The Delhi-based Mahatma Gandhi Institution of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP), one of the seven Unesco ‘category 1’ institutions, held a town hall meeting in Delhi on ‘harnessing Indian youth demographic bulge for a true dividend: vision to action for 21st century,’ on August 31. The meeting was addressed by Irina Bokova, director general of Unesco. Bokova said Unesco has been impressing upon governments world over to prioritise education. 

Hyderabad-based Creya Learning which provides studio-based learning models for equipping students in new age skills, literacies and competencies in many schools across the country, supported this event by sponsoring student delegations from three government schools in Varanasi and one in Ahmedabad. “We want children from far-flung areas especially from government schools, to be exposed to such forums so that such initiatives become truly transformative,” says Datla V. Reddy, co-founder of Creya, who accompanied these delegations.

 

IET PATW winners

The London-based Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), which has 167,000 members in 150 countries, declared Shubham Saraff, third year student of Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, as winner of the IET South Asia Present Round The World (PATW) 2017 final round staged at the Fortune Hotel, Bangalore on August 7. PATW is a global presentation competition for students, graduates and young professionals aged 18-30 years, providing a platform for them to showcase and explore their talent for innovative thinking. Saraff’s winning presentation focused on the subject ‘Neurons that shape our civilisation’.

He was awarded a cash prize of Rs.40,000 and will now compete for a cash prize of £1,000 (approx. Rs.8.2 lakh) in the global finals to be held in London in November this year. Simultaneously, Kshipra Rajhans, a fourth year student of the K.K. Wagh Institute of Engineering Education & Research, Nashik, was declared runner-up for her presentation on ‘Smart City’ and was awarded a cash prize of Rs.30,000.

The objective of this global competition is to encourage a culture of application for engineers, to use their technical knowledge to solve social problems and develop their communication skills. In the competition, competitors make 10-minute presentations on a subject related to engineering and technology.

 

New Zealand Excellence Awards 2017

Thirty-one talented young university students from India have received the 2017 New Zealand Excellence Awards, according to an Education New Zealand (ENZ) press statement.   

The awardees are already pursuing undergraduate or postgraduate study in New Zealand in the fields of business, design or STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects. 

Nineteen of the students received their awards in person at the annual India New Zealand Business Council (INZBC) Summit in Auckland on August 4, which is focussed on education and technology opportunities. INZBC invited a delegation from India to participate in this summit.

According to ENZ chief executive Grant McPherson, India is a core trade, economic, political and education partner of New Zealand, with annual two-way trade valued at around $2.5 billion (Rs.16,000 crore). 

“These top young scholars will further strengthen ties between our two countries, by contributing to a broader exchange of ideas in our universities, building our respective research capabilities, and enriching New Zealand culture,” said McPherson, speaking on the occasion. The New Zealand Excellence Awards were established by New Zealand’s universities and ENZ in 2016, to increase the number of talented Indian students studying in the country’s universities. All eight of the country’s universities are ranked in the Top 450 of the QS world rankings.

 
The full list of 2017 New Zealand Excellence Award winners is published on the Study in New Zealand website: https://www.studyinnewzealand.govt.nz/ 

 

Jindal Law School wins HSF award

The Legal Aid Clinic of the Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) of the O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat (Haryana), has won the 2017 Herbert Smith Freehills’ (HSF) Community Engagement Award for  Community Investment through legal work and a cash prize of £2,000 (Rs.16.5 lakh). The award recognises an outstanding team of law students at JGLS who worked closely with the community at large to bring about sustainable social impact. The awards programme invites entries from individuals or teams of students across all Indian law schools to showcase the contributions they are making in their communities. 

Lauding the efforts of JGLS faculty and students, Chris Parsons, chairman of the HSF India practice, commented: “That the legal aid clinic from JGLS has won the second edition of the HSF Community Engagement Awards gives me special pleasure. I have watched JGLS grow from little more than a bold dream into one of the leading law schools in India. Apart from its strong focus on social causes, it also produces exceptional lawyers. Two of its talented students joined the HSF Indian internship programme this year and impressed us so much that they will be joining the firm full time as trainee lawyers in London.”