Category Archives: Education

The stage for young minds and innovative ideas

Amazing Feats, Education, Science & Technology
Bengaluru : Karnataka 28/12/2016 : Students of PES college demonstrating their innovative models | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Bengaluru : Karnataka 28/12/2016 : Students of PES college demonstrating their innovative models | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

New research park to come up on PES University Bangalore South campus

PES University, which unveiled some of its research done by students and faculty on Wednesday, announced setting up of a new research park on their Bangalore South campus, near Electronics City. M.R. Doreswamy, Chancellor of the PES University, said the park, spread across 48,000 sq. ft, will be inaugurated by Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar on January 7. Vice-Chancellor K.N. Balasubramanya Murthy said the park would incubate prototypes and later help students and faculty members make their products and ideas commercial. Some interesting prototypes displayed were:

Wireless underwater battery charger

A prototype of a wireless charging system for underwater vehicles has now caught national attention. “For charging batteries underground, one has to retract the vehicles out of the water to replace it with charged batteries or deliver power through longer cables underwater. This prototype reduces manual intervention and can be used in maritime systems,” V. Krishnamurthy, Registrar of PES University, said.

Biodiesel reactor plant

This plant can manufacture biodiesel from used edible vegetable oil. The students have tested this fuel with commercial diesel used in college buses and to heat water for hostel students. Mufassira Rahman, a third year biotechnology student, who was involved in the project, said the plant manufactures 70 litres of biodisel a day. She is now trying to work on how the system can be optimised.

Vermi-compost plant

The huge amount of leaves that trees shed have inspired students of the varsity and their mentor to set up a vermi-compost plant to convert it into manure. The plant has a capacity to manufacture one tonne of compost a week. This manure is sufficient for the plants and the nursery on campus.

Pebrine solution

While silkworms produce silk yarn, pebrine spores obstruct the process and is the bane of silkworm rearing farmers. The students have come out with a unique solution, which is a mix of several chemical ingredients that keeps the spores intact without their structure getting modified. The university has been doing field work in Jharkhand on sericulture. The Central Silk Board has also expressed interest in working with them.

Bags project

After development of two satellites, PES University has bagged Sindhu Netra, a project of Research Centre Imarat Hyderabad that is part of the DRDO in which a 10 kg nano satellite is to be developed.

K.N. Balasubramanya Murthy said this project would help identify suspicious ships through imaging satellite.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / Bengaluru -December 29th, 2016

PES University bags Rs 2.2 crore DRDO project

Amazing Feats, Education, Records, All, Science & Technology

Bengaluru :

After successfully launching a satellite developed by students with the help of ISRO, PES University has now bagged another project from Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

Hyderabad-based Research Centre Imarat, which is a part of DRDO, has awarded a project called Sindhu Netra to PES University. The estimated cost of the project is around `2.2 crore.
Dr Balasubramnya Murthy, Vice-Chancellor of PES University, said, “This project by DRDO will help in identifying suspicious ships through sattelite imaging.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / December 29th, 2016

CM Releases Varsity Centenary Coins

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All
Chief Minister Siddharamaiah is seen releasing Rs. 100 and Rs. 5 University of Mysore Centenary Commemorative Coins at a function held Crawford Hall in city this morning as (from left) University of Mysore Vice Chancellor Prof. K.S. Rangappa, Professor Emeritus Ham.Pa. Nagarajaiah and Registrar Prof. R. Rajanna look on. Picture right shows a section of audience at the Crawford Hall.
Chief Minister Siddharamaiah is seen releasing Rs. 100 and Rs. 5 University of Mysore Centenary Commemorative Coins at a function held Crawford Hall in city this morning as (from left) University of Mysore Vice Chancellor Prof. K.S. Rangappa, Professor Emeritus Ham.Pa. Nagarajaiah and Registrar Prof. R. Rajanna look on. Picture right shows a section of audience at the Crawford Hall.

Mysuru :

In a whirlwind two-day tour of Mysuru, Chief Minister Siddharamaiah arrived at the Mysore Airport at Mandakalli this morning and headed straight to Crawford Hall where he released Centenary Commemorative Coins, a coffee table book and Kannada encyclopedia as part of the University of Mysore’s Centenary Celebrations.

Speaking on the occasion, he said that Central Government had not considered his suggestion to conduct the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2017 in Kannada despite several requests.

“NEET exams are being conducted in Tamil, Telugu, Assamese and Bengali languages and we thought that Kannada being a classical language, the exams must be conducted in Kannada too. But our BJP MPs failed to convince the Centre in this regard,” he said. We have written another protest letter to the Centre highlighting its apathy towards Kannada, he added.

Stating that basic science had been neglected in the recent years, the CM said that emphasis must be laid on making the subject attractive so that more students take up their research. He also lauded Prof. K.S. Rangappa for his exemplary works as the VC.

Earlier, Prof. Ham.Pa. Nagarajaiah, spoke on the Coffee Table Book and went on a nostalgic journey remembering his days at Maharaja College and Manasagangothri and said that University of Mysore had given him knowledge, employment and also his life partner.

Lauding Prof. Rangappa for giving a new look to Manasagangothri campus, he said that it was rare fete to see the statue of Kuvempu in a sitting posture as most of his statue were in standing position.

Prof. Nagarajaiah also remembered the contribution of Crawford, who had donated generously for the construction of the building which was later named after him, Perumal Chetty, who was in-charge of constructing the iconic Crawford Hall and Prof. H. Nanjundaiah, the first VC.

Siddharamaiah also unveiled a replica of the painting of the ‘Raja School’ with Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar sitting on the throne with British teachers and Ministers standing on the left and right side and students standing in front of the King.

Goraknath Yadav and Pankaj Chachadi, General Managers, RBI Mint, Mumbai and Sanjay Kansal, designer, who designed the centenary coins were felicitated. Janaki Ramachetty, son of Perumal Chetty was also felicitated. The newly released Rs. 5 coins are available for sale at the Crawford Hall for Rs. 6,000.

Later, Siddharamaiah laid the foundation stone to a 66/11 KV GIS Gas Insulated Sub Station to be set up by the Karnataka Power Transmission Company Limited on Dhobi Ghat, Saraswathipuram. At 3 pm, he was scheduled to inaugurate the State-level Yuvajanotsva at Kalamandira and participate in the valedictory of the 60th All India Police Duty Meet 2016 at 4 pm at KPA Grounds.

He was also scheduled to inaugurate the Flower Show in the Mysore Palace premises at 5 pm. He will stay overnight in Mysuru. Tomorrow at 11 am, he is scheduled to inaugurate a State-level convention and Boudha Samaj Nirmana Sankalpa Divas organised on the occasion of Bharat Ratna Babasaheb B.R. Ambedkar’s Mahaparininirvahana at Mysore Medical College Platinum Jubilee Hall.

REACTION TO FORMER PM DEVE GOWDA

Earlier, speaking to reporters after he arrived at the Mysore Airport at Mandakalli, Chief Minister Siddharamaiah reacting to former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda’s comments that he (Siddharamaiah) was arrogant and egoistic, the CM said that JD(S) can never win the Karnataka Assembly elections on its own strength. “It was not possible when people like me were in the JD(S). Now it is literally impossible to win the elections with a handful of leaders and Deve Gowda knows it very well,” he said.

ON YEDDYURAPPA AND NANJANGUD POLLS

Saying that Congress candidate will win the Nanjangud by-elections, the CM said that the claims by BJP State President that BJP will win the elections were far from reality. “Yeddyurappa has said that Sreenivasa Prasad will be the BJP candidate but so far, Prasad has not yet joined BJP and his victory will be far-fetched idea,” he said.

On Yeddyurappa’s statement that some Cabinet Ministers in Karnataka will resign on corruption charges, Siddharamaiah said that Yeddyurappa is famous for hit-and-run statements. “Yeddyurappa must remember that he is a former CM and not a soothsayer,” he said.

ON RANGAYANA ISSUE

Speaking about the indefinite strike called by Rangayana senior artistes and employees, Siddharamaiah said that he had made provisions for the grants of ex-gratia amount to the artistes and employees while he was the Finance Minister before becoming the Chief Minister.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / December 23rd, 2016

Journalism Student Bags Five Gold Medals Including Star of Mysore Medal

Education, Records, All

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Mysuru :

Shivendra Urs, a PG student of Mass Communication and Journalism, Manasagangothri, has received the following medals at the annual convocation of Mysore University held recently:

Chinnamma Ramakrishnappa Gold Medal for securing highest marks in Advertising; The Zee News Gold Medal for securing highest marks in TV Production; Star of Mysore Silver Jubilee Medal for securing highest marks in M.A Communication and Journalism; Chandramma Narasimha Murthy Gold Medal for securing highest marks in M.A Communication and Journalism; Dr. Masti Venkatesha Iyengar Gold Medal for securing highest marks in M.A Communication and Journalism.

He has also won Dr. Nadig Krishnamurthy Felicitation Endowment Committee cash prize for highest marks in Paper Editing Practice; The Late Puranik Gundacharya Memorial Prize for highest marks in Paper Newspaper Business Management.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / December 23rd, 2016

Bags ‘ Niranakushamathi Gold Medal ’ of Kuvempu Varsity

Education, Records, All

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Mysuru :

R.M. Ananya Vasudev of Bhadravathi has been awarded ‘Niranakushamathi Gold Medal’ of Kuvempu University for his outstanding achievement in curricular and extra curricular activities.

Ananya Vasudev, a Post Graduate in Earth Science and Resource Management, is the first recipient of this Gold Medal which was presented during the 27th Convocation of the University today (Dec. 23).

He has bagged first place in Hindusthani Tabla Competition of ‘Sahyadri Utsav’ and ‘Sahyadri Sirigandha Utsav’ respectively for two successive years and represented University in Zonal meets.

As an active student, he has participated in ‘International Earth Science Olympiad -2013’ at Mysore and now serving as Regional Ambassador for International Association for Geo Science Diversity and International Geo Science Education Programme Organisation.

His other interests are Environmental Science, wildlife conservation and Map designing. He passed Junior exams of Hindusthani Vocal and Tabla and distinction in Gandharva Tabla Exams conducted by Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Pune.

He is an approved casual announcer and drama voice of All India Radio. At present he is serving as Guest Lecturer in Government Arts and Science College, Bengaluru.

Ananya Vasudev is the son of G.K. Raveendrakumar, a poet and Assistant Director of Programmes in All India Radio, Bhadravathi and writer Dr. M.R. Mandaravalli, residents of Roopa Nagar, Mysuru.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / December 23rd, 2016

All song and play at this school

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, World Opinion
Children attend music and academic classes at the Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya near Dharwad | D Hemanth
Children attend music and academic classes at the Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya near Dharwad | D Hemanth

Kalkeri , Dharwad :

As dawn breaks over a picturesque little hillock in sleepy little Kalkeri, about 16 km  from Dharwad, the village wakes up daily to the strains of music from a nearby school.
The Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya, situated on the hillock and surrounded by three beautiful lakes and spread over 3.5 acres, has 248 children studying in various classes. The uniqe contribution of this music gurukul is just that…being musical.

Music is the life of this school so much so that even cottages in this residential school are named after Hindustani ragas  — Asavari, Khamaj, Bhairavi, Thodi etc.
The only qualification to join this school is that a child has to be from a lower economic strata and rural background.

Started in 2002, the school runs on a different rhythm. A typical day includes not just academic classes but also riyaz (music practice). It focuses on Hindustani classical music, classical dance and drama.
The day here starts at 5am when children gather for yoga and exercises. Post breakfast, they have classes in singing, playing bansuri, tabala, harmonium or any other musical instrument in the large common hall. Later, the children disperse to the cottages to pursue their academic classes.
The children are provided free food and education. Currently, the school has classes up to SSLC and follows the Karnataka state syllabus.

Children who study PUC and further will have to pursue their education in other institutions, where fees and other expenses are taken care of by the school administration.
Veeranna Pattar, head of Music Department, says the idea is to support children from poor socio-economic background and help them earn their bread and butter. “Several students from our music school are running institutes or working in various cities across India.”

Santosh Pujar, HR of the school, says that in 2002 the school started with just 14 students and today the strength has increased to 248.
Founded by Mathieu Fortier, Agathe Meurisse Fortier, Blaise Fortier from Canada and musicians from Dharwad Ustad Hameed Khan and Pandit Ravi Kudligi, the school’s goal is to empower the poor and rural children by providing them fundamental rights like access to education, quality healthcare and clean food.
The Canadian founders had travelled across India extensively and spent a few years in Shantiniketan in West Bengal learning Hindustani music. When they landed in Dharwad and found it was home to Hindustani music, they decided to open a school here, says Pujar.

Vishalakshi Charnthimath who has been staying at the music school for the last 10 years, says, “The school has shaped the life of many poor children.”
Sarita Rapanavar, a student, says she has won many prizes in dance competitions. “The teachers here support our interest towards music and also build our confidence,” she adds.
Today there is a huge demand for admissions after witnessing the positive results of this experiment.
“The founding team plans to expand the faciltiies. We are looking for land nearby,” says Pattar.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Mallikarjun Hiremath / Express News Service / December 18th, 2016

Visually Impaired Scholar gets Ph.D in Political Science

Amazing Feats, Education

manjunathbg09dec2016

Mysuru :

Among the talented visually impaired students, who have achieved great feats in their respective fields of interest is C. Manjunath, a guest faculty for Political Science at Maharani’s Arts and Commerce College in city, who has obtained Ph.D in Political Science from Mysore University.

Born to Susheelamma and Chandrachari at Kattikyathanahalli in Pavagada Taluk, Tumakuru, Manjunath comes from a poor background. Though his family was facing economic problems, his parents made sure to provide him good education. After completing primary education at his native village, Manjunath travelled to his neighbouring village Maridasanahalli where he completed his middle school and high school education before shifting to Mandya.

After shifting to Mandya, he joined Government PU College and got BA degree from Government Boys College. He later completed his PG in Political Science at Manasagangothri following which he successfully pursued M.Phil through distance education. Now, he has completed Ph.D under the guidance of Dr. Dayananda Mane by submitting his thesis titled ‘Student Movement in Karnataka: Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishat, A Study (since 1990).’

Manjunath was also actively involved with the student movement and has been guiding students on choosing their career path and subject of study.

Manjunath is not the first visually-impaired person to get Ph.D from the University of Mysore. Earlier, city’s noted musician K.T. Udaya Kiran secured Ph.D in Music during 2011 while S. Kavyashree completed her Ph.D in Political Science during 2014. Adding to this list are: Prof. Arun Kumar and Krishna Hombal who have received Ph.Ds in History and Political Science respectively.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / December 03rd, 2016

City teen builds audio-based debating website

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Bengaluru :

A 12th grader from the city has developed what is possibly the world’s only online audio-based debating platform. The website ‘Debate for Change’, developed by Siddharth Pandiya (16), a student of Greenwood High International School, allows members world-wide to engage in debates on either any of the given topic or a topic of their choice.

The website is functioning since mid-October, currently has 150 members and took Siddharth, a month-and-a-half to build. Members can choose a topic and their stand on it, upon which the website pairs that member with another member who has an opposite stand, and then the debate is conducted by a moderator.

A ranking system has been incorporated in the website, wherein the winner of a debate, decided by the moderator, gets 100 points and the loser 25 points for participation. Until now, Siddharth himself would moderate the debates but now has a team to assist him.

Speaking about what led him to the idea, Siddharth, himself an avid debater since middle school, said, “When I went for debates I only learnt by watching other debaters, I didn’t have any platform to learn. I also feel the overall quality of debating, on TV for example, has deteriorated a lot.

People don’t even care so much anymore, they go to debates because it’s cool, not because they actually like talking about issues. Hence I created this.”
The teen has plans to incorporate many other features into the website, including an option to have video debates .

“I wanted this to be accessible to people with a 2G connection and hence began with only audio input,” he says, and adds, “You can also watch debates that are currently going on with the ‘spectate’ option and you can join tournaments.” He also plans to combine the service with Facebook by next week. He himself has represented India at 14 UN conferences until now and has won awards at every single one, including being awarded the best delegate at Harvard.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Servic e / December 06th, 2016

Honour for UVCE principal

Education, Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Bengaluru :

The University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) principal has been recognized for his contribution to computer science and engineering education.

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) conferred Venugopal KR the ACM Distinguished Educator Award 2016. Venugopal has 11 degrees, including a PhD in computer science engineering from IIT-Madras, and another PhD in economics from Bangalore University.

He has authored and edited 64 books and published more than 600 papers. “The contributions of our distinguished members led to breakthroughs that improve our lives, advance the frontiers of scientific discovery and boost economic development,” said Vicki L Hanson, president, ACM.

Venugopal was earlier given the prestigious IEEE Fellow Award, US.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Bangalore News / Bengaluru / TNN / December 02nd, 2016

NLSIU student bags rhodes scholarship

Education, Records, All

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Bengaluru :

Vanshaj Ravi Jain, a final year BA LLB student from the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru is one of the five people from the country to have bagged the Rhodes Scholarship for 2017.

Vanshaj has a deep interest in international criminal law and will be studying the same at the University of Oxford,UK.

His interest in international criminal law peaked while studying at NLSIU. Vanshaj was a finalist at the ICC (International Criminal Court) Moot competition at Haque and has also published a article in the prestigious Columbia Journal of Transnational Law on the topic of prosecuting ISIS terrorist at international law courts.
Vanshaj will soon be travelling to Georgia for the Jean-Pictet Competition of International Humanitarian Law. “It’s a week long program and involves activities like interview victims and other practical exercises,” adds Vanshaj

While Vanshaj was always interested in international law he did not know exactly what under it I wanted to pursue.
“I used to participate in Model UN competitions during my school days and also studied humans rights,” he says.

While there is no official course on international criminal law at NLSIU, Vanshaj got immersed on various aspects on the subject during his time at the institution.
While many of his classmates will be joining prestigious law firm and are ensured of hefty salaries, Vanshaj wants to take his passion to its logical conclusion. “My dream job will be to join as prosecutor at the ICC at Haque,” he says.

NLSIU has a history of Rhodes Scholars with one or more students picking up the scholarship every year.
Dr R Venkata Rao, vice chancellor, NLSIU says “Jain is one of our best students. His writing and debating skills are exceptional. It is a matter of great pride that this year too an NLSIU student has achieved this feat”.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / November 30th, 2016