Arian K, a Class XII student, entered the Indian Book of Records for making stencil drawings of 50 film stars in 70 minutes.
Category: Education
** How the Cold War in Germany played a small yet significant part in establishing IIT Madras
A recently-published research paper unearths an oft-forgotten chapter in the establishment of IIT-Madras and its connection with the Cold War in Germany, which resulted in the formation of the now-revered institution.
One of the “largest and most successful educational projects” that emerged out of Indo-German relations during the Cold War, was the establishment of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) in 1959, which, when seen from the perspective of FDR, was largely driven by the Cold War foreign policy it shared with India.
** India-born Ivy League alumni and students come together to raise funds to fight COVID-19
Make a donation to a cause fighting COVID-19 and get a one-on-one counselling session with industry professionals and alumni of top institutions across the world
Rather than feel helpless when the second wave of COVID-19 hit the country, US-based Princeton alumni Shreyas Lakhtakia and Julu Beth Katticaran turned “the negative emotion of being away from India into a positive one by offering help”. This eventually led to the formation of Students Fight COVID (studentsfightcovid.in), a fund-raiser for COVID-hit in India.
** Using tyres, this Indian architect has built 250-plus playgrounds across the country
Pooja Rai’s NGO, Anthill Creations, builds sustainable playgrounds for kids
Two little boys were engrossed in a game of badminton: their slippers served as racquets. Nearby, two other kids played atop broken sewer pipes. This sight made Pooja Rai think: “Playgrounds should not be a luxury. It is something every child should have access to for free.”
And that is when the then 23-year-old student of architecture in IIT-Kharagpur made her first playground for children within her institution’s campus, using colourful tyres from cars and two wheelers re-purposed as play equipment.
** Sukh-Dukh, a helpline by Pallium India, provides counselling in eight Indian languages
The Kerala-based NGO provides grief counselling for those who have lost a family member due to COVID-19 through the helpline
The calls for help from all over India are from those trying to come to terms with the loss of a family member due to COVID-19. And Pallium India, a non-Governmental organisation headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram, is helping them overcome the numbing grief with the help of Sukh-Dukh, a helpline that provides counselling in eight Indian languages.
** Ranchi girl to study at Harvard University
17-year-old Seema Kumari bags full scholarship for undergraduate course.
A girl from a Jharkhand village is preparing for study at Harvard University unlike many of her contemporaries in the area who are usually married off early.
Seema Kumari, aged 17, from Dahu village under Ormanjhi block of Ranchi district, has earned a full scholarship for pursuing an undergraduate course at Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and plans to leave for the US in August.
“Not only that, Seema also got selected in some other well known universities and institutions like Ashoka University, Middlebury College and Trinity College,” said Franz Gastler, who along
with some friends had established Yuva School at Hutup village in Ormanjhi about a decade ago that groomed girls like Seema.
** Chandigarh Diary: All that is happening in the ‘Land of Five rivers’
PGIMER professor wins public health award
While a PGIMER professor won a public health award by the American Thoracic Society, the Panjab University Senate elections scheduled for May 3 have been postponed.
Professor Digambar Behera, senior professor and head, Department of Pulmonary Medicine at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER) has been awarded the ‘ATS Public Service Award-2021’ by the American Thoracic Society.
** Herpetologist Deepak Veerappan has a snake named after him
Xylophis deepaki has iridescent scales and is just 20 cm long
In the first four months of 2021, the Western Ghats presented new butterflies, frogs, fruit flies, and even a freshwater crab. Joining the list is a tiny snake of just 20 cm length with iridescent scales – Xylophis deepaki, first stumbled upon in a coconut plantation in Kanyakumari, is now reported to be an endemic species of Tamil Nadu and has been sighted in a few locations in the southern part of the Western Ghats. The species is named in honour of Indian herpetologist Deepak Veerappan for his contribution in erecting a new subfamily Xylophiinae to accommodate wood snakes. The team suggests the common name Deepak’s wood snake.
First Time in India. Scientists Discover 2.5 million-year-old Dragonfly Fossil : October 2020
First Dragonfly fossil has been discovered by a team of scientists from West Bengal. The discovery was found in Latehar District, Jharkhand.
The fossil belongs to the late Neogene period which dates between 2.5 million and 5 million years ago.
The dragonfly is about 3 cm long and has a wingspan of around 2.5 cm
The research Paper of the findings was published in the October 10th edition in ‘Current Science’ Journal.
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West Bengal / Jharkhand / INDIA
Dr. Swati Dhingra – Economics Professor Appointed to new Expert Trade Panel of UK Government – Brexit : October 2020
Swati Dhingra – Asst Professor of Economics, London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE).
She is a part of 5 member panel set up by the Department of International Trade (DIT) to advise post-Brexit Free Trade Agreements (FTA’s) with countries.
www.sdhingra.com
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London, UNITED KINGDOM