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:
- E-MBA at Kolkata for all industries
- 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.
May 12th, 2010
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.
May 12th, 2010
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
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.
May 12th, 2010
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.
May 12th, 2010
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
Following is an excerpt from a report in tathya.in.
It came to light that the Union Government has favored for the establishment of a Regional Centre of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) in Odisha.
This was also revealed by Mr.Sibal that Centre has recommended the proposal of the State Government to IGNTU for a Regional Centre at Phulbani.
I hope the Odisha government keeps pushing on this and allocates a large enough land for it. The Odisha government should push for this to become an independent tribal university (with its own medical, engineering, nursing, education, agriculture and other colleges) and not just a regional campus.
May 12th, 2010