Education has experienced immense benefits of technology and is poised to scale to a new era of education delivery prompting a digital way of learning, says Fr. Paul Fernandes, S.J., Vice-Chancellor of Xavier University Bhubaneswar, in conversation with ENN
Being a private university, has it been easier for you to adopt digital and campus management solutions compared to central and state universities?
It is relatively faster to take decisions once we are convinced on the efficacy of our initiatives. Since we had the autonomy, I had opportunity and privilege to move this project forward from initial vision to its completion. In July 2013, we were planning for the future of the newly created Xavier University. We looked 5 years ahead and aimed to develop and create the digital university with complete and holistic ICT solutions. Our vision is to provide the best quality of education and we see technology as a key enabler. Our objective was to automate the campus management and learning solutions and we explored potential solutions in the market before zoning in on the HP Education Cloud. We were cautioned about the many risks and hurdles on our path of creating the ICT enabled learning, teaching, campus ERP etc.
How do you see digital solutions impacting the university in terms of learning-teaching methods and campus management?
Digital Solutions offer a better way of engaging with the students and providing a platform enabling holistic learning. Technology is bringing a confluence of content, context and connect to education in a big way. In recent past, education has experienced immense benefits of technology and is poised to scale to a new era of education delivery methodology prompting a digital way of learning. We are mindful of the challenges Indian professional and skilled workforce face in 21st century India and global digitally enabled education and economy.
