EDUCATION

CAMPUS
Mahabharata will now jostle for 
space with Paradise Lost 
Smriti Kak

The English Department of Delhi University has finally departed from the Eurocentric syllabus to include not just world literature, but more significantly, Indian literature. Come July and students of MA English will be pouring over Mahabharata as over Ramanujam’s poetry.

“The syllabus will include literature as ancient as Mahabharata and as contemporary as the poetry of Ramanujam. With literature from across the world compressed in, students will brake free of the guide books tradition and will have to think to understand,” said Sherina Joshi, a Reader at Deshbandhu College.

Academicians have been expressing concern over the fact that students of the Delhi University, unlike their counterparts in the Jawaharlal Nehru University, were unable to study literature from other parts of the world, including their own country.

The die-hard followers of canons may want to turn up their noses, but with Indian literature having arrived, reading the Mahabharata will no longer be a granny’s pastime. “The feedback to the new syllabus has been very encouraging. There were concerns over the sheer vastness of it, but as far as the content goes, the syllabus is well planned and the department has received accolades,” pointed out a teacher.

The new syllabus, which will be implemented in the new academic session, will include contemporary African, Australian and American literature.

There will also be an optional paper on ‘Visual Ads’ in literature and a paper on ‘Criticism’. “Now students will have to read each and every author. Since there will be questions that will have them draw comparisons between authors, they cannot get away with selective study. The best part is that they will now have to focus on reading texts and criticism, instead of relying on the age old guide books,” said Joshi.

One only wonders how long it’ll take for the guidebook writers to come up with an answer to that?

Course in Communication Design

Pearl Academy of Fashion has introduced a four-year B.A (Honours) degree in Communication Design, starting August 2003. The course has been started in collaboration with the Nottingham Trent University (NTU), UK. The NTU is a recognised and renowned institute known for imparting fashion and retail education. The degree in Communication Design will be validated by NTU.

The undergraduate degree aims at imparting education in the field of print and digital media. The course will help aspiring professionals orient themselves as assistant art directors and web page and multimedia designers, typographists, illustrators in the corporate and government sectors, design firms, advertising agencies, film studios or as freelancers.

The four-year programme comprises eight semesters and the syllabi includes theory, practice and exploration of appropriate methods and technology in identifying and solving communication problems and issues creatively. Students will be provided with a broad base exposure to graphic design issues, a comprehensive understanding of the functioning of the communication industry, with a special emphasis on print and electronic media and an opportunity to develop a personal style.

Scientist honoured

Prof M. L. Madan, a biotechnologist who is credited for producing the country’s first in-vitro fertilised calf, has been honoured with the Bhasin Award in Science and Technology. The award is given for significant achievement and outstanding scientific leadership.

Prof. Madan’s research contributions in livestock production has helped understand the basic mechanism involved in the effects of heat stress and seasonal changes on growth, development and reproduction among animals.

The Bhasin Award, which carries a cash prize of Rs one lakh, a citation and a memento, will be conferred on Prof. Madan at a ceremony later this year.

BITS wins battle of minds

IBM has announced the results of ‘The Greatest Minds Challenge,’ the first national level competition conducted for college and university students. The students of BITS, Pilani, bagged the first position, followed by IIT, Delhi and Jaya College, Chennai. As part of the competition, students have built a working model for an application, using technologies like DB2 Universal Database, WebSphere Application Developer and WebSphere Application Server. By winning this battle of brain, the team from Pilani is entitled not just to prizes, but also a trip to IBM’s research and development facility in the country.

Seminar on corporate responsibility

Dr Arun Nigavekar, Chairman, UGC, being welcomed at a seminar on ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ organised by Bharatiya Vidyapeeth’s Institute of Management and Research, New Delhi.

Bharatiya Vidyapeeth’s Institute of Management and Research, New Delhi, organised a seminar on ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ here last week.

The seminar aimed at providing the right platform and the interface for the intelligentsia, the industry and the academia to define the scope of corporate social responsibility and the means and modes of its delivery to the society.

The chief guest, Dr Arun Nigavekar, Chairman of the UGC, in his address identified the opportunity in front of the present generation to witness the ongoing transformation in the new millennium. He said it has thrown open significant and drastic changes like overcoming the geographical barriers with the advent of IT.

The thrust of the seminar was servicing the seven segments of society including consumers, stakeholders, government, funding institutions, employees, other industries and the nation. Delegates from 24 companies joined the participants from business schools at the seminar.

Academics condemn US aggression

Joining their counterparts from the academic echelons, over 60 senior doctors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and faculty members of the Jawaharlal Nehru University registered their protest over the ongoing US-led invasion of Iraq. The protestors condemned the action of the forces led by the US and UK against Baghdad and pointed out that US has shown traits of imperialism.

In a resolution they alleged that “it has shown that the US imperialists do not hesitate in committing any crime against humanity in pursuit of their cherished dream for world hegemony.”

The resolution was passed in a joint meeting held here last night, which was addressed by Dr Anwar Alam of the Centre for West Asian Studies, JNU, Prof. Imtiaz Ahmad and several senior faulty members of AIIMS.

They also criticised the Indian Government for not taking a resolute stand against the US-led aggression.

Understanding Chinese business acumen

There’s much talk about products from China flooding the Indian market. It is not only the markets of the developing countries, but even the markets of developed countries like Britain and America which are flooded with Chinese products. The low cost of Chinese goods has ensured that products from other countries find it extremely hard to compete in the price war.

Not surprisingly, a new course, ‘Import from China’, has been started by Career Zone in the Capital. This is for the first time that an institute has introduced such a training programme.

According to the director of this institute, Mr Gurpreet Singh, professional training goes hand in hand with continuing interaction with the industry.

The institute also provides free placement assistance to the candidates after the successful completion of the training. The institute also provides airhostess and flight steward course, news anchoring and radio jockeying courses.

Dr Pritam Singh, Director, IIM Lucknow, being felicitated by Mr Uddesh Kohli, president, All India Management Association.

Input by Nalini Ranjan Management guru felicitated 

All India Management Association along with the Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, felicitated the Director of the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, for being conferred the Padma Shri.

Dr Pritam Singh has been awarded the Padma Shri for his outstanding contribution in the filed of management education. Dr Singh is also the recipient of the FORE Award and has received the award for the ‘Best Director of Management School’ in India.