Dual degree programme has many benefits - Education

  Students can benefit from a practical and research oriented education format while pursuing a double degree.

Take up a programme that would give exposure both in the Indian condition and as well as in a university overseas, writes Sumit Bhattacharjee

When it comes to study abroad, why not take up a programme that would give exposure both in the Indian condition and as well as in a university in Europe.

The double degree programmes offered by Blekinge Institute of Technology (BIT), Sweden, gives such an opportunity.

BIT has signed MoUs with Andhra University, JNTU-Hyderabad and JNTU-Kakinada for two-year M.Tech/M.Sc. programmes in software engineering, signal processing and telecommunication.

As per the MoU the first semester will be taught at the Indian university and the remaining three will be imparted at BIT. While the Indian university will award an M.Tech degree, BIT will give a M.Sc. degree.

The Project Director of Blekinge, Velpula Gurudutt informs that the tuition fee is only Rs. 1.5 lakh, as BIT has exempted the tuition fee, which normally amounts to Rs. 14 lakh INR, from Indian students under the annual exchange programme.

“The students however have to arrange their living expenses, which normally amounts to about Rs. 4.5 lakh. The visa given is a residence permit, hence the students can also take up part time jobs,” he says.

According to Gurudutt, the students who intend to take up the dual degree programme need not write any qualifying examinations such as GRE, TOEFL or IELTS.

“If he or she has studied in English medium from 10+2 level, that is sufficient to process the application.” Each course caters to 10 seats.

Kiran Kishore and David Hempaul who recently passed out from BIT and AU with dual degrees in telecommunication and software engineering, respectively, say, “The quality of education is very high. The education format is more practical and research oriented.”
Integrated

BIT also offers five-year integrated courses in software engineering, computer science engineering, radio communication, signal processing, telecommunication systems and structural mechanical with JNTU-Hyderabad and JNTU- Kakinada.

Students coming from JNTU-K will be offered B.Tech degree by JNTU-K and M.Sc. degree by BIT.

Students from JNTU-H will be awarded B.Tech and M.Tech degree by the university and M.Sc. degree by BIT.
Programme

Under this programme a student has to study three-and-half-years in any of the JNTUs and the remaining one-and-half-years at BIT.

Details leak out about iPhone 5

iPhone 5

It’s only a few months until the newest generation of iPhone hits stores and details about its features are slowly leaking out.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the fifth iteration of the best—selling smartphone will be thinner than its predecessor and have an eight-pixel, not five, camera. The paper quoted Apple’s suppliers, since the company does not manufacture the iPhone itself.

Two weeks ago, the Bloomberg news agency had reported about the improved camera, as well as about a faster processor. Apple has remained, as usual, mum about its new product, refusing to comment.

But the Wall Street Journal says the new phone will be released in this quarter. Bloomberg, citing informed sources, reported September.

Speculation has been ongoing for months about when the successor to the hugely successful iPhone 4 might hit stores. Until now, new models have been released around midyear, meaning the iPhone 5 is behind schedule.

But Bloomberg reported that Apple wanted to wait until its new iOS5 operating system was ready to go. That’s been promised for the autumn.

However, the Wall Street Journal reports that the iPhone 5 is especially complicated to build, because it’s so thin. That could also lead to delays.

The iPhone 4 was already thinner than the 3GS. The new iPhone will also reportedly include a new wireless chip from Qualcomm. Until now, those chips have been produced by Infineon. Officially, Apple has made no comments about its supplier. Infineon has sold its wireless chip business to Intel, which is getting into smartphones. If the company has indeed lost its contract, that would be a big blow.

There were 18.7 million iPhones sold in the first quarter of 2011 and sales expectations are very high for the new phone, reported the Wall Street Journal, citing an informed source. Projections are for sales of 25 million units by the end of 2011.

Pranav Mistry’s Sixth Sense Technology

Pranav Mistry’s “The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology” is a revolutionary technology that is going to change this world to a real digital sixth-sense world. At TED India Mysore (India), Pranav Mistry demos several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data(digital world)  – including a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper “laptop.” In an onstage Q&A, Pranav Mistry says he’ll open-source the software behind SixthSense, to open its possibilities to all on next month itself. If you are interested in technology that is unbelievable, really you will be a fan of Pranav. This is one of the most viewed video in TED and is my most favorite video. Watch this, you never blame me for recommending this video. Feel free to comment about Pranav Mistry’s idea of sixth sense technology.

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