Education Technology | Innovations and Insights - Edinbox

Emphasizing India's youth power in the tech industry, Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw pointed out that 20 indigenous student-designed semiconductor chips have been successfully produced at the Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali.

Taking to social media, the minister announced, "Bharat's Yuva Shakti, 20 indigenous student-designed chips taped out from SCL Mohali."

As per the Ministry of Electronics & IT, the chips were developed by 17 Indian engineering colleges' students, including a few IITs, and successfully produced at its unit.

These designs are under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme, which looks to enhance semiconductor design and manufacturing capacity in India.

The ministry also added that the approved DLI Scheme of Rs 1,000 crore supports homegrown companies, startups, and MSMEs in creating semiconductor products.

The process of designing and marketing semiconductor products has high entry barriers, long development cycles, and fierce international competition.

To overcome these hurdles, the DLI Scheme provides design infrastructure facilities, including Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools and Intellectual Property (IP) cores, for early prototyping.

It also gives financial support of up to 50 per cent of qualifying expenses, capped at Rs 15 crore per application, towards design prototyping, scale-up, and volume production.

There are also incentives of 6 to 4 per cent of net sales turnover for five years, with a cap of Rs 30 crore per application, towards deployment and commercialization of chip solutions.

Since its inception in December 2021, 278 education institutions under the C2S program and 72 startups under the DLI program have been cleared for access to sophisticated EDA tools.

The ministry said "The DLI Scheme is implemented in close consultation with stakeholders and beneficiary companies. Any modifications needed will be done based on evolving requirements and feedback.".

The ministry also mentioned that fiscal assistance has been approved to 23 companies and start-ups for chip designing for uses like surveillance cameras, energy meters, microprocessor IPs, and networking.

Among them, ten companies have raised venture capital funds to ramp up their prototypes for commercialization, while six companies have executed prototype tape-outs at different semiconductor foundries.

Following the growing demand for veteran professionals in the new technology area of artificial intelligence, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) has launched the second edition of its Certificate Programme in Generative AI. As a part of its Continuing Education Programme (CEP), this six-month online certificate program is open to working professionals with a view to acquiring freshest competencies in Large Language Models (LLMs), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and responsible AI development.

This sector-agnostic course is intended for professionals from any industry such as software development, data science, machine learning, digital product management, and applied research. It also includes educators and tech-enabling professionals willing to make a career shift to innovative AI applications.

Pragmatic AI technologies like Python, NumPy, TensorFlow, PyTorch, spaCy, and Hugging Face are learned by students. The courses include hands-on tutorials as well as industry-led capstone projects that are orchestrated to simulate actual deployments of AI in different verticals including healthcare, education, finance, and autonomous systems.

Evolving research entails evolving subject matter in the form of transformer models, neural architecture, parameter-efficient fine-tuning (PEFT) for low-resource settings, and multilingual NLP. Students study evolving model architectures such as GPT, BERT, and T5, and are exposed to evolving techniques such as instruction tuning, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF), and evolving prompting techniques in order to maximize model performance and usefulness.

Emphasizing the larger societal relevance of the program, IIT Delhi Electrical Engineering Department Professor Tanmoy Chakraborty added, "This program is a result of our conviction that Generative AI will drive innovation and decision-making in the future. We aim to develop professionals who do not just know AI technologies but also drive their use in industries responsibly with depth."

As the world undergoes a change with AI, industry reports have already established an on-demand demand for AI experts. According to studies by PwC, AI will add as much as USD 15.7 trillion to the world economy by 2030. The BCG report does, nonetheless, lay out that even though investments in AI are on the rise, there is a success rate of only 26% for organisations to apply these technologies in driving material value. While that, The AIDEA of India report by EY estimates the figure at USD 1.5 trillion by the close of the decade, i.e., from Generative AI alone to India's GDP.

The training is being imparted in a mix of self-study and live web classrooms, amounting to 60 hours of formal instruction and facilitated learning, and a 10-hour capstone project. The trainees can choose one-day campus immersion at IIT Delhi, experiencing the quality of research and academics of the institute.

For admission, the candidate should have a bachelor's or master's degree in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. On successful completion, the students are awarded an e-certificate by IIT Delhi CEP.

With a focus on cultivating applied skills as well as ethical innovation, the program is meant to build the future generation of AI leaders to make lasting impact in industry.

The long-established faith that a computer science degree from a leading American institution will lead to a lucrative job is running into increasing obstacles. Even with booming enrollments and rising expectations, recent graduates are finding it hard to secure employment in an ever-changing world of technology. The New York Times report states that a mix of changing industry needs and the advent of artificial intelligence is making new computer science graduates unemployed and frustrated.

The Golden Ticket of Promise: Big Tech Wages and Coding Skills

Students such as Manasi Mishra have been motivated by corporate heroes who promised computer science as the ultimate ticket to success for more than a decade. Having grown up close to Silicon Valley, Manasi learned the message resonating loud and clear: "If you simply learned how to code, work hard and earn a computer science degree, you can earn six figures for your entry-level salary," she remembers. This assurance compelled her to begin coding websites in elementary school, learn higher-level computing classes in high school, and eventually study computer science at Purdue University.

Technology behemoths amplified these hopes. In 2012, Brad Smith, a senior Microsoft executive at the time, pointed out that computer science majors tended to have initial salaries exceeding $100,000, along with generous bonuses and stock awards. This promise created an education boom. The Computing Research Association estimated that the number of US undergraduate computer science majors more than doubled between 2014 and over 170,000 last year.

AI, Layoffs, and Job Market Contraction

Though, the job landscape has changed dramatically. The advent of AI coding tools that can write and debug code has decreased the requirement for junior software developers. At the same time, the large technology firms like Amazon, Intel, Meta, and Microsoft have performed major layoffs.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York confirms that recent college graduates with degrees in computer science and computer engineering have unemployment rates of 6.1 percent and 7.5 percent respectively. This is much higher than recent graduates in biological or art history, which has an average unemployment rate of 3 percent.

Thousands of Applications, Few Interviews, No Offers

Most graduates encounter a rigorous job hunt. Graduates from various institutions, such as Maryland, Texas, Cornell, and Stanford, indicated that they applied to hundreds or thousands of positions. However, months of work usually concluded without any offers or interviews.

The job search process has become emotionally taxing, with some graduates describing it as “bleak,” “disheartening,” or “soul-crushing.” Several candidates said they felt “gaslit” by the industry’s earlier promises of easy success.

AI’s Role in Automating Entry-Level Jobs

One of the major reasons for the dismal job outlook is the growing involvement of AI in software development. First-line coding positions, which were once a stepping stone for freshly graduated engineers, are now most exposed to automation. An example of such a tool is CodeRabbit, which claims to debug code quicker than human engineers, leading companies to reconsider their recruitment strategies.

The graduates are also confronted with an AI "doom loop" in applications. They use AI applications to personalize résumés and autofill applications in a hurry, as employers utilize AI systems to automatically reject and sift out applicants, bypassing human discretion during the hiring process.

Reevaluating What Tech Firms Value Nowadays

In this new environment, analysts advise students to re-strategize. Google's Android head Sameer Samat points out that merely a computer science degree is not enough to achieve success. "If you just want to learn Java or Python, you don't need a degree," he explained. Passion, intense specialization, and problem-solving capabilities are what differentiate applicants.

Samat encourages would-be engineers to become a leading expert in one area they are passionate about, be it system design, AI, or user experience. Specialized expertise more and more fuels hiring managers at large tech companies.

The Cost of Education

Compounding this doubt is the heavy financial cost endured by most students. Sridhar Vembu, founder of Zoho, recently warned against borrowing large amounts to study abroad, particularly with job prospects dwindling. He believes employer-sponsored training programs and greater acceptance of non-traditional qualifications are the way forward, citing this as the potential to keep students out of debt.e

The age of having a computer science degree from a well-known US university as an automatic guarantee of success is drawing to a close. As AI revolutionizes the sector and job markets shrink, graduates need to adjust by learning specialized skills, accepting lifelong learning, and being willing to take non-traditional career routes. For students and teachers, attention needs to shift away from syntax programming and focus on deep problem-solving and learning about the interlinking of technology and the physical space.

With an aim to encourage punctuality, minimize absenteeism, and introduce transparency and discipline into the education system, the Pune Zilla Parishad (ZP) is planning to launch a new online attendance system for teachers in its area, pipping the previous plan to introduce a biometric attendance system.

Teachers will be able to punch their attendance through a mobile application (app) only if they are present within the geographical limits of their respective schools, as identified by geo-fencing technology.

According to the data provided by the ZP administration, the new system will implement a mobile app that builds a virtual fence, or geo-fence, around every school utilizing GPS technology. Teachers will be able to mark their attendance only after they physically enter into this pre-defined area. The system will automatically capture their entry and exit from the zone, correctly validating their presence, based on location. The system is being rolled out in all district schools in this month. Previously, the administration had made up their mind to implement a biometric attendance system but the same was found to be expensive. The geo-fencing technique, wherein GPS is used to create a virtual fence around the school campus, is a more cost-effective and time-saving solution.

Gajanan Patil, Pune ZP chief executive officer, stated, "All schools within the district will implement geo-fencing for the attendance of teachers. The biometric facility was turning out to be costly, so this option was adopted. Once done, it will enable the administration to monitor attendance from one place."

With this system, the teachers need to be present at the school location to mark attendance. The administration hopes the system will encourage punctuality, discourage absence, and introduce transparency and discipline into the education system. A centralised dashboard at the Zilla Parishad level will give daily attendance records, facilitating the administrative work and avoiding any manual changes. As attendance will be location-based, it will also ensure accuracy," Patil said.

While teachers' unions had been against the online attendance system in the first place, the association last week conducted talks in order to understand the unions' concerns. In addition to teachers, primary health centre staff will also be made to work on online attendance. The decision comes in the wake of surprise checks by education officers in the past two months during which some schools were found functioning with students but without teachers. In some cases, students were left waiting outside for teachers who arrived late.

The Class 8 Maths textbook, Ganita Prakash, seeks to transform learning into a participative, engaging, and real-life-relevant process. The set of new textbooks issued by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for Classes 5 and 8 this year according to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023.

As per the authorities, it encourages learners to connect mathematical problems to real life-"What math is involved in making a cup of coffee?"-and draws on the work of ancient mathematicians such as Aryabhatta, Aryabhatta-II, and Brahmagupta to make concepts clear.

A summary of the New Class 8 Mathematics Textbook's Key Features follows:

1. Contextual Examples

Real life examples have been provided in the textbook for students to consider connections- particularly how Mathematics is connected to the real world. For instance- how a problem faced by a carpenter is being addressed through Mathematics- "If you have two pieces of the same length and a thread, can you make a rectangular frame using the thread".

2. Hypothetical Questions

For example, Brain-teaser problems, like "How many times would you fold a sheet of paper in order to get to the moon?" introduce students to huge amounts and numbers. 

3. Identifying Patterns

The book has students find patterns in solving one problem. One of the chapters in the book is talking about the well-known "Hardy-Ramanujan" number, 1729, the smallest number which can be written as the sum of two cubes in two ways.

4. Hindu Number System

The students learn about the importance of "Hindu Numbers" and "0"- how the Hindu Number System is strong in making use of only 10 numbers to represent any amount of things and more. 

5. "?Mark

??" sign appears all over the book to get students thinking and finding things out. A solid "?" with a thick stroke and having the appearance of a bubble is the mark of a main question, and a plain one is the mark of a sub-question, getting students thinking and finding things out.

6. Teacher's Guide

Contains teacher's tips on how to get the most out of the book.

7. Puzzles and Games

Puzzles, Games and activities are embedded in the textbook so that learning is done with fun and playfulness and questions are embedded in every part of the section rather than the end of the chapters.

8. Illustrations and Comics

Comics and colorful images make learning easier and interesting.

Ganita Prakash, in totality, weaves a creative approach with visual cues, historical contributions, and real-world contexts to generate curiosity and analytical thinking among learners.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Rajasthan will soon unveil three key policies related to artificial intelligence, gaming, and data centres with the objective of opening up more opportunities for the creation of jobs for young people in the state. These government policies also seek to make the state a national center for creative and digital technologies.

What Is Rajasthan AI Policy 2025?

As per the government, the proposed Rajasthan AI Policy 2025 envisions ethical and inclusive adoption of artificial intelligence, with setting up a Centre of Excellence to facilitate AI startups, and research with the academia and industry partnership.

A statement, issued by the government, stated, "The policy is in line with the Centre's India AI mission. The AVGC-XR Policy will promote animation, visual effects, gaming and extended reality sectors. The government has proposed to establish four Atal Innovation Studios with an estimated budget of Rs 1,000 crore to enhance entrepreneurship and incorporation of technology in sectors such as agriculture."

"In line with the Viksit Rajasthan 2047 Vision values such as sustainability, inclusion, transparency & accountability, etc, we are committed to the application of ethical principles in the AI endeavors such as procurement, development, deployment, supply, and/or use of AI technologies," it stated.

The government also planned a Data Centre Policy 2025, to build a secure, world-class ecosystem for private data centres. It also promises infrastructure support to attract significant investments to make Rajasthan a data services destination.