins 1st September, 2010)

The objective of this course is to help individuals gain knowledge and skills in informatics concepts and applications and advance the use of informatics in risk assessment, disease monitoring and disease surveillance. The course provides an opportunity for the students to understand the information system architecture in public health, privacy, confidentiality and security issues related to health information systems. Graduate students from all disciplines are eligible for this course that will be offered online three times a year. The course consists of the following modules:

·    Introduction to Public Health Informatics (IPHI) – Basics of public health informatics, core competencies of public health professionals, and systematic review of public health information systems.

·    Foundation of Health Information Systems (FHIS) – This course is designed to help individuals gain knowledge and skills in public health standards, databases, privacy, confidentiality and security issues relevant to public health information systems.

·    Applications of Public Health Informatics (APHI) – overview of clinical decision support systems, Geographic Information Systems, public health surveillance systems.

·    Computer mediated Health Education and Health Promotion (CMHEHP) – Web based approaches to health education and health promotion, role of health literacy and varied learning needs of public health consumers and different stakeholders.

·    A 12 credit informatics research project will be required to get the Post Graduate Diploma in Public Health Informatics.

The institute seems to have a strong faculty. See http://www.aiph.ac.in/Indian.html. 

Surendra K. Mishra, MSc, PGDA, DCS

Health systems, behavioural sciences research and communication, reproductive health

Ashish Joshi, MD, MPH

Public health informatics, health outcomes research, design of multi-component interventions

Niharika Khanna, MD, DCH
HPV epidemiology, cervical cancer, cancer vaccines

Prasanna Nair, MD, MPH

Maternal and child health, epidemiology, HIV/AIDS

P N Padmanabhan, PhD, FAAASc

Nutrition, non-invasive methods for monitoring gastrointestinal health, cancer prevention

Seba Mohapatra, MD

Maternal health, health systems

Pinaki Panigrahi, MD, PhD
Epidemiology, field surveillance, human research protection, clinical trials

P. K. Senapati, MD

Health systems, health care delivery and administration

S. Ramanathan, MPhil

Health economics and finance, reproductive health, gender and equity

Preethy Nayar, MBBS, MPhil, PhD

Health services research & administration, program and policy evaluation

Shireen Rajaram, PhD

Social and behavioral sciences, access to health care, health care disparity

Pritish Nanda, PGDHM, MPH
Health communication, hospital management, social mobilization, program management

E. Venkata Rao, MD
Epidemiology, financial management

 

U.S.-based faculty teaching at AIPH, Bhubaneswar

Patrik Johansson, MD, MPH.

Health communication, community-based participatory research

Ayman El-Mohandes, MD, MPH
International health, program evaluation

J. Glenn Morris Jr, MD, MPH&TM

Infectious diseases, Cholera, emerging and re-emerging diseases

Ira H. Gewolb, MD
Newborn health, biostatistics

Judith A. Johnson, PhD
Infectious diseases, antibiotic resistance, clinical microbiology

Magda G. Peck, ScD

Leadership development and practice, childhood well being evaluation

Chandran Achutan, PhD

Occupational and environmental health

Hala Azzam,  PhD, MPH

Workforce development and training, field assessments, HIV/AIDS

Hrishikesh Chakraborty, DrPH

Biostatistics, epidemiology, cluster randomized trials

James Sherry, MD,PhD
Health policy, international health

Jaime Gofin, MD, PhD
Program evaluation, community-oriented primary care

Li-Wu Chen, MHSA, PhD

Health economics, cost-effectiveness analysis, health care utilization by underserved population

KM Monirul Islam, MBBS, PhD

Epidemiology, international health, development of surveillance system and evaluation

Ge Lin, PhD

GIS and spatial statistics, statistic methods for defining and quantifying their spatial signals

This instiute will add to the public health offerings in India which include various IIPH offerings such as:

• IIPH Delhi: PG Diploma in (a) Clinical Research (b) Public Health Management and (c) Health Economics, Health Care Financing and Health Policy
• IIPH Hyderabad: PG Diploma in (a) Biostatistics and Data Management
• IIPH Gandhinagar: PG Diploma in (a) Public Health Management

The IIPH in Bhubaneswar (different from the AIPH) is also scheduled to start in July 2010. The AIPH and IIPH in Bhubaneswar will make Bhubaneswar a strong public health education destination. I hope both will spread their wings across Odisha  so that some of the current public health issues of interior Odisha are adequately addressed. I am told AIPH is already doing that and has research projects involving interior and tribal Odisha.

Pioneer reports today that AIPH has signed an MOU with Ravenshaw University. This is a great partnership and beneficial to both.

5 comments March 27th, 2010