DNYANA GANGA

D.M's College and Research Centre Library E-Bulletin

Date: 12/03/2019

Vol. No.10 Issue No. 01

Compiled By:

Dr. Jayaprakash Librarain Dnyanprassarak Mandal's College and Research Centre, Assagao, Bardez, Goa – 403 507

About this e-bulletin It is a compilation of information from different sources which would be of interest to professionals, academicians and students. While adequate care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of links provided, we do not accept any liability. If you have any interesting information to share or to provide feedback, pl. write to [email protected] O.P. Jindal Global varsity, University of Wollongong ink strategic partnership

India's O.P. Jindal Global University and the University of Wollongong (UoW) in Australia's New South Wales have signed a strategic partnership/memorandum of understanding through which students and faculty members from each institution can spend time at the other in short or longer term exchange programmes.

The objective is "not only to begin a solid partnership between JGU and UoW but also to provide a strong platform for engagement between the two Universities that would qualitatively impact the learning and growth of students and faculty alike," a UoW statement said.

Welcoming the JGU delegation, UoW Vice Chancellor Professor Paul Wellings said: "We are delighted with this first step ‐‐ in what we hope will be a long term friendship with a very fine Indian higher education institution. JGU, though a young university, has already made a solid name for itself in many areas of teaching, research and community engagement. We view this partnership as a strategic development to help us ‐within a higher education context ‐‐ further strengthen the social, cultural and economic links between Australia and India. We feel that JGU is an ideal institution through which to enable that development."

Apart from student exchange opportunities, faculty and researchers at both universities can conduct joint research and joint teaching, while encouraging collaboration in international publications.

"This collaborative spirit exemplifies the noteworthy work conducted by JGU's Centre for India Australia Studies (CIAS), headed by Professor Shaun Star. The CIAS was founded by Professor Star three years ago and is the first and only Centre with a focus on the India‐Australia bilateral relationship embedded within an Indian Higher Education Institution. The CIAS has hosted hundreds of Australians in India since the Centre's inauguration; and continue to be a strong site for building awareness of Australia in India, while fostering very solid ties in the bilateral relationship," the statement said.

Noting that JGU celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, Vice Chancellor Professor C. Raj Kumar said: "As the youngest Indian university to break into the QS Asia and QS BRICS rankings, (this) signing reflects JGU's genuine commitment to fostering partnerships of mutually beneficial value with leading global universities."

"As part of this, we are especially keen to deepen our ties with Australian higher education institutions. And so I am particularly pleased that JGU students will have the unique opportunity to learn at the University of Wollongong, one of the best modern higher education institutions ranked within the top 250 global universities," he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Professor Colin Picker, UoW's Dean, Faculty of Law, said: "Wollongong is delighted with the partnership and we look forward to it as a step toward strengthening collaboration with the leading set of Indian‐and indeed Asian universities, including JGU."

Professor Star also remarked that the partnership reflects the vision of the Vice Chancellors of JGU and UoW that collaboration in higher education leads not only to stronger institutional ties but bridges the gap between Australia and India. "This partnership will create stronger people‐to‐people linkages and research collaborations between students and faculty in India and Australia. This can only be a good thing for both nations," he added.

Source: https://www.business‐standard.com/article/news‐ians/o‐p‐jindal‐global‐varsity‐ university‐of‐wollongong‐ink‐strategic‐partnership‐119030400289_1.html

Govt to ease norms for technical institutes

from coming session

• Better performing schools can increase their class size and offer new courses in keeping with demands

• The move looks to be an extension of the human resource development ministry’s initiative to relax regulation in higher education

NEW DELHI: The Union government will reduce inspection, curb over‐regulation and allow a degree of autonomy to technical institutions, including business and IT schools.

The new rules will come into force from the coming academic year and once in place, will allow better performing schools to hire teaching staff from abroad without government approval. It will also allow these schools to increase their class size and offer new courses in keeping with market demands, said Anil Sahasrabudhe, chairman of the All India Council of Technical Education or AICTE, the technical education regulator of the country.

“We have debated the issue for several months and have decided to go ahead. We want to play a facilitator’s role for all those institutions who are established and doing well," Sahasrabudhe said.

The move looks to be an extension of the human resource development ministry’s initiative to relax regulation in higher education. The government gave significant autonomy to the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) to run almost independently through their board. It has also allowed a certain amount of autonomy in academic and administrative matters to universities.

“...AICTE recognizes that autonomy is pivotal to promoting and institutionalizing excellence in higher education and that the regulatory framework needs to facilitate better performing institutions towards excellence in higher education," the regulator said in the rules it has shared with institutions.Over‐regulation has been a constant problem for the Indian education system. It has been long argued by educators that education regulators in India should be facilitators of quality education rather than inspectors.

However, to be eligible to enjoy the benefit, courses offered by such technical institutions need to be accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA). They need to have a score of 700 and above in a scale of 1000. Institutions falling in the top 500 ranks globally too will have an added advantage as per the rules.

HarivanshChaturvedi, director of the Birla Institute of Management and Technology in Greater Noida, welcomed the step and said it was long overdue. “There has long been a demand for reduction of unwanted paperwork, yearly approvals and run‐around to the offices of AICTE. We have met the authority several times... The AICTE move will encourage institutions to perform better and encourage standalone institutions to go for NBA accreditation,"saidChaturvedi.

Institutions having a score of over 750 in the NBA accreditation scale can hire— without AICTE permission—20% foreign faculty from top 500 universities in the world on a contract or tenure basis.“Stand‐alone institutions shall be free to admit foreign students on merit, subject to a maximum of twenty percent, over and above of the strength of their approved domestic students. Stand‐alone institutions would be free to fix and charge fees from foreign students without any restriction," the rules said, a copy of which has been reviewed by Mint.

Such institutions will be allowed to build in an incentive structure to attract talented faculty, with the condition that the “incentive structure shall have to be paid from their own revenue sources and not from AICTE or government funds".Though the institutions will be free to design their incentive structures, they will need to inform the regulator within 30 days of their management board approving the structures. Institutions with a score of less than 700 in the NBA accreditation process will be offered two windows every year to prove that they have improved their quality standing.

Source:https://www.livemint.com/ MPs, MLAs can be allowed to teach: UGC

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has recommended that teachers who are members of Parliament or legislative assemblies be allowed to teach and do research when their respective House sessions are on, according to two commission officials familiar with developments.

The higher education regulator held discussions on the matter on a reference from Rajya Sabha regarding the salary and perquisites given to such MPs, one official said. At least two Rajya Sabha MPs — Rakesh Sinha of BJP and Manoj Jha of RJD — are teachers in Delhi University.

According to the recommendations, such teachers may draw their salaries from the university they are teaching in and their allowances from the parliamentary or legislative secretariat. They should be marked “on duty” when they attend House sessions or undertake any parliamentary or legislative assignments.

Moreover, the university/college should appropriately assign their workloads to ensure their teaching assignments do not suffer, the recommendations, which will shortly be placed before the Rajya Sabha secretariat, said.

However, such teachers should not hold any administrative position in the university/ college during their term as MPs/ MLAs so their legislative work does not suffer, the first UGC official said.

According to the second official, the UGC has opted not to go into matters relating to office of profit and suggested that they be looked into and decided by the parliamentary or legislative secretariat.

According to Articles 102(1)(a) and 191(1)(a) of the Constitution, an MP or MLA is barred from holding an office of profit as it can put them in a position to gain a financial benefit. Two years ago, former PM Manmohan Singh — an RS MP from Assam — had sought clearance from the parliamentary panel on office of profit to accept a teaching offer from Panjab University. The panel gave him clearance, noting that teaching in educational institutions would not attract office of profit provisions.

It also suggested that teachers who wish to take leave of absence during their term as MPs/MLAs may be allowed to do so, but it has to be ensured that they do not lose their seniority or increments.

Source:https://www.hindustantimes.com/india‐news/mps‐mlas‐can‐be‐allowed‐to‐ teach‐ugc/story‐WYTsjnEQkL8kT8jyW08XNL.html

Kashmir University scores 51st rank in QS

India University Rankings ‐2019

It said in faculty‐student ratio, the University has scored 54.7 –this parameter reflects the number of students enrolled per full‐time academic faculty member employed. The University of Kashmir has scored 51st rank among the universities and higher education institutions assessed in the QS India University Rankings 2019.

KU in a statement said according to the latest report of 2019 released by QS, the University of Kashmir is ranked at 51st position in the list which has been topped by IIT – Bombay. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru stands second .The IITs in Madras, Delhi, Kharagpur and Kanpur have bagged third, fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

"Considering the lists of higher education institutions are usually dominated by the Indian Institutes of Technology in the country, the rankings have come as a delight to the University`s administration, staff, scholars, and students. The University has scored 90.9 marks out of 100 in the staff with PhD‐ the indicator designed to identify the extent to which institutions are cultivating a highly‐qualified faculty body. Based on the proportion of academic staff members with a PhD, this indicator aims to assess how successful universities have been in recruiting highly qualified faculty members," the statement said. It said in faculty‐student ratio, the University has scored 54.7 –this parameter reflects the number of students enrolled per full‐time academic faculty member employed.

"The aim is to give an indication of commitment to teaching and student support. Calculated using data from Scopus in Papers, faculty parameter the University has scored 26.7 while as in Citations/ paper parameter the University has scored 38.8. Both these parameters have shown an upward trend given the fact that the H‐ index of KU was less than 10 in its last NAAC accreditation cycle which has now registered a quantum jump of 47 at present," it said.

Terming it as “a positive development” at a time when the university is gearing up for NAAC visit for reaccreditation V‐C KU Prof Talat Ahmad said “this is a very positive development given the fact that institutions, universities in and around this region which otherwise have been assessed and graded well by NAAC are far behind than us in the QS ranking.”

Prof Talat also added “I congratulate both the teaching and non‐teaching staff of our University and also our students and scholars for this achievement. However, since we aspire to get recognized as an institution of excellence both at National and International level therefore we do not have to be complacent and work harder to score higher rankings next time as well as better grade in the upcoming NAAC reaccreditation.”

The ranking by the QS (Quacquarelli Symonds), a UK based company specialising in education, include public universities, private universities and higher education institutions or deemed universities.

Last year the University scored 47th position among universities assessed in the National Institutional Ranking Framework‐2018 (NIRF) while as also in 2018 the University bagged an overall ranking of 71 from amongst 4000 institutions (including universities, IITs etc.) assessed by the MHRD under NIRF,' the statement said.

Source:https://www.greaterkashmir.com/article/news.aspx?story_id=315008&catid=3& mid=53&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Since 2014, UK universities have hired over 400 Indian experts as academic staff

In 2014‐15, there were 2,195 academic staff of Indian nationality in UK universities. The number has progressively increased over the years to reach 2,620 in 2017‐18, reflecting their talent as well as dwindling talent in some disciplines in the UK and Europe.

Over 400 Indian experts in various disciplines ‐ such as engineering, medicine, mathematics ‐ have been recruited by British universities since 2014 to teach and conduct research, latest figures show.

These are academics with Indian citizenship, according to figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) released on Friday. They include several who came to the UK as postgraduate students and went on to join faculties.

In 2014‐15, there were 2,195 academic staff of Indian nationality in UK universities. The number has progressively increased over the years to reach 2,620 in 2017‐18, reflecting their talent as well as dwindling talent in some disciplines in the UK and Europe.

To recruit a non‐EU expert or professional, employers have to carry out a ‘resident labour market test’ to demonstrate that there are no suitable candidates in the UK and Europe for the position advertised in at least two notices.

In 2017‐18, the disciplines with the largest number of staff with Indian nationality were engineering and technology (675), biological, mathematical and physical sciences (665), medicine, dentistry and health (565) and social studies (265).

The increase in the recruitment of Indian experts has been the highest in the biological, mathematical and physical sciences disciplines: from 530 in 2014‐15 to 665 in 2017‐18, the figures show. The experts with Indian citizenship are part of a larger group categorised as ‘British India’, who include British citizens of Indian origin. In 2017‐18, the category included 5,600 academic staff employed in almost every university in the UK.

Universities with the highest number of Indian‐origin academics include Oxford, Cambridge, University College London, King’s College London, Manchester, and the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, the figures show.

The HESA figures complement findings of a 2015 study that said Indian academics in research‐intensive universities are preferred due to their “single‐mindedness, competitiveness, resilience and work centrality”, as well as their links with Indian institutions and knowledge of India.

The study by experts at the Warwick Business School and Nottingham University Business School found that Indian academics are “singled out for jobs over other candidates” partly due to their willingness to “play the game” of prioritising research over teaching.

Source:https://www.hindustantimes.com/world‐news/since‐2014‐uk‐universities‐have‐ hired‐over‐400‐indian‐experts‐as‐academic‐staff/story‐iAy7nZvY1iDb106fO3tIBP.html

Invest more to get dividend

The Indian economy of the upcoming decades of 21st century is going to be distinctive compared with that of the last decades of 20th century. And the differentiator would be the demographic dividend‐‐ the average age of Indian population is 27 compared with 48 in Japan, 46 in the US and 42 in Europe. But there will be one condition: the youngsters get proper education and the right skill sets. And the role of the government in ensuring this is multifarious.

UNESCO says higher education provides the link between the intellectual and educational role of universities on one hand and the development of society on the other. Raising skills holds the key to higher living standards and well‐being. Investing in knowledge creation and enabling its diffusion are key to creating high‐wage employment and enhancing productivity growth, points out OECD. Higher education sector in the economy is responsible for generating quality workforce, supporting the primary, secondary and service sectors as a whole, carrying out research and generating new knowledge and stimulating technologies.

India's enrollment rates in higher education have been very low compared to those of developed nations. All India Survey on Higher Education 2017‐18 indicated that over 70 per cent of the young population aged between 18 and 23, covered under enrollment rates, does not join in higher learning centres. Focus on improving the enrollment rate is essential since it has been vigorously linked to poverty alleviation. On an average, one year of education results in 10 per cent increase in wage earnings, said 2014 UNESCO report. It also offers a cushion for the working population against exploitation by boosting the band of opportunities, improving health, reducing income disparities and driving economic progress, adds the report.

The union government has allocated an average of 1.62 per cent of the budget on higher education for the past five years. The Union budget 2019‐20 has earmarked Rs 93,847.64 crore for the education sector, an increase of over 10 per cent from the last budget allocation of Rs 85,010 crore. Of this, Rs 37,461.01 crore has been allocated to higher education and Rs 56,386.63 crore for school education. This share of higher education in the total pie is alarmingly low and if this trend continues, the future of our youngsters may not be all that bright.

Among public universities, around 97 per cent of students study in state universities and only the remaining 3 per cent in central universities. However, it is dismal that 57.5 per cent of the allocation for education in the Union budget goes to central universities and premier institutes such as IITs and IIMs. It is extremely essential for the state universities to grab more funds and resources considering the student load they carry. The state of affairs prevailing in the present system is that the state universities are funded partially by the Union government through the University Grants Commission and RashtriyaUchchatarShikshaAbhiyan (RUSA/National Higher Education Scheme) and the other part by the state governments. However, owing to resource crunch, the state governments are not able to support higher education the way it demanded.

Indian universities have consistently ranked low in global university rankings. Not even a single Indian university has ranked in the top 200 in various surveys; only five institutes make it to the top 500. These rankings are mainly based on the number of teachers, quality of teaching and the amount and quality of research. Universities in India endure acute dearth of faculty: 33 to 50 per cent of vacancies remain open at a given time. Also, India's expenditure on research is 0.62 per cent of the GDP, lower than all the nations in the BRICS group and less than one‐third of the United States (2.74 per cent) and Europe (1.85 per cent). Higher education will stand meaningless without quality publications and research, and it is time we expand research from just specialised and premier institutes to Central and state universities, too.

The state universities are in a really bad state. If the government continues to give more funds to the institutes that are doing better, then it is abandoning the state universities and the students who most need good quality higher education.

Almost all developed nations earmark more than 6 per cent of their GDP on education. Considering the boundless inequality and poverty in India, education has a vital role to play in accomplishing social and economic mobility and government investment in higher education is the most effective tool for this. In the absence of a quality‐oriented government‐sponsored higher education system, it is unworkable to envisage moving towards a fair, ethical, non‐discriminatory, generous and supportive economy. In short, quality education needs to be made available to all if we are aiming at creating a equitable world for our future generation.

The advice given to the youth in India by Philip Kotler, who is considered the father of modern marketing, in his last visit to India, needs special attention. He advised them to get into more entrepreneurial and innovative ventures so that they can be job providers rather than job seekers. He added that the youth should put efforts on reviving traditional industrial activities through innovation and improvisation and establishing Indian brand in the global market for their high quality products. Source:https://www.deccanchronicle.com/business/in‐other‐news/040319/invest‐more‐ to‐get‐dividend.html

E‐books, lectures, jobs & more — India’s tech students get a new LinkedIn‐like network

AICTE has introduced a network called LetzConnect, where students can access notes and lectures, as well as connect to teachers and other students.

New Delhi: Picture a LinkedIn‐like social network dedicated to connecting students with notes, teachers, online lectures and even job opportunities. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has introduced exactly such a network, called LetzConnect, across all its affiliated colleges.

LetzConnect is a free‐to‐use, artificial intelligence‐enabled student platform that brings together academic material — including e‐books, video lectures, notes and research journals — as well as contacts of teachers and subject experts. Using intranet, students can network with their own college‐mates, students from other colleges, share notes and information about upcoming events. They can also get live lectures from teachers enrolled on the panel by fixing up a time with them.

The AICTE has written to all the institutes, urging students and teachers to use the platform. Non‐technical colleges under University Grants Commission are expected to follow suit soon.

What it aims to do

LetzConnect was started by a Chennai‐based engineer, Praveen Ganesh, who explained its aims to ThePrint. “Our aim is to provide academic support to students and help them improve their chance of employment. The first step for us is to get the student with us, which we do by providing them reading material and connecting them with a network. Once that happens, our platform tries to understand a student’s choice, likes and dislikes and needs, to provide him/her content accordingly,” Ganesh said.

“Our system is an AI‐based system which keeps collecting data on the interest of a student and curates content.” The AICTE’s letter to colleges said the portal would help students in access to library, opportunities for internships, jobs and higher studies, and information on grants and government schemes.

For faculty members, the portal can be used to digitally share notes with each classroom, monitor administrative aspects such as attendance and time table, and get access to a library for research projects. For institutions, it will be real‐time intra‐college communication via digital media, which will also give access to administrative services and help in effectively reaching out to the alumni network.

“We got in touch with all the colleges and asked them about their requirements before curating content for them. We have various content providers who curate content specific to the needs of a college and a student,” Ganesh said. The AICTE has been signing MoUs with private players to improve the quality of education in technical colleges across India. Before this, it had also urged colleges to switch to flip classroom mode.

Source: https://theprint.in/education/e‐books‐lectures‐jobs‐more‐indias‐tech‐students‐get‐ a‐new‐linkedin‐like‐network/200245/

Manipal Academy of Higher Education ‐ the Only Private Indian University Featured in the QS World Rankings for Medicine & Pharmacy Subjects

Manipal Academy of Higher Education, achieved yet another milestone, as it becomes the only private University in India to be featured in the QS World rankings in the areas of Medicine and Pharmacy. This is the third consecutive year that MAHE is the highest ranked private University in the country, speaking volumes about its commitment to excellence in education and research, given the strict evaluation parameters for the rankings. Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) becomes the only private University to be featured along with four Institutions in Medicine and Pharmacy viz. AIIMS, Delhi, JamiaHamdard, New Delhi & Banaras Hindu University. In medicine, MAHE ranks between 351 – 400 with an overall score of 58.9 and in Pharmacy, the ranking is between 201 ‐ 250 with an overall score of 59.8. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Vinod Bhat, Vice Chancellor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education said, “I am very thrilled that MAHE has bettered its position in QS world rankings in the areas of Medicine and Pharmacy. It is exhilarating to note that MAHE is one amongst the only four Indian institutions to be ranked and also being the top Private University in the country! I am confident that Team MAHE will endeavour to climb up the ranking list in future.” Qs ranking system has several performance indicators such as academic reputation, employer reputation, student‐to‐ faculty ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio and international student ratio. Four of the indicators are based on ‘hard’ data, and the remaining two, on major global surveys – one of academics and another of employers. About Manipal Academy of Higher Education Manipal Academy of Higher Education, formerly branded as Manipal University, is a private deemed university, located in Manipal, Karnataka, India. With its constituent institutions spread across Mangalore, Sikkim, Jaipur, Malaysia, Dubai, Antigua, it is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. It has on its roll over 2500 faculty and almost 10000 other support and service staff, who cater to the various professional institutions in health sciences, engineering, management, communication and humanities. Image: Dr. Vinod Bhat, Vice Chancellor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) PWR PWR.

Source: https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/manipal‐academy‐of‐higher‐education‐‐ the‐only‐private‐indian‐university‐featured‐in‐the‐qs‐world‐rankings‐for‐medicine‐‐ pharmacy‐subjects/1488126

Singapore's higher education system top in Asia: QS ranking

Singapore’s higher education system has emerged top in Asia, according to higher education analysts Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). A total of 14 university departments has been ranked in the global top 10 list for their respective fields, Todayoneline said in a report. Nine of them are from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and five are from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

NUS Civil and Structural Engineering department rose from the sixth position to clinch the second spot in the global QS ranking of varsity departments. It has overtaken the University of Cambridge and the University of California at Berkeley. This is the highest rank achieved by a local university in the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject, Todayonline reported. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ranked top for the subject.

NTU's Material Sciences department, on the other hand, maintained its position as the third best in the world. Singapore’s universities are improving on the whole, with 41 of 76 departments rising in the ranks year‐on‐year. “These results come in the context of widespread Asian malaise at the very top, with China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan all regressing”, noted QS.

Mr Ben Sowter, Director of Research at QS, said, “Singapore has long been Asia’s most successful higher education system in our rankings, but there is some evidence that its ascendancy may be beginning to increase further.” He highlighted that Singapore is the only major Asian higher education system to record consistent improvements. “This is driven by the increasing desirability of Singaporean graduates, with the average score achieved by its universities for our Employer Reputation indicator rising this year,” he added.

Source:https://www.connectedtoindia.com/singapores‐higher‐education‐system‐top‐in‐ asia‐qs‐ranking‐5187.html

The End