Project Management Certification (PMP) exam is a globally recognised and a most respected certification offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI), which addresses all the major requirements of project managers in communication management, integration, quality, cost, human resources, risk and time. Symbiosis International University, Pune has a reputation for being a premier private university with its domain spread over the entire gamut of higher studies. MBA in Symbiosis is a coveted feature in the management arena and is perhaps a hot spot for MBA in Pune. Symbiosis' IT
IGNOU to organise workshop
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), discipline of Psychology of School of Social Sciences (SOSS) will soon organise a workshop on the Rorschach Inkblot Test Administration and Scoring (Exner Method). The practitioners of psychology do have an idea about this test but lack the necessary expertise in terms of scoring and interpretation. This workshop will provide an opportunity to develop an in depth knowledge about the test, develop necessary skill required in administration, scoring and interpretation of this test. The eligibility for participation is MA Psychology. The last date for registration is May 21. “Inkblot test is a psychodiagnostic test used in clinical setting for diagnosis and differential diagnosis. It is a projective test of personality in which a subject's interpretations of ten standard abstract designs are analysed as a measure of emotional and intellectual functioning and integration. “Various techniques of scoring the Rorschach inkblot test may be used. In the present workshop the Exner Comprehensive System of scoring Rorschach Inkblot will be covered,” said Dr Suhas Shetgovekar, reader, Discipline of Psychology, IGNOU.
Centum U announces admissions for academic year 2011 – 2012
Centum U, an initiative of Centum Learning – a Bharti Associate company, announced admissions for its academic session 2011-2012. Centum U, through its four campuses in New Delhi, Pune, Mohali and Hyderabad offers UG and PG programmes aimed at creating employable workforce for the country by converging professional skills with formal degrees. Students, at Centum U, acquire CCIE (Centum Certificate for Industry Employability) along with formal degrees, to be job-ready from day one. This certificate equips individuals with professional education & training, thereby addressing the macro-level challenge of manpower requirements for service sectors like Banking & Financial Services, Hospitality, Media & Entertainment, Automobile, Retail etc. Elaborating on CCIETM, Mr. Sanjeev Duggal, CEO and Executive Director, Centum Learning said, “While there are many job opportunities available in the service sector, about two million graduates and half a million postgraduates are unemployed in India at any point of time. Industry specific skills and domain knowledge are the need of the hour. The CCIETM or a workforce certification is designed to equip students with skills, aptitude & competencies needed to succeed in professional roles. As a Bharti Associate Company with immense expertise in the learning and development domain, we'll leverage our association with other group companies like Airtel, Bharti Wal Mart etc and our strong corporate connect to develop industry oriented curriculum, facilitate interaction with industry stalwarts and provide quality internships and placements. Our unique position & experience across 19 countries enables Centum U to offer its students adequate exposure to industry.” The workforce certification programme, which is offered with every formal degree programme, is delivered in two phases, a start up camp where students undertake an intensive industry immersion module in a sector of their interest like Banking, Telecom, Hospitality, Media & Entertainment etc. In the second phase of Industry Apprenticeship, students, under the guidance of an industry mentor, apply theoretical learning in a corporate environment, prepares reports and make presentations to the industry. Besides, the formal degree programmes include courses like Full time On campus MBA from IGNOU, MBA and BBA from Coventry University, UK and Graduate Programme in Media and Entertainment in association with Subhash Ghai's Whistling Woods International (WWI). The students at Centum U also have an option of pursuing their last semester at WWI (for Centum U's media courses) and the final year at Coventry University, UK subject to fulfillment of certain conditions.
Workshop on Rorschach Inkblot Test at IGNOU
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), discipline of Psychology of School of Social Sciences (SOSS) will soon organize a workshop on the Rorschach Inkblot Test Administration and Scoring (Exner Method). The practitioners of psychology do have an idea about this test but lack the necessary expertise in terms of scoring and interpretation. This workshop will provide an opportunity to develop an in depth knowledge about the test, develop necessary skill required in administration, scoring and interpretation of this test. The eligibility for participation is MA (Psychology). The last date for registration is 20th May, 2011. “The Rorschach inkblot test is a psychodiagnostic test used in clinical setting for diagnosis and differential diagnosis. It is a projective test of personality in which a subject's interpretations of ten standard abstract designs are analyzed as a measure of emotional and intellectual functioning and integration. Various techniques of scoring the Rorschach inkblot test may be used. In the present workshop the Exner Comprehensive System of scoring Rorschach Inkblot will be covered,” said Dr. Suhas Shetgovekar, Reader, Discipline of Psychology, IGNOU.
130 schools in Chandigarh participate for IGNOU quiz contest
Defying the scorching heat, a record 130 teams representing various city schools from Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula came all smiling at IGNITE 2011, a mutli-city, inter-school quiz contest organized by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) at the Chandigarh City Museum and Art Gallery. The contest ended with winners from Bhavan Vidyalaya (Surya Karan Sambyal and Kushaan Dosajh) while Pranav Kumar and Amanat Kang of DPS-Chandigarh were the runners-up in the event. Addressing the students, Chief Guest Dr. Asha Sharma, Regional Director of IGNOU, said that, “IGNOU is promoting school education where the stress is being given to enhance teacher training in schools. The idea of such events is to ignite students' interest in higher education and make them aware of the Open and Distance Learning System. IGNOU has a plethora of vocational and job-oriented programmes that cater to the students ready to join the college.” The quiz, hosted by the quizmaster Mr. Adittya Mobayi, started with a written elimination round of 20 questions in which all the students present in the hall were asked to participate. Out of these, six teams were selected for the next and final round. The final contest comprised of six rounds of questions, including one round on music and another on visuals. A few questions were put to the audience and those who gave correct answers were also rewarded with prizes. The winners got individual trophy, a school trophy, book vouchers and a gift hamper each, while the runners-up got individual trophies, book vouchers and a gift hamper. A panel exhibition and a flash presentation were also organized to make the students aware of various programmes being offered by IGNOU.
IGNOUs convergence scheme unites diversity: VC
The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) scheme of providing University Education opportunities to maximum number of eligible students by making optimal utilisation of the existing infrastructure and intellectual capabilities of the best affiliated and autonomous colleges through the open university and distance education systems proved to be a successful and sustainable intervention for enhancing the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in higher education in the country, said Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, VC, IGNOU. “The 'Convergence Scheme', as we call it, is a partnership between the nation-wide collegiate education system and IGNOU for sharing academic resources, for enhancing the quality and quantity of education delivery. During the last three years, 20,798 Graduates and 17,080 Post-Graduates completed the programmes successfully. The Scheme has an enrollment of over 7,000 learners in the Bachelor's Preparatory Programme, thus enabling school dropouts to get back into the mainstream of higher education,” he adds. The 480 colleges that participated in the scheme represent the best in the country. Some of them are Colleges of Excellence identified by the University Grants Commission. The Colleges lent the services of about 5,000 teachers without conflict to their regular work. Classrooms, computer lab, library and laboratory facilities were given to these additionally admitted students in extra hours on working days and during weekends and holidays. The students under this scheme get the complete set of study material from IGNOU. The College is given freedom to increase the number of teaching hours depending upon the nature of the course and the requirements of the students. The students also get a campus feel and fair opportunity to interact with the regular students and teachers in the college. They also participate in extra-curricular, social and cultural activities in the college campus. Assessment, evaluation and result declaration are in the IGNOU Semester-Course-Credit pattern. The Convergence Scheme has the advantage of availing the best features of the conventional classroom teaching and the distinct benefits of the Self-learning-centered Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system. In this context, it is worth noting that in the preparation of the Self-Instructional Material for the ODL system, the expertise of a large number of teachers in the conventional, regular mode Universities and colleges is being used. In such a context, it is all the more relevant that these teachers also get an opportunity to deliver these educational material to more aspiring students with appropriate backing of the required classroom teaching, practicals, project work and significant campus presence. This is a clear case of optimal utilisation of the state-of-the-art infrastructure and the rich and scarce academic resources for enhancing the quality and reach of higher education in the country. The scheme also gives an opportunity for the large number of teachers in our colleges to get exposed to the Open and Distance Teaching-Learning technologies. When all the Universities and Colleges get broadband connectivity and other educational technology facilities through the flagship schemes of the Government, like the National Mission of Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT) and National Knowledge Network (NKN), this experience with the ODL Technology-Enabled teaching and learning acquired through this innovative Convergence Scheme of IGNOU, adds to the much required ICT capacity-building of teachers. This scheme proposed by IGNOU in the 11th Plan has been accepted by the Planning Commission, even though the implementation details are yet to be finalised. Now this scheme is an exclusive project of IGNOU and has been running successfully for the last three years. Recently, a national-level expert committee has reviewed the entire scheme in terms of its impact on the Gross Enrollment Ratio, economic sustainability and quality.
IGNOU inks pact with Intel to empower in-service teachers
The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has recently signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MoU) with Intel to announce a national initiative for empowering teachers to develop 21st century skills through the professional development programs to be deployed at the IGNOU-Institute of Competency Advancement of Teacher (iCAT) centers. The pact was signed by Mr. U.S.Tolia, Registrar, IGNOU and Mr. Anjan Ghosh, Director, Corporate Affairs Group, Asia Pacific, Intel in the presence of Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, VC, IGNOU, Dr. Latha Pillai, Pro VC, IGNOU, Prof. K. R. Srivathsan, Pro VC, IGNOU, Mr. Ashutosh Chadha, Director- Corporate Affairs Group, Intel South Asia, Dr. Anita Priyadarshini, Project Director, Distance Education Programme- Sarva Shikhsa Abhiyan (DEP-SSA) among others. The collaboration offers an Intel Teach Program for in-service teachers for their professional development while supporting 21st century skills. It aims to build the capacities of the in-service [PRT (Primary); TGT (Secondary) & PGT (Senior Secondary)] teachers at school level as well as the teacher educators from colleges of education and student teachers who are undergoing teacher training programs. The program will help to develop the technological skills of personnel from university departments, resource institutions, NGOs and partner institutions of IGNOU. i-CAT is an initiative of IGNOU for building capacity of in service & pre service teachers with the aim of providing them an opportunity for professional advancement. The i-CAT Institutes will work in close collaboration with DEP-SSA, IGNOU, to provide both existing programme as well as to design and develop need based local specific programmes. “Such collaboration between IGNOU and Intel will lead to creation of new models of teaching and learning and will help upgrade the capabilities of current and future teachers. This pact is a part of IGNOU's concept of societal responsibility to enlarge the knowledge based egalitarian society, and in cooperation with Intel, we hope that this will also help the national perspective of human resource development to lead India into a knowledge economy,” said the Vice Chancellor of the university. He also emphasized the need to involve more universities especially in distance education mode to tie up with teacher training institutions. “If we can network like this, then lots of synergies can be created and we can trigger a movement in this country for advancement of teacher education. Networking can trigger the movement in all the open universities. In that case, we can also emulate the system followed by the Chinese Open University which has its own faculty for educating teachers,” he said. “IGNOU will integrate relevant level curriculum in the professional development programs to be conducted at the iCAT centers. It will identify the Key Resource Persons (KRPs) in each of its iCAT centers who will be responsible for conducting regular training programs through these centers. Intel will conduct empowerment programmes for the KRPs identified by IGNOU who will be given intensive training by the Intel Senior trainers on the Intel curricula. These KRPs will conduct further training programs for the participants in each of the iCAT centers,” said the MoU.
IGNOU announces admissions for on-campus programmes
The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) announces admissions for 26 on-campus full time programmes commencing from July 2011 sesison. Programmes with entrance test, group discussion and interview on offer are M.Sc. (Chemistry), M.Sc. (Life Science), MA (Journalism and Mass Communication), MA (Electronic Media Production and Management), M.Sc. (Actuarial Science), M.Sc. (Actuarial Economics), M.Sc. (Applied Quantitative Finance), M.Sc. (Environmental Economics), Master of Performing Arts- Hindustani Vocal Music, Master of Fine Arts- Painting, Master of Performing Arts- Theatre Arts and MBA Corporate Governance. The last date for submission of filled-in-forms for these programmes is May 31, 2011 with entrance exam on June 19, 2011. Two more programmes with the entrance test, namely MA Social Work (Philanthropy) and MA Social Work (Counselling) are also included in the on-campus admissions with the last date for the receipt of complete admission forms as June 5, 2011 and entrance test on 15th June 2011. These programmes will be offered at IGNOUs main campus in Maidan Garhi at New Delhi, Regional Centre Cochin and CSRD, Ahmednagar. The entrance test for these programmes will be held at IGNOUs main campus at Maidan Garhi in New Delhi. Three programmes, namely M.Sc. (Actuarial Economics), M.Sc. (Applied Quantitative Finance) and M.Sc. (Environmental Economics) are also activated at Madras School of Economics at Chennai Programmes without entrance test on offer are Master in Gender and Development Studies, MA in Women's and Gender Studies, MA in Extension and Development Studies, MA in Gandhi and Peace Studies, MA Social Work (North East), MA (Translation Studies), MA (Labour and Develpoment), MA (Social Anthropology), BA in Applied Sign Language Studies, Bachelors Preparatory Programme for Deaf Studies, Certificate in PC Hardware and Networking and Certificate in Chinese Language. The last date for submission of application forms for these programmes is June 15, 2011.
IGNOUs free education courseware contributes to GER
The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has created ripples in the education sector by implementing and focusing on strengthening the education system rather than emphasizing on the exam system. Its free education initiatives to all the students, irrespective of them studying in IGNOU aims to foster the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in the country. Emerging as the world's largest digital educational resource repository, eGyan Kosh includes digitized and uploaded storage of over 95% of the IGNOU's self-instructional material. At present there are more than 60,000 active registered users of the repository. The site has been visited over 3 lakh times. The facilities of e-Gyankosh are now being extended with a FlexiLearn platform to offer 'open courses' free of cost with course-wise registration and assessment. Flexilearn provides free and easy access to IGNOU's courses. A modular approach is followed wherein a learner can combine course credits to obtain a degree or diploma of their choice. It integrates free learning resources with learning management systems for anyone who wants to learn, whatever their educational needs and experience. The platform provides an alternate way of awarding degrees and diplomas. It is not just the digital content which is popular among students, “The University through its Material Production and Distribution Division (MPDD) printed over 1,40,29,000 Blocks of study materials in the year 2010 and sold study material worth 2.57 crores inspite of the free material available online. This, in itself, illustrates the huge scale of operations in academic activity,” said Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor of the university.
India, Afghanistan collaborates for education and HRD
Joint Declaration between India and Afghanistan on the Occasion of the visit of Prime Minister of India At the invitation of His Excellency Mr. Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, His Excellency Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, paid an official visit to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.<br><br>
During the visit, H.E. Dr. Manmohan Singh held detailed discussions with H.E. President Hamid Karzai on a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.<br><br>
The two sides agreed to impart a long term commitment to their multifaceted bilateral relations and to actively develop them in the years ahead. India and Afghanistan confirmed their adherence to the common ideals of peace, democracy, inclusive development, rule of law, non-violence, human rights and fundamental freedoms, and underlined their shared commitment to combating terrorism that threatens countries as well as the region and the world as a whole. The two leaders shared their vision of Afghanistan as an independent, democratic, stable and prosperous country.<br><br>
Reaffirming their commitment to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, India and Afghanistan decided to establish a Strategic Partnership covering all areas of mutual interest. Based on mutual understanding and long term trust in each other, this Partnership envisages the elevation of their multifaceted ties to a higher level, both in the bilateral field and in the international arena.<br><br>
The two sides agreed that the Strategic Partnership between India and Afghanistan will include various facets of the bilateral relationship. Among various spheres, the two sides agreed to enhance and expand cooperation in the field of education and human resource capacity development, including through expanded opportunities for education and training for Afghan students in India and a significant expansion of the ongoing Small Development Projects (SDPs) scheme for grass-root level development in all parts of Afghanistan, especially remote and rural areas, and for the welfare particularly of Afghan women and children.<br><br>
The Indian side announced an additional outlay of US$ 500 million for these and other projects to be decided in consultation with Afghan partners making their total development commitment to Afghanistan US $ 2 billion. The Afghan side expressed gratitude to India for its commitment to Afghanistan's reconstruction and development and for its generous support over the past ten years, including the new announcement of an additional US$ 500 million to its past contribution.<br><br>
The two sides affirmed that their Strategic Partnership was not directed against any other State or group of States.
