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Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati have developed a reliable, affordable and portable sensor that can detect the glycemic Index (GI) of common food sources in about five minutes and help people with <keyword id="6359018" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="diabetes" source="Orion">diabetes</keyword> or those managing their blood sugar through diet. The GI is a measure that ranks carbohydrate-containing foods based on how they affect blood sugar levels when consumed. High-GI food can cause a rapid spike in blood glucose levels, followed by a swift decline. Moreover, these high-GI foods stimulate an increased demand for insulin, contributing to the risk of developing Type-2 diabetes. Importantly, low-GI food helps to prevent diabetes, <keyword id="22908" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="heart-disease" source="Orion">heart disease</keyword>, <keyword id="6364492" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="obesity" source="Orion">obesity</keyword>, and <keyword id="6355291" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cancer" source="Orion">cancer</keyword>. As the trend of fast-food increases among the world's working population, the need for a portable device that can immediately detect and guide the user about the GI of the food arises. The point-of-care-testing (POCT) prototype developed by the team can detect the glycemic Index of common food sources in approximately five minutes. "We developed a composite nanoenzyme by combining gold nanoparticles with alpha-amylase to break down long-chain starch molecules into simpler sugars. We found that this nanoenzyme of approximately 30 nanometre size has remarkable heterogeneous catalytic properties to rapidly degrade starch into maltose at room temperature," said Prof. <keyword id="12725555" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="dipankar-bandyopadhyay" source="Orion">Dipankar Bandyopadhyay</keyword>, Department of Chemical Engineering, at <keyword id="186684" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="iit-guwahati" source="Orion">IIT Guwahati</keyword>, explaining the detection methods. The amount of maltose produced is then electrochemically detected to classify the food sources into <keyword id="19193394" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="rapidly-digestible-starch" source="Orion">Rapidly Digestible Starch</keyword> (RDS) and Slowly Digestible Starch (SDS) along with Resistant Starch (RS). "When we tested the device on fast foods like crackers, biscuits, chips, and bread, we found that crackers have the most RDS, followed by potato chips, and then brown bread. Notably, the SDS/RS of brown bread releases maltose slowly, causing a gradual increase in glucose levels and a lower response from insulin in the body," Prof. Bandyopadhyay said. The research findings have been published in the journal Sustainable Chemistry &amp; Engineering.

What's the right carb for you? IIT Guwahati's device helps detect glycemic index in 5 mins

Researchers at the <keyword id="55119" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="indian-institute-of-technology" source="Orion">Indian Institute of Technology</keyword> (<keyword id="6354859" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="iit" source="Orion">IIT</keyword>) <keyword id="35727" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="guwahati" source="Orion">Guwahati</keyword> have designed an affordable and efficient 'passive' radiative cooling system that does not require electricity to operate and can provide an alternative to the conventional air-conditioners, the institute said on Monday. This 'Radiative Cooler' coating material is an electricity-free cooling system as it can be applied on rooftops and functions both during day and night. Passive radiative cooling systems operate by emitting the heat absorbed from the surrounding in the form of infrared radiations that can pass through the atmosphere before getting dumped into the cold outer space. "These radiative coolers requiring no external energy sources for their operation could be one of the best alternatives to replace the conventional air conditioning systems used to cool buildings and automobiles in countries experiencing hot weather, such as India," said Prof. <keyword id="14360330" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="debabrata-sikdar" source="Orion">Debabrata Sikdar</keyword>, Assistant Professor at Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, <keyword id="186684" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="iit-guwahati" source="Orion">IIT Guwahati</keyword>, in a statement. "Unlike traditional cooling technologies that dump the waste heat into the surroundings, radiative cooling is a unique process that cools an object on the earth by sending excessive heat directly into the extremely cold universe," he added. However, most passive radiative coolers operate only at night. For daytime operation, these coolers need to reflect entire solar radiation as well. Till now, these cooling systems are not able to provide sufficient cooling at daytime. "For a radiative cooler to work during daytime, the material should reflect the solar and atmospheric radiations falling on it. Since the materials used in conventional coolers absorb more solar radiations and emit less during the day, those do not work during daytime. While daytime cooling can be achieved using polymer-based passive radiative coolers, oxidation degrades the polymers resulting in a limited lifespan," explained Ashish Kumar Chowdhary, a research scholar at IIT Guwahati. To address this, the team considered using thin films of silicon dioxide and aluminium nitride. These materials have low optical density corresponding to the wavelength range of solar and atmospheric radiations. But at atmospheric transmittance wavelengths, they have high optical density. When optical density is high, radiations travel slower through a medium and get absorbed more. To remain at thermal equilibrium, the material emits all the absorbed radiation like a black body. Instead of a single layer, the team cascaded silicon dioxide and aluminium nitride thin film layers on a silver layer, used as a ground metal, placed over a silicon substrate. The cooler they designed achieved about 97 per cent reflectance for solar and atmospheric radiations and 80 per cent emissivity for radiations in atmospheric transmittance wavelengths. The net cooling power is estimated to be 115 watt per square metre which could reduce ambient temperature up to 15 degrees below the outside temperature. Their innovation has been recently covered in the Current Science Report, which was initially published in <keyword id="13574934" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="journal-of-physics" source="Orion">Journal of Physics</keyword> D: Applied Physics. Compared to a recent cooler design achieving a comparable reduction in ambient temperature, this cooler is found to provide around 1.6 times more cooling power, the team said, adding this will reach the market once the large-scale prototypes are developed and tested for operational stability and durability under different climatic conditions. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/news/who-will-get-the-party-symbol-bow-and-arrow-if-shiv-sena-splits/articleshow/92611630.cms">It’s not the CM seat but the one who wields ‘bow and arrow’ will be the Sena head</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sustainability/news/ban-on-single-use-plastic-kicks-in-across-india-as-the-country-recognises-the-choking-impacts-of-plastic-waste-on-the-environment/articleshow/92600992.cms">Ban on single-use plastic kicks in across India as the country recognises the choking impacts of plastic waste on the environment</a>

IIT Guwahati designs a cooling system that will not require electricity

<ul><li><keyword id="186684" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="iit-guwahati" source="Orion">IIT Guwahati</keyword> sets up a technology incubation centre to encourage its students to transform their business ideas into businesses.</li><li>The centre will provide technical support, business mentoring, and a soft loan facility.</li><li>The centre also focuses on the empowerment of women in terms of entrepreneurship; it has partnered with NSRCEL-IIMB for Women Startup Program (WSP).</li></ul>To encourage its student entrepreneurs, the <keyword id="666878" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Institute-of-Technology-Guwahati" source="Orion">Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati</keyword> (IITG) has created a technology incubation centre (TIC), which will provide a place for students to transform innovative ideas into viable business propositions on campus. The centre will also provide technical support, business mentoring, and a soft loan facility (subject to availability). It aims to promote advancement in science and technology, traditional knowledge and biodiversity resources; facilitate a platform for entrepreneurship and incubating research mindset for the development of society; and create an interface among researchers, technocrats, and industries. “IIT Guwahati through the TIC has embarked on encouraging the students, faculty, staff and other entrepreneurs to provide necessary technological guidance and convert their ideas into products and technology that will be useful to the society and make the country Atmanirbhar,” said Prof. T.G. Sitharam, director, IIT Guwahati. These incubated startups will work in different sectors such as robotics, information technology, water, oil sector, biotechnology, machine learning, internet of things, renewable energy, home automation and logistics, among other sectors. The Institute said that its incubation centre is recognised by the Ministry of <keyword id="6464993" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="micro" source="Orion">Micro</keyword>, <keyword id="6372449" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="small" source="Orion">Small</keyword>, <keyword id="4022726" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="and-medium-enterprises" source="Orion">and Medium Enterprises</keyword> (MSME), Government of India. The grant assistance from The <keyword id="694074" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="technology-development-board" source="Orion">Technology Development Board</keyword>, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, has also been approved to support startups, it added. It connects to a pool of experts in terms of faculties, funding agencies such as <keyword id="56072" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="oil-india-limited" source="Orion">Oil India Limited</keyword> (OIL) and Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), among others, and other financial institutions like Indian Bank and YES bank. The centre also focuses on the empowerment of women in terms of entrepreneurship; it has partnered with NSRCEL-IIMB for Women Startup Program (WSP). It has also partnered with Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) in building the ecosystem for startups to interact with the Indian Defence establishment. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/fintech-company-moneyplanned-raises-over-2-5-crore-from-inflection-point-ventures-others/articleshow/94298456.cms">Fintech company MoneyPlanned raises over ₹2.5 crore from Inflection Point Ventures, others</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/is-covid-19-finally-over-in-india-this-is-what-who-and-experts-have-to-say/articleshow/94298319.cms">Is Covid-19 finally over in India? This is what WHO and experts have to say</a>

IIT Guwahati starts incubation centre to help its students turn entrepreneurs

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (<keyword id="6354859" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="iit" source="Orion">IIT</keyword>) Guwahati have developed a <keyword id="528548" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="prosthetic-leg" source="Orion">prosthetic leg</keyword> specifically designed for Indian conditions. The <keyword id="14184479" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="low-cost-prosthetic-leg" source="Orion">low cost prosthetic leg</keyword> is suitable for uneven terrain and supports Indian needs such as cross-legged sitting, and deep squatting. It is also adjustable for the different age groups and multiple stages of prosthesis use. Prosthesis development in India faces many challenges. Highly functional mobility for amputees requires devices with advanced features which are expansive and cannot be afforded by many. Further, affordable prosthetics that are available in the market have many functional limitations. In addition, the Indian lifestyle and uneven terrain require prosthetics with specifications unique to India, which are not widely available in the market. "The knee joint developed by our team has a spring assisted deep squat mechanism, which helps to use the Indian toilet system more comfortably; the knee rotating mechanism helps to have cross legged sitting," said Professor S. Kanagaraj, Department of Mechanical Engineering, <keyword id="186684" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="iit-guwahati" source="Orion">IIT Guwahati</keyword>, in a statement. "The locking mechanism helps to reduce the fear of falling of patients while walking in an unknown terrain; adjustable link length in a knee helps to have either more stability or easy flexing depending on age and requirement of the patients. Overall, the knee joint is designed to meet the Indian lifestyle which other products fail to fulfil." Prototypes of the models are currently undergoing trials, and it is being tested as per international standard loading conditions up to 100 kg body weight. Cost of around Rs 25,000 is ensured using the technology, the Institute said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/domestic-investors-brought-in-3-for-every-4-pulled-out-by-foreign-investors/articleshow/92179370.cms">Domestic investors brought in $3 for every $4 pulled out by foreign investors</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/tn-undertakes-a-mega-vaccination-drive-to-innoculate-13-8-lakh-people/articleshow/92170531.cms">TN undertakes a mega vaccination drive to innoculate 13.8 lakh people</a>

IIT Guwahati develops a prosthetic leg for Indians who want to squat and sit cross-legged

New Delhi, Researchers at <keyword id="55119" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Institute-of-Technology">Indian Institute of Technology</keyword> (IIT), <keyword id="35727" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Guwahati">Guwahati</keyword>, claim to have found important clues to understand the <keyword id="6355784" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="death">death</keyword> of <keyword id="3588579" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Massive-stars">massive stars</keyword> and have also revealed the problems with the existing models. The research in collaboration with Max Planck Institute for Physics, <keyword id="15750" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Munich">Munich</keyword>, Germany, and Northwestern University, USA, has also been published in international journal Physical Review Letters (PRL). "<keyword id="1831090" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="supernovae">Supernovae</keyword> -- the super explosions at the time of death of large massive <keyword id="6370911" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Stars">stars</keyword> -- are considered to be the cradle of birth for new stars and synthesis of the heavy elements in <keyword id="6360307" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nature">nature</keyword>. At the end of their life, the stars, especially massive ones, collapse resulting in an immense shock wave that causes the star to explode, briefly outshining any other star in its host galaxy. "The study of supernovae and the particles they release helps us understand the universe because almost all matter that makes up the universe is a result of these massive explosions. However, the mechanism of these super explosions is not yet completely solved and has remained one of the enigmas of nature," said Sovan Chakraborty, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, IIT Guwahati. According to the team, the solutions to the toughest challenges to the core collapse mechanism of the huge supernovae come from the tiniest subatomic particles called neutrinos. "During the core collapse supernova explosion, neutrinos are created in several particle processes. Due to their neutral nature and extremely weak interaction with stellar matter the neutrinos escape the dying star and carry 99% energy of the collapsing star. Thus the tiny neutrinos are the only messenger bringing information from the deepest interiors of the star. Neutrinos on the other hand have their own complexities," he said. "This information is very crucial for the reason that in the extremely dense supernovae core neutrinos interact with other neutrinos and may interchange flavors. This conversion may happen rapidly (in nanosecond time scale) and flavor interchange can affect the supernovae process as the different flavors are emitted with different angular distribution. "These 'fast' conversions are nonlinear in nature and are not confronted in any other neutrino sources but supernovae. We for the first time did a non-linear simulation of fast conversion with all' the three neutrino flavors in supernovae," Chakraborty added. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/how-to/how-to-backup-and-restore-messages-in-signal-app/articleshow/80226649.cms">How to backup and restore messages in Signal app</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-says-your-privacy-wont-be-affected-if-you-dont-use-these-features/articleshow/80225748.cms">WhatsApp says your privacy won't be affected if you don't use these two optional features</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/supreme-court-puts-indias-three-farm-laws-on-hold-forms-a-five-member-panel-to-resolve-the-deadlock/articleshow/80229881.cms">India's top court puts three new farm laws on hold — forms a five-member panel to resolve the deadlock</a>

IIT Guwahati researchers find important clues to understand why stars die

New Delhi, Dec 11 () Samsung India on Wednesday inaugurated a digital academy at IIT Guwahati as part of its efforts to train over 300 people on new-age technologies like Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence.
 "The Samsung Innovation Lab at IIT Guwahati will train students on Internet of Things (IoT), Embedded Systems, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, helping them learn industry-relevant skills and making them job-ready," a statement said.
 Through this partnership with IIT Guwahati, the academy targets to train over 300 students in the next three years on these cutting-edge technologies, it added.
 "At Samsung, our aim is to foster a culture of innovation amongst the students and provide them with the best possible infrastructure. We are confident that Samsung Innovation Lab, which is part of our citizenship initiatives, will help students leverage the growing digital technologies market and develop their talent," Samsung India Corporate Vice President Peter Rhee said.
 Such initiatives will help bridge the academia-industry gap and foster more collaborations that would be a win-win situation for both, IIT Guwahati Director T G Sitharam said.
 "The strong interest and support of the state government will go a long way in extending the expertise of IIT Guwahati and Samsung Innovation Lab to other parts of Assam. It would provide technical opportunities for academic excellence and development," Sitharam added.
 The course will be taught over 14 weeks through classroom lectures, assignments and lab room sessions, self-study and mini projects. Extensive tutorials and approach documents will also be provided to students to facilitate practical exercises.
 Samsung has so far set up five innovation labs in IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Kharagpur and IIT Roorkee as part of its Samsung Digital Academy programme. SR RVK

Samsung sets up innovation lab at IIT Guwahati

Mumbai, Jun 8 () A group of IIT-Guwahati students has developed a mobile application for seamless and contactless air travel not only during the current pandemic but also during non-crisis situations. The aim of the mobile app Flyzy, developed as per International Air Transport Association (IATA) guidelines, is to provide contactless boarding, keeping in mind the easier baggage drop, manageable parking, better shopping experience and providing necessary updates during the whole journey, IIT-Guwahati said in a release. Developed by a group of three B Tech students -- Deepak Meena, Hansraj Patel and Arjit Singh -- under a startup, the app also has a smart UI (user interface) assistant that helps elderly people to use it easily. Other features of the application include real-time flight notifications, universal web check-in portal, check-in baggage status and map of the airport. According to the release, the hybrid software will support face-biometric recognition in future, without even changing the complete software system of the airport and is secured as the app is hosted on the cloud. Proper IATA and DGCA guidelines were followed in the development of the app, it said. The mission of the startup, which has been recognised by the Startup India, is to build Flyzy as India's finest aviation IT technology company for providing a stress-free and safe journey to flyers, the release said. The passengers can shop from the airport using the app and can make payment as well, besides they can either opt for the takeaway or gate delivery option. Flyzy also supports multi-currency payments. For food ordering purposes, the app dynamically suggests the passenger the best option he/she could choose, based on the flight status. For instance, if the flight departs in one hour, the app will suggest to the passenger the food items that could be prepared within the available time, as per the release. The idea is not only relevant during the present pandemic situation but also during the non-crisis time, the release said, adding the main idea behind the application is to provide a seamless journey to passengers as they move through the airport, especially to the first-time flyers. The application will guide them thoroughly and provide them with an easy understanding and implementation of several airport functions, it said. The founders believe that the application will help the aviation industry save money as the process will become automated, faster and easier. The company provides an end-to-end service at a low infrastructure cost. The team is already in the process of talking to the authorities for implementing the application at some airports, IIT-Guwahati said. IAS BAL

IIT-Guwahati students develop mobile app for contactless air travel

<ul><li>Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical firm <keyword id="1420878" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hester-Biosciences">Hester Biosciences</keyword> on Wednesday said it has collaborated with <keyword id="666878" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Institute-of-Technology-Guwahati">Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati</keyword> (<keyword id="2351388" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="IITG">IITG</keyword>) to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. </li><li>The vaccine will be based on recombinant avian paramyxovirus-based vector platform, the company said.</li><li>The role of the institute is to produce the recombinant vaccine candidate.</li></ul> Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical firm Hester Biosciences on Wednesday said it has collaborated with Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. The agreement between the two organisations was signed on April 15, 2020. The vaccine will be based on recombinant avian paramyxovirus-based vector platform, the company said. The recombinant avian paramyxovirus-1 will be used to express the immunogenic protein of SARS-CoV-2, which could then be used as a vaccine candidate for further study. The role of the institute is to produce the recombinant vaccine candidate. "IITG and Hester have collaborated to develop and manufacture a recombinant vaccine against COVID-19 disease as a preventive measure. Hester's involvement would be from master seed development up to release of the commercial vaccine," Rajiv Gandhi, CEO and MD, Hester Biosciences said. Head of the research team Sachin Kumar, who is Associate Professor in the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering at <keyword id="186684" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IIT-Guwahati">IIT Guwahati</keyword>, said "It is too early to comment on the efficacy and immunogenicity of the vaccine, however, we will be able to reveal more details about this vaccine after the results of animal studies are obtained". See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/iit-and-iim-job-offers-are-fast-vanishing-and-a-second-placement-drive-in-july-might-be-underway/articleshow/75003350.cms">IIM, ISB, MDI and other management graduates to intern with the Indian government to tackle Corona Crisis — but without a stipend</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/over-120-million-blue-collar-employees-go-unpaid-as-operational-restrictions-impact-businesses/articleshow/75421501.cms">Over 120 million blue collar employees go unpaid as operational restrictions impact businesses</a>

IIT Guwahati collaborates with Hester Biosciences to develop recombinant vaccine against Covid-19

New Delhi, Mar 4 () Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday said it has collaborated with IIT Guwahati (IITG), Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS), Japan and Suzuki Motor Corporation for promotion of technical education and training. The institutional collaboration will facilitate promotion of education and training covering engineering courses and internship programmes in both India and Japan, the company said in a statement. It will also promote research for next generation technologies for benefit of both the countries, it added. An MoU was exchanged among the four parties at IIT Guwahati in the presence of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to India Satoshi Suzuki. Commenting on the collaboration, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Managing Director and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa said,"This institutional collaboration will help us prepare students wider technical roles. Internship exposures at global and local levels will make students ready for global and local roles." It is a fine example of academia, industry and students coming together to create new benchmarks in technical education, he added. "I see this collaboration taking technical education to the next level," Ayukawa said. Under the collaboration, an engineering course, primarily related to automobiles, will be conducted by Suzuki Motor Corporation and MSI by providing training to students through lectures. As part of the curriculum Japanese language course will be conducted by AOTS. This course will be provided to students of IITG. AOTS, SMC and MSIL will arrange for faculty to conduct these at IITG, the statement said. Eligible students will be provided an opportunity of being placed for an internship at SMC's facility in Japan as well as at MSIL in India. This programme will help students gain both local and global exposure, it added. These initiatives are authorised by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, as Japanese endowed course. Sharing his thoughts on the partnership, Suzuki said, "I hope the synergy among these partners will help create future engineers to lead India's manufacturing sector and to build new bridges of friendship between India and Japan." RKL SHWSHW

Maruti Suzuki, IIT Guwahati, AOTS Japan join hands for promotion of tech education

<ul><li>Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has designed its very own alexa — named ‘albela.’ </li><li>It will teach and guide the students studying in the first year of electrical and electronics engineering on the course concepts. </li><li>It is in fact, fed with the class schedules, curriculum, faculty information and exam-related questions — both technical and non-technical. </li><li>The bot can also assist the faculty and staff at the institution to generate student assessment reports, closely observing the weak areas and scope of improvement in the answer copies.</li></ul>India’s prestigious engineering institution Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has designed its very own Alexa — named ‘A<a href="https://techobserver.in/2019/09/03/iit-guwahati-banks-on-ai-enabled-chatbot-to-teach-first-year-students/">lbela</a>’ — to help its news entrants through the course. Just like other virtual assistants including Alexa, <keyword id="23114" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Siri">Siri</keyword> and Cortana, the AI-enabled virtual assistant will teach first year electrical and electronics engineering students. The bot, developed by the institute’s research scholars, has the ability to answer every possible queries related to the course. It also has information on class schedules, curriculum, faculty information and exam-related questions. “We have been working on its development since last seven months with a team of dedicated seven research scholars of the department. Earlier, we did the trial runs of the chatbot and started using from this academic session onwards,” Praveen Kumar, professor, department of electrical and electronics engineering <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/north-east/meet-albela-iits-answer-to-alexa/cid/1702384">told</a> The Telegraph. It hasPDFs and word documents to assist students. Moreover, the bot can also assist the faculty and staff at the institution to generate student assessment reports, closely observing the weak areas and scope of improvement in the answer sheets. As for the First year students who find it difficult to reach out to teachers for sample questions, notes and references, can now approach Albela will all their queries. The team is also working to developing problem solving skills in the bot. After which, they will extend it to biomedical <keyword id="1615650" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Signal-processing">signal processing</keyword>, and electrical machine courses. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/all-india-radio-to-air-english-learning-programme-from-1-september/articleshow/70673187.cms">This is All India Radio, and let us now start learning English</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/amazon-alexa-is-being-used-in-maharashtra-schools-for-teaching-assistance/articleshow/70156968.cms">Good Morning Alexa: Students of Maharashtra village are taught by Amazon's virtual assistant</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/ias-officers-helping-at-government-schools-as-part-time-teachers-in-india/articleshow/70161000.cms">This Indian state’s IAS officers have turned part-time government school teachers to improve the quality of education</a>

IIT Guwahati’s first year students have a new teacher ‘Albela’ — an Alexa-like chatbot

There’s been an on-and-off debate around employability of Indian engineering graduates, with a recent report suggesting that as much as 95% of Indian engineering graduates are unfit for programming jobs. Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/australia-scraps-457-visa-programme/articleshow/58258973.cms">Indian techies have nowhere to go to now</a> The directors of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/education/iits-and-iisc-among-the-top-100-of-asias-300-best-universities/articleshow/57669384.cms">Indian Institutes of Technology</a>, the esteemed institutions for engineering studies, consider these claims to be exaggerated, but think that the issue is still a concern. As per IIT directors that ET spoke to, the concern arises because of the large number of engineering students that graduate from Indian colleges every year, outdated curriculum that they are made to study, as well as poor teaching infrastructure and shortage of good faculty in institutes that are not premium or much reputed. "The country is producing as many as 10 lakh engineers a year. There needs to be a serious review," said Indranil Manna, director at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/small-business/companies/iit-kanpur-joins-hands-with-paytm-to-become-a-completely-cashless-campus/articleshow/57572069.cms">IIT-Kanpur</a>. "Do we really need so many engineers? Are there that many jobs?" Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/transportation/cars/three-iits-are-working-together-to-build-self-driving-cars/articleshow/57425765.cms">Three IITs are working together to build self-driving cars</a> He, however, added that it’s not the students’ fault, since most of them join the courses with the intention to learn. However, several institutes lack good teachers, good labs and infrastructure. For this, the system needs to be blamed, which allows so many institutes of questionable quality to blossom. V Ramgopal Rao, director of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/small-business/tech/ericsson-has-set-up-a-5g-for-india-program-in-iit-delhi-heres-why-/articleshow/58402112.cms">IIT Delhi</a>, shares Manna’s view, agreeing that India is seeing an overproduction of engineers, but an overwhelming majority of them can’t be called unemployable. Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/student-innovations-at-iit-empower-indias-defence-sector-like-never-before/articleshow/58379582.cms">IIT student innovations empower India's defence sector like never before</a> "Our job is to produce graduates who are broadbased and who can be trained for a given job. Not to be so narrowly focused that they can only do one kind of job. We must strengthen our ITI and polytechnic diploma education by incorporating a significant hands-on training component," Rao suggested. One can also think of Indian parents’ fascination to see their kids becoming engineers as the reason behind the overproduction of engineers. While some high-performers from top IITs get high packages, the same is not the case with most fresh graduates from institutes not counted as premium. This also forces many fresh engineers to take up jobs unrelated to engineering. "There is no doubt that this (debate over employability) is not applicable to IITs, NITs, some notable CFTIs such as the IIITs, IIEST, IIST, etc. Some leading state universities including <keyword id="6361218" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jadavpur-University">Jadavpur University</keyword> and Anna University colleges are imparting very high-quality education as are private institutes such as BITS, VIT, Amity and SRM, among others," said Gautam Biswas, director at <keyword id="6399339" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-Guwahati">IIT-Guwahati</keyword>. He added that there are concerns about some colleges that are not able to raise their qualities and standards. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/careers/iit-bombay-students-channel-educating-rural-youth-in-local-languages-becomes-a-huge-hit-on-youtube/articleshow/57495768.cms">IIT-Bombay</a> director Devang Khakhar said that no student is ready to immediately join the industry right from the campus. They need to be trained before they can be sent to work. On the surveys claiming 95% of <keyword id="729521" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-Engineers">Indian engineers</keyword> unfit for jobs, he said, "if the situation was that dire, so many IT companies wouldn't be recruiting in such large numbers."

Employability of engineers exaggerated, but still a concern, says IIT directors

As the placement season took over, the first day at IITs saw students bagging a total of 138 offers, 12 per cent higher than last year. 
 
The offers handed out were not disappointing either as nearly a dozen students from the older IITs at Kanpur, Delhi, Mumbai, Roorkee, Guwahati, Kharagpur and Madras bagged annual salary offers of Rs 90 lakh to Rs 1.15 crore on the first day of placements. 
 
Here's what unfolded in the campuses on Day 1 of recruitment:

Big ticket recruiters Microsoft, Oracle, Uber shower up to Rs 1.2 crore annual salary packages on IITians as placements get rolling

The prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology want their students to start accepting internship offers from prospective employers, so that they can maximise the number of students who get placed by the time of the final placements season in December. 
 
Every year, almost 5 to 15% of IIT students are left without any job offers. 
 "Internship is a natural step for all the <keyword id="49737" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IITs">IITs</keyword>. This will make room for more students in the final placement season," Debasis Deb, chairman of <keyword id="6364832" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-Kharagpur">IIT Kharagpur</keyword>'s Career Development Centre told ET. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/This-viral-video-showing-IIT-Kharagpur-Games-of-Thrones-style-is-a-masterpiece-and-its-maker-hasnt-seen-GoT-even-once/articleshow/53396384.cms">IIT Kharagpur</a>, with its highest student enrolment rate, has a mighty task at hand, of placing nearly 2,000 students every year, including undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD students. 
 
"If we get 300 PPOs (pre-placement offers) this year, which is almost double of last year's, the pressure on final placement gets reduced," Deb said. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Once-bitten-twice-shy-IITs-dont-want-to-take-any-chances-with-startups-during-hiring-tweak-placement-policies/articleshow/53594851.cms">Once bitten twice shy? IITs don’t want to take any chance with startups during hiring, tweak placement policies</a> 
 
Most IITs are to begin the PPOs season in a few weeks. 
 Adding that most IITs barely have 80% placements, Kaustubha Mohanty, faculty member in charge of placement at <keyword id="186684" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-Guwahati">IIT Guwahati</keyword> said that, "not a single IIT has 100% success rate in placing all its students." 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Shout-out-to-IIT-and-NITians-Coal-India-is-going-big-on-hiring/articleshow/53595048.cms">Shout out to IIT and NITians! Coal India is going big on hiring</a> 
 
Other than <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Many-students-are-getting-expelled-from-IITs-and-under-performance-is-not-the-prime-reason/articleshow/53555063.cms">low-scoring students</a> who fail to get jobs, there are some students who do not opt for placements at all, given the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Govt-Industry-and-academia-join-forces-to-guide-harware-startups/articleshow/53595068.cms">start-up wave</a> in the country, or their wish for higher studies. 
 
"Internship is a courtship route for both companies and students before deciding on job offers," said Mohanty. It also increases the chances of getting a job offer. 
 
<a href="https://openclipart.org/image/2400px/svg_to_png/233854/Interview-Without-Speech-Bubbles.png">Image source</a>

You Searched For "iit guwahati" and got 13 results

What's the right carb for you? IIT Guwahati's device helps detect glycemic index in 5 mins

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IIT Guwahati designs a cooling system that will not require electricity

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IIT Guwahati starts incubation centre to help its students turn entrepreneurs

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IIT Guwahati develops a prosthetic leg for Indians who want to squat and sit cross-legged

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IIT Guwahati researchers find important clues to understand why stars die

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Samsung sets up innovation lab at IIT Guwahati

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IIT-Guwahati students develop mobile app for contactless air travel

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IIT Guwahati collaborates with Hester Biosciences to develop recombinant vaccine against Covid-19

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Maruti Suzuki, IIT Guwahati, AOTS Japan join hands for promotion of tech education

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IIT Guwahati’s first year students have a new teacher ‘Albela’ — an Alexa-like chatbot

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Employability of engineers exaggerated, but still a concern, says IIT directors

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Big ticket recruiters Microsoft, Oracle, Uber shower up to Rs 1.2 crore annual salary packages on IITians as placements get rolling

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IITs want students to intern for potential employers to ensure placements

BI India Bureau

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