DAAD Newsletter 1 von 4 http://daadndnews.org/daad/newsletter/27 Unable to see the newsletter? | Print | Recommend | Join us on August 2011 ▪ New appointments ▪ Kapil Sibal and Annette Schavan explore the ideas of meta-universities and higher education summit ▪ Indo-US Higher Education Summit ▪ Canada-India Education Summit ▪ News from Indian institutes ▪ Kakodkar Committee Report : Taking IITs to Excellence and Greater Relevance ▪ Announcements New appointments India gets new Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences In a cabinet reshuffle on 12th July 2011 by the Government of India, Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh has taken over as the new Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences. Before taking up this ministry he was the Minister of Rural Development, Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises. Mr. Deshmukh is the fourth Science and Technology Minister in 18 months. Earlier minsters of S&T and Earth Sciences in the present government were: Prithviraj Chavan (first to be appointed after the UPA government came to power in May 2009), Kapil Sibal and Pawan Kumar Bansal. Deshmukh has been a minister in various governments in the state of Maharashtra from 1982 to 1995 holding portfolios of revenue, cooperation, agriculture, home, industries and education. He was also a two-time Chief Minister of Maharashtra, (1999 - 2003 and 2004 – 2008). More information can be found here: Vilasrao Deshmukh Press Release from Department of Science and Technology IIT-Delhi to get a new Director University of Pune vice-chancellor Prof. Raghunath Shevgaonkar will soon take over as the Director of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD). A formal announcement on his move is likely to come after the President of India puts a seal of approval on the selection. Prof. Shevgaonkar, who holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay, was the deputy director there before taking charge as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Pune in March 2010. He completed his Masters from IIT Kanpur. His research interests include fibre optics and radio astronomy. More information can be found here: VC may take up IIT-Delhi director's post Prof. Dr. Shevgaonkar Prof. Shevgaonkar’s CV University of Hyderabad gets new Vice Chancellor Prof. Ramakrishna Ramaswamy assumed charge as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) in June this year. Prof. Ramaswamy, who holds a Ph.D in Chemistry from Princeton University and a Masters from the IIT Kanpur, was associated with the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi since 1986. His research interests include nonlinear science, computational biology and systems and synthetic biology. More information can be found here: University of Hyderabad gets new VC Prof. Ramaswamy’s webpage Prof. Dr. Ramaswamy 07.09.2011 14:05 DAAD Newsletter 2 von 4 http://daadndnews.org/daad/newsletter/27 Kapil Sibal and Annette Schavan explore the ideas of meta-universities and higher education summit The German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited New Delhi in the last week of May for the first Indo-German intergovernmental consultations on invitation of the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. This visit also formally marked the formal launch of the “Year of Germany in India” intended to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Merkel was accompanied by a high level ministerial delegation. Sibal and Schavan on the occassion of Merkel's visit At a meeting on May 31, 2011, member of the delegation Dr. Annette Schavan, the Federal Minister of Education and Research, and the Indian Minister for Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal discussed the possibilities of intensifying the cooperation between the two countries. The focus of the discussion included: Developing a consortia approach of twinning between universities of the two countries where two to three Indian Universities could partner with two to three German Universities for conducing degree level courses. Carrying the programme initiated by the German Ministry of Education and Research, “A New Passage to India” beyond 2012. The Indian side appreciated the programme. India’s offer to host an Indo-German education summit to explore the possibilities of development of junior faculty, doctoral and post-doctoral programmes. Other topics may include mutual recognition of qualification, particularly in vocational education and joint research programmes. The move to hold such a summit comes close on the heels of both India and USA also agreeing to host an Indo-US summit this year. On the occasion of this meeting, two Memoranda of Understanding were signed between IIT Mandi and University of Stuttgart representing the TU9, and University of Hyderabad and Westfaelische Wilhelms University Muenster. More information can be found here: Statement from the Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development India proposes to host Indo-German higher education summit Indo-US Higher Education Summit The first Indo-US Higher Education Summit which was scheduled to be held in Washington DC on June 15-16, 2011 has been postponed and re-scheduled for October 13 2011. The announcement was part of a joint statement by the two governments after the second annual meeting of the ‘US-India Strategic Dialogue’ between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and India’s minister of external affairs, Mr. SM Krishna in New Delhi on July 2011. The summit will be co-chaired by the Indian minister of Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. During the Indian Prime Minister’s State visit to the US in November 2009 both the countries agreed to intensify their bilateral academic cooperation. Eventually in November 2010, Indian Prime Minister Singh with US President Obama during the visit of President Obama to India, the biggest bilateral initiative--“Obama-Singh 21st Century Knowledge Initiative” was launched. The initiative envisaged funding from both sides to increase university linkages and junior faculty development exchanges between US and Indian universities. The joint higher education summit is also a part of this initiative and aims to discuss ways and highlight avenues through which the higher education communities in the US and India can collaborate. More information can be found here: Full text of India-US joint statement (Under the section "Education, Innovation, Science and Technology") 2011 US-India strategic dialogue: science, tech & education ties forged “Passport to India” As another part of strengthening the ties with Indian higher education, the US Government announced a ‘Passport to India’ programme to increase the number of American students studying and doing internships in India. Currently there are more than 100,000 Indian students studying and interning in the United States. This new private sector-led initiative will target American students – from high school to graduate school – and provide them first-hand knowledge of India while participating in internships with companies and organizations in India. Passport to India internships would range from three weeks to six months and would include service learning opportunities such as volunteer work with an NGO, summer scientific research internships, and internships with an organization or private sector company linked to a student’s academic interests. More information can be found here: Passport to India to help send US students to India 07.09.2011 14:05 DAAD Newsletter 3 von 4 http://daadndnews.org/daad/newsletter/27 Canada-India Education Summit A delegation of Indian vice chancellors representing twenty two Indian universities and the chair of University Grants Commission of India as well as a contingent of over twenty Canadian university presidents/designates participated in the two-day Canada-India Education Summit held on June 17-18 at Carleton University in Ottawa. The topics discussed at the summit included possible solutions and opportunities for further collaboration on the higher education front and addressed issues such as co-tutelle and joint programs, credit transfer and degree recognition, twinning arrangements, technology in international teaching and distance learning, and faculty and student exchange programs. This summit was the first of its kind. It built upon a visit of number of Canadian universities to India and a bilateral cooperation agreement between the two countries. Co-organized by Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute in partnership with Carleton University, it was addressed by the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, John Baird, and by the Indian Minister of State for Human Resource Development (Higher Education) Daggubati Purandeswari. More information can be found here: Canada-India education summit, Ottawa June 17th and 18th News from Indian institutes Indian Institute of Science offers its first Bachelor degree programme The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, which was established in 1909, has for the first time in its 101-year-old history opened its doors to undergraduate students. The four-year Bachelor in Science (BS) degree programme, which got its approval in 2010 started its first session from August 2011. The first time offered programme received over 16,000 applications for around 120 seats (average 1:130). The eight semester programme consists of six major disciplines – physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, materials and environmental science combined with a mandatory minimum number of courses in engineering and humanities. The final two semesters is exclusively for research project in the chosen major discipline. "The programme is different from the standard BSc programmes available as you will usually find only three-year BSc plus two-year MSc for pure science subjects. The objective is to teach students in an atmosphere of research. Faculty will be academicians who are engaged in research. It is designed in such a way that it is interdisciplinary. (Chandan Das Gupta, dean, UG programme, IISc, The Times of India, June 13, 2011). More information can be found here: Undergraduate @ IISc Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad set to get more autonomy The IIM-Ahmedabad after a decade long battle for more autonomy has finally received an approval from the Human Resource Development Minister, Kapil Sibal. The minister has approved major amendments to the institution’s memorandum of association (MOA) with the government. As per the new amendments, the government will have a minor role in the selection of IIM-A directors. The institute will now also be allowed to purchase and sell assets without seeking government’s approval. The proposal to increase the revenue generated for IIM through increase in membership of its sponsoring society has also been approved by the HRD Ministry. More information can be found here: IIM-Ahmedabad wrests autonomy from Centre Developments at Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras The Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in Chennai which was inaugurated on 6th December 2010 received its first two visiting professors from Germany in June this year. Prof. Dr Kristin Steger from Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Sweden has joined the department of Biotechnology at IITM. Her area of research is Waste Management. Prof. Dr Peter Fiener from Institute of Geography, University Cologne, Germany joined the department of Civil Engineering and an expert in the field of Water. The IGCS is a cooperation project between IIT Madras and several German Universities with RWTH Aachen University as the coordinator from the German side. The main focus areas of the Centre are energy, water management, land-use and waste management. The centre is funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) under the DAAD initiative “A New Passage to India”. Recently the IGCS has announced positions for two German long-term lectureships in the fields of Land use/ Rural development and Energy as well as invited applications for scholarships from German Master and PhD students for a scholarship in the field of sustainability (see under Announcements section). More information can be found on the website of the IGCS. Kakodkar Committee Report : Taking IITs to Excellence and Greater Relevance In February 2010 (the committee was constituted in 2010 as per the letter to Sibal published as a part of the report; they submitted the first report in 2011 and then the revised report soon after in May) okay the Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development constituted a committee led by Prof. Dr. Anil Kakodar, the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India and IIT Bombay Board of Governors, to suggest a roadmap for the autonomy and future of the Indian Institutes of Technology 07.09.2011 14:05 DAAD Newsletter 4 von 4 http://daadndnews.org/daad/newsletter/27 (IITs) as world-class institutions for research and higher learning. The report was submitted in April 2011. According to the Committee, India needs to nurture a large science and technology based innovation ecosystem that creates solutions for India’s inclusive development and economic growth. Some of the key recommendations are as follows: increased autonomy on all fronts, administrative, financial as well as academic significant increase in the fees amounting to approx. 3.300 - 4.100 Euro per academic year intensifying industry-academia partnership setting up of five more IITs with each IITs progressively growing to have around 1200 faculty from 500 today attracting quality Master and PhD students and increasing the number of PhDs per year to 10.000 from the current 1.000 offering fast track PhD programmes to the top-performers amongst IIT Bachelor students as well as to those from the NITs, IISERs and IIITs in the form of direct admissions encouraging industry R&D personnel to become adjunct faculty and enabling large numbers of industry persons to do PhD It is interesting to note that very little has been said about internationalisation of IITs in this report though it is supposed to be a roadmap for IITs as World-class institutions. More information can be found here: The Kakodkar Committee Report Quality at IITs: the road ahead Announcements Scholarships and Lecturerships at the Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS) Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras announces: Long-term lectureships at the IGCS in the field of ‘Energy’ and ‘Land-use/Rural development’ Scholarships for German PhD students at the Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS), IIT Madras Scholarships for German Master students at the Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS), IIT Madras For further information, please contact: RWTH Aachen, International Office, Dr. Fotios Risvanis, E-Mail: risvanis@igscs-chennai.org Announcement can be found here. DAAD PhD / Sandwich / Short Term / Post Doc Scholarships The DAAD announces its PhD / Sandwich / Short Term / Post Doc Scholarships. The application submission procedure for all these scholarships is online. The deadline for submission of applications is October 1, 2011 at DAAD New Delhi Office. Individual announcements as well as link for application is available on under the DAAD Scholarships section on www.daaddelhi.org. DAAD Working Internships in Science and Engineering Scholarships (WISE) DAAD announces its undergraduate scholarship programme Working Internships in Science and Engineering (WISE) to pursue 2-3 month internship at German universities. The deadline for receiving applications is November 1, 2011 at DAAD New Delhi Office. The announcement as well as link for application is available on under the DAAD Scholarships section on www.daaddelhi.org © DAAD Delhi 2010. All rights reserved. Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided by DAAD as a courtesy only. DAAD does not endorse the content of the links to other websites and news articles. Once users follow links or pointers to external sites, they are then subject to the privacy policies of those sites. 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