IIT Ropar gets grant under VAJRA

NEWDELHI: The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has recently launched the ‘Visiting Advanced Joint Research (VAJRA) Faculty Scheme’ to tap the expertise of overseas faculty/scientists.

Under this scheme, a joint proposal of distinguished professor Christopher Berndt of Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia and Harpreet Singh of School of Mechanical, Materials and Energy Engineering, IIT Ropar, has been selected. The Department of Science and Technology is set to host Professor Berndt for up to three months at IIT Ropar. The applica- tion has been selected after being evaluated by a selection committee of eminent scientists.

The grant for the foreign faculty covers their travel to and associated expenses at IIT Ropar.

Professor Berndt will lead the joint R&D project with a major objective of creating a ‘Joint Institute on Advanced Surface Engineering’ aiming to ‘transform science into industrial solutions’.

My son is studying in class V. I am quite worried about his reading difficulty. He seems to be a very slow reader. There has been some improvement. However, I still feel he cannot read as good as his other peers. He sometimes confuses ‘b’ as ‘d’ and ‘d’ as ‘b’ while also struggling with sentence formation in his mind. He is very good at most other extracurricular activities. Please advice what I can do to overcome the learning disability.

I must congratulate you on the detailed observation you have made on the type of your son’s reading difficulties and errors. From what I understand it’s likely he has dyslexia, a type of learning disability.

You need to visit a special educator or psychologist in order to make a correct evaluation and then he would require remedial coaching.

It is good to remember, Learning disability does not mean a low intelligence. In fact, many highly intelligent people had learning disabilities and they were very successful in life.

There are some general words of advice. Do not compare him with other children. Comparisons usually show a child’s deficiencies rather than his strengths.

Your child may for instance, be good at drawing, music or football.

If s/he is, then emphasizing on these strengths rather than

I am a school counsellor. One of the students studying in class IX seems to be severely withdrawn and disengaged during school hours. She is usually quiet, always stays aloof and avoids the company of her classmates. Her homework is usually incomplete and when enquired by the teacher about the same, she is indifferent in her response. Please suggest what kind of psychosocial support can I offer to this student.

During rapid development years, children are typically much less aware of their internal experience than adults, and they may lack the ability to recognize their core moods and the accurate expression of their feelings.

When provided with feedback about their performance such as a grade on a test, a comment from a teacher about their classroom behavior, or an offhand joke from a friend about the way their hair looks in the morningstudents with mood disorder interpret that feedback in the most negative manner possible.