IGNITE 2025
User Connect Consultancy presents IGNITE, a User Research conference at The Marvel, T-hub on February 7 and 8. For details on speakers, event passes, and more, visit https://ignitecon.in/.
Techkriti ’25
Techkriti, IIT Kanpur’s entrepreneurial festival will be held from March 27 to 30. It will feature competitions including Robowars, the ML Hackathon, the Techkriti Innovation Challenge, the ECDC (Electronics Competition), and more. Details at www.techkriti.org.
Multi-Destination Admission Days, 2025
AECC has opened registrations for its Multi-Destination Admission Days, 2025. Students can explore destinations such as the U.S, the U.K., Germany, Ireland, and more. Registrations are open till February 23 at https://www.aeccglobal.in/.
Unstop Talent Park 2025
Unstop has announced Unstop Talent Park 2025, an upskilling internship challenge with a monthly stipend of Rs. 1 lakh. Graduates and postgraduates can apply. The deadline is February 14. For details on what the rounds are, and more, visit https://tinyurl.com/bdfhnebp
Admissions and scholarships
MPOWER Financing has announced ₹1 crore in scholarships, to empower students from India and globally to study in the U.S. and Canada. awards will primarily be merit-based. For a complete list of scholarships and details on how to apply and eligibility, visit www.mpowerfinancing.com.
The University of Leeds has announced its International Excellence Scholarship for 2025.
Eligibility: Candidates must be considered as a foreign student for fee purposes; must have completed an application for a Master’s programme that is eligible for entrance in 2025–2026; must be expected to get or have earned a Bachelor’s degree with at least a 2:1 (hons) or equivalent.
Deadline: May 16
Details at https://tinyurl.com/fxumtntp
Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science has opened admissions for 2025-2026.
Entrance exams: HIITSEEE is for students interested in applying to Engineering and Technology, Architecture, and Design. Applications for B.Tech, B.Arch, B.Des., and M.Tech integrated programmes are live.
HITSCAT is for students applying for UG programmes from the School of Liberal and Creative Arts, School of Basic and Applied Sciences, School of Management BBA, School of Health Sciences, and School of Law – B.A. LL.B. (Hons.)/B.B.A. LL.B. (Hons.)/B.Sc.
Dates: HITSEEE – April 28 to May 3; HITSCAT – May 19 and 20
Details at https://hindustanuniv.ac.in/
Acharya Bangalore B-School has opened registrations for the Acharya Bangalore B-School Scholastic Aptitude Test for UG and PG programmes.
Eligibility:UG – Completion of (10+2) from a recognised board with passing grades/scores; PG –Bachelor’s degree from a recognised university with a minimum aggregate of 50%. Candidates applying for PG Management programme must submit valid scores from recognised national entrance exams including CAT, XAT, SNAP, MAT, CMAT, or KMAT.
Details at https://application.abbs.edu.in/abbs-goi/
The University of Tasmania invites applications for its Master of Strategic Communication programme.
Eligibility: A Bachelor’s degree in any field with a credit average; the minimum English proficiency standard is an IELTS (Academic) Overall score of 6.5, with no band below 6.0.
For more details on eligibility, application process, fees, deadline, and more, visit https://tinyurl.com/yc6wwvy8
Online MBA in Hospital and Healthcare Management
Vignan Online has introduced an Online MBA in Hospital and Healthcare Management. To be eligible, students must have secured a pass in a Bachelor’s programme of a minimum of three years in any stream from a UGC-recognised university; a minimum aggregate of 50% or an equivalent letter/numerical grade. A relaxation of 5% shall be given to SC/ST candidates. Candidates who are in the final semester of the Bachelor’s programme can also apply. Details at https://tinyurl.com/2tavcnet.
Mahindra University invites applications for UG programmes
Mahindra University has opened admissions for 2025-26, to its UG programmes across its six schools — École Centrale School of Engineering, School of Management, School of Law, School of Digital Media and Communication, School of Design Innovation, and the newly launched School of Hospitality Management. For details on eligibility, application process, and more, visit https://tinyurl.com/47jubwuw
Events
Vivekanand Education Society College of Architecture hosted the Multidisciplinary International Conference on Introspection of Sustainable Development Goals 2025. Over 1,500 students and professors attended the conference.
Management Development Institute Gurgaon hosted the eighth Annual Global Convention Event 2025 themed Accelerating Growth. The launch on an incubation centre designed to nurture start-ups and innovation was also announced.
IIIT-Bangalore hosted Confluence 2025, on the theme Cadence of Creations – Exploring the Beauty of Patterns in Nature, Technology, and Design. Over 400 people participated. Also, the institute will set up the Samsung Chip Design Studio Center, equipped with EDA Tools, to make chip design accessible to interested engineers and early professionals.
IIIT-Hyderabad, in collaboration with Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences, recently unveiled publicly available datasets comprising digitised histopathological images of brain cancer and kidney disease (Lupus Nephritis). It is playing host to The India Pathology Dataset (IPD) project, a venture between academia, hospitals, industry, and the government, to digitise slide images of tissue biopsies for reaping benefits that range from reduced risk of damaging physical slides to improved clinical decision-making.
Pearl Academy launched India’s first Meta Campus at Comic Con Bengaluru 2025. It gives visitors a chance to explore the institution’s offerings including programmes, faculty, student project showcase, and more. It is accessible at www.pearlacademy.com.
IIT Roorkee, in collaboration with Lancaster University and Birmingham University, the U.K., and NIT Rourkela, concluded a five-day Winter School on Globalisation, Development, Gender, and Leadership. Academicians, policymakers, and practitioners discussed critical issues surrounding gender dynamics in enterprise growth and globalisation.
A.M. Jain College, Chennai, launched the college’s Nalanda Library, a facility designed to serve as a hub of knowledge, and hosted the book review of the journalist Rajdeep Sardesai’s latest release 2024: The Election that Surprised India. The college also held Naan Mudhalvan – IBM SkillsBuild Skilling Showcase 2025, where top 30 students were felicitated.
BIMTECH introduced its blockchain-based digital currency, BIMCOIN, which facilitates secure, and instant transactions among students, vendors, and administrators.
NIT Rourkela researchers have developed an AI-based Multi-Class Vehicle Detection model and a Light Fusion Bi-Directional Feature Pyramid Network tool aimed at improving traffic management in developing countries. The research findings have been published in the journal, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, in a paper co-authored by Santos Kumar Das, Associate Professor, Department of ECE, with his research scholars Prashant Deshmukh, Krishna Chaitanya Rayasam, along with Prof. Upendra Kumar Sahoo, from ECE, NIT Rourkela, and Prof. Sudhan Majhi, from IISc Bangalore.
IIHMR Bangalore and RED Health Academy launched the 11-month Post Graduate Certificate in Management – Pre-Hospital Care. It aims to address the talent gap in emergency medical services and Pre-Hospital Care at large. Its first cohort will launch in Bangalore, with plans to expand across India in subsequent batches.
The ASSOCHAM Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility organised an Illness to Wellness Handwashing Awareness event at the Navy Children School, New Delhi. Over 600 students from classes 3 to 5, and teachers participated.
Professor C. Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University, was a speaker at the Round Table discussion for the New Civilisation Project in Davos. The theme was Balancing Humanity, Nature, and Artificial Intelligence in Harmony.
The Amrita School of Dentistry inaugurated a Digital Dentistry Centre within its Prosthodontics Department. It features a Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing laboratory, integrated with 3D printing and extended reality technologies.
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Bengaluru, hosted the 11th edition of Aarohan, its Annual Science Fest; over 1,200 students participated.
Acharya Bangalore B-School held the graduating ceremony of its MBA and MBA –Business Analytics class of 2024; 290 graduates received their degrees. Varghese CO, CHRO Fidelity National Financial India, was the chief guest.
Sonika Khurana, interior design content creator, educator, and founder of Coloraza, launched Coloraza Design School, an online learning platform to empower aspiring interior designers. To learn more about the offerings, visit https://designschool.coloraza.com/
Chaman Bhartiya School hosted Tinkerfest 2.0, which provided an interactive platform for students to experiment, and showcase their creativity. Over 300 people including students, parents, educators and more, participated.
The Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology, Chennai, Higher Education Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, in collaboration with Presidency College (Autonomous), Chennai, organised a five-day In-Service Training to Science Teachers programme. It was aimed at enhancing the knowledge and skills of Science teachers from government-run and private schools across Tamil Nadu.
Duolingo unveiled its latest course, Learn English from Tamil. It is tailored to help Tamil speakers build English proficiency and access greater academic and professional opportunities.
In a research paper titled An Investigation of Ensemble Learning Techniques for Obesity Risk Prediction Using Lifestyle Data, published in the Decision Analytics Journal by Elsevier, a team of researchers from Woxsen University, Hyderabad, have explored how combining multiple machine learning methods can predict the risk of obesity based on lifestyle data. The team includes Shahid Mohammad Ganie, Hemachandran Kannan, and student Bobba Bharath Reddy alongside US Scientist Prof. Manjeet Rege. The university also hosted the Diplomat’s Conclave 2.0 themed A New Era of Diplomacy: Uniting Higher Education and Diplomacy to Drive Change. It featured eight ambassadors from countries such as Peru, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, and more.
The Ranni Knowledge Village project launched the Path Finder scheme. It focuses on guiding students from classes 10 to 12 toward career paths in AI, Data Analytics, and digital marketing. A team of experts, including industry leaders, bureaucrats, and entrepreneurs, will mentor students through workshops and interactive sessions.
On the occasion of International Education Day, Marico Limited, celebrated the strides made in empowering teachers and students through its initiative Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala. Recognising the challenges faced by teachers in underserved regions, the programme focused on upskilling and empowering them.
Ramakrishna Sarada Samiti, with the SBI Foundation, unveiled JEET, an educational platform with an inbuilt LMS that will provide learning content for students from over 10,000 government schools across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Haryana, and Telangana. Its target is to serve ten lakh economically-disadvantaged students from KG to 12 by providing them with a lifelong free learning platform.
Tata Capital Ltd. is offering flexible and customised education loans to students. It offers collateral-free options up to Rs. 85 lakh and secured loans up to Rs. 2 crore, for covering the total cost of education. It caters to domestic and overseas education requirements.
IIT Guwahati researchers have developed an approach to detect harmful metals in living cells and the environment. The findings have been published in journals, including Journal of Materials Chemistry C and Materials Today Chemistry. The articles have been co-authored by Prof. Saikat Bhaumik, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, and his research team comprising Prof. Chandan Goswami, Associate Professor, NISER Bhubaneswar, Ashutosh Mohapatra, Kajol Sahoo, Tusar Kanta Acharya, Satish Kumar, and Nishant Kumar Dubey.
IIM Lucknow researcher, Prof. Arvind Shroff, Assistant Professor, Operations Management, has conducted a study exploring how private healthcare organisations can innovate during crises while maintaining their core ethical values. The findings have been published in the FIIB Business Review journal.
College Vidya recently conducted a study to analyse the growth and trends in enrolment for AI and Data Science courses over recent years. Key findings include — a quarter-over-quarter enrolment growth in these courses, with an average increase of 25-30% for programmes such as BCA and MCA, offering specialisations in AI and Data Science; specialisations such as AI and ML, Data Science and Data Analytics, and Cloud Computing continue to gain popularity among learners in BCA and MCA programmes; online MCA programmes are popular among working professionals with 1-2 years of experience while the Online DBA programme appeals to seasoned professionals with 5-6 years of experience, to name a few.
Awards and rankings
In the domain of Physical Sciences, which includes Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Statistics, Shoolini University secured a global position in the 201–250 band, in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2025. In the Life Sciences category, it stood in the 251–300 global band; In Engineering, it stood in in the 401–500 range. It debuted in the Medical and Health category, earning a spot in the 401–500 global range and ranking fourth in India.
The KLH Aziznagar campus, Hyderabad, scored a 3.5-star rating and KL Deemed to be University, Vijayawada, scored a four-star rating in the latest Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC) Performance Ratings for 2023-24.
Internshala announced its Annual College Rankings for 2024 to recognise colleges that excelled in fostering a culture of internships in the past year. Paavai Engineering College, Tamil Nadu, secured the all India rank 1, and was also the South zone winner. It was followed by Parul Polytechnic Institute, Vaodara, Gujarat, at all India rank 2 and at West zone rank 1. Additionally, Ramanujan College, New Delhi emerged as the zonal winner for north zone, and University of Engineering and Management, Kolkata was recognised as the zonal winner of East zone.
Team CodeZephyr, from Chandigarh University, Mohali, were declared winners of the Tata Technologies InnoVent hackathon. Team Spaingit Coder, from Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology Patiala, were second runners-up, followed by Team Pluto, from Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore.
SRM Institute of Science and Technology secured first place, followed by CTTE College for Women and Islamiyah College, INNOHACK’25, a state-level hackathon conducted by MEASI Institute of Information Technology, Chennai.
The Virtusa Foundation’s restoration of the of the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Parsee Charitable Institution in Mumbai, was honoured with the Award of Merit from the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation 2024.
Students from Dr. MGR Educational and Research Institute won five gold and silver medals each and 14 bronze medals, at the recently concluded Incredible Chef Challenge 2024.
MoUs and partnerships
Toyota Kirloskar Motor has signed an MoU with BLDEA’s V.P. Dr.P.G.Halakatti College of Engineering and Technology to establish a Centre of Excellence on its campus. It aims to equip students with practical knowledge and technical expertise.
Medhavi Skills University has signed an MoU with the Indian Chamber of Commerce to address skill shortages in key sectors, enabling learners to acquire industry-relevant competencies.
upGrad has signed an MoU with the Government of Maharashtra to create an AI talent base, the upGrad Institute of AI Excellence, and the upGrad-supported ATLAS SkillTech University, for global jobs and drive employment opportunities across the State.
The University of Wollongong India campus has signed an MoU with Afthonia Labs to foster innovation and provide practical experience with curated courses in FinTech.
The British Council has signed an MoU with the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Karnataka, to empower children in English, across 10 Arivu Kendras.
iHub Anubhuti-IIITD Foundation has signed an MoU with Medanta Institute of Education and Research to foster collaboration in medical and healthcare innovation.
The Global Learning Council at the Villars Institute (VI) in Switzerland, have partnered with Schoolnet India to enhance teaching-learning outcomes through technology. It launched the school-focused EcoInnovators Ideathon which encouraged students to identify pressing environmental challenges and propose innovative solutions using AI, IoT, and robotics. Team Vanguard, represented by Shreyas Aggasare and Nakshatra, from DPS Electronic City, Bengaluru, emerged victorious.
Next Education has partnered with Innovative Vision School, Samastipur to integrate digital tools and innovative learning solutions for students to equip them with essential 21st-century skills.
LEO1 and JAIN (Deemed-to-be University recently introduced a Fee Reimbursement Card, a secure, numberless prepaid card that safeguards students’ financial and personal information. Integrated with a mobile app, it enables tuition fee payments, daily transactions, and offers rewards like cashback and LEO1 coins. Students and parents can redeem these coins at over 175 merchant partners, including Zomato, Myntra, Uber and many more.
The Ashwin Mittal Foundation has signed an MoU with IIM Mumbai to set up the Ashwin Mittal Center of Excellence in Advanced AI solutions for Business Decisions. It will promote research, innovation and collaboration with an initial focus on the impact of technologies such as ML, knowledge graphs, predictive analytics, and so on in enhancing decision-making in business, trade, and commerce.
Published – January 27, 2025 04:28 pm IST
