For the third consecutive year, Cargill India Pvt. Ltd. — a subsidiary of the US-based food, agriculture and agri-industry megacorp Cargill Inc (annual revenue $120 billion or Rs.794,105 crore) — and the Institute of International Education (IIE) are set to roll out their Global Scholars Program (GSP) “to build a foundation for future potential leaders and getting new talent ready to take on exciting opportunities and challenges”. The Cargill-IIE GSP provides selected high-performing undergraduate students financial support and leadership development opportunities through seminars, networking events, and a one-on-one mentoring programme.
In India, ten scholarships in four leading science and technology institutions will be awarded in the academic year 2015-16. The participating Indian institutions are IIT-Delhi, IIT-Mumbai, NIT-Trichy and Delhi Technological University. The scholarship awardees will receive US$2,500 (Rs.1.65 lakh) per year for two years.
“Cargill recognises the need for talent development to produce effective leaders of the future. We have been committed to improving the communities in which we operate, and supporting higher education is part of this commitment. We are excited to track the journey of the ten new GSP students as they get ready to take on new opportunities in their academic careers,” says Ravi Parmeshwar, human resources director of Cargill India.
Manipal Global’s cloud computing course
The Bangalore-based Manipal Global Education Services Pvt. Ltd (MGES) has introduced a certificate program (www.manipalprolearn.com) in cloud computing to provide professionals and students thorough knowledge of cloud computing technology using Microsoft Azure as a platform. The three-month online course spans 120 hours of live online sessions and webinars with industry experts. The program is delivered through EduNxt, Sikkim-Manipal University’s award-winning education platform.
“The cloud computing market in India alone is expected to grow to $4.5 billion (Rs.29,774 crore) by the end of this fiscal year and will create 2 million jobs. At Manipal ProLearn, our role is to skill people to meet this huge industry demand. We are already getting thousands of hits on our site for the cloud computing program which is indicative of the demand for such programs,” said A.P. Ramabhadran, senior vice president of MGES, addressing a press meet in Mumbai on August 7.
IIT-M’s Hub in the Sky
The IIT Alumni Industry Interaction Center (AIIC) — a pan-India initiative of 16 IITs countrywide — inaugurated a ‘Hub in the Sky’ facility at the IIT-Madras Research Park (IITMRP) on August 1. Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, director IIT-Madras, Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, head of IIT-M Research Park, and Dr. R. Nagarajan, dean of alumni and international affairs, graced the inauguration ceremony.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. R. Nagarajan said: “IITs and their alumni share one common characteristic — innovation in all their endeavours. AIIC is a path-breaking initiative to integrate academia, alumni, and industry interaction into a social setting. I’m sure the success of this initiative at IIT-M Research Park will spur similar centres at other IITs as well.”
The IIT-M Hub in the Sky facility (for members only) will enable discussions on technology, business and social networking among alumni and faculty of all IITs. AIIC will provide IIT faculty and alumni with a member’s lounge, fine dining, banquet halls, meeting rooms, library, business centre, audio-visual room and executive rooms. Its objective is to supplement and complement the vision of IIT-M Research Park.
Verghese Kurien Memorial Oration
XLRI - Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur has scheduled its second Dr. Verghese Kurien Memorial Oration on Sustainable Development in memory of the architect of Operation Flood — which during the period 1975-90 transformed India from a milk deficient nation into the world’s largest milk producer — on September 19 at the XLRI campus, Jamshedpur. The memorial oration will be delivered by Sanjit (‘Bunker’) Roy, founder-director of the Barefoot College, Tilonia (Rajasthan).
A globally respected social activist and educator, acknowledged as one of the world’s 50 leading environmentalists by the London-based The Guardian (2008), and as one of the 100 most influential people globally by Time magazine (2010), Roy established the Social Work and Research Centre, aka Barefoot College in Tilonia village in 1972 with a mission to empower rural poor through training for building self-sustained communities. The subject matter of Roy’s memorial lecture is ‘The 21st Century Gandhian Model to Sustainability’.
“Dr. Verghese Kurien was a thinker, social sector revolutionary, who ideated the world’s biggest agricultural development programme turning India into one of the largest milk producers of the world. The oration in his memory has been instituted with the objective of commemorating his legacy through propagating and disseminating the idea of an empowered, equitable and sustainable society. We are very grateful to have Bunker Roy delivering the second Dr. Verghese Kurien Memorial Oration,” comments Fr. E. Abraham, SJ director of XLRI.