Academics

A US brain drain will have global implications, and also undermine America

The Trump administration's broad attacks on science are increasing the likelihood of a brain drain similar to that seen in Russia and other authoritarian regime

Best of BS Opinion: As populists pound the podium, common sense retreats

Today's columns revolve around the backlash to globalisation that has made populism popular, even when it flies in the face of the people's best interests

A new academic exodus: Is America repeating Europe's 1930s error?

If India could attract some of that talent (and many of these researchers are desis), it could provide a huge boost to research within the country

IIIT student dies by suicide due to 'academic stress', probe initiated

The IIIT student had not attended classes for the last three months and had been struggling with depression linked to academic pressure

Scientists call for open access to X's data for academic analyses, research

Researchers are calling for free access to social media platform X's data for academic analyses, insights from which can help understand trends in political engagement. Efforts of a research group from Saarland University, Germany, were halted abruptly when X's owner Elon Musk blocked free access to X's data for academic research purposes in June 2023. The US-based entrepreneur acquired the platform, then known as Twitter, in October 2022. The team wanted to know whether Twitter prioritised tweets from politicians from the right of the political spectrum between 2021 and 2023. "It is simply not acceptable that access to these vast amounts of data is either unaffordable or provided so selectively that no meaningful analyses can be conducted," lead researcher Ingmar Weber, a professor of artificial intelligence (AI) and chair for societal computing at Saarland University, said. The researchers called for implementation of legislation to ensure that academic researchers can regain acc

Ashwini Vaishnaw stresses industry-academic coordination for employment

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday said that coordination between industry and academia was necessary to increase the employability of the youth. Vaishnaw was addressing a gathering after flagging off three new trains. 'The requirement of the industry should be provided in college as this increases employability of the youth. Today is a very important day as we inaugurate the National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT) deemed-to-be-university at 12 locations, including five in the Northeast," Vaishnaw said. NIELIT is the only university under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Vaishnaw flagged off Guwahati-New Lakhimpur Janshatabdi Express, New Bongaigaon-Guwahati passenger train and Tinsukia-Naharlagun Express from Guwahati railway station during his day-long visit to Assam. Governor Laxman Prasad Acharya and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma were also present on the occasion. He also virtually inaugurated the Tetelia road .

Nursery admissions in Delhi private schools end, first list on Jan 17

Nursery admissions for the 202526 academic session in around 1,741 private schools in Delhi concluded on Friday. The Delhi government's Directorate of Education (DoE), in a circular on November 12, announced that the last date to submit registration forms was December 20. The first general admission lists will be published on January 17, 2025. Pratika Gupta, principal of Sovereign School, Rohini, said, "This year, we received more than 2,000 registrations for nursery admissions, which is quite satisfactory and exceeds last year's numbers." Chairperson of Gitarattan Global School, R N Jindal, said the school received approximately 1,000 registrations for nursery admissions. The DoE has directed schools to upload details of all selected applicants by January 1, 2025. Manisha Sharma, principal of Venkateshwar School, Dwarka, said, "We have received around 3,600 nursery registrations this year, which is a significant increase compared to previous years." Private schools are required

Nursery admissions begins in Delhi's private schools for new session

The admission process for nursery, kindergarten and class 1 in around 1,741 private schools in Delhi for the 2025-26 academic session began on Thursday, officials said. The Delhi government's Department of Education (DoE), in a circular issued on November 12, said the last date to submit registration forms is December 20, and the first general admission lists will be published on January 17, 2025. The schools listed their admission criteria on Wednesday. The key criteria listed by many schools were neighbourhood, distance, and proximity to schools whereas girl child, single girl child, siblings and single parents are the other criteria on the list. Some schools also listed criteria for Sikh and Christian minorities, economically disadvantaged groups, and parents with physical disabilities. Private schools have been directed to reserve 25 per cent of their seats for students from EWS/DG categories and children with disabilities. Separate admission lists will be published for these .

28% UG, 15% PG med students diagnosed with mental health conditions: Survey

Nearly 28 per cent of UG and 15.3 per cent of PG medical students reported having been diagnosed with mental health conditions, according to an online survey conducted by a National Medical Commission (NMC) task force. The survey, which included 25,590 undergraduate students, 5,337 postgraduate students, and 7,035 faculty members recommended that resident doctors work no more than 74 hours per week, get a weekly one-day off and seven-eight hours of daily sleep. Thoughts of self-harm or suicide in the last 12 months were reported by 16.2 per cent MBBS students while the number was recorded at 31 per cent in MD/MS students, according to the report by the National Task Force on Mental Health and Well-being of Medical Students. According to the task force survey report that was finalised in June this year, feelings of loneliness or social isolation are common, with 8,962 (35 per cent) experiencing them always or often and 9,995 (39.1 per cent) sometimes. Social connectivity is an issue

Universities can offer admissions twice a year from 2024-25 session: UGC

From the 2024-25 academic session, the two admission cycles will be in July-August and January-February

Out of syllabus: When vice chancellors get caught in a political tug-of-war

Rahul Gandhi's purported comments questioning the appointment of VCs has academics demanding legal action

VCs, scholars slam Rahul for false varsity appointment claims

As many as 181 academicians, including vice chancellors and former VCs, have accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of spreading "falsehood" regarding the appointment process for university heads and sought lawful action against him. In an open letter, they said the Congress leader has alleged that vice chancellors are appointed solely on the basis of affiliation with some organisation rather than merit as they slammed his claims. The process by which VCs are selected is characterised by stringent and transparent rigorous procedure grounded in the values of meritocracy, scholarly distinction and integrity, they claimed. Jawaharlal University Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, Delhi University VC Yogesh Singh and AICTE Chairman T G Sitharam are among the academicians who have signed onto the letter. The selection has been completely based on academic and administrative prowess and with a vision to take universities ahead, they said. Though they did not quote Gandhi's specif

2 digital registries will do away with need to carry academic certificates

Two programmes are doing away with the need for students to carry around their academic certificates. The initiative will also help employers in verifying documents

Harvard to move past firestorm brought on by Claudine Gay's resignation

Harvard University on Wednesday sought to move beyond the firestorm brought on by the plagiarism allegations, congressional testimony and resignation of Claudine Gay, the school's first Black president, as it seeks a new leader and tries to heal divisions at the elite Ivy League school. The search for a new president will begin "in due course" and will include "broad engagement and consultation with the Harvard community", the Harvard Corporation, the school's 11-member governing board said in statement on Tuesday, adding that it will be driven by "core values of excellence, inclusiveness, and free inquiry and expression". "At a time when strife and division are so prevalent in our nation and our world, embracing and advancing that mission -- in a spirit of common purpose -- has never been more important," leadership said. As it looks for a new president, the corporation also needs to examine its role in Gay's appearance before Congress, according to Khalil Gibran Muhammad, who ...

Statsguru: Top 7 countries account for nearly 70% of vocational students

India had "the lowest gender parity index", with women accounting for only 10 per cent of vocational students: Study

NCERT textbook row: Name withdrawal spectacle disrupts curriculum updation

Amid the row over removal of certain portions of syllabi by NCERT, as part of its exercise to reduce the content load among students, over 71 academicians have released a statement on false propaganda

Bengal govt introduces 4-year UG honours course from this academic year

The West Bengal government on Wednesday announced introduction of a four- year honours course at the undergraduate level in all government and state-aided higher educational institutions from this academic year. In a statement, the higher education department said the decision has been taken after holding talks with all stakeholders and based on the recommendation of a state-appointed expert panel which had suggested rolling out a four-year UG course from the 2023-24 academic year. "After consulting various stakeholders and keeping the future of students in mind, it has been decided by the competent authority in the State Government that the four-year UG level programme will be introduced in all Government/ Government aided/ Government sponsored Higher Education Institutions from the academic session 2023-2024..... "They shall be awarded degrees in accordance with the UGC national curriculum and credit framework for UG level programmes," the statement said. This will be in place of

Dire need of DRDO-academia partnership for safety, says Rajnath Singh

Research and development in military technology is crucial to protect the double threat on borders says Rajnath Singh when inaugurating a two day DRDO-Academia Conclave

Academic text produced by ChatGPT formulaic, can be detected: Study

Academic style content produced by ChatGPT is relatively formulaic and would be picked up by many existing AI-detection tools, despite being more sophisticated than those produced by previous innovations, according to a new study. However, the findings should serve as a wake-up call to university staff to think about ways to explain to students and minimise academic dishonesty, researchers from Plymouth Marjon University and the University of Plymouth, UK, said. ChatGPT, a Large Language Machine (LLM) touted as having the potential to revolutionise research and education, has also prompted concerns across the education sector about academic honesty and plagiarism. To address some of these, this study encouraged ChatGPT to produce content written in an academic style through a series of prompts and questions. Some of these included "Write an original academic paper, with references, describing the implications of GPT-3 for assessment in higher education", "How can academics prevent

Academic load enough, can do without Covid deployment: Teachers on order

A section of teachers on Tuesday wondered, burdened as they are with academic work, why they were chosen over civil defence volunteers for COVID duty at IGI Airport, even as the DDMA withdrew its order that asked for their deployment at the Delhi Airport. The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) had on Monday issued an order directing government school teachers' deployment at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport to enforce COVID protocols. After facing criticism from teachers, the DDMA on Tuesday withdrew its order that was meant to be enforced from December 31 to January 15, and exempted teachers from the COVID duty. The original order had been issued by the district magistrate (West) on behalf of the DDMA. District Secretary (West-A) of the Government School Teachers Association Sant Ram said that teachers should not be involved in duties other than academics and that government staff apart from teachers should have also been deployed at the airport. "Why involve