IGNOU’s Degree of Social Work may get Recognition in US

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February 25, 2012

A US delegation of 16 members headed by Dr Elizabeth Clark, Executive Director, National Association of Social Workers, USA visited Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).

Addressing the delegation, Prof M Aslam, Vice Chancellor, IGNOU stated that Distance Education is a modality that provides immense benefits not only to the learner population but also to the society as a whole. He also expected that Degree of Social Work, IGNOU may be recognized in US and both US and India share their experiences.

Prof Aslam said that Social Work is now a global profession. Social workers have a common core values around the world yet social work may be practiced differently in different countries. Across nations, there may be similarities in social problems, but the focus of concern can differ within borders and within cultures. As a result, competency in social work today requires an understanding of the global context of rights and social justice.

Prof Gracious Thomas, Director, School of Social Work, IGNOU said, “School of Social Work aims to meet the education and training requirements of lifelong learning, particularly in the areas of Social Work and related areas of social intervention. The School has addressed certain select areas of concern in the field of social work, HIV/AIDS, counseling, philanthrophy and correctional Social Work by offering programmes leading to award of certificates, diplomas and degrees”

This delegation of professionals with expertise, experience and interest in social work have been selected to exchange ideas and address common issues with their professional counterparts in India, under the auspices of People to People Ambassador Programs.

It is intended that these exchanges will facilitate increased learning for both the host professionals and for the U.S. delegation, and will contribute to international understanding at the career and personal levels for all.

Single Entrance Test for Under Graduate Science and Engineering admission to come soon

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February 25, 2012

Education Ministers of states will decide on the Centre’s move to hold a single entrance test for admissions to under graduate science and engineering programmes across the country on Wednesday.

According to HRD Minister Kapil Sibal says 11 education boards in the country have unanimously supported the move and the government now intends to seek the views of other boards in this regard.

The proposed entrance test, Indian Science – Engineering Eligibility Test (ISEET), is likely to be conducted in April or May next year and will have two parts — ISEET main and ISEET advance.

MICA unveils Executive Programme in association with Hughes Communications

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February 25, 2012

Hughes Communication India Limited has announced that it has partnered with Mudra Institute of Communications Ahemdabad (MICA) to launch Post Graduate Certification Program on Advertising Management and Public Relations (PGCAMPR).

The one year program will start from April 2012 and will bring together MICA’s reputed faculty to help students across India with course content specific to Public Relations and Advertising to help create a successful marketing and communication professionals tailor-made for the Indian corporate ecosystem.

Using a pragmatic and result-oriented philosophy, MICA professors will employ a variety of teaching methodologies that will include formal lectures, case studies, team and individual presentations, role-play and negotiations, action learning, group-discussions and workshops on specific aspects of communications and creative brief writing. Students will also get to learn and use numerous tactical/implementation modules related to advertising and public relations including consumer behavior, marketing research, digital marketing and media management.

Additionally, the programme provides participants an opportunity to interact with industry thought leaders to get practical perspectives and tips on managing brands. Students will also get opportunities for discussions with professionals and peers from organisations facing a diverse set of brand positioning and marketing communication challenges. In just one year, this intensive programme will aim at filling in the knowledge gaps in essential communication disciplines to facilitate the transition of functional specialists into more all-rounded generalists with a host of general marketing skills.

Speaking on the occasion Rajpreet Singh, Director Marketing and Sales of Hughes Global Education said, “India is the next big battlefield for global public relations and advertising firms when it comes to brand building and marketing. The public relations and advertising scene in India have undergone a metamorphosis both in terms of the hugely diverse audiences and the sheer number of platforms available for dissemination of news, information and corporate messaging. The program aims to develop a strong set of communications and marketing professionals with the skill-sets and ability to plan and execute diverse positioning and communication strategies for brands and organizations.”

Added, Prof Falguni VasavdaOza, Programme Director, Mudra Institute of Communication Ahmedabad, “The specialized one year PGCAMPR programme combines with MICA’s best-in-breed teaching-learning methodologies to equip students with specific communications and advertising insights and learning’s. The focus is on imparting lessons through courseware that includes real life case-studies and practical sessions to ensure that students emerge as skilled professionals, armed with the necessary tools and knowledge to manage brands in the digital-age.”

The PGCAMPR course will be offered through the Interactive Onsite Learning (IOL) platform of Hughes Global Education, a leader in Executive Education in India. The platform seamlessly integrates the strengths and advantages of the traditional method of education with the latest in technology. Using a very powerful interface, Hughes Global Education enables the education community to reach out to students, corporates and working professionals throughout India with highly interactive sessions using video, voice and data.

AllSchoolStuff.com Expands its Senior Management Team

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February 25, 2012

AllSchoolStuff.com has expanded its senior management team to this effect, with the appointment of Sushma Katyar, as Director – Merchandising. Sushma is a veteran of the retail industry and joins AllSchoolStuff.com from Reliance.

Announcing this appointment, Manoj Chandra, Founder and CEO, AllSchoolStuff.com said, “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Sushma. She is an outstanding professional with in-depth knowledge of Retail Supply Chain. As a member of the Senior Management Team, she will play a key role in helping to lead the company through merchandising, right set of product offerings, supply chain and anticipate future challenges as we move ahead to create a dominant brand in India’s $10 billion educational supplies market.

Over the past Four months, since we started, we have created a new brand in the Indian retail environment, providing convenience to hundreds of consumers across the” country, offering over 15000 different school products from leading brands, all under one roof.

Sushma Katyar joins AllSchoolStuff.com from Office Depot Reliance Supply Solutions (P) Ltd., where she served as Category Head – General Office Supplies Category. There she has spent over Four years, being responsible for driving the Merchandising function. Prior to this, she was holding the position of Chief Manager at Reliance Retail. There she was overseeing the growth of the company’s entire stationery vertical across all formats. Also, previously she has headed the merchandising & buying division of Valdel Retail Pvt. Ltd. where she was taking care of multiple categories as furniture, apparels, toys, stationery, books, music, footwear, etc. During her career span of 13 years, she has been holding lead positions across multiple functional areas like Buying, Merchandising, Product Planning and Controlling in challenging Retail and Manufacturing environment.

Accepting the appointment, Sushma Katyar said, “I am pleased to join AllSchoolStuff.com, a first ever online platform for School Supplies. I look forward to experience the next phase of growth of the company which has already witnessed steady growth since its inception.”

CMAT goes Online

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February 25, 2012

The All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has conducted its first online Common Management Aptitude Test (CMAT).

The first ever online common management aptitude test (CMAT) is scheduled to be conducted online in 61 cities from February 20 to February 28 and the scores will be used for admission in the post-graduate management programmes at degree and diploma levels nationally for 2012-13. Of the 70,000 students who registered for the test, maximum are from Pune, Mumbai and Jaipur.

The first session was conducted by the All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) Both the sessions were held without any technical glitches. Aptech Ltd, which had come up with the software for the online test did not receive any complaints from the centres.

SBI to Cut Interest Rates on Education Loans

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February 25, 2012

The State Bank of India (SBI) may reduce interest rates on education loans by up to one percent.

SBI has decided to reduce interest rates on study loans by 0.25 percent to one percent across various maturities at a meeting of its asset, liability committee (Alco) during the weekend reported India Today

For a loan of Rs 4 lakh, interest rates are expected to be reduced by 0.25 percent to 11.75 percent while for loans in the Rs 4 to Rs 7.5 lakh range, interest rate is likely to be cut by one percent to 12.50 percent. For loans above Rs 7.5 lakh, the rate is likely to be lowered by 0.25 percent to 12.25 percent.

SBI is also offering a concession of 0.5 percent on interest rates for loans given to female students.

NIOS Organises International Conference on Integration of Academic Courses with Vocational Education

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February 17, 2012

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) is organising a three day International conference on ‘Integration of Academic Courses with Vocational Education in Secondary Schools’, which was inaugurated by Anshu Vaish, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy in Delhi.

Vocational Education & Training (VET) being one of the key elements of the nation’s education initiative needs to be redefined to make it flexible, relevant, inclusive and sustainable. It is in this context that the NIOS is organising this conference to deliberate upon the impending challenges and issues and develop a framework to establish linkages of skill training through vocational education at secondary school level with emphasis on knowledge base through academic subjects.

The various sessions of the conference centre on the sub-themes of vocational skills and training to empower citizens; designing the curriculum and quality framework to strengthen the impact of vocational courses, use of technology in providing education; developing framework for the Recognition of Prior Learning and development of Assessment and Certification Framework.

Representatives from the Trade and Industry Associations, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Vocational Education Institutes, Educational planners and administrators and international experts in open learning are expected to participate in this conference.

Making Youth Employable with Language Proficiency

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February 17, 2012

Chitra Bhatia
Country Head
Sanako Corporation

Sanako Corporation specialises in language software. The company is redefining the way to learn languages, enhancing communication through high-end teacher-led Interactive language learning platform. Chitra Bhatia, Country Head, Sanako Corporation, in conversation with Pragya Gupta, talks on importance of English Language and company’s outreach for the Indian market. Excerpts:

Please share details about the genesis of Sanako Corporation?

Sanako is the global leader in developing teacher-led language teaching software and modern language labs. Sanako started in 1961 with the name Tandberg as a language lab producer. In 1984, Teleste acquired the educational division of Tandberg and in 1991, Teleste developed the word’s first computer controlled language lab. In 2003, Divace changed its name and launched the new global brand – Sanako.

We have worked closely with our customers for nearly five decades towards a single goal: to enable better speaking, comprehension and communication skills for language learners. We have satisfied customers in over 100 countries and 30,000 classrooms. We already have 1100 class room in India in last one year, which is a significant number for us. We cater to higher education and K-12 segment, with our language lab solutions, be it Indian or international. For example, we are providing solutions for Kashmiri and Tamil at CIL and Chinese and English in ERA B- School.

Our solutions can be used for any teaching and learning languages. At Sanako, we give flexibility to teachers to pick and choose their content. We give the basic content with the flexibility to teachers to add the content. They can even pick up content from You Tube or the latest news paper.

What are the key issues in language education in India?

In India, there is a general trend of focusing only on reading and writing, and not the other important skills of language learning, like speaking and listening, which I see is a major issue. Also we have come across several other issues – like most teachers in India complain that the strength of student is much more as compared to an average class room size in western countries.

One of the most difficult things to do in a large classroom is trying to get the attention of every single student. It lacks an intimacy in students-teacher level. Teachers do not find time to interact personally with students and weaker students do not get personal attention. Nervous students may hesitate even to clear their doubts in front of such a large number of students.

There is also the problem of inadequate space and lack of language learning equipments in the classroom, which does not encourage any fruitful communicative activities like role plays, group discussions and oral presentations. Unless there is a proper and systematic plan, it is going to create havoc in the classroom.

The crucial challenges of language learning can be attributed to non availability of good and trained teachers, lack of good technology infrastructure, and content.

What is the need of language learning in India?

In India, only five percent of Indians understand English. As the links between people across the world grows, there is an increasing need for us to communicate in multilingual and multicultural equation. Knowing one of the world languages such as English becomes an increasingly important skill for an individual who wants to do well in today’s global market.With the IT revolution and most of software and operating system being in English language, a new utility for written and oral communication in English language has emerged. English is said to be the world’s most important language having communicative and educative value.

A typical language lab consists of student desks that are equipped with media players, recorders or PC’s that enable activities in which students can practice their language usage by listening to audio and recording their speech. Every student’s device is connected to a central console that stays with the teacher. Unlike in a traditional classroom, a student does not have to wait his or her turn to interact with the teacher and several students can establish interaction with their teacher simultaneously. This structure facilitates the active participation of students in the learning process and also allows both students and teachers to achieve the maximum amount of practice and usage time with the language they are learning.

How do you reach your customers in India?

In India, we reach our customers through HCL and Everonn. They are our strategic partners who represent us all across India. Beside this, we have smaller partners and region specific channel partners.

Could you elaborate on your plans in India?

Presently, it has been a mandate by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to have a language lab in all the AICTE approved colleges. However, in schools and colleges, it is still not a mandate to have a language labs. In five years, Sanako would like to make the Indian youth more employable by helping them improve their communication skills. We are working towards providing affordable, flexible interactive language learning technology solutions. Teachers training in language learning using technology and developing interactive language content suiting Indian market are among prime goals in our five year plan.

We will be launching cloud based language learning solutions for ‘next gen language learning’, which will help students learn and practice language speaking even after the class. Sanako has launched a product called ‘Sanako speak’ which is a cloud based product.

Besides building global community of language teachers, this can help teachers all across the globe learn from each other and share their knowledge back.

Most teachers in India complain that the strength of student is much more as compared to an average class room size in western countries

Please throw some light on your tie-up with schools and colleges?

We are working with some of the schools and colleges in Delhi, NCR including DPS Vasundara, DPS Ghaziabad, Era Business School, Delhi School of Language and JNU. We have also worked with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore, Central Hindi Training Institute, Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) Mysore, Maharashtra State of Technical Education, Mumbai, Bundelkhand Institute of Technology, Jhansi, Delhi School of Languages, The Cabinet Secretariat Government of India, Banaras Hindu University, Tamil Naidu State Board Schools, Amrita Engineering College, Coimbatore, Handa College of Education, Jammu, International School of Business and Media.

Who are other players in this segment? What are the distinctive features of Sanako?

We see Oreli Technosystems, ETNL – eTail Networks Limited, WordsWorth and Robotel as our competitors. We at Sanako offer Interactive Language Learning Environment. Our solutions are affordable and licensing system is flexible. Our latest technological solutions enable round table discussion for advanced learners and offer advanced tools for better results.

Sanako’s solution features – multi-user collaboration, Sanako study examination module, Sanako study video live module, homework automation, subtitling, screen transfer with audio and marker tool, white board, remote access, and control of student PCs. They also include voting and live feedback, adjustable thumbnails in separate windows, hybrid labs, hardware labs and cloud computing.

Samsung Announces Hope Project to Spread Education to Underprivileged Children

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February 17, 2012

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has announced the launch of it Samsung HOPE Project, which aims to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children by providing them quality education. Samsung aims to reach out to children across 100 villages in Tamil Nadu through Aid India, its selected partner and in Delhi /Uttar Pradesh through SMILE Foundation. Consumers too will get an opportunity to participate in this educational initiative and support this movement. For every Galaxy Note sold in the period between February and June 2012, Samsung will contribute Rs 100 towards supporting the selected projects.

“The Samsung HOPE Project that we are launching today is aligned with our Global Hope for Children program that seeks to bring attention to the worldwide need for childhood education and healthcare. Through the Samsung Hope Project, not only do we aim to provide good quality education to under privileged children, but also create an environment which is conducive to their overall growth and development. By using modern teaching methods and available technology, our objective is to ensure that children are encouraged to go to schools and are mainstreamed. We are pleased to partner with Aid India and Smile Foundation and are confident that together we will be able to make a difference”, states B D Park, President and CEO, South West Asia HQ and Managing Director , Samsung India Electronics Pvt Ltd.

Samsung had constituted a high profile jury to evaluate and select partners for this program. The jury was headed by Dr Raghunath A Mashelkar, former Director General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and currently the President of Indian National Science Academy (INSA); Arun Kapur , Executive Director of Learn Today, Kishor A Chaukar, Managing Director of Tata Industries Limited (TIL), Anu Aga , Director on Board of Thermax Group and Anand Nayak Executive VP , HR from ITC Ltd. The Jury carefully scrutinized and evaluated all the nominations received and selected AID India and SMILE Foundation as the Partners for this initiative, based on the HOPE Project guidelines.

To strengthen the program and create consumer support for the movement, Samsung will contribute Rs 100 from the sales of every Galaxy Note sold in the period between February – June 2012. “Our objective is to promote the cause of education for children as widely as possible and encourage more people to join this movement. So while Samsung India will support the Project through the sales of its flagship Galaxy Note, consumers can even support our partners directly and make the Program stronger,” states Ranjit Yadav, Country Head-Mobile & IT, Samsung Electronics.

Edexcel, WLCI to Address Skills Gap for Employability among Indian Youth

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February 17, 2012

Edexcel, a Pearson company and United Kingdom’s largest awarding body for academic and vocational qualifications, and WLCI, one of the largest professional training institutions in India, announced a strategic partnership that would provide WLCI students an opportunity to access BTEC Higher National Diploma (BTEC HND) in Fashion, Graphic Design and Advertising, Media and Business Management.

These programmes are expected to create a completely job ready, skilled talent pool that addresses the needs of employers. On completion of BTEC HND Programme, students can opt to pursue careers or further enhance their knowledge by pursuing Advanced Degree Programmes. The other significant advantages of international certification are the global recognition, opening of doors for further education abroad and overseas employment for Indian students.

Ranu Kawatra, President and CEO, Pearson Education said, “We are extremely pleased to be working with WLCI and we believe it will become one of the most high-profile partnerships. Having an Edexcel BTEC certification whether achieved abroad or through quality assured institutions in India always bestows a high standard to a student. It is proof of a level of skill benchmarked to international standards and opens up a lot of avenues for students in India and abroad. There are broad ranges of Edexcel BTEC certification available in a variety of areas and at every level. Students can study for Edexcel BTEC certifications in traditional areas like, Fashion Design, Advertising, Graphic Design, Media etc., now students can choose from all these areas, obtain recognised certification and get ready for a career.

The Principal of Wigan & Leigh College UK, Cath Hurst, OBE, who is presently on a visit to WLCI said “WLCI and Wigan & Leigh College, UK have been academic partners for over 16 years. The industry oriented curriculum, systems and processes used by WLCI for training have enabled WLCI students to excel professionally. The WLCI and Edexcel partnership will help further enhance the quality of our delivery”

Speaking on the occasion, Malobika Sengupta, CEO, WLCI, said “Our alliance with Edexcel would help us benchmark our programmes with the international standards and enable our students to access further education opportunities with international universities.”

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