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UPES Announces Launch of Executive Education Program on ESG, Sustainability and Impact

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NEW DELHI, Sept. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — UPES, in collaboration with Mahindra University and Aspire Impact, announced the launch of the ESG, Sustainability, and Impact Specialist Program (ISP), an Executive Education initiative designed to cultivate the next generation of Chief Impact Officers. This innovative program aims to equip professionals with the skills necessary to lead their organisations in achieving Net Zero transitions, Carbon Neutrality, and Circularity, while optimising the balance between Risk, Return, and Impact.

The Impact Specialist Program (ISP) has been meticulously crafted to provide a comprehensive learning experience through 20 thematic sessions, more than 50 caselets, and 4 detailed global and Indian case studies. The curriculum is designed to impart practical skills that will enable participants to design, build, scale and manage impact across various sectors, including Corporations, Banks, Financial Institutions, and Non-Profits. It seeks to develop a cadre of professionals equipped to handle the growing demand for sustainability and impact leadership across industries.

The ISP is structured as a 4-day, 32-hour in-person program spread over two parts. Part A will be held at UPES in Dehradun from September 19 to 21, 2024, and Part B will take place at Mahindra University in Hyderabad from November 28 to 30, 2024. The ISP will be delivered at the RISE Centre (Research on Impact, Sustainability, and ESG), a joint initiative between UPES and Aspire Impact, that is set to be inaugurated on September 21, 2024. The Centre is dedicated to advancing research and education in sustainability and ESG impact.

The ISP is designed for senior and mid-level professionals aged 35-60 years, who are passionate about social and environmental impact, including corporate executives in ESG, sustainability, risk, and impact roles; professionals in banking, finance, and investment focused on impact investing; CSR and policy development experts; foundation and aid agency executives; and those looking to enter the impact sector.

The program will feature an esteemed panel of experts, such as Dr. Anirban Ghosh, Head of the Centre for Sustainability at Mahindra University and former Chief Sustainability Officer at Mahindra Group, and Amit Bhatia, Founder & CEO of Aspire Impact and former CEO of several leading organisations. Notable speakers will include Corey Glickman, Founder of Greenman Black; Anju Singh, Professor at IIM Mumbai; Prarthana Borah, Vice President of Sustainability at Momentum India; and Kieron Boyle, CEO of the UK’s Impact Investing Institute.

Dr. Ram Sharma, Vice Chancellor of UPES, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “At UPES, we are committed to being a hub for innovation and research, and the launch of the RISE Centre marks a significant step in this direction. The RISE Centre will drive impactful solutions for sustainability and ESG challenges, leading our efforts on climate change and sustainable development. We are excited to partner with Aspire Circle for the RISE Centre and Mahindra University for the Impact Specialist Programme (ISP), as we share a common vision of creating a future where economic growth is aligned with environmental responsibility. Together we aim to equip professionals with the skills to drive meaningful change in their organisations and communities.”

Amit Bhatia, Founder & CEO, Aspire Impact, said, “We took 4+ years to put together this program, to prepare leaders for the imminent Impact Economy and future Chief Impact Officers. We believe that the Chief Impact Officers need their rightful place in the C-Suite, own the ESG, Sustainability & Impact agendas, own the NetZero transition, Carbon Neutrality targets and Circularity mission; and lead Risk-Return-Impact optimization for the company.” 

Dr. Anirban Ghosh, Professor and Head Centre for Sustainability, Mahindra University said, “India is at a critical juncture where the need for ESG, sustainability, and impact leadership is more pressing than ever. As we navigate the complex challenges of climate change, social equity, and responsible governance, it is essential to cultivate a cadre of leaders and specialists who can drive meaningful change. This program is designed to equip professionals with the skills and insights needed to lead in these areas, ensuring that India is not only a participant but a leader in the global sustainability movement. Mahindra University is proud to partner in offering this course.”

The ISP enables participants to redesign business systems for positive impact, manage impact throughout the value chain, and scale initiatives. They will also learn to lead impact assessment, reporting, and governance, becoming leaders in impact science. Enrolment for the inaugural cohort is now open. Senior and mid-level professionals interested may register now.

About UPES:
Established through the UPES Act, 2003, of the State Legislature of Uttarakhand, UPES is a top-ranked, UGC-recognised, private university. As per the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2024, the Ministry of Education, Government of India, UPES has been ranked 46 among universities, with a rank of 28 in Law, a rank of 41 in Management and a rank of 42 in Engineering. In addition to this, the university has been ranked the No. 1 private university in academic reputation in India by the QS World University Rankings 2024. It is among the top 3% of universities in the world. UPES has also been accredited by NAAC with a grade ‘A’ and has received 5 stars on Employability (placements), by globally acclaimed QS Rating. The university has had 100% placements over the last five years. Forty-two (42) faculty members of UPES are among the world’s top 2% researchers as per Stanford University list.

UPES offers graduate and postgraduate programs through its seven schools: School of Advanced Engineering, School of Computer Science, School of Design, School of Law, School of Business, School of Health Sciences & Technology and School of Liberal Studies and Media with 14000+ students and 1500+ faculty and staff members.

About Aspire Impact:
Aspire Impact is Global South’s first standards-based Impact Measurement, Rating & Certification initiative. It’s 4P (Product, People, Planet & Policy) Impact Assessment Framework to assess Corporations, BFSI, and CSR/Non-Profits uses 40 market-validated Impact Standards and 150+ Key Performance Indicators, to award Green, Silver, Gold and Platinum Leaf ratings, enabling sector-agnostic Impact Comparables. Since April 2020, Aspire Impact has served over 30 clients, over 50 projects, clocking over 100,000 client hours. Aspire Impact’s SaaS platform, IKOOWorld, for DIY or assured ESG, Sustainability & Impact Assessments, will be beta-released in Q2, 2024, with comparable benchmarking data for over 1000 organisations.

About Mahindra University:
Mahindra University is a multidisciplinary institution in India committed to nurturing future leaders. Its curriculum combines academic rigour with industry relevance, focusing on engineering, business, and law. With a strong emphasis on experiential learning, it offers industry internships, global immersion programs, and research opportunities, fostering holistic development and innovation.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/upes-announces-launch-of-executive-education-program-on-esg-sustainability-and-impact-302244013.html

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JAMS Launches AI for Enterprise Job Scheduling: JAX and JAMS MCP, on the Model You Choose

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A new AI agent and an open-standard connector let IT teams query, diagnose, and manage automation in plain language, on the model they choose, with operational data staying inside their own network

LONDON, July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — JAMS Software, an orchestration solution for scheduled and event-driven automation, today announced the general availability of two AI capabilities for enterprise job scheduling: JAX, an AI agent built into the JAMS Web Client, and JAMS MCP, a connector built on the open Model Context Protocol standard that brings JAMS into external AI coding tools. Both capabilities ship at no additional cost as part of JAMS Web.

Automation environments grow faster than the teams that run them. Jobs multiply across SQL Server, Azure Data Factory, Airflow, SAP, JDE, and Banner, and when one fails, finding the root cause often means searching several consoles at once, frequently outside business hours. At the same time, IT leaders carry pressure to adopt AI while staying accountable for where operational data goes. JAX and JAMS MCP close both gaps together.

Full details on how JAX and JAMS MCP work, including the control model behind every action, are available at jamsscheduler.com/product/ai.

JAX is an AI agent that runs inside the JAMS Web Client. It finds jobs, troubleshoots failures, and answers how-to questions in plain language, with each response grounded in the JAMS user guide and checked against a built-in glossary. JAX acts only when a user asks it to. Reads flow freely, and every write action pauses for the user’s explicit approval before it runs. JAX does not learn between sessions, and conversations are not retained on the server.

JAMS MCP is a connector, built on the open Model Context Protocol standard, that brings JAMS into the AI tools engineering teams already use, including Cursor, VS Code with Copilot, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and Codex. Users query jobs, investigate failures, and manage runs in plain language without leaving their tool.

Both capabilities run inside the customer’s own network and act as the signed-in user, with that user’s exact JAMS permissions. There is no elevated AI account: whatever a user cannot do in the JAMS interface, JAX and JAMS MCP cannot do on that user’s behalf. Every JAX and MCP operation is recorded in its own dedicated log, and changes made through the JAMS API land in the JAMS audit trail like any other change. Customers choose their own AI model, whether a commercial provider such as OpenAI or Anthropic or a model running entirely on their own hardware, and JAMS never trains on customer data. In the current release, neither feature edits or deletes a job, folder, schedule, or agent definition. For teams that must keep operational data within a defined boundary, JAX runs on a local model entirely inside the customer’s own network, so nothing leaves at all.

“Adopting AI usually means giving something up, most often visibility into where your data goes,” said Pete Hegland, Chief Executive Officer of JAMS Software. “We built JAX and JAMS MCP so that trade does not have to happen. Every action runs as the signed-in user, every change waits for approval, and the model itself can run entirely inside your own network.”

“IT teams across the United Kingdom and EMEA tell us the same thing: they want the benefit of AI without losing sight of where their data goes,” said Greg McLaughlin, Account Executive for EMEA at JAMS Software. “JAX and JAMS MCP let them keep operational data inside their own network and still get answers in plain language. That combination is what makes this practical for the teams I work with.”

JAX and JAMS MCP are available now to all JAMS Web customers across the United Kingdom and EMEA, with no separate licence, SKU, or additional cost. AI-assisted creation of new jobs and workflows from a plain-language description is on the roadmap for a future release, gated by the same approvals and permissions as every other action.

Learn how JAX and JAMS MCP work at https://jamsscheduler.com/product/ai.

Fast facts

JAX is an AI agent built into the JAMS Web Client for job scheduling and workflow automation.JAMS MCP is a connector built on the open Model Context Protocol standard, for Cursor, VS Code with Copilot, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and Codex.Both act as the signed-in user, with that user’s exact JAMS permissions, and there is no elevated AI account.Customers choose the AI model, including a local model that runs entirely inside their own network.JAMS never trains on customer data.Both are available now at no additional cost as part of JAMS Web.

About JAMS Software

Founded in 1987, JAMS Software is an orchestration solution that helps IT teams centralize, automate, and manage scheduled and event-driven jobs across complex, hybrid environments. Over 850 customers rely on JAMS to run their automated workloads. JAMS Software, LLC is headquartered at 108 Patriot Drive, Suite A, Middletown, DE 19709.

Media Contact
Bobby Schmidt, Vice President of Marketing
press@jamssoftware.com
800.261.4267

 

 

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Video: CNPC offers green chemical answer

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BEIJING, July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A news report from chinadaily.com.cn:

Located on the edge of the Taklamakan Desert in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the Tarim 1.2 MTA Phase II Ethylene Project and its supporting green and low-carbon demonstration facility of PetroChina Dushanzi Petrochemical Company, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, are offering a new example of China’s low-carbon industrial transformation.

Watch the video to discover how CNPC is exploring a cleaner and more circular future for the industry.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/video-cnpc-offers-green-chemical-answer-302834036.html

SOURCE chinadaily.com.cn

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Shanghai Electric showcases embodied intelligence robot matrix and AI-native smart factory solutions at WAIC 2026

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Featuring humanoid robots with 41 degrees of freedom, pipe‑inspection robots with ±1mm positioning accuracy, and 51 industrial‑grade AI agents

SHANGHAI, July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Operations in high-end equipment manufacturing often involve confined spaces, complex objects, and fine manipulation tasks that demand sustained and stable precision. At the recent 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance (WAIC 2026), Shanghai Electric (SEHK: 02727, SSE: 601727) showcased its comprehensive portfolio of embodied intelligence solutions tailored to a range of industrial scenarios.

Themed “AI for All: Smart Squad, Shining Without Limits,” Shanghai Electric highlighted its capabilities across embodied AI robots, robot core components, and AI-native smart factory solutions, demonstrating end-to-end capabilities spanning complete robot systems, critical parts, industrial software, and smart factory architecture.

“The true value of embodied intelligence lies in understanding real industrial tasks: combining the strength, precision, and stability of machines with human experience and judgment to drive a genuine paradigm of ‘machine-assisted, human-machine collaboration,'” said Wang Chunlei, deputy general manager of the Robotics Business Unit at Shanghai Electric Automation Group.

Shanghai Electric’s robotics portfolio covers five key industrial scenarios: connector insertion, electrical operations, flexible sorting, intelligent assembly, and pipe processing. Highlights include:

“SUYUAN” bipedal humanoid robot: With 41 degrees of freedom for enhanced mobility, it is equipped with a multimodal visual sensing system on the head and torso, along with a dual-battery hot-swap system. It is well-suited for inspection, material handling, and assembly tasks.”TUOYUAN” industrial wheeled humanoid robot: Powered by an embodied intelligence foundation model and force-position hybrid control, it is capable of multi-spec connector insertion, material sorting, and loading/unloading of automotive sheet metal parts.”Mermaid” bionic wheeled humanoid robot: Capable of autonomously identifying buttons, knobs, and air switches, it generates real-time operation paths.Autonomous pipe inner-wall chamfering robot: Designed for confined spaces, it can position and process thousands of hole edges with accuracy within 1 millimeter while transmitting data in real time.

Shanghai Electric also showcased its portfolio of core components ranging from power-output to end effectors. Among them, the planetary roller screw offers more than three times the load capacity of traditional ball screws, while the DexHand dexterous hand is designed to meet diverse gripping and manipulation requirements.

Shanghai Electric launched 51 AI models and agents under its “StarCloud Intelligent Manufacturing” series across three domains: R&D and design, production and manufacturing, and operations and maintenance—covering critical equipment processes such as process optimization and wind power facility maintenance.

These industrial agents are embedded in robotic decision-making systems and the operational logic of AI-native smart factories, transforming industrial expertise into digitized, reusable capabilities. They support production-line scheduling, quality inspection, and predictive maintenance, driving the evolution of manufacturing systems from experience-driven to data-driven operations.

Shanghai Electric also released the “AI-Native Smart Factory Technology White Paper,” proposing an active evolution architecture that enables real‑time, closed‑loop optimization of production data, giving the factory self‑perception, self‑decision, and self‑execution capabilities. Built on First Principles, the AI‑native smart factory vertically integrates process flows, industrial software, agents, and smart equipment to dismantle traditional hierarchies while horizontally bridging data silos. The architecture features three core layers: the AI factory brain as the “control center,” industrial agents and embodied robots as the “execution network,” and the physical twin as the “digital mirror.”

Leveraging its deep industrial expertise and comprehensive solution capabilities, Shanghai Electric will continue to drive the implementation of AI in industrial settings, tackle technical challenges facing embodied intelligence in complex scenarios, accelerate the large‑scale deployment of AI‑native smart factories, and deliver replicable solutions across diverse manufacturing environments.

SOURCE Shanghai Electric

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