Latest news with #PALS
New Indian Express
17 hours ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
Think beyond computer science engineering: IIT panel
CHENNAI: Students and their parents should get rid of the herd mentality of choosing computer science engineering courses over other streams, said directors of five IITs at a panel discussion organised on the IIT Madras campus here on Friday. Speaking at the discussion organised under the banner of PanIIT Alumni Leadership Series (PALS), a voluntary initiative by IIT alumni, on the topic 'Engineering education for a new era', V Kamakoti, director of IIT Madras, said toppers should be encouraged to opt for disciplines other than computer sciences, since the country needs bright minds in other disciplines too. Stating that the country needs administrators who are tech savvy policy makers, he said engineering graduates should also take up civil service. KN Satyanarayana, director, IIT Tirupati stressed the country needs more engineers in the core fields at present. 'There is a big vacuum in the battery, semiconductor sectors which are the sunrise sectors. A chemical engineer, or a material scientist is the need of the hour,' said Satyanarayana. Shreepad Karmalkar, director, IIT Bhubaneswar said many students opt for computer science over core engineering courses due to the parity in pay packages at entry levels. 'This herd mentality needs to be get rid of,' he added. BS Murty, director, IIT Hyderabad appealed to the youth to put the country first over their personal aspirations. Venkappayya R Desai, director, IIT Dharwad urged students to use their creativity in making society a better place to live in. The panelists also shared their vision on how engineering education must evolve to meet the demands of the 21st century, stressing the need for interdisciplinary learning, integration of emerging technologies like AI and sustainability, academia-industry collaborations, and improving access and inclusivity for students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, CN Chandrasekaran, chairperson of PALS, also spoke.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
IIT Madras to introduce online BS degree in aerospace
Chennai: Following online degrees in data science and electronic systems, IIT Madras will soon launch an online BS degree in aerospace, IIT Madras director V Kamakoti said on Friday. Kamakoti asked the engineering colleges to promote the concept of pursuing dual degrees at the same time to increase enrolment in core engineering courses. Speaking at a panel discussion on "Engineering Education for a New Era: Insight from IIT Directors" organised by PALS, a voluntary initiative led by IIT alumni, he said, "About 99% of the top 100 rankers in JEE joined computer science degrees." "Students are selecting core engineering courses because they do not get computer science engineering. Toppers should be encouraged to opt for non-CSE disciplines. Hybrid courses should be promoted by the colleges," Kamakoti said. He said students can pursue data science or artificial intelligence while studying mechanical engineering. He also highlighted the new rule of AICTE which allows engineering graduates to take 20% to 40% of courses online. "The salaries of core engineers will catch up with IT engineers in five to seven years, and after 15 to 20 years, core engineers will earn higher pay packages," IIT Tirupati director Kalidindi N Satyanarayana said. "Electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, materials engineers, and chemical engineers are needed for semiconductor manufacturing." Other panellists emphasised the role of academic-industry collaboration, entrepreneurial mindsets, and experiential learning as essential drivers in shaping engineers. To empower engineering students and faculty with industry-relevant skills, IIT Madras alumni under the PALS initiative have partnered with 50 engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Nepal. They will organise lectures, faculty development, innovation contests, entrepreneurship initiatives, industry visits, and industry projects.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Science
- The Hindu
Encourage students to choose core engineering courses: IIT-M Director
Students who wish to join engineering must be encouraged to choose core engineering programmes, said V. Kamakoti, Director of the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras. At an event organised by the Pan IIT Alumni Leadership Series here on Friday, Mr. Kamakoti said 99.9% of toppers in JEE (Advanced) had chosen computer science and engineering. 'We must see a significant number of students go into core engineering. If a topper chooses civil or mechanical engineering it should be because they like it. We must reach out to students in the core engineering departments and try to educate them on professions,' he said. Since autonomous colleges had the freedom to design their curriculum they could fine tune their syllabus to align their curriculum and research with the 17 sustainable development goals. Institutions must also consider introducing interdisciplinary programmes, he said. Students can go for dual degrees, take the GATE. Humanities could tweak their syllabi to encourage students to take up civil services as the country needed to have administrators who are tech-savvy policy makers for future India, he said. IIT-Tirupati director Kalidindi N. Satyanarayana recalled his early efforts of reaching out to engineering colleges to explain the importance of the discipline. The country had completed only half its requirement of infrastructure, he said, emphasising the need for more students to take up core engineering programmes. Directors from IITs in Dharwad, Hyderabad, and Bhubhaneshwar also shared their insights on engineering education at the PALS (Pan IIT Alumni Leadership Series) event. Vijayalakshmi Sankar, co-chair of PALS who presented the annual report said it had delivered 29 programmes reaching out to 23,600 students. It worked with around 50 engineering institutions in six States and Nepal. PALS is an initiative of the IIT alumni that conducts outreach programmes for engineering colleges, including management, faculty and students.
BBC News
09-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Ambulance no-shows fail disabled Lincolnshire patient
A disabled patient has missed seven appointments in nine months because his pre-booked ambulance transport has failed to turn Ellis, 87, relies on East Midlands Ambulance Service's (EMAS) patient transfer service to get him to hospital appointments due to a neurological condition that affects his mobility. He has used transfer services for 15 years, but has recently been unable to get to any of his Weldin, divisional director for non-emergency patient transport service at EMAS, said it had not delivered the "high standard of service we hold ourselves to". Mr Ellis said: "Apart from making me exceedingly angry, it upsets all the hospital staff as well because they get thrown into chaos. "We can't see the consultant."If we miss a consultation, they're entitled to strike us off and we have to get re-referred. It does cause quite considerable problems."Mr Ellis's son Stephen said each time an appointment had been missed, the family had raised a complaint through PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service). "On the four or five apology letters my dad's received, they have been apologetic. They have accepted blame," he said. In the family's most recent letter of apology, seen by BBC Look North, EMAS said it had classed Mr Ellis as a "priority patient".However, since the letter was received, Stephen said there had been three further occasions where an ambulance had not been sent. "So, it's a false promise," he said. Mr Ellis has Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) which leads to progressive nerve damage due to the immune system attacking the myelin sheath, the protective covering of nerves. It affects his mobility, he requires round the clock care and is unable to travel by car. He needs regular CT scans and Ellis's transport is booked two weeks in advance and he is asked to be ready two hours before each appointment."They just say a vehicle hasn't been allocated. They don't say why," Mr Ellis said. "One of the last calls we had was that they couldn't find a vehicle. "He came back to us eventually and said, 'We've found a vehicle but we can't find a crew for it now.'" 'Incredibly high' demand Stephen said he hoped highlighting his father's experience would "trigger somebody to do something about it and provide the service that they're being paid to provide".EMAS said it faced an "incredibly high" level of demand for its service, providing over 390,000 patient journeys across the East Midlands last year, with each one "requiring careful planning and coordination". Ms Weldin said: "I would like to say how very sorry I am for the service provided to Mr Ellis. I can only apologise and say that we are always working hard to improve." Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Irish Independent
24-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Mum of autistic boy assaulted by teacher calls for CCTV in all special schools – ‘How many other people like Tanya are out there?'
Today at 09:00 The mother of an autistic child who was assaulted by preschool worker, Tanya Shortt, says if it wasn't for CCTV cameras in the preschool, Shortt may never have been caught and could still be working with vulnerable children. Tanya Shortt (36), from Esmondale, Kilcullen Road, Naas, Co Kildare, was given two two-month suspended sentences at Blanchardstown District Court last month after pleading guilty to assaulting two children at Play and Language Support (PALS) preschool for autistic children in Finglas, north Dublin in January 2023.
