FE Students - Bar-coding of Library Cards

All the FE students are requested to submit their Library cards back to the library for bar-coding on or before 18th. September, 2015.

ACADEMIC BODIES' LAST MEETING - Univ may exclude internal test scores in credit system

ACADEMIC BODIES' LAST MEETING - Univ may exclude internal test scores in credit system

Yogita Rao

Mumbai:





After four years of flip-flop on the weightage given to internal assessment scores, Mumbai University (MU) is toying with the idea of scrapping it and holding a term-end 100-mark exam in each of the two semesters in a year. If the proposal is accepted, students may not have internal exams from next year, at least in traditional courses.

The issue was discussed in the last academic council meeting for the current academic bodies on Monday , but no decision was taken. When the credit-based grading system was introduced in 2011, internal assessment was given a weightage of 40 marks out of 100. The weightage was reduced to 25 marks in 2014.

A principal said the use of internal assessment scores has been delaying results as the system is not in place. But others pointed out that MU has to make use of the best international practices in following the credit-based grading system. “It will be unfair to evaluate students from self-financed courses only on the basis of a written test and no project work,“ said a member.

The council also decided to follow uniform guidelines for internal assessment this year and to change the grading scale from the current 7 to 10.“Earlier PET scores were valid only for 3 years. Now, students can register for PhD any time with their scores,“ said Madhu Nair, dean of commerce.

Member Gautam Gawli's proposals to make MU infras tructure disabled-friendly and to introduce a course in dis ability studies were also ac cepted. The decision to extend Sardar Patel College of Engi neering's autonomy for the next five years was sanctioned by both the academic and man agement councils. It was also decided that skill development initiatives will be taken as part of NSS activities.

Even as the term for all the academic bodies came to an end on Monday , the state didn't release any notification an nouncing the next senate elec tions. While there is no clarity on how varsities in the state will function without the aca demic bodies, vice-chancellor Sanjay Deshmukh called for a final review meeting for both the councils on Monday .

Exams, which are sched uled to begin in October, may be hit with no board of exam ination in place. Members of the Yuva Sena boycotted the V-C's dinner held for al members on Monday after he allegedly failed to address stu dents' issues.

On Friday , education min ister Vinod Tawde had said the academic bodies will run only with nominated members til the Maharashtra Universities Act comes into force. “We wil try to pass the Act in December and universities can hold their senate elections in January .“

Source: The Times of India dated 1/9/2015

http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/index.aspx?eid=31804&dt=20150901

Active Users for the month of August 2015

Active Users for the month of August 2015

All the below mentioned students are eligible for one extra card for the month of September 30, 2015:

Sr. No.	Member	No's.
1	SARVESH NARKAR	14
2	VENEEZA CARDOZO	14
3	SHRADDHA SHINDE	13
4	RISHABH TIWARI	12
5	ASHOK MORE	12
6	MIHIR PARIKH	12
7	SHAILIN SHAH	12
8	SHREYAS MENON	12
9	DIVYA PANDIT	11
10	SONI MAYUR ASHOK SANGEETA	11
11	MITALI SABLE	11
12	LECT.VIPULA RAWTE	11
13	KRUPA FADIA	10
14	NEVIL JEEVAN	10
15	TEJASWARARAO MOTAMARRI	10
16	JEVIN MENEZES	10
17	AKASH GHAGARE	10
18	PRIYA CHAUDHARI	10
19	K.B.VINDUJA	10
20	DHIKESH KARUVANKANDY	10

Active Users for the month of April 2015

All the below mentioned students are eligible for one extra card for the month of May 31st, 2015:

Sr. No.	Member	No's. of Transactions
1	POOJA PANDIT	19
2	ASHOK MORE	18
3	SAWANT SAISH UMAKANT SHRADDHA	16
4	JOANNA PERIS	14
5	K.B.VINDUJA	14
6	SAMIKSHA SALGAONKAR	14
7	DIVYA DAVE	13
8	SURBHI MUNDRA	13
9	PRIMA DCOSTA	12
10	RAMYA THOMAS	12
11	SONIA FERNANDES	12
12	VASUDEV PURANDARE	12
13	GISELLE KHOSESAON	12
14	JENIL SHAH	12
15	KEITH DIAS	12
16	VRAJESH DOSHI	12

Book Donation Drive from April 10 to 22, 2015

“GOT BOOKS YOU DON’T NEED,

DONATE TO OTHERS WHO WISH TO READ!”

Rather than giving a financial contribution or donation, SFIT Library, Borivli,  plans to forge a long-term relationship with the people around, through the mutual love for books on the eve of ‘World Book and Copyright Day’, which falls on April 23.

In 1995 UNESCO decided that the World Book and Copyright Day would be celebrated on 23 April, as the date is also the anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, as well as that of the birth or death of several other prominent authors.

We have always attempted to develop a reading culture among the people and now we are keen to harness the same enthusiasm to the persons who are not as fortunate as we are.

The aim of this initiative is solely to connect with the people outside the Institute and share the resources with them.

For the purpose, the ‘SFIT Social Responsibility Cell’ and ‘SFIT Library’ have decided to organize a “Book Donation Drive” in the campus from April 9 to 22, 2015. We all have so many un-used books lying in our book-shelves. Some are read, re-read; others have no foreseen use.

You are requested to donate such books and other new books for this event and make it a success. Books related to engineering subjects, educational, general and novels are most welcome.

Please ensure the following points so that your donation of a book may be considered:

ü The books should be in good reading condition.

ü They should not have any obscene content.

ü Photocopies of original books are a strict no-no.

Collection Dates: 10^th April to 22^nd April, 2015

Collection Points: Boxes will be available outside the Canteen (Ground floor) and the Library (2nd floor) for your valuable donation of books.

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE BOOK DONATION DRIVE AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Active Users for the month of March 2015

All the below mentioned students are eligible for one extra card for the month of April 30, 2015:

Sr. No.	Member	No's. ofTransactions
1	KEITH DIAS	20
2	RISHABH TIWARI	20
3	POOJA PANDIT	16
4	ASHOK MORE	16
5	SAWANT SAISH UMAKANT SHRADDHA	15
6	SONIA FERNANDES	13
7	RAMYA THOMAS	13
8	VASUDEV PURANDARE	12
9	SANCHEZ SEBASTIAN	12

Active Users for the month of February 2015

All the below mentioned students are eligible for one extra card for the month of March 31, 2015.

Sr. No.	Member	No. of Transactions
1	KEITH DIAS	21
2	DIVYA DAVE	13
3	AMEY MHASKAR	12
4	VRAJESH DOSHI	12
5	SALVIUS SOOSAI	11
6	NEHA ASHOK PARMAR	10
7	VIVIAN JOHNSIMON CHETTIAR	10
8	RAVEENA D'COSTA	10
9	SAWANT SAISH	10
10	MABEL FRANCIS	10
11	SAGAR MALAVIYA	10

Students app-ly new ways to study, prepare for exams

Colleges are allowing smart phones or laptops in class for taking notes

MUMBAI: With the start of the exam season, students across colleges are busy preparing for papers with the help of apps.

Owing to a string of free apps available online that can be downloaded on most smart phones, students are ditching the copious note taking and revision methods and are adopting new age l ear ning methods.

For instance, Evernote, the multi-platform note sharing app, has become immensely popular among students as it allows them to synchronise all their notes across devices.

“In class, I take down notes on the app and later edit it. By doing this, I don’t have go through multiple notebooks to study during exams as all my notes are in one place. If someone misses a lecture, I can just forward my notes to them via the app too,” said Shivani Tyagi, a mass media student.

The trend in India reflects a worldwide movement towards these learning apps.

A 2013 survey by UK based Educational App Store (EAS), a company specialising in integration of mobile learning in schools and colleges, found that 87% of the respondents used their tablets or mobile devices for studying while 50% said that they would download apps recommended by peers and education institutions.

While such numbers might be a long way for Indian students, colleges are warming up to the idea of allowing phones or laptops in class for taking notes.

Some teachers added a cautionary note.

“Students can now type faster than they write. However, technology should remain a supplement, not a replacement i n classrooms,” said Jyoti Thakur, vice principal, Jai Hind College.

Hridesh Jain, a CA student makes use of a variety of education apps such as ‘The constitution of India’ or the law dictionary that lists out all laws and acts at the tip of your finger. Dictionary apps too are a must have in student phones these days

While most of these popular apps are created in the US, indigenous apps are not far behind.

Mangesh Karandikar, professor at Mumbai university’s mass communication department developed a series of android apps called ‘Edusanchar,’ which has notes explaining complex communication theory in simple, easy to read formats.

Launched last year, the free android app has crossed 5000 downloads already.

Source: Hindustan Times (Mumbai) dated 02/03/2015

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They joined as peons but went on to etch their fortune at HC library

Bombay High Court library staff. (Ganesh Shirsekar)

Written by Aamir Khan | Mumbai | February 26, 2015 2:15 am

When 48-year-old Sachin Ambolkar decided to be a chauffeur to a Bombay High Court judge, he had no idea how the forthcoming years of his life would shape up. Ambolkar is now among a group employed in the Bombay High Court’s Judges’ Library who say they are living their dream, courtesy a “driving force” in the form of the chief librarian who persuaded them to pursue higher education. Motivated by chief librarian Uma Narayan, Ambolkar went on to complete his graduation and is now an assistant in the library. What helped Ambolkar bag the job was his brief stint with a private library when he was in school, at a meager Rs 90 per day for a four-hour shift.

Mangesh Mhaskar’s tale is similar to Ambolkar’s. With a Class 12 certificate, Mhaskar started out as a peon in the library in 1998. He now holds three degrees – a bachelor’s in commerce and library science, and a masters in library science.

“I used to pick up books from the library and hand them to staff in the judges’ chambers or courtrooms, but always felt the need to achieve something more,” Mhaskar says. Reminiscing how his selection as an assistant in the library turned out to be the happiest moment, Mhaskar later found balancing studies and work quite a task. “Narayan ma’am was a big support then. She pushed us so that we could accomplish better things in life,” he says.

Now the section officer and designer of the Judge’s Library web page, Anant Pawar also started off as a peon delivering books to judges. After Narayan introduced computers in the library in 1998, Pawar developed a keen interest in learning the nuances of operating them. “The urge to learn something new kept me going. Narayan never made a fuss over mistakes I made on the computer. She would just rectify them,” says Pawar, who joined the library in 1986.

He may have only completed Class X, but Pawar now handles the digitisation section and works on modification of the library’s web page, the only high court library webpage in India.

Another inspiring story is that of library assistant Suman D Raut who joined as a peon in 1994, but now holds bachelors degrees in arts and library science. Raut’s father served as a “chobdar” in a judge court and wanted his son to complete graduation. “He, however, passed ssss when I was writing my Class 11 exams. To fulfill his dreams I took time out from work at the library and pursued higher education. Narayan Ma’am gave me the leeway to balance both,” Raut says.

Then there is Rajesh Jadhav who joined the library as a peon and is now an assistant. Jadhav says, “Narayan Ma’am’s constant scolding made me realise the dividends that come with higher education.” Library clerk Arjun Shinde, who works in the billing section, had a son pursuing engineering, but he (Shinde) was persuaded to complete his bachelors degree, studying along with his son.

The secret to the success of the library, all of them – Ambolkar, Mhaskar, Pawar, Raut and Jadhav – say is team work. Narayan, the driving force behind the success stories, says, “Their eagerness to learn has helped all of them reach where they have. The key lies in retaining old hands and enhancing their skills rather than hiring new ones.”

Source: The Indian Express dated 26/02/2015

Over-2000-students-hit-as-engineering-ATKT-rule-stands

Over-2000-students-hit-as-engineering-ATKT-rule-stands

Over 2,000 engineering students with more than five ATKTs in their lower classes will lose a year as they will not be given admission to the final year in the current academic session. The faculty of technology of the University of Mumbai, in a meeting on Monday, recommended that these students be allowed to take admission in the final year only when they are eligible, that is, in the next year. These students will be allowed to take their exams in the old syllabus in the next academic year.

Engineering students had demanded that they should be admitted and allowed to appear for their final year exams before the end of the academic year. The affected students began their protest against the university norms in September. They were not allowed to appear for their seventh semester exams in October. The students were willing to appear for the seventh as well as eight semester exams together in May. Their demands were against the law, said registrar M A Khan.

Source: The Times of India dated 24/02/2015

Industry participation in research, innovation important to promote entrepreneurship

Industry participation in research, innovation important to promote entrepreneurship: Report

13 Nov 2014

Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Government of India, today released FICCI-EY Knowledge Paper on the theme ‘Higher Education in India: Moving towards Global Relevance and Competitiveness’ at the inaugural session of FICCI Higher Education Summit 2014.

The knowledge paper reveals India’s vision to build a 21st century model for higher education that is of high-quality, equitable and affordable, and be a model of a higher education system that is not just the best in the world but the best for the world.

The paper suggests key imperatives to realize this vision such as developing higher education institutes with an international outlook and global impact; providing world-class teaching, research and conducive learning environment; relaxing complex regulatory requirements; incentivizing transnational education; developing skilled, job-ready and productive graduates; enabling higher education graduates with global skills, who can be employed by or serve workforce-deficient countries; developing research-focused universities that deliver high-quality research output and research-focused graduates; increasing R&D funding by Government, promoting increased industry participation in research and innovation and creating a conducive educational, financial and regulatory ecosystem to promote entrepreneurship.

It notes that the global economy is undergoing structural transformation. There will be need for a workforce of 3.3 billion by 2020, increasingly in the services and capital intensive-manufacturing sectors. The phenomena is also expected to play out in India – by 2020, 90% of India’s GDP and 75% of employment is expected to be contributed by the services and manufacturing sectors. Technological advancement will make several jobs redundant while also creating new job roles.

This structural shift in employment will increase demand for sophisticated workers, innovators, and thinkers who can thrive in a globally-connected and dynamic economy. India, with its large workforce and increasing pool of higher education graduates, is strategically positioned to reap the benefits of this shift. However, the ‘demographic divided’ will be squandered unless India is able to create a “globally relevant and competitive” higher education system that serves the requirements of both the domestic as well as global economy.

While the Indian higher education system has made considerable progress in terms of capacity creation and enrolment especially in the last decade, it lags significantly in terms of “global relevance and competitiveness”. The FICCI-EY paper highlights the following gaps in the system:

► Low employability of graduates, driven by several factors including outdated curricula, shortage of quality faculty, high student-teacher ratios, lack of institutional and industry linkages, and lack of autonomy to introduce new and innovative courses.

► Low impact research output and patents filed given relatively low government and corporate spending on research, insufficient doctoral students, missing research focus and culture in most institutions, and lack of international research collaborations

► Limited focus on entrepreneurship on campus as reflected in the fact that there are few institutes that offer programs in entrepreneurship and have active incubation / entrepreneurship cells

► Complex regulatory requirements and hurdles, poor institutional governance standards, and lack of professional management While we acknowledge that the Government has proposed and is also taking several measures to improve the system on the above aspects, there are some steps it could take to make the Indian higher education system a role model for other emerging systems. Institutions, on their part, would need to adopt a transformative and innovative approach across all levers of higher education: from curricula and pedagogy to the use of technology to partnerships, governance and funding, to become globally relevant and competitive. In this report, we have looked at some world-class institutions and country systems that could hold important lessons for government and institutions.

To make India “globally relevant and competitive”, the paper recommends that higher education in the country needs to be promoted as follows:

► India prominently placed on the global higher education map in terms of more globally-reputed Indian institutions, significant student and faculty mobility, presence of / collaborations with quality international institutions

► India as a hub for talent that is able to drive competitiveness of the Indian economy and is fit to work in or serve international markets

► A culture of research, innovation and entrepreneurship that can power high economic growth in the country.

Source: http://www.indiaeducationreview.com/news/industry-participation-research-innovation-important-promote-entrepreneurship-report/18232

MEMBERSHIP OF IIT BOMBAY LIBRARY

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE MEMBERSHIP OF IIT BOMBAY LIBRARY

Learning and Information Resource Centre @ SFIT is a proud member of IIT Bombay Library.

Our library members (faculty and students) are urged to use the services of the library only on working days (Monday through Friday) between

0930 – 1730 hrs. They should carry a letter of introduction from Head of the Institute and their valid identity card. Only following services are available to them:

Reference and consultation

Photocopying service

Bibliographic assistance on prevailing Database (CD/DVD only) rates access, searching and printing output )

Books and other publications are not lent out to the educational institute members. Internet access to electronic resources is also not available to them.

Please contact the Library for Application form and access details.

Information gathered from: http://www.library.iitb.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/edumemb.pdf

Pratham Books is looking for TENTASTIC champions

Pratham Books is looking for TENTASTIC champions

Yes, we are looking for champions once again. But this time, it isn't just for our International Literacy Day event. It is for a much larger and a much bigger storytelling drive.

Every year on International Literacy Day, our champions have shared stories across the world in multiple languages. We turned ten this year and wanted to turn the celebrations up a notch.

Join our tribe of champions and commit to conducting ten storytelling sessions for children during the year (including the main one on International Literacy Day). Imagine the number of children we will collectively reach through this massive storytelling drive. The number are boggling and the joy ... infectious!

Make reading contagious by registering to be a TENTASTIC Champion. Read about our previous champions here.

If you have any queries about the campaign, please mail champions(at)prathambooks(dot)org.

Source: http://blog.prathambooks.org/2014/04/pratham-books-is-looking-for-tentastic.html