“The tutor will be a Mere Facilitator of the Learning Process”

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July 5, 2012

Abbishek Shikky
CEO, Kloudpad on tablets trend in education

What kind of role are tablets playing in education space for better learning delivery outcomes?
Tablets present a unique opportunity to deliver assisted learning to students across the educational ecosystem. With advancements in mobile computing, tablets will evolve to become the most effective learning convergence medium. Traditionally teaching and learning have been seen through the prism of “one size fits all” ideal. This needs to change. Modern technology is bringing vast changes in the educational landscape. An interactive touch based device can lead to better learning outcomes. There is also a huge opportunity to make education a custom experience by offering content that interacts with the learner based on his interests.

What kind of content for tablets are you offering to education institutes?
We currently partner with Attano India to deliver almost all curriculum books for CSBE, ICSE syllabus. There are model test papers available digitally for medical engineering students as well. We are also working with state governments to digitize their educational content as well. We also offer pre-school and primary education content focusing on language learning and early concept introduction in an interactive format targeting 2-8 yrs.

Please throw some light on the latest trends and futuristic solutions for tablets in education. Well the future is all about “adaptive learning”, no two students learn the same way.
Using technology the “eSLATE” will deliver custom lessons to students based on their individual learning patterns and in near future students will be able to control or dictate how their lesson plans are delivered. For instance, imagine putting the power in the hands of the students about what they want to learn in the next class. The tutor will be a mere facilitator of the learning process, because all content will be digitally available, it is just a matter of monitoring the “touch” driven access to education.

Avaj for Inclusive Education

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July 5, 2012

A low cost tablet, Avaz gives voice to people with cerebral palsy.
Ajit Narayanan, Founder and CEO, Invention Labs talks about how Avaz caters to communication needs of children with special needsSome four million people in India suffer from cerebral palsy that makes it difficult or impossible for them to speak. Tablets provide particular advantagesto children with special needs because they minimise abstraction. Unlike computers, which require multiple levels of association with abstraction (understanding the motor movement of the mouse, and translating its movement on a screen), tablets avoid these complicated interfaces. You touch an icon, and it opens up: it is simple and easier to process. The cognitive gap that is faced with is significantly reduced. Along with the move to tablets, there has been a parallel surge in the app ecosystem to cater to children with mainstream as well as varied needs. The boom in the number and breadth of ideas out there is highly promising. Avaz is a tablet app that caters to the communicative needs of children with autism and cerebral palsy; about 500 children are using Avaz in India. They are easily able to navigate the customised touch screen, to speak out words, sentences or paragraphs. I have seen non-verbal children around India be able to join classrooms of verbal children because they have an enabling device. By allowing children to give voice to their thoughts and feelings, Avaz has unveiled new horizons of expression and thought for them.

“Why Classrooms of Today are Failing?”

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July 5, 2012

The online learning company, PraZas, has launched its new math worksheet program called Tabtor for Tablets. Sundi Natarajan, Chief of Strategy, speaks about the need of tablets in today’s classroom A low cost tablet, Avaz gives voice to people with cerebral palsy.

Ajit Narayanan, Founder and CEO, Invention Labs talks about how Avaz caters to communication needs of children with special needs “Why Classrooms of Today are Failing?” Avaj for Inclusive Education The current system of multiple choice questions ill tell you if somebody has got the answer right or wrong, but it will not tell you if that somebody has understood something correctly or not. To fix this problem we delved into technology, and came up with a solution that entails a mix of tablets and tutoring. Taking teacher out of the situation will not solve the problem; a teacher is so definitely needed to ensure that the kid is benefitting from the education process. Tabtor is tailored to meet an array of educational needs as it uses a combination of patent-pending Real- Paper technology that allows sharing and review of handwritten work, automatic grading, video tutorials and adaptive analytics.

“This is the Year of Tablets in Education”

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July 5, 2012

Sanjay Purohit, Founder CEO, iProf India, launched tablets much before the iconic iPad came into being. He explains innovation that Tablets are bringing into the education space. Excerpts:

Please share the genesis of iProf India.
It was in 2009 that I saw for the first time the form factor that we call tablets. I was impressed by the 7 inch form factor with a touch screen, and I realized that finally we have something, which can help in education delivery, because it is very easy to use and to carry, so we started working on it. We were the first company in India to launch Tablets for education. The iProf tablet came into being in 2009. During those days we were also creating the content for the tablet.

What was the response to tablets in 2009?
We had very encouraging response, everybody was thrilled to see that roduct. People were impressed by the audiovisual content, because those where the days when mobile devices had very small screen, and the computers were too expensive and also too bulky to carry.

Revolution of low cost tablets started with Aakash1. What are your views on Aakash 1 tablet?
I tested the Aakash 1 tablet and found technical specifications were much lower. Today’s younger generation is habituated to much powerful device, so they are not going to accept such mediocre performance. Although the cost was cut to bare minimum it was great, but usability s too difficult with the very small processer. Specification of Aakash 2 is pretty good and is omparable to tablets like Pantel and Wistel and others, which are pretty good and are in the range of Rs 3000 to Rs 5000. Thanks to government of India for huge publicity of Aakash, students and parents have accepted that tablet is a way to learn.

When do you see tablet boom coming in education?
I am expecting quarter four of this year to be a big, because UP government is planning to give outh 25 lakh tablets for free. They made provision for the same in budget for 2007 for 21 crore. Tenders are likely next month in July. I expect by Q4 this year, Indians will start seeing a big explosion in the market for tablets.

You have approached many schools. What kind of response have you received from them?
We are having very encouraging response from schools. About 80 percent tudents have opted for tablets. We started approaching schools this year only when tablet came effective. As of now around 250-300 schools are evaluating it and 21 schools have already signed the agreement so in July 2012 we will start deploying it. In places like Maharani Gayatri Devi School, Jaipur 79 girls out 100 girls have opted for tablets. Schools in Boondi, Sawai Madhopur and other far flung towns have also started using tablets for educational usage.

How can we ensure that the educational content available on the tablet is of good quality?
There are three ways to assure the quality of content. One way is that if there can be a quality monitoring institute that certifies the content from one star to five stars. For instance, the Government of India, has developed the Shakshar website where they are putting lot of digital content, which can meet the basic requirement of students. Second way is the community driven. People can themselves comment on the content. If twenty thousand people like that content it means that it is of good quality. Market itself drives some winners. Those who are providing good content will become stronger and stronger as market is liking their product.

Please share with us your plans for offering new solutions to the learner community.
We are coming up with a new product next month called digiLibrary, which is the largest collection of tablet content in online space. So it will become a destination point. Online it is free, but download incurs charge. Lot of people have tablets, but they don’t know where to go therefore, we are offering them a destination point. We are also launching 24X7 Teacher on Call. We are targeting to become100 crore company by 2014.

Last year, 4 lakh Students Filled Admission Forms from Home”

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July 5, 2012

Dr Abhay Wagh, Deputy Secretary, Department of Higher and Technical Education, Government of Maharashtra, shares his views on how technology is becoming the vital component of the state’s educational roadmap

What initiatives have been taken by your department to make optimal usage of technology?
We recognise the fact that technology is an important tool for achieving good governance and improving the quality of services. In the department, there are numerous outstanding examples of e-Governance solutions running successfully. We have online admission system for technical education, through which the admission process has become fully automated. Last year, about 4 lakh students and their parents could sit at home and fill the admissionform instead of waiting in long queues. It not only saved their ravel ost and time, it also reduced errors associated with manual processing. Then there is the e – Library:, through which selected institutes have invested in and developed of e-learning resources, e-books, online journals and other e-content from national / international sources. These facilities are provided online and can be availed by students and faculty anytime.
Other technological solutions that we use include – Online Feedback & Students Grievance Redressal system , Online approval for educational institutions, Video conferencing systems for greater participation in administration, Online Management Information system for Technical Institutes in Maharashtra.

Are any step being taken for connecting higher education institutes to enable knowledge sharing?
Great progress has been made for connecting Institutes of Higher Learning for developing a knowledge network to share, disseminate, collaborate and generate information. High Capacity Internet Bandwidth is being provided at subsidised rates to universities and Institutes of Higher Learning and about 1400 Institutes (including Universities) of Higher Learning in Maharashtra have availed such connections under National Mission on Education through Information and communication Technology (NMEICT) till date. Further, National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) has been launched to provide e-learning through online web and video courses in engineering, science and humanities. Through Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP), selected institutes have been provided funds for Campus Wide Networking, Networking between institutions for enhancing access to and sharing of Learning Resources available in a cluster and of course provision of Internet. Further, Information Exchange Network has been established in Non – Agricultural Universities for Information Exchange between these Universities, Colleges and State Government.

Do you think technology can be used to enhance access in higher education?
Technology can be used to increase accessibility to higher education, especially to the vulnerable and disadvantaged sections of society who couldn’t join regular education. In Maharashtra, Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU) has launched EduSat-based education, supported by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The university has established several Virtual Learning Centres (VLCs) in the State, each having two-way audio and video communication facilities. The students registered for programmes at the VLC attend lectures there. The experts deliver their lectures from the main hub at the university headquarters or from the substudio at Pune.

What are the future plans of the department?
One of the most important initiatives being planned by the department is integration with Aadhaar project. The financial disbursements like salaries of teachers, scholarships of students. shall be linked to Aadhaar, ensuring guaranteed and targeted delivery of services to unique and genuine beneficiaries. It shall greatly help in weeding out duplicate and fake beneficiaries from the system.

The Education Diva

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July 5, 2012

A woman of multifarious capabilities, an educationist, a visionary and also a successful entrepreneur, Sudha Gupta, Chairperson of Mother’s Pride Pre-School and Presidium Senior Secondary School endeavoured to evolve a novel definition of education during her journey through life
By Sheena Joseph Cherian, Sharmila Das, and Mansi Bansal

Daughter of an NCERT professor, Sudha Gupta used to find solace in the NCERT campus libraries. The campus was her home for 17 long years. From there, the ardour for education came naturally to her. The entrepreneurial hat was not crown her until the year 1990, when to her chagrin she found that the standard of her son’s school was not up to the mark.
That is when she decided that she must do something in the early education space. She did some research and approached Vinita Kaul who was then heading the NCERT, Early Child Education Department. Benefiting hugely from the insights she got from Vinita Kaul, Sudha Gupta did her Nursery Teachers Training course and came up with Mother’s Pride in 1996.
Sudha Gupta pursued her B.Ed from Jamia Miliya Islamia (1987) and Post Graduation in Mathematics from Delhi University (1986).
Today an eminent personality in the education space, Sudha Gupta reminisces about her long journey with these words, “I started Mother’s Pride in Paschim Vihar in 1996 with a small setup of three rooms and a very few students. I stressed on the needs of this age group, their emotional, physical and social capabilities, how they learn, and so on. So I created something which was very different from what other play schools had”.

USP that sets Mother’s Pride apart
The present early child education domain is crowded with a slew of preschools in every nook and corner of the country, but Mother’s Pride has managed to carve niche for itself and endear itself to the community of discerning parents because of its unwavering focus on quality education. The school has a system in place for constantly upgrading the quality of learning. There is a customised teaching/ learning methodology in place and the teachers are highly trained and motivated.
Mrs. Gupta says, “Very early on I realised the importance of having an extraordinary manpower. You can have dreams, you can fix a target, but to make it a reality, you need to have a team of highly talented people. You have to develop, nurture and motivate the team. Basically you have to have the talent for managing people. We have 2500 people + 1500 helpers working at Mother’s Pride. Everybody is so well connected and we all are marching ahead together for the transformation and for the achievement of the goals of the organisation”.
To inspire its sizeable workforce of teachers iwith the school’s vision, Mother’s Pride designed The Knowledge Tree – an in-house training academy for teachers. Mother’s Pride is the first of its kind of school to introduce a ball room and a doll room for little ones. They were the first to bring computers or oddlers as well. 16 years back this was quite an innovation; people used to ask whether there is any need for computers for three year old kids. However Mrs Gupta could see the real benefit behind this and she recalls “Children used to enjoy a lot as what they used to learn in the classrooms, could now be done with computers.”
Besides computers, bright colours and cartoons in the classroom ambiance did its magic too. An interactive learning infrastructure was also put in place. Eventually parents too were delighted with the end result. For Sudha Gupta that was the initial milestone achieved. The ed-entrepreneur was getting wonderful responses from the parent community and by that time she knew that Mother’s Pride can expand its footprint further. With this vision they started looking for likeminded souls to partner with and become franchisees. The entire Mother’s Pride schools are operated by the Franchise Owned Company Operated (FOCO) model.

The three mantras
Mother’s Pride has three mechanisms in its curriculum. They are: life skills, academics, and talent. Mrs. Gupta believes that for the betterment of life these three components are critical for enabling the students to grow up into successful and happy individuals. She explains, “Who we are today as a successful, happy individual is not only because of the knowledge that we have, but because of the life skills as well. A positive attitude, courage, decision-making skills, good communication and expression – each element is more important than the academic knowledge that you might have.”

Challenges
A journey is not acomplished if the traveller has not overcome any challenge. Sudha Gupta fought two such challenges. As she says in her words, “If I look back, there had been two challenges: firstly, finding the good manpower so that you are free to follow your own dreams. Second, aligning your own goals with that of the parents whose children you are teaching. Are we focusing on the score card of the children at the cost of neglecting the self expression of the child? Are we putting too much pressure on the child?Are we ensuring that the child does not feel depressed? We need to take all this into account and create a balance. Along with the training of teachers, I have created a parallel line – parenting. I created the concept of positive parenting and me and my team work closely with a lot with the parents”.

Presidium, the school for future leaders
Setting up Presidium, a school devoted to creating the leaders of tomorrow was a natural progression for Mrs. Sudha Gupta. Today in just five years, Presidium has five brances, more than 15,000 students and is the fastest- growing educational institution in Delhi-NCR.

Venturing into higher education
Already known as a trendsetter in the pre-school segment of the country, Mother’s Pride today wants to enter the higher education space too. Sudha Gupta says, “Education doesn’t endwith the 12th standard. Higher education is the natural progression. There are lots of institutions that are doing well. I don’t intend to compete with them;my dream is to set up an institute for creating entrepreneurs. As far as Presidium and Mothers Pride are concerned, I want to expand it to as much as I can in the country and way beyond”.
We wish all the best in her future endeavour.

Our Classrooms are Designed Keeping ICT in Mind”

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July 5, 2012

www.asiapacific.edu

Asia-Pacific Institute of Management (AIM) intends to provide cutting edge knowledge to students. A K Shrivastava, Chairman, AIM, in conversation with Sheena Joseph Cherian, provides his views on various methodologies that the institute is adopting to stay ahead in a highly competitive education domain

Asia-Pacific Institute of Management is ranked amongst the top Business Schools in the country. What are the most significant achievements of the institute?
The AIM is ranked amongst the top Business schools in the country. There have been many significant achievements in the past few years at AIM. The institute has been graced with visits by distinguished leaders like Dr Pranab Mukherjee, Dr Kiran Bedi, U K Sinha, Lord Meghnand Desai, Ela Gandhi to name a few. Our corporate network has been strong enough to facilitate 100 percent placement of our students. The alumni are well-placed at top-notch companies with excellent paypackages. AIM has been successful in driving its 3Is (Institute, Industry, Interface) initiative. The CCR team has been a hub
of corporate activities, it maintains a close relationship with corporates through Guest-lectures, business-meets, conclaves etc. The faculty of AIM is called “Think Tanks and Assets”, who hold diverse and rich experience both in industry and academia. The students have been actively participating at various fronts, both national and international. Our recent addition: Takshila-the MDP Centre of Excellence, has been a significant move in the direction of trainings and development for the corporate sectors.

Our new addition, Takshila-the MDP Centre of Excellence, has been a significant move in the direction of trainings and development for the corporate sectors

The Centre for Corporate Relations (CCR) is the hub of activities, which drive the 3-I (Institute-Industry-Interface) initiative. Can you elaborate on the companies that the college has been associated with?
The Institute has maintained its linkages with many corporate giants like NTPC, Powergrid, IFFCO, Indian Oil, IRCTC, IDBI, ICICI Bank, NHPC, NMDC, BHEL, SAIL, Muthoot, Federal Bank, CITI, VIP Industries, Hero Moto Corp, etc. Many corporates from diverse industries have employed our students, including IDBI, ICICI Bank, American Express, Federal Bank, CITI Bank, Reliance Securities, Safte Express, Daink Jagran, DCM Textiles, VIP Industries, ExtraMarks, Educomp, Indag Rubbers Ltd, IndiaBulls, Magma Fin Corp., Kotak Mahindra Bank, Contract Logistics Pvt Ltd, Hero Moto Corp, Balaji Telefilms, Neurometrix India, Practo technologies, Oxfam, etc.

In terms of student training and placements, what are the companies that the college has been associated with?
AIM has signed agreements in recent past with IDRAC’s International School of Management, France, which broadly covers: Student Exchange Programme and faculty Exchange Programme. AIM has also recently made a major impact for globalising the education by signing MOU wide Grant MacEwan University, Canada. The students from IDRAC France visit AIM every year to spend an academic term in the programme. PGDM-International Business and our students have also been visiting IDRAC, France, every year.

What have been the measures taken to ensure that the course material being imparted at the Institute is updated with the latest requirements?
AIM is one of the very few institutes, which revise their course-curriculum, every year. The expert-review meeting for every year is held, where the panel of experts from Industry and Academia and the faculty members, brainstorm, in order to review the course-curriculum, for each year. The revised curriculum is then presented before the BOG, who finally approves it. Each course outlines are designed and developed keeping in mind the diverse industry requirements and updating.

How has ICTs been incorporated into the educational system at your college? What are your views on the importance of ICTs in education?
During past few years, the use of ICT has fundamentally changed the working of education system. The ultramodern classrooms at AIM have been designed, keeping the significance of ICT in mind. The faculty members use one or the other associated tools for imparting education. The use of LCD projectors, video-conferencing, Simulation techniques etc. is very common. The use of Management games etc. is also a common practice at AIM. The IT-Lab of AIM is the largest in Delhi/NCR. All the students are linked with each other and every faculty members using WiFi facility at campus.
The ICTs play very vital role in education sector these days. Education as a qualitative development is not confined with the classroom structure. The modern tools of ICT, such e-learning, online practices of learning, etc. are in huge demand, keeping in mind the versatile requirement of the corporate world.

Shaping Finest Minds

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July 5, 2012

www.galgotiacollege.edu

Suneel Galgotia, Chairman, Galgotias Educational Institutions, in conversation with Sheena Joseph Cherian, provides his views on the university’s initiatives in shaping the nation’s educational landscape

What differentiates Galgotias University from other universities?
Galgotias University has been founded with a vision to create and perpetuate
a thinking ecosystem for the education of outstanding students so as to enlarge their thinking and imagination, so that they emerge intellectually, socially and spiritually as evolved global leaders.
When we started Galgotias Educational Institutions, we had one clear objective: that we would create institutions, and not mere organisations. While both institutions and organisations need great human and physical infrastructure, what distinguishes an institution from an organisation is that an institution is an edifice built on the foundation of a better thought and deeper value system.
The mission of Galgotias University is to enable the finest student and faculty bodies to learn together, through the most evolved education processes in an atmosphere of rigour and discipline. Every effort is made, to evolve a culture of learning excellence, which emerges from and integrates with real life industry, science and commerce processes.

What global advantages is Galgotias University bringing to India?
We have put a number of global level academic building blocks into place to ensure that Galgotias University serves as a beacon of excellence for all to emulate for generations to come.
First, we firmly believe that only the finest minds can shape the finest minds of the future, for life. That is why Galgotias University’s global-level faculty comprises finest academic minds drawn from top international universities, like Purdue University, Georgia Tech, Oakland, Arkansas State University & National University Singapore.
Secondly, to augment our quest for academic excellence, we have put in place a basket of international pedagogies right from the beginning. These bring out the best in every student and enable students to maximise their potential. One of these is the Fully Flexible Credit System that enables Galgotias University students to pursue liberal arts subjects like music, fine art and theatre along with disciplines such as engineering and management, in line with students’ talents and interests. This makes sure that students are able to pursue their ambitions as well as their passions in a balanced manner, so as to develop as complete human beings.

What building blocks enable Galgotias to get 100 percent placements?
Continuing with the academic building blocks, Galgotias industry-led syllabus enables comprehensive student training, industry-relevant project support, industry visits and internships, handson technical and soft skills training. Extensive interaction with domain experts ensures the absolute job-readiness of each student. The power and relevance of industry-led syllabi drive academic excellence among the Galgotias faculty and students thereby enabling industry leaders to recruit at Galgotias year after year. Industry and media surveys reveal placements of 100 percent every year. Key recruiters like Infosys are recruiting in ever-greater numbers every year because of their huge growth in the quality of Galgotias students.

How important is research and development at Galgotias University?
We have empowered our students with the power of thinking quotient, the art of experiential learning and skills to learn continuously for life. This is supported with Galgotias University’s research-driven education, huge laboratory infrastructure and dedicated research-oriented faculty with a proven track record of instilling a research culture in the students body right from year one. Stress is laid upon producing cutting-edge innovation and applying learning practically, to serve industry and society. NASA has recognised Galgotias’ talent by selecting the Moon-Buggy designed by Galgotias student for permanent exhibit at the NASA Marshall Space Centre, Huntsville, Alabama, USA. What is even more credit worthy that NASA has selected Galgotias among five Universities from across the globe and Galgotias is the only private university to be selected from India.

We have put a number of global level academic building blocks into place to ensure that Galgotias University serves as a beacon of excellence for all to emulate for generations to come

How do you ensure quality in terms of student enrolment as well as quality faculty?
Galgotias University has emerged as the institution of choice for high calibre students pursuing higher studies. We are working today, so that through each student, the thought seed of our tomorrow is nurtured well to ensure that tomorrow’s India realises its potential, to become a great nation state. To ensure this we take students of good merit only, like in the case of engineering, students with less than 85 percent in PCM do not qualify for admission at Galgotias University.
High quality intake applies to the faculty too. The basic qualification for teaching here is a PhD, so that even first year students are taught by PhD level faculty who have studied and taught in institutions of excellence across the world. All faculty have to be the best in their respective fields and from the finest academic institutions of the world, so as to embody world-best educational practises and a never-before learning experience for the students.

Texas Instruments Launches New Range of Scientific Calculators

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July 5, 2012

Texas Instruments (TI) has announced the launch of its new range of scientific calculators in India – TI 36 XPro, TI-36X II, TI-30XS MultiView and TI 30XII S. Participating in the programme, “Promoting Mathematics using echnology,” organised by TI, Dr D Purandeswari, Minister of State for Human Resource Development (Higher Education), Government of India, formally released four models of TI’s advanced line of scientific calculators in India. Dr Peter Balyta, General Manager, Sales & Marketing, Education Technology, Texas Instruments Asia, was also present at the occasion. TI announced that Statworks India Pvt Ltd will be the distributor for scientific calculators in India. An agreement to this effect was signed by Dr Peter Balyta, General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Education Technology, TI Asia and anesthesia Bala subramaniam, Managing Director, Statworks India. The TI scientific calculators feature a high quality MultiView display, MathPrint capability and enhanced analytical functions, all of which are best suited for the needs of engineering, science and commerce students. From basic calculations to sophisticated 2-variable statistics, conversions, regression analysis and scientific data plotting, TI’s scientific calculators provide a range of functionalities for subjects like engineering, general mathematics, algebra, trigonometry and statistics. With these calculators, students will have more tools for learning and exploring mathematics and science concepts. They will also enable students to determine the numeric derivative and integral for real functions. Users can also perform oneand two-variable analysis, and display six different regression models.

The Education Successor

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July 5, 2012

www.lpu.in

Ashok Mittal, Chairman, Lovely Professional University (LPU) is a visionary who wants to bring back the traditional education values to modren pedagogy. In an interview with Sharmila Das, he talks about role of ICT in filling the gaps in education

What was the inspiration behind the launch of the Lovely Professional University?
India had been the epicentre of learning thousands of yearsago. Taxila, alanda, Vikramshila enjoyed the status of premium seats of knowledge and education and attracted scholars from far and wide. Unfortunately, we failed to retain the knowledge as these Universities faded into oblivion. The pivotal inspiration behind the launch of this University is to bring back the glorious past of India in the realm of higher education, and recreate the magic of Taxila University in context of present times. We are inspired by the great heights of learning achieved by these Universities in various disciplines like medicine, mathematics, astronomy etc. and want to bring back the status that India enjoyed as the “Knowledge Capital” of the world. On an optimistic note, I declare that we are well on the course to establish ourselves as higher education giants, and will break into the top 50 Universities of the world in next 10 years.

What steps has the institute taken to embrace ICT in its education system? What benefits has the institute experienced?
The University has arranged a multi-faceted digital podium that features an IT-based University Management System, Learning Management System, Wi-Fi Campus, Electronic Surveillance System and many others. We have an extensive ERP programme put in place which is used as a common platform for almost all of the official communication and interactions – whether administrative or related to teaching (between the students and the teachers). Every single student and teacher has his/her own intranet account in the University, where all the information of his relevance is dispensed. Right from the morning, the students and the teachers hook on to the ERP pedestal – the daily attendances are registered online, notes are uploaded (by teachers) and downloaded (by students), the students post their queries online to which the teachers respond via the same software. Not only this, the performance of all students is assessed online as their scores are displayed on the intranet, all important notices and information is also shared online. Records such as availed/pending leaves, salary, daily assignments, work progress chart, etc. are recorded online. This helps the students/employees/management to have crystal clear, transparent and easily decipherable information to plan for their charted work and execute their duties and responsibilities in a more efficient fashion.

How ERP is indispensable for the overall functioning of your institute?
Given the scale of operations of the University (25000+ students and nearly 600 faculty members), and a deep penetration of ITC deployment in majority of working domains of the same, ERP becomes more than just being indispensable. ERP is the backbone of lion’s share of execution and monitoring undertaken by various level of management hierarchy and we feel that it is virtually impossible to run not just special projects, but daily affairs of the University in the absence of ERP solutions that we have put in place.

What do you think about STEM Education in India?
In India, we are fortunate to have an academic culture in schools that helps in providing a constant supply of good students with high aptitude in academic disciplines of Science, Technology, engineering and mathematics. But to be fair in all means, we still lack the required level of inputs at the end of education providers or for that matter, say entire education system that can help us to extract the benefits to their potential. STEM Education in India has taken roots, but it has not penetrated that deep.

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