Thursday, June 06, 2024

The most recent QS World University scores for 2025 show that Indian universities have made big strides forward. 61% of those universities saw their scores go up. For the 13th year in a row, the Massachusetts School of Technology (MIT) has been ranked as the best school in the world.

Performance of Indian Institutes

The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) is now ranked 118th in the world, 31 spots higher than it was before. The second and third places in India go to IIT Delhi and the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, which are very close behind. Amazingly, IIT Delhi moved up 47 spots and IIT Madras jumped 58 spots, showing big gains. Even with these improvements, IIT Indore went down, falling 23 places.

2025 RANK	2024 RANK	Institution
118	149	Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB)
150	197	Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD)
211	225	Indian Institute of Science
222	271	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT-KGP)
227	285	Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM)
263	278	Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK)
328	407	University of Delhi
335	369	Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR)
344	364	Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG)
383	427	Anna University
477	454	Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IIT Indore)
531	571	Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi
580	601-610	Jawaharlal Nehru University
587	771-780	Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences
631-640	711-720	Savitribai Phule Pune University
641-650	–	Symbiosis International (Deemed University)
681-690	691-700	Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad
691-700	771-780	Chandigarh University
701-710	781-790	National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli
711-720	751-760	University of Mumbai

Global Standings

Globally, MIT is followed by Imperial College London and Harvard University, with the latter sharing the third position with the University of Oxford. Notably, the University of Cambridge dropped from second to fifth place. The rankings also acclaimed ETH Zurich as Continental Europe’s top institution for the seventeenth consecutive year.

Methodology and Measurement

The scores come from a careful study of 176 million citations and 17 million research papers. QS looked at data from 5,600 schools around the world and polled over 175,798 academics and 105,276 employers. Rankings are highly based on key factors like academic reputation, employer reputation, and study impact.

India’s Improvements and Global Representation

India has done very well, with big gains in study and working with other countries. This is shown by the fact that its Citations per Faculty score of 37.8 is higher than the global average. India is the seventh most represented country in the world and the third most represented country in Asia, after Japan and China. It has 46 universities mentioned. Some schools, like the University of Delhi, which moved up 79 spots, really stand out in the new ranks. The QS scores show how competitive higher education is around the world and how India is becoming more important in this field.

Why AI chatbot of your older self won’t stop you from making stupid decisions

If I only knew then, what I know now…” It is a lament the young do not understand, for they do not know that they do not know. But as time passes — sometimes in days, sometimes in years — many people have wanted to go back and counsel, scold and guide themselves to better decisions. Some may wish to go back only a day, and caution their past selves against that fifth drink, or the late-night binge eating.

For others, regrets can span years and even a lifetime. It may be that, after slaving away at a job for decades, someone may want to go back and quit, when time and opportunity allowed them to. Now, AI is trying to allow people to talk to younger versions of themselves.

According to a report in The Guardian, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have built an AI-powered chatbot that simulates a user’s older self and dishes out advice. The profile picture is aged — wrinkles, grey hair and perhaps a bit of wisdom in the eyes — to make the faux time travel feel more authentic.

It gives career advice, tells people to cherish their parents, and shares any number of other pearls of wisdom. If the advice sounds a little corny, users have only themselves to blame — the chatbot is based on their behaviour and inputs. Unfortunately, though, it’s unlikely to alter the course of lives.

The problem with the “I wish I’d known then what I know now” aspiration is, as Terry Pratchett pointed out, “when you got older you found out that you wasn’t you then. You then was a twerp.” It takes a life filled with regrets and what-ifs to gain the wisdom to give advice. Ignoring the advice of elders is what being young is often about. A chatbot won’t change that. If kids were so keen on perspective, they would just listen to their parents.

Source: Indian Express, 6/06/24

Thursday, May 30, 2024

Quote of the Day May 30, 2024

“If you treat people right, they will treat you right - at least 90% of the time.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt

“अगर आप लोगों के साथ अच्छा बर्ताव करेंगे, तो वे भी आपके साथ अच्छा बर्ताव करेंगे - कम से कम 90% वक़्त।”
फ्रेंकलिन डी रूसवेल्ट

NSDC And ILO Forge A Strategic Partnership To Enhance Skill Development And Lifelong Learning

Bengaluru : Furthering the Skill Mission, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) today announced a strategic partnership to advance skill development and lifelong learning in India and globally. This collaboration aims to empower individuals across the globe, by equipping them with essential competencies and qualifications, thereby enhancing employability and sustainable economic growth.

The MoU was signed by Mr. Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO, NSDC and MD, NSDC International, and Mr. Sangheon Lee, Director, Employment Policy, Job Creation and Livelihoods Department, ILO, reaffirming both organizations’ commitment to leveraging their strengths and expertise in talent development. This partnership is dedicated to developing effective policies, governance and financing structures which will enhance skill development both nationally and internationally. A key aspect of the partnership is the implementation of the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH). This digital transformation will streamline skill development initiatives, enhancing their efficiency, accessibility, and global impact.

Lauding the partnership Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India said, “We are pleased that a key aspect of our partnership is the adoption of the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) and Governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations in ILO’s member countries will be able to use SIDH to digitize systems, processes, skills delivery, and job matching, based on a cost-effective model. This digital transformation will enhance the efficiency of skill development initiatives, making them more accessible and impactful globally. At MSDE, we are committed to creating policies and platforms that support lifelong learning and continuous skill development for our talent to succeed nationally and globally. SIDH exemplifies this commitment, and this partnership reflects our shared mission to empower individuals through skill development avenues, across borders.”

“By combining ILO’s expertise with our commitment to skilling, reskilling, and upskilling, we aim to empower individuals to navigate disruptions and create a sustainable future. Together, we will enhance skillsets and boost employability, driving impactful change in the evolving job market.” he further added.

The partnership aims to facilitate public-private partnerships and knowledge exchange to enhance Sector Skill Councils (SSCs), develop micro-credentials, and promote Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) through a global knowledge sharing platform. By strengthening the comparability of skills and qualifications, digital tools will be developed and deployed to assess and compare the skills and qualifications of Indian workers with those required in potential destination countries, improving mobility and global employability prospects for Indian workers.

Speaking on the partnership, Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO, NSDC and MD, NSDC International said, “The MoU between ILO and NSDC is a significant milestone for Skills Ecosystem in India. This partnership will help build a pool of Indian youth for global opportunities as the partnership aims to align and benchmark Indian qualifications with global skills standards. India becoming a preferred destination for GCCs, opens opportunities for Indian youth to participate in remotely delivered knowledge work for the whole world. Government’s focus on skilled migration opens opportunities for those who want to emigrate to join international workforce. We are also excited to work with ILO to develop regional qualification frameworks such as South Asian Qualification Framework which will help youth from our neighbouring countries also. NSDC’s partnership will also help offer NSDC Digital’s services and offerings to member countries of ILO.”

Speaking about the strategic partnership, Mr. Sangheon Lee, Director, Employment Policy, Job Creation and Livelihoods Department, ILO said, “We believe that by combining NSDC technological capacity and ILO standard setting functions, tripartism and global reach, we have the potential to significantly improve training access and quality globally. In this spirit, I am excited to embark on this new partnership with NSDC today. I expect this partnership will create a synergistic effect, amplifying our collective ability to lead the transformation of skills development, for greater social justice, not only in India, but globally.”

Promoting quality apprenticeships, work-based learning for employability and productivity, and the development of sustainable enterprises will be a cornerstone of this collaboration. By collaborating on data-driven approaches, ILO and NSDC aim to align skill development initiatives with the evolving demands of various industries.

In addition to policy development and data analysis, the partnership will prioritize the development and support of innovative learning programs. These programs will be designed to be flexible and inclusive, fostering adaptability among learners while ensuring that skills development remains relevant and accessible to all segments of society.

What is Cyclone Remal?

A new low-pressure area has been found over the southwest and adjacent west central Bay of Bengal as of May 22, 2024, early in the morning. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) swears this is true. From what the IMD can tell, this storm will move northeast and is likely to turn into a depression by May 24. After that, the storm is likely to get stronger as it stays on the same path. By the evening of May 25, it will be in the northeast and adjacent northwest Bay of Bengal.

Conditions Favouring Intensification

The United States Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) said that the weather conditions are good for the storm to get stronger. Warm sea surfaces (28 to 29 degrees Celsius) and low vertical wind shear are two important factors. These conditions give the system the thermal energy it needs and keep the atmosphere steady, which is good for its survival and growth.

Potential Formation of Cyclone Remal

Based on predictions on the US Global Forecasting System (GFS) that Cyclone Remal could form in the northwest Bay of Bengal by the morning of May 26. Additionally, The Weather Channel (TWC) has admitted that a cyclonic storm is likely to happen, even though it says the chances of it becoming a severe cyclonic storm are low.

Impact Predictions

IMD says that on May 25 and 26, some districts in West Bengal and Odisha will get light to moderate rain, and other districts will get heavy rain. In northeast India, places like Mizoram, Tripura, and south Manipur are expected to have similar weather. Also, from May 26–28, TWC predicts heavy rain—possibly more than 200 millimeters—in states like Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura.

Implications and Preparedness

Local governments and people who live in places that could be affected are being told to keep a close eye on things and get ready for bad weather. This shows how important it is to have accurate weather predictions and plan ahead for disasters, especially in places that are prone to cyclones.

Facts about the Bay of Bengal

The Bay of Bengal is the biggest bay in the world, covering more than 2,172,000 square kilometres.
This part of the Indian Ocean is in the northeast. India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka are all on its edges.
The “Whistlers,” which are low-frequency radio waves caused by lightning, are a unique event that happens in the bay.
It is home to the very rare Olive Ridley turtle and the Sundarbans, which is the world’s biggest mangrove forest.
The Bengal Fan, the world’s biggest submarine fan, is in the Bay of Bengal.
The area also gets cyclones often, with a special cyclone season from April to November.

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