Soon, Mumbai University to offer engineering in Marathi

MUMBAI: Engineering will soon be offered in Marathi. Undergraduate commerce subjects will have credits for research. Emerging subjects such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning will figure in the course offerings of Mumbai University (MU).

MU’s academic council, which met on Tuesday, cleared the decks for a host of new initiatives. It also declared the new academic calendar open from June 14 with the first term ending on October 30 and keeping in mind festivals such as Ganeshotsav and Diwali. The second term would begin on November 15 and close on May 1, with a break during Christmas. The academic session of 2022-23 will start from June 12, 2022.

Earlier, the All India Council for Technical Education approved a proposal to teach engineering in regional languages. “There will be radical changes in teaching of engineering under the faculty of science and technology. AICTE’s recommendation to teach engineering in regional languages was also approved in today’s meeting. Therefore, engineering will soon be offered in Marathi in affiliated colleges of MU. At the same time, courses in emerging new subjects have been introduced in eight areas of engineering keeping in view the industrial needs,” said an academic council member. These include artificial intelligence and data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cyber security, internet of things, data engineering, computer science and engineering (data science), computer science and engineering (internet of things and cyber security, including blockchain technology).

For the first time, research field case studies will be included in the university to enhance student skills and improve their proficiency in a particular field. “Case studies will be introduced in the fourth semester of BMS (bachelors in management studies), BAF (bachelors in accounting and finance) and BBI (bachelors in banking and insurance) courses under commerce. For this, 30 hours have been set aside and two credits will be awarded. Field case studies will also be conducted for botany, zoology and chemistry under science and for economics, geography, sociology and anthropology,” said a dean.

For administration, the concept of schools has been approved and would be implemented to bring various subjects under one umbrella. Students will be able to pick subjects under various disciplines. The academic council approved establishment of various schools such as those for Indian and foreign languages, social sciences and performing arts. To create awareness about National Cadet Corps, nod has been given to introduce it as an optional subject. There are NCC units in 68 colleges. 

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/soon-mumbai-university-to-offer-engg-in-marathi/articleshowprint/83968185.cms

Industry’s First Machine Learning-based RAN Application Boosts Spectral Efficiency by 15%

Project Marconi is the industry’s first Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML) based radio network application for 5G Medium Access Control (MAC) scheduler. Optimized with Intel AI Software and 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors.

Network providers globally have invested heavily in spectrum and are looking for solutions to develop and gain 5G services faster. According to the Global Mobile Suppliers Association, the total value of spectrum auctions reached over $27 billion in 2020. Capgemini’s solution on Intel Architecture increases the amount of traffic each cell can handle. It allows operators to serve more subscribers and deliver an outstanding experience, while launching new Industry 4.0 services such as enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) use cases.

Walid Negm, Chief Research and Innovation Officer at Capgemini Engineering said: “Our teams worked closely with Intel to create a truly innovative solution that can really move the needle for operators. We gathered and utilized over one terabyte of data and conducted countless test runs with NetAnticipate5G to fine-tune the predictive analytics to meet diverse operator requirements. In short, machine learning can be deployed for intelligent decision-making on the RAN without any additional hardware requirement. This makes it cost efficient in the short run and future proof in the long run as we move into Cloud Native RAN implementations.”

Cristina Rodriguez, VP of Wireless Access Network Division at Intel said: “Our 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors with built-in AI acceleration provide high performance for deep learning on the Net Anticipate 5G platform. Together, our collaboration delivered ultra-fast inference data to enhance the Open-Source ML libraries resulting in an intelligent RAN that can predict and quickly react to subscriber coverage requirements while reducing TCO.”

Capgemini deployed its NetAnticipate5G and RATIO O-RAN platform to introduce advanced AI/ML techniques. The AI powered predictive analytical solution forecasts and assigns the appropriate MCS (modulation and coding scheme) values for signal transmission through forecasting of the user signal quality and mobility patterns accurately. In this way, the RAN can intelligently schedule MAC resources to achieve up to 40% more accurate MCS prediction and yield to 15% better spectrum efficiency in the case studies and testing. As a result, it delivers faster data speeds, better and more consistent QoE to subscribers and robust coverage for use cases that rely on low latency connectivity such as robotics-based manufacturing and V2X (vehicle-to-everything).

 Source: https://www.eletimes.com/industrys-first-machine-learning-based-ran-application-boosts-spectral-efficiency-by-15

Reading Day - 19th June 2021: Report

The P N Panicker Foundation and P N Panicker Vigyan Vikas Kendra have been observing the Reading Day, Reading Week, and Reading Month Celebrations since 19th June, 1996, the first annual remembrance day of Shri P N Panicker, the father of Library and Literacy Movement in Kerala.

Started as a Reading Day Celebration on 19th June, 1996, by the Govt. of Kerala along with P.N. Panicker Foundation it has become a mass movement to promote to culture of reading so as to inculcate the habit of reading and promote book mindedness among school children, youth as well as the underprivileged population of the country. Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, came down to Kerala and launched the 22nd National Reading/ Digital Reading Month Celebrations on 19th June, 2017 at Kochi. The Prime Minister gave a clarion call to propagate the message of Vayichu Valaruka (Read and Grow) to 300 million Indian citizens by 2022 when the country celebrate its 75th year of independence. The Prime Minister directed P.N. Panicker Foundation to promote digital reading also so as to use digital technology in all educational tools of the country.

The Government of Kerala and the Government of India through NITI Aayog has entrusted the responsibility of observing National Reading/ Digital Reading Month Celebrations to P N Panicker Foundation and P N Panicker Vigyan Vikas Kendra.

 SFIT LIRC and NDLI Club organized an Online Quiz on the topic "IEEE Xplore Digital Library" to motivate students to use the IEEE Xplore Resources more effectively. 61 students responded to the Quiz.