New skills for equipping the visually handicap by IGNOU

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August 28, 2009

A new course which aims to make them economically independent by training them in fields like information technology and communications has been introduced by an institute recognised by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). A unit of the Venu Charitable Society, the Venu Institute of Universal Education, was set up with the aim of capacity building for the visually impaired.

The 10-month diploma in New Economy Skills, as the course is called, aims at application of information technology and communications skills so that the visually challenged can be employed in call centres, corporate houses, audio-video related jobs and the likes. Among the course modules for the programme, besides information technology, are general knowledge and current affairs, soft skills, mathematics and logical reasoning.

Microsoft inks agreement with Education Ministry

Corporate Updates

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 28, 2009

Microsoft Bangladesh Limited and Ministry of Education yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Partners in Learning V2. Education Minister, Nurul Islam Nahid was present at the signing ceremony. The agreement on Partners in Learning Program V2 is a continuation of the Partners in Learning MoU signed between the Ministry of Education and Microsoft Bangladesh in December 2005, where under the agreement, up to June 2009, Microsoft has provided training on ICT to more than 8,000 teachers from secondary schools and Madrashas, covering all six divisions of the country.

Under PIL V2, Microsoft and Ministry of Education will jointly develop the three pillars, namely, Innovative Teachers, Innovative Schools and Innovative Students. The aim of working with these pillars is to help develop standard models of schools, teachers and students to enable use of ICT in order to prepare the students with 21st century learning. The programme will run for four years ending June 2013.

ICT literacy from CA supports Sydney’s South West

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 28, 2009

Forty families from Miller in South Western Sydney and its surrounds will collect computers and software packages that have been supplied as part of The Smith Family's Tech Packs Project in conjunction with software vendor, CA. Partnering for its third year, The Smith Family and CA have made computers available to local low-income families for just $50. The packs include a fully refurbished Pentium IV computer and 12-months unlimited dial-up Internet. The project aims to equip school students with the resources required to stay on top of their studies and contribute to the development of computer skills for the whole family.

Training in basic computer skills also forms part of the Tech Packs Project, with the last training session having taken place one week before the Tech Packs are taken home by their new owners. Brenton Smith, Vice President & Area Manager for CA in Australia and New Zealand, said the initiative reflected the type of community involvement CA is committed to worldwide. The Smith Family is a national, independent non-profit organisation committed to helping disadvantaged Australian children by unlocking opportunities through education and learning.

India to see seven new IIMs

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 28, 2009

The Union Cabinet recently approved the proposal for setting up of seven new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in Tami Nadu, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan. In the first phase, four IIMs at Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Raipur (Chhattisgarh) and Rohtak (Haryana) will be setup in 2009-10, which would become functional from academic session 2010-11. Postgraduate Programme (PGP) in Management would be the flagship programme though in the first year several executive programmes including those in the public policy domain focusing on civic and municipal services etc. would be started. In the second phase, the rest of 3 IIMs will be set up in Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan in 2010-11. In phase-I, there would be an intake of 140 students in the PGP course & by the end of phase-II, it would reach 560 students per year.

Admission shall be through the Common Admission Test (CAT). The institutes would also contribute to generation of a highly competent and trained manpower which would be a major catalyst for developing a knowledge society that would inevitably impact on the economic growth of the country. Apart from this, research in management and emerging areas would evolve a potential for generating significant intellectual properties that would generate sizeable revenue. The Cabinet has also approved an outlay of INR 451 crores (INR 333.00 crores for non-recurring expenditure and INR 118 crores for recurring expenditure) in the XI FYP and XII FYP for each IIM. The projected outlay for XI Five Year Plan for each of the 4 IIMs to be established during 2009-10 is INR 166 crores (INR 135 crores for non-recurring expenditure and Rs.31 crores for recurring expenditure). For the remaining three IIMs to be set up during 2010-11, the requirement for XI Plan would be INR 131 crores each (INR 107 crores non-recurring and INR 24 crores recurring expenditure). The total requirement of funds for establishment of seven new IIMs during XI Plan works out to INR 1057 crores.

Himachal Educational Board to announce Plus Two Science Results 2009 on April 24

K-12

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 28, 2009

The Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education will announce the Plus Two Science Stream Results 2009 on April 24, 2009 at 5:00 pm IST. The results will be available at NNE's www.HimachalEducation.net and www.ExamResults.net. Students can also get their results through Mobile Phones by sending the following SMS to '56263': Result<space>HPSC<space>ROLLNO to 56263. NNE wishes all students, Best of Luck!!

IT careers for Indian Youth

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 27, 2009

In order to sustain and accelerate its growth, the ICT industry itself will need close to 2,50,000 professionals every year. With normal acceptance standards, this would call for a minimum of 6,00,000 students to be trained each year, and possibly another 1,00,000 to go through re-skilling from different vocations. Add to that the need for providing advanced skills every year to at least 1 million professionals, currently employed in the industry, and it is evident that nearly 2 million trainees will have to go through skill development processes every year. There are good models that are worth emulating all over the world. Community college system in the US, which enables continuing education and the opportunity to pick up relevant skills, has deteriorated through the years, through inadequate focus on quality, but is still one initiative that could work in many parts of the country.

The German dual system of education, which engages the corporate sector industry associations and young aspiring job seekers and provides internships for students in the system, is a system which has succeeded in controlling unemployment levels in the country and is now aspiring to be the model for the future for the European Union. The alternative is the Chinese way, where hundreds of new universities are being opened every year with strong support from the Communist party as well as the provincial government to convert millions of aspirants to world class professionals. A future model of resource creation for the ICT industry in India and every emerging nation may well be on the lines of the following four-part model including talent assessment of all young people in their early teens followed by awareness on possible career options that are in line with their aptitude. Employability skills, that should be imparted in all universities and colleges, so that the conceptual education provided in engineering, liberal arts and sciences, and other formal university programs with continually updated content is relevant to the needs of the corporate sector. Employment training, aimed at graduates from the relevant and other disciplines should be conducted full time at centres near the employment zones and should be fully supported by the corporate sector. And, functional and technical update programs must provide advanced technical and management skills to industry professionals on a just in time rather than just in case basis, and prepares them to assume higher responsibilities in the industry.