May 21 2014 : The Times of India (Mumbai) OFF THE BEATEN TRACK RURAL DEVELOPMENT Work for rural development & make a living too Vinamrata Borwankar   Has compassion or consideration for the needy been put on the backburner by the thought of earning your  daily bread? A career in the rural development sector is now rewarded with adequate compensation to sustain  he zeal.“The time is always be right to work for social good but with the CSR clause in the new Companies  Act, employment opportunities have increased manifold in the development sector. A quick search on Linkedin  will show that several companies are looking for candidates who understand the rural market. ,“ said Sahej  Mantri, manager (alliances) at Hopemonkey.org, a nonprofit organization involved in fund raising. STARTING OUT Social work or rural development as a discipline is available in many universities and  institutes, both at the graduate and postgraduate levels. Specialization in post-graduation could in clude topics  like human resource management, criminology and correctional administration, medical and psychiatric  social work, family and child welfare, rural and urban community development, and schools social work. However professionals say lack of a formal background in social work may not be a hindrance. “You can learn  the working of the industry through internships and volunteer work. Once you have been in the field for  some time you gain understanding about the beneficiaries to work towards their good,“ said Mantri. CAREER PROSPECTS The job would involve working to provide solutions for people's social, economic and  emotional problems through counseling, arranging conferences, increasing resources, spreading public  awareness and starting social programmes and health services. Opportunities in the development sector  are varied, which can range from working in various developmental projects of the government to working for  NGOs and international organisations.

IIT Bombay launches MOOCs

The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B), for the first time launches massive open online course (MOOC) in three courses. The session for two of the courses i.e. Introduction to Computer Programming (part one) and Thermodynamics will commence from July while the third course, Introduction to Computer Engineering (part two) will begin from September.

Professor Deepak Phatak, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay stated that the MOOCs will allow students to learn anything from anywhere at a convenient speed.

The courses will be delivered in sessions grouped into several themes or topics. Each session will be made up to two to four 15-20 minutes episode.  Each episode will consist of a video recorded lecture of about eight to ten minutes which will be followed by some problem solving and quizzes.

There will be additional reading material, references which the participants can use for greater clarity, if required. Plans are also on to introduce regular interactive sessions through discussion forums, video conferencing and other such technologies.

Source | http://digitallearning.eletsonline.com/

Ratan Tata gets top UK award

Kounteya Sinha TNN 

London: Ratan Tata on Monday became the first Indian to be awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) since India became a republic in 1950. British high commissioner to India James Bevan conducted the ceremony. He presented Ratan Tata with the GBE on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. 
    Speaking at the ceremony, Bevan said, “Ratan Tata’s leadership, vision and integrity will remain the gold standard for generations of aspirational British and Indian business people. His contribution to the deep ties that exist between the UK and India has been invaluable.” 
    Tata said, “I am deeply touched and feel honoured to receive the recognition so graciously bestowed on me by Her Majesty. It has been a privilege to have our enterprises contribute to the growth of the UK. I am deeply appreciative of the support we have received personally from David Cameron and his government. through good and bad times. This support and faith have been of immeasurable value.”

Source:::: The Times of India, 07-05-2014, p.18,   http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2014/05/07&PageLabel=18&EntityId=Ar01807&ViewMode=HTML