Well-known educationist and managing director of the Ryan International Group of Institutions which includes 120 K-12 schools countrywide, Mme. Grace Pinto was conferred the Kelvinator GR8! Women of Spirit Award 2012 on February 15 for her outstanding contribution to education and social work. Bollywood actors Dikshita and Manisha Khadwady presented the award to Mme. Pinto in the presence of cinestar Vidya Balan, entrepreneur Anushka Ranjan, choreographer Saroj Khan, musician Richa Sharma, and politician Smita Thackeray.The annual GR8! Women Awards — an initiative of GR8! TV magazine, and the Indian Television Academy — confers honour and recognition on women achievers from all walks of life. This year the Mumbai-based Asmi Diamond Jewellery and ‘Beti — A Movement, a campaign against female foeticide, in association with GR8! TV magazine, observed this day to honour women of spirit in the fine arts, literature, music, politics and public life, sports, medicine, business, entrepreneurship, education, cinema and television.

YES Banks Vision 2020 report released
Vision 2020: Education and Employability, authored by the strategic initiatives, government and advisory division of YES Bank Ltd, was released at the India Education Summit 2012 organised by Network 18 on February 24 in New Delhi. The report highlights the challenges of integrating the skills development and formal education systems to improve employability of students and availability of trained manpower.
The report also presents a roadmap for closing the gap between the vocational and formal education systems and calls for greater private sector participation in the vocational education space. There is a need to create sustainable public-private partnership models, based on the principles of social equity, to overcome the infrastructure gaps existing in this sector, said Tushar Pandey, president of the strategic initiatives, government and advisory division of YES Bank Ltd, while participating in a panel discussion at the summit.
British Council Young Global Citizen Summit 2012
Shri Naveen Patnaik, chief minister of Odisha (formerly Orissa), inaugurated the British Council Young Global Citizen Summit (YGCS) 2012 convened on the premises of SAI International School (SIS), Bhubaneswar on Republic Day (January 26). The summit was organised for the first time by British Council (India) in partnership with SIS. It attracted the participation of over 500 students and teachers from 115 schools countrywide, together with eminent personnel of the British Council and facilitators from the UK and Europe.
Speaking on the occasion, Charlie Walker, programmes director of the British Council (India), highlighted the importance of internationalisation of education in the rapidly globalising world. The commitment of the council will be firmly focused on respecting cultural diversity and improving communication skills of children and youth, he said.
The three-day YGCS 2012 included several creative workshops, enlightening addresses and entertainment progra-mmes together with sightseeing tours for participants. The creative workshops were conducted by renowned partners of the British Council such as The Tony Blair Foundation, 100 Words, BBC World Class, Royal Shakespeare Company, Big Dance, Youth Music Voices, Forum Theatre, Art Education, among others.
The Global Citizen Summit was also addressed by Dr. B.K. Sahoo, chairman of SIS. Contrary to popular belief, youth is not a phase of life, but a state of mind. The youthful spirit ensures the triumph of courage over timidity, and engages itself with the appetite for adventure, gladly forsaking love of ease, said Sahoo.
Caterpillar Foundation grant for Akshaya Patra mid-day meals
The US-based Caterpillar Foundation reaffirmed its commitment to support access to education and basic human needs in India, by making a US $441,000 (Rs.2.2 crore) grant to the Akshaya Patra Foundation on February 16. The grant will help the foundation acquire much needed capital equipment to enhance the efficiencies of its large kitchens which produce over 100,000 free-of-charge meals per day for children in government schools.
Akshaya Patra is in a public-private partnership between the foundation, the Central and eight state governments to implement the mid-day meals programme, which currently reaches out to 1.3 million children across the country. The quality and hygiene — hallmarks of Akshaya Patra — have been made possible through the use of technology and industrial kitchens designed to produce meals in large quantities. While 60 percent of the funds required for the programme are provided through grain and cash subsidies by the government, Akshaya Patra has to raise the remainder 40 percent through partnerships with corporates, public sector undertakings and individuals.
Hunger and malnutrition are huge issues in the developing world, and Caterpillar Corp is committed to addressing these issues through the support of the Caterpillar Foundation. In Akshaya Patra, we have found just the kind of commitment we are looking for, said Kevin Thieneman, country manager, Caterpillar — India/ASEAN and China, speaking on the occasion.
HCL-La Trobe concordat
Delhi-based HCL Technologies, the well-known indian information and communication technology (ICT) company, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Victorias La Trobe University to collaborate in research, development and commercialisation activities.
The signing of the MoU in Delhi on February 21, was witnessed by Ted Baillieu, prime minister of the state of Victoria (Australia) and minister for technology Gordon Rich-Phillips. The ceremony followed a historic bilateral education meeting attended by Indian and Victorian government leaders, university vice chancellors, pre-eminent TAFE (Technical and Further Education) Institutes, and leading education providers.
Prime minister Baillieu said HCL Technologies is a globally respected company and this partnership with La Trobe University would be of strategic value to both parties and provide an excellent vehicle to further develop and commercialise Victorian technology globally.
According to La Trobe University vice chancellor and president, Prof. John Dewar, in addition to recognising La Trobes key role in leading-edge ICT research, HCL Technologies will also provide opportunities for La Trobe students to undertake internships in community and government ICT projects. HCL will recruit graduates from La Trobe University who, after completion of training, will be allocated to projects in Victoria, or in other HCL locations globally, he said.
QS Global B-schools Report 2012
Indian business schools have improved their standing among international employers, as four Indian institutions have made it to the list of Top 10 B-schools of the Asia-Pacific region. According to the QS Global 200 Business Schools Report 2012, Indian B-schools have moved up in international employer estimation considerably this year, rising in the Asia-Pacific league table, and almost all specialisations.
Among the top 36 business schools in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia boasts 11, but India is among the biggest improvers with six schools in the list, including four in the Top 10. The four Indian B-schools which have made it into the Top 10 in the QS Asia-Pacific region league table are the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (ranked 2nd), IIM-Bangalore (5), Indian School of Business (7), and IIM-Calcutta (8). Among other B-schools in the Top 21 are S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (16) and new entrant, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (21).
In an economy that is rapidly growing in global importance, the rise in employer opinion of Indian MBA graduates is extremely promising in ensuring the development of future business leaders to sustain the fast-paced economic growth (of the Indian economy), says the report.
Unisys Cloud 20/20 contest award winners
Unisys India Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of the US-based Unisys Corporation (annual revenue: $10.5 billion or Rs.57,500 crore) announced the results of its third Cloud 20/20 Version 3.0 technical paper contest on February 23. The Cloud 20/20 contest is designed to encourage innovative ideas and celebrate emerging technical talent from Indias leading engineering colleges.
Following several rigorous rounds of evaluation, including a technical paper challenge, face-to-face interviews and final presentations, the judges selected Dharmesh Kakadia of the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, as the first prize winner for his entry on ‘Network virtualisation and cloud computing. He was awarded an Apple MacBook laptop for his prize-winning paper.
The first runner-up, Sridhar S. of Anna University, Chennai, won an Apple iPad for his paper ‘Client-centric multi tenancy for cloud services, and the second runner-up, Poornima J.R. of M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore, was awarded an Apple iPhone for her paper on ‘Cloud applications in supply chain of agro products.
Moreover, Unisys India will offer deserving candidates employment opportunities within the company, subject to eligibility and vacancies.