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Studies, America and Diplomacy

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-

US President, Barack Obama, and Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, at a meeting in Washington DC

The India-US Higher Education Dialogue 2013, held recently is evident of the world’s two largest democracies turning a new leaf in bilateral relations through cooperation in education. digitalLEARNING digs deeper into the multiple facets of this alliance By Monalisa Das, ENN

The Indian higher education system is ranked as the world’s third largest  with over 26 million students enrolled in 692 universities and 35,000 colleges

Key Highlights

Major announcements at the India-US Higher Education Dialogue 2013:

1. Four MoUs signed between:
>> IIT-Delhi and University of Nebraska on Collaboration for Cyber Systems
>> IIT-Bombay and edX on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC)
>> AICTE and AACC on Cooperation for Establishment of Community Colleges
>> ITM Group of Institutions and Montgomery College on Capacity Building
2. Second Round of Obama-Singh 21st Century Knowledge Initiative Awards for Eight Joint Research Projects
3. First batch of 126 C V Raman Post Doctoral Fellowship 2013

With more than 400 MoUs signed between various Indian and US universities, student and faculty exchange programmes, collaborative research projects, joint skill development courses, and online courseware, time wouldn’t have been more apt for the Indian education system to grab the global limelight. In this date and age where educational institutions the world over have woken up to the significance of global cooperation, India cannot afford to miss out.
The recently held India-US Higher Education Dialogue 2013 in New Delhi and the major announcement of second batch of eight joint research projects under the Obama-Singh 21st Century Knowledge Initiative are steps in the right direction. Coupled with these are some recently signed landmark agreements.
The Governments of both India and the USA today acknowledge the significance of educational ties, so much so that “Education and Development” feature among the five essential pillars of the annual US-India Strategic Dialogue, being held since 2010. Both the Governments have formed various bilateral working groups that are instrumental in enhancing mutual partnerships in education and are initiating discussions on key issues related to this.
Turning point Educational ties between the America and India got a fillip after the meeting of Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and US President, Barack Obama, in November 2009 in Washington DC, USA, in which both the leaders put education at the top of their national agendas and jointly launched some major initiatives for strengthening US-India strategic partnership in education and development. Expansion of the bi-national Fulbright-Nehru Scholarship Programme and launch of Obama-Singh 21st Century Knowledge Initiative were among the announcements made. This was followed by the India visit of President Obama in 2010, US-India Higher Education Summit in October 2011, and the subsequent US-India Higher Education Dialogue in June 2012 .
The latest development has been the second round of India-US Higher Education Dialogue, held on June 25, 2013, in New Delhi, on the sidelines of US Secretary of State, John F Kerry’s visit to India. The Human Resource Development Minister of India, Dr M M Pallam Raju, and Secretary Kerry co-chaired the Dialogue.

Community colleges
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has finalised a framework for establishing communitycolleges in India. A high-level Indian delegation visited the US in May 2012 to study the community college system and in February 2013, the MHRD organised an International Seminar on Community Colleges in New Delhi, which was attended by a US delegation led by Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Tara Sonenshine. The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) continues to facilitate cooperation and overall capacity-building efforts between Indian and American partner institutions. The recently signed MoU between AICTE and AACC on Cooperation for Establishment of Community Colleges shall help crystallise India’s strategy for developing community colleges in India. “We need to create ground level opportunities at a vast level in order to cater to the needs of local businesses. Hence, developing a model of community colleges in India is very relevant. By aligning with the USA, we are not planning to mirror the education model of America. Rather, we are looking forward to exchange of knowledge base, best practices and collaboration in innovation and research work,” said Dr Pallam Raju during a press conference after the India-US Higher Education Dialogue in June 2013. “We look at the issues that are confronting American community colleges, such as how to readjust the skills gap, ensure quality education, and ensure that our students complete their educational programme. Interestingly India is also addressing similar issues,” says Alice Blayne-Allard, Associate Vice President, International Programs and Services, AACC, which represents more than 1,160 community colleges across the US. “One crucial point to be kept in mind is that community colleges are meant to address local issues and needs. In the US we work very closely with citizens of local communities to ensure that the courses and training that we are offering are relevant. The Indian education system shall also have to remember this,” she adds.
“Community Colleges will be very powerful for India. The community college model in the USA can help in many ways, such as curriculum development, faculty development, infrastructure requirements, and also help share specifics on how academia can connect with the industry to build partnerships,” says De- Rionne P Pollard, President, Montgomery College, Maryland, USA, which has recently entered into an agreement with the ITM Group of Institutions on Capacity Building.

John F Kerry, Secretary of State, USA, at India-US
Higher Education Dialogue 2013, on 25th June 2013,
New Delhi

People-to-people exchange is the glue that holds our partnership together. Thanks to the Fulbright- Nehru Programme, more than 18,000 scholars have participated in exchanges between our countries

Fellowships
Apart from the government-level dialogues and institution-level agreements, fellowships form an integral part of educational collaborations between India and America. The Fulbright Scholar Programme is the US Government’s flagship international educational exchange programme, which is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, US Department of State, and is supported by the people of the US and partner countries around the world.
As a part of this programme, the Fulbright Agreement for India was signed in 1950 by the Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the US Ambassador to India, Loy Henderson. The Fulbright-Nehru Fellowships enable the most outstanding students, academics and professionals in India and the US to study, research and engage in work experiences with greater potential benefit for both countries. It offers the largest number of grants worldwide, with more than 80 grants every year.
Over the years, the agreement has undergone many changes, the latest being in 2008, declaring both India and US as equal partners. Also, the amount of grant has increased from US $5 million to US $7.06 million in 2010-11. Since then, the Fulbright- Nehru Fellowships have nearly tripled, with approximately 330 students and scholars from the US and India participating annually.
C V Raman Post Doctoral Fellowship Programme is yet another initiative announced during the US-India Higher Education Summit 2011, held at Georgetown University in Washington DC. It aims to place junior faculty members and researchers from India for postdoctoral research in higher education institutions in the USA. The first batch of 126 Raman Fellows was announced during the India-US Higher Education Dialogue 2013 in New Delhi. These fellows have been sponsored by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in India, and are scheduled to join US institutions for post-doctoral research, beginning in August 2013.

4,345 Students from the us pursued studies in India (2011-12)

People-to-People Ties
Moreover, in order to enhance peopleto- people connectivity, the two nations have initiated new student programmes, such as Passport to India Initiative by the US and Connect India Programme by India. The Passport to India Initiative by the US Department of State seeks to increase the number of American students in India by expanding study abroad options including internships, hence, building the next generation of leaders with India expertise. Through partnerships with business and non-governmental oraganisations, the initiative promotes internships, service learning and study abroad programmes for US students in India.

Dr M M Pallam Raju,
Minister of Human Resource Development,
Government of India, at a roundtable discussion in May 2013, Washington DC, USA

US cooperation is needed in promoting skill building in India through community colleges. The cooperation should be supportive of ICT, promote quality research and boost vocational education system

It aims to promote India as a destination so that more American students have the cultural understanding and language skills that underpin effective diplomacy and foreign policy. The interns not only work on joint projects, but also get the opportunity to build a network that may prove to be beneficial for future collaborations for both the nations. Considering that internships are increasingly becoming an integral part of the US education system, with many colleges offering credit for internships, Passport to India Initiative seems to be a significant move. Companies too are gradually getting more receptive towards international internships, which are now viewed as a way to ensure a valuable pool of potential employees.
The Connect India Programme by the Indian Government was announced during the US-India Higher Education Dialogue, held in June 2012, and is currently in incubation phase. It aims at placement of 200 US undergraduate students at Indian education institutions for one semester of their studies. This will comprise 4-6 weeks of study programme in one of the 15 selected Indian universities. Total number of participants in any institution shall not exceed 30 in one course. Their course of study will be integrated with other activities, including exposure to Indian culture and economy, service-learning with corporate entities, short-term attachment with Civil Society Organisations, and interaction with political representatives. The details are being finalised by the UGC in consultation with various Indian universities.

1,00,270 Indian students were pursuing higher education in the USA, comprising 13.1% of total foreign student population (2011-12). India is the second largest sender of students to the USA, followed by China (Source: UGC)

Endless opportunites
A host of other initiatives are under process. For instance, the India-Support for Teacher Education Programme, worth USD 4.3 million, is a 30-month joint project between the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the MHRD to build the capacity of Indian teachers. These apart, the UGC has finalised guidelines for twinning arrangements between Indian and foreign educational institutions for greater collaboration between universities. Moreover, EducationUSA, a network of advising centres, offers a great resource for students in India with latest information about study opportunities at accredited institutions in the US. Supported by the US Department of State, EducationUSA has expanded its services in India through virtual advising, mobile apps, social media outreach, and a pan-India advising hotline.
Undoubtedly, the scope of collaboration is simply endless. It’s now up to the capacity and interest of the academia and the industry to respond to the current need and support the governments take this partnership to its apex.

Motivating Teachers to Use Technology

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-

Deepti Lamba, Senior Vice President, IL&FS Education & Technology Services Ltd, shares her insight on the need of portable solutions in classrooms for revolutionising education

IL&FS has been making many contributions to the area of education. Tell us about mandate of the education wing at IL&FS.
When we at IL&FS talk about the need for education and solutions that will revolutionise the space, we often start by asking ourselves one question. What is the backbone of the education system? The stakeholder who needs empowerment to be able to decide the success or failure of education delivery? For us the answer is – the teacher – and we get all other answers,ideas and solutions instantly.
Our portable solutions can be deployed easily in the classroom and are simple to use and maintain.
Today, we have teachers in over 25000 schools across India and in Africa using our solutions, in turn empowering their
teachers to do much more. The students get an opportunity to explore learning like never before. Imagine, students from a rural village in deep interiors of Gujarat , having the ability to touch and participate during a history class.

What should be the focus areas of quality education apart from technology?
We realise that there are three areas to be focused upon:
Teachers: How else will a program be imparted holistically? Like any professional a teacher also needs constant input and tools for improving at their tasks. Therefore, teacher training is an integral part of what we do.
Understand the needs of students: Selecting appropriate solution for the classroom is second. This requires an in depth understanding of the student group, interest, aptitude and often aspirations not only theirs but those of parents.
Content is king: Undoubtedly, technology as an enabler can only be successful if the content that goes with it is robust and based on strong research.We have a very large content and resource team, which works round the clock to innovate and produce best in class multimedia lessons.
When we have a combination of above three packaged with technology, in our case our innovative, patented technology K-Yan that is when a Knowledge Classroom (K-Class) is formed.

Not everyone is close to technology especially in the rural areas it must be a challenge to convince teachers that they should start using latest technology in classrooms?
All of these technology aids are only a facilitator and not the driver in the  classroom. Bigger challenge is mindset amongst the schools and the teachers. It is walking up with them in the path till they start owning them. Once they start owning them there would be no problem.
Please shed light on recent development of K-Yan.
 Today in its 8th generation, the K-Yan (Knowledge Yan) is a compact ICT tool that has been developed by IL&FS Education in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. K-Yan is an integrated community computer, which combines the functionality of a high end computer, projection system, audio system, large screen TV and is internet ready. K-Yan supports multiple peripherals and enables interactive learning in various regional languages apart from English.
IL&FS has bagged few ICT@school projects from various state governments. Please share with us some details.
IL&FS Education has emerged as the market leader in ICT@Schools sector. Recently, we have bagged Rs 617 crore ICT@school project from the Government of Odisha which is the largest ever mandate in this space. Additionally, we are also executing similar large scale projects such as the Maharashtra ICT@ Schools project which is spread across 2560 schools. We will be deploying KYan as part of both these projects.
We focus on maintaining quality benchmarks during the implementation of our projects and balance the needs of all the stakeholders involved, which is why we have been successful and able to sustain in an area where others are exiting due to various reasons.

 

Technology Solution for Teaching-Learning

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-

Project Shiksha
Organisation: Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited
Website: www.microsoft.com
Objective: Through this program,Microsoft aims at bringing innovation in the teaching-learning process by empowering teachers with ICT skills.
Description: Partners in Learning works in association with governments and education leaders around the world to integrate technology into daily teaching, learning, and research and aims to deliver on empowering leadership, providing access to technology and quality content, and building strong communities within India.
Target Group: Government school teachers
Achievements
• Project Shiksha has so far trained more than 744,400 government
school teachers
• Tie-ups with various state-run District Institutes for Education and Training (DIETs)
• Several teachers participate in e-communities and have their own websites after their ICT training
• Many teachers trained under Shiksha have won National ICT awards recognising their efforts

DigitALly by Pearson
Organisation: Pearson Education Services
Website: www.pearsoneducationservices.com
Objective: To convert the traditional classroom into an interactive learning session by combining state-of-the-art hardware with syllabus-compliant, multimedia content.
Description: The traditional chalk-and-talk teaching method did not encourage collaboration and interactivity in a classroom. Hence, we created DigitALly™ whose vibrant and engaging multimedia content ensures an interactive classroom and provides for an easy understanding of difficult concepts.
Target Group: Teachers and students.
Achievements
• Received several awards including e-Maharashtra award, National Business Award
and Marico Innovation Award
• Manthan Award for Best e-Content Development across Southeast Asia

Chrysalis Techmate
Organisation: Ez Vidya Private Ltd
Website: www.ezvidya.com
Objective: To integrate a unified techno-pedagogy learning framework that integrates 21st Century curriculum, Cloud-sourced technology and professional development of teachers.
Description: Chrysalis TechMate integrates technology into learning with the help of a user-friendly repository of curriculum, audiovisuals and assessments. Teachers and students annotate on them and save for future reference. Navigation is streamlined to enhance productivity of users. Students take online assessments with instant
grading and reporting on their performance.
Target Group: All the stakeholders in a school – Principal, Teachers and students.
Achievements
• Deployed in over 180 schools in less than two years
• Teachers and principals becoming collaborative designers and not just users
• Have customised TechMate for every single user amongst all partner schools
• EZ Vidya has reviewed every single teacher usage with every school
• In the last two years EZ Vidya has achieved 94 percent conversion of teachers’ usage

Education is the Most Rewarding Sector to be in

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-

2Ryan Pinto,
CEO,
Ryan Group of Institutions

Having proven its mettle with its sustainable efforts in the K-12 segment, the Ryan Group of Institutions is a well established brand in education. Ryan Pinto, CEO, Ryan Group of Institutions shares how the K-12 business has been the most rewarding experience. In
conversation with Rachita Jha

Please share the genesis of Ryan Group of Institutions.
We had a small and humble beginning in 1976 with a group of 20 children in Mumbai, and over the years the vision to make a difference in the lives of children has evolved and grown. The passion behind Ryan came from our Chairman and Managing Director, as they were teachers and they really saw a great need for quality education in this country. In any developing country, education is its foundation. With India, the largest and youngest nation in the world and 500 million under the age of 25, education can give youngsters a platform where they are qualified, educated and self–empowered. That’s how they started.

After a couple of years of operation, where does the Group stand now? What were the initial hiccups faced while setting up schools in India and how did you overcome those challenges?
 The founding members were among the first social entrepreneurs of the nation, and at that time India’s economy was opening up and people were getting into different sphere of economy. At that time they weren’t many people to support them, and there was a big learning curve for them on legal, financial aspects of setting-up schools. As we began to grow it was not based on a predefined business model and financial projections. It was purely from the heart and they went where there was a need. A lot of the growth came from invitations and recommendations, including the governments from across the country. It was a lot of time, learning curve, and challenges were many, but the vision to give our children a bright future was undeterred. And, today we are in 40 cities across 16 states in the country. And about 120 school in operation and every morning the joy of welcoming 250,000 kids to our schools. We plan to continue to grow within India and within the globe as well.


Tell us more about your growth model?
Quality education is our prime concern, and so even with many schools opening across the country we continue to own and run all of them. We don’t have a franchise, as we wanted to retain the quality and experience for the child. We have been very cautious about growth and don’t want to just grow in numbers. For us education is our DNA and we have a long-term vi-sion to contribute to the growth of the nation. We as a group, we are at various towns that includes tier-II and tier-III cities and this is designed in our growth strategy as we would like to contribute not just in metros but also small towns in India and we continue on this commitment.

Starting a school in India is still considered as service to the nation and ‘not for profit’ entity, where making profit is allowed but not distributing that profit.What is your opinion on that?
Education is a wonderful sector to be in. A lot of people are misconstrued about the sector. There are stakeholders who come with an investment and return-on-investment strategy, but I would say that in education you are not dealing with products, these are children and their future that we deal with. We have to give them quality education along with values and for us we would judge our ROI based on the future they pursue after they graduate from our schools. And stand on their own. We have to adapt to the changes in the education sector, however I would request the stakeholders to be aware of the sensitivities around children.
We surely need more investments in education, as there such a huge demand supply gap. I therefore welcome people who are looking at education sector as an investment, however all the different stakeholders really need to sit and chalk out the strategy.

Schools have changed from what they were. What are the things you learnt about education and schools?
Every level of our management is involved in classroom teaching and are required to take classes. It is a great way for us to connect with children and understand their needs and demands. It gives us hand-on experience on the way children are evolving during their growth years. Every generation takes learning curve to next level, so we are pleasantly surprised on their knowledge and understanding. The role of a teacher has changed from an instructor to a facilitator. The teacher was the only silo of information in the past. That has all changed today; children today are born with technology and have access to information on their fingertips. We all as educators are there just to bridge that gap. Children have multiple intelligence and can learn in many ways. We as facilitators need to recognize those needs and now with technology it has become easier. But again, technology has to be relevant to the children and their learning needs. For example in a rural village a textbook and notebook would be more relevant to them than tablets. Teacher today needs to pace up with children needs and we need to bridge the gap between the educators and learners to make them effective and efficient in classrooms. Technology can be introduced to enhance the education in schools.
We have been very cautious about growth and don’t want to just grow in numbers.
Children have multiple intelligences and can learn in many ways. We as facilitators need to recognize those needs and now with technology it has become easier.

Solution for Testing & Assessments

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-

Use of Assistive Technologies for Training and Assessments

Organisation: MeritTrac Services
Implementing Agency: Indian Institute of Banking and Finance
Website: www.merittrac.com www.isbf.edu.in
Objective: Facilitate bringing the hitherto ‘excluded’ rural poor andhelp establish an open, inclusive and egalitarian society in the rural areas and make financial inclusion a reality.
Description: RBI has permitted banks to use intermediaries such as Business Correspondents/Business Facilitators (BC/BF) to reach out to the rural population. In order to meet this national objective, IIBF has launched this certificate course, with structured training and classroom support, and technology assisted examination.
Target Group: Xth passed candidates who wish to work as Business Correspondents/Facilitators.
Achievements
• Time gap between examination and declaration of results reduced drastically
• Able to reach remote centers for holding examinations
• Able to hold exams timely, accurately and under controlled conditions

Mettl

Organisation: Mettl
Implementing Agency: Induslynk Training Services Pvt Ltd
Website: www. mettl.com
Objective: To integrate a unified techno-pedagogy learning framework integrating 21st Century curriculum, Cloud-sourced technology and professional development of teachers.
Description: Chrysalis TechMate integrates technology into learning with a userfriendly repository of curriculum, audiovisuals and assessments. Teachers and students annotate on them and save for future reference.
Target Group: All the stakeholders in a school – Principal, Teachers and students.
Achievements
• Deployed in over 180 schools in less than two years
• Teachers and Principals becoming collaborative designers and not just users
• Have customised TechMate for every single user amongst all partner schools

IntelliEXAMS

Organisation: Mindlogicx Infratec Ltd
Website: www.mindlogicx.com
Objective: To bring security, reliability, accuracy, transparency and accountability in the whole examination processes conducted by large universities and other exam conducting bodies.
Description: IntelliEXAMS is integrated end-to-end Examination Management System that brings greater transparency, accountability and security in examination processes. The system enables conducting high-stake examinations by large universities in a fool-proof manner by enabling secure generation and delivery of question papers, digital evaluation & secure generation of mark sheets and certificates.
Target Group: Large Universities and Examination conducting bodies.
Achievements
• Students can easily view their evaluated answer copies online
• Multiple evaluation of digitised answer copies can be done parallely by multiple evaluators
• The system completely eliminates any chances of malpractices related question papers
leakage
• The system eliminates chances of faking and tampering of mark sheets and certificates

Towards Holistic Education

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-

Swami Swaroopananda,
Director in Charge, Chinmaya International Residential School, 
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

“Education should develop understanding, pride and love for our culture and the nation,” says Swami Swaroopananda, Director in Charge, Chinmaya International Residential School, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

After 17 years of operation, where does the school stand now?
Chinmaya International Residential School (CIRS) was established in June 1996, and has entered the 18th year, this academic term. CIRS today has been rated on top in various rankings. The school has been producing students who are well educated in their secular studies. They are also infused with a higher vision for life and are leading life with nobler aspirations. Identifying the right location and establishing it initially was indeed challenging. Materialising Swami Chinmayanandaji’s vision into a practical education system was the first hurdle. Renowned educationists, who have been part of the Chinmaya Mission helped shape the systems in school. The difficulties of identifying the right location and ushering in funds for the project were also overcome. The trust that people had in the Chinmaya Mission took care of the initial admissions. The school’s excellent performance is taking care of the admissions now. Dedicated selfless service of many experts in the field of education, coupled with staff that is enthused with the vision of Education gives us the strength with which all challenges are won over.

How many schools are there under the umbrella? How do you operate these schools?
The Chinmaya Education movement encompasses 80 Schools in India and one in Trinidad. Most of the Chinmaya Vidyalayas are run in the COCO model while the franchise model is also adopted in the rarest of cases. The schools are managed by Chinmaya Mission Trusts with the people of the local place as the Trustees. The Chinmaya Education Cell guides, trains, monitors and evaluates the systems of imparting education, as well as the administrative policies to be in place in the various schools. Unlike a commercially run venture, the Chinmaya Education Movement has no agenda of expansion or profitability. Being non-commercial by nature, it responds to the need of the place and the people. Hence, as and when there is a demand for a Chinmaya Vidyalaya and people of the local community are ready to support it and run it in line with the vision, the Chinmaya Vidyalayas are set up

What is the biggest challenge of the school today, and what are we doing to address it?
Diminishing values and extraordinary (undue) emphasis on materialism is the biggest challenge in society. This has not spared even the education system. Decline in values in the society is creating conflicts in the child. Even from a child’s  perspective, education is only a resultoriented commercial endeavour, rather than a discovery and enquiry-oriented enterprise. Training to score marks has superceded the need to be educated. The craze to be materialistically succesful has overtaken the need to be humane. To fulfil the true purpose of education in the process of satisfying the materialistic demands is one big challenge in all schools. These issues have to be addressed jointly by the educators and the parents. Parents need to join hands with the school to create this conviction.

How can ICT help in educating young minds?
ICT has already become an integral part of education. The visual impact while teaching lessons have enhanced the teaching-learning process to a large extent. Presentations and research are all part of the system these days. The whole world is moving towards ICT empowered learning. There is a big need to pool all resources and make them available on a common platform. Education in India is still lacking the aspect of application. Students gather a lot of information. Yet, they are impaired for want of the knowledge to use it hands on in the real world. ICT could go a long way in creating opportunities for this kind of education. At the same time, ICT engages students in the virtual world and subtly discourages the student from interacting, observing and learning from the real world. Education in moral responsibility of using ICT in its most beneficial way also should include communicating the understanding of when it is to be kept away.

Pre-school is an Extension of Home

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-
Pre-schools
Enjoying learning together at Shanti Juniors

Vittal Bhandary,
Managing Director,
Learning Edge India Pvt Ltd

Little Elly, the Concept Pre-school, is an initiative of Learning Edge India Pvt Ltd, in association with Glen Tree, UK, who are pioneers in serving the learning needs of kids for the last one decade. The school was started with the desire to nurture the child and lay a healthy foundation for a learned society. Vittal Bhandary, Managing Director, Learning Edge India Pvt Ltd, talks about expansion of pre-schools in India

Please share with us the journey of Little Elly Pre-schools Chain?
It all started by default, with my wife Preeti’s passion to work with the little ones and create her own educational start-up. She started the preschool back in 1999 in Kuwait. When we moved to India in 2004, she continued the same in the name of Little Elly. I was just mentoring her at that time. Today by the grace of God, Little Elly has become one of the most admired preschools in Bangalore with 65 centres in the city. We have also entered into other cities in the South like Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune.

Pre-schools

Pre-schools have changed from what they were. What are the things you learnt about education and pre-schools?
I feel that preschool is an extension of home. At Little Elly we believe in giving safe and hygienic environment to kids with our specially designed concept rooms where they can play, explore and learn together. In Little Elly we also instil and encourage passion among teachers because building relationships with children and teachers has allowed me to continuously improve myself and influence a positive change in the school culture.

How many pre-schools are there under the umbrella? How do you operate these schools?
Currently, we have around 90 centres. In every city where we enter, we start with a Co-centre and expand through franchise model. Our expansions are mainly focusing on southern cities like Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai market for the next one year.

What is the biggest challenge in front of pre-schools today, and what are we doing to address it?
I think the challenge is always to find the right partner and a good property suiting to preschool.

How challenging is to find skilled management team, especially for the education vertical?
It is definitely challenging to get the right person. But I feel even if we get a semi-skilled manpower with the right attitude, we can mould them accordingly through our training programmes.

What would be your suggestion for those who are planning to venture into starting a new preeducational establishment?
I feel people looking only at ROI should not be getting into educational vertical. Passion and patience would be the two key attributes for opening a private school.

Use of Technology in Teaching-Learning

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-

Teach Next

Organisation: Orchids The International school Hyderabad
Implementing Agency: Teach Next
Website: www.orchidsinternationalschool.com
Objective: To make the students learn subject content in a very interactive and play way method.
Description: Teach Next is an excellent smart board system.
It It is very interactive, with lot of innovative ideas put in, lot of exercises provided, making it very interesting and inspiring even for the dull students to focus and understand the subject.
Achievements
• Shown a tremendous improvement, even among underperforming students
• Students have become more open to learning
• Students show more interaction in learning any concepts
• Student and teachers both are happy with digital boards
• Teachers are able to upload their own extra reference subject matter

DPS Ahmedabad

Organisation: Delhi Public School East, Ahmedabad
Implementing Agencies: Pearsons Education services pvt Ltd
Website: www.dpseast.calorx.org
Objective: The software is implemented at Delhi Public School, East Ahmedabad, to make learning interesting and more effective.
Description: In the age of digitalisation,the importance of technology cannot be undermined. The use of technology in the classrooms is in the form of digital learning, language lab, and audio visual plans with the use of smart boards. The school encourages the use of e-books, multimedia software, educational software,digital portfolios, learning games and
real-time feedback on performance of students and teachers.
Achievements
• Grade improvement, enhancement of thinking, logical skills, and problem solving skills
• Preparation for competitive exams and research based projects
• Bagged International School Award Accreditation (British Council) 2013-2015
• Ranked first in East Delhi Zonals for Sports
• Highest scorer in class XII CBSE Results in East Delhi 2012-2013 

Interactive ICT Teaching for Informative Learning 

Organisation: DAV Public School Chandrasekharpur,Odisha
Website: www.davcsp.org
Objective: To empower students by providing information, exam dates, syllabus,time-table, e-study materials, mock questions and doubt clearing through school website and other social media like facebook/orkut.
Description: The school has tried to incorporate and make the best of ICT techniques available to students for better and interactive learning process.classrooms, libraries, exam halls, auditorium and offices have been adapted for
ICT learning.
Achievements
• Teaching-learning process became interactive,interesting and vibrant
• Go Green Environment with limited paper works
• Better parental involvement was observed
• Effective communication within limited time
• Teachers became computer-savvy using IT in teaching-learning process

Magical e-Pen
Organisation: Tripada Education Trust
Website: www.tripada.com
Objective: The technology has been developed to elevate the learning experience of students by focusing on the enormous benefits of listening.
Description: The Magical ePen brings sound to paper. When the pen touches a penenbled poster or a book, it speaks. The pen detects sound spots on any page in a book or on any graphics on the poster and plays narrations, questions, answers, quizzes, music or sound effects – whatever audio has been pre-programmed into the paper.
Achievements
• The solution has implemented in standard first, second and Pre school
• The school takes the pride of being first school focusing on the learning styles
• It is the only school to have it implemented in classroom teaching
• It has French and phonetics so as to help the child learn correct pronounication
• It is the only e-Pen, which can download about 100 such books in it to help with content upgrades

Creya Learning, KIIT-IAPT Anveshika Centre & DST Sponsored Inspire Programme

Organisation: KiiT International School International School
Website: www.kiitis.ac.in ; www.creyalearning.com
Implementing Agency: Creya Learning
Objective: To implement 21st century way teaching-learning enabling the whole school transformation, to provide a comprehensive interdisciplinary program, powerful project based curriculum-driven approach.
Description: Creya equips children with skills, competencies and the attitude for success. With global academic research,Creya helps children acquire analytical and problem solving, collaborative and communication skills.
Achievements
• It is beyond rote-learning and helps children acquire analytical skills
• It helped children to work in free environment and gave opportunity to express individual skills
• Combined with parental involvement it provides holistic education to children

 

Message

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-

Kiran Kumar Reddy, 
Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh is in the forefront in use of Information Technology for improving governance in India. Application of IT in major citizen welfare programmes like Aarogyasri and NREGS has enabled total transparency and accountability in their implementation.

Our unique G2C and G2B service delivery platform “Mee Seva”,is serving as a one stop solution for delivering services anywhere, any time. Mee Seva currently offers 153 citizen centric services through more than 6800 CSCs spread across the state. Mee Seva currently offers services pertaining to 11 departments i.e. Revenue, Registration, Municipalities, Power Distribution, Civil Supplies, Police, UIDAI, Transport, Education, Industries & Commerce and IT&C Departments. Additional 154 services pertaining to 10 departments are being developed and would be offered through Mee Seva in the next 4-5 months. Mee Seva has already completed more than 2 crore transactions since inception.
It gives me immense pleasure to share that the Government of Andhra Pradesh is the partner state for the ninth edition of eINDIA 2013, India’s premier ICT event which is being jointly organised by Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd along with other partners at Hyderabad International Convention Centre, Hyderabad, India, between 23rd– 24th July, 2013.
I welcome all the delegates, thought leaders and change agents participating in the event. I look forward to their participation in what promises to be an immensely enriching event.

Creating New Horizon for Technical Education

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-

The United Group, founded by Late Shiv Ram Das Gulati in 195,emerged from a transport business to become a giant in the fields of education, services, transportation and journalism

The United Group of Institutions (UGI) made a mammoth leap in the education arena in the mid-80s by being the pioneers in computer education. This further led to the establishment of United Institute of Management and United College of Engineering and Research in Allahabad & Greater Noida. With nine well-established institutes catering to over 8,000 students and more than 500 faculty members the Group is poised to create a new horizon by providing the best technical education.
It offers NBA accredited courses, quality recognised by the World Bank and boasts of 5,200+ alumni base. Our placement scenario is booming with 4,700+ jobs already offered and state-of-the-art facilities provided to faculty and students alike. All the academic establishments are affiliated to the Uttar Pradesh Technical University (Mahamaya Technical University, Noida and Gautam Budha Technical University, Lucknow) and are approved by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India, New Delhi.
UGI has state-of-the-art classrooms specially designed and equipped with latest audio-visual aids and wireless connectivity to enhance learning activities. It has huge seminar hall and auditorium to conduct seminars, workshops, guest lectures, and other events. The library has an enviable collection of more than two lakh volumes of nationally and internationally acclaimed books in addition to periodicals, articles, journals, etc.
Accredited by TCS and having academic alliance with EMC2, UGI provides a kind of education that equips students to take up challenging leadership roles in business and society.

Our Achievements:

  • United College of Engineering & Research Ranked 145 all over India
  • Asia’s Best B-School Award, Suntec Singapore – CMO Asia
  • Business Sphere Award for Excellence in Education.
  • Best Intellectual capital in U.P. – Business World
  • Shiksha Bharti Puraskar– All India Achiever’s foundation
  • Indian Leadership Award for Academic Excellence
  • Outstanding placement efforts for the year 2012 Award by HT-Shine
  • Asia Pacific Excellence Award- Indo-Nepal Economic Development
    Conference
  • Edupreneurs Awards 2013 by Prof S K Kak, Vice Chancellor, Mahamaya
    Technical University, Noida
  • Selected as E-Governance Campus for Greater Noida by Ministry of
    Communications & Information Technology and The United Nations (UN).

UGI works hard to up employability skills and enhance overall grooming of students through industry interface, corporate lectures, case studies, problem solving exercises, etc. Special care is given to the courses like MBA & PGDM which demand industrial trainings and visits. UGI provides ample industrial visits very frequently in to corporate leaders, like; NTPC, Mother Dairy, Denso, NPCIL, Caparo India, Cipla, New Holland, JBM, Moserbaer, LG, etc. The collaboration with Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand and University of Missouri, Columbia has opened the doors to new academic programs for UGI’s bright souls. This association is done for yearly summer training, faculty development and student exchange programs.
UNITIAN’s endeavour for perfection does not end at the completion of the course. It is ensured that every student is well settled once he or she is out of the institute. Hence, training and placement process is given paramount importance in UGI, as Corporate Relation Centre believes that beyond the scholastic achievement, other auxiliary skills, diction, vocabulary and aptitude are the ingredients for successful placements.
The Alumni Association of United Group of Institutions is officially formed to foster a lifelong intellectual connection between UGI and its alumni and to club together all the alumni of UGI on a single floor to guide their juniors on career matters. Our top campus recruiters are include bigwigs including LG, Samsung, HP, IBM India, Takahata Precision, HDFC, ACME Tele Power Ltd., Satyam, TCS, IMStylish, Policy Bazaar, Aircel, and many more. A large number of our students have been placed abroad as well.

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