Education Industry to witness a heavy influx of investments

K-12

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July 26, 2011

Education industry is one of the booming and the most evolving economic sectors in India. With over 1 million schools providing education from K-12 (kindergarten – Class 12) to over 200 million students, the government spending on the sector is expected to rise in the 11th five year plan.

According to the recent survey by ASSOCHAM, Private Equity (PE) and venture capitalists (VC) firms are likely to invest Rs 4,500 crore in the education sector over the next three years. The booming education sector in India has opened a wide playground for Private Equity (PE) and venture capitalists (VC). PE investment in the education sector has increased from $129 million in 2009 to $183 million in 2010.

Testament to the growth opportunities in the education sector is the recent investment of $ 15 million from Fidelity Growth partners India (FGPI) in Classteacher Learning Systems. Classteacher Learning Systems, a pioneer in educational content solutions in the country, is one of the leading entities to promote the new face of education. The investment will be used to further the company's product portfolio and strengthen Classteacher's role as an organization that combines technology and innovation as part of its commitment to education.

HP adds two Indian organisations to its global HP Catalyst program

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 26, 2011

HP has announced the addition of two Indian organizations, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University and Learning Links Foundation to its global HP Catalyst Initiative. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University joins the Measuring Learning consortium while Learning Links Foundation joins the newly formed STEM-preneur consortium, which will explore novel ways to combine science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education with the skills and passion of entrepreneurship. They will each receive more than US$150,000 in technology, cash, and professional services from HP.

This year, 21 additional organizations from 12 countries are joining the HP Catalyst network of leading institutions transforming STEM teaching and learning worldwide. The HP Catalyst consortia are focused on a range of issues, from teacher preparation and student-driven learning models to student assessment. Each consortium is tasked with investigating how emerging technologies can fuel learning experiences that inspire students and promote creative thinking, open-ended problem-solving and cross-cultural collaboration.

“Social entrepreneurship is increasingly becoming a critical area of focus in developing countries. These organizations were chosen to be part of our HP Catalyst Initiative as they demonstrate in-depth expertise in STEM based learning approaches that combine global theory with local entrepreneurship best practices, knowledge and resource use”, said Jeannette Weisschuh, Director- Education, Office of Global Social Innovation, HP.

The six HP Catalyst research themes are The Multi-Versity, Pedagogy 3.0, Global Collaboratory, The New Learner, Measuring Learning, and the new STEM-preneur. The new STEM-preneur consortium will be led by a team of distinguished faculty from Tsinghua University, School of Economics and Management (SEM) Department of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

NIIT Receives World Education Awards 2011

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 26, 2011

ICT enabled Learning Solutions by NIIT received commendation at World Education Awards 2011 – India's premier awards for global initiatives and excellence in field of education, at a ceremony held on July 14, 2011 in New Delhi. The event brought together national and international government organisations, private enterprises, civil society and developmental organizations in India and abroad, who have transformed educational practices into a sustainable social enterprise through innovation and leadership.

NIIT's unique skills development project in KwaZulu Natal (KZN), Republic of South Africa, was recognised as the 'Best Vocational and Skills Initiative of the Year' in the Government Initiatives segment. NIIT NGuru's Mobile Science Lab, an innovative learning solution which integrates IT-led Science Lab with classrooms, received the 'Best Innovation in Science Education of the Year' award. NIIT Imperia, Center for Advanced Learning, was recognised for providing the 'Best Training to Working Professionals'.

Commenting on the achievement, P Rajendran, COO, NIIT said “These awards are recognition of NIIT's commitment towards creating and delivering innovative learning solutions which make a powerful impact on the society. Governments, customers and students have experienced the zeal at NIIT to innovate for a better tomorrow. ”

NIIT collaborated with the provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, to empower the youth by launching an ICT skill development project in the region. NIIT set up learning centres of excellence in the region, using Global Education Delivery model with best practices as case studies. The programme also has the unique feature of providing students Industry Internship in India and Africa, to give them hands-on industry experience. This program shall directly impact 10,000 youth learners over five years, with select students sent to India for Internship.

NIIT NGuru's Mobile Science Lab is a portable laboratory that revolutionizes the way Science is taught and learnt. The Lab makes teaching and learning of Science interactive, interesting and enjoyable, by fostering higher order thinking skills like question posing, inquiry, scientific thinking in students and also enhances their confidence.

Mobile Science Lab is also equipped with all standard applications such as internet access, word processing, spreadsheets and e-mail to help students tabulate, record and share their observations during an experiment. The World Education Awards felicitate and acknowledge unique and innovative initiatives in the field of education globally.

IGNOU to set up Sign language research centre

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 25, 2011

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, will establish country's first Indian Sign Language Research & Training Centre (ISLRTC) at the campus of the university to promote the use of Indian Sign Language (ISL) in India, announced Prof. V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai, VC, IGNOU.

The Centre will start functioning with training programmes making use of the existing facilities and availing national and international experts in the field with effect from 1st September, 2011.

The broad objectives of the centre is to carry out research in ISL and create linguistic record/analysis of the language, promote research on bilingual approach in education of Deaf Children, train persons in Sign linguistics and other related areas at various levels.

There are 35 academic posts created for the Centre. The Centre will be established with 100 percent funding from the Ministry and as per terms and conditions set out in this order. Estimated cost of construction of the Centre's building and equipment is Rs.20.00 crore and Rs 5.00 crore respectively. Administrative approval for construction of building and purchase of equipment will be accorded subject to the above ceilings, by IGNOU as per its procedure and by its authorities competent to accord such approval for IGNOU's own projects.

The centre aims to design, promote and offer programmes in ISL, interpreting and bilingual education, at various levels through various modes including the distance mode.

It will develop and offer courses aimed at training teachers to teach ISL, develop and create resources for use in teaching of ISL to children, parents, teachers and the general public; facilitate educational use of ISL in special schools as the first language or medium of instruction and in mainstream schools as a second language or as interpreter mediated language of classroom communication.

The centre will provide guidance in innovative education methodology for institutions providing education to the deaf. It will collaborate with other institutions and organizations of the deaf to promote and propagate ISL and also with Universities and other educational institutions in India and abroad in sign language research, deaf studies, and related areas.

To produce and promote visual material in ISL story telling of both Indian and global literature and deafness related issues, the centre will create and promote literature in and about ISL to facilitate print and visual media in promoting the use of ISL. Such an activity will foster the development of Deaf identity and culture and to act as a clearing house of information on ISL, deafness, education of the hearing impaired and related areas.

IGNOU has been offering programmes in Sign Language including a B.A. in Applied Sign Language sponsored by U.K-India Education Research Initiative (UKIERI) for the last 3-years. This is the first of its kind in the country.

In India, most sign language tutors have no formal qualification, and most teachers in schools for the deaf do not have any sign language qualification. In this context, the Staff Training and Research Institute in Distance Education (STRIDE) at IGNOU and the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), the United Kingdom, worked together to systematically develop new approaches to distance education in the sign language medium.

One of the key achievements of this U.K.-India Education Research Initiative (UKIERI) was the launch of IGNOU's BA programme in Applied Sign Language. IGNOU started this programme in 2009. Now there are three batches with learners from India, Africa, China, Nepal and Malaysia. For the first time, deaf students in India are able to access university education through the medium of sign language and gain an academic qualification with a dual award from U.K and India.

Ravi Jagannathan to head Advisory Council at BSE Training Institute Ltd

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 25, 2011

BSE Training Institute Ltd. has announced that Dr Ravi Jagannathan will head the advisory council set up to supervise all matters related to BTIL's teaching, research and educational programs. The advisory council will continuously examine global best practices in education and help the BSE Training Institute adopt these practices.

Dr Ravi Jagannathan is the John F. Sandner Professor of Finance and Co-Director of the Financial Institutions and Markets Research Center of the Kellog School of Management.

In addition to Dr. Ravi Jagannathan, the advisory council will also consist of the following members:

Dr. Rangarajan Sundaram “Raghu” faculty Department of Finance, New York University's Stern School of Business

Dr. Viral Acharya faculty Department of Finance, New York University's Stern School of Business

Dr. Mahadevan Sundaresan “Suresh” Professor of Financial Institutions, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University

Dr. Mukund Rajan – Managing Partner, Tata Opportunities Fund

Dr. Ajit Ranade – Chief Economist at the Aditya Birla Group

Dr. Urjit Patel – President, Business Development, Reliance Industries Ltd.

Dr. Gangadhar Darbha – Executive Director & Head, Algorithmic Trading Strategies, Global Markets, Nomura Structured Finance

According to Ambarish Datta, MD and CEO of the BSE Training Institute Ltd., “Our aim is not just to create a talent pool, but one that is employable and at par with that produced by world class institutions. That is why we have put together an advisory council consisting of the brightest minds from the world of academics and industry. This council will guide us not only maters related our curriculum and delivery but also help us in building centers of excellence in various areas of specialization and in cutting research in the domain of financial markets.”

Bharath University introduces Digital Library to enable easy access to information

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 24, 2011

Bharath University has introduced Digital Library to provide quality learning experience to the students. The Digital Library houses a variety of books and periodicals and extensive resource materials for students. This will enable students to access articles and white papers across topics.

Considering the evolution of technology in today's scenario, the Digital library has found favor with most of the students in comparison to traditional libraries. Bharath University has tied up with various research database services like Scopus, Infotrac, IEEE and Ebsco to provide access to electronic journals, research papers and a collection of varied articles for students. All the database services provide access to reputed indexed international journals.

Digital libraries with its 'easier to search' options enables students with the information they look in for. Also, the digital library triggers interest in students to do further study and reference through the use of an electronic library.

Commenting on the occasion, Dr. K. P. Thooyamani, Vice-Chancellor, Bharath University said, “Libraries are integral part of college. We have digitized our library to enable students to access the library resources efficiently. Bharat University firmly believes that the proper use of the library will definitely pave a new way in a student's career. Also, access to online journals will help students to learn beyond text books.”

Casio launches Mercury-free 3D projector Series

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 23, 2011

Casio India Company Private Limited has launched mercury lamp-free, high-brightness data projectors. Casio has introduced three top models of its projector series – Short Throw, Pro and Standard models.

M. Naka, Managing Director, Casio India Company said, “Our eco- friendly projectors promise to revolutionize the India market with never before features such as projection in a 3 D format as well as converting the projection screen into an electronic blackboard by mouse operations and writing on the projection screen with the optical interactive pointer to name a few.”

Kulbhushan Seth, Head of Sales and Marketing, Casio India Company Stated, “Protection of the Environment is a major concern today. We at Casio have developed projectors that are environment friendly and use a light source with no mercury lamp to eliminate the release of toxic elements. Speaking further he said, these projectors are targeted to education sector as Casio projectors are compatible with interactive learning where in projectors can be integrated with our mathematics teaching tools furthermore content that can be customized as well based on requirement. With its interactive pointing system makes learning becomes even more interesting”

The new range of projectors includes Standard, Pro Models and Short Throw Models. The price for Standard Series ranges from Rs. 69,995 to Rs. 99,995. The price for Pro- Model Series ranges from Rs. 1, 19,995 to Rs. 1, 34,995. Short Throw projectors are priced from Rs 1, 29,995 to Rs 1, 34,995. The new range of projectors is available at select stores across India.

S P Jain Center of Management Wins Best Higher Education Institute Award at World Education Summit 2011

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 19, 2011

S P Jain Center of Management has won the World Education Awards 2011 for the Best Higher Education Institute for providing Global student exposure Public Choice at the World Education organised by digitalLEARNING Magazine and co-organised by IGNOU.

The World Education Awards is a Premier Global Platform for Education, which has been instituted with the aim of felicitating and acknowledging unique and innovative initiatives in the field of education globally. Nominations are invited from schools, higher education institutions, vocational training institutions, government organizations, non-governmental organizations, private institutions and enterprises across the globe engaged in the field of education. The core objective of the awards is to recognize and encourage institutions, organizations, projects, programmes, initiatives etc in the field of education from all over the world, To identify and popularise best/emerging/effective models, projects, programmes, initiatives in education all over the world and felicitate a project/programme/initiative that exemplifies the kind of implementation that can be easily replicated and at the same time proves efficient and sustainable in the implementing process.

S P Jain Center of Management is a premier global B-School located in Dubai, Singapore and upcoming in Sydney. S P Jain thus has a strong foothold in the Asia-Pacific region. The core philosophy of S P Jain is their innovative pedagogy and industry relevant curriculum, which helps students prepare for a global career.

Stellar Phoenix launches advance Mail Recovery tool

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 18, 2011

Stellar Data Recovery has announced the release of Stellar Phoenix Mail Recovery v1.0 to restore back corrupt, inaccessible and deleted emails. Stellar Phoenix Mail Recovery will repair and recover corrupt, formatted, lost or deleted emails and attachments from Email clients 'Thunderbird' and 'The Bat'.

On the launch of an all-new utility, Sunil Chandna

NIIT collaborates with IBM for career education projects

Corporate Updates

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 6, 2011

NIIT has collaborated with IBM to offer experiential learning to early professionals ready to join the IT industry.

NIIT and IBM have collaborated to provide students with projects based on real-world requirements faced by organizations and are designed by IBM experts with vast experience in enterprise software development. The students will develop these projects based on the methodology as practiced by the industry today. As part of this collaboration, NIIT will train and enable the students at its centers, providing them with the required skills training and mentoring throughout the project duration. IBM experts will evaluate the completed projects and provide certificates to successful students.

For students, this collaboration presents an opportunity to gain from the tacit knowledge and experience of the best industry practitioners and helps them acquire industry-ready skills that will enhance their job prospects and give them the required edge in their career.

“We are pleased to strengthen our partnership with IBM through project offerings. Projects are crucial in providing real world experiential learning to young professionals to make them day one industry ready. This partnership with IBM is a continuation of NIIT's endeavor to give students an edge through industry relevant training” says Anuradha S Boxwala, Senior Vice President, NIIT Ltd. “With this collaboration, companies can now look forward to hiring talent with a blend of IT knowledge and best in industry practices.”

There are currently 3.4 lakh Engineering (IT) students in India. However, the lack of real world project exposure becomes an impediment for many of these students when they start their career. IT companies recruiting the talent are facing huge challenges as they have to spend considerable time and money to train the young talent pool.

“We are delighted to partner with NIIT on our Projects offering through Career Education program. As a part of the Education industry, NIIT understands the value addition of projects in the curriculum to enable young generations to be the workforce of tomorrow. Our Projects are designed with a vision to help students face the real world with confidence, a self belief that is essential for taking the first step towards a successful career” says Himanshu Goyal, Country Manager, IBM Career Education.

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