Tag: Course

  • India holds maiden Women Military Officers Course for ASEAN Nations

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: In the pursuit towards strengthening military-diplomatic ties, the Indian Army is conducting a unique Women Military Officers Course for women military officers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and the Indian Army.

    The sources said, “The Course being conducted from 18 to 29 Sep at Delhi is themed on the United Nations framework and designed as an empowering and collaborative training programme”

    Photo credit: Special arrangement

    It underscores India and ASEAN’s shared commitment to foster greater international cooperation in support of enduring world peace while ensuring gender equality.

    The Event aligns with India’s broader commitment to the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and the ADMM-Plus in fostering a stronger, more resilient and collaborative security fabric within the region under UN Charter.

    A lecture demonstration and Equipment display showcasing Nari Shakti and Atmanirbhar (Self-reliant) Bharat was organised for the participants on 25 September at the UN pre-deployment training area at New Delhi.

    The course is being organised under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence. It was in 2022 that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced initiatives by India for empowerment of women in the Armed Forces.

    ASEAN and India stand united and together for world peace. The ADMM Plus is an annual meeting of Defence Ministers of ten ASEAN countries and its eight dialogue partner countries, viz., India, USA, Russia, China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. The year 2022 marked the 30th Anniversary of India-ASEAN relations.

    India became the dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992 and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam on October 12, 2010. Since 2017, ADMM-Plus Ministers have been meeting annually to further the dialogue and cooperation amongst ASEAN and the Plus countries.

    India and ASEAN have elevated their relationship to ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’ in November 2022.

    NEW DELHI: In the pursuit towards strengthening military-diplomatic ties, the Indian Army is conducting a unique Women Military Officers Course for women military officers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and the Indian Army.

    The sources said, “The Course being conducted from 18 to 29 Sep at Delhi is themed on the United Nations framework and designed as an empowering and collaborative training programme”

    Photo credit: Special arrangement

    It underscores India and ASEAN’s shared commitment to foster greater international cooperation in support of enduring world peace while ensuring gender equality.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });

    The Event aligns with India’s broader commitment to the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and the ADMM-Plus in fostering a stronger, more resilient and collaborative security fabric within the region under UN Charter.

    A lecture demonstration and Equipment display showcasing Nari Shakti and Atmanirbhar (Self-reliant) Bharat was organised for the participants on 25 September at the UN pre-deployment training area at New Delhi.

    The course is being organised under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence. It was in 2022 that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced initiatives by India for empowerment of women in the Armed Forces.

    ASEAN and India stand united and together for world peace. The ADMM Plus is an annual meeting of Defence Ministers of ten ASEAN countries and its eight dialogue partner countries, viz., India, USA, Russia, China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. The year 2022 marked the 30th Anniversary of India-ASEAN relations.

    India became the dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992 and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam on October 12, 2010. Since 2017, ADMM-Plus Ministers have been meeting annually to further the dialogue and cooperation amongst ASEAN and the Plus countries.

    India and ASEAN have elevated their relationship to ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’ in November 2022.

  • India first country to launch design thinking and innovation course in schools

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: India will be the first country to expand design thinking and innovation courses in schools, with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) all set to roll out books from class seven onwards.

    While the design thinking and innovation course have already been introduced for students of Class 6 in many schools this academic year as a skill development curriculum, the CBSE is now planning to launch books for classes 7 to 12.

    The elective course jointly developed by CBSE, the Innovation Cell of the Education Ministry and IIT-Bombay aims to provide students with the tools and exposure that help them address problems using the design thinking process.

    Speaking with The New Indian Express, Biswajit Saha, director of CBSE (Skill Education and Training), said that CBSE will launch the books soon.

    Dr Abhay Jere, the Chief Innovation Officer of the Innovation Cell, Education Ministry, said, “This year, along with CBSE, we have already introduced a design thinking course from Class 6. India is the only country, as per the best of our knowledge, to have a design thinking elective module starting from Class 6 standard.”

    “Introducing design thinking at 6th standard is very, very unique. We will be rolling out the books on the topic for Class 7 onwards very soon. They are at the final stages of clearance,” said Jere, who has been instrumental in introducing innovation-related initiatives in higher education institutions.

    He said in India, many institutes are giving training in design thinking. Corporates are inviting design-thinking experts to help them ideate. International educational institutes like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford offer design thinking programmes, Jere told TNIE.

    “Through this programme, we will be able to train a large number of youngsters, which will eventually help them move forward towards innovation and entrepreneurship,” added Jere, who conceptualised the Smart India Hackathon initiative, claimed as the world’s biggest open innovation model, which teaches the culture of product innovation and problem-solving among students.

    The current module, which has been conceptualised, is at par with international standards and has been designed and supported by IIT-Bombay. The skill module is an optional subject but will not be a criterion for passing. 

    Students will be awarded grades according to their achievement from – ‘beginning’, ‘developing’, ‘promising’, ‘proficient’ to ‘excellent’.

    Jere said it was observed that the innovation quotient and problem-solving ability of Indian students were below par. “The reason was due to the rote learning system of education. Our students are not trained to identify a problem and then ideate to solve that problem,” he said.

    According to Prof. Ravi Poovaiah, Emeritus Fellow, Industrial Design Centre (IDC) School of Design, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay and who is the chairman of the team that firmed up the design thinking and innovation syllabus, the curriculum till Class 12 is ready. “We are giving the draft the final touch. We will be submitting it to CBSE in a couple of weeks. Then they will take some time before they launch it.”

    Elaborating on the module, he said, “It is a very good initiative, which is not there anywhere in the world. The design thinking process in schools has not been done. Now, we will have children who come out of school with their mindsets changed.”

    The intention is that in the long run, we want our children to be very creative, Poovaiah told TNIE.

    He said the background is the NEP 2020 mandate which says that we need to have sensory skills inbuilt into our children.

    For students from Classes 6 to 8, it will be an exposure programme. And if they get interested, they can take it up from Class 9 onwards.

    “From Class 9th onwards, they have to spend 160 hours, which is the same amount they spend on any other subject,” he said, adding that at the moment, the skill course will be taught in CBSE schools, but hopefully, soon, other state boards will also start teaching them.

    The module will explore students’ sensory abilities, cognitive abilities and social abilities through a fun exercise. It will create awareness in the students through observation, discovery, analysis, experience, collaboration and reflection.

    It also aims to nurture their curiosity and enhance their explorative abilities, foster creativity and innovation in students, identify problems and find solutions by applying design thinking processes and methods to solve various problems.

    The course will also help students – who will learn to collaborate, cooperate and work together to find solutions to solve – derive a culturally rooted understanding of design from information documented under the Indian Knowledge Systems, Poovaiah said, adding that they also trained teachers in how to impart the course in various centres, including Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Mumbai, Jaipur and Kolkata.

    NEW DELHI: India will be the first country to expand design thinking and innovation courses in schools, with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) all set to roll out books from class seven onwards.

    While the design thinking and innovation course have already been introduced for students of Class 6 in many schools this academic year as a skill development curriculum, the CBSE is now planning to launch books for classes 7 to 12.

    The elective course jointly developed by CBSE, the Innovation Cell of the Education Ministry and IIT-Bombay aims to provide students with the tools and exposure that help them address problems using the design thinking process.

    Speaking with The New Indian Express, Biswajit Saha, director of CBSE (Skill Education and Training), said that CBSE will launch the books soon.

    Dr Abhay Jere, the Chief Innovation Officer of the Innovation Cell, Education Ministry, said, “This year, along with CBSE, we have already introduced a design thinking course from Class 6. India is the only country, as per the best of our knowledge, to have a design thinking elective module starting from Class 6 standard.”

    “Introducing design thinking at 6th standard is very, very unique. We will be rolling out the books on the topic for Class 7 onwards very soon. They are at the final stages of clearance,” said Jere, who has been instrumental in introducing innovation-related initiatives in higher education institutions.

    He said in India, many institutes are giving training in design thinking. Corporates are inviting design-thinking experts to help them ideate. International educational institutes like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford offer design thinking programmes, Jere told TNIE.

    “Through this programme, we will be able to train a large number of youngsters, which will eventually help them move forward towards innovation and entrepreneurship,” added Jere, who conceptualised the Smart India Hackathon initiative, claimed as the world’s biggest open innovation model, which teaches the culture of product innovation and problem-solving among students.

    The current module, which has been conceptualised, is at par with international standards and has been designed and supported by IIT-Bombay. The skill module is an optional subject but will not be a criterion for passing. 

    Students will be awarded grades according to their achievement from – ‘beginning’, ‘developing’, ‘promising’, ‘proficient’ to ‘excellent’.

    Jere said it was observed that the innovation quotient and problem-solving ability of Indian students were below par. “The reason was due to the rote learning system of education. Our students are not trained to identify a problem and then ideate to solve that problem,” he said.

    According to Prof. Ravi Poovaiah, Emeritus Fellow, Industrial Design Centre (IDC) School of Design, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay and who is the chairman of the team that firmed up the design thinking and innovation syllabus, the curriculum till Class 12 is ready. “We are giving the draft the final touch. We will be submitting it to CBSE in a couple of weeks. Then they will take some time before they launch it.”

    Elaborating on the module, he said, “It is a very good initiative, which is not there anywhere in the world. The design thinking process in schools has not been done. Now, we will have children who come out of school with their mindsets changed.”

    The intention is that in the long run, we want our children to be very creative, Poovaiah told TNIE.

    He said the background is the NEP 2020 mandate which says that we need to have sensory skills inbuilt into our children.

    For students from Classes 6 to 8, it will be an exposure programme. And if they get interested, they can take it up from Class 9 onwards.

    “From Class 9th onwards, they have to spend 160 hours, which is the same amount they spend on any other subject,” he said, adding that at the moment, the skill course will be taught in CBSE schools, but hopefully, soon, other state boards will also start teaching them.

    The module will explore students’ sensory abilities, cognitive abilities and social abilities through a fun exercise. It will create awareness in the students through observation, discovery, analysis, experience, collaboration and reflection.

    It also aims to nurture their curiosity and enhance their explorative abilities, foster creativity and innovation in students, identify problems and find solutions by applying design thinking processes and methods to solve various problems.

    The course will also help students – who will learn to collaborate, cooperate and work together to find solutions to solve – derive a culturally rooted understanding of design from information documented under the Indian Knowledge Systems, Poovaiah said, adding that they also trained teachers in how to impart the course in various centres, including Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Mumbai, Jaipur and Kolkata.