Category: Education

Researchers at Amity University, Noida and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM-Houston, USA) have developed a powerful AI platform that can detect clinically important vaccine targets and epitopes that could lead to vaccine mutations in deadly infectious diseases such as COVID19 and Chagas disease. . The results of the study were published in the UK-based journal Scientific Reports and PubMed, entitled 'Pathogen Vaccine Target Identification and Design of a Vaccine Using Computational Methods' by Dr. Kamal Rawal, Scientist, Associate Professor and Project Director, Amity Inc. Biotechnology, Amity University, Dr. Peter Hotage (Dean, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine), Dr. Maria Elena Botazzi (Co-Dean, National School of Tropical Medicine, BCM), and Dr. Ulrich Streich (Associate Professor, BCM) as Senior Co-Writer.

Infectious diseases kill millions of people worldwide each year. Despite this fact, the vaccine is an effective way to control infectious diseases - the rapid emergence of a highly pathogenic, easily transmissible coronavirus has led to a global epidemic. This catastrophe has exposed our shortcomings in creating a safe and effective vaccine in the shortest possible time.

A joint team of Indian and US scientists today announced the successful development of an artificial intelligence-driven platform that could accelerate the development of vaccines, tested on 40 different pathogens, including the deadly SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), Mycobacterium tuberculosis. (TB), Vibro Cholera (Cholera) and Plasmodium falciparum (Malaria).

According to Dr. Rawal, "The key innovation is to combine thousands of proteins and genes using artificial intelligence to combine hundreds of parameters to achieve the right goal and to design vaccines using these proteins." As evidence, researchers have tested this platform on vaccine targets that have been experimentally known, including vaccines on the market. The team of researchers has a long-standing interest in the neglected disease of poverty. The team of researchers has a long-standing interest in the neglected disease of poverty, so they chose to analyze the entire genome and proteome (set of all protein sequences in the cell) of an important pathogen known as Trypanosoma cruciate (T. crucii).

To help other biologists and experimenters working in immunology and vaccines, Dr. Rawal has created a cloud-based server that researchers around the world can use to analyze their proteins and genes as potential vaccine targets. In the wake of the Delta variant of COVID19, the team has partnered with various pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to create customized deployments for commercial-scale applications to create new vaccines against emerging infectious diseases.

To test the AI ​​system, the team shortlisted more than 335 experimentally verified antigens from 40 different pathogens and found that the system accurately predicted most of them with reasonable accuracy levels. These examples also include targets for FDA approved / marketed vaccines which make a strong case for this platform. Before entering the clinical trial, rats were injected into rats with the help of these computer-recommended vaccines, to show that the vaccines designed were non-toxic and sufficiently immunogenic (producing sufficient antibodies). "Right now, it's too early to say how this work will affect patients down the line, but preliminary data suggest the platform will be useful in a variety of ways," Dr. Ulrich Streich added.

According to Dr. Hotz, we first selected 8 important proteins from a set of 19000 proteins and then from these targets we identified the top epitope (part of an antigen molecule that attaches itself to an antibody). "Subsequently, we designed a multi-epitop vaccine against CD, followed by sophisticated analysis using the Bioinformatics tool to determine if the proposed vaccine was able to activate the immune system."

"An ideal vaccine should not be similar to the host protein (human) to avoid targeted cross-effects and subsequent side effects, so special care was taken to filter such data during the study," said Dr. Maria Elena Botaji.

The study was supported by the Kleberg Foundation, USA and the Baylor College of Medicine, USA.

Thadomal Shahani Center for Management (TSCFM), a business management school and part of the Shahani Group of Institutions, has launched a new center in Pune. The new campus will bring all the facilities for the students of Pune region like teaching methods, industry specialists and worldwide relevant curriculum. Classes will begin in September 2021.

Curriculum changes regularly to adapt to changing industry needs, ensuring that students gain the most up-to-date knowledge for industry-ready and high employment. Through this approach, they have secured more MNCs from student companies like Kotak Securities, Motilal Oswal, HDFC Securities, IIFL, Bajaj Finance, Treadbull, Robinhood Insurance, Adelewis, Suryodaya Bank, Axis Bank and other such MNCs. Succeeded 6

They already have campuses in Mumbai, Indore and Vadodara, Lonavala, Nasik, Ahmedabad and are expanding that legacy in Pune. The campus will offer their 4-in-1 Professional Diploma in Banking and Financial Services, and Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing, along with their popular Certificate Program in Business English.

A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) for the year ending March 2020 found serious flaws in higher education in Tamil Nadu. Misconceptions include poor or zero research output by many departments of the university. The report identifies salaries and regular unplanned expenditures to replace funds for Madras University for research and development.

The report said that the salary of guest lecturers was much less than the salary of Rs 50,000 proposed by UGC. “Incomplete vacancies have been filled through the appointment of guest lecturers. As of March 2020, 4,084 guest lecturers were employed in government colleges with a salary of Rs 15,000 per month, ”the report submitted to the state assembly on Monday said.

The audit said that the Tamil Nadu Teacher Recruitment Board (TRB) has increased vacancies due to delays in teacher recruitment. The guest lecturers were hired on contract basis to meet the requirement and were not recruited through a transparent merit-based recruitment process, the report said. In contrast to the total sanctioned number of 10,079 teachers in government colleges, there are 4,889 permanent teachers, with 5,190 posts - about 51 per cent - vacant. The vacancies in the aided colleges were 22 per cent (2,380 vacancies as against the sanctioned strength of 10,610). The large number of vacancies was filled mainly by hiring full-time guest lecturers.

In 2014-19, 17 programs were newly started in 10 government colleges and 1,318 students were admitted without teachers to manage the programs. TRB had planned to recruit 1,883 teachers for various subjects in 2016 but the government banned recruitment between April 2017 and June 2018 which resulted in incomplete recruitment process. TRB recruited for 2,331 positions in October 2019 and the recruitment process was incomplete until February 2021, the report said.

At the University of Madras, it was found that the accepted acceptance of students for PG program could not be increased due to lack of faculty and facilities. Due to low demand, acceptance capacity of 63 programs decreased by 68 percent between 2014-19. During this time, no admissions were made to the 27 approved Masters programs.

"The University of Madras, the oldest in the state, is facing financial crisis due to mismanagement and inadequate financial support from the Tamil Nadu government. As a result, funds for research and development activities were allocated for salaries and regular non-planned expenditure," the report said.

States performed well in terms of student enrollment, pass percentage, access and affordability. The audit, however, found problems mainly in colleges with student-faculty ratios, evaluation of answer scripts, poor research output and regional disparities in access and ineffectiveness of governance structures. The Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education has not played its planned role due to its non-constitutional nature as its main organ. Council. Also, the State Academic Audit and Accreditation Council has not started work since its establishment in 2010.

In 2014-19, about 1.48 lakh students from Bharatidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Mother Teresa Women's University, Kodaikanal and Madras University, Chennai applied for re-evaluation and 50 per cent of them changed their marks in re-evaluation. The large number of requests for assessment and the change in the number after the assessment cast doubt on the efficiency of the answer sheet assessment method, it says.

Only a few university departments were active in the research, and most had poor or zero results.

The audit covers the departments of Indigenous Dravidian and Indigenous Welfare, Agriculture, Health and Family Welfare, Higher Education, Revenue and Disaster Management, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, School Education and Social Welfare and Nutritious Food, said Principal Accountant General R Ambalavan. He told reporters that the report identified poor planning and implementation of installation of bio-digestio-tank toilets under Transparent India Mission (Grameen) which had achieved the objective of improved sanitation in rural areas and resulted in costless expenditure of Rs 4.44. Crores

Due to the failure of the revenue authorities, government land worth Rs. The purpose of agricultural mechanization, the report said.

(PTI)

Former Karnataka education minister and state Congress spokesperson Kimane Ratnakar on Monday opposed the implementation of the new education policy (NEP) in the state, saying it would promote privatization of the education sector on a large scale.

Speaking at a press conference in Shivamogga, Ratnakar said the government had not discussed the impact of NEP with experts. There was no debate in the legislature.

"Congress is strongly opposed to the new education policy, which aims to bring about an exemplary change in the education system but has not been raised for discussion. This is a serious issue affecting every citizen of the country," he said.

"It should have been debated in Parliament and the concerned state assembly. But the BJP pushed it without listening to the views of any stakeholders," he added. "Private players are threatening to take over the education sector. Poor people will lose opportunities," Ratnakar said.

The central government launched NEP on July 29, 2020 Last month, on its first anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the SAFAL (Structural Assessment for Learning Analysis), a skills-based assessment for grades 3, 5 and 8, introduced by the Central Board. Secondary Education (CBSE).

(Years)

More than 125 English teachers at Delhi University have condemned a statement by the National Democratic Teachers Front (NDTF), a group of right-wing teachers on English curriculum. The NDTF said in a statement issued last week that it "fully supports" changes to the English curriculum for the university's fifth semester BA honors course.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-backed group also demanded that the DU administration "scan" all other English language courses to remove similar "offensive" references. In their statement, they further said that "leftists" have spread "false propaganda that many Dalit writers have been removed". The DU Supervisory Committee (OC) has removed from the English syllabus the works of two Dalit writers, Bama and Sukhitharani, as well as the famous writer Mahasweta Devi's short story "Draupadi".

"In the most indefinite, unproven way, the statement accused the entire team of syllabus makers of being driven by 'leftist' ideology and politics. We would like to mention that after our general body meeting, an open call was made. Welcomed and included, ”reads a statement from English teachers.

More than 150 teachers took part in creating the syllabus, many more giving valuable advice on specific texts and lessons and more responses, which came from the college department, it said. At each point, participants brought to the meetings an academic rigor that comes from years of research and lessons, the statement said.

They reiterated that there was never a political norm in the whole practice and that "the NDTF thus accusing us of malicious and malicious intent". The NDTF said it was an unfortunate fact that a section of English department teachers were exploiting academic autonomy and independence to degrade Hinduism and ancient civilization and to maintain animosity between social castes, to encourage militant Maoism and Naxalism. Indigenous, etc.

The English teachers said, "Also, the NDTF's unwarranted call to Hinduism and its dangers from the story of the goddess are every attempt to silence Draupadi, who is one of the most powerful female characters in Hindu mythology. Fear of those who heroically despise men and fight against patriarchy. "

Calling the NDTF's statement "ignorant" and "full of biased intentions", they said the NDTF wanted to create "inequality" and "polarization" among teachers.

(PTI)

Based on Harrow's heritage and educational principles, Amity Education Group has entered into an agreement with Harrow School to set up four new campuses in India and one in New York. The first new school will open in September 2023.

Harrow International Schools in India and New York will be privately owned and operated by Amity. Harrow International School Bangalore in India and Harrow International School New York in the United States will be co-educational and will offer both day and boarding places. Both schools will use the Harrow School name and badge under a sub-license granted by Harrow International Schools Limited (HISL). It is a trading subsidiary of the charity that owns Harrow School and its trademark, in exchange for a fee. Funds raised from Harrow-branded schools through HISL are primarily used to help fund Harrow Schools and John Lion Schools, which help students who may not be able to afford school fees.

Each school board will also have two HISL representatives.

John Batting, Governors Chairman of Harrow School, said: “We are delighted to be expanding Harrow learning opportunities for students in two new geographic areas with Amity, the foundation of global educational excellence. Our common aspiration is to establish world-class schools that provide a premium education based on the Harro values ​​of courage, honor, humility and fellowship. "

Atul Chauhan, President and Chancellor of Amity, added: “For Amity International schools, the blending of tradition with modernity is a fundamental aspect of pedagogy. Our focus is on establishing a global outlook among our students through an innovative curriculum that encourages their holistic development and builds a deep respect for values. This partnership between the two educators will combine Amity's uncompromising pursuit of quality education with Harrow's 450-year outstanding teaching tradition. "

"Students spend an average of 15 to 17 years in their early life acquiring skills that will help them get a higher salary but little or no time is spent helping them save, invest and grow their money." This proverb fully emphasizes the importance of financial literacy.

Gone are the days when money matters were just things related to adults. Fast forward to 2021, times have changed now. In this day and age, it is important for children to know at least the basics of money, such as the essence of the stock market, entrepreneurship, spending, savings and investing. However, in contrast, financial literacy is one of the most neglected elements of a child's education.

Interestingly, a study from Cambridge University found that children's financial habits are usually set by the age of seven. What they develop through the early years of their education becomes the basis of their knowledge. There are many reports that indicate that children's growth and learning depends on the environment in which they live and their experiences. Therefore, financial literacy should be considered an important aspect of effective holistic education. It is just as important as the other basic things in life because it is a fact that children will one day have to make financial decisions in their lives. And if we miss the initial opportunity to teach them financial literacy, we are threatening their future.

Develop reading habits

Learning does not happen overnight and cannot be achieved by reading one or two books. It is a process that happens slowly but surely through education, real experience and life lessons. The need of the hour is to introduce children to financial literacy in their childhood so that they can enjoy the fruits of their leisure time.

Since they are only young children and books with technical terminology, full terminology and hardcore concepts will not be easily understood by them, it is important to introduce non-fiction personal finance books. They can simplify the financial planning process and take them easily through the whole subject. Books like Personal Money Management, Stock Market Decoding, Investment to Debt Repayment are all included.

Unless schools and other educational institutions include "money" as a separate subject in their curriculum, parents can help their children get started at home. They may suggest starting with a topic that interests them the most.

Early financial education makes children aware of the difficult realities of life

Reading is the key to getting them closer to the cruel reality of life. Books will not only make them wisely aware of the benefits of financial management but also learn about the waste of money and its aftermath, which could ultimately jeopardize their very existence. Reading real accounts and practices will persuade children to spend money wisely in the present so that they have a secure future. They will be saved from lifelong financial problems, directly benefiting the economy of a particular country.

Break the monotony

In addition to reading, they have an innate need to get their hands dirty. In other words, practical involvement is required. For example, try teaching children to open and manage a bank account instead of giving lectures. They will be in a better position to understand real-world concepts. After all, multidisciplinary experience makes them better at learning.

Only through such small practice, they will become more responsible citizens, which will help them to lead a quality life.

To drive through the current financial landscape, it is crucial that financial education be introduced to children at the grassroots level because it is, without a doubt, an essential life skill. Make students financially aware today.

The Covid-19 epidemic has brought countless changes around us and created new frontiers as it demands new social and physical distances as well as new remote work models. However, on the bright side, the crisis has also brought about a positive change - the acceleration of digital transformation. The growing popularity of digital apps and various digitized platforms has changed the perspective of various sectors and industries such as finance, healthcare, education, gaming and so on. Also, there is a growing acceptance of digitization, which has created a strong demand for a highly skilled workforce skilled in the use of recent technology.

While digital technology is becoming increasingly popular, there is a significant discrepancy between the digital skills required for industry and what is actually taught in education, a serious challenge for the future of work. A large portion of the population is unprepared to fulfill a job role that requires at least a basic knowledge of digital skills. This lack of education could increase unemployment and inequality and put these large numbers of people at greater socio-economic risk. Thus, digital skills need to bridge the gap and increase employment for the weaker sections of the population.

Moreover, over the years, the focus on automation has grown as manual labor has gradually declined. Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and blockchain are widely used by businesses and even governments worldwide. Similarly, skill requirements are changing rapidly and today's relevant skills may become redundant tomorrow as new technologies tend to replace old ones. This is why upskilling and recycling time is needed.

To nurture the desire to learn

An important aspect of the existing race for professional success is the desire and ability to stay on the learning curve. Traditionally, our education system has placed more emphasis on theoretical, root-based learning and less on skills training and proper exposure. This is one of the main reasons why most job seekers are unemployed. For a country where about 12 million graduates are looking for jobs annually, there is a serious need to supplement their theoretical knowledge with skills-based specialized training. Internship and apprenticeship programs in this direction will help students to develop the necessary digital skills.

In view of the development and emergence of new technologies, advanced industrial concepts and continuous innovation across the industry, the only way to bridge the skill gap between industries is continuous learning so that one can go one step further to prepare them for the future.

In addition, facilitating the development of alternative and non-formal models for digital training can be an effective way to help students gain an edge over their peers and bridge the divide between schooling and employment. It will also help provide a framework for skilling, upskilling and recycling. Such efforts are particularly important for offering employees market-related digital skills that can meet the growing needs of potential employers in a variety of industries, both public and private. Students must consider investing time in acquiring technical and management skills that can help them become the business leaders of tomorrow.

Learning to take ownership

Under the new normal, job roles and responsibilities are changing more rapidly than before the epidemic. Corporations and enterprises are investing heavily in high-skilled initiatives to provide employees with the necessary knowledge and skills so that they can work in cross-functional teams which, in turn, will encourage innovative thinking.

Technology is an important area where upskilling has become essential - with a focus on courses related to artificial intelligence and machine learning, blockchain, data science, Internet of Things (IoT), cyber security and online marketing. Also, there is a growing demand for upcoming parts like e-vehicle technology, renewable energy, 3D printing and biotechnology. Also, many schools have not yet introduced digital training in their curriculum. And something that didn’t make it mandatory. Therefore, the government must assist the school administration in providing basic, intermediate, and advanced digital skills that will go beyond the school to develop a wide range of educational paths.

While many fear that technology will eat up certain tasks, they are often creating new technologies and tend to ignore the role of a number of new jobs that will create in the future. Change is far-reaching and inevitable, so it is imperative that we embrace it as we progress, embrace new ideas and invest in skills that can secure our future.

Andhra Pradesh National Institute of Technology is encouraging its faculty and researchers to make progress in the field of bioenergy.

Bioenergy is a type of renewable energy derived from living organic matter known as biomass that can be used to meet energy needs. Biomass energy will improve the energy security of developing countries like India.

To this end, the Institute has organized a five-day online faculty development program entitled 'Waste-to-Bio-Energy: A Sustainable Solution' from 13 to 17 September 2021.

The goal of this faculty development program is to advance bioenergy through waste utilization and reduce reliance on fossil-based fuels to improve energy security.

The purpose of this five-day faculty development program was to provide advanced knowledge on renewable chemical and biofuel waste disposal for faculty, scientists and research scholars covering the following key areas:

• Biofuel production
• Biomass gasification and liquefaction
• Algae Biofinery
• Enzyme production
• R&D Challenges in Bioenergy

Among the best results of this five-day online training are:

• Biomass gasification from waste
• Conversion of high-value organic renewable waste
• Converting isolated waste into fuel and energy
• Biofuels and enzyme production
• Application of microorganisms for biofuel production

Other keynote speakers at the event include:

• Professor Dr. Kanan Pakshirajan, IIT Guwahati
• Professor Dr. Ramakrishna Sen, IIT Kharagpur
• R. Vinu, IIT Madras
• Professor Dr. Sanjay Ghosh, IIT Madras
• Professor RP Singh, IIT Roorkee

Faculty members' research interests include microbial production of biofuels and value-added products, wastewater treatment, bioremediation, marine bacterial green-surfactant-and-polymer, microbial biotechnology, microbiology, microbiology, nanobiote,

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras and Headra Hashgraph, the most widely used, sustainable, enterprise-grade public network for a decentralized economy, have announced new members of its board of directors.

The world-renowned University of Technology joins a rotating council of up to 39 global organizations that come from a variety of industries and geographies, and each operates a primary network node that enables decentralized governance models for header public lasers.

As a newly appointed member of the Hedera Governing Council, IIT Madras will work closely with the Hedera ecosystem to advance its technological education, research, and innovation offerings in Distributed Laser Technology (DLT). IIT Madras will also use its term in the Hedra Council to expand its research and development efforts in the DLT space, to test its use of key services such as the Hedra Consensus Service and the Hedra Token Service.

Professor Rajagopal's group is interested in protecting large-scale digital data-sets derived from sensor logs, which were the primary catalyst for their interest in blockchain and distributed lasers.

The appointment of IIT Madras to the Headra Governing Council comes just weeks after the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), one of the top universities in the UK, announced its membership to the Headra Governing Council, strengthening the council's role in academia.

Considered one of the top universities in the world, IIT has established research expertise in DLT, acted as an incubator for India's national blockchain project and, more recently, created 'Blocktrack', a first-of-its-kind blockchain-based secure medical provider and by both patients. Medical data and information exchange mobile application for use. BlockTrack aims to securely digitize healthcare information systems while protecting sensitive medical records through patient data control and proprietary decentralization and is currently being field-tested at IIT Madras Institute Hospital.