MIT MoU signing spree
Manipal (udupi), february 27. The Manipal Academy of Higher Education’s Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) has signed MoUs with Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Japan, and Institute of Defence Scientists and Technologists (IDST) and Elcom Innovation — both based in Bengaluru.

The partnerships with UMP (Malaysia) and NARO (Japan) will enable students and faculty at MIT to collaborate on research projects, redefine pedagogies and enhance knowledge exchange. Likewise, the partnership with IDST and Elcom Innovation will integrate work-based learning into the curriculum.

“Over the past decade, we have partnered with over 80 international institutions. Our association with NARO and UMP is aimed at building strong research capabilities and developing joint learning programmes. We hope our alliance with IDST and Elcom will generate skill-based learning opportunities for our students,” said Dr. (Cdr). Anil Rana, director, MIT, speaking on the occasion.

TalentSprint Women Engineers program

Bengaluru, february 22. TalentSprint, a global edtech company, launched the fifth edition of its Women Engineers (WE) program supported by Google Inc. The program aims to identify, select, train, and nurture 200 first-year women engineering students across the country to become globally competitive software engineers. The program offers 100 percent fees waiver and Rs.100,000 cash scholarship to every selected student.

“We are pleased to continue supporting TalentSprint in its noteworthy efforts to create opportunities for students underrepresented in tech and place them on a path for successful future careers. We’re delighted to see the contributions this program is making towards improving gender diversity in tech, and look forward to welcoming these future women leaders into the ecosystem,” said Shiv Venkataraman, VP/GM, Google, speaking on the occasion.

Santosh Trophy winners
Bengaluru, march 4. The Karnataka state football team defeated Meghalaya 3-2 to bring the Santosh Trophy home after 54 years. This is India’s biggest tournament in senior national football and was played in Saudi Arabia.

Shukla Bose, founder of the NGO Parikrma Humanity Foundation, which runs four free-of-charge schools with an aggregate enrolment of 2,000 children in Bengaluru, claims some credit for this win. “The coach of the Karnataka team is Ravi Babu, Head of Sports at Parikrma. He has built a formidable football team in Parikrma, and we loaned him to the Karnataka State Football Association for the Santosh Trophy matches. Our joy does not end there. One of the star members of the Karnataka football team is Nikhil, who is a Parikrma alumnus,” says Bose.

Dual degree Masters program

Mumbai, february 10. NMIMS University’s Sarla Anil Modi School of Economics, Mumbai announced the launch of a new dual degree programme in collaboration with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA (Virginia Tech). Under the two-year Master of Science (economics) degree programme, students will study one year at NMIMS, Mumbai and the next in Virginia Tech’s campus in Blacksburg. Students will be selected on the basis of an admission test and personal interview jointly conducted by NMIMS and Virginia Tech.

At NMIMS, students will cover foundational courses in economics, and at Virginia Tech, they will take for courses in big data economics, financial institutions, behavioural economics, and managerial economics. “This partnership between NMIMS and Virginia Tech represents a collaboration between two leaders in the field of economics and opens up new possibilities for students to develop a global perspective and cutting-edge skills,” said Prof. Amita Vaidya, Director of NMIMS Sarla Anil Modi School of Economics, speaking on the occasion.

SoME-Ahmedabad U agreement
Bengaluru, february 14. The Bengaluru-based School of Meaningful Experiences (SoME), a tech-enabled education and soft skills development start-up, signed a partnership agreement with Ahmedabad University’s Amrut Mody School of Management. Under the agreement, SoME will offer its first-of-its-type Oratory Programme christened Keynote, specially designed for CXOs, start-up founders and corporate leaders. The 20-hour programme will be offered in the hybrid mode with a sizeable on-campus component.

“Keynote is a unique programme to empower corporate leaders with strong communication skills. No matter what industry you are in, if you are a leader — or aspire to be one — you need to learn to listen with curiosity and speak with clarity and confidence,” said Rakesh Godhwani, founder & CEO, SoME, speaking on the occasion.

Added Sankarshan Basu, Dean of the Amrut Mody School of Management: “Effective communication is what differentiates a successful leader from a not-so-successful one. This is all the more important in the VUCA world, where everything is volatile and needs extra attention. A slip of the tongue could cost millions directly and billions indirectly.”