NIIT-Ahlcon leadership conference

The Neemrana (Rajasthan)-based NIIT University and Ahlcon International School, Delhi (AIS) hosted a conference on ‘Information-driven leadership’ at AIS on December 14. Twenty five principals and mentors of top-ranked schools of Delhi-NCR (national capital region) attended the day-long conference, the first in a series of conferences planned by NIIT University under the theme ‘School leadership imperatives in the techno-cognitive era’.

“With the all-pervasive impact of ICT and technology, demands and expectations on school leaders have intensified. The one-day event focused on the importance of evolving leadership quotients against the backdrop of the changing educational landscape,” says Ashok Pandey, principal of AIS.

NIIT University claims to be the first varsity in India to offer customised leadership programmes for school educators. The NIIT University team which conducted the workshop was led by Prof. Vijay Mandke and Dr. Shradha Kanwar. 

ICFPA-13: a grand success

The Ryan International Group of Schools hosted its 13th International Children’s Festival of Performing Arts (ICFPA) under the chairmanship of Dr. A.F. Pinto and managing director Grace Pinto, at the Talkatora Stadium and National Bal Bhavan in Delhi on December 4-8. The cultural extravaganza christened ‘A Brighter Tomorrow’ attracted participation of 15,000 students from 21 countries.

The four-day annual ICFPA festival was graced by eminent personalities, ambassadors, bureaucrats and parents including H.E. Laimonas Talat Kalpsa, ambassador of Lithuania; Gudmundur Eiriksson, ambassador of Ireland; Mahishini Colonne, deputy high commissioner of Sri Lanka; Arjun Raj Pant, cultural counsellor, Nepal; Manu Arya, advisor, culture and public diplomacy, Norway; Vayalar Ravi, Union minister of overseas Indian affairs; Kiran Bedi, IPS and Jose K. Mani, among others.

While students of the Ryan International Group of Institutions (RIGI) showcased the rich cultural heritage of India through dance, drama and a giant puppet show, children from Bangladesh, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Iceland, Italy, Iran, Latvia, Lithuania, Nepal, Norway, Morocco, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Kingdom and Zambia presented classical and popular dance forms and theatre of their own countries.

“Music, dance and theatre are powerful media which bind people around the world. The 13th ICFPA brought children from 21 countries on one platform, instilling in them a sense of respect for each other and deepened international ties while broadening the cultural horizons of all participants,” observed Mme. Grace Pinto of RIGI.

IRIS winners ready for ISEF 2014

Twenty next generation innovators may represent India at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) to be convened in May in Los Angeles, USA. These high school students, whose project presentations were chosen from among 2,000 entries in 17 categories submitted by students from 51 cities across the country, were felicitated by Prof. H.P. Khincha, chairman of the State Innovation Council, Karnataka; Kumud Srinivasan, president of Intel India and Dr. D.K. Pandey of the Union government’s department of science and technology, at the Initiative for Research & Innovation in Science (IRIS) 2013 contest staged in Bangalore on November 24.

Intel ISEF, 2014 is expected to attract more than 1,600 high school students from 65 countries, regions and territories, to display their independent research, compete for global recognition and win prizes and scholarships valued at over $4 million (Rs.25 crore). Thus far 73 Indian students have won 87 awards and accolades at the annual Intel ISEF, competing against more than 6 million high school students from around the world. Winners at the Intel ISEF not only win laurels for the nation, but also have a minor planet named after them. From 1999-2013, 16 students from India have had minor planets named after them.

AAFM-Pearson VUE concordat

The American Academy of Financial Management (AAFM) India signed an agreement with Pearson VUE, a market leader in highly secure computer-based testing, under which the latter will test writers of AAFM’s Chartered Wealth Manager (CWM) and Chartered Trust and Estate Planner (CTEP) certification exams.

The agreement signed in Delhi on December 11, will enable students writing the CWM and CTEP exams to make the leap from conventional pen and paper exams to online testing through Pearson VUE’s fully computer-based testing system. AAFM’s pen and paper exams were previously written on fixed dates in a few metro cities. But now students can schedule and write tests at their convenience in any of the 300 Pearson VUE test centres countrywide or in its centres abroad.

“This accord with Pearson VUE will offer exam candidates far greater convenience and a standardised, highly secure testing environment both in India and across the globe,” confirms Deepak Jain, country head of AAFM India.

Sagar School’s Founder’s Day festival

The Sagar School, Alwar, ranked Rajasthan’s #1 co-educational boarding school in the EducationWorld India School Rankings 2013, celebrated its 14th Founder’s Day on December 7.

The chief guest on the occasion was Dr. Kavita Sharma, author and writer, director of the India International Centre, Delhi and former principal of Hindu College (Delhi).

The highlight of the Founder’s Day celebrations was enactment of The Magic Years, a spectacular dance drama featuring a cast of more than 150 Sagar School students directed by dramatist, educationist, counselor, trainer and author of popular children’s books Feisal Alkazi.

Moreover under the auspices of the school’s Annual Heritage Project, students presented a smorgasbord of performing arts, poetry, essays, sketches, paintings, India’s harvest festivals, traditional foods and models of water harvesting and Unani medicine with the Astronomy Club displaying sophisticated models of the Sundial, Mangalayaan and Mars Orbiter.