Techtronics Education India Ltd, an affiliate of the Denmark-based Lego A/S (annual sales: Rs.36,720 crore), and the Gurgaon-based NGO Indian STEM Foundation inaugurated a Robo Shiksha Kendra (robotics lab) at the Kendriya Vidyalaya-1, Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) on November 24. 

“The Robo Shiksha Kendra lab will facilitate the learning of science and maths on a robotic platform. It offers a hands-on, enjoyable environment to learn science, maths and the emerging science of robotics,” said Rajesh Arora, vice president of Techtronics Education. Since 2012, the STEM Foundation, which promotes robotics, computer science, science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, has established ten such kendras (centres) in local government schools in Delhi NCR.

“Through partnership with the STEM Foundation, launching international robotics olympiads and conducting workshops in education institutions, we intend to stimulate interest in robotics science in India,” said Brian Dam, regional manager (Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa) of Lego A/S, speaking on the occasion. 

 

DSU Talent Search 2016

Dayananda Sagar University (DSU), Bangalore has launched its DSU Talent Search 2016 initiative to identify and reward talented high and higher secondary school students countrywide. Under the rules of this competitive programme, registered (janardhan.ds@gmail.com) class IX-XII (science/engineering) student teams (of three-five) from schools across India are invited to train in specific domains with partner companies (Autodesk, GE, IBM, Bosch among others) and subsequently present a plan and develop a project in DSU. 

These projects will be demonstrated and exhibited on the DSU campus on January 7. Cash prizes of Rs.1 lakh will be awarded to winning teams. Last date for registration is December 20.

 

Springer Nature Upcoming Scientist Award    

Macmillan Education (India), a well-reputed name in academic publishing and education, announced its annual Springer Nature Upcoming Scientist Award which aims to expand scientific literacy in India and promote research and innovation for sustainable development, in New Delhi on November 2.

The award open to all students in India aged 12-16 years will be given to the student “found to best exhibit intense curiosity and application of scientific thinking in response to a real challenge (health, environment or resources) in the student’s own environment”. 

Entries for The Springer Nature Upcoming Scientist award will open on National Science Day (February 28, 2017), observed annually to mark the discovery of the Raman Effect by Indian physicist Sir C.V. Raman.  

 

NIIT’s workforce multiplier

NIIT.tv — a disruptive innovation of the Delhi-based NIIT Ltd — celebrated its first anniversary on October 6. During the past year, NIIT.tv has registered over 500,000 users from 172 countries for over 20 skills-based training programmes in IT, banking and finance, retail and management. These live and on-demand courses are offered free-of-charge to school and college students and working professionals in several languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Oriya, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Bengali, Telugu and Assamese. 

“In NIIT, our mission is to create skilled workforces across multiple sectors to meet the trained manpower requirements of our economy. Today, as NIIT.tv completes one year of successfully empowering learners, as India’s largest MOOCs platform we reiterate our belief that this initiative is a potent technological and pedagogical force multiplier that will help us create a digitally savvy workforce,” said Rahul Patwardhan, CEO, NIIT Ltd, speaking on the occasion. 

 

Toyota Kirloskar training gift 

The Bangalore-based Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd will support an agreement signed between the ministry of economy, trade and industry of the government of Japan (METI) and the Union ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship in Tokyo on November 21 for a Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme. 

Under this programme, 30,000 workers and managers will be trained over the next ten years to acquire Japanese-style manufacturing skills and practices through the establishment of Japan-India Institutes for Manufacturing (JIM) and Japanese Endowed Courses (JEC) in engineering colleges selected by Japanese companies in India. The first three such institutes will start classes next summer in Gujarat, Karnataka and Rajasthan. This was the outcome of parleys between prime minister Narendra Modi and Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe.

In 2007, Toyota Kirloskar Motor established the Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI) to provide skills training to financially challenged students of Karnataka. TTTI’s three-year residential automobile manufacturing course focuses on developing the employability skills of rural students to improve their quality of life and multiply employment opportunities. 

“We hope that under the Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme, more workers in India will be able to get global exposure,” said Vikram Kirloskar, vice chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor, speaking on the occasion.