St. Gobain-IIM-A concordat

Ahmedabad, november 16. Saint- Gobain India — a subsidiary of the Paris-based St. Gobain — has signed an MoU with IIM-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) to conduct a study titled ‘Cre­ating Biodiversity Habitat at the IIM-A campus’. The MoU has been facilitated with the support of the IIM-A Endowment Fund, a dedicated philanthropic and fund raising unit of IIM-A. The study will identify phased interventions required to improve the density of avian biodiversity and tree cover through the use of indigenous species, reinforcement of indigenous floral structure, enhancement of wa­ter retention capacity through passive measures, increase in soil permeabil­ity and improvement in air quality on the IIM-A campus.

“Saint-Gobain has always been ahead of its times in terms of envi­ronmental protection by establishing urban forests in some of its large manufacturing entities. We hope this MoU will go a long way in meeting the proposed outcomes of the study while achieving our purpose of mak­ing the world a better place,” said P. Padmakumar, executive direc­tor of Saint Gobain India Pvt. Ltd, speaking on the occasion.

Dassault design contest

Delhi, november 17. The Paris (France)-based Dassault Systemes launched a nationwide product de­sign contest for engineering, design and technology students in India. The objective of AAKRUTI 2022 is to provide students countrywide an op­portunity to devise innovative solu­tions for long-standing technological and social problems. The challenge in­volves three stages — product design, design concept submission, and final product submission. Participants can submit their projects virtually through online collaboration enabled by Das­sault’s cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

A total of 1,384 teams from 302 col­leges in 23 states have signed up for AAKRUTI 2022. Through this com­petition, contestants will become ac­quainted with the latest technologies offered by Dassault Systemes includ­ing 3DEXPERIENCE Works, SOLID­WORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE.

“The 3DEXPERIENCE platform helps students to enhance their learn­ing and problem-solving capabilities. AAKRUTI 2022 is part of our com­mitment to help students explore new technologies through hands-on expe­rience,” said Deepak N.G, managing director (India), Dassault Systemes, speaking on the occasion.

ABEA-RCCGETD-UC project

Mumbai, november 11. The Aditya Birla Education Academy (ABEA), a teach­er training institute promoted by the Aditya Birla Education Trust (ABET) and The Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, & Talent Develop­ment, University of Connecticut (RC­CGETD-UC) announced a collabora­tion to offer a schoolwide enrichment programme (SEP) to Indian teachers.

The eight-week, after-hours pro­gramme which will be delivered on­line, commenced on December 2. It is designed to train educators/teachers to develop the talents of all students, providing a range of advanced-level enrichment experiences, and follow-up opportunities for students based on their aptitudes and interests. All primary and secondary school teach­ers, special educators and counsellors are eligible to sign up for SEP.

The faculty includes leading edu­cation experts including Dr. Joseph Renzulli, founder, Renzulli Learning Systems & professor, University of Connecticut; Dr. Sally Reis, professor, University of Connecticut; and Nicole Waicunas, SEM Outreach Coordina­tor at RCCGETD-UC. The eight-weeks after-hours programme is priced at Rs.5,900 per teacher. After successful completion, participating teachers will be awarded certificates by RCCGETD-UC.

“We have been running SEP with RCCGETD-UC for the past two years and have trained over 1,500 teachers including several CBSE school prin­cipals. We firmly believe that it can provide a solution to India’s teacher development needs, and ensure the successful achievement of the goals enumerated in NEP 2020,” said Dr. Prodipta Hore, director, ABEA.

Mindler Internship 3.0

New delhi, november 2. Mindler Education Pvt. Ltd — a Delhi-based comprehensive career guidance and mentorship company — launched its Mindler Internship Season 3 pro­gramme in collaboration with AF­AIRS, Asia’s premier education en­abler for student-university outreach and EducationWorld. The initiative enables class XII students to acquire their first experience of the corporate world. The four-weeks internship pro­gramme is designed to equip students with practical skills.

According to a Mindler state­ment, this free-of-charge internship programme has been meticulously designed by experts from industry, academia and career counselling as an extensive but light-on-schedule pro­gramme for class XII students “which can be entirely online, requiring noth­ing more than a device and an internet connection”. Students will also have a chance to test their creativity with assignments and quizzes, and win rewards valued at Rs.10 lakh includ­ing Apple iPads, Kindle ear pods and Amazon vouchers.

“The Mindler Internship Program is the perfect platform for class XII students to equip themselves with skills necessary to make the transition from school to college. In this work-from-home programme for class XII students will virtually rub shoulders with some of India’s foremost educa­tors, entrepreneurs, artists, motiva­tors and distinguished career coaches. We have created an effective roadmap for them to realise their career aspira­tions,” said Prateek Bhargava, CEO of Mindler, speaking on the occasion.