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Ten-year-old Shoolini University celebrated its 16th Foundation Day today. It was on this day in 2007 that the foundation stone of its first building was laid on the campus at Bajhol near here.

In view of the closure of the campus due to the coronavirus outbreak, no festivities could be organised, but Vice Chancellor Prof P K Khosla greeted the students, faculty and the staff to mark the memorable occasion.

Greeting them on Baisakhi and the 16th Foundation Day, Prof Khosla said he was happy to share that the University had taken a lead over most other institutions in the country in quickly adopting e-learning through virtual classrooms. “We have been able to do so because our IT team has been working on this model for quite some time.

It was several years ago that we embraced e-Univ technology,” he said, adding that the University was able to start online classes within three days of the lockdown.
Prof Khosla said that with little likelihood of return to normalcy in the next couple of months, the University was working on taking end-term online examinations with the aim of saving the Semester for its diligent students.

While examinations for the theory portion of various subjects would be taken online, practical examinations would be taken after conducting special practical classes on weekends or during extended University timings, once the campus re-opened, he stated.
In order to enhance the learning experience of students, the University has also introduced daily Yogananda Webinars for students and faculty.

Eminent persons from various fields throw light on subjects of their expertise through interactive media tools.

Among those who have participated in webinars so far are former Delhi University Vice Chancellor Dr Dinesh Singh, former IAS officer and inspirational speaker Mr Vivek Atray, film critic and technocrat Mr Pavan Jha and the 21Notes Valmiki Ramayan creator Yashoodeep Deodhar.

Thanking the students and their parents, as well as the faculty for cooperating during these difficult times, the Vice Chancellor said measures were being taken to ensure that other significant activities of the University, such as placements and admissions, continued smoothly.

“Our Placement team has been active since October last year — much before the outbreak of Coronavirus — and has finalised over 200 campus placements. It is now continuing the effort through organising online interviews,” he added.

Shoolini University has donated Rs. five lakh to the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for those adversely affected by the outbreak of coronavirus.

The entire faculty and staff of the University, barring the daily paid workers, have contributed one day’s salary towards the Rs. five lakh fund.

The balance of the amount would be contributed by the Foundation for Life Sciences and Business Management (FLSBM), the Trust which runs the University.

Vice Chancellor Prof P K Khosla, while announcing the contribution, said that the University was open for any support that the state government may desire during these difficult times.

Prof Khosla said the University was already taking care of all the labour and daily paid workers who were employed on various projects and was providing them food and lodging free of cost.

In addition, he said, the University is taking care of about 200 students, including foreign students and those from far off states, who are staying back in hostels.

Special measures like yoga classes and skill development classes are being organised for them keeping social distancing in view.

Meanwhile, the University has introduced virtual classrooms for students and regular classes are being taken online with the help of University’s own e-Univ system as well as other social media platforms.

With the ongoing crisis of Corona and resultant delay in academic activities, it’s understandable that we are all worried about the future. Several people have reached out to us and expressed concern about their/their children’s future due to postponement of XII class board exams and results across streams.?

At Shoolini University, we are always working to find solutions to make our world-class education accessible for everyone. Given the extraordinary circumstances and uncertainty, we have launched the facility of ‘provisional admission’. 

If your regular class XII result is awaited, but you have 60% in your X board exam and a valid exam admit card for class XII , we will evaluate your UG admission application for ‘Provisional Admission’ for 2020.?

For admissions into our PG programs, we will consider a minimum of 55% aggregate up to pre-final semester of graduation in relevant stream and provide ‘Provisional Admission’ for 2020.

Please note that provisional admission will be accepted later on qualifying as per eligibility of the selected course. In case of a withdrawal up to 15th August, the University will refund 100% of the fee, except admission form charges.

Himachal-based Shoolini University has taken a pioneering and innovative step in introducing e-classes and online learning for students in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.

Lectures would be delivered through a special platform developed by faculty and students of the University through the Internet.

The students would be able to attend the delivery of the live lecture through virtual classroom.They would also be able to ask questions and get answers in real time.

“We have introduced the system to protect the semester and ensure that the students do not suffer from postponed examinations and delayed graduation”, said Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Atul Khosla.

“All lectures will now happen as per the scheduled time table, albeit in virtual space. We shall ensure that not a single day of study should be lost and students should graduate on time”, he added. Fortunately, Shoolini University researchers had been working on the online learning system for the last six months which was an extension of the e-Univ system already enforced in the University.

Under the e-Univ system, lectures are recorded in a capsule form which can be accessed by students any time. The live lectures introduced now would be recorded and would also be available for the students later.

Prof Khosla said the new system would enable the students to interact with the lecturer who can make use of other technological tools such as graphs and power point presentations.

The system includes provision for conducting examinations in a secure environment, he added.

Dr. Sandeep Ratnam, head of Indo Japan study centre, IIM Bangalore, explained the characteristics and behavior of leadership with students of Mechanical Engineering Department of Shoolini University.

He also described the Eisenhower Matrix for designing daily activities schedule for time management.
Shoolini University has Regional Centre of Excellence of VLCI (Visionary Learning Community of India). In this centre, students learn and practice lean tools in the industry.

They work on the live problems of the industries in Solan and Parwanoo regions. This is the first batch of VLCI which is going to graduate in June 2020. The students are ready for industry manufacturing leaders which can improve the productivity of the industry by reducing waste.

Dr. Abhilash Pathania Head, Centre of Excellence of VLCI, told that they have introduced the VLCI modules in the Mechanical Engineering curriculum so that the students who are going to be pass out from Shoolini University will be well trained to improve small-medium enterprises.

The centre is also upgrading the teachers so that they can do the consultancy programs to improve the production of industry.

One-day workshop on “quality and maintenance in the industry” was organised for the final-year mechanical engineering students at the Shoolini University. Ratnakar Acharya, DGM, Anand Group, and Archana Sharma from Parwanoo Industries were the key speakers at the workshop.

Ratnakar Acharya dwelt upon the Six Sigma and its value in the industry. The students were also introduced to the maintenance of measuring tools and their calibration. Acharya explained the schedule of maintenance of machinery in the industry and its importance.

The purpose of the workshop was to prepare students for placement, said Dr Abhilash Pathania, Assistant Prof, Mechanical Engineering. He said, “Shoolini University believes in quality and industry-based education and workshops are beneficial for students for their future career as well.”

Taking its mission to equip students with the best innovative methods and provide hands-on training, Shoolini University on Thursday announced participation in AWS Academy, a new Amazon Web Services (AWS) programme with a ready-to-teach cloud computing curriculum.

Students will now be able to sign up for specialised courses, especially designed for higher education institutions that will help them pursue industry-recognised AWS Certifications. This will pave way for a brilliant career as the curriculum is designed to meet industry requirements.

Students from the engineering and management departments can avail the courses free of cost. Later, students from other departments will also be offered these courses, which will run for an entire semester. After clearing the AWS Certification examination, students will have another feather in their caps as they will be AWS Certified.

Proud to make the AWS Academy curriculum available to the Shoolini students, Vice Chancellor Prof P K Khosla said, “Cloud computing has become the new normal for organisations around the world, and the technical skills that students develop through this programme will position them well for their careers today and in the future.”

Apply for a Scholarship and join this course!

The AWS Academy curriculum is developed and maintained by AWS subject matter experts, ensuring that it reflects current services and up-to-date best practices. Courses are taught by AWS Academy-accredited educators who are trained by AWS to help students become proficient in AWS technology.

“We created AWS Academy to develop the next generation of cloud computing professionals by working collaboratively with higher education institutions and industry partners,” said Scott McKinley, AWS Academy Global Team Lead, Amazon Web Services, Inc. “Our goal is to build a pipeline of AWS-trained professionals who can help drive innovation as cloud computing becomes the new normal.”

Also Read: Artificial Intelligence: Youth Differ Over Impact On Jobs

AWS Academy courses help students develop in-demand cloud computing skills and gain hands-on experience in order to pursue employment as a cloud computing IT professional or earn industry-recognised AWS Certification.

Manish Malik

The closing round of placements at Shoolini University was yet to take place, but the figures for placements and internships for final year students in various departments already looked better than last year. This was stated by, said Director General in charge of placements, Mr Arvind Nanda.

He pointed out that despite strong recessionary trends in some industry segments, like the automobile sector, prospects appeared good in other sectors, like IT, Banking, FMCG and Insurance, which were cautiously expanding their offerings and businesses.

“Accordingly, we changed our approach to reach out to those sectors and companies, which are growing and expanding their business plans,” Mr Nanda said.

He said the placement season began at the end of last year with the participation of over 30 companies. They hired over 130 students, including 74 out of the total strength of 165 eligible MBA students. In addition, 104 out of 187 MBA 1st year students have been made offers for paid internships with leading companies.

As far as other departments were considered, he confirmed that 35 future engineers had found successful placements, besides eight from Bioengineering and 16 from Pharma and Sciences.

Roles and pay packages offered to students were according to the programmes, but at present, MBA students secured better packages. The average Cost to Company (CTC) offered to MBA students was around Rs 6 lakh with the highest being Rs 12 lakh per annum, he underlined.
The next round of placements was scheduled to start from February 24, which would continue till March 6.

Over 90 per cent of our eligible and interested students obtained placements last year. This year, he said, the aim was for a higher success rate. The highest package offered to a student this year was a CTC of Rs 12 lakh plus benefits by a European MNC, Hilti, which developed, manufactured and marketed construction material.

Among the companies that have already picked up students for placements this year were, Hilti, ICICI Group, Hughes Systique, Goldman Sachs, Citrix, Dabur, Cremica, Abbott, Cipla, Genpact, Unilever and Nestle, to name a few.
The companies expected in the forthcoming campus placements drive included, Sundaram Finance, Life Cell, Bharti AXA, McKinsey, HDFC Bank, ICICI Lombard, IFFCO Tokio, Hero Moto Corp, Alkem Labs, Jubilant Group, Havells, Bajaj FinServe and Tata Hitachi.

Alisha Garg*
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The age-old tradition of worshipping female Goddesses, including respecting a woman’s role in society, such as mother, aunt, wife, and other female relatives or friends, has always been honoured in India. But, does it mean that the country can grow and prosper just by respecting or honouring women? No, it needs equality in every sphere of life for the other half of the country’s population.

Over time, great improvement and development have been witnessed in the condition of women, but real empowerment has eluded them. When a woman’s income is at par with a man’s, it means she has “developed”, but is she “empowered”? No, this happens only when she becomes capable of taking her own decisions, gains mental strength, is more confident, and is in complete control of her life.

In India, many women have successful careers, with salaries running into six-seven digits every month. However, very few of these women are capable of taking independent decisions about their lives without any interference from their fathers or husbands.

Empowerment should permeate all spheres of life and not be restrictive. Right from the time a girl is born, she should be treated equally competent as a boy, because the mindset of every individual develops right from the beginning. Girls should be given the same tasks as boys, without any differentiation. This will make them more confident and secure as adults. Just like a potter moulds clay to transform it into a vessel of his choice, our confidence, our strength, and our weaknesses take root in our childhood. When children are not discriminated against but provided the same opportunities, irrespective of their gender, it will definitely change their attitude and approach to life by the time they attain adulthood.

Times are changing, but despite the trend towards greater equality, some countries still ban women from certain jobs. In Russia, women aren’t allowed to drive trains or pilot ships. In Kazakhstan, women cannot cut, eviscerate or skin cattle and pigs. General safety concerns also limit and regulate a woman’s working hours. Women shopkeepers in Mumbai cannot work as late as their male counterparts, and Malaysian women are not permitted to transport goods and passengers at night.

Swami Vivekananda rightly said, “It is impossible to think about the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is impossible for a bird to fly on only one wing.” The world can no longer neglect half its population. Women empowerment is definitely happening in India, slowly but surely. In 2005-06, it was reported that 76.5 per cent of married women exercised decision-making in their households. Ten years later, in 2015-16, the proportion increased to 84 per cent, according to the National Family Health Survey – 4.
This brings to fore another problem — Only one section of the women population (rich, living in urban areas) are enjoying the benefits of it. Women and girls in rural areas of India are yet to be exposed to equal rights, women safety, empowerment, etc. When you educate a woman, you educate the entire family!

We learned so much from our mothers. A mother is the first teacher of a child. If you can read this piece of writing, there are high chances that you must have been either taught or motivated to read and write by your mother.

It is an established fact that women empowerment is primary to the socio-economic and political development of a nation. It will be meaningless if women who constitute half the population of the planet, do not have access to education, healthcare, employment and political decision-making bodies. A nation benefits fully when both men and women contribute rigorously to social cohesion, economic growth, peace, and prosperity. The World Economic Forum recently reported that across the 135 countries examined, greater gender equality correlates positively with per capita gross national product. Countries with greater equality between women and men have economies that are more competitive and fast-growing.

Hence, we can say that removing barriers to empowering women stimulates economic development.

* (The writer is a Semester 2 student of BJMC)

SNL Team
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Shoolini University has emerged as the top university in Himachal Pradesh, as per the latest Nature Index rankings. The Nature Index rankings comprises is a database of author affiliation information collected from research articles published in an independently selected group of 82 high-quality science journals. The database is compiled by Nature Research.

The Nature Index provides a close to the real-time proxy of high-quality research output and collaboration at the institutional, national and regional levels. Out of the 100 top institutions across the country, in Life Sciences, Shoolini University has been placed at the 19th position. It has been placed at the 53rd position in Physical Sciences and 76th position in all subjects throughout the country.

Nature Index rankings provide a perspective on high-quality research on the basis of published articles. It is intended to provide one of a number of methods to assess research excellence and institutional performance.
Dr. Dinesh Kumar Chatanta, Head Bioengineering, and Food Technology, Shoolini University, said, “Shoolini University is growing fast and will soon claim its place among the top Global Universities.”

“The latest rankings reflect our continuous efforts for excellence in research,” said Vice Chancellor Prof P.K. Khosla.