highereducation, Feb 17: New Delhi: On Tuesday, United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF) has announced the introduction of its Fulbright-Nehru and other fellowships. It is being launched by USIEF for study, research and teaching opportunities in the United States (US). As per sources, the last day for application for the Fulbright-Nehru and other fellowships is May 1, 2010. The USIEF has invited applications from the outstanding Indian students, academics, teachers, policy planners, administrators and professionals in all disciplines to apply. A total of 110 fellowships will be offered to Indian candidates for 2011. Further, the foundation has, until now, offered 15,000 grants and scholarships in all disciplines.

highereducation, Feb 17: Shimla: On Tuesday, February 16, 2010, Central Government gave its go-ahead to the post-graduation courses being conducted by the Government Dental College located in Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh. As per sources, DCI team had inspected the dental college last year for granting recognition to the courses. According to the statement of a spokesperson, the government the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has recognized the post- graduate degree courses on the recommendation of the Dental Council of India (DCI) in Himachal Pradesh, Government Dental College and Hospital of Shimla. He also added that specialties in oral and maxillofacial surgery, periodontics, community dentistry and orthodontics have been recognised.

highereducation, Feb 17: The opening weekend gathering of cohort-based placement season held at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) ended on Sunday i.e. February 14, 2010. During the cluster, as much as 50 offerings were made, out of which, majority were done by leading consulting firms. The companies had come within four cohorts including global niche consulting, international investment banks, global strategy consulting, and private equity/ venture capital. According to the press-release of IIM-A, a number of investment banks such as Bank of America-Merrill Lynch return to the campus for this year cohort-based placement season after being absent from the procedure last year. Moreover, most of the recruiters had offered placements more than last year. Apart from that, many major industries like Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey, Bain and Co, AT Kearney, and Booz Hamilton also participated in the new placement procedure. According to the cohort-based system, related companies would gather for over next three weeks to place students in their firms. Saral Mukherjee, placement chairperson, said that the new placement procedure has satisfied recruiters as well as students as they have interviewed as per their choices of industries. The students have accepted the industries’ offers on the first day, but it is not compulsory to do so. Furthermore, under the cohort-based system, the placements are not time-bound as they can extend over a month. As compared to last year, around 290 students are expected to participate in the cluster system of IIM-A’s cohort- placement, this year.

, Feb 17: The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) will be handed over a research vessel, the Sindhu Sankalp, which was acquired by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). NIO Director S.R. Shetye said that after the clearances are obtained, the ship would undertake trial research cruises during the upcoming months. The 56.3 meter vessel has strength of about 35 crews and can attain a cruising speed of 11.5 knots. Its range has been kept as 20,000 nautical miles. According to sources, the vessel will be equipped with modern research equipment in order to conduct study in physical, chemical, biological, geological and geophysical oceanography. The vessel comes at a crucial time when the NIO's research programmes are facing shortage of ship time due to shortage of research vessels in the country. Shetye added that the equipment on board RV Sindhu Sankalp is designed in such a manner that makes it possible to record profiles of temperature and salinity in the water column, collect high resolution data on the ocean bottom as well as study topographic features and profile geophysical structure below the ocean floor. Further, he said that there are three laboratories on board, which are set up to conduct on-board analysis and for processing of data. According to him, the new ship is expected to boost the ongoing research of NIO. The institute’s existing major programmes are enlarging India's ocean forecasting capability to serve the maritime community, enhancing energy and mineral security through geophysical and geological studies.

highereducation, Feb 17: New Delhi: The central government is planning to conduct a single common entrance test for admission in all government engineering colleges. This will have an affect on IIT-JEE (Joint Entrance Exam), as it might become a history from 2013. After having a meeting with at least 20 school education Boards across India, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal said that there should be a common system in all the professional institutes in India for the purpose of conducting admission of the students in the field of engineering. He added that planning will be initiated regarding single entrance examination, in 2013. In line with the HRD Minister, HRD ministry joint secretary S.C. Khuntia said that work should be done on one common entrance test for every stream instead of separate entrance examinations. According to the procedure, the students will be selected as per their marks in the common entrance exam, that is, top rankers may go to IITs and the students next to them will go to the institutions that are just behind IITs. For the purpose of the common entrance test, Sibal has planned to set up a task force, which would look into the matters such as marks of the candidates in the 12th standard of examination, at the time of their admission etc.

highereducation, Feb 17: The results for the first computer-based Common Admission Test (CAT) 2009 are expected to be declared in the next 10 days, by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), which conducts this entrance examination every year. IIM consists of seven management institutions, which are located in different places across the country. The information has been revealed by IIM Lucknow admissions chairman Himanshu Rai. Earlier, the results were supposed to be announced on 22, January 2010, but due to technical problems, it got delayed. Phase I of the entrance examination was concluded on December 8, 2009. The first phase was quiet disheartening for the aspirants, as more than 4,000 students were not able to take the test. On the other hand, the phase II of the entrance examination was held on January 30 and 31 by the CAT Committee and Prometric, the US-based agency, who were entrusted with the responsibility.

highereducation, Feb 17: New Delhi: HRD Minister Kapil Sibal today i.e. on February 16, 2010, while addressing a meeting of the Council of School Board of Education (COBSE), announced that efforts are being made to conduct a single, national -level entrance test for admission into engineering, medical and commerce programs. The plan shall be executed from the year, 2013. Sibal strongly believes that All-India national test in Science and Commerce stream will result in flexibility in admission into engineering, medical, economics and commerce courses. Further, he adds that the test will be on the lines of SIT (US). He also proclaimed that the entrance examination will reduce the tension and stress in the students, who appear in multiple-tests for admission into the courses. During the meeting, the Council of School Board of Education (COBSE) also declared that it is equipped with a central syllabus for higher secondary program in science and mathematics disciplines, while an identical core curriculum will be prepared for commerce in the coming three months. HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, in last august insisted for a uniform core curriculum, as he believes that central syllabus will generate a way for a common entrance exam for admission into various professional courses.

highereducation, Feb 17: New Delhi: The Health Ministry, Government of India, has decided to call a meeting on Tuesday i.e. February 16, 2010, with prominent people of renowned medical institutions of India, to decide whether Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) should conduct courses in the field of medical sciences or not. It will be the first major meeting held on that issue. A health ministry official said that the Government wants to meet experts to understand whether it is feasible to allow IITs to start medical courses and whether it will help better medical education. The official further added that after the meeting, the government will form its opinion on the proposal and send it to the HRD ministry. The meeting will be attended by the Directors of prominent educational institutions including All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), PGI (Chandigarh), Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute (Lucknow), JIPMER, NIMHANS, National Institute of Communicable Diseases, National Institute of Paramedical Sciences and principal of CMC Vellore along with renowned doctors including Dr Ranjit Roychoudhury, Dr Devi Shetty, Dr Anupam Sibal and cardiologist Dr K Srinath Reddy. Further, the opinions on the issue are clearly divided, despite of the fact that Medical Council of India (MCI) has supported the proposal of IITs. In the background of the issue, HRD minister Kapil Sibal had asked IIT Directors to increase their courses. As a result, IIT Hyderabad has been showing its concern to impart MD degrees in three years. Some major IITs - such as Kharagpur and Hyderabad - are already planning to begin medical schools in next three years.

highereducation, Feb 17: Admissions are open in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for the undergraduate program in the field of medical sciences – MBBS – for the upcoming academic year that commences from August 1, 2010. It is a five-year program. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), which is situated in New Delhi, is considered as one of the prestigious medical institutes in India. The institution was started in 1956. The medical institute and hospital has been declared ‘an institute of National Importance’ by an act of Parliament. The institute imparts various undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the field of medical sciences. Undergraduate Course Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) Fee See the prospectus How to Apply The application forms for the admission in undergraduate medical program of the institute is available within the campus of the institute, that is, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Ansari Nagar, New Delhi – 110 608. The applicants can also download the application forms from the website: www.aiimsexams.org. The prospectus or application form is available for Rs. 1000. For the candidates of SC/ST categories, the application forms are available for Rs. 800. For detailed information, the candidates can log on to www.aiims.ac.in / www.aiims.edu. Last Date of Submitting Application Form March 15, 2010 (for online applications)

highereducation, Feb 17: New Delhi: University Grants Commission (UGC) has raised opposition in the setting up of new regulatory body National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER). During a crucial meeting of HRD ministry’s task force on the proposed NCHER with regulators like University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education and National Council for Teacher Education, UGC employees has asked the Chairman, Sukhdeo Thorat, to oppose the setting up of the new body. As per sources, in a note to Mr Thorat, the employees pointed out that the proposed NCHER would hardly be different from the UGC. Further, the mission and objective of the NCHER draft bill are more or less similar to the functions of the UGC. Therefore, one fails to understand the justification for the creation of a new body NCHER. In this backdrop, it is highly insulting and demoralizing for the UGC employees that a new body is coming up with its mandate being similar to that of UGC. Further, it is essential to point out that Thorat as a member of the Yashpal Committee, which recommended setting up of NCHER had agreed with the recommendation. However, much later, he sent UGC’s view incompatible with the recommendation. UGC employees also told Thorat that in case the new body comes up, they should be automatically shifted to the new body as the nature of work will be similar to that of UGC.

highereducation, Feb 17: Gurgaon: Mission Development Gurgaon (MGD), one of the apex residential associations of the city, in a written application to the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry has demanded a Central University in the city. The letters have been forwarded by the MGD to the HRD minister, Kapil Sibal, local Member of Parliament Rao Inderjit Singh and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The letter further stated that it is requested that the proposal should be considered for soon implementation to set up the university in the area. Gurgaon is a fast emerging residential area expecting its population to touch 36-lakh mark from the present 20 lakh. Therefore, Mr Rathee of the MGD has expressed his desire to have a university in the city for its local students. He said that the city is a hub of multi national companies, BPOs, malls, schools. But, there is not a single university due to which students residing in Gurgaon have to travel to Delhi or other states, especially in southern India, in order to pursue higher studies. Moreover, Dharam Sagar, the chairman of Federation of Resident Welfare Association (FORWA), said that ample land available in Gurgaon to set up such a campus for local students. Further, Mr Rathee has complained that even Noida has come up with Gautam Budh University, while Ghaziabad has set up many institutions for technical and higher education nothing of that sort has even been thought of by the government. He further added that there was no point in setting up a central university in an educationally and economically backward place like Narnaul in Mahendragarh district.