Latest news with #DU
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
I faced an existential crisis during pandemic: Ankit Siwach
Ankit Siwach Actor Ankit Siwach has debuted onto the OTT with Kull: The Legacy of the Raisingghs after several successful years in television. The Meerut-born actor recently unveiled his new house in Ganga Nagar, Meerut, a dream-come-true built with contributions from his entire family. 'We always lived in a government quarter. This is our first home, and everyone put in their bit to make it real,' he said. Ankit Siwach in his news home with his family Ankit Siwach in his new home with his family Siwach studied at St Mary's Academy in Meerut and immersed himself in sports and cultural activities until he turned 18. He then moved to Delhi for higher studies, enrolled in DU, and completed his MBA. 'In my school days, nobody mentioned acting as a career. I once asked a career counsellor about being Mr India or the next John Abraham , and he told me it could only be a hobby,' he recalled. Undeterred, he worked in a call centre, saved money for a modelling portfolio, and eventually discovered theatre. He packed his bags for Mumbai, but the transition tested him. 'I was juggling a job I didn't like, lying to my parents, and auditioning without giving 100%. I felt lost,' he admitted. Ankit Siwach in his new home in Meerut After a year, he confessed his ambitions to his family, who offered their full support. 'I started as an assistant director on Silvat, featuring Kartik Aaryan , and discovered my passion on set. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Fully Loaded 4 BHK apts for 4.49 Cr(All Incl)* in Sec 104 ATS Triumph, Gurgaon Book Now Undo I wanted to be part of filmmaking, even if I didn't succeed as an actor. Everything changed when I auditioned for the TV show Rishton Ka Chakravyuh where I landed the lead role, despite being a newcomer among seasoned artists,' he shared. However, when COVID struck, Siwach faced an existential crisis. 'It was my first time sitting at home with nothing to do, and I wondered if I was actually happy,' he said. 'I then went for professional therapy, meditation, and alternate healing therapy, reiki which helped me cope with mental stress. I also credit my wife — my childhood sweetheart whom I married in 2020—for moral and financial support. She works as a product manager and kept us going when everything shut down. I did house chores back then. Frankly speaking, it gives me a lot of stability in life as she is in a job while I am in the field of acting. A working wife gives me the luxury of choosing my projects,' he shared. Ankit Siwach Eager to grow beyond television, Siwach took a three-year break from daily soaps to work on his OTT debut. 'Many web shows dropped me when they heard I was doing TV,' he revealed. 'But I took a leap of faith at 35 because I wanted to attempt something fresh.' With Kull: The Legacy of the Raisingghs, he feels his decision paid off. 'I owe everything to television, but this new journey is a dream I always chased.'
Indian Express
13 hours ago
- General
- Indian Express
DU's new tie-breaker for undergraduate admissions: Tripping on reform
When Delhi University (DU) adopted the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate admissions in 2022, it was seen as a long overdue step toward standardisation of a sprawling ecosystem. An improvement over the Central Universities Common Entrance Test introduced in 2010 for a handful of central universities, CUET promised to level the playing field by replacing the uneven Class XII cut-off system with a single, uniform test. It was an opportunity to move beyond the disparities of state boards, streamline admissions, and focus solely on merit. Though premised on fairness, some of the changes to the admission process this year — especially the addition of Class X scores as the penultimate tie-breaker, supplanting alphabetical order of candidates — tread a delicate line. In a country where access to higher education remains intensely competitive and deeply consequential, they risk reintroducing anxieties that CUET was designed to eliminate. With 71,624 seats across 79 undergraduate programmes in 69 colleges up for applications this academic year, the new tie-breaker has been designed to offer, as DU's dean of admissions has put it, a 'more rational and merit-based approach' to break CUET deadlocks. Class X performance is a reliable indicator of consistency, arguably less vulnerable to coaching-driven score inflation. It also reduces the arbitrariness of alphabetical tie-breakers, which, though neutral, fail to reward academic effort. However, it risks undermining CUET's foundational principle, rooted in the spirit of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which advocates for equity and inclusivity in higher education. In decoupling undergraduate admission from board variability, CUET sought to ensure that scores alone did not dictate a student's future. Reintroducing board scores from Class X opens up old vulnerabilities. State board curricula and grading systems continue to vary widely in difficulty and leniency. As a result, students from better-resourced boards or urban backgrounds may gain an unintended advantage. Moreover, NEP 2020 encourages holistic assessments over rigid reliance on any single score. Shifting the focus to grades — especially one from years prior — might be counterproductive for students who have matured academically in the years since or had faced personal setbacks at that stage. Instead of tying the admission process up with three separate academic records — CUET, Class XII, and Class X — a possible alternative could have been the option of more granular tie-breakers within CUET itself; its scores could have been extended to more decimal places or to domain-specific section scores. As India reimagines its higher education architecture, policymakers must be careful that efforts to fix procedural gaps do not reignite old apprehensions or come at the cost of inclusivity.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Business
- Indian Express
University of Leeds, University of Delhi sign MoU to expand academic collaboration
The University of Leeds (UoL), UK, and the University of Delhi (DU), India, have formalised a strategic academic partnership through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The agreement aims to enhance collaborative research, facilitate faculty and student exchange, and promote capacity-building initiatives between the two institutions. QS World University Rankings: DU continues to be top public varsity in India, sees overall rise in score According to a statement from the university, the MoU outlines a framework for a long-term academic relationship covering joint research projects, academic events, co-teaching opportunities, and access to shared learning platforms. Both universities aim to build stronger institutional linkages that will support interdisciplinary collaboration and global knowledge production. The partnership stems from a relationship developed over the past two years, led by the University of Leeds' faculty of social sciences. Multiple academic visits and collaborative events have taken place, including a social science research methods workshop held in Delhi in April 2025. This workshop brought together early-career researchers and faculty from both universities, supporting a sustained academic dialogue. Delhi University PG Admissions 2025: First seat allotment out at The agreement is aligned with the University of Leeds' international strategy and reflects its growing engagement with India as a priority country for academic collaboration. The University of Leeds is one of the UK's largest higher education institutions, with over 40,000 students from approximately 140 countries. In the QS World University Rankings 2026, it is placed at 86 globally. Delhi University UG, PG Admissions 2025: What's new this year? For the University of Delhi, the MoU supports its institutional goal of enhancing international engagement and expanding globally relevant research capacity. DU is ranked 328 in the QS World University Rankings 2026 and holds the top position among Indian universities in the same rankings. This partnership is in line with DU's efforts to strengthen academic networks that promote innovation, diversity, and excellence in higher education. With the agreement now in place, both institutions are expected to announce a series of joint initiatives in the coming months. These will likely include faculty mobility, co-hosted academic programmes, collaborative research in priority areas, and structured student exchange opportunities.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
DU undergrad admissions: New tie-breaker rule introduced, here's how it will work
Over a week after Delhi University opened its undergraduate admissions for the 2025–26 academic year, the varsity has recorded 83,296 registrations on its Common Seat Allocation System (CSAS) portal, The Indian Express has learnt. The rush comes amid several changes to the admission process, including a new tie-breaking formula and the introduction of a 'direct auto-accept' option for seat allocation. In response to challenges faced last year, DU has revised its tie-breaking rules — it will now take into account marks scored by students in Class X as one of the options. Explaining why the varsity has considered the new rule this year and how it would be implemented, DU, Dean of Admissions, Haneet Gandhi, told The Indian Express, 'Until last year, we were working with raw data and, in some cases, we had to allocate seats based on the alphabetical order of names.' 'This year, we wanted a more rational and merit-based approach. So we decided to use Class X marks. We will take the average of all subjects taken by a student in Class X and use that to break the tie.' The move, Gandhi said, ensures that 'meritorious students would be considered without fail'. Until last year, for cases where two or more applicants have the same CUET score for a given programme-college combination, the CSAS guidelines said tie-breaking rules would be applied in this order: – Candidate with a higher percentage of aggregate marks in the best three subjects of Class XII will be given preference. – In case the tie is not broken using the first rule, aggregate marks in the best four and five subjects of class XII would consequently be considered. – If this doesn't work, officials would consider the age. 'Preference will be given to the candidate having an earlier date of birth (as mentioned in the Class X certificate)'. – If the tie is still not broken, students would be taken in based on the alphabetical order of their names. Now, the alphabetical order option has been replaced with the Class X score. With CUET-UG 2025 results awaited, the first phase of the CSAS process — inviting applications — is currently underway. The second phase, in which applicants fill in their programme and college preferences, will begin once the results are declared. DU is offering 71,624 seats across 79 undergraduate programmes in 69 colleges this year. Notably, its popular BA Programme now offers 186 subject combinations. Another key update is the 'direct auto-accept' mode introduced on the CSAS portal. It allows students to confirm upgraded seats immediately without delay. 'After the update in the admission portal, now direct auto-accept mode has been implemented so that no applicant misses the allotment,' Vice-Chancellor Prof Yogesh Singh had said last week. Admissions were launched on June 17, and classes are scheduled to begin on August 1.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Delhi University joins hands with University of Leeds to promote collaboration in research, exchange mobility
The University of Delhi and the University of Leeds , UK , have signed a memorandum of understanding ( MoU ) for promoting collaboration in exchange mobility and research activities. The partnership with the University of Leeds is seen as an indispensable resource to expand linkages that will mutually benefit students and faculty of both universities, an official statement issued by DU said. Under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the DU is implementing a twinning programme, which will enable students from both universities to spend a semester in a partner university, it added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo The MoU was exchanged at the Vice Regal Lodge, University of Delhi, on Thursday, between DU Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh and University of Leeds President Shearer West in the presence of key officials of both universities. It would foster healthy research collaborations and provide an active framework for student and faculty exchanges, the statement said. Live Events At the MoU exchange ceremony, Singh spoke about the various possibilities of exchange that can be initiated between the two universities. He emphasized that international faculty as adjunct faculty at the DU will provide international experience to both students and faculty. University of Leeds President West said that the interest among their students is increasing at the postgraduate and doctoral level to study in India, and this partnership will help foster the student exchange. The National Education Policy 2020 twinning programme allows students to complete a portion of their degree at a foreign university, typically a semester, while studying at an Indian higher education institution. It aims to provide students with international exposure and diverse academic experiences. The programme is part of the broader implementation of NEP 2020, which encourages collaborations between Indian and foreign universities.
