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Showing posts from December 29, 2013

IIT test for common counselling

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The government has asked the Indian Institutes of Technology and the National Institutes of Technology to hold common counselling from this year to minimise seats going vacant at these engineering colleges. But the 16 IITs, a notch above the 30 NITs in the pecking order, had defeated such a plan last year and are expected to oppose the latest Union human resource development ministry directive, too. Over 600 seats had remained unoccupied in these tech schools last year, apparently because of separate counselling which allows a candidate to receive offers from an IIT and an NIT at the same time. Such a candidate often hangs on to the coveted IIT seat while waiting to see whether he gets the subject of his choice in one of the NITs, which declare their merit lists a little later. He thus blocks both seats and quits one only at the last moment, giving the institute hardly any time to fill it before the session begins. Under the proposed common counselling, a student will recei

Reliance Jio tests 4G video calls and TV service at IIT Mumbai Techfest

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R eliance Jio Infocomm Ltd tested its 4G network at the Techfest in IIT Mumbai by running trials of video calls on the high-speed network and also demonstrating the forthcoming Jio TV service, among others.  “LTE is about Learn to Earn. More than 78 per cent of Indian content comes from outside. We must work towards shifting content to India. We should look at creating Health Exchanges to create affordable Healthcare supported by broadband,”  RJIL’s President for Strategy and Products, Mathew Oommen said at the event. Testing 4G video calls and TV service RJIL is country’s only pan-India 4G spectrum holder. The company also deployed Wi-Fi network at select locations in the campus. Visitors to the Techfest will be able to experience benefit of high speed wireless connectivity for handheld devices (smartphones and tablets) over a blend of LTE and Wi-Fi networks. A company executive while explaining products at the event said RJIL services are under trial and will be substantial

IIT Kharagpur starts online Certificate Course in Image and Video Communication

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Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur has launched first-ever live online Certificate Course in Image and Video Communication, starting from February 8, 2014. The programme is designed by Professor Somnath Sengupta of the Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering, IIT Kharagpur. The course is offered via leading online education platform, WizIQ. Not only does the course offer an insight into the genius that operates at the IIT, Kharagpur campus but it also gives participants an opportunity to attend two sessions at the IIT campus. It gives an opportunity to engineering/science students, software developers, teachers and research scholars to look behind the scenes of image and video processing, from basic and classical tools to the most modern and advanced algorithms.     This course provides comprehensive coverage of image and video communication tools and techniques in use today. Unlike conventional courses, it lays emphasis on communication

Tryst, the technical extravaganza of IIT Delhi

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Tryst , the annual technical festival of  IIT Delhi , is no different with its literal meaning "Romantic Rendezvous" and is indeed a much anticipated rendezvous of technology and fantasizers. Tryst in its 22nd Edition envisages setting an exemplary stage to the world out there for technical symposiums and expos. Tryst is organized by the student body " Co-Curricular and Academic Interaction Council " (CAIC) to recognize, reward and incubate innovations in the recent technologies across the globe. Tryst this year, in 22nd edition, will be held from 26th February – 1st March 2014. It has a couple of really mind boggling events lined up, which would be accessible in short a while. In the meantime it has a Tech MUN lined up, with following committees to be simulated: WHO, WIPO and UNFCCC, and the Applications for  Executive Board  and  International Press  are open. The most fascinating event throughout the tryst,  Robotryst , has already been notified, and with the

IIT Kharagpur creates record in placements!

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IIT-Kharagpur has set a record with more than a thousand of its students securing cushy jobs in the first phase of campus placements, officials said on Wednesday. Around 1,010 students received job offers in the first round of placements, which ended in December, from big names like Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Shell, Deutsche Bank, ITC, Schlumberger, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Abbott and EXL, to start-ups like Flipkart and Housing.com.  IIT-Mumbai came second with 900 offers, followed by IIT-Delhi (750) and IIT-Kanpur (700). The highest package offered was from a US-based company, which signed an IITian for an annual salary of $1.25 million (around `77 lakh). The highest domestic package was Rs 37 lakh. Two new dual degree programmes — Financial Engineering and Engineering Entrepreneurship — proved to be a big hit, with 85 per cent students from these courses being placed.

IIT Kanpur student found dead

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The body of a student of IIT Kanpur was found on railway tracks near the campus area here, police said on Thursday. The body of G Sai Kumar Reddy (20), a resident of Prakasham district in Andhra Pradesh, was found along the Kanpur-Farrukhabad railway line on Wednesday morning, a police officer said. A probe is being conducted to ascertain whether it was a case of suicide or accident, the officer said. As per the post-mortem report, the body was hit by a heavy object, due to which it is assumed that he might have been hit by the train accidentally, the officer said. Reddy was a second year B Tech student pursuing Material Science and Metallurgical Engineering in the institute, student welfare Dean, IIT-Kanpur, Prof A K Ghosh said. Ruling out reports that he was depressed and may have committed suicide, Ghosh said he was an average student and was never involved in any conflicts with other students. "We are investigating it. A four-member body has been formed by th

Seven Wonders in Kota@loveiitkota

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Kota, so far famous for its IIT-JEE coaching classes, is set to get its very own "seven wonders of the world". Over 150 workers — traditional stone artisans from across the state and some drawn from Agra — have been working at feverish pace for the last eight months, sculpting replicas of the Taj Mahal, Great Pyramid of Giza and other architectural marvels. The Rs 20-crore project is being implemented by the local wing of the Urban Development Department, the Urban Improvement Trust of Kota. Urban Development and Housing Minister Shanti Dhariwal is the local MLA. Leaning Tower of Pisa Eiffel Tower of Paris Great Pyramid of Giza the Taj Mahal, india Brazil's Christ the Redeemer New York's Statue of Liberty Rome's Colosseum These pics are taken from  a park in Vallabh Bari, in the heart of the town.

IIT-Bombay's techfest to have supercars exhibition

Techfest, IIT Bombay's annual science and technology festival to promote technology, scientific thinking and innovation, which has been creating a visual spectacle year after year, will be held this year from January 3-5. Every year, the footfall of more than 1,00,000 people comprising mainly of the youth from across the nation and an outreach of over 2,300 colleges across India and over 500 overseas colleges participate in the event. Exhibits on display are coming from US, Japan, Berlin, Switzerland and many more countries. These exhibits include the most advanced social robot, BINA-48. Other exhibits include humanoids playing football, dancing, singing. The event will also see exhibits from Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO). There will be a supercars exhibition too where cars like Ferrari F430, Porsche 911 and Mercedes E Cabriolet will not only be present but roam around the campus too. Another ma

IIT-M to have 50% subjects as elective

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Children of IIT-M alumni look at pottery at the institute’s global reunion on Friday To provide more flexibility to students at the Indian Institute of Technology, Ma­dras (IIT-M), the institu­te plans to allow students to have 50 per cent of their subjects as elective so that th­ey could select a larger nu­mber of subjects they liked. In an interaction with the institute’s alumni on Fri­d­ay, IIT-M director Prof. Bh­askar Ramamurthi said, “The idea is to provide a st­udent with an opportunity to select 50 per cent of the subjects he likes to pursue.” Elaborating on other fut­ure plans, the director ex­plained that the institute planned to combine classroom study with the online education system and self- learning. “We have joined hands with Nasscom to offer computer science engineering though a massive open on­line course platform to students of all engineering colleges in the state and also in the next phase of the Nati­onal Programme on Techn­ology Enhanced Learning (NPT

IIT craze touched peak Nagpur got its first JEE Mains India topper

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The year 2013 has significantly savored the joy of engineering entrance exams  in Nagpur, if the results of JEE Mains and Advance – the newly introduced gateways to engineering institutes and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – is anything to go by. Nagpur students ran past their previous performances to set new records in both engineering and medical entrance examinations. As the aspiring students performed exceptionally well in JEE Mains, the next level JEE Advanced – gateway to crack IIT also saw record number of students hitting the target. This year, the city came up with its first ever All India Topper in JEE Mains Chandra Malu who is also Maharashtra topper in JEE Advanced. The aspirants also showed their sheer dedication towards the entrance examinations. However this extra ordinary inclination towards IIT frenzy took a toll on school going habit of the students who skipped classes to be with coaching institutes. Some coaching institutes somehow managed to get the tie

Femina Miss India prelims at IIT-Kharagpur

 IIT Kharagpur will hold the preliminary rounds of the country's biggest beauty pageant - Femina Miss India - on its campus in 2014. The pre-regional round of the Femina Miss India beauty contest will be held on the IIT Kharagpur campus as part of the institute's annual high wattage Spring Fest. The organizers have slotted the two-hour beauty show on the final day of the three-day cultural and musical extravaganza that starts on January 30 has factored in the two-hour beauty show on the final day. The institute has already launched a website in association with Femina and registrations have started for the pre-regional round (east) that will see contestants from Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Chattisgarh, Eastern UP, Jharkhand and the seven North Eastern states. The Femina beauty pageant had earlier helped helped celebrity models and actors like Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra to shoot to famewill hold the mandatory pre-regional round auditions for the east

JEE ranking norm changed

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In a change of policy, marks secured in both the Intermediate first and second year exams will be considered while giving 40 per cent weightage to decide JEE (Main) rankings this year. Last year, only the second year marks were considered. The rankings in JEE (Main) will decide if the students will make it to the JEE (Advanced), test for admission to IITs and other prestigious engineering institutions. Only the top 1.5 lakh  rankers will be allowed to sit for JEE (Advanced). However, the controversial policy of normalisation of 10+2 Board exam marks, that was adopted last year, will be continued this year too. “Last year, only Inter second year marks were considered for giving weightage owing to protests from students and parents who said they were unaware of the policy when students took the first year exams,” said Dr N. Nageshwara Rao, a senior lecturer. The weightage policy was announced in the middle of the academic year, and some students had even approached the courts o

Samsung, RIL, Oracle and Flipkart top employers of IIT graduates this year

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Where is the country's top engineering talent heading to in a year of subdued hiring? Samsung,  Reliance Industries  (RIL),  Oracle  and  Flipkart  topped the hiring charts for the class of 2014, according to data from the top IITs at the end of the first phase of this placement season. With 271 offers, almost a 100 more than the second-largest recruiter,  Samsung  is the clear winner so far. This number includes 69 pre-placement offers (PPOs) and 28 postings in Korea. The South Korean conglomerate has ramped up hiring numbers by as much as 71% from 158 last year, emerging as the biggest recruiter at the IITs so far. It had made 23 international offers last year. "We focused on campus hiring for multiple reasons — strengthening our core competency in embedded computing and buildi ng new skills/capabilities in UX design, enterprise software and data analysis," said a Samsung spokesperson in a written response to ET. Out of 243 candidates selected for India, 211 are from s

Superwheels, robots to steal the show at IIT Techfest

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BINA 48, the world's most advanced social robot to talk to, super wheels worshipped by many, F1 simulators for entertainment and the city of Mumbai created through 3D mapping in Powai. This and much more will be a part of the 17th edition of Techfest, the annual festival that celebrates technology and innovation at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay. From January 3-5, over 1 lakh visitors will descend on the IIT-B campus to witness the mind's imagination put to work. Apart from the robots, Bharat Ratna awardee CNR Rao will speak on the scientific progress of the nation. Serial entrepreneur Kanwal Rekhi will inspire engineers to turn entrepreneurs. June, a 3D projection mapping musical show, will generate, destroy and change the sets behind a movie scene. It will also be a platform for the Indian film industry to explore and incorporate this technology in our films. The technology is already being exploited in Hollywood and other foreign film industries. "All

IIT-KGP to set up research parks in Kolkata

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Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur  (IIT-KGP) will expand its base here through research and innovation parks, an official release said on Monday.  The move aims at merging industry and academia as well as fostering international collaborative studies.  The hubs would give scope to young scientists from the institute to not only enhance their academic prospects but also boost their entrepreneurship skills, the release said.  IIT-KGP plans to set up parks at Gopali, Kansabati and Rajarhat, besides the existing one at the Kharagpur campus.  "The hubs would be a merger of all these areas. The project is on...and the first building would come up by early 2015," project in-charge Joy Sen told IANS.  "The parks will be an extension of IIT-Kharagpur in the state capital," he said.  The first Park will be developed in Kolkata.  It will have facilities to house collaborative research laboratories of partner organisations, incubation units, and other academic an

IIT-Bombay plans new hostels for growing student population

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To accommodate the expanding  student capacity ,  IIT-Bombay  plans to build hostels and residential facilities for undergraduate, married and post-doctoral students. IIT-B will also soon set up a  National Centre for Mathematics  with  Tata Institute of Fundamental Research . These announcements were made during the annual Alumni Day on Sunday, when the class of 1988 also celebrated its silver jubilee reunionthis year, as a part of the function. "Today, IIT-B is the preferred destination for IIT-JEE toppers. The student strength at the institute has grown over the years; we now have about 3,700 undergraduate, 2,800 masters and 2,300 PhD students," said Devang Khakhar, director, IIT-B. "The work to establish a technology park at IIT-B will commence early next year." As part of the legacy project, the alumni have pledged a sum of Rs 2 crore towards three existing initiatives. They include the retired faculty wellness fund, which includes medical coverage for facu

Date to fill JEE-Main exam form online extended

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which is conducting the Joint Entrance Exam JEE-Main in 2014, has extended the last date of filling the online forms. Earlier, the last date was December 26 but it has been extended to January 5. The students willing to take admission in IITs, IIITs and National Institute of Technology (NITs), will have to appear in JEE Main (the offline examination) which will be held on April 6 next year. The online examination will be held on April 9, 11, 12 and 19. The examination for BTech and BE will be held in first shift and paper two of BArch and BPlanning will be held in the second shift. The CBSE has extended the date of filling online form by 10 days. The passouts of class XII in academic session 2012-13 and those to appear in the board exams will be benefited with the extension of the date. The aspirants can fill the online form by logging www.jeemain.nic.in. These days the students are filling up the JEE Main forms. A total of 1.5

Arvind Kejriwal second IIT alumnus to become CM

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 Arvind Kejriwal is the second chief minister to have been an IITian after his Goa counterpart Manohar Parrikar and joins a select group of ministers like Ajit Singh and Jairam Ramesh whose alma mater is the crown jewel of the country's higher education. A product of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Khargapur, 45-year-old Kejriwal studied mechanical engineering and passed out in 1989. Besides Parrikar and Kejriwal, the other IIT alumni who are among the handful of highly-qualified technocrat politicians include Union ministers Ajit Singh and Jairam Ramesh. Parrikar passed out as a metallurgical engineer from IIT, Mumbai. Like Kejriwal, Ajit Singh, a computer engineer by profession, is a B Tech from IIT, Kharagpur while Ramesh graduated from IIT Bombay with a B.Tech. in mechanical engineering. Ramesh's fellow IITian Nandan Nilekani may be following his footsteps in the wake of speculation of IT bellweather Infosys co-founder's likely leap into the hurly-burly of polit