Among 364 applicants, who have been selected for the national-level ‘Change-makers confluence’, to be held between June 26 and 30 at Ishan Institute of Management and Technology, Greater Noida, is student from the city A. Kundhan Karunakar.
Karunakar, student of Miracle School of Engineering, is one among the 1,730 participants who have been shortlisted for the four-day youth conference. He is also instrumental in drawing scores of students together to work for the underprivileged groups through Oneness Organisation, an association of students. In order to encourage the young participants to become torchbearers of the nation, the confluence includes sessions like ‘young parliament’ and ‘social innovator programme’.
“It came as a pleasant surprise to me as I did not expect that I will be selected among hundreds of other participants. I am looking forward to the big day as it is a rare opportunity to meet people from different walks of life and share a common platform to express our views in panel discussions that cover topics like politics, education, health and other fronts,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Staff Reporter / Visakhapatnam – June 03rd, 2014
The contingent of 32 students of Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT) who won prizes in the NASA Ames Space Settlement Design Contest 2014 will be participating in the 33rd NSS International Space Development Conference in Los Angeles, scheduled to be held from May 14 to 18.
The State Bank of Hyderabad and the State Bank of India have come forward to provide sponsorship to the tune of Rs.30 lakh and Rs. 5 lakh respectively to fund the participation of the students. The university is also providing partial support, said R.V.Raja Kumar, Vice- Chancellor, RGUKT.
Prof. Kumar said that RUGKT students have been participating in this global competition for the last three years. This year they have won prizes for all the 19 projects done by them. “We are proud of our students for the recognition they got. They get a chance to interact with space scientists of high reputation from different countries.”
The NASA Ames Space Settlement Contest is an annual contest, which invites students from around the world, to design permanent orbital settlements in space, not on any planet or moon, and the best designs are awarded prizes.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – May 13th, 2014
Chetana Guthikonda asks students in Laurie Miller’s fifth-grade class questions about the project after they finished.
Students in grades 3-5 at Creek Valley made braille books to send to the Devnar Foundation for the Blind in Hyderabad, India, organized for Global Youth Service Day by EHS junior Chetana Guthikonda.
Guthikonda, a member of the HandsOn Twin Cities Youth Advisory Board, created the project based on whether it was simple, sustainable and affordable.
She contacted the school in India to ask about its needs before deciding on the project.
Students created books for beginner readers with words like giraffe, bear, tiger and lion spelled in braille. Each book cost less than $1 to make in Edina, compared with more than $1,000 with a braille machine.
Making the books teaches Edina students about braille while teaching students in India how to read, Guthikonda said.
Fifth-grader Aakash Narayan creates a braille book for the Devnar Foundation in Hyderabad, India, near where he’s from in India. (Sun Current staff photos by Lisa Kaczke)
source: http://www.current.mnsun.com / Sun Current / Home> Education / by Lisa Kaczke / May 09th, 2014
Daughter of a labourer, 18-year-old N. Divya, has secured first rank in the state in Intermediate II Year.
Divya, a student of Alphores Junior College of the city, scored 989 out of 1,000 in her Intermediate BiPC. Her father, Sattaiah, works in a Kollapur-based textile unit, while her mother, Laxmi, prepares bamboo fencings. Speaking to this newspaper, Divya said that she wanted to become a doctor and help the weaker sections.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / by DC Correspondent / May 05th, 2014
VVS Laxman with his wife Sailaja and children at the launch of 1st Innings | a suresh kumar
Apart from quality education, the surroundings and ambience that a child learns in, plays a huge part in their schooling experience. Keeping that in mind, 1st Innings playschool was launched in the city on Friday by Sailaja Laxman and her husband VVS Laxman, the cricketer. As chairperson and founder of the organisation respectively, the duo inaugurated the premises that is located at Road No.2 Banjara Hills which are in fact, the brain child of Sailaja.
“What you give your children is the most significant part of your life. Good values and education are instrumental to a child’s life and an educated person is able to learn and adapt better,” explained Sailaja about the driving motto behind her idea, before thanking her ‘very very special husband’, much to his amusement.
Admitting that it was challenging to be a cricketer’s wife, given the amount of travelling involved, she said she used the opportunity to visit some of the finest schools in the world. “Thanks to my husband’s profession, I had the opportunity to visit some of the best schools in the world and I know what international quality of education is like. I wish to bring that similar model of world class infrastructure and teaching to Hyderabad through 1st Innings,” she emphasised.
Quoting Rabindranath Tagore’s famous line ‘Don’t limit a child to your own learning, as he was born in another time’, she said she developed her passion for education while bringing up her own two kids. “When my children were ready for school, I wanted to provide the best possible education for them and did a lot of research on the best schools available. I then decided to put in my strong passion towards education to use by starting this project,” she explained.
Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman played the double role of a husband and a father and had his hands full with his two children by his side. Humble as ever, Laxman was his usual warm self and was delighted to be part of this project. “This venture is very important to me. A lot of people had asked what I would like to do when I retire and I said that apart from helping with cricket in Hyderabad, I would also like to open a school. So I’m happy to be a part of this project and I am convinced it will be a success,” he said.
Off field
Currently playing the role of a mentor to the Hyderabad Sunrisers (SRH) in the Indian Premier League, Laxman was happy with the team’s UAE outing, despite losing three out of five games. “I thought we played some good cricket and the pitches were really good. Even though we lost three games, two of them were really close and on another day, we could’ve won them. Hoping for a good show back in India now,” he said.
SRH’s lethal spin-twins Amit Mishra and Karn Sharma were instrumental in their good showing last season, but have failed to deliver the same impact this time around as they were taken to the cleaners by the opposition. Laxman is hoping that their form improves in India. “Obviously it hasn’t gone perfectly for them and we are hoping that the pitches in Hyderabad will suit them and they regain their potency which was so crucial for us last season,” he said.
SRH captain has been under the scanner for some of his decision-making, which made fans wonder if Darren Sammy was better qualified for the job. Laxman though, was quick to dismiss such views and backed Dhawan to the hilt. “No, I think Dhawan is doing a good job. There’s no concern there,” he said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express Features – Hyderabad / May 03rd, 2014
Kadam Manoranjana, a MSc Botany student of Satavahana University, Karimnagar, has bagged the UGC sponsored prestigious Indira Gandhi National Scholarship for Women at Post Graduate level.
She belongs to Hasgul village in Bhainsa mandal of Adilabad district and was congratulated by University Registrar B. Bhadraiah, University Science college principal Dr. V. Namratha, Head of Department Dr. N. Venu Madhav and Faculty member Dr. E.N. Murthy.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Adilabad – May 04th, 2014
Andhra Pradesh again bagged the top position in the country in the JEE (Main) exam, with Pramod Vakacharla scoring 355 of a total 360. Last year too, 16-year-old M Viswa Virinchi, a resident of Kukatpally in city, secured the first rank with 345 marks.
In second position this year were Mohammad Akram Khan, also from Andhra Pradesh and Krishlay Raj from Jharkhand at 350. While Vakacharla hails from Sullurapeta in Nellore district, Khan’s family is from Adilabad district but now lives in Kothagudem. Incidentally, both are classmates at Narayana Sri Chaitanya IIT Academy, Vijayawada, and bagged nearly the same score in their Intermediate exams. Both want to enroll in the computer science engineering course in IIT-Bombay.
“I was confident of a good score but was pleasantly surprised to hear I that I had bagged the top spot. I would like to pursue computer science engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai,” said 17-year-old Pramod.
K Vinod Reddy studying at Hanmakonda secured 3rd position along with some others scoring 345.
While most top scorers were boys, girls too made their presence felt. “I had to put in about eight hours of study to score well. I’d love to study computer science at one of the IITs and then work for Isro,” said Manisha Bandi who hails from Pulivendula in Kadapa district.
The cut-off for the entrance test to the Indian Institutes of Technology is a tad higher this year, at 115 for general category candidates compared to 113 last year. For OBC candidates, it stands at 74, compared to 70 in 2013, at 53 for scheduled caste students and 47 for scheduled tribe candidates. A total of 13.57 lakh students registered for JEE (Main) this year across the country.
Students qualified in JEE (Main) are eligible for admissions to NITs, IIITs and other private institutions besides being eligible to sit for the JEE Advanced examination scheduled for May 25 for admission to IITs.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Education> Entrance Exams / by Hemali Chhapia Shah, TNN / May 04th, 2014
Where there is a will, there is a way, goes the saying and a poor student has proved it true with his hard work and determination. He secured 455/470 marks in the Intermediate first year.
Meet, V. Surendra of Vizianagaram who doubles up as a paper boy, distributing newspapers, to supplement his family income. His father, Gouri Shankar, is a daily wage labourer and his mother a homemaker. His sister Supriya is studying in class VII.
A student of RK Junior College in Vizianagaram, he aims to get a good rank and secure a seat in mechanical engineering. His routine: “I wake up at 4 a.m. every day and distribute newspapers for one-and-a-half hours. I return home and study till 7 a.m. I reach my college by 8 a.m. and return home by 7 p.m. and study till 10 p.m.”
“During examinations I used to sleep for not more than five hours a day. During the examinations I had a substitute to deliver the newspapers,” he says.
“A couple of months ago, I lost my bicycle when my father took it to the bus complex area and on return, he found it missing. I had to go to college on an autorickshaw and I borrowed my uncle’s bicycle for distribution of newspapers,” he says.
In recognition of his merit, The Hindu rewarded him with a bicycle and a college bag, and felicitated him in the presence of other delivery boys at a simple function in Vizianagaram. Newspaper agents and delivery boys applauded this gesture of The Hindu.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – May 02nd, 2014
A file photo of a student webcasting the poll proceedings during the panchayat elections held in Krishna district. / The Hindu
The students will cover nearly 5,000 polling booths in Telangana and Seemandhra region during the general elections
As many as 3,000 students of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT) have been roped in for the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls due on April 30 and May 7, in Telangana and Seemandhra region respectively.
The students will be at the polling booths to webcast or live stream the poll proceedings in various districts. Students deputed to Telangana districts moved for poll duty on April 29.
Students of the Nuzvid International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) have been webcasting the election proceedings in sensitive polling stations for the last few years. They were roped in for the by-elections and the panchayat polls last year.
Speaking to The Hindu on Tuesday, Nuzvid IIIT Director Ibrahim Khan said that Collectors of Krishna, Guntur, West Godavari, Nalgonda and Khammam districts had sent requisitions asking to depute students for webcasting of the general elections. “Election officers of other districts too asked to send our students webcasting, but we will depute the students as per the availability of strength,” he said, adding that the students would cover nearly 5,000 booths in Telangana and Seemandhra region.
“We are deputing students to Khammam, Guntur, Krishna and West Godavari districts. This will certainly be a good experience for them,” said Prof. Khan.
Strict vigil
“In addition to the IIIT students, we asked some private universities and institutions to depute their students for webcasting so that the poll officials can observe the election proceedings from the district collectorates and State Election Commission in Hyderabad live,” said the election officers.
“I took part in the webcasting for panchayat elections last year. It is a good system to keep a close watch on trouble mongers, arrest rigging and conduct elections peacefully,” said a third year engineering student P. Sharat.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities / by Rajulapudi Srinivas / Vijayawada – April 30th, 2014
Varre Aditya Vardhan of the Narayana Srichaitanya Junior College, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, secured the first rank in the VIT Engineering Entrance Examination (VITEEE) 2014, conducted by VIT University, Vellore, last month for admission to 3,500 seats in 13 B.Tech. programmes on its Vellore campus and 500 seats in five B.Tech. programmes on the Chennai campus.
According to a VIT release, 1,84,483 candidates took the test across 112 Indian cities and in Dubai from April 9 to 20. Releasing the results on Thursday, G. Viswanathan, VIT Chancellor, said students from Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Mumbai, Shimla and Ahmedabad bagged the first 10 ranks. Mayank Sharan from Jharkhand secured the second rank“Our admission is merit-based, being based on the marks secured by the candidates in the entrance examination which we conduct,” he said.
Counselling for admissions would be held on May 19 for ranks up to 8,000, on May 20 (for ranks 8,001 to 12,000), on May 21 (ranks 12,001 to 16,000) and on May 22 (16,001 to 20,000). Counselling would be held at the Vellore and Chennai campuses.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Vellore – May 01st, 2014
