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Mark Zuckerberg in Pune

admin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:00:59 +0000

Ok, so Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was in Pune this weekend. Attending one of his friend’s wedding and he also visited the Osho ashram and the Jewish Chabad house in Pune. Here is a pic from his visits.

Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook Founder) in Pune, India

Soft power for the masses, Media Lab Asia

admin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:30:45 +0000

With an aim of ‘ Technology for all ‘, IT ministry’s Media Lab Asia has developed softwares and gadgets that can empower students, disabled and the unlettered.

ML Asia has come up with 16 special projects to bring the benefits of technology to the common man. These are for improving healthcare, education, empowerment of disabled and generating livelihood according to CEO and MD Shankar N. Goswami.

Interesting projects,

MLA has developed a software to help cerebral palsy patients to communicate.
MLA has developed a special speech recognition software that will enable visually impaired and unlettered people to use computers and mobile phones.
Create virtual lab set-ups for students of class XI and XII, to carry out life sciences experiments in a virtual environment.
Development of software to help students of class XI and XII to solve complex maths problems.
Developed a van equipped with machines for ultrasound, X-ray, ECG and a mini pathology lab to visit rural areas.
Improving data collection systems for Tuberculosis control, Malaria Control and family health survey.

Read the full Times of India article hosted on the Media Lab Asia website.

Facilitate accessible content for visually impaired students : MLAsia

admin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:12:57 +0000

Would you like to support Media Lab Asia in facilitating accessible content to visually impaired students. The objectives of the centre is to facilitate books & other study material in E-text, Audio, DAISY & other accessible formats to persons with blindness & low vision.

Media Lab Asia has been promoted by Department of Information technology, MCIT, Govt. of India as a not for profit company. The objective of the company was set to bring the benefits of ICT to the common man.

Media Lab Asia is extending an appeal to support generation of audio & DAISY books on a continuous basis. This noble act with help in education and rehabilitation of visually impaired students.

Conversion of each book costs Rs 4000 /- and is income tax deductible.

Funds received will be recognized at the Media Lab Asia website. The donor’s name will also be acknowledged in forward of the respective book.

For further details, contact gauravtakkar@medialabasia.in

List of books in demand,

1) Books for different competitive examination
2) Books on disability statistics
3) ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’
4) Fluency in English-Part 1, Fluency in English-Part 2, English for the Students of Science, and technical Writing.
5) Book of Jaswant Singh on Jinnah
6) English literature books in e-text form
7) CBSE syllabus books
Notes for MBA entrance
9) Study material for Civil service exam (prelims and mains) for the SOCIAOLOGY subject
10) Haristtatal book
11) (M A) Part 2 for English Literature
12) Soft form on the history of greek literature
13) 12th English notes for Commerce
14) CA books
15) Book on Indian constitution
16) Book–”Greek Political Theory”
17) International relations book
18) Book on data mining
19) Books of political science
20) Book entitled “The Sea” by John Benville
21) Book “The Alcamist” by Paulo Kohalo
22) Book for preparation of U.B.I exam
23) History of Indian writings in English authored by Srinivasa Iyangar
24) Indian English Literature Books
25) “GRID2” written by IAN Foster
26) “Values for life” by Dr. Ignasimuthu
27) Language of medicine book
28) C++ by Sumit Arora for class xii
29) CAT’s preparation material
30) “Business Studies” by Punam Gandhi
31) Book of Economics comprehensive
32) Accounts NCERT part I
33) Accounts NCERT part II
34) English Grammar books
35) Books for the preparation of BBA and BCom entrance exam
36) Book called “Principles of Management”
37) Book for JAIIB examination
38) Book by M. Tyra of quicker mathematics
39) Artificial Intelligence – a modern approach by Russle norvig
40) Book by P.G. Woodehouse namely “Thank you Jeeves and Jeeves in the Offing”
41) “Winners Standing Alone” by “Paulo Coelho”
42) Marketing management by Philip Kotler
43) Technology in business by Laundon and Laundon
44) Business Law by Kuchchal
45) Marketing research by Tull and Hawkins
46) Organizational Behaviour by Stephen Robbins
47) Micro Economics by Salvatore
48) Enterprise Resource Planning by Jaiswal and Vanapalli
49) Manufacturing Resource Planning by Khalid Sheikh
50) Production Planning by Sammual Eilon
51) Income Tax Act
52) Hindi computer tutorials

Media Lab Asia , an intiative of the Union Government of India

admin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:05:42 +0000

Media Lab Asia is a not for profit research organisation, started with a goal of bringing the benefits of innovation and technology to the masses. It was formed as a result of a collaboration with the Government of India (Ministry of Communications and Information Technology).

It is comprised of a network of research labs on the campuses of the IIT’s at Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kanpur & Kharagpur.

Media Labs Asia also collaborates with not-for-profit organizations to develop and deploy technology that helps the masses. Over 30 research projects are underway with promising results.

There are four key focus areas for research:

Bits For All: Establishing leadership in low-cost rural communication
World Computer: Building low cost computing devices, accessible and affordable to the common man.
Tomorrow’s Tools: Creating language interfaces and low cost sensors
Digital Village: Where the consolidation of the three research topics are embodied in field research across the country, and in delivering value to the masses.

So why is it being called Media Lab Asia and not Media Lab India ?

The collaboration is for the whole of Asia, but as of now the operations have begun only in India. The technologies which will be developed with be adapted by other countries in the developing world.

How is Media Lab Asia funded ?

It is seed-funded by the Government of India with Rs 65 crore (approx. US $14 million)

External Links

Objectives of Media Lab Asia | Brochure

Google India announces the Google India Women in Engineering Award

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:25:00 +0000

Google has once again announced its yearly award for Indian female students studying Computer Science or a related discipline. Google says that it is part of its commitment to encourage women to excel in computing and technology, by recognizing and rewarding deserving women and inspiring them to become active participants and leaders in creating technology.

Eligibility Criteria

Full-time students from recognized institutions
Area of specialization must be Computer Science Engineering or related majors
Second to final year students from a bachelor’s program
All students from a master’s or PhD program
Cumulative CGPA of at least 4.0 on a 5.0 scale, 8.0 on a 10.0 scale or equivalent (What is a CGPA?)

The awards are based on the candidates academic background and demonstrated leadership, and the award recipients will receive a cash prive of Rs 1 lakh (approx US$2000) each. This is a one time award and not a scholarship.

Application Dates

Opens on 15 Sept 2009 and closes on 31 Oct 2009. The award will be announced in January 2010

Links

Google India Women in Engineering Award

Past Winners : 2008 | 2009