Bits & bytes
IIT-Kanpur students get help to tackle tension

The Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur is organising health awareness workshops to help its students cope with tension caused by high expectations, tough competition and the pressure to succeed.

Experts of the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences have been roped in for the workshops and have been helping the students lead tension-free lives while also assisting their research work.

According to Nirmal Kumar, the Chief Medical Officer of IIT-Kanpur, investigations had shown that several engineering students committed after being affected by tension and depression. He said steps were being taken to provide a better atmosphere for the future engineers and scientists during their study in the IIT campus.

The head of the department of cardiology of the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute, Nakul Singha, recently spoke to the IIT students about methods to reduce tension in their lives.

Kumar said more medical experts would soon be invited to IIT-Kanpur for help the students. — PTI

Retail major Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited (PRIL) recently entered into an agreement with the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM) to introduce a postgraduate programme in Retail Management at the institute’s premises.

Chief of Operations (East) of PRIL Manish Agarwal said in Kolkata on Monday that the two-year course was aimed at grooming managers for the booming retail industry in the country.

Agarwal said that the company had also tied up with Somaiya Management Institute in Chennai and Wellingkar Management Institute in Mumbai for introducing similar courses.

The course fee had been fixed at Rs 2.50 lakh. — PTI

NIIT, Asia’s leading IT trainer has announced the 16th Annual Bhavishya Jyoti Scholarships (BJS) to reward meritorious college students desirous of building successful careers in diverse industries that require information technology skills.

Based on their performance in a competitive written test, personal interview and their Class XII score, NIIT will award fee waivers of up to 50 per cent on its popular IT career programmes, such as GNIIT, to successful students.

Students who have completed their Class XII or equivalent and/or those currently pursuing graduation are eligible for the scholarships, which apply for the industry endorsed multiple-track GNIIT series. Engineering and IT students can also avail scholarships . The application forms for the test are available through NIIT education centres across the country. The admission test will be held on Sunday, September 17, 2006. — TNS