Internship to NCU students in Virtual and Augmented Reality by Mages Studio, Singapore

To ensure better employment opportunities for the students in both the local and overseas job market, The NorthCap University in association with MAGES Studio, Singapore provided six weeks of summer internship in Virtual and Augmented Reality to 20 students of BTech, CSE and ECE, starting from 4 June 2018. Students created solutions for the healthcare Industry in Singapore using emerging technologies and thereby gained an industry relevant portfolio.

It helped students to gain deep understanding as well as the opportunity to explore new and emerging technologies. They were mentored by experts from various countries. During the first week students designed and developed 3D models and the presentations were made in front of an expert panel. After the initial phase of training the students were divided into teams and were engaged in live-projects which consisted of games where they were directly dealing with the client. The teams were:

• Team ARGONAUTS, comprising of students Parth Mishra, Akansha Paul, Rupali, Akshit, Ravi Kundu and Saurav

• Team MAFIAS, comprising of students Nisha Choudhary, Chinmayi Mongia, Abhishek Chauhan, Ankit Garg and Rahul Jindal

• Team 404, comprising of students Rachita Gupta, Sughosh Pandey, Rohit Gulati, Vishal Tanwar and Hardeep Saini

• Team ACCIDENTAL GAMERS, comprising of students Bhumika Sharma, Nikhil Taneja, Kanav Bhatia, Naman Gupta and Navkrishna

The final presentation was held on 13 July 2018 at the University campus wherein students showcased their work in front of experts from Mages Studio, Singapore and NCU’s Management, faculty and parents. The association with Mages Studio, Singapore provided students a great learning experience. The faculty coordinator for this internship was Ms Priyanka Rastogi, Assistant Professor, Dept of CSE&IT.

How Private Universities in India Plans to Forecasting & Measuring Weather Conditions in Gurugram

Prof. Pramila Goyal

Distinguished Professor Emeritus

Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering

The NorthCap University, Gurugram

                                          

Knowing when to expect heavy rain, high temperatures, air pollution levels and other kinds of weather conditions will not take us unawares but will help us be better prepared for coming eventualities. Heavy rainfall lashed Delhi-NCR in July and August 2016 and caused massive traffic jams where people were stuck for hours and often all night. Schools and offices remained closed for a couple of days. The local authorities and government faced strong criticism because of poor preparedness.

Severe weather conditions like heavy rainfall causing disastrous water logging and floods are an outcome of global climate changes and are predicted to increase in the future. Technology that can accurately predict well in advance, extreme weather conditions and weather hazards like severe air pollution levels that can shut down the city, have the potential to mitigate hardships of people, save lives and minimize damage to livestock and infrastructure . 

In this situation it is imperative to continuously measure and monitor rainfall, pollution levels etc. and take necessary measures to regulate them. The Indian Meteorological Department, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt of India is installing an Automatic Weather Station (AWS) at The NorthCap University (NCU), Gurugram, for monitoring of various weather parameters like hourly wind, speed and direction, Ambient air temperature at 2m and 10m’s height, humidity, rainfall, atmospheric pressure and solar insolation and follow up with research. The data will be used for research and model development activities related to Atmospheric Studies. The University will display various weather parameters on a display board on daily basis. AWS at NCU will be the only weather station in Gurugram and will provide accurate and real time weather data that will benefit the public and enable them to prepare for weather conditions specific to this area. As the saying goes ‘forewarned is forearmed’.

Secondly, air pollution in Gurugram, soon to be developed as a Smart City in NCR, has become an issue of public concern, since Air Quality Index (AQI), determined by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) and others has revealed that PM10 and PM2.5 are 256.36 and 114.52µg/m3 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) respectively in Gurugram during the period September 2015 to February 2016. These figures are indeed high. Amongst all air pollutants PM2.5 causes severest health threats, since it consists of ultra-fine particles that can get lodged in the lungs and reduce their capacity over time. They are linked to cardiac conditions like strokes and heart rhythm disorders. Their motion and occurrence are initiated and caused by meteorological conditions. Thus a meteorological tower and air quality monitoring station for continuous monitoring of air quality and meteorological parameters are necessary for Gurugram and neighbouring areas.  

Motivated by the desire of making a weather-ready nation and avoiding unmitigated disasters, certain research groups/institutions propose to collaborate with The NorthCap University, Gurugram, one of the Top Private Universities in Gurgaon, to study and analyze AWS data for atmospheric research and development. Bigger the team better will be the achievements!