University Grants Commission has reminded all Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs) to set up a “Students Counselling System” to address problems and challenges faced by students.
“Setting up of counselling centres is part of the guidelines issued by UGC regarding safety of students on and off campuses of higher education institutions and has already been communicated to all institutions concerned. One of the most important components of the guidelines was that all higher education institutions should mandatorily place a students counselling system for effective redressal of problems and challenges faced by a student,” says the letter.
The system is supposed to act as a bridge to fill communicative and formal gap between the students and the institutions. In one of its letters issued last week, the commission asked universities as well as all the colleges to set up “Students Counselling System” for students to avail the services of trained psychologist as per the need.
The Counselling System would also include faculty member as the counsellors who would remain in constant and close be allotted a number of students and in close touch with the students allotted to them. The teacher counsellors will act as a guide to students helping them move up in their careers by understanding their emotional and intellectual needs.
According to letter, “It should be a unique, interactive and target-oriented system, involving students, teachers and parents to address common student concerns ranging from anxiety, stress, fear of change and failure to homesickness and a slew of other academic worries. lt should bridge formal as well as communicative gaps between the students and the institution at large.”
Eternal University is one of the first private and residential universities in Northern India exclusively for girls with objective to make students excel academically and spiritually. It is sponsored by Kalgidhar Trust and established by Himachal Pradesh Government Act No 3 of 2009. The Kalgidhar Trust has been promoting rural education with major emphasis on women empowerment. The university campus is spread across 450 – acres at Baru Sahib.
The University offers UGC (University Grants Commission) certified undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD courses in streams like Biotechnology, Microbiology, Agriculture, Engineering, Medical, Management and Public Health. All the programmes of the university are recognised by UGC, AICTE, INC, NCTE, DSIR and DBT.
It is one of the best equipped, furnished and cleanest campuses that one could ever think for pursuing academic courses. All seven colleges under the university have well trained and experienced faculty, well furnished laboratories, classrooms and state-of-art equipment for effective teaching, research and training. A part from an extraordinary academic curriculum and inspiring educational environment, the university offers facilities such as accommodation, experimental farms, polyhouses, cafeteria, transport facilities, banks, post office, playgrounds, indoor sports facilities, shopping complex, modern dairy complex, botanical and herbal garden, workshops, clubs, fully automated Wi-Fi library, and Computing facilities to look after the well-being of the students and the faculties.
Academic programmes
Akal college of Engineering & Technology (ACET): B Tech (CSE, ETE & FT), Lateral Entry (CSE, ETE,EE), MTech (ETE, CSE, Renewable Energy, Material Science and Engg. ) and PhD ETE
Akal College of Basic Sciences (ACBS): BSc Medical, BSc Non-Medical, BSc (Honours in Maths, Chemistry, Physics, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Botany and Zoology), MSc (Math, Chemistry, Physics, Biochemistry, Microbiology, botany, Zoology and Environmental Sciences), PhD (Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics, Botany, Zoology and Mathematics)
Akal College of Agriculture (ACA): BSc Agriculture (Hons), B Tech Food Technology, M Sc (Biotechnology, Food Technology, Agronomy, Genetics & Plant Breeding, Plant Pathology, Entomology and Horticulture), PhD
(Biotechnology, Food Technology and Entomology)
Akal College of Economics, Commerse and Management (ACECM): BSc Economics (Hons), BCom (Hons),
MSc Economics, MCom, MBA, PhD Management
Akal College of Arts & Social Sciences (ACASS): BA (Hons) Music, BA Humanities, BSc (Hons) Psychology, MA (English and Music), Add-on-Courses with BA/BSc Programmes
Akal College of Health & Allied Sciences (ACHAS): BSc Nursing, MSc Nursing, MPH, MHA
Akal College of Education (ACE): B.Ed
Scholarships and Financial Aid Granted by the University: To encourage the meritorious students from rural areas, university provides them 10-30 per cent concession in tuition based on their marks in the qualifying exam for various undergraduate programmes. The students from various Academies of Kalgidhar Trust will be given 50% tution fee waiver during admission to Eternal University, Baru Sahib. Decent fellowships are provided to deserving PhD scholars for teaching at undergraduate level and conducting practical.
The present Vice Chancellor, Dr Harcharan Singh Dhaliwal, PhD California University, holds an extensive experience of about ten years working in advanced laboratories of USA, Switzerland, Israel, Japan and Australia and also the leading plant breeder and bio technologist. He has been taking keen interest in developing and strengthening the university for basic and applied research, institution-industry linkage, transfer of technology and IPRs. There are a number of other faculty members with rich experienceand training in research, management, teaching and extension who are taking the university to reach new heights.
Education is a must for the better future of students but at the same time private schools’ high fee in the name of academics and other activities seems unjustifiable sometimes. What major factors drive the high cost of getting education observes Vinesh Menon, CEO – Education & Consulting, VIBGYOR Group of Schools, for Elets News Network (ENN).
Vinesh Menon, CEO – Education & Consulting, VIBGYOR Group of Schools
It took a while for me to agree to pen my thoughts on this subject that is being much talked about in the k12 school space these days. The subject as most of you reading this will agree is sensitive, delicate and can be interpreted in multiple ways without leading to any conclusive outcome in a hurry.
So the big question that is doing the rounds is – “Are the private schools justified in their pricing of education fees for students and should the government be allowed to regulate the same?” While many theories fly around as responses, the simplistic two extremes in responses are:
YES – as the expectation for quality education with enhanced amenities is on the rise amongst parents who want the best for their child and there is a cost that goes into delivering those expectations.
NO – Education is a child’s right and should not be subject to commercialization like a commodity product and is being exploited. The arguments will never end if approached emotionally and without putting a rational touch to it. Let us first absorb the following five key facts:
The enrolment rate in 20% private schools far exceed that of the government schools
Terminologies like SMART CLASS, digital learning, experiential learning gadgets & tablets were nowhere in the radar until 7 – 10 years ago
Children of Age 3 are far more adept using their parents smart phone than the parent – Exposure levels to the young minds are far greater than what was witnessed in the yesteryear generation (which includes me by the way)
Parents are increasingly keen to have their children become global citizens and well rounded holistically than just be a bookworm.
The government has recognised fact number 1, in the Union Budget 2018 and has started giving impetus to digital boards and teacher training through well programmed PPP models with private players.
From the above it is obvious that the k-12 ecosystem is changing and one cannot expect the same methodology as was prevalent even 10 years back inside schools. Enhancement & Upgrades of any kind in any industry entail increase in input costs. Is it not but obvious that over time, this will translate into a certain output cost or fees commensurate with the value given to the student? How hence can one rank a fee structure in schools then? The Indian parent is as diverse as any other Indian and will thus have diverse views on what should be the family’s budget to educate their child. Affordability of school education fees can range from zero to sub 10,000 Rs annually to the other end of even lakhs of rupees in any given academic year – Irrespective of this diversity, one common thread flows and that is that the student in question should receive basic quality education; strong enough to bring confidence and set a foundation to make him or her into a confident youth ready to take on Life’s challenges that lay ahead. The tools required for this may vary and so will the price.
There may be those who have hit upon the idea of starting a school not with the purpose of eradicating illiteracy and providing education but purely to ring in cash registers by taking advantage of one of the most sought after requirement of the Indian population but this should not blind the perception.
To therefore presume that schools are overstating their expenditure, taking advantage of a system and charging “exorbitantly high” fees and reacting whimsically through a clampdown with regulated fee structure on private schools and yet expecting no change in their delivery is unfair. On a lighter note, this is akin to the government regulating the price of private passenger automobiles to bring it to par with say Hindustan Motor’s Ambassador just to ensure that everyone gets right to a four wheeler at regulated affordability. Schools in India have its diversity too – the land area, the constructed area, the architectural design, the infrastructure, the location, the facilities around transport, sports, culture, performing arts, international exposure, field trips within and outside the country…the list can go on – This diversity will lead to a diversity in fees and I can say with confidence that the Indian parent will be the first to question the value delivery for the price paid and will have no hesitation in shifting the child’s school to another one if the services are found wanting. In other words a free Fee pricing will only improve the school’s delivery system and the beneficiary will be the parent & the child.
Having stated this, the government’s fears are not misplaced either. There may be those who have hit upon the idea of starting a school not with the purpose of eradicating illiteracy and providing education but purely to ring in cash
registers by taking advantage of one of the most sought after requirement of the Indian population but this should not blind the perception. Schools started under this culture and ethos purely with a sole purpose of calculating IRRs mathematically are bound to not sustain and over a period of time the chinks will appear. However, one rotten apple cannot be allowed to spoil the basket and exception cannot be made the rule. The government must allow a free pricing policy and while schools compete amongst themselves to push themselves to constantly uplift the education process and in parallel:
Ensure that there is a robust School Audit & Assessment system which should be followed diligently across all schools
Ensure more efforts and initiatives towards improving their own government schools through value adding Public Private Partnerships
Use Point (1) to weed out the selfish school operators who have ONLY economics on their mind & Unleash Point (2) to simultaneously promote the government schools in the country. One and a half Million schools are not enough to cater to early development of a nation that is witness to more than 75,000 new births every day and all efforts should be taken to encourage as many private players as possible to scale and open as many schools as possible across the length and breadth of India or participate with the government initiative to revamp their schools.
Our focus should thus not be on the FEE but the future that we need our children to SEE! (Views expressed above are personal)
Having educated over 30,000 students, we understand the learning needs of aspirants and design our curriculum and courses accordingly, says Nikhil Barshikar, MD, Imarticus Learning, in an interview with Elets News Network (ENN).
Please describe about Imarticus in brief.
Nikhil Barshikar, MD, Imarticus Learning
Imarticus Learning is India’s leading professional education firm, providing aspiring students and professionals with a wide range of industry relevant skills necessary to succeed in the rapidly growing fields of Finance and Business Analytics. Imarticus Learning has so far trained over 30,000 learners and placed over 26,000 aspirants across its extensive corporate network of 300+ global and domestic clients. The firm’s key competency is its broad range of Learning and Development (L&D) solutions, designed to assist firms meet their evolving skillset requirements. Headquartered in Mumbai, Imarticus possesses both classroom and online delivery capabilities, with dedicated centres located at Mumbai, Thane, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Jaipur, and Delhi NCR.
What are the different certification, prodegrees, and postgraduate programmes offered by Imarticus?
At Imarticus Learning, we empower students and professionals to enhance their career prospects by upskilling/re-skilling, and thereby, enable them to achieve growth in their respective roles and fields. Also, unlike most traditional educational institutions, our highly proactive and technology-driven approach to providing professional education ensures that aspirants reap the benefits of a tailored learning experience that is not limited to a physical environment. Our philosophy is built around developing domain expertise and job relevant skills to prepare aspirants to become tomorrow’s business leaders. With a strong emphasis on ‘learning by doing’, our programs are developed with the goal of creating well-rounded, job-ready professionals who can add significant value to an organisation in the competitive world of banking, financial services, and analytics. The programs, while rigorous, are extremely practical and hands-on, and go beyond traditional rote learning through their use of live case studies and real-life business problems. This ensures that learners are equipped with the right skill sets to master job responsibilities from day one itself.
Imarticus Learning is the only educational institute that incorporates a variety of delivery methodologies, including text, audio, live webinars, video lectures, and group discussions. Learning at Imarticus is centralised through a state-of-the-art, online Learning Management System (LMS). The LMS underscores our experiential learning philosophy, which helps learners improve constantly by ‘doing’ and ‘reviewing’ and managing their performance throughout the duration of the program. The LMS also enables our faculty and students at various locations to connect, collaborate, and share information on a real-time basis.
Our Certification programs include:
Certified Investment Banking Operations Professional (CIBOP): The internationally-accredited Certified Investment Banking Operations Professional (CIBOP) program is designed for careers in the Capital Market Operations division within an investment bank. This 180-hour program, with placement assurance, provides learners with an in-depth understanding of complex financial products and their Trade Lifecycles, along with Operational Risk and Regulation.
Certification in SAS: The Certification in SAS program is a comprehensive, short-term program providing learners with a thorough understanding of SAS, the world’s leading analytics technology platform. The program comes with a rigorous industry-aligned curriculum and is available in three delivery formats to prepare learners for Base and Advanced SAS certification exams.
Predictive Analytics Using SAS: The Certification in Predictive Analytics program is a comprehensive, short-term program providing learners with a thorough understanding of Predictive Analytics using SAS. The case-study driven program comes with a rigorous industry-aligned curriculum and is available in three delivery formats for maximum learning effectiveness.
Certification in Business Analysis: The Certification in Business Analysis program is a comprehensive IIBA-endorsed program that provides aspirants with in-depth exposure to business analysis, techniques, and frameworks as prescribed by latest BABOK 3.0. After completing the skill-building certification, learners will be equipped to handle the multi-skilled roles and responsibilities of the modern professional Business Analyst, along with 35 Professional Development hours from IIBA.
The key Prodegree programmes we offer include:
Financial Analysis with EY as the Knowledge Partner: The Financial Analysis Prodegree, with EY as the Knowledge Provider, is a skill-building program which covers subjects such as accounting, financial modelling, valuation, and equity research. Through a rigorous project-based methodology, participants acquire powerful competencies that help them build careers across a wide variety of roles in investment banking, corporate finance, and private equity.
Data Science with Genpact as the Knowledge Partner: The Data Science Prodegree, with Genpact as the Knowledge Partner, is a 180-hour program covering foundational concepts and hands-on learning of leading analytical tools, such as SAS, R, Python, and Tableau through industry case studies and project work. Over the course of the 4 semesters, candidates will not only gain theoretical knowledge of data science tools, but also gain exposure to business perspectives and industry best practices through guest lectures and multiple project submissions.
FinTech with Rise Mumbai as the Knowledge Partner (Co-Created by Barclays): The FinTech Prodegree, in association with Rise Mumbai as the Knowledge Partner, is a first-of-its kind 180-hour online program providing in-depth exposure to four key FinTech domains through a rigorous industry-aligned curriculum. The program also features capstone projects, case studies, and periodic interaction with industry leaders and entrepreneurs in the FinTech space.
Global Markets with MCX as the Knowledge Partner: The Global Markets Prodegree is a comprehensive, short-term program that provides aspirants with a thorough understanding of Global Financial Markets, Financial Instruments, Trading Strategies, and Risk Management, delivered via interactive simulated trading platforms and live instructor-led webinars.
Foreign Exchange & International Trade Prodegree with HDFC Bank: The Foreign Exchange and International Trade Prodegree, in collaboration with HDFC Bank, gives aspirants an opportunity to start a career in FX with India’s No. 1 Private Bank. Imarticus Learning works with HDFC Bank for the selection and training for this role. Candidates go through a selection process, after which they are issued a confirmation from HDFC Bank.
The Post Graduate Programmes include:
PG Program in Data Analytics: The Post Graduate Program in Data Analytics is a 500+ hour program covering foundational concepts and hands-on learning of leading analytical tools, such as SAS, R, Python, Hive, Spark, and Tableau, as well as functional analytics across many domains. Over the course of three semesters, candidates will not only gain theoretical knowledge of data science tools, but also gain exposure to business perspectives and industry best practices through guest lectures and project submissions.
PG Program in Banking & Wealth Management: The Post Graduate Program in Banking and Wealth Management is a comprehensive 370-hour program with placement-assurance, providing aspirants with an in-depth exposure to finance basics, corporate & retail banking, and wealth management. The exposure that learners gain through this program enables them to take on Operations and Sales roles at leading Banks and Wealth Management advisory firms.
All of our programmes, therefore, enable candidates to become career-ready after completing their education and explore vast career opportunities in a thriving Financial Services, Technology & Analytics ecosystem.
How the curriculum of different courses is developed to make the training in line with the industry demands? How the corporate network of Imarticus helps in this?
Imarticus Learning’s programs are modelled around the Bloom Taxonomy method, and incorporate feedback from industry experts within our network of 200 companies to ensure relevance and industrial applicability. Our key goal is to equip trainees with pertinent skills that ensure employability or help with dramatic career shifts upon completion. Imarticus offers its Prodegree programs in association with top Fortune 500 companies such as EY, Genpact, IBM, SAP, and Barclays to plug the skills gap among students and professionals, and to ensure the most relevant learning for them.
Our faculty comprises specialists and professionals from renowned financial services and analytics firms such as JP Morgan, Nomura, Genpact, Accenture, Citibank and Barclays and possess over 150 years of combined domain expertise. Considering their own successful careers, our faculty is perfectly positioned to combine technical concepts with topical real-life examples to ensure a candidate’s job readiness.Additionally, Imarticus has created an unparalleled ecosystem that fosters leadership and encourages futuristic practices in professional education. We have achieved this by using technology to empower learning, ensuring comprehensive coverage by covering all student touch points, creating an industry knowledge database, as well as platforms for industry connect, and focusing on placements through our corporate network and internship programs.
Digital India and Skill India are two most ambitious projects of the Government of India, how the organisation is training candidates to make them skilful, employable and tech-savvy?
The ever-widening skill gap between academia and industry in India is further deepened by the lack of a relevant curriculum and an understanding of new-age job roles within our traditional learning paradigms. Reports state that while nearly 15 million candidates enter the domestic workforce each year, almost 75% do not possess the requisite skills for these jobs. NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation) has said in a report that India will need 700 million skilled workers by 2022 to meet the demands of our rapidly growing economy. The biggest challenge for IT companies, however, will be to re-engineer their 3.9 million-strong human resource base to meet the demands of a fast-transforming marketplace.
Imarticus Learning is helping bridge the prevalent and widening skill gap in the country through revolutionary learning paradigms that emphasise on:
Practical, application-based, and relevant curricula
Technology-driven and scalable learning systems to improve the quality and access of education
Developing an ecosystem to promote lifelong learning
Incorporation of new-age technologies
Our programs are geared towards analytics and technology for both traditional banking and finance, as well as emerging fintech sectors, and encompass new-age trends such as automation, analytics, AI, and Big Data. All of these programs, with their industry-centric curricula, ensure that candidates, through the latest technical skills, are well-equipped to easily blend with changing market dynamics and enhance their employability.
What is your mission and vision for upcoming years?
Our mission is to improve the quality of human skill capital to meet the skillset requirements of the country.Our vision is to be a global leader in professional education focused on Financial Services and Analytics sectors.
Empowermentof the learner is at the core of Imarticus Learning’smission and vision. We believe that it is only by enabling students to skill up and grow as individual professionals that we can truly fulfil our mission to be India’s number one professional education firm in the future.
In today’s rapidly changing world, parents play a very important role in holistic development of their children. How the parents may inculcate moral values and to use technology rightfully in their wards, observes Virender Kapoor for Elets News Network (ENN).
Today, world is in transition. Though technology has given us comfort and much better health care, we are facing challenges of different type. Natural resources are depleting and competition is becoming fiercer by the day. We are becoming greedier, self centered and because of the comforts and over all effluence becoming softer – unable to coop with stress and any kind of deprivation. The next generation wants everything very quickly and we have become an instant gratification society. This is more so in the urban youth who are lucky to have everything easily available – thanks to the progress and their affluent parents. This has also set a sense of complacency amongst the urban youth.
Role of parents: I feel parents play a major role in building moral and mental strength of their children. Please note that even the rich and mighty send their children to school- though they can afford best teachers to come home – only because at school you learn to live with all kinds of people. Handling peers, seniors, juniors and good and bad is a part of life which you can only learn when you go to school. More than academics the interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence is built when you are in a big group, and school is the place for dealing with this. Let us not shut our eyes to the reality. Your child must learn to fight his/her own battles. Handling bullies or naughty, criticism, teasing as well as failure and rejection is a part of life. Parents cannot be in a denial mode all the time and unfortunately many are. Neither parents nor schools can provide a hundred percent protective environment. The larger question is , why should they?
You may protect your child now, but what about the rest of his life? Will you be able to help him to handle a nasty colleague or an impossible boss at work place? Will you be able help him when he is to handle pressures of day to day life as an employee or problems at home once he gets married?
I have seen parents coming from outstation along with a twenty plus year old boy to drop him to the college! How long can you hold the hand of your children? College students are adults who at the age of twenty one can vote, drink, get a license to drive, and even get married. And yet parents don’t let go. You are prepared to give your car for him to drive, but don’t let him handle his own problems. Western world doesn’t behave like this; they let their children handle their problems. We want to follow the world in every which way but don’t learn this stance of parenting from them.
Schools a crucible of learning human behavior: As parents you must understand that schools are the best place to learn how to deal with people and to deal with yourself, which are the most important aspects of emotional intelligence. This is the best learning ground for your children. Great engineers and toppers are failures in life just because they never learnt all this. What good is a great mark sheet if you do not posses these worldly abilities? Handling situations, bouncing back after a failure, taking criticism in your stride, handling difficult friends and colleagues fall under emotional intelligence domain. Would you like to make your child to remain sissy who cannot handle his problems? I am sure not.
Guru is a Guru: We are so proud of our heritage where Guru is treated like god. How can we forget our basics? But are we doing that today? It is sad to see that parents, media and the powers that be do not give adequate respect which a teacher deserves. Let us be clear on one point; teachers are not paid anything as compared to the corporate jobs. If we can’t pay them at least give them respect and have faith in them. Teachers are under tremendous pressure. Their work load must be appreciated. Today there is an over monitoring of the school environment- by government, parents and media. This must stop if you as parents want schools to perform in the interest of your children. Where do the principals and teachers go? Is there anyone to understand their problems? I am afraid not ? What about their self esteem and morale? Not the media, not the administration and if parents also don’t cooperate what do they do? Their freedom is being constantly stifled and this is not in the best interest of the entire society.
The rural wave is coming: Children in the rural India still do not have what is available to those in large cities. They are fighting with their back to the wall and have already started challenging those who are better placed in the cities. Unfortunately the urban youth has little resilience, will power or willingness for self denial. This makes them more susceptible to failed will power, inability to handle failure and is a major reason for depression. The number of suicides in recent years has shot up and is an indicator of this malady.
Most modern parents who take up demanding jobs have little time for the children and that is a reality of the day. As if to compensate, many take a soft approach and are even inclined towards pampering their children. Today surplus income of urban parents allows them to get their children expensive clothes and gadgets. Nothing wrong with this. But parents must know where to draw the line and when and how to say no too. Else you are yourself doing a great disservice to your next generation. A bit of self denial, handling pressure, anger and human emotions has to be taught by the parents.
Remember, my experience tells me that teachers and schools are always the well wishers of students. Please trust them. Let them discipline your children for your own good. If you have a problem, let them do it on your behalf. Outsource this to those who are best at it. (views expressed by author are personal)
About Author: Virender Kapoor is an eminent author, educationist and a motivational speaker.
Japan, to support its rapidly expanding IT infrastructure, will recruit around two lakh IT professionals from India. It will also issue green cards to the professionals to settle down in the country, said Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Executive Vice President Shigeki Maeda.
“Currently there are around 9,20,000 IT professionals in the country and there is an immediate demand for more than 2,00,000 IT professionals from India which is likely tofurther swell to 8,00,000 professionals by 2030,” Maeda said in a keynote address at the recently held India-Japan Business Partnership Seminar, Bengaluru.
Due to the advent of rapid technological innovations, Japan wants to fill in the gap and is looking towards India’s assistance in the IT space. According to Maeda, India with its “most-advanced IT Capabilities”, is one of the most ideal partners to help many Japanese companies in handling their limitations to conventional “in-house innovations”.
Japan, he said, is on the road to adapt and adopt innovation and emerging technologies to revolutionise its manufacturing methodology.
“Due to this conscientious process, there is a dearth of well-qualified and trained IT professionals to enhance its competitiveness, particularly, in the areas of life-science, finance, services and agriculture.”
In first of its kind initiative, the Japanese Government will be issuing Green Cards for highly skilled professionals, thereby, providing people to get permanent resident status in as short as one year, Maeda added.
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has partnered with Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), to train management professionals for a niche area like energy through a specialised course.
“The energy sector is going through a lot of transformation and is also crucial for the growth of the economy. To play that role in an effective manner, we need leaders who can drive the sector so that’s why we decided to come up with this course,” said NTPC Ltd Director (Human Resources) Saptarshi Roy.
The partnership between NTPC and IIM-A will come into effect from June for next five years.
Two-year PG Diploma in Management by NTPC School of Business (NSB) will enroll 120 students. The business school will also be supported for the next five years to the extent of Rs 25 crore in order to help the institute become fully functional.
“The role of IIM-A will be to help NSB in conducting and designing this program with their faculty. It will also help in recruiting faculty as well as staff,” said Sunil Kumar Maheshwari, Professor HRM and Strategic Management, IIM- A.
Under the collaboration, IIM-A will use its expertise in management education to support the institute by developing the course and providing guidance in doing research in the energy sector. The premier management institute will also review the programme to strengthen the institute by providing training, Maheshwari added.
Overall fee of the course is expected to be around Rs 15-16 lakh. Initially, faculties from IIM-A will train the students at the business school.
Why it’s time to safeguard the future of India’s education?
India’s education system has changed and revolutionized in recent years. Technology has played a huge role in bringing a revolution in the education sector. Laptops, interactive displays, e-readers, and even e-learning apps are now part of everyday education. However, with the alarming level of pollution, there is a major need for schools and educational institutions to invest in reliable edtech hardware.
It is a well known fact that seamless and interactive learning helps in increasing the retention and assimilation of information in students. Indian schools have implemented smart solutions to offer an affordable yet effective education to the masses. In fact, the education sector is one of the biggest adopters of projector as they form an integral part of the modern, technology driven education sector in India. Since 80 per cent of India’s school teachers feel positive about smart classrooms, projector has become one of the most popular education technologies across India’s classrooms. However, due to the rising costs of maintaining them, there is a major threat to the quality of education in India.
And dust is the key factor to the rising maintenance cost. Over time, with dust and smog increasing in India, a projector can gradually accumulate dust particles in it, which may result in overheating, equipment malfunctioning, breakdowns and unnecessary maintenance costs.
Based on the latest WHO list, India has a definitive probability of being home to 22 of the 50 most polluted cities globally. Indian schools have open playgrounds with sand pits, and most classrooms are subjected to no windows or open windows. Adding to this, the AQI (Air Quality Index) levels are higher inside than outside, meaning that the level of harmful particles in indoor environments is higher than that of outdoor environments. With around 100K units of projectors being installed annually across India’s classrooms, the potential threat posed by harmful dusts in the environment is imminent.
What will dust do to your projector?
With air contamination at its crest in India, there is a great need to concentrate on damage control. Recent studies show alarming numbers of dust pollution, and hence, classroom projectors have been adversely affected by dust. Maintenance and proper dustproof technology will help greatly with broadening the lifetime of projectors. They will not even reduce the maintenance costs but will significantly lead to a decrease in unnecessary expenses.
In the absence of dustproof technologies, projector’s performance could experience the following:
Picture Quality Deterioration – Due to dust accumulation on internal parts, it could lead to the deterioration of image quality, image blemish, and color decay. Ultimately, this can affect the overall learning experience in classrooms.
Thermal Issue- If certain amount of dust is accumulated in the filter or the ventilation system, it will lead to projectors’ airflow being considerably reduced, resulting in overheating and undesirable maintenance costs.
Total operational breakdown- When dust accumulates on color wheel of projectors, the projection will result in abnormal colors, flickering and may eventually cause shut down without warning
Dust-proof Technology to Safeguard the Future of India Education Sector
Investing in dustproof technology can protect the health of faculty and students while creating a new learning experience for the students. BenQ’s Dust GuardTM Series has passed testing in a simulated environment with large amounts of fine dust, soot, and milled cotton lint. It filters out large amounts of harmful dusts, and allows projectors to become invulnerable to them. Also, with the sealed optical engine design, the anti-dust accumulation sensor and dust filter, the dustproof mechanism enhances the safety of the projector. BenQ delivers comprehensive interactive solutions for the classrooms containing features that help prevent eye-strain, fatigue and reduce the transmission of germs by touch.
The dustproof solution ensures optimal reliability and performance by extending projector’s lifeline, reducing maintenance frequency by ? and ensuring high image quality without color decay. It also blocks out 90 per cent of particles and PM 2.5. The Dust Guard series is also equipped with smart eco technology, which further ensures reliable and eco-friendly operation in classrooms.
The edtech industry will continue to witness significant growth in the next few years. There is a need to invest in technology aided teaching methods, which help transform the classroom and improve educational content being taught to students.
KALOREX – A word associated with progressive education since the past two decades, has its banner flying high in many cities in India as well as in the UAE. The Kalorex Group has always committed itself to offer an educational programme to the entire spectrum of learners. Be it an IB World School, the two Delhi Public Schools and five Calorx Public Schools following the CBSE curriculum and the Kalorex Preschool chain of schools. The special initiatives of Kalorex are Prerna – offering interventions for students with special needs and Visamo – catering to the educational needs of the underprivileged students as well as the VEDIC institute of Kalorex offers skill development courses for girls.
The teachers implement curriculum methods and strategies that use technology to maximise student learning using Blended and Flipped class strategies. These are the new age global classroom methods which are being implemented in our schools keeping in mind the huge variety of online resources that are available. With the newly proposed Budget of 2018-19, with focus on technology enabled classrooms with smart boards replacing blackboards, the students of Kalorex have been exposed to the progressive methods of teaching and learning since the beginning.
We also cater to parents’ needs to help them realise that today’s generation is as much at ease with smart phone and laptops as the earlier generation was with books and pens. The age of mobile learning and cloud computing is upon us. Parent workshops are also being held continuously to orient them towards the new trends in technology to ensure understanding of the changing times and their cooperation. Technological innovations are influencing the way students learn and we are doing our bit to keep abreast with the fast moving technological advancements.
Over the years the Group has expanded from 12 institutes till 2012 to more than 40 institutes within a span of 5 years. With a focus on quality teaching and bringing in the latest pedagogies inside the classrooms, Kalorex teachers are known for their innovative teaching styles. The group is strong on systems and processes and promotes a collaborative culture. Talent is recognized through rewards and recognitions and teachers and staff are encouraged to take on professional development programmes to upgrade their skills and knowledge through in house or external trainings and workshops.
The indigenously designed Kalorex Taxonomy aims at developing Goal Setting and Peoples’ Skills in the students and all teaching plans are designed keeping that in mind. The teaching quality is kept in check with regular academic and quality audits done conducted by the Learning Development and Quality Department.
All Kalorexians – students and staff – live up to the Kalorex Core values and display the same in their day to day activities. Dynamism, Humanistic Approach, Living in the Gap (Continuous Learning Mode), Ownership, Speed with Accuracy are the ideals being practiced by every Kalorexian day-in day-out.
The living example of the Kalorex Core Values is the MD and CEO of the group herself – Dr Manjula Pooja Shroff who is the driving force of the Group. Her zeal and enthusiasm motivates and encourages every member of the Kalorex family toput in their best and always stay in the learning mode.
Dr Manjula Pooja Shroff holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from Commonwealth University, London. An IIM Ahmedabad alumni, she is an Edupreneur with dedicated and diverse experience in the field of education. A postgraduate from York University and executive alumni from London School of Economics, her educational institutes and social projects making noteworthy contribution to the Society. She has proven her ability to operate educational institutions with innovative ideas and hands on management, being recognized through a number of National and International awards conferred in the career spanning over two decades including the ‘Secular India Harmony Award’ by the President of India. She also holds an additional portfolio as an Independent Director at Gujarat Gas Company Ltd, Eimco Elecon (India) Limited and Sabarmati Gas Ltd.
Dr Shroff has tremendous zeal and enthusiasm for life and this rubs on to everyone who she connects with. Apart from her hands on involvement in all her institutes, she also advocates a healthy lifestyle for all. An avid practitioner of Aerial Yoga herself, her Forever Young YouTube videos (shroffim.com) have touched people from all walks of life and are highly popular.
Her love for the outdoors has made her try her hand in adventure sports like sky diving, parasailing, snorkeling, skiing, trekking and white water rafting. She has participated in a few running marathons, is an enthusiastic cyclists who has attempted cross country rides. Besides her participating in cylothons, she has been promoting the cause of Green Earth by encouraging young riders from 3 -16 years to pick up their cycles and ride.
