Nepali engineer bags Japanese award

Nepali civil engineer Bindu Shamsher Rana has bagged the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) International Award FY 2010 for his contribution in the field of road and bridge management and disaster risk reduction in Nepal by adopting the Japanese civil engineering technology and his efforts to make it popular in the neighbouring countries. Affiliated with the Department of Roads under the Ministry of Physcial Planning and Works, Rana is working as the project manager of the Banepa-Sindhuli-Bardibas Road Project supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) since 1996.

Releasing a press statement here in Kathmandu on Tuesday, JICA informed that the award was conferred on Rana on May 27, 2011 at a special ceremony in Japan by the President of JSCE, Dr. Eng. Kenji Sakata.

Rana is the first Nepali and the 15th foreigner to be decorated with the honour since its inception in 1920. The JSCE International award is bestowed to an overseas civil engineer in recognition and appreciation of his/her professional services contributing to the advancement of Japanese civil engineering disciplines.

ME in Electrical Power Engineering Program

The ME in Electrical Power Engineering Program is an international program designed for improving the professional competence of electrical engineers in Nepal, South-East Asia, and Africa in the electrical power engineering field.

The program started at Kathmandu University (KU) in the year 2004 as the NORAD Fellowship Program in cooperation with Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) under Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) fellowship program, administered by Center for International University Cooperation (SIU), Norway.

The first batch of students graduated in December 2005. There were 4 students from Nepal, 1 from Zambia, 1 from Indonesia, 2 from Bangladesh, and 1 from Sri Lanka. In the year 2006, the program was revised and made 2-year full-time program. Students admitted in August 2006 will graduate in June 2008. There are currently 5 students from Nepal, 3 from Zambia, and 1 from Tanzania.

The name of the NORAD Fellowship Program has now been changed to NOMA, which stands for Norad’s Programme for Master Studies. This program was lauched in 2006. Norwegian Universities and University Colleges were invited to apply for the fund under NOMA. NOMA is a programme providing financial support to develop and run Master Degree Programmes in cooperation between higher education institutions in the South and corresponding institutions in Norway.  KU and NTNU made a joint application for the NOMA Program in September 2007 and the the application was accepted by SIU. Current funding from NOMA is for running the ME in Electrical Power Engineering Program for the next two batches (2008 batch and 2010 batch).

The ME in Electrical Power Engineering Program now comprises study at both NTNU and KU. The students study at NTNU for the first semester (Aug-Dec 2008 for 2008 batch, and Aug-Dec 2010 for 2010 batch) to earn 30 credits in European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). The credits earned by students are transferred to 15 KU credits. The student then study at KU for the remaining period (Jan 2009-June 2010 for 2008 batch, and Jan 2011-June 2012 for 2010 batch), earning 45 KU credits. The degree is awarded by Kathmandu University, mentioning the study at NTNU and collaboration with NTNU.

Students enrolled in the program are provided with scholarship for covering their living in NTNU, Trondheim, Norway, and KU, Dhulikhel, Nepal, and other study and welfare supports. For details, please download the course description. Please contact eee@ku.edu.np for any further queries.

The program is monitored by a Steering Committee (SC) with members from KU and NTNU. The SC meets twice a year, examines progresses, handles problems, and other matters related to the program.