The Hindu : New Delhi News : Focus is on pure sciences

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 05, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Focus is on pure sciences

Even as universities across the country go "vocational'' with the introduction of more and more professional courses, a small but significant shift of focus seems to be happening towards the much important field of research studies.

With experts and scientists increasingly expressing concern over lack of quality research and the dangerous trend of most science students choosing courses that lead to application-based jobs over research and invention, the need for increasing general interest in pure sciences is perhaps more than ever.

And setting a trend of sorts by launching an industry-sponsored research programme from its campus now is the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

It has now signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the IT major, HCL Technologies.

The tie-up would mean the setting up of a "Supercomputing Facility for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology" (SCFBio) for high-end projects in the area of drug discovery and development including genomics and proteomics projects.

HCL will be teaming up with international bioinformatics research institutions to build basic capabilities and generate a pool talent, with the software design methodology being used to make the best of the IIT teams expertise in the field.

Aimed at developing scientific methods and new software for genome analysis, protein structure prediction and active site-directed drug design, the partnership will also provide researchers access to HCL's software development expertise.

"It is pivotal to do science that is eventually realised into technology for the benefit of society. We at SCFBio are excited to enter into collaboration with HCL, bridging the gap between industry know-how and academia R&D. HCL with its strong IT skills and market exposure brings an opportunity for us to focus our R&D more concretely in meeting the industry's requirements and standards," said Pankaj Sharma, Project Scientist & System Administrator, SCFBio IIT Delhi.

With over 12 research institutes using the HCL sponsored biogrid for bioinformatics research, sharing of technical materials and delivering of lectures through video conferencing has become easy.

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Luton University has launched a part-time online MBA programme in association with the British Council. Following the programme's success in the UK and Oman, the programme will also be launched in Malaysia this coming July.

Identical to the full-time programme offered in the UK, the course is a combination of learning technologies.

Starting with a three-day orientation programme from July 1 to 3, the course can be completed in under two years. For more information, interested candidates can contact the British Council.

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To identify students with potential and aptitude for a career in the IT industry, NIIT has announced the second National IT Aptitude Test. Beginning May 9, admissions to the test are aimed at enabling graduates and students pursuing their studies in various streams to check their aptitude for a career in IT.

The test will be conducted in over 35 cities across North India including Agra, Ajmer, Allahabad, Ambala, Amritsar, Bareilly, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Chandigarh, Dehra Dun, Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Dharamshala, Gorakhpur, Hisar, Hamirpur, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Jammu, Jodhpur, Kanpur, Karnal, Kota, Lukhnow, Ludhiana, Mathura, Meerut, Patiala, Raipur, Sharanpur, Shimla, Srinagar, Udaipur and Varanasi.

With the first IT Aptitude test last year receiving over 65,000 entries from across 113 towns and helping identify over 22,000 students as people with high to very high aptitude for IT, NIIT is hoping that there will be more IT enthusiasts coming forward this time around.

Lakshmi B. Ghosh

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