Education Briefs

The Mumbai-based Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) — a deemed university and a top-ranked B-school of the country — hosted a four nation summit on the October 6 to commemorate its silver jubilee year celebrations. This summit on the theme of ‘The need for networking for excellence in management education’ was in continuation of ‘Maitri’ — a cultural exchange programme with students of the Lahore University of Management Studies (LUMS) held last year.

This year the panelists were Dr. Syed Zahoor Hassan, vice chancellor, Lahore University (Pakistan); Dr. Hafiz Siddiqi, vice chancellor, North South University, Bangaladesh; Prof. G. Nanayakkara, director, Postgraduate Institute of Management, Sri Lanka; Jayanta Jayaratna, chief executive X-Pertise Ltd, Sri Lanka and Dr. N.M. Kondap, vice chancellor, NMIMS.

Dr. Kondap and the Students Council (NMIMS) extended an invitation to students of all three represented universities to Euphoria — the annual cultural event of NMIMS scheduled for February 2006. Moreover the vice chancellors of all three participant universities resolved to explore the possibility of NMIMS students visiting their countries prior to end of this academic year.

The Delhi-based Rai Foundation, in association with the IG International Miss Universe, AIDS Awareness India Tour 2005, has launched its Gifted Girl Scholarship Award.

The Award is given annually to an orphan girl to pursue higher education at any one of Rai Foundation colleges. Ms. Natalie Glebova, the reigning Miss Universe from Canada presented the first Gifted Girl Scholarship to Sumathi. N from SOS Children’s Village, Bangalore on November 21. Glebova is a trained musician, motivational speaker, gymnast and aspiring entrepreneur.

Rai Foundation is an NGO promoted to address the socio-cultural concerns of India and its people. "It believes that the difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination. We believe that what is written in the past can really motivate one to reach an effervescent future, provided one reaches the right place and get s the right guidance with helpful guides and peers," says a Rai Foundation spokesperson.

IG International is an events marketing and entertainment company, specialising in representing niche industries and products.

Oxford Bookstore a national chain of books and music retail outlets with bookstores in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi and Goa has promoted a national book review contest open to all readers and customers. The first review contest, hosted in association with e-opinion forum www.mouthshut.com, closed on November 4.

According to company sources, the book review contest under which www.oxfordbookstore.com invites interested readers and customers to write original reviews on books or music of their choice on www.mouthshut.com, has generated 50-60 responses per day. The ten winning entries are given special gift vouchers by Apeejay Oxford Bookstores Pvt. Ltd.

Comments Mr. Rajiv Chowdhry, CEO, Apeejay Oxford Bookstores: "Constantly evolving and looking for novel ways to interest booklovers and readers, www.oxfordbookstore.com is an e-commerce venture with a difference. Through this unique contest being held for the first time by our e-bookstore, we aim to further the interest of readers and customers, give them room to voice their opinions on books and also reward them for their efforts of writing thought-provoking reviews."

Dr. Shona Purdy has been appointed the New India representative of Ashridge Business School, UK with specific responsibility for increasing the inflow of Indian students into the Ashridge’s MBA programme.

Dr. Purdy will be based in New Delhi and work in a business development and teaching capacity as an associate member of the Ashridge faculty. "Indian organisations are becoming more international and Ashridge is helping them to develop managers to the highest international standards through its widely recognised MBA and short programmes for executives and companies," says Purdy.

Prior to joining Ashridge, Purdy worked with Ranbaxy Laboratories, New Delhi where she headed the organisation development department. She also has significant experience in management consulting having worked for ECS Ltd, New Delhi and Gemini Consulting, London.

Ashridge Business School (www.ashridge.com) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the European Quality Improvement System, and the Association of MBAs.

The Bangalore-based Magma Design Automation India, a wholly owned subsidiary of Magma Design Automation Inc, a leading provider of semicondcutor design software, has partnered with the Chennai-based Anna University in an initiative to increase the number of professionals exposed to state-of-the-art integrated circuit (IC) technology. The partnership has already yielded spectacular results with a team of 12 students of the electronics and communications engineering department of the College of Engineering led by Dr. P.V. Ramakrishna having successfully taped out a general-purpose CDMA receiver integrated circuit.

Comments Dr. Anand Anandkumar, managing director, Magma Design Automation India: "With the semiconductor industry entering an exciting new growth phase in India, this talent generation initiative is not only imperative but crucial. The successful completion of the circuit chip in such a short period is testament to the quality of talent available in Indian universities."

Magma’s IC excellence initiative aims at training current designers on cutting-edge technology to meet the high productivity demands of industry. Under the programme Magma India closely works with VLSI heads of top-tier engineering education institutions providing training material, applications engineering support besides donating licences.