Indian Universities, Colleges and Schools Round-Up | May 2023 | IIT Madras establishes Centre for Responsible AI

31 May, 2023

Indian Universities, Colleges and Schools Round-Up | May 2023 | IIT Madras establishes Centre for Responsible AI

This write-up aims to highlight recent noteworthy developments across universities, colleges, and schools in India, to inspire educators and other stakeholders to implement best practices in their respective educational ecosystems. Our goal is to benefit the student community and other stakeholders by providing a primer for the news articles published in print and digital media recently. The sources for these news articles are linked below.

By keeping abreast of these developments and implementing best practices, we can work together to ensure that our educational institutions continue to provide students with the highest quality of education.

Jambi University and Nalanda University Signs MOU

Nalanda: The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Jambi University and Nalanda University will offer students several advantages, including the chance to work on research projects with students and faculty from the other university, to exchange ideas and knowledge with students and faculty from the other university, and to study at the other university for a short period or for an extended period.

Prof Abhay Kumar Singh, the interim vice-chancellor of Nalanda University told that “By joining the ASEAN-India Network of Universities (AINU), Jambi University takes a significant step to serve and redevelop the ancient inter-linkages between India and Indonesia. It will also generate a purposeful dialogue among the academicians of member universities of the AINU consortium.”

Anant School for Climate Action students to intern with the Commonwealth Secretariat, UK

Ahmedabad: The Climate Change Programme at the Commonwealth Secretariat headquarters in London, UK, will offer internships to the students pursuing the Bachelor of Technology specialising in Climate Change programme at the Anant School for Climate Action, India’s first institute for climate studies at Anant National University, Ahmedabad. The work of the Climate Change Programme of the Commonwealth Secretariat focuses on building resilience against the negative impacts of climate change and developing a culture of environmental sustainability.

Dr Miniya Chatterji, Founding Director of Anant School for Climate Action said, “The internships at the Commonwealth Office in London represent a remarkable opportunity for our students to benefit from an incredible learning experience and international exposure.”

The Commonwealth Climate Change Programme collaborates with 56 countries worldwide to protect the environment and use natural resources sustainably to mitigate climate change. The Commonwealth Secretariat’s Climate Change Programme advocates for international policies, mechanisms, and rules that are more responsive to the development needs of small islands, developing states, and other vulnerable countries.

Special summer camp for Delhi govt school students begins

New Delhi: Education Minister of Delhi Ms Atishi Marlena recently inaugurated a special summer camp for students of Delhi government schools being held at the Indraprastha Institute of Technology, Delhi. The camp will be held till June 18.

“This special summer camp is going to be an exciting journey for the students. Right from day one, they will learn something new every day. They will learn to work in teams and respect each other. What they learn here will help them tackle the challenges of everyday life and give them the confidence to utilise their skills for self-improvement,” Ms Atishi was quoted as saying in the official statement.

Activities at the special summer camp include upskilling in various subjects such as science, mathematics, entrepreneurship, life skills, professional development, and communication. Additionally, the students will have the opportunity to participate in activities such as theatre, arts and crafts, marketing and more, the statement said.

IIT Madras establishes Centre for Responsible AI

Chennai: Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has established a Centre for Responsible AI (CeRAI), an interdisciplinary research centre, to ensure the ethical and responsible development of AI-based solutions in the real world. It is geared towards becoming a premier research centre at the National and International level for both fundamental and applied research in Responsible AI with immediate impact in deploying AI systems in the Indian ecosystem. Google is the first platinum consortium member and has contributed a sum of US $ 1 Million for this Centre.

One of the primary objectives of CeRAI will be to produce high-quality research outputs, such as publishing research articles in high-impact journals/conferences, white papers, and patents, among others. It will work towards creating technical resources such as curated datasets (universal as well as India-specific), software, toolkits, etc., concerning the domain of Responsible AI.

Commenting earlier on the Centre for Responsible AI (CeRAI) coming up at IIT Madras, Mr Sanjay Gupta, Google's Country Head and Vice President, India, said, "As India's digital ecosystems increasingly adopt and leverage AI, we are committed to sharing the best practices we have been developing since 2018 when we began championing responsible AI. To help build a foundation of fairness, interpretability, privacy, and security, we are supporting the establishment of a first-of-its-kind multidisciplinary Center for Responsible AI with a grant of $1 million to the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras."

EVR school to be made ‘School of Excellence

Madurai: E V R Nagamayar Corporation Girls High School in Madurai district has been chosen as one of the 28 government-run schools in the Tamil Nadu state to be transformed into a school of excellence, equipped with top-notch amenities. This announcement was made by the school education department of the state as part of the budget allocation.

The selected schools will receive approximately INR 2 crore in funds for infrastructure development, including the provision of smart classrooms, computer labs, arts and crafts rooms and STEM labs. Additional funds will be allocated for the establishment of clubs, organizing events such as annual and sports days, and conducting teacher training programs.

EVR school stands out as the sole corporation school in Madurai to consistently maintain an enrolment of approximately 2,000 students over the past three years. Notably, within this period, six students from the school have successfully cleared the NEET examination, securing MBBS seats, while five students have obtained BDS seats.

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