A-list hires of India’s B-schools

Another year, and further proof that India's leading B-schools are almost immune to the business cycle. Job markets are up or down in various ...

To read the full article, visit:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/a-list-hires-of-indias-b-schools/printarticle/68263315.cms (Accessed on 7 March, 2019)

Google launches 'Bolo' to tutor children to read Hindi, English

Google's Bolo app, which is being launched in India first, uses speech recognition and text-to-speech technology.
Bolo will be available on Google Play Store in India for all smartphones running Android 4.4 (Kit Kat) and higher

NEW DELHI: Tech giant Google Wednesday unveiled a new app 'Bolo' that aims to help children in primary school learn to read in Hindi and English.

The free app, which is being launched in India first, uses Google's speech recognition and text-to-speech technology.

The app features an animated character 'Diya', who encourages children to read stories aloud and helps if the child is unable to pronounce a word. It also lauds the reader when he/she completes the reading.

"We have designed the app to work offline, so users need to just download the under 50MB app once and then they have access to close to 100 stories in Hindi and English that the children can read out loud and improve their reading skills," Google India Product Manager Nitin Kashyap told PTI.

Bolo will be available on Google Play Store in India for all smartphones running Android 4.4 (Kit Kat) and higher, he added.

Citing the annual ASER 2018 report, Kashyap said, it was found that only half of students enrolled in grade 5 in rural India can confidently read a grade 2 level textbook.

"Lack of reading ability can significantly impact further education, and ultimately children's ability to realise their full potential. Limited access to quality material, under-resourced infrastructure, and barriers to learning outside the classroom are some of the challenges that children often face," he added.

Google piloted the 'Bolo' app in about 200 villages in Uttar Pradesh and the early results are very encouraging with 64 per cent of children showing an improvement in reading proficiency in just three months, Kashyap said.

"We are now actively working with a number of non-profit partners to take the app to more people across the country who could benefit from it," he said.

Kashyap said the company is also looking at expanding the app to other Indic languages like Bengali, soon.

To ensure safety of the child, all personal information always stays on device. The users are also not asked for details like email ID and gender for logging into the app.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/ (Accessed on March 7, 2019)

Mehak Mirza Prabhu: I am no one to select my story, the story selects me

Mehak Mirza Prabhu is a Mumbai based storyteller, full-time writer, voice-over artist, performer, mentor, blogger, scriptwriter and social enthusiast. She creates fictional stories in multiple languages. She also runs an online story telling school, ‘Jhumritaliaya’. She has a huge fan following both online and offline. Her TEDx talk, “How Story Telling Saved Me,” is a true account of her life experiences. It has been highly appreciated online. Many of her stories are widely accessed on YouTube.

Open Interview features Mehak Mirza Prabhu’s interview with Satish Bendre and Santosh C Hulagabali. In this interview, you will notice how natural, honest and gifted storyteller she is. Her answers are not studded with academic theories of art of storytelling but are full of wisdom and commonsense replete with deep understanding of what she does and how she does. You will also feel how different, simple and clear she is in her thoughts and actions.

To read the full interview, visit: https://openinterview.org/2019/02/20/i-am-no-one-to-select-my-story-the-story-selects-me-mehak-mirza-prabhu/ (Accessed on March 6, 2019)

List of Best BE Project Reports: Update 1

The list of Best B.E. Project Reports of the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 has now been updated with the abstracts and names of the respective project guides.

Please scan the QR Code below to view the list:

Rainmakers of engg services boost biz: Indian Tech’s Fastest Growing Segment Runs On Execs Whom Customers Trust

When former chief digital officer at Rolls-Royce Neil Crockett wanted to identify a service provider to accelerate its IoT (internet-of-things) capabilities three years ago, he floated a request for proposal (RFP). The company wanted to use IoT to get a lot more data from customers and use that to provide long-term service contracts.

Ayyaswamy presented TCS’s IoT platform, called Connected Universe Platform (TCUP), that helps develop and deploy IoT applications. Having worked with Rolls-Royce, TCS had a deep knowledge of its engines, blades, compressors and exhaust. “We were able to characterise what we could do for them. Our strength was contextual knowledge, digital platforms, information security, core engineering, capability around services. We were able to bring the might of TCS into making their business goal a reality,” Ayyaswamy says.Reguraman Ayyaswamy, global head of IoT & engineering and industrial services at TCS, saw it as a great opportunity for the company, and he knew he had his task cut out. Roll-Royce specialises in highperformance power systems engineering and aircraft engines. It was a decade-old-customer for TCS. But this was a different kind of engagement, one that impacted the core operations of Rolls-Royce, and TCS would really have to prove its capabilities. Other IT players too were participating in the RFP.

TCS won the deal. Ayyaswamy declined to mention the deal value, but independent sources estimate it is around $20 million annually. The platform today captures and analyses data to reduce the cycle time for Rolls-Royce to develop new products and services.

Getting customers to outsource core engineering work is very difficult, but Indian IT companies today have built significant expertise in the field, and it has become the fastest growing business for them. Deals above $10 million are considered large in this space. It is also a high-margin business. Industry body Nasscom in its 2018 strategic review called out engineering and R&D and product development as the fastest growing segment in IT services, growing at 12.8%, led by demand for connected cars, mobility and connectivity.

Pareekh Jain, founder of Pareekh Consulting, says the growth in engineering services is not a demand problem, as much as a supply problem. “Of the over $1-trillion R&D spend, only $60 billion or 6% is currently outsourced. There is a huge market but someone needs to go out and make it happen. That’s why the role of key executives and rainmakers are important,” he says.

L&T Technology Services, Persistent and HCL each won an over $50-million deal in the last two years, signalling a psychological threshold that would open up upstream, high-end engineering opportunities.

Source: The Times of India dated 6 March, 2019

Now, just 1-day gap between engg papers at Mumbai University

MUMBAI: A month before the engineering exam is set to commence, Mumbai University has decided to reduce the gap of four to seven days given between each paper for preparation.

After a meeting held recently, a university official issued directives to all colleges, informing them about the need for creating a slot of 45 days for internship post exams. The decision has caused panic among students who plan their studies taking those leaves into account. An online petition, started a day ago, already has close to 20,000 supporters.

A message forwarded by the university’s dean of science and technology, SK Ukrande on Sunday, read, “Examinations will be conducted in two slots. Regular examinations will be held in the first slot and the ATKT (allowed to keep term) exams in the second. There will be only a day’s gap between two successive papers of the semester.” The regular exams are likely to be held from May 7 to May 22, and repeaters’ exams from May 23 to June 7. Students have been instructed to prepare themselves for the change in schedule and accordingly plan their studies. They have also been asked to plan for their internship in any industry from May 25 to July 7.

The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) recently stated students should mandatorily undergo internship for 600 hours during their BE/B Tech programme. Mumbai University, therefore, wanted colleges to facilitate a 45-day period during every vacation in the four-year programme – for first, second, third and final year students.

But the practice of giving preparation time before each paper is being followed for several years. Students claim the decision has come at the end of semester and can make it difficult for them to prepare. Students are worried some papers may clash. A student who signed the petition said there was no point in condensing the time-table as it would affect passing percentage of engineering students, which is already poor. “It is not possible to revise conceptual subjects in one day,” said a student. Another said the university should have announced this decision at the start of semester. The petition on change.org states students are overloaded with assignments and experiments for most of the year and there is enough pressure on students having ATKT.

A senior teacher claimed the decision was ad hoc and taken without discussion in the academic council meeting. “Also, there is a huge mismatch between number of students available and number of industries willing to take them for training,” said the teacher.

While the dean was unavailable for comment, Vinod Malale, spokesperson for the exam section, said the decision is not yet officially declared. “The university will take feedback from stakeholders,” he said. Another official said there was no point in dragging the engineering exam for a month when study leave is not given to students from any other programme. He added the university had recently shortened the timetable for TYBA exams too.

Source:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/now-just-1-day-gap-between-engg-papers-at-mumbai-university/articleshow/68263857.cms (Accessed on March 6, 2019)

Tata Consultancy Services recognised as Top Employer in Middle East

Capital Market March 05, 2019 Last Updated at 11:39 IST
By Top Employers Institute

Tata Consultancy Services has been recognised as a Top Employer in the Middle East for the fourth consecutive year by the Top Employers lnstitute, which independently assesses and certifies companies across the world. TCS was also recognized as the Number One Top Employer in the United Arab Emirates, and achieved Top Employer status in SaudiArabia and Qatar. This recognition was achieved due to TCS' exceptional workplace policies, culture and continued investments in its employees across all regions. Powered by Capital Market - Live News

Source: Business Standard dated March 5, 2019

URL: https://www.business-standard.com/article/printer-friendly-version?article_id=119030500293_1 (Accessed on March 5, 2019)