HRD Minister launches 17 RUSA projects

A cluster university in Jammu and Kashmir and language laboratories in Jharkhand's Ghatsila College were among the 17 projects launched by HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar. 

The projects spread across 14 states have been completed under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) of HRD Ministry aimed at providing central funding to state higher education departments and institutions to achieve the broad objectives of access, equity and excellence.

Javadekar also launched a portal with all details of resources facilitated under the scheme and a "Fund and Reform Tracker" mobile application. 

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How to pursue a course in Australia?

One of the major destinations for Indian students studying abroad is Australia which offers 22,000 courses across 1,100 institutes. Choosing to study in Australia is just one step in a long process to actually get there.

For those who want to pursue their dream courses in this country, here are some steps you can follow:

1. Pick a course:

There were 51,809 Indian students studying in Australia as on March 2016. Among the most popular courses offered, Business and Finance, Hospitality and STEM receive the maximum number of applicants.

The business and finance courses popularly pursued include bachelors in Business, Business Administration, International Business, Aviation Management, Business Economics, Business and Commerce, Business and Information System, Exercise and Sport Science, Business- Information Technology, Accounting and Finance, Finance/Industrial Banking and Actuarial Studies and Commerce.

In hospitality, you can pick between bachelors in Hospitality Management, Business-Hospitality and Tourism and International Tourism and Hotel Management.

The most popular STEM courses are bachelor of Biomedical Science, Biotechnology, Mechanical Engineering Honours, Civil Engineering Honours, Games Development, Nursing, Microbiology and Social work.

Lastly, you can choose among the undergraduate diploma courses in Accounting, Automotive Management, Design Visual Communication, Hotel Management, Basic Cuisine and Basic Pastry, Fitness, Aviation and Automotive Management.

2. Pick a University:

Search for the universities in Australia that offer the courses of your choice. According to the World University Ranking by Times Higher Education, the best universities in Australia are University of Melbourne, Australian National University, University of Sydney, University of Queensland and Monash University.

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IIT Kharagpur to introduce Vastu Shastra

IIT Kharagpur believes that the ancient Indian architecture philosophy of Vastu Shastra must be taught to architecture students to make them more "well-rounded."

As per a TOI report, the institute recently conducted a workshop on the subject and plans to include an introductory course for first and second year undergraduate students, and a more exhaustive course for post-graduate and research students.

IIT faculty members say that there is no reason why Indian architecture students shouldn't know ancient Indian architectural traditions, and believe that Vastu concepts aren't religious and are instead based on science.

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India, Australia collaborate on education sector

India has collaborated with the Australian government, universities and vocational education trainers following a two-day mission that has delivered key advancements on educational issues.

Simon Birmingham, Australias Minister for Education and Training, today said their government has made important progress on key education issues following meetings and discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar and Skill Development Minister Pratap Rudy.

"India represents a significant opportunity for both Australian educators and students which is why the commitments we have secured will continue to deliver on what is a strategically important relationship for both countries and our respective education sectors," Birmingham said.

"Ministers Javadekar and Rudy both recognise the quality of Australian education and have instructed Indian officials to work on helping our universities and training providers to establish themselves in the local market," he said.

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Ten Editing Tips For Students

Many people believe that it’s notoriously difficult to write in English because the language has borrowed words from nearly every other language. There are numerous homonyms that is, words that sound the same but are spelled differently (e.g. there and their) and when it comes to spelling, it sometimes seems there are more exceptions than rules.

Even teachers make mistakes. (Did you catch our error in our last article?) So proofreading and careful review are important. 10 tips to help your student learn to edit:

1. Write first, then get it right. Encourage students to write all of their ideas down before they pay attention to grammar and spelling. Although proper writing is very important, focusing on it too much at the beginning can hamper the flow of ideas. First drafts should be all about content and then the second draft can emphasize organization and flow. Finally, the focus of the third draft should be mechanics.

2. Start with a checklist that is appropriate for the student’s level to look for common spelling and grammar mistakes. Students in different grades should have different expectations. A student in Grade 3 is only expected to correctly spell the words they have studied and use basic punctuation. An international baccalaureate student is expected to check the spelling and meaning of every word and use punctuation correctly. If they try to tackle too many mistakes or difficult concepts early on, students might become demotivated and not want to continue writing. Writing should be enjoyable.

3. Once a student has edited a variety of their own work, encourage him or her to create a personal checklist. Students often have specific mistakes or habits. Encourage students to do a search for how many times they have used the word “so” or to scan for every time they have used the word “I” and check that it is capitalized.

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How to improve your grammar in just a few minutes?

In this fast-paced, technology-driven world, it is not wrong to say that verbal communication is extremely important for people to rise upward in term of social mobility and their profession. Language is the medium for communicating not only to express our feelings, thoughts and opinions, but also to create an impression upon others.

The relevance of communications can be understood in social and professional context, be it boardroom meetings or casual marketplace encounters. Though incorrect use of language may convey the basic meaning, but it always reflects in a  poor manner on the user. For instance, imagine an interview for a job you really wanted, an accidental meeting with a family friend at the cinema hall or a situation where you are invited for dinner and you meet new people who are professionally senior to you in your field.

Grammar mistakes:

The list of common mistakes that people commit in such social and professional situations is endless. However, some common ones include incorrectly introducing oneself as 'myself Saumya' when the right form is 'I am Saumya' or 'my name is Saumya.' This is one of the commonest mistakes that highlights the speaker's linguistic incompetence.

Another common error is not inverting the subject-auxiliary in questions as in 'why you are not coming?' when it should be 'why are you not coming?' Many working professionals, even in high posts, are guilty of committing this mistake. Confusing prepositions is another malady especially the use of 'at', 'in' or 'on' in sentences.

Errors in the use of articles or tenses is yet another issue such as putting an article when it is not required as in 'The Dehradun is very pretty' or using 'double past tense marker' as in 'I didn't knew about this' when it should be 'Dehradun is...' and 'didn't know' respectively.

Mistakes are not just limited to grammar, but also include vocabulary. For most people, vocabulary is limited to the use of antonyms and synonyms taught in schools, but it is in fact a vast area that includes knowledge of single and multi-word units.

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Malala Yousafzai named UN Messenger of Peace

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has been named the youngest ever UN Messenger of Peace, with a special focus on girls' education.

The 19-year-old Pakistani activist became known around the world after she was shot in the head and neck by the Taliban on her way home from school in 2012. She narrowly escaped death and, since her recovery, has continued campaigning for the rights of girls around the world to access education.

Yousafzai accepted the accolade -- the highest honor bestowed by the UN -- from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York Monday evening.

"I stood here on this stage almost three and a half years ago ... and I told the world that education is the basic human right of every girl," she said in her acceptance speech. "And I stand here again today and say the same thing. Once you educate girls, you change the whole community, you change the whole society.

She also called on other girls from her home country to make their voices heard.

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