Category: Education

** KGMU surgeon wins global acclaim

A discovery which led to a new surgical technique for a rare and extremely serious birth defect in urinary system has found a place in an international multi-volume textbook of plastic reconstructive and aesthetic surgery.

The team of doctors led by head of pediatric surgery department of KGMU, Prof SN Kureel, and comprising Dr Archika Gupta and Dr Sunil Kanoujia is credited with the discovery.

The achievement in the field of exstrophy-epispadias has been included in ‘Thieme Medical Publisher’ —an American German medical and science publisher.

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

** As scholar, critic, translator Gayatri Spivak turns 80, an extract from an exhilarating 1998 speech

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is University Professor, and a founding member of the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society at Columbia University.

Spivak, well known for her translation of Derrida as also some works of Mahasweta Devi, was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Prize for Translation in 1997

I am deeply honoured that the Sahitya Akademi have decided to acknowledge my efforts to translate the fiction of Mahasweta Devi.

I want to begin by thanking Mahasweta Devi for writing such spectacular prose. I want to thank my parents, Pares Chandra Chakravorty and Sivani Chakravorty for bringing me up in a household that was acutely conscious of the riches of Bangla. My father was a doctor. But we children were always reminded that my father’s Bangla essay for his matriculation examination had been praised by Tagore himself.

** Bengaluru: IISc receives Rs 425-crore donation to set up medical institute, 800-bed multi-speciality hospital

The academic centrepiece of this initiative will be an integrated dual-degree MD-PhD programme aimed at creating a new breed of physician-scientists.

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) will set up a postgraduate medical school along with an 800-bed multi-speciality hospital in its Bengaluru campus. On Monday, the institute inked a partnership with philanthropists Susmita and Subroto Bagchi, and Radha and NS Parthasarathy, who collectively donated Rs 425 crore to set up the new facilities. The sum is considered to be the largest single private donation received by the IISc. The hospital will be named as the Bagchi-Parthasarathy Hospital.

The academic centrepiece of this initiative will be an integrated dual-degree MD-PhD programme aimed at creating a new breed of physician-scientists, who will pursue careers in clinical research to develop new treatments and healthcare solutions, driven by a bench-to-bedside philosophy, said officials. They will be trained simultaneously in the hospital as well as in the science and engineering laboratories at the IISc.

** A metamaterial that can make use of origami to reduce shock

To be useful, materials need to maintain a constant Poisson ratio under pressure

A car that dashes against an obstacle suffers damages, first to its fenders. There is a keen interest to develop materials that can be sandwiched in the fender system which will absorb the shock and prevent the interiors from being damaged. Origami metamaterials that crumple rather than tear, and take the impact, can play an important role in such situations. Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Madras have developed such a material, which could have many such uses.

** NIT-Meghalaya director receives KIIT’s award for excellence

National Institute of Technology, Meghalaya (NIT-Meghalaya) Director Prof Bibhuti Bhusan Biswal has been conferred with an “Educational Leadership Award” by the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT).

It was given to him in recognition of his experience in the field of teaching and research at various levels, his extensive outreach activities as a leader, and his roles in the field of educational administration and leadership.

** WhatsApp skills classes set to begin, initiative by Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Corporation

Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation’s WhatsApp-NSDC Digital Skills Academy Programme is set to begin from Thursday.

The initiative, launched in association with WhatsApp India, National Skill Development Corporation and InfiSpark, aims to empower students in regards to employability skills, general data privacy, cybersecurity, financial literacy and nano entrepreneurship. It also aims to develop students’ communication, leadership, community building skills and public speaking skills, and challenge them to think on their feet. 

** Dinesh Prasad Saklani, history professor at HNB Garhwal University, is the new NCERT director

Saklani is currently a professor in the department of ancient India history, culture and archaeology and has authored three books, including one on the ancient communities of the central Himalaya region and one titled ‘Ramayana Tradition in Historical Perspective’. He has also published several papers on Ramayana tradition in performing arts and in the Garhwal region

** IIIT-H app for early oral cancer screening

AI algorithm to help detect malignancy through images taken on phone

The International Institute of Information Technology-Hyderabad (IIIT-H) is working withGrace Cancer FoundationandBioCon Foundationto identify early stages of cancer with thehelp of a cellphone.

With the help of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm,thecellphone can take oral cavity images and indicate whether they are malignant or benign.

“A project like this needed funding, so iHub-Data stepped in to help us develop a solution for oral cancer screening,” said Vinod. P.K, who is leading the cancer initiative at iHub-Data. It is a technology innovation hub established under theNational Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (NM-ICPS)in the area of data-driven technologies at the institute.

** Students on satellite-making mission

Anurag University signs agreement with ITCA for developing satellite

Anurag University has signed an agreement with the Indian Technology Congress Association (ITCA) for jointly developing Anurag Satellite (ANURAGsat).

This is part of the government of India’s prestigious initiative ‘75 Students’ Satellites Mission 2022;, celebrating 75 years of Independence this year.

L.V. Muralikrishna Reddy and K. Gopalakrishnan of ITCA, TSC Technologies CEO Nikhil Riyaz, Anurag University Chancellor U.B. Desai, University Vice-Chancellor S. Ramachandram, and AU CEO S. Neelima were among those present on the occasion.

Innovation culture

The ambitious Mission 2022 aims to launch 75 student-built satellites into orbit, with the larger emphasis on academia laying a foundation for science-based education and experience-based learning. Such initiatives help build an innovation culture in the country and prepare the future workforce in the emerging spaceTech and related sectors.

** IIT professor’s research shows ways of reducing waste in factories

Frugal manufacturing can cut cost

A faculty member at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras has suggested ways of using minimal resources and reducing cost without compromising on functionality.

Balkrishna C. Rao, associate professor in the Department of Engineering Design, has developed the concept of ‘frugal manufacturing’ for sustainable development in factories. By adopting frugal manufacturing practises, Indian manufacturers can lead the race of next-generation manufacturing processes and machine tool systems, according to the researcher.