RV College of Engineering (RVCE), Bengaluru and Cisco India have launched a IoT (Internet of Things) Centre of Excellence (CoE) to provide the next generation of students digital skills and training necessary for 21st-century jobs. 

The CoE, sited within the RVCE campus, was inaugurated by Gaurav Gupta, principal secretary, department of IT, BT, and S&T of the Karnataka government, and V.C. Gopalratnam, senior vice president (international) of Cisco India, a subsidiary of the US-based Cisco Systems Inc. Over the next five years, the CoE will provide a specialised curriculum preparing 10,000 students from 50 colleges across Karnataka for careers in the digital economy. 

“The CoE will enable students and working professionals across the state to access the skills and training to help them promote start-ups and build successful technology careers,” said Gopalratnam, addressing the media on the occasion.

 

CIE’s new CGP syllabus

The UK-based Cambridge International Examinations (CIE, estb.1858) plans to adapt its popular skills-based learning programme — Cambridge Global Perspectives (CGP) — for application in primary and upper-primary schools (classes I-VIII). CGP is a standalone subject with its own syllabus and requires students to research global themes. 

This was announced at a Members of International Schools Association conference in Mumbai convened earlier this year by Paul Bullen-Smith, head of CGP. “CIE is continuously researching and revising its prescribed syllabuses to develop students’ sense of global citizenship. The CGP paper will encourage students in affiliated schools to collaborate, research and develop data using mathematical and analytical skills,” said Bullen-Smith, speaking on the occasion.

Dyson Awards extended to India

The annual James Dyson Award 2017, which rewards “something that solves a problem, big or small” and is open to university students (and recent graduates) studying product, industrial and engineering design in 23 countries, invites entries from India for the first time. The prize: $30,000 (Rs.19.2 lakh) 

“The James Dyson Award looks for remarkable yet simple designs with the potential to have a huge impact on society. Every year, I am amazed by the ideas presented and I look forward to seeing this year’s raft of entries,” said Dyson, announcing the extension of this annual award to India on March 30.

Past winners have helped tackle the problem of over-fishing, transportation of vaccines in the developing world, global food waste and mortality rates of premature babies. Now in its 14th year, the award rewards those who solve problems through intelligent engineering solutions. “The best inventions are often the simplest,” says Dyson. 

The last date for submission of entries is July 20. 

 

Creya Ignited Minds Challenge 2017

The Creya Ignited Minds Challenge (CIMC) 2017, an initiative of the Hyderabad-based Creya Learning (estb.2011) which claims to be the “first education company in India to offer integrative 21st-century learning programmes” to K-12 schools, concluded in Hyderabad on April 8. Twenty-two teams from top-ranked schools across India demonstrated their analytical and creative skills in solving real-world problems. This edition of the challenge was special with Intel supporting the event this year. 

Open to class V-VII students, CIMC 2017 required teams to build working models of engineering equipment, communication artifacts or technology applications to solve real-world problems such as traffic management, healthcare, cyber crimes etc. The event showcased projects of primary children which combined math, science, art and design. 

For the first two days of the three-day event, students refined their ideas and prototypes with the help of mentors from Creya Learning. The final day feature was integrated learning workshops conducted by Intel India followed by a showcase presentation of children’s problem-solving projects to a high-powered jury, and award of prizes and certificates. 

 

Flame-Wellesley concordat

The Pune-based Flame University (estb. 2015) inked an academic collaboration with the highly-reputed all-women’s Wellesley College, Massachusetts, USA on April 19. The objective of the agreement is enhancement of academic excellence in both partner institutions. “Flame is a distinctive institution of higher education founded on the philosophy of the liberal arts. Wellesley and Flame share ideals of excellence in liberal education and we hope to strengthen our academic relationship in the near future,” said Dr. Neelima Shukla-Bhatt, programme director (South Asia Studies) at Wellesley College, speaking on the occasion.

Welcoming the collaboration agreement, Vallabh Bhanshali, a member of the governing body of Flame University, commented: “The academic collaboration has multiple objectives, but will primarily focus on enhancing the liberal education ethos of both institutions. This agreement reinforces our commitment to liberal education and enhancement of the academic experience of students and faculty of both institutions.”

Wellesley College is a private women’s liberal arts college (estb.1870). Notable alumnae include Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Soong Mei-ling, Cokie Roberts and Diane Sawyer.