New Delhi, September 8. The Coimbatore-based Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University (AVVU) has been awarded a Unesco chair for Experiential Learning for Sustainable Innovation & Development. Through this chair, the university will design a curriculum based on experiential learning which will enable the academic community to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to implement sustainable solutions among vulnerable and rural communities.

The chair will be held by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham for the next four years under the leadership of Dr. Maneesha Sudheer, dean of the university’s international programmes and director of its Centre for Wireless Networks & Applications.

“This is the second Unesco chair awarded to AVVU in the past four years after it received India’s first-ever Unesco chair on Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment. We will now be able to take our experiential learning concepts to the entire world in collaboration with other Unesco chairs and universities around the world. Through this chair, AVVU will develop an experiential learning framework to enable an understanding of the challenges faced by remote communities, and design sustainable solutions in collaboration with them,” says Dr. Sudheer.

Webex Classrooms preview

India, September 3. Cisco Collaboration announced a preview of Webex Classrooms, which adapts the US-based Cisco Inc’s highly secure platform to meet the specific online learning needs of hybrid classrooms.

According to a Cisco spokesperson, Cisco Webex Classrooms is a “secure go-to place for teachers, students, and parents to connect more naturally”. It provides a classroom structure where students and teachers can organise classes, review syllabuses, schedule and launch classes, host virtual office hours and more. Students can easily connect with each other or simply access course resources, and parents can stay involved too — by easily scheduling virtual parent-teacher conferences.

LEAD Teachers Academy

Mumbai, September 3. Leadership Boulevard Pvt. Ltd aka LEAD School launched its online LEAD Teachers Academy on Teachers’ Day (September 5). The programme and certification under this initiative are free of charge for all teachers. LEAD School has already trained over 10,000 teachers in its partner-schools.

“The LEAD Teachers Academy programme is free and open to 2.5 million teachers across India. Applicant teachers will be trained in batches during the three-part certificate programme designed to improve their teaching skills, update them about best pedagogies and practices and encourage them to deliver better results,” says Sumeet Mehta, co-founder and CEO of the company.

Teachers can enroll for the programme by visiting join.leadschool.in/teachers_day and submit their applications.

Urban development partnership

Roorkee, September 4. The National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee (IIT-R) for collaboration in areas of universal design principles and inclusive development under its ‘Building Accessible Safe Inclusive Indian Cities’ (BASIIC) programme. The MoU lists cooperation in field policy research, technical support and knowledge creation and dissemination.

“This partnership will strengthen emerging possibilities towards urban inclusion through exchange of research, capacity development and other partnerships with India’s emerging cities,” said Prof. Ajit K. Chaturvedi, director, IIT-R, speaking on the occasion.

Added Hitesh Vaidya, director, NIUA: “IIT-R is an academic institution par excellence. Its Department of Architecture & Planning is globally acclaimed for cutting-edge research and expertise. We are glad to have found a partner-in-change in our endeavour to facilitate the building of accessible, inclusive, and safe smart cities as envisaged under the BASIIC programme.”

RIGI-College Board agreement

Mumbai, October 6. The Mumbai-based Ryan International Group of Institutions (RIGI), one of India’s foremost K-12 education groups, has signed a collaboration agreement with the globally renowned College Board, USA. Under the terms of the agreement, students of RIGI’s 135 schools in India and abroad, affiliated with diverse examination boards, are eligible to write the PSAT 8/9 and PSAT 10 exams of the College Board. Writing these examinations prepare students to become familiar with the PSAT format and ultimately the SAT which is the pre-conditional exam for admission into all universities in the US.

“This collaboration with College Board will benefit diverse students aspiring for enrolment in reputed colleges in India and universities in the US. This association will facilitate a great starting point and thriving prospects for college education in India and universities in the US. We look forward to establishing a long-term association with the College Board to continue providing opportunities for our students to prepare themselves for their next step of academic life,” said Dr. Snehal Pinto, director, RIGI.