SRM hosp chosen for human trials of Covid-19 vaccine

SRM hosp chosen for human trials of Covid-19 vaccine

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 04.06.2020

SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre in Kattankulathur, around 40km from the city, will be one of the 12 institutions and the only site in Tamil Nadu chosen by ICMR to conduct the human clinical trials of the first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine (BBV152 Covid Vaccine), where volunteers will be immunised with the vaccine.

The Drug Controller General of India recently gave its nod for human clinical trials for the vaccine called Covaxin. According to ICMR, the vaccine is derived from a strain of SARS-CoV-2 isolated by ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune. ICMR and Bharat Biotech International Limited, Hyderabad, are jointly working for the preclinical as well as clinical development of this vaccine.

A release from SRM said Dr Satyajit Mohapatra, associate professor from the department of pharmacology, has been chosen as the principal investigator for the clinical trials at SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre. SRM research centre was earlier involved in clinical trials for Rotavirus vaccine administered for protection against rotavirus infections, which causes severe diarrhea, and Pentavalent vaccine administered to protect children from five diseases including Hepatitis B and Dipertheria, Pertussis and Tetanus.

A senior doctor involved in clinical trials at the SRM hospital said they are awaiting the detailed protocol to be followed for the trials from the sponsor and ICMR, but the trial will begin only after approval from the ethics committee, approval from the site administrator and the availability of the faculty.

According to ICMR, the vaccine is derived from a strain of SARS-CoV-2 isolated by ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune. ICMR and Bharat Biotech International Limited, Hyderabad, are jointly working for the preclinical and clinical development of this vaccine

Colleges to go online with dedicated Youtube channel

Colleges to go online with dedicated Youtube channel

Gauree.Malkarnekar@timesgroup.com

Panaji   03.07.2020

Covid-19 cases in Goa are on the rise, and the state administration seems to have realised that classroom teaching may not be possible for the new academic year 2020-21. The directorate of higher education (DHE) has already begun work to convert at least 40% of the syllabus to e-content before colleges reopen.

The directorate has already carried out a survey in general stream colleges to determine the availability of internet connectivity among students.

Sources said that the survey found that many students do not have good internet connectivity at home. The government is in the process of setting up hotspots in such areas, but, in the meantime, the DHE is training teachers to prepare e-content and start off the academic year by delivering this content to students through WhatsApp and email.

Already 300 government college teachers have been trained on how to prepare and deliver the e-content to students. Master trainers are being presently trained for aided colleges, who will then train their colleagues in the respective colleges.

DHE is also launching its own YouTube channel where lectures will be uploaded for students to access at their convenience.

‘GU studio will be used to record videos’

The directorate will launch its own Youtube channel, where any number of lectures can be uploaded and students can access what is relevant to them. The responsibility for creation of the lecture videos is being distributed amongst teachers of different colleges to share the burden. The studio at Goa University will be used to record and develop the videos,” a source said.

If the Covid-19 situation does not improve, live teaching is planned via webcast.

Colleges have also been told to pair students with poor internet connectivity with a ‘friend’ living in an area with good network and encourage them to partner on accessing the online learning content, officials said.

Officials said that government college teachers have been provided licensed Microsoft 365 packages, which they will use to create PowerPoint presentations of chapters. If live lectures have to be held eventually, Microsoft Teams will be used by the teachers. Similarly, teachers of aided college are expected to use Google Meet.

“Presently, once teachers complete the training, each one will start creating separate e-content for their own students during their college working hours and begin the academic year by making PPTs, etc, available to students through platforms like WhatsApp, etc,” a source said.

UoH forms task force to plan reopening of classes

UoH forms task force to plan reopening of classes

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad:  03.07.2020

The University of Hyderabad has constituted a task force to outline a road map for the resumption of teaching-learning activities that were suspended after March 15 due to Covid-19 outbreak.

The 12-member task force will be chaired by Prof Vinod Pavarala, the former dean of the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication, and consult various stakeholders of the university.

“This includes practical steps for starting classes for ongoing students as well as for those who will be joining the university this academic year. The task force will examine and recommend a range of teaching methods incorporating face-to-face, online and blended modes of delivery of course content,” reads a press release issued by the university.

The group will recommend appropriate measures to upgrade the institution’s ICT infrastructure, so that it is able to address the challenges of online education. It will also examine the scheduling and mode of the university’s annual entrance examination that is held across the country for admission to its various post-graduate and research programmes. The last date for submitting applications for this year’s admissions was June 30. Further, the group has been asked to monitor the implementation of the decisions taken by the university on the abovementioned matters and will remain in operation up to December 31.

The group will recommend appropriate measures to upgrade the institution’s ICT infrastructure, so that it is able to address the challenges of online education. It will also examine the scheduling of the university’s entrance examination

Best past scores to assess all UG & PG students of CU

Best past scores to assess all UG & PG students of CU

Internal Marks To Be Sent To Univ By July 10

Somdatta.Basu@timesgroup.com

Kolkata: 03.07.2020

The best aggregate marks secured by a Calcutta University undergraduate student in Part I and Part II examinations, along with his or her best score in the past three years’ internal assessment, will make up the final scores.

At the meeting of the Calcutta University Syndicate, the institute’s highest administrative decision-making body, members decided that 80% of a students’ final marks will be from the best score of the previous two years (Part I and Part II), while the best internal assessment score would make up the rest 20%. CU-affiliated colleges have been asked to send internal assessment scores of previous three years of each student appearing for Part III to the university by July 10. “The internal assessment marks will be posted on the CU website after the result is published. The answerscripts will have to be preserved by colleges, which might need to send those to the university if required. Regarding ‘back’ papers, the marks will be awarded, based on the best score obtained in the remaining qualified papers of that year,” said CU vicechancellor Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee. The decision to put the internal scores on public domain was taken to ensure transparency.

This is the last year, when BA and BSc students at CU are being assessed on the old 1+1+1 system. Students up to the UG second year in both humanities and science faculties are assessed on choice-based credit system (CBCS). The semester system was introduced to the commerce section ahead of the Arts and science faculties. “For end-semester BCom students, 80% of their marks will be based on the best aggregate percentage of the last five semesters and 20% from their best performance in internal assessments” the VC said.

For fourth- or end-semester PG students, 80% marks will be based on the best aggregate percentage of previous three semesters and the rest 20% on internal assessment to be decided by their departments through individual department councils and faculty councils. The internal assessment scores will have to be sent to heads of departments by July 10.

In professional courses, such as engineering and technology, management and law, 80% of a candidate’s final score will be on internal assessment or mid-semester exams or the best of the aggregates of previous semesters and 20% on assignments. “This is only for the 2019-20 academic session,” said Chakravarti Banerjee.

The CU’s announcements came five days after the government on Saturday stated endsemester UG as well as PG students will be evaluated, based on 80% weightage to their best aggregate percentage in any of the previous semesters’ results (five semesters in UG and three in PG) and 20% on internal assessment of the current semester. For those in the 1+1+1 system, the best aggregate secured in the past two exams will be considered. Unhappy with these assessments, if some students wish to appear for a formal exam as and when it is held, they will have to apply through a process to be notified by the university concerned. Its results will be published within a month of the tests being held. The final scores will be revised, according to the special exam marks.

International honour for KGMU prof

International honour for KGMU prof

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Lucknow  03.07.2020

The Indian chapter of American College of Physicians has honoured Prof Abbas Ali Mahdi, professor and head of biochemistry department of King George’s Medical University. (KGMU).

The honour has been bestowed on him for tireless and dedicated efforts towards the expansion of Covid-19 testing facilities in Uttar Pradesh by facilitating establishment of new testing facilities. Dr BA Muruganathan, governor, American College of Physicians (Indian Chapter), felicitated Prof Mahdi on the occasion of Doctor’s Day during a webinar on Wednesday.

Prof Mahdi is also the administrative officer of the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, regional depot for Uttar Pradesh which has been established at KGMU for storage and transportation of Covid kits.

MUHS slots summer exams from August 4

MUHS slots summer exams from August 4

—Ranjan Dasgupta

Nashik:  03.07.2020

Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) has announced that summer 2020 exams for health science courses will be staggered from August 4. The exams had earlier been scheduled on July 16. Vice-chancellor Deelip Mhaisekar and senior functionaries guided the examination department to frame the new time-table.

“Final year exams for allopathy, dental, homoeopathy, nursing, unani and ayurveda will start from August 4. For other classes and streams, it will be on August 17,” controller of examination Ajit Pathak told TOI.

A detailed time-table was uploaded on www.muhs.ac.in But the university did not give dates for postgraduate allopathy (MD/MS) exam as students are busy treating Covid-19 patients in government and civic hospitals.

Some PG allopathy students had demanded postponement of the exam as they were not getting time to prepare.

Pathak said the university adhered to state government instructions to ensure students get a day’s gap between each paper. In the old schedule, UG final year exams were to start on July16, with no gap between papers.

MUHS conducts summer exams in May-June, but it got delayed due to coronavirus pandemic. Pathak said it would take two months to conduct exams of all streams and theory papers will be followed by practicals.

MUHS to conduct tests from August 4

TIME TABLE OUT

MUHS to conduct tests from August 4

Ranjan.Dasgupta@timesgroup.com

Nashik:  03.07.2020

The Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) has announced that the summer 2020 exams for all health science courses will start in a staggered manner from August

4. The exams had earlier been scheduled to begin on July 16.

Varsity’s vice-chancellor Deelip Mhaisekar, along with other senior functionaries, guided the examination department to frame the time-table afresh.

“The final-year exams for courses like allopathy, dental, homoeopathy, nursing, unani and ayurveda will start from August 4 while the exams for students of other classes and streams will begin on August 17,” controller of examination Ajit Pathak told TOI on Thursday.

A detailed time-table has been uploaded on the university’s website: www.muhs.ac.in for students’ convinience.

However, the university did not give the dates for the postgraduate allopathy (MD/MS) examination since these students are currently busy treating coronavirus patients in the government and civic hospitals.