First, Yoga International Day, then Swachch Bharat Campaign, and now Digital India Week. The Centre is ensuring a packed calendar for universities and colleges.
The University Grants Commission (UGC), in a notification dated June 25, has directed all varsities and higher education institutes across the country to observe the Digital India Week (DIW) from July 1 to July 7.
The campuses will have to appoint a nodal officer for the DIW name of whom will have to be submitted to the UGC June 29. "The deadline is aimed at making the initiative successful as it is being done at such a short notice," admitted a UGC official.
The ambitious Digital India campaign, a brainchild of prime minister Narendra Modi, will be launched on July 1 in Delhi with his speech at 4 pm. While all IT companies have been instructed to arrange for the screening of PM's speech for their employees and submit a report, the UGC circular to varsities and colleges is unclear about it.
"However, campuses will likely have to show the speech, the directions for which are awaited from the Centre or State government," said an official from the Nagpur University.
During the week, the institutions are supposed to disseminate information about existing digital services and platforms among students and faculty and promote usage and sharing of digital resources. They have also be asked to organise activities like competitions for students and teachers and a Digital India fest.
MU to launch app, redesigned portal
In its bid to make the Digital India Week a success, the Mumbai University has started preparations for the event. A Smart University apps to disseminate information to students and a revamped website will be launched on July 1. "A team of computer science and IT professors has been given the task to organise DIW. The new website will offer power and access to content management to our departments and colleges,"said professor Mohan Kumar, who is spearheading the DIW. He said that the focus would be digital empowerment of students. "During the week, they would be told about online platforms of passport, driving license and other facilities available to them."
