Odisha HRD

Summer short-term courses for engineers at Central Tool Room: ad in Samaja

2 comments December 9th, 2007

Plans for apaprel design and training centers in Cuttack, Baripada, Berhampur, Rourkela and Sambalpur: Samaja

December 9th, 2007

Toonz Academy to come up in Bhubaneswar soon

Following is an excerpt from a news item in indiaprwire.com.

Technopark-headquartered Toonz Animation’s sister company Toonz Academy announced Friday plans to open a centre in Hyderabad later this month.

A press release issued here said this would be the latest centre after the opening of the previous one in Delhi last month.

Their other centres are at Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai and Nagpur.

‘The opening of these centres is just one among the major expansion plans we have in store. We will be opening the academies in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Visakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar in the coming months,’ said Binu Raj, national marketing head of the company.

Toonz Academy is a fully owned subsidiary of Toonz Entertainment Pvt Ltd, Singapore, which also owns Indian animation studio Toonz Animation India Pvt Ltd.

9 comments December 8th, 2007

IGNOU admission ad in Samaja for its management programs; study centers across Orissa

1 comment December 3rd, 2007

Three international standard universities coming up in the state: Samaja

December 1st, 2007

Concerns about NISER, Bhubaneswar; DAE should pay urgent attention to NISER

 tathya.in first published this. Pioneer has also published a version of it, which is given below.

December 1st, 2007

Both Orissa govt. as well as Orissa Congress minister in Orissa neglect in pursuing NIFT

In https://www.orissalinks.com/?p=304 and https://www.orissalinks.com/?p=178 we mentioned reports regarding Orissa Congress central minister Mr. Chandrasekhar Sahu pursuing NIFT and getting assurance to get one for Orissa. However, today’s PIB below tells us that Orissa might miss the bus with respect to NIFT. See http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=33181.

The Union Government proposes to open new Fashion and Textile Technology Institutes during the Eleventh Plan period. New Centres of National Institute of Fashion Technology are being set up subject to the conditions that the State Government is willing to provide land and financial support and fulfillment of feasibility conditions. Decisions about the new centres are taken by NIFT Board, a Statutory body under Ministry of Textiles, as and when the proposals from State governments are received. This information was given by the Minister of State for Textiles, Shri E.V.K.S. Elangovan, in the Lok Sabha today, in a written reply to a question by Shri N.N. Krishnadas and Shri Tathagata Satpathy.

The Minister further informed that proposals have been received from Government of Bihar and Government of Kerala for setting up NIFT Centre in their states. No formal proposal has been received from Government of Orissa.
He further stated that proposal for setting up of NIFT Centre in Bihar has been approved by NIFT Board and the matter has been taken up with State Government for allotment of land and funding support. Proposal for setting up of NIFT Centre in Kannur, Kerala will be placed for consideration of the Board in its next meeting. 

2 comments November 26th, 2007

NISER, Bhubaneswar ad for fixed term faculty

[The following ad is from http://www.iopb.res.in/niser/NISER-fixedterm-faculty.pdf. Thanks to Nrusingh for the mail on this to the NIS-IISER list. This is indeed a cause for concern as other IISERs have advertised and even hired regular faculty. This delay is probably because NISER still does not have a director.  It was expected by many that DAE would move fatser than MHRD. However, taht does not seem to be the case here and further delay in recruiting regular faculty will make it harder for NISEr to get top-notch faculty; it will then only get the left overs.]

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH
(NISER)
BHUBANESWAR – 751005
INDIA

ADVERTISEMENT FOR FIXED TERM FACULTY APPOINTMENTS

The National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) has been established for the advancement of science education and research at the national level and is functioning from the campus of Institute of Physics at Bhubaneswar. NISER is funded by the Department of Atomic energy of the Government of India. The Institute has started an integrated M.Sc. programme in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics from the academic year 2007 – 2008. As an immediate measure NISER invites applications for fixed term appointment in all the above mentioned areas for teaching assignments beginning August, 2008. The remuneration and period of appointment will be based on academic qualifications and experiences.

Research infrastructure at Institute of Physics campus consists of a 3MV pelletron accelerator with several beam lines and excellent microscopy facility including 200 KeV TEM with various attachments. General purpose equipments for research in Chemistry and Biology are also being procured.

Interested scientists with a strong track record in teaching and research are requested to send their CV with a list of publications and resume of their teaching experiences to the Director, Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar – 751 005. The above document may also be submitted as a pdf file by email to niser@iopb.res.in. The completed application should reach by January 31, 2008.

Faculty members serving in other academic institutions who would like to spend one or two semesters on sabbatical leave are encouraged to apply. Retired faculty members are also eligible for fixed term appointments. They may be provided suitable honoraria for teaching.

November 26th, 2007

UCE registerd under Societies act as “Orissa Institute of Technology”

Following is an excerpt on this from a report in  New Indian Express.

The long-standing demand of the alumni and students of University College of Engineering (UCE), Burla, has been met with the varsity being registered under Societies Act on Tuesday. This would pave way for the engineering college to stake for Deemed University status.

It has been registered as Orissa Institute of Technology (OIT) at Sambalpur. The change in the statute of Biju Pattnaik University of Technology BPUT) in the Assembly bifurcating OIT from under its ambit will follow. Only after ratification by the State Assembly, the OIT will move UGC for Deemed University status.

The Deemed University status would enable the Engineering College get more funds besides help in giving their existing infrastructure a facelift. The College is already bestowed with 200 acres of land and can acquire another 300 acres adjacent to the present campus if needed.

1 comment November 22nd, 2007

Infosys gives 1 crore for one chair professorship at IIIT Bhubaneswar; other updates on IIIT Bhubaneswar

Following are excerpts from a report in Tathya.in.

Infosys has donated Rs.1 crore to IIIT-Bhubaneswar.

…  It is worthwhile to mention that the State Government decided to set up the “International Institute of Information Technology” (IIIT) at Bhubaneswar.

It has been established as a state initiative project, similar to the ones at Bangalore and Hyderabad.

IIIT-Bh, primarily has been set up to meet the urgent need for appropriate Human Resource, which is the most critical input for the sustained growth of IT and ITES industries.

IIIT-Bh aims to be a World Class institute with an objective to impart higher education and undertake advanced research in the field of Information and Communication Technology.

The State Government has allotted Ac 23.24 of prime land at Gothapatna, Bhubaneswar, free of cost.

The government has committed a financial grant of Rs.10 crore towards start up capital expenses and a recurring annual grant of Rs.2 crores for the first three years.

During the period the institute will have to develop enough strength to stand on its own.

This would be a completely autonomous institute with sustained support from industries.

IIIT shall function at OCAC building for the initial two years till the construction of its own permanent infrastructure at Gothapatna is completed.

The institute shall offer M.Tech and Doctoral Programme in Computer Science.

AICTE has already issued Letter of Intent and shall visit IIIT Bhubaneswar on 22 November for inspection of the necessary academic infrastructure.

It is planned to enroll students during January 2008 after getting the final approval of AICTE.

Other software majors like TCS, Wipro, MindTree etc. have also shown interest in instituting Chair Professors in IIIT-Bh. 

November 22nd, 2007

IIT extension centers ok; branch campuses NOT.

Following is from the PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=32762.

Requests have been received from the State Governments of Kerala and Gujarat for setting up of satellite campuses of IIT-Madras and IIT-Bombay respectively in their States. However, the Government has taken a decision that establishment of large satellite campuses with regular Bachelor and Master Programmes amount to setting up of new IITs should be avoided. The Government, however, has no objection to the setting up of small extension centres of existing IITs outside their main campuses, devoted to continuing education, diploma courses, finishing schools, incubation programmes, etc.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Smt. D. Purandeswari in a written reply to a question by Smt. N.P. Durga in the Rajya Sabha today.

In this regard, one may note that, IIT Kharagpur has an extension center in Bhubaneswar and had earlier signed an MOU with Govt. of Orissa to make a branch campus in Bhubaneswar. It had submitted a proposal to MHRD on this. But with the above clarification, IIT Kharagpur’s branch campus proposal in Bhubaneswar goes to cold storage for now.

1 comment November 19th, 2007

Not much progress on establishing a medical college in Rourkela

Following is an excerpt from a report in New Indian Express.

The proposed medical college on PPP (public private participation) mode at Rourkela continues to be an election promise. In 2004, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced about it at a pre-poll rally.

Still there is no headway in the project as the government allegedly continues with its dillydallying attitude under the plea that the proposed site is disputed.

In the face of intense public pressure, while Rourkela BJD MLA S P Nayak assured to expedite the issue, a demand has gained ground that the proposed medical college and hospital be attached to the Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH).

Reliable sources said earlier the project got delayed for two years as a clause made it mandatory for the private partner to accept the proposals for Rourkela and Balangir simultaneously.

After much persuasion one GSL Trust came forward to be the partner but later made a quiet exit. The 650-bed medical college and hospital envisages to have 150 medical seats in the initial year.

The project requires a minimum capital investment of Rs 100 crore. While the Western Orissa Development Council (WODC) will arrange 25 acre cost-free land and Rs 10 crore, the rest fund would be raised through private participation.

Wasting much time in locating land, the WODC finally decided to use the surplus land of RGH. But, the local displaced persons staked claims on proposed site in court. A high-power committee is now looking into the project.

1 comment November 19th, 2007

Plans for increasing capacity of Orissa govt. engineering colleges

Following is an excerpt from a news report in New Indian Express.

… If sources are to be believed, the varsity is seriously planning to raise the intake capacity of the government institutions.

The technical university’s four constituent colleges – University College of Engineering (UCE), Burla, College of Engineering and Technology (CET), Bhubaneswar, Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology (IGIT), Saranga, and Orissa School of Mining Engineering (OSME), Keonjhar – impart different courses in engineering streams.

While UCE has seven disciplines with an intake capacity of about 270, annual approved strength of CET is 340 in as many as nine streams. Similarly, IGIT admits 150 students in five programmes, while OSME’s degree streams intake is about 90.

However, the BPUT management appears to believe that the government colleges are in need of increasing their intake capacity which will strengthen them financially.

While UCE, Burla and CET, Bhubaneswar, are primarily dependent on government, it is OSME (degree stream) which is self-sufficient.

In the last board of management meeting of the varsity, it was strongly felt that the private colleges have a much larger student strength compared to their government counterparts that contribute significantly to their solvency.

It has agreed that an increased intake in government constituent colleges is the need of the hour where the number of qualified teachers and overall infrastructure is better compared to those available in the private colleges.

A way out is to introduce self-financing models for the programmes. In fact, two engineering streams in UCE, Burla and four subjects in CET here are self-financing but the funds are not sufficient to support the increasing needs.

1 comment November 19th, 2007

A campus for India, shaped like a mandala: New Urban News article on Vedanta University

From the SEPTEMBER 2007 issue of New Urban News A campus for India, shaped like a mandala

Courtesy of Ayers Saint Gross

Vedanta, the largest new university in the world, will have a plan that draws from Indian spiritual traditions. On an expanse of flat rural land near the Bay of Bengal, earth-moving is to get under way this fall for an extraordinary institution. Vedanta University — to be built with a billion dollars donated by Indian industrialist Anil Agarwal — will have a shape like no other university on the planet (see plan, above, and on home page). Dhiru Thadani, lead architect-planner at Ayers Saint Gross (ASG), has been spending about one week per month in India, spearheading the master-planning of the approximately 10,000-acre project. Thadani and his team have produced a remarkable, complex layout, one that suggests an elaborate mandala. A mandala — a symbol associated with Hinduism, Buddhism, and other religions as well — is sometimes defined as a geometric pattern that represents the cosmos. The mandala that Thadani’s team has created in the state of Orissa consists of two large, overlapping circles, each half a mile in diameter. They sit within a larger oval that stretches about 1.4 miles from east to west. Within the two circles and the 780-acre oval, there may eventually be as many as 280 university buildings, predominantly three to five stories high. Thanks to their disciplined arrangement, tight spacing, and consistent heights, the buildings will form dozens of well-defined outdoor spaces, ranging from small private courtyards to quadrangles and parks. The patterns made by the buildings’ curved, angled, or straight walls will be intricate. Weaving through them will eventually be 100,000 students, plus tens of thousands of teachers, administrators, and others. Thadani, who was born in Bombay (Mumbai) and educated at Catholic University in Washington, DC, is based in Washington, but has previously worked on large planning projects in his native country. He and Adam Gross, principals at Baltimore-based ASG, say they set out to make the campus “Indian in spirit.” The western circle, containing humanities programs, has an oval open space at its center and “is organized by a series of radiating spokes representing the Indian flag and the spokes on Gandhi’s spinning wheel,” a master plan document explains. “The eastern circle — science — is organized orthogonally around a central square, representing practice and research that is grounded in the earth.” Unlike many universities, where the arts and humanities occupy the well-loved, walkable core of the campus, while the science, engineering, and professional schools sit in less lovely, more disconnected settings, Vedanta is striving for an intertwining of disciplines — with all of them enjoying a pleasing ambience. FITTING THE LOCAL CLIMATE For protection from the sun and from the 79 inches of rain that fall annually on this section of India, the planners called for continuous arcades, which can also keep the buildings cooler. They encountered some resistance — arcades in India are sometimes associated with housing occupied by the poor — but the logic of the arcades seems to have won out. Prior to starting Vedanta’s planning, some of the principal figures — from India and the US — toured several campuses. The three- to five-story height of most of the buildings is consistent with precedents the team examined, including the University of Virginia, Stanford University, and the city of Bologna, Italy. Among their practical advantages, those heights reduce the need for elevators and mechanical equipment. A key element of circulation inside the buildings will be grand staircases placed within atriums. Big rooms, such as auditoriums, will be mostly at first-floor level, to keep most traffic at the lower level. Academic buildings will be constructed mainly of concrete, with stone cladding. “There’s a lot of granite in this area,” Thadani points out, so it’s affordable. Residential buildings may have stone on the ground floor and stucco above. The goal is for 40 percent of the buildings to do without air conditioning, relying on stone screens, cross-ventilation, and other tactics to ameliorate the hot climate. “That will not be possible in laboratory buildings,” Thadani acknowledges. In Indian educational circles, one tendency today is for people to want buildings that look very modern, with an abundance of glass — ostensibly forward-looking structures. But across much of Asia, this mindset is producing many buildings that consume power heavily, ignore human scale, inadequately define public spaces, and seem at odds with traditional places. “From the start, we have been emphatically talking about sustainability,” Thadani notes. Emphasizing sustainability can win people over to an architecture that is generally not so flashy but is more economical, more urbane, and presumably of more lasting value. Besides planning the campus and the surrounding township, which may ultimately have a population of 400,000, ASG is designing three of Vedanta’s first buildings — a library, a science building, and a humanities building. These structures divide a diamond-shaped open space where the campus’s two circles overlap. The firm is also programming three other buildings. Thadani and Gross are encouraging the client to retain other architects for other buildings. However, the US-based designers hope to continue in a design review capacity once the master plan is in place. As of mid-August, the plan was nearly complete. This article is available in the September 2007 issue of New Urban News, along with images and many more articles not available online. Subscribe or order the individual issue.

November 18th, 2007

Vedanta University project reaches out

Following is an excerpt from a report in Statesman.

Vedanta University project and Anil Agrawal Foundation launched a mobile healthcare unit at Chhaitana Kabirajpur village under Gop block in Puri district yesterday.

It was launched by Mr Trilochan Baral, chief district medical officer (CDMO), Puri.

Mr Prashant Hota, general manager (CSR), Vedanta Orissa projects was present on this occasion.

The ambulance van of this mobile healthcare unit will pay weekly visits to the areas to be affected by the Vedanta University project and the nearby villages under Puri Sadar, Gop and Satyabadi blocks in a phased manner accompanied by doctors, pharmacists, nurses and other health workers.

1 comment November 18th, 2007

Ravenshaw extension campus to start soon

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

Works of the extension campus of the Ravenshaw Unitary University would be started soon and the university would also be made one of the best study destinations in the country, said senior BJD leader and Rajya Sabha member Pyari Mohan Mohapatra .

He was addressing the concluding day of the annual function of the University Students’ Union on Tuesday.

Recollecting the past glory of the historic educational institution of the State, he further added that funds would not be a major problem for growth of the Ravenshaw University. The institution has produced so many scholars in various fields and it would continue its magic in the future too, he hoped.

November 16th, 2007