Education Briefs

The Hyderabad-based Sql Star International Ltd, a well known IT education company for over two decades, is taking its Education for Employment (EfE) programme to the next level. The EfE programme is being taught in 12 engineering colleges in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Maharashtra. EfE provides industry-oriented supplementary education to pre-graduate students in all streams of engineering.

"The objective of EfE is to enable students of all engineering streams to improve their skill-sets for employment in the booming IT/ITES industry. Currently 30-40 percent of recruitment by the IT industry is from non-computer science and non-IT streams, forcing IT companies to lose four-six months in training fresh graduates to become industry ready," says N.R. Ganti, chairman and managing director of SQL Star.

Under this non-disruptive supplemental education programme, a combination of instructor-led and web-enabled courses are imparted to pre-graduation students in partnership with college managements. "The advantage of EfE courses is that they eliminate extra home to institute commuting and cost and are in harmony with the academic time tables of engineering colleges. The focus is on extensive practice-oriented learning, wherein instructor-led learning is supplemented by material available on the web. This provides an opportunity to students to devote extra hours to learning at home or in their hostels. Moreover the pace of the programme can be according to the capability of the learner," explains Ganti.

SQL Star International is a global IT solutions and services enterprise with eight knowledge centres and 13 offices in India and wholly owned subsidiaries in the US, UK, Australia and Singapore. It has established state-of-the-art development centres in Hyderabad and New Delhi, San Diego, California and Edison, New Jersey (USA).

The Manipal and Bangalore-based Manipal University — India’s largest private sector provider of professional (medical, engineering, business management etc) education with an aggregate enrollment of 12,000 students — has announced full tuition freeships to 100 MBBS, BDA, BE and B.Pharma students who top the university’s entrance exam in 2008. Moreover candidates who rank between 101 and 500 from families with an annual income of less than or equal to Rs.2 lakh will also be offered full tuition freeships.

In addition Manipal University also offers the following scholarships to meritorious students:

• NXP Scholarships (formerly Philips Scholarships). Valued at up to Rs.4 lakh to the top ten admitted into MS (embedded systems) and M.Tech (computer science and engineering) programmes

• GE Scholarship. Every year two students, each of M.Tech (illumination technology) and MS (medical software), are awarded this scholarship which covers tution fees, accommodation and other expenses. Selection is based on GE guidelines.

• Harish B Fund Scholarship. Manipal University has also instituted three scholarships for MCIS (Manipal Centre for Information Sciences) students in the memory of the late director Prof. Harish B.

• AICTE Scholarship. AICTE provides financial assistance to GATE qualified students enrolled for M.Tech/M.Pharma courses.

• ISLE Scholarship. The Indian Society of Lighting Engineers awards two scholarships to students admitted to M.Tech (energy management and lighting) and two more to students of final year BE (E&E) branch, every year. These scholarships are sponsored by Philips India Ltd (two), Bajaj Electricals Ltd (one) and Thorn Lighting India (one).

• ITC Scholarship. ITC Hotels Ltd has also instituted a scholarship valued Rs.3.5 lakh to BHM (bachelor of hotel management) students excelling in operational subjects and for the best all-round graduating student.

Godrej Interio, a division of the Mumbai-based home and office furniture manufacturing major Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd, together with EducationWorld staged an interactive seminar ‘Raising Teaching-Learning Standards to Global Norms’ at the Blossom High School, Mumbai on February 9. The seminar was attended by a cross-section of the educational fraternity comprising principals and teachers from about 150 schools and colleges across Mumbai. Well known speakers from the education and related fields addressed the seminar on several issues including experiential learning, sports education, creating stimulating learning environments, etc.

"Godrej Interio intends to create conducive classroom environments to improve learning outcomes in schools across the country," said Manoj Ganjawalla, vice president (sales & marketing) of Godrej Interio, speaking on the occasion. "During the past decade in particular, educational furniture has undergone a makeover without compromising children’s safety and school requirements. Steel and wood fusion in educational furniture lends a sleek and stylish look along with the promise of durability."

The Bangalore-based Ohio University-Christ College Academy invites admission applications for Ohio University’s MBA programme. The 21-month programme which includes 18-month course work plus an additional three months professional development component, is being offered at Christ College, Bangalore.

Graduates with a minimum average of 55 percent are eligible to apply. The Ohio-Christ Academy accepts valid GMAT, MAT and CAT scores. The duly filled application form must reach the academy’s admission office on or before March 31, (late admission). Short-listed candidates will be invited for an online psychometric test followed by personal interview.

The Ohio University-Christ College Academy for Management Education is a collaborative endeavour between Ohio University’s College of Business and the Bangalore-based Christ Education Society to develop human capital in India. "The objective of the academy is to develop managers equipped with cross-cultural skills required in a global economy. The Ohio-MBA programme provides aspiring managers with the opportunity to earn a degree awarded by Ohio University without the high investment needed for a business education in the US. The Ohio-MBA Programme is accredited by AACSB-International and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business," says an academy spokesperson.

The Delhi and Kanpur-based JK group of companies — a big name in textiles and automotive tyres — has diversified into business management education. Under the leadership of Govind Hari Singhania (former chairman of the board of governors of IIT-Kanpur and former president of ASSOCHAM), it has promoted a state-of-the-art B-school spread over 30 acres in Gurgaon, Noida with a capital outlay of Rs.45 crore.

"The campus will not only have wi-fi connectivity but will also be environment friendly ensuring optimum utilisation of energy and water resources which includes appropriate use of building material, energy efficient buildings, water harvesting systems, etc," says a JK group spokesperson.

The JK Business School (JKBS) which admitted its first batch of 75 postgrad students in 2006 offers a two-year full-time postgrad programme with specialisation in finance, marketing, IT, HRD and international business. Moreover it has also introduced executive education courses in logistics and supply chain management, rural marketing, mall management, brand management, etc.

JKBS has also signed academic collaboration agreements with California State University, Monterey Bay and the International University, Geneva.

Merittrac, India’s largest skills assessment company has been awarded the NASSCOM IT Innovation Award for developing its technologically advanced integrated assessment centres christened MeritTrac Assessment Zones (MAZ). These centres combine the efficiency of online testing with wide reach, delivering "huge process efficiencies" to corporates and academic institutions.

"The spirit of innovation permeates through MeritTrac with the company itself being conceived as a pioneering concept. It is vitally important for companies to create sustainable business differentiators to survive and grow in a competitive space. MAZ is one such concept which will redefine online testing in India and will not only help pass efficiencies to clients but also open up the area of online testing in the education space," said Madan Patki co-founder and chief executive of MeritTrac speaking on the occasion.

MeritTrac designs and delivers assessments to evaluate abilities, skills and knowledge for both corporate and academic customers. Since its promotion in 2000, MeritTrac has assessed over 3 million candidates for over 150 clients in 75 cities across India including IT, BPO, BFSL, engineering, FMCG, healthcare, retail, education, manufacturing and public sector companies.