IITs to get accreditation from National Board of Accreditation

Higher Education

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January 30, 2009

IITs will now be accredited to National Board of Accreditation (NBA), a step aimed at smoothening India's efforts to become a full-fledged member of the Washington Accord, a grouping of 12 countries formed for standardising engineering education globally. The IIT directors will formulate a policy for getting accreditation from the NBA, the accreditation body for engineering education under All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE). 'The directors will formulate a specific accreditation policy for them. The NBA will give them accreditation,' Higher Education Secretary, Ministry of HRD, R P Agrawal told reporters after the meeting of IIT Council here. The NBA, which evaluates the quality of programmes offered by educational institutions from diploma to PG level, will be a signatory to Washington Accord for ensuring cross border mobility of engineering graduates in the 12 countries.

The membership of NBA in the Washington Accord would facilitate easy exchange of ideas, mobility of engineering students and professionals at international level. As of now, none of the IITs gets their programmes accredited by the NBA. The NBA has been taking this matter with the HRD Ministry from time to time. The decision comes a few days after the AICTE revised the criteria for accreditation of institutes to bring them at par with the international level.

Launch of National Mission on Education through ICT

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 30, 2009

Arjun Singh, Minister of Human Resource Development, will launch the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology on 3rd February 2009 in Tirupati at the auditorium of Sri Venkateswara University. This was announced by R. P. Agrawal, Secretary, Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, at a press conference. Union Government had approved the Mission in the first week of this month. The highlights of the components of the Mission will be exhibited during the launch ceremony. The Department of Higher Education had realized the tremendous potential of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching and learning process enhancing the capacity as well as efficiency of the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system by the use of appropriate ICT tools to make the learning interesting and easy through digitizing the learning material thereby converting it to e-contents and widening the access of the learners to the said e-contents. Considering the above, Department had conceptualized a Pilot Project namely 'SAKSHAT'

100 varsities to be linked by Makerere IT centre

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 30, 2009

The 12,000sq metre complex valued at over US$20m is expected to connect over 100 universities in 13 African countries with India in e-education. It is part of the Faculty of Computing and Information Communication Technology (ICT). The ICT minister, Ham Mulira, represented President Yoweri Museveni at the opening of the centre on Wednesday. The ICT state minister, Alintuma Nsambu, for education Gabriel Opio and the Netherlands ambassador, Jeroen Verheul, attended the function. The centre is designed to carry out ICT research and development in addition to training ICT experts. According to Michael Niyitegeka, a university official, the centre is testing a mobile e-health service delivery for the Ministry of Health.

Uganda recently got its first tele-medicine procedure when two Ear, Nose and Throat surgeons operated upon a patient at Mulago Hospital with the help of experts in the US. Niyitegeka said the Uganda Bureau of Statistics had asked the centre to process its data. He said the centre was also in consultation with the Electoral Commission on whether it could handle election data. The centre will also digitalise the map of Uganda to show the minutest details. The information will be used in planning. The exercise will start with major urban areas like Kampala, Entebbe, Mbarara, Jinja and the national parks, said Niyitegeka.

Oracle

K-12

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 30, 2009

Oracle Education Foundation (OEF) and the Institute for Electronic Governance (IEG), a non-profit organization under the Government of Andhra Pradesh, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to roll out OEF's ThinkQuest platform to 500 schools, reaching 25,000 students and teachers over the next two years. ThinkQuest, according to OEF is a protected, online learning platform that enables teachers to integrate learning projects into their classroom curriculum and students to develop critical 21^st century skills, including creativity, communication, teamwork, and technology skills. In the first phase of the rollout, IEG and OEF will train 120 teachers from 60 schools on the ThinkQuest platform and instruct them how to best integrate 21st century skills instruction and project learning into their curricula.

'We at IEG have been at the forefront of providing computer education to students in the state of Andhra Pradesh. This partnership with the Oracle Education Foundation will help us provide an effective learning environment for students at state high schools,' said Amarnath Reddy, CEO, IEG. First launched in India in 2004, ThinkQuest currently supports over 146,000 students and teachers in 1,100 schools across the country, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, DPS, DAV and other schools. Moreover, it supports the National Curriculum Framework (NCF 2005) of the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

Malaysian varsity to get Symbiosis aid in developing course work

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 30, 2009

The Symbiosis Open Education Society (SoES) has entered into a tie-up with the Malaysian Wawasan Open University (WOU) for academic collaboration in a range of areas, including development and sharing of course material and services for lifelong learning; research activities and joint academic programmes. The WOU, which was established in 2006, is a fledgling public-private partnership (PPP) initiative in the field of open and distance learning (ODL), commissioned by the Malaysian government to meet the growing demand for higher and professional education in a flexible mode. The WOU runs as a private provider of distance learning.

Swati Mujumdar, director of Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning (SCDL), which is the flagship entity of the SoES, told reporters here on Thursday that the tie-up primarily aimed at enabling the WOU leverage Symbiosis' expertise in the use of technology for better delivery of ODL. The SCDL, set up in 2001, ranks among the country's leading private sector providers of ODL, which has grown from an enrolment base of 8,000 students to more than two lakh from across India as well as 40 foreign countries. Symbiosis' founder head S B Mujumdar and WOU founder vice-chancellor Gajaraj Dhanarajan, who is a former president of the Vancouver-based Commonwealth of Learning (CoL) an intergovernmental agency mandated with promoting ODL signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on behalf of the two institutions.

Country may get its First Music University at Mumbai

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 30, 2009

If all goes as planned, Mumbai will soon get country's first university dedicated to music. Rajesh Tope, Minister for Higher and Technical Education, proposed to Maharashtra Government. The University will be residential and suited to students who want to make a career in music. An official of the department said, 'We are also examining whether a renowned personality in the field of music can head the university.' The university will also house a fine arts department. Graduate, Post Graduate, Diploma and certificate courses will be offered by the university. In addition to Indian classical, semi-classical and Western classical music, students will also be taught painting and sculpting. The faculty will comprise noted personalities in each of these fields.

The site of the university has not been decided yet. 'We expect the report by the end of March and a decision will be taken by April' said S. Kulkarni, an officer of the ministry. Kulkarni further said, 'Music festivals in the state will be organized under the aegis of the university.' Currently Mumbai University offers graduate and post graduate courses in music, including a three-year degree course in vocal music Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Vocal). A two-year diploma course in Hindustani Instrumental Classical Sitar and Hindustani Vocal Light is also offered by Mumbai University. There's a two-year diploma course in Hindustani Instrumental Classical Tabla and two-year post-graduate course in Vocal Music and degree course in Hindustani Instrumental Classical Sitar and Tabla are also offered by the Mumbai University.

Excellent teaching to be shown by Gates Foundation

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January 28, 2009

Billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates says his foundation hopes to post online videos of exemplary teachers plying their craft as a way to inspire other educators and help students learn. He also says the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will increase its giving in 2009, despite the sinking economy. The news comes in an open letter published by Gates on Monday, which summarizes the foundation's progress in health and education and outlines its plans in the months ahead. Gates left Microsoft's executive ranks last July to focus full-time on the foundation he created with his wife, Melinda. The letter is the first of what Gates says will be an annual series of missives to foundation stakeholders.

In the letter, Gates highlights a new area of focus for his foundation's education work: helping to identify what makes teachers successful and sharing these best practices more broadly. 'It is amazing how big a difference a great teacher makes versus an ineffective one. Research shows there is only half as much variation in student achievement between schools as there is among classrooms in the same school. If you want your child to get the best education possible, it is actually more important to get him assigned to a great teacher than to a great school,' he wrote.

Keeping e-learning in form

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 28, 2009

Twenty-five-year-old Tuhin Deb is a marine officer who spends more than six months of the year on the high seas, criss-crossing the globe. But this does not deter him from pursuing his academic interests. Thanks to the concept of e-learning, he has enrolled for a course in business administration which he will pursue from the deck of his ship! 'We cater to several students who take classes from on-board ships where they are employed. However, since they cannot attend the online classes due to difference in time schedules or connectivity problems, we archive those sessions and make it available to them at a time of their choice,' said Shailesh Mehta, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Gurukul Online Learning Solutions (GOLS). GOLS is currently exploring opportunities to tie up with shipping majors in the country to jointly develop and implement marine courses for employees who wish to further their careers on the high seas. Similarly, another e-learning firm 24×7 Learning has enabled employees on rigs of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to access online courses related to a range of oil & gas related subjects in their free time, said Mr Karthik KS, Chief Executive Officer, 24

Software giants call for reform in education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 28, 2009

Three leading software manufacturers have launched plans to transform global education with a new multi-sector research project aimed at improving assessment. Cisco, Intel and Microsoft will examine assessment methodologies and technologies, effective learning environments, and replicable ICT-enabled teaching in the hope of creating new versions of the international benchmarks: PISA and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Anoop Gupta, Corporate Vice President, Technology Policy and Strategy for Microsoft, said, 'Reforming assessment is essential to enabling any systemic change in education. And change on a global scale is required to equip students of today with the skills they need to succeed in the workforce of tomorrow.' The research study, first unveiled at the recent Learning and Technology World Forum, has been backed by the International Association of the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and the OECD.

A spokesperson for Microsoft explained: “The primary focus of this project is the large international assessments, such as PISA and TIMSS, which impact schools in all OECD and other countries.

ISB ranked 15th top business school in the world

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 28, 2009

The Indian School of Business (ISB) has been ranked 15th in the global business school rankings by the Financial Times, London. This is the second year in a row when the ISB has achieved a high rank among leading international business schools. Last year, it was ranked 20, making it the first Indian business school to be counted among the top 20, the ISB said in a statement here on Tuesday. 'I am very proud of the ISB's achievement. The high level of commitment of the faculty, students, alumni, and the staff at the ISB as well as the unstinting guidance of its associate schools and the board, have made it possible for this institution to overcome many challenges in its formative years,' said Rajat Gupta, ISB chairman.

The ISB was established in 2001 by a group of leading industrialists and academicians from India and abroad. From 126 students in 2001, the ISB has steadily increased the number of students year after year. There will be 440 students graduating in April 2009. The ISB will be increasing the number of students to 560 in 2010. Recently, it announced the setting up of a second campus at Mohali, which is likely to commence classes in 2012.

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