News from the world of Education: May 20, 2026

News from the world of Education: May 20, 2026

Information on colleges, admissions, scholarships, events, MoUs, and more

HCL Jigsaw

HCL’s student innovation platform HCL Jigsaw invites registrations for its seventh edition. This year, the competition moves from traditional quiz-based competition models to teams that will work towards identifying real-world problems, building solutions, developing prototypes, and pitching their ideas at a national finale. The themes are AI and Digital Futures; Climate and Sustainability; Medical Innovation: Healthcare accessibility, smart diagnostics, wellness technologies, and assistive innovation; and Robotics and Automation. 

Eligibility: Students from Classes 6 to 9 from any board or school across India. Registrations must be submitted through their respective schools only.

Deadline: July 31

For more information, visit www.hcljigsaw.com

National Automobile Olympiad

The Automotive Skills Development Council and CBSE have launched the National Automobile Olympiad 2026 to introduce students to industry-relevant skills. Students from Classes 6 to 12 can participate across three groups (Group 1: Class 6 to 8; Group 2: Class 9 to 10; and Group 3: Class 11 to 12). Students can register individually or through their school. Participating students will get a chance to interact directly with distinguished professionals from the automotive sector. For more details visit https://nao.asdc.org.in

Admissions and scholarships

The Classes Internationales initiative, a preparatory academic pathway designed to help applicants transition into UG and higher education programmes in French universities – invites applications from Indian students for the 2026 intake. Students can explore available programmes and apply through  www.classesinternationales.org 

ASM Institute of International Business and Research invites applications for its PGDM in AI-Driven Digital Marketing programme. 

Eligibility: Indian nationals with minimum 50% in Bachelor’s degree in any discipline and qualifying scores in CAT, XAT, CMAT, ATMA, MAT, GMAT or MH-CET.

Deadline: May 30

Visit for details.

KL Deemed-to be University will conduct admissions counselling for students at its Aziznagar, Bachupally, Kondapur, and Vijayawada campuses From May 17 to 27 for its UG and PG programmes across Engineering, Management, Pharmacy, Architecture, Agriculture, Law, Sciences, the Humanities, Commerce and Food Technology. For more details, visit https://www.kluniversity.in/ 

IIT Kanpur, through the Office of Outreach Activities, launched four online M.Tech. programmes in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Construction Engineering and Project Management, Smart Grid, and Sustainable Energy Technologies under the second cycle of its Online Postgraduate admissions.

Eligibility: Minimum CPI of 5.5 or 55% in the qualifying degree.

For more information, visit online.iitk.ac.in

The University of Sheffield, the U.K., invites applications for its BEng (Hons) Computer Systems Engineering starting this September. Scholarships are available.

Eligibility: 80% or 8.0 GPA in Class 12 (all exam boards) including Maths and a Science subject; overall IELTS score of 6.5, with minimum 6.0 in each component.

More information available at https://tinyurl.com/57na85n3

The University of Birmingham Dubai invites applications for B.Sc. in Biomedical Science starting this September. Scholarships are available

Eligibility: Aggregate of 85% to 90% in Class 12, with minimum 85% in two science subjects and 70-75% in English depending on the board, or overall IELTS score of 6.5.

For more details, visit https://tinyurl.com/4yanb4ps

The University of Wollongong India invites applications for the Women Leaders in Fintech, Data Analytics and AI Scholarship, which offers 50% fee reduction.

Eligibility: Women enrolled in a full-time Master of Financial Technology or Master of Financial Technology Extension or Master of Computing (Data Analytics), or Master of Computing (Applied Artificial Intelligence) at the India campus from July and achieve 85+ WAM or equivalent in each trimester,

Deadline: May 31

For more details, visit https://tinyurl.com/y23vukkd

India Accelerator and Internshala have launched the IA Campus Analyst Network (ICAN) to identify the next generation of start-up founders from India.

Eligibility: Students enrolled in an Engineering, Business, or innovation-focused institutions in India

Deadline: June 12

For more details, visit https://tinyurl.com/3eb4xj3e

Deeksha Vedantu has launched Re-NEET, a free online and offline support initiative for NEET aspirants, offering mock tests, exam-condition practice sessions, performance analysis, revision support, doubt clarification, and time-management guidance. For more details, visit https://deekshalearning.com/

Events

Alta School of Technology has appointed Navdeep Sandhu as the Head of Academics. The co-founder of Pepcoding, Sandhu has served in various roles at Scaler, Coding Ninjas, and EY.

Testler, Tutela, and TRINITi organised Career Compass: A Career Counselling Conclave at the CII Northern Region Headquarters in Chandigarh to discuss how students can be prepared for an AI-driven future, global education opportunities, and evolving career pathways.

IIT Dharwad and the Aequs Group have established an on-campus R&D facility focused on materials science and manufacturing innovation to hands-on training for students and researchers.

SRMIST’s Department of Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering hosted a Schneider Electric leadership delegation to discuss collaborations, including a student hackathon on Human Machine Interface (HMI) systems and industrial automation. The institute also inaugurated the Centre for Intelligent Marine and Energy Systems, recognised as a Centre of Excellence by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

The Department of Paediatrics at Noida International Institute of Medical Sciences Medical College and Hospital organised a Basic Neonatal Resuscitation Programme training for around 40 doctors, nurses, and interns from various departments.

Target Learning Ventures has introduced an Automatic Question Paper Generator for Classes 8–12 that allows teachers to create customised test papers from a question database, set difficulty levels, and generate printable answer keys.

Over 1,900 students of Mohan Babu University have been placed with recruiters such as Infosys, IBM, Cognizant, Accenture, and Deloitte, among others. The institute has achieved a 95% placement rate for 2025–26.

IIT Mandi has launched WatershedAI, a free app on its Indian Climate Information Explorer (INCLINE) platform that uses hydrological modelling, deep learning, and multilingual AI to deliver climate and water resource assessments for watersheds across India within minutes. It is available at incline.iitmandi.ac.in

NIT Rourkela has launched two new UG and PG courses for the 2026 academic year. These are B.Tech. in Maths and Computing; B.Tech. in Engineering Physics; M.Tech. in Semiconductor Devices and Technology, and M.Tech. in Machine Learning and Signal Analysis.

K J Somaiya School and College of Nursing, in collaboration with the TNAI Maharashtra State Branch, organised an Innovation Contest 2026 on the theme Innovate to Heal, Steer to Transform, to encourage innovation, entrepreneurship, and practical problem-solving among nursing students, faculty, and healthcare professionals. In the undergraduate category Dena John and Sneha Sivichan from P.D. Hinduja College of Nursing, Mumbai, won the prize for their Curo Shield. In the professional nursing and postgraduate category, Karnellya Ohol and Prof. Janaki Shinde from D.Y. Patil College of Nursing, Kolhapur, were recognised for their By the Nurses, For the Nurses entry.

Space India, in collaboration with the Mahoba District Administration, Uttar Pradesh, conducted an online teachers’ training programme for the student training component of the All India Asteroid Search Campaign 2026.

ESAIP Engineering School will be incorporated into Excelia Business School from September and will launch cross-disciplinary learning projects from January 2027.

Pramod Chandra Dihingia, Wungsim Zimik and Prabhakar Sharma from Nagaland University, and Deepika Borah from the Indian Council of Medical Research, Assam, have documented the decline in ethno-medicinal knowledge among Assam’s Sonowal Kachari tribe based on a study of 39 medicinal plants and 180 respondents. A paper was published in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine.

Prof. Arunabha Mukhopadhyay from IIM Lucknow, Prof. Godwin Udo, Prof. Kallol Bagchi, and Prof. Laura Treviño from The University of Texas El Paso; and Prof. Philip F. Musa from The University of Alabama, the U.S., have studied how human values influence digital learning behaviour across cultures. Their findings were published in the Journal of Global Information Technology Management.

NIPS Kolkata hosted hospitality employers from New Zealand, along with Vira International (London) and its Auckland partners, to assess students for international placements. Students were evaluated on technical and communication skills and operational knowledge.

Shiv Nadar School, in collaboration with Science Gallery Bengaluru and The Habitats Trust, concluded its month-long STEAM Conclave 2026 on the theme Underwater Lives Matter. Shiv Nadar School Faridabad won the first prize for its Project Aqua Sentinel on marine sustainability and ocean conservation.

Chitkara University organised the sixth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence-driven Computing, Analytics and Networks (ICAN 2026). Speakers included Sudatta Kar, VP and Head of Engineering, Capgemini Engineering, India, and scientist Sudarsun Santhiappan.

VimanoTech conducted a student engagement and educational support programme at Sapno Ke Pankh School, Gurugram and distributed school supplies to students.

School of Fashion and Costume Design, Whistling Woods International, hosted Aiyanna 2026, its annual graduation showcase. Students presented collections rooted in identity, emotion, culture, and contemporary expression 

Awards

Acharya Bangalore B School was ranked first among top BBA Colleges of Eminence and sixth among top Law Schools of Excellence in India in the GHRDC Survey 2026.

Excelia Business School was ranked 40 globally and 12 among French Schools in the Financial Times worldwide Executive Education Custom ranking 2026.

Lovely Professional University was ranked 78 globally and fourth in India in the World University Rankings for Innovation 2026.

Galgotias University won the Blue Chip Partner Award by L&T EduTech at NEXUS 2026.

Team Vecna4 (Arjunveer Chauhan, Avyaan Pratap, Anant Khemka, and Shaurya Rawat) from Amity International School, Pushp Vihar, qualified for the national finals of the F1 STEM Racing competition.

Eighteen students from Polaris School of Technology, Bengaluru, have been selected for the 2026 Google Summer of Code programme.

Mayank Nayak, a student of Arena Animation, Noida, won second prize at the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha Kumbh Mela 2027 Logo Design Competition.

Abhijeet Mishra, Aman Parnami, and Prof. Jainendra Shukla from IIIT Delhi have been granted three Indian patents for their innovations in human-computer interaction, virtual reality, and haptic technologies.

Gayatri Goundadkar and Shloka Shetty from MIT World Peace University secured a place among 50 winners globally at the Swift Student Challenge 2026, and attended Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2026 in California.

TheMathCompany won the Finkelstein Awards for Data Engineering Excellence 2026 in the Advancement in Data Engineering Education and Upskilling category.

Collaborations

VIT Bhopal University signed an MoU with CSIR–Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute, Bhopal, to promote collaborative research, innovation-driven education, and technological development.

KC GlobEd partnered with the British Council to launch an AI-enabled International Accounting Professional Programme at GCC School to strengthen students’ workplace readiness and communication skills.

The National Institute of Open Schooling has signed an MoU with Medhavi Skills University to expand access to education and skill development for school dropouts and vocational trainees from underserved communities and to combine formal education with industry-linked, work-integrated training.

The British Council and the Karnataka State Higher Education Council have launched the Scholars for Outstanding Undergraduate Talent (SCOUT) programme to support 29 UG students in Karnataka for a two-week immersive learning experience at the University of Wolverhampton, the U.K.

TEXMiN Foundation, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, partnered with the University of Pretoria, South Africa, to collaborate on developing technological solutions for the mining sector and to strengthen global cooperation in emerging mineral ecosystems.

IIT Jodhpur and Masai have launched a BS Management and Technology. It is open to students from all academic backgrounds through a qualifying test and offers flexible exit options to enter the workforce after one, two, or three years.

KCG College of Technology signed an MoU with Sumeet Urban Services (Chennai) to promote collaboration in sustainability, waste management, environmental awareness, and skill development through an industry-academia partnership.

SRM Institute of Hotel Management has partnered with Kamaxi Skills, Goa, to expand global learning and career opportunities for hospitality students through two six-month courses: the International Culinary Programme and the Global Bakery and Pastry Programme.

The Wadhwani Foundation and the Gates Foundation signed an MoU to strengthen India’s innovation ecosystem through the National Innovation Network, focusing on translational research and entrepreneurship in areas such as health, nutrition, biotechnology, genomics, and medtech.

IIT Roorkee, through its Electronics & ICT Academy (E&ICT Academy), has signed an MoU with SkyySkill Academy to launch courses in Electric Vehicle (EV) Technology designed to build practical, job-ready skills for the rapidly growing electric mobility sector.

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