Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham awarded UNESCO Chair for “Experiential Learning for Sustainable Innovation & Development”

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● Through the Chair, the University will develop a comprehensive framework for academic engagement in building sustainable communities by designing a curriculum based on experiential learning

● This is the second UNESCO Chair awarded to Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham after it received India’s first-ever UNESCO Chair on Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment

● The University, which ranked the 4th Best University in India in NIRF India Ranking 2020, will hold the prestigious Chair for four years

● Scholarship Program: Amrita will fund a total of 100 international and Indian students and help them earn a PhD degree in Sustainable Development

September 8, 2020: In a boost to the quest for sustainable development in the country, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita) has been awarded a UNESCO Chair for “Experiential Learning for Sustainable Innovation & Development.” Through this Chair, the university will develop a comprehensive framework for academic engagement to build sustainable communities by designing a curriculum based on experiential learning. This curriculum will enable the academic community to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to implement sustainable solutions among vulnerable and rural communities.

The Chair will be held by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham for the next four years under the leadership of Dr. Maneesha Sudheer, the Dean of the University’s International Programs and Director of its Centre for Wireless Networks & Applications.

Said Dr. Maneesha Sudheer: “This is the second UNESCO Chair awarded to Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in the past four years after it received India’s first-ever UNESCO Chair on Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment. It is a great privilege for us to have achieved this recognition once again. Our much-acclaimed experiential learning program, Live-in-Labs, was conceptualized by our Chancellor, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, whose vision for Amrita has always included compassion-driven research and sustainable development. Over the years, Live-in-Labs has contributed towards sustainable development of rural communities across 21 states in India. This work led to our University being allotted this prestigious UNESCO Chair. 

We will now be able to take our experiential learning concept to the entire world in collaboration with other UNESCO Chairs and universities across the globe. Through the Chair, Amrita would develop an experiential learning framework to enable an understanding of the challenges faced by members of remote communities, and design sustainable solutions in collaboration with them.”

As a UNESCO Chair, Amrita becomes part of more than 700 educational institutions that share knowledge and expertise to improve their educational and research capacities. The activities Amrita will conduct as the UNESCO Chair will include PG teaching programs (including Joint Ph.D., Double Ph.D. and dual Masters programs), short-term certificate courses, research (including a seed-grant program for students and faculty), conferences, scholarships, and installation of model labs to check the practicality of solutions for sustainable development before they are implemented in communities.

As an extension of Live-in-Labs (which is offered as a short-term program and taken by UG and PG students), Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has announced 100 E4LIFE fully funded International PhD fellowships. The aim is to accelerate the work related to sustainable development of over 100 villages that the university has adopted across India. The University will fund a total of 100 international and Indian students and help them earn a PhD degree in Sustainable Development. The university is all set to receive the first group of 60 PhD students soon, out of which 45 are international candidates.

Said Dr. Maneesha Sudheer: “This Chair and the work we will do under it are important because challenges to modern development are rising due to lack of access to basic resources like energy, water, education, climate change, lack of resilience when struck by disasters, etc. Despite the advancements made in Science and Technology, simple and basic necessities are still not being met for a majority of the population across the world. It is about time to think how the contributions of high-end research translate to those belonging to the vulnerable sections.”

Amrita started Live-in-Labs in 2013 under the guidance of its Chancellor Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi to expose students to the difficulties faced by India’s rural communities. The idea is, if students are taken to live in such communities for a period of time, they will be inspired to better understand the villagers’ problems and work with them to innovate sustainable solutions. In collaboration with the Mata Amritanandamayi Math, Live-in-Labs works with 101 villages throughout India where it has implemented over 150 projects, benefitting more than two-lakh people. Over 400 international students from more than 40 international partner universities have participated in this program thus far.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham ranked the 4th Best University in India in NIRF India Ranking 2020.

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Amazon India Expands its Sort Centre Network ahead of The Festive Season

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The company will launch 5 New Sort Centres and expand 8 existing ones across India

National, September 08, 2020: In preparation for the festive season, Amazon India has announced the expansion of its sort centre network. The 5 new sort centres will be launched in Vishakhapatnam, Farukhnagar, Bangalore, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Apart from these new buildings, Amazon India will also expand 8 existing sort centres to increase its overall sortation area to more than 2.2 million square feet, across 19 states. With this expansion, Amazon India will strengthen its delivery speed and connectivity for customers and sellers, ahead of the festive season.

Sort centres are central to Amazon’s logistics network and help sort and deliver goods to Amazon delivery stations across the country. The Sort Centers sort customer packages before they are shipped to delivery stations. The sortation happens based on the location and mode of transportation of the package to customers. Amazon India uses technology and automation such as Sort Slides and Auto Sorters in its sortation network. Sort Slides allow fast manual sortation of packages and Auto Sorters are completely automated machines that perform end-to-end sorting of packages. This automated  and expanded  network helps increase the  speed of transporting packages for customers and sellers in the country.

“Wherever they are, customers trust Amazon for fast, reliable and safe delivery of products. By expanding and investing in the Sort Centre network, we are positioned to ensure continued customer and seller delight, ahead of the upcoming festive season. This expansion will create hundreds of opportunities for individuals and ancillary industries especially during this time when economic growth is a priority for the country.” said Abhinav Singh, Director, Amazon Transportation Services, Amazon India.

In July 2020, Amazon India announced the expansion plans of its fulfilment network by adding 10 new Fulfilment Centres and expansion of 5 existing buildings, in 2020. The company continues to build its operational network to ensure a smarter, faster and more consistent experience for its customers and sellers across the country, leading up to the festive season.

All customers on www.amazon.in and the Amazon mobile shopping app have an easy and convenient access to over 200 million+ products across hundreds of categories. They benefit from a safe and secure ordering experience, convenient electronic payments, Cash on Delivery, Amazon’s 24×7 customer service support, and a globally recognized and comprehensive 100% purchase protection provided by Amazon’s A-to-Z Guarantee. They can also enjoy Amazon.in’s guaranteed next-day, two-day delivery and standard delivery on products fulfilled by Amazon.

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RCH launches dedicated clinic for Paediatric Urology

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To deal with the rising urological complications among kids, the Birthright by Rainbow Children’s Hospital launched a dedicated “Centre for Advanced Paediatric Urology” at its Marathalli campus from Saturday. This dedicated centre is a one-stop-service with varied specialties like Pediatric Radiology, Pediatric Nephrology and allied fields being available under single roof. The centre also has special expertise in doing most of the complex urological surgery in kids by minimal incision / endoscopy / laparoscopy.

RCH’s Pediatric Surgeon and Pediatric Urologist Dr. Antony Robert Charles said that children were not miniature adults. Hence, their problems needed unique and tailored solutions. A lot of children have trouble with the kidney, tubes and the bladder which needed expert management.

Citing a few recent cases studies, Dr Charles said that a few newborn babies were born with blocks in the urine flow. This can lead to complications very early in life leading to infections and bulging kidneys and may lead to renal failure if not identified at early stages. With advanced investigations (pediatric urology) and expert comprehensive team management by the pediatric nephrology team and the pediatric urology team, most of these problems are identified early and solutions offered. In older children, repeated infections can lead to scars in the kidney and long term problems unless treated. “In very severe cases like exstrophy (Bladder exstrophy is a congenital (present at birth) abnormality of the bladder. It happens when the skin over the lower abdominal wall (bottom part of the tummy) does not form properly, so the bladder is open and exposed on the outside of the abdomen), the bladder itself is open and we have successfully treated children with these complex problems both for Indian and overseas patients . Our pediatric orthopedic team helps us in this complex approach,” he added.

As more and more imaging is available during pregnancy, a lot of abnormalities are picked up during antenatal scans. Though it looks like the number of urological cases is increasing, most of the problems seen during the pregnancy scan can be managed without worry and by expert waiting with checks. But the ones which need to be corrected can be identified early and the results are very satisfying in majority of the babies.

One of the commonest problems among kids are the hydronephrotic kidneys (water filled enlarged kidneys) either due to a block in the pipes or reflux (back flow) into the kidneys; coming to the bladder and urethra (pipe bringing urine out of the body). Many boys nowadays suffer from structural problems in the penis which need to be corrected in expert hands early in life so that they can get on with life. One of these is hypospadias where the urine opening is below the normal location and is increasing worldwide. While it used to be seen in 1:4000 babies previously, in the last few decades it’s increased phenomenally all over the world to almost 1:800 in some parts. Same way, the number of children testicular problems also is in the rise. If corrected early and these babies can get on very well.

Speaking on the occasion, RCH’s vice-president and cluster head-Mr Neeraj Lal said, “Pediatric urology is a very challenging yet a very gratifying specialty. The problems can be identified by a systematic logarithmic method and the treatment provided in expert hands makes the babies recover fast and get back to a normal / near normal life. We have successfully treated more than 500 patients with kidney diseases which give us the reason to formally launch this clinic.”

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PepsiCo India and Airtel Partner to Offer Customers a Super Digital Experience this Festive Season

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 With purchase of LAY’S, Kurkure, Uncle Chipps and Doritos pack, Airtel prepaid customers to get up to 2GB of free data

The on-going challenging times has affected consumers’ lifestyle and behaviours – People are consuming more data and spending more time with families at home leading to drastic jump in the in-home consumption of food and beverage. 

Bengaluru, 4th September 2020 : PepsiCo India today announced its partnership with Airtel to launch a Promo across its snacks brands that offers a special digital experience for all Airtel Prepaid customers. As part of this festive offer, every customer would get upto 2 GB of Airtel Data with the purchase of LAY’S, Kurkure, Uncle Chipps and Doritos packs and can redeem the offer 3 times per unique mobile number. 

Data is the most important currency today and people across generations are spending more hours indoors than ever before. Whether it is remote working, content streaming, gaming, e-learning or e-shopping, everyone is relying on data to stay connected.  For the quarter ended June 30 2020, average mobile data consumption per user on Airtel’s network increased to 16.3 GB, an increase of 40% over last year.    

Apart from the growing importance & consumption of data, the second insight that emerged during recent times is that in-home consumption is witnessing a significant uptake. As people continue to spend more time at home with their families, there is an increase in demand for snacks. 

In line with this connection between the top two trends of today – data and in-home consumption – PepsiCo India and Airtel have joined hands to offer customers up to 1 GB free data with INR 10 pack and 2 GB free data with INR 20 pack of PepsiCo products including LAY’S, Kurkure, Uncle Chipps and Doritos. To avail the offer, customers can simply check the free data voucher code printed behind the pack and go to Airtel Thanks app – ‘My Coupons’ section and enter the voucher to claim the offer. The new offer will continue till October 31st, 2020. Once the user has availed their code, the data can be redeemed immediately or at a later date of convenience and requirement till January 31st, 2021. 

Shashwat Sharma, Chief Marketing Officer, Bharti Airtel said: “At Airtel, we are obsessed about offering our customers the best network experience. We are thrilled to partner with PepsiCo to help all their customers experience our award winning 4G data services. This also gives us the opportunity to reward our loyal customers with complimentary data and unlock a worldof digital experiences on Airtel Thanks when they buy their favourite packet of snack.” 

Sharing his thoughts, Dilen Gandhi, Senior Director and Category Head – Foods, PepsiCo India, said “The ‘new normal’ has catapulted everyone into a more digital world than ever before. At PepsiCo India, as part of our digital first approach, we follow evolving digital trends and develop matching strategies.  Our insights showed us that consumers are enjoying our products and seeking convenience while working and watching content at home. The promo offer therefore is perfect fit for the festive season and will further compliment their in-home experience. Towards this, we are happy to partner with Airtel and offer its prepaid users a unique combination of 4G digital experience on purchase of our portfolio products including LAY’S, Kurkure, Uncle Chipps and Dorito.” 

The free data offer is available to all Airtel prepaid customers across India and will be a perfect combination for them to enjoy their favourite snack while accessing data at the same time. 

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Nippon Paint launches free online module on ‘Colour Psychology’ for design enthusiasts

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Ø  The module will be offered as part of an array of courses from Nippon’s Paint Academy

Ø  Focuses on the design literacy; and science of colours & their significance in everyday life

Bangalore, September 4th 2020: Nippon Paint (India) Private Limited (Decorative Division), Asia Pacific’s leading paint manufacturer today launched its Paint Academy’s Colour Psychology, a free online module for design enthusiasts on colour consulting. Primarily aimed at architecture and interior design students, the course will be offered in association with ACEDGE, a platform conceptualised by Ar. Gita Balakrishnan that is aimed to equip design students to contribute towards building of a harmonious society. The module is in line with the Council of Architecture (COA)’s news guidelines that make it mandatory for design students to opt for an online certified course as an elective. Mr. S Mahesh Anand, President – Decorative Paint, Nippon Paint (India) launched the module along with Ar. Gita Balakrishnan, Founder & Curator of Ethos & ACEDGE.

The module aims to bring about appreciation of design and design literacy among the common masses, so they become aware of different spaces and their effect on them. In today’s world where DIY projects are the norm and lot more people are opting for design consultations, it is crucial to have a sense of what design personally works for one. A main objective of this module is to enhance the student’s knowledge of paint and its diversity, and in the process influence their lifestyles and well-being positively. This is achieved by incorporating learnings from History, Culture, Nature, Science and Cognitive Psychology and linking them with spatial perceptions in Architecture and Interiors. The course can be opted by students as a 1 credit elective course, with the course content amounting to 16-18 hours. 

Talking about the event, Mr. S Mahesh Anand, President – Decorative Paint, Nippon Paint (India) commented, “Nippon Paint has always believed in nurturing design enthusiasts and imparting them with the required professional training, on par with industry standards. Through the launch of Paint Academy’s Colour Psychology module, we wish to equip students with the know-how of paint, applications, with a conscious effort to educate and empower the students in a holistic sense. We are very optimistic that owing to the high assessment standard of the module, it will train learners on the practical and application aspects of paint, equipping them to be able to make informed decisions in their projects and designs”.

Ar. Gita Balakrishnan, Founder & Curator of Ethos & ACEDGE said “The Built environment we inhabit, is a juxtaposition of various parameters and the way these interact with one another has a direct impact on the physical, emotional and social well-being of the users. The component of colour is one of the crucial parameters that impacts how the built environment communicates with the people inhabiting it. This course on “Colour Psychology” weaves the understandings of colour perception holistically with learnings from our surroundings to create a sensitive outlook towards the use of colour, that would help designers and students make informed choices in their designs with respect to context and user well-being. I am glad that Nippon Paint, through their initiative Paint Academy has chosen to enlighten designers on appropriate colour choice.”

As part of the launch, a MoU was signed between Nippon Paint India and IIA, with the latter coming on board as supporting partner for Asia Young Designer Awards 2020 in their architecture category. Candidates who successfully complete their module will receive a certificates of completion post submission of their assignments. For more details on the Colour Psychology module or to enrol, visit Paint Academy’s: Colour Psychology

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