Cognizance, the annual technical festival of the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, was held at its campus last week. It gave science and tech enthusiasts a chance to look at some of the next generation innovations happening around the world. ‘Imagineering change’, the theme of the 12th edition of Cognizance, exhibited celebration of science, technology and management, fuelled by some of the basic elements essential to scientific and technical inquiry: curiosity, wonder and discovery. Abhilash Jajoo, convener, Cognizance 2014, said, ?Adapting to latest technologies was the main aim of this event, and there was a relevant increase in strength in participation as compared to last three years.? Pradipta Banerji, director, IIT Roorkee, added, ?This year?s Cognizance provided a glimpse of the future in technology, thereby reducing the gap between researchers and engineers.?
Robert Gordon University to strengthen India links
Academics from Robert Gordon University?s (RGU) Aberdeen Business School are currently in India sharing their MBA knowledge with students. Professor Robert Newton and Graeme Stephen are taking part in the Access MBA Tour in Mumbai and New Delhi, which aims to connect qualified individuals with top international business schools. RGU offers a range of energy-related courses to meet the stringent demands of the industry and has a long track record of providing industry-ready personnel for companies in the oil and gas sector.
EdX partners with Linux, launches a free MOOC
EdX, the online learning initiative founded by Harvard and MIT, has announced a new partnership with the Linux Foundation, in which they will be offering the ?Introduction to Linux? course on the edX platform. This course, offering basic Linux training for free, aims to help students become better equipped for the hundreds of thousands of jobs supporting the open source operating system. Previously offered as an online course for R1,44,000, ?Introduction to Linux? will be the Linux Foundation?s first free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Anant Agwaral, edX CEO, said, ?Linux is the world?s largest collaborative development project, and people everywhere want to understand how it works and how to tap into that massive community to advance their careers and general understanding of how technology today is built. The response to the course has been remarkable. Within five days 50,000 people had signed up.? EdX now offers more than 160 courses in many areas of study.
Strathclyde B-school MBA gets a ranking boost
Strathclyde Business School has been placed 73rd in the global Financial Times (FT) MBA rankings 2014, moving up 14 places since last year. This position puts Strathclyde in the top 10 of UK business schools and top 20 in Europe. Data from the rankings table also show Strathclyde is 4th in the world for value for money and 21st globally for career progression. This year the rankings were based on the full-time MBA class of 2010. Each school must meet strict entry criteria. Executive dean of Strathclyde Business School, Prof Susan Hart, said: ?This is another in a string of successful results for us, across a wide range of programmes including our full-time MBA, our pre-experience Masters in Management, our Masters in Finance, and our Executive MBA, as well as being ranked in the FT?s European business school ranking.?
IMS organises executive panel discussion series
The Institute of Management Studies, Noida, last week organised a panel discussion on ?Will FDI in multi-brand retail trade impart the required boost the Indian retail sector needs?? Prof Piyush Sinha, HOD, Centre of Retail, IIMA; Srikant Gokhale, former CEO, Mobile Store; and Anil Sharma, chief consultant, FDDI, were the main panelists who were present at the discussion, along with director of IMS Noida, Kamaljit Singh; PK Agarwal, dean, management, and Kuldeep Kaul, faculty, retail marketing. Prof Sinha said the government should allow FDI in retail as it will be a learning experience for kiranas. Srikant Gokhale added that when big Indian retailers are not killing the local small retailers, then how would foreign retailers hurt the locals.
University of Chicago opens centre in New Delhi
The University of Chicago opened a major new academic centre in New Delhi, supporting opportunities for collaboration among scholars and students from India and Chicago across academic disciplines. Nancy Powell, the US Ambassador to India, took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony, as part of a celebration that also included academic panel discussions among American and Indian scholars.
Galderma to offer training in aesthetic medicine
World?s leading dermatology solutions providing company Galderma has launched the Galderma Aesthetic Academy in India, an initiative where practitioners in aesthetic medicine will be offered training to hone their skills in latest treatments in facial enhancement. The Galderma Aesthetic Academy is headquartered in Mumbai where the company?s experts will conduct round-the-year training modules and sessions to meet the evolving requirements of Indian medical aesthetic practitioners.