News from the world of Education: February 18, 2025

HCL TechBee programme

HCLTech invites applications for its TechBee programme, which allows students to start their careers after Class 12.

Eligibility: Students across India with a background in Maths or Business Maths

Details at www.hcltechbee.com

Global University Fair 2025

SI-Global’s Global University Fair 2025 is hosting universities from around the world including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, so that students can explore a range of academic programmes. For details of schedule and city, visit https://tinyurl.com/yc76u8xt

Conference

UChicago’s Center in Delhi is hosting a Quantum Materials Conference on March 27 and 28 in New Delhi. The speakers are Prof Arindam Ghosh, IISc Bengaluru and Prof Peter Littlewood, UChicago. To register, visit https://tinyurl.com/yrmtcw7a

Epsilon India Camp

The Raising A Mathematician (RAM) Foundation is hosting the Epsilon India Camp, a residential summer camp for mathematically gifted students aged 9 to 13 years. Students will be selected on the basis a qualification test, a letter of recommendation (if any), and an interview.

Dates: April 29 to May 12

Venue: Krea University, Sri City.

Deadline: February 28.

Visit www.epsilonindia.org for more information.

Sanskrit Language Certificate

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has launched Samskritasaparya, an online certificate programme to learn Sanskrit. No prior knowledge of Sanskrit is required. Open to all age groups. Register at https://tinyurl.com/mr3738n5

Admissions open

ITM Institute of Design and Media has opened applications for its four-year B.Des in Fashion Design. Scholarships are available.

Eligibility: 10+2 or equivalent exams from a recognised board.

Details at https://tinyurl.com/3u7fsn4f

BIMTECH invites applications for the Ph. D. Equivalent Fellow Programmes in Management (FPM/EFPM) for 2025.

Eligibility: At least 60% or equivalent GPA in Master’s degree in Engineering and Technology, Management, Economics, Social Science, Commerce, or Humanities, recognised by AICTE/AIU. Candidates with CA, CS or ICWA qualifications must have minimum 50% and a B.Com degree. Those with a five-year integrated Master’s degree in Engineering and Technology, Management, Economics, Social Science, Commerce, or Humanities must have at least 60%.

Deadline: February 23

Details at https://tinyurl.com/3279p45n

IIM Lucknow has opened registrations for its Doctoral Programme in Management.

Eligibility: A Master’s degree or equivalent in any discipline, with minimum 55% aggregate; Bachelor’s in Engineering or a four-year graduate degree) with 65% minimum; or professional qualifications such as CA, ICWA, or CS with a minimum 55% aggregate and B.Com; or a full-time classroom-based PGDM from an IIM with 6/10 CGPA or 60%. Valid score CAT, GATE, GRE, GMAT, or JRF, SRF (UGC, CSIR, ICAR).

Deadline: February 23

Details at https://www.iiml.ac.in/

IIM Raipur invites applications for its fully funded Ph.D. programme.

Eligibility: Valid GATE, GRE, GMAT, JRF (UGC or CSIR), UGC NET, with CAT score (July 1, 2023 onward) and a Master’s or PGP with minimum 55%. Those with CA or ICWA and a degree, CS with B.Com, four-year B.E. or B.Tech or B.Arch or a five-year Integrated Master’s require minimum 60% or 6.5 CGPA.

Deadline: May 10

Details at https://iimraipur.ac.in/

University Living has partnered with the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU), the U.K., to launch the Living Scholarship for Indian students planning to pursue higher education in the U.K. Details at www.universityliving.com

The College Board has announced that registrations are open for SAT 2025.

Spring 2025 dates: March 8, May 3, June 7

Deadline: February 21, April 18, May 22, respectively

Deadline for changes: February 25, April 22, May 27, respectively

The schedule for Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 have also been released. Details at https://tinyurl.com/4hadmxhz

SPJIMR Executive Education, along with Emeritus, invites applications for its Executive Certificate Programme in FinTech and Blockchain, which begins on April 6.

Eligibility: Graduates and diploma holders in any discipline

Deadline: February 27

Details at https://tinyurl.com/yck96jvs

Events

RKG Agmark Ghee and the South India Chef’s Association jointly launched Steppingstone, an initiative designed to bridge culinary education and industry requirements. The event saw participation from 1,500 final-year students from over 50 colleges from Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, and Tiruchi.

IIIT Bangalore hosted Infin8, its annual inter-college cultural fest, on the theme Odyssey Osaka. Over 700 students from over 20 colleges participated.

Venkateshwar International School, Dwarka, hosted a workshop on Promoting Student Mental Health and Well-Being, organised by CBSE for principals, counsellors, and teachers.

Jaipuria Institute of Management hosted the Youth for India @ 2047’ International Youth Conference. keynote address by Suraja Kishore, CEO of BBDO India and TeamX for Mercedes-Benz, gave the keynote address. Around 40 research papers were presented.

IIT Kanpur’s Cell for Differently Abled Persons launched a vision screening initiative for school students aged 5-15 years and evaluated 108 students. Its Computer Centre celebrated Safer Internet Day, with a cybersecurity awareness workshop for 95 students and teachers.

IIM Sambalpur’s Rangavati Centre for Excellence in Culture and Sustainable Management, in association with the Indian Council of Social Science Research, conducted a seminar on Unknown Aspects of Freedom Struggle; Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Management in Indian Knowledge System.

Researchers from IIT Guwahati have developed a water-repellent conductive textile that converts electricity and sunlight into heat. A paper co-authored by Prof. Uttam Manna, Department of Chemistry, Prof. Roy P. Paily, Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, and the team of Debasmita Sarkar, Haydar Ali, Rajan Singh, Anirban Phukan, Chittaranjan Mishra was published in Nano-Micro-Small.

Navrachana University will launch the NUV Graduate School in July to offer five Master’s programmes: M.Sc in Computer Science (Co-op), M.Sc in Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, M.Tech in Robotics and Automation, M.Sc in Food Science and Dietetics, and Master of Planning (Urban and Regional Planning).

XLRI Delhi-NCR hosted the second edition of MAXI Mela, a student-led initiative and a marketing and consumer engagement event, with around 1.5 lakh visitors.Lleading corporations conducted real-time consumer research through student-designed marketing games.

MAHE organised the seventh edition of the Manipal Marathon 2025 on the theme Innovation in Motion: Embracing Technology for Health and Fitness. Over 20,000 runners participated. The university also organised the first convocation 426 students of its online courses: MBA, M.Sc. Business Analytics, M.Sc. Data Science, PGCP in Business Analytics, and PGCP in Logistics and Supply Chain Management.

A research team from IIT Roorkee has developed an advanced predictive model to assess land cover changes in India’s Round-1 Smart Cities using Cellular Automata and Geographic Information System techniques. Conducted by Shubham Bhattacharjee, Neerav Sharma, Munizzah Salim, Prof.Rahul Dev Garg from IIT-Roorkee and Prof. Kavita Sharma from Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, the findings were published in Discover Cities.

DigiNerve has announced updates to its Surgery MS (For Residency and NEET SS) course. The duration of the updated programme ranges from six to 36 months and features over 200 hours of expert-led video lectures, more than 4,400 targeted practice questions, and over 250 Diagnosis and Treatment modules. Details at www.diginerve.com.

Ashoka University announced the establishment of the Havells School of Management and Leadership, supported by Havells India. It will offer UG programmes in Applied Liberal Arts and Management and integrated PG programmes, in partnership with B-schools and management schools in India and abroad.

Teach For India, in collaboration with Kids Education Revolution, organised the seventh edition of the Revolutionary Retreat on the theme Lead with Love. Over 100 students and 50 educators participated.

The third annual ASU+GSV and Emeritus Summit emphasised the critical role of technology in shaping how we learn, work, and upskill in the face of rapid technological change.

BML Munjal University hosted a discussion to celebrate the legacy of Professor Upendra Baxi, Professor Emeritus, University of Warwick, and former Vice Chancellor, Delhi University and University of Surat. The university also hosted the inaugural BML Munjal Memorial Lecture titled India 2047: Strategies for a Viksit Bharat by Prof. Jeffrey D. Sachs, economist and sustainable development expert.

Maya Academy of Advanced Creativity (MAAC) organised a webinar for over 5,000 students as part of its Behind the Screens initiative. Ashish Kulkarni, Founder, Punnaryug ArtVision Pvt. Ltd. and Chairman, Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics Forum, FICCI, led the webinar.

IMS Noida, in collaboration with Shining Souls (Trust), launched the first campaign of Nasha Mukt Yuva Abhiyan to combat drug abuse. Students, academicians, social activists, and addiction experts participated.

Team Samarthya, the Human Potential Centre of XLRI Jamshedpur, hosted the 12th edition of Disha, a career counselling fair for school students. Over 500 participants from more than 50 schools attended.

Thinkerbell Labs has introduced English Grade 2 (EG-2) Braille on Annie, a self-learning Braille device that blends gamified learning, real-time feedback, and tactile engagement to help young learners.

IIM Kashipur hosted Manthan 2025 to bring together industry leaders to engage in discussions on innovation, resilience, and strategic transformation and provide students with insights from industry stalwarts. Two panel discussions – Decoding Resilience: Strategy in Disruptive Times and Beyond Profit: Business for People and Planet – were held.

Plaksha University has launched its School of AI and Computer Science to serve as a global hub for interdisciplinary AI research and education. It will focus on AI applications in healthcare, sustainability, and ethics, while fostering entrepreneurship and robotics.

BIT Mesra celebrated its 70th anniversary with President Droupadi Murmu as the chief guest.

A study led by Newcastle University, the U.K., investigated how remote drivers interact with self-driving vehicles in a real-world scenario. The findings were published in Electronics.

Castrol India collaborated with Prof. Renuka Kamath, Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean-Full-time Programmes at SPJIMR to develop a case study, Castrol India’s Channel Dilemma: Play Safe or Disrupt to Change the Rules of the Game? It is available at https://tinyurl.com/5n8szat5

Students of A.M. Jain College, Chennai, visited MGM Cancer Institute and interacted with cancer survivors and hosted a cultural performance for them.

The University of Leeds, the U.K., and Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, India, co-hosted the third International Health and Research Conference. Global experts, academics, and professionals participated.

K.J. Somaiya Institute of Management hosted Investrix 2025, an event on the evolving investment landscape. Industry leaders, financial experts, and students, participated. Vijay Kedia, Director, Kedia Securities, was the chief guest.

UC and the Gough Family Foundation have renewed their MBA Leaders Scholarship. It will now offer expanded access to international opportunities, where scholars can partner with institutions such as Stanford University and Aalto University in Finland.

Awards and rankings

Excelia Business School’s M.Sc. in International Business Management was ranked 18th globally in the QS International Trade Rankings 2025. The institute ranked first globally for graduate outcome, fourth for innovative teaching, and seventh for trade programme content.

Jaipuria Institute of Management received accreditation from AACSB International.

In the Financial Times (FT) Global MBA Rankings 2025, the following Indian institutions have found a place

IIM Kozhikode’s Post Graduate Programme in Business Leadership (PGP-BL) was ranked 86th globally

IIM Lucknow’s International Programme in Management for Executives was ranked 71st globally.

The Indian School of Business was ranked 27th globally.

Three class 12 IB students from Shiv Nadar School have developed WaPas (Walking Past), an all-in-one interactive mobile app to uncover and explore the city’s unnoticed heritage sites, in collaboration with mentors at Adobe. It won the Youth Leader of the Year award in the eighth edition of the India 2030 Leadership Conclave.

Samsung has launched Galaxy Empowered, a community-led programme to empower teachers, principals, and administrators with blended learning events, hands-on training, and mentorship opportunities.

Partnerships and MoUs

GITAM Deemed-to-be University has signed an MoU with Sirena Technologies to establish a Robotics and AI Research and Development Centre at GITAM Bengaluru.

KCG College of Technology signed an MoU with the Education and Research Network (ERNET) India, Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India, to collaborate for research, training, and development in key technological domains.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has signed an MoU with Hikigai Inc. to establish the Amrita-Hikigai Joint Research Center for AI in Healthcare to drive advances in healthcare using AI and emerging technologies. The institution also signed an MoU with the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences to collaborate on interdisciplinary research and initiatives aimed at empowering marginalised communities.

Ashoka University signed an MoU with Axis Bank to bolster its Ph.D., Post-Doctoral and Research programmes through the Co-building Interdisciplinary Sciences and Research at Ashoka University intiative.

Medhavi Skills University has signed an MoU with the Department of Higher Education, Government of Tripura, to establish a Centre of Excellence in AI, a CoE in Oil and Gas, and a Skills University in Tripura.

The University of Glasgow has launched a PG study programme with Biocon in which students of M.Sc. in Industrial Biotechnology will have a six-week work placement at Biocon in Bengaluru. Travel costs will be covered within the degree, and Biocon will provide a stipend.

Toprankers signed an MoU with Jindal Global University to deliver programmes for a range of competitive exams such as UGC NET Law, IBPS SO, RBI, SEBI Law Officer, CLAT PG, AILET PG, and CUET PG LLM, among others.

Ericsson and IIT-Delhi’s Foundation for Innovation and Technology have announced a research collaboration focused on advancing financial services. Ericsson’s Mobile Financial Services R&D team will collaborate with FITT at IIT Delhi’s faculty and students to explore key aspects of financial technology.

Birla Open Minds Education has partnered with AeroBay to launch the Composite Skill Lab and Experiential Learning Programme to offer students from Classes 1 to 12 with exposure to fields such as Aerospace, Space Education, Drones, Design Thinking, E-Vehicles, Meteorology, Entrepreneurship, and more.

AlphaGrep has partnered with a group of researchers from IIIT-Hyderabad to enable Advanced AI and Machine Learning Research in Quantitative Finance and create the AlphaGrep Quantitative Research Lab.

UPES’ School of Health Sciences and Technology has partnered with the Medical University of the Americas (MUA) to launch a five-year B.Sc./MD undergraduate programme. Applications are open for the August intake. It will also offer $50,000 scholarship for students on completion of the Pre-Medical Certificate Programme at UPES.