Increasing number of Indian students moving to New Zealand

Higher Education

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August 1, 2009

'India is a big market of talented students for us. Their number has considerably increased. I do not think recession can stop Indian students from coming to New Zealand,' said Cliff Fuller, New Zealand's trade commissioner in India. According to Fuller, the percentage of Indian students enrolling in New Zealand institutes has increased nearly 300 % in the last six years. 'In 1998, only 150 Indian students enrolled. This figure rose to 1,500 in 2002. In 2008, we registered 6,000 new enrolments from India,' said Fuller. He said it was difficult to give the exact number of Indian students in New Zealand. 'We have the number of newly-enrolled students. It is very difficult to tell the exact number of Indian students studying there.' He said Punjab was the biggest market for New Zealand institutes.

Education contributed substantially in the economy of New Zealand as it figured among the top five contributors to the country's economy. Fuller said bilateral trade between India and New Zealand was nearly NZ$500 million per year now. 'There is a vast potential to increase business in the fields of IT, software, industrial exports and CNG industry.' Fuller was in the city to participate in the education fair organised by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and Education New Zealand, a government-funded organisation. Around 25 New Zealand institutes participated in the fair. 'The best part of our education is that we also grant a one-year search visa, which is generally not available in case of other countries. After getting a job, one can also apply for two-year work permit,' said Chris Bond, a representative of a management institute in Wellington.

Idea of Common Entrance Test for new Central Varsities appreciated

Policy Matters

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 1, 2009

Union Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD), Kapil Sibal while taking a meeting of the Vice Chancellors of new central universities in Delhi mentioned that the new central universities should consider carrying out common entrance test for admission to their courses. This according to him this would enable students and their families to receive common couselling while taking admission. The Vice-Chancellors of the new central universities of Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir (though there are now two separate universities for Jammu & for Kashmir, the VC earlier appointed for the J&K University was giving the presentation), Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and for the three old state universities that have been given central universities status in Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh gave presentations. The Secretary (Higher Education) Mr. R.P. Agrawal and Chairman, UGC Sukhdeo Thorat were also present during the meeting in which each university meet a presentation on their vision, courses envisaged, infrastructure and HR issues and on individual problem areas.

Sibal, addressing the VCs said that the central universities must become the benchmarks for academic excellence for the rest of the country. While exhorting the VCs to think originally, he asked them to create alliances, chairs with other parts of the world. The Minister also suggested that these universities' academic courses be designed in such a manner to make possible temporary mobility of students and faculty from one university to the other. He asked these universities to invite faculty from abroad and from the private sector in India also for short term teaching stints. The HRD Minister told the universities that they must have different courses, especially such courses that are in conformity with the eco-system of the region. Essentially, different universities specializing in different courses will encourage students to come to a particular university which will come to be associated with a particular course. The Minister said that the UGC has been asked to set up a panel to coordinate with these VCs, so that there are fewer number of common courses. He added that the UGC will also be asked to look at the possibility of changing its guidelines for bringing in world class faculty.

Rivers State Govt supports Naval schools with ICT programme in Nigeria

K-12

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 31, 2009

Model Primary and Secondary Schools run by the Nigerian Navy in the state are to receive Rivers State Government's support over extension of its Information Communication Technology (ICT) programme. This announcement was made by Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, recently, during an inspection visit to the Nigerian Navy Schools located within the NNS Akaso, Borikiri, as part of his visit to Naval facilities in Port Harcourt.

The Governor explained that the extension of the facility to the Naval Schools would create an opportunity for Rivers children who attend the schools to also benefit from the computer literacy programme designed for the new schools in Rivers State from the primary level. Addressing officers and men at NNS Pathfinder, Rumuolumeni, the Governor thanked the Navy for its support to the State Government especially for the security of the state-owned water taxis, which had been anchored at the jetty for nearly two years. He attributed 80 % of their success to the contributions by the Rivers State Government, and promised that the Navy would continue to leave up to its obligations by protecting the waterways.

Offshore campuses by IIT, IIM: Suggested guidelines by Planning Commission

News

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 31, 2009

The Planning Commission has suggested to frame guidelines to allow Indian universities and other government run institutions such as Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) to set up their offshore campuses. The move has come at the time when India is encouraging foreign universities to set up campuses in the country. Till now, only private institutions can set up their campuses abroad. As of now, there are no rules and regulations to permit government-run institutions to set up offshore campuses. Private institutions like Symbiosis and BITS, Pilani have already opened campuses abroad.

After considerable legal and bureaucratic hurdles, Pune University in May this year became the first government run institutions to start its campus in UAE. Initially, HRD ministry did not approve the concept due to lack of guidelines to set up offshore campus but Pune university got it approved by PM office to become first government run institution to set up offshore campus.

25 Years of Telecom Education celebration by LIDO

Corporate Updates

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 30, 2009

Celebrating its 25^th anniversary the LIDO Organization Inc., is the provider of telecommunication education, training, consulting and advisory services. The company celebrated the 25^th Anniversary by announcing its fall international training seminars and becoming a CompTIA Authorized Quality Curriculum (CAQC) for Convergence+ certification. Additionally, this year also marks the 10^th anniversary of LIDO Telecommunications Essentials online training which has demystified telecom concepts and terminology for numerous business and educational organizations. This concise and comprehensive program covers the principles, technology and infrastructure of the telecommunications industry; is to be presented in four parts online. In August, LIDO also will celebrate the 1st anniversary of LIDO Telecom Pvt. Ltd., which offers telecom content and eLearning solutions in India.

Telecommunications is the critical infrastructure for the 21st century. In a global economy with nearly every facet of a business touched by intersecting information and communication technologies (ICT), companies need to understand the fundamentals of telecom to make their businesses function more efficiently. Whether they are in healthcare, education, entertainment, government, transportation, finance, national security, defense or public utilities – these industries are dependent on ICT. LIDO helps them understand telecom fundamentals and close the widening skill gap between current industry technologies and professional knowledge. In October, business professionals can master telecom through LIDO's intensive seminar program in just three days. Offered October 7-9 in Singapore and October 19-21 in London, the program allows operators, service providers, regulators, financiers, lawyers and government authorities to gain a solid grounding in telecom technologies, applications, and regulations. Attendees will examine the impact of converged and new-generation networks and learn how to compete effectively as regulations change, opening up new market opportunities for their businesses.

Mobile users can now access Portal by University of Illinois

News

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 30, 2009

An option can be viewed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's website, that is normally not expected to be seen on a higher education institutions website. This option enables access to a site specifically designed for lower-bandwidth, mobile device users, known as 'UI Mobile'. The option strips out most of the graphics and sticks to the basics so that Internet-enabled mobile phone users can get information (such as staff directories) while away from their computers. Jim Wilson, director of Web services for the institution, which has three campuses and about 40,000 students, said the mobile site was originally set up for the school's higher-level administrators about two years ago.

Based in New York, Usablenet helps organizations support their users of mobile and assistive technologies for Web access. Its solutions are deployed by about 300 organizations to achieve mobile Web accessibility. At the University of Illinois, the mobile Internet implementation was handled entirely by the vendor, which provides the solution via a hosted service. To determine what type of information would be displayed on the mobile site, the schools IT team came up with the top 10 topics that would be searched via a mobile phone, such as news, events, a campus directory, library search, and weather reports. The solution also handles the manufacturer-specific filters required to make the content useable on a cell phone. A student who has a Blackberry, for example, will be automatically routed to the site designed for the best display on that type of phone.

Funding advice for online learning

News

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 30, 2009

As online learning continues to gain momentum across the country, education experts are warning that policies surrounding this popular learning option are shaky at best. A new report by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) is calling for a better policy and funding framework to make sure students are getting the best education possible. The report, 'Policy and Funding Frameworks for Online Learning,' written by John Watson and Butch Gemin of Evergreen Consulting Associates, and published by iNACOL, is the fifth report of iNACOL's six-report series called Promising Practices in Online Learning, which explores some of the approaches being taken by 'practitioners and policymakers in response to key issues in online learning.' The series was commissioned by iNACOL, because interest in, and applications to, online learning institutions have increased. For example, last year iNACOL estimates there were more than one million students enrolled in online courses. More than 30 states have state-led online programs, and more than half of the school districts in the U.S. offer online courses and services.

However, even though online learning is growing at the rate of 30 % annually, access to online schools and courses is not keeping pace with the demand from students and parents. iNACOL estimates that more than 40 % of middle and high school students want to enroll in online courses, more than 20 million students. As online learning continues to gain momentum across the country, education experts are warning that policies surrounding this popular learning option are shaky at best. A new report by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) is calling for a better policy and funding framework to make sure students are getting the best education possible.

267 MCD Primary Schools to see English Medium sections

K-12

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 30, 2009

For inculcating a competitive edge in students from economically backward sections, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi is starting English medium sections in 267in its primary schools. Within each of the 267 municipal wards, one MCD-run school has been identified by the civic agency for this purpose and they have been rechristened as 'Nigam Pratibha Vidyalaya', told officials. The list of identified schools will be placed before a Standing Committee meeting of the civic body tomorrow.

The 267 schools will have one English medium section for class-I in the initial phase while similar sections will be started for all the primary classes over the next five years. Depending on the success of the classes being started, further steps would be taken to expand the classes more widely, told MCD Education Committee Chairman Pritviraj Sawhney. The idea of opening these sections is to provide an opportunity for parents from economically backward sections who are very keen to provide English medium education to their wards but are being unable to do so as the fee structure in private English medium schools is too high. The MCD at present runs 1746 primary schools in which about 9.5 lakh children are studying.

Kuntanase schools to receive 10 computers from EVCO

K-12

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 30, 2009

The Entire Village Computers Organisation Inc, a US based international Non-governmental (NGO) on Monday donated 10 computers and a printer to the Kuntanase Roman Catholic Primary and Junior High Schools, respectively. The computers which cost US$3500 are to enhance the teaching and learning of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) in the schools and the community as a whole. Making the presentation, Seth Owusu, President of the NGO indicated that the donation was to support the training of all school children to be computer literates since the world had become an ICT world. He added that since ICT had now become the gateway to education, it would be prudent for all school children to have access to computer, hence the establishment of the NGO to support the world in that direction.

The President said a total of 17 clusters of schools in Africa are suppose to benefit from the package, 15 in Ghana, while the remaining two are in Nigeria. Receiving the donation, William Awuni, Bosomtwe District Director of Education, commended the NGO for the donation, which he said had come to complement government's effort at providing schools with computers and other teaching and learning materials. He called on the school authorities and the Parent Teachers Association to form a monitoring group to ensure effective use and proper maintenance of computers. Nana Premoh Kwagyan, Krontihene of Kuntanase who chaired the function, called on parents to invest in the education of their children and make sure that the children spent time at home learning.

New courses for the Differently-abled at DU

Higher Education

By

digitalLEARNING Network

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July 30, 2009

The Delhi University-NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation) resource centre will soon conduct a new certificate course in news reading, anchoring and voiceover for the differently-abled students. The DU-NTPC centre last year organised short-term certificate courses in sign language interpretation, communicative English, information and communication technology and disability and human rights.

'This new course will give a lot of confidence and the required exposure to these special students. Last year, there was a huge demand for a media-related course from among these students, so we have decided to start it this year,' said Komal Kamra, a faculty member at S.G.T.B Khalsa College, who is associated with the Equal Opportunity Cell (EOC) of the DU. The EOC on Tuesday organised a special orientation programme for the physically handicapped students who have been admitted to various undergraduate courses for this academic year. Addressing the disabled students, their caregivers and parents at a function organised on the North Campus, Pro-Vice-Chancellor S.K. Tandon said it was the University's responsibility to nurture all children into responsible citizens. Dean of Students' Welfare S.K. Vij said it was imperative to keep a track of differently-abled children, not just in terms of academics, but also with respect to their other requirements. Vandita Kaul, a Director in the Disabilities Division of the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, told students that they ought to be aware of their rights and reservation for them in jobs in the government sector. The EOC Officer on Special Duty Chandra Nisha Singh informed that the University would provide signers or interpreters to the hearing impaired students if they so desired.

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