Education Briefs

A spanking new state-of-the-art Kingfisher Training Academy (KTA) sited in Mumbai, is all set to launch training programmes to prepare India’s youth for new-age, fast growth careers in the retail, hospitality, aviation and customer service sectors. The academy boasts contemporary training infrastructure, course modules based on evolving industry demands, and a trained and qualified faculty committed to creating a world class training environment, and imparting quality customised training to young aspirants in aviation, retail, hospitality and customer service industries.

Speaking on the occasion of the inauguration of KTA on April 5, Dr. Vijay Mallya, chairman of the UB group and CEO, Kingfisher Airlines said, "Today the country lacks training facilities that can keep pace with the boom in new-age economy sectors and produce human resources to lead this growth. The service industry thrives on positive customer experiences. With increased competition it becomes imperative to build that experience through skilled personnel. KTA will groom young professionals to effectively meet this growing demand."

The KTA campus is equipped with the most modern facilities offering a cabin services simulator, an Airbus A320 mock up, classrooms equipped with audio-visual facilities, computer-based training rooms, a food and beverage services laboratory and grooming suites.

Liqwid Krystal, a Bangalore-based e-learning company providing learning solutions to academic and corporate markets launched its nexgen gyanX Version 2 software package on March 28 in the garden city. The new version offers a more versatile, fun-filled experience to its 150,000 Visweshwaraya Technology University student subscribers, according to the company.

Speaking on the occasion, Anand Adkoli, CEO and co-founder of Liqwid Krystal said: "gyanX has always been a subscriber friendly package, but with the additional features of Version 2, scalability and performance of the online platform has improved. Based on market feedback and surveys, the gyanX roadmap has evolved to cater to needs of students across semesters." Like the first version, gyanX Version 2 offers online learning to supplement VTU’s course curriculum, but with improved features.

The key features of gyanX V2 include assessment tools for self-evaluation — pre and post assessments for featured courses; industry connect, and listing of jobs and project opportunities. The supplementary courseware and content has been sourced from global leaders such as Thomson NETg and Safari Books Online. Certification courses from reputed institutes like Indian Institute of Science will also be made available to students.

GyanX Version 2 will also make life easier for corporates. "By posting jobs and requirements in gyanX, companies can create their own resume banks, manage large numbers of candidates, track hiring processes and fill vacancies without paperwork. This includes streamlining recruitment processes and leveraging the resume database for industry, and jobs for our users," says Adkoli.

Little wonder Adkoli is optimistic about the future of Liqwid Krystal. "The new version provides a platform for innovation and scalability of gyanX into the future. We look forward to continuing the development and working with a sturdy customer interface to achieve higher productivity for gyanX," he adds.

Primus Public School Bangalore (PPS), a new CISCE and CIE (UK) affiliated day school, invites admission applications from parents of nursery-class VI children (ICSE curriculum) and nursery-class IX (IGCSE) children for the academic year beginning June 15.

The promoters of PPS are T.P. Vasanth, S. Suryanarayanan and Capt. Unni Krishnan — experienced educationists who were involved with the construction and operationalisation of Bangalore’s showpiece Indus International School (estb. July 2003).

Located off Sarjapur Road within three kms of the Wipro corporate office, Primus Public School is within easy reach of residential localities like Koramangala, Outer Ring Road, HSR Layout, Sarjapur Road, Whitefield, Indiranagar and Domlur. School buses with trained staff will commute students from pre-designated points in various localities.

"The depth and spectrum of knowledge offered by CISCE, Delhi combined with technology, curriculum and world class teaching practices of CIE (UK) will set PPS apart from other schools. Class strengths are small to enable better teacher attention and care and the fee structure is highly affordable. Our education philosophy is incorporated in the PPS motto aude sapere or ‘dare to know’," says Unni Krishnan, managing trustee of the promoter Primus Trust.

According to Unni Krishnan, for extra-curricular education students can choose swimming, basketball, badminton, table tennis, football and gymnastics. "Trained and qualified coaches will inculcate physical culture and encourage competitive spirit, team work and knowledge that is truly experiential," he adds.

A contingent of 40 student musicians of the Woodstock School, Mussoorie staged a musical extravaganza in Delhi on March 31 before an appreciative audience at the Pipal Tree Amphitheatre, part of the renowned Akshara theatre in the national capital. Well known theatre personalities Gopal Sharman and Jalabala Vaidya, founder-directors of Akshara hosted the school’s musicians who entertained the 400-plus audience with a wide repertoire of music.

The programme began with a classical jazz performance followed by the school’s 14-strong chamber choir, with the first half of the concert ending with two evocative ragas performed on sitar and santoor. The second half of the programme included two Western classical pieces performed by the student chamber ensemble and a faculty string quartet.

The concert was a fundraising event for Woodstock School during which a sum of Rs.1 lakh plus was raised to benefit the school’s employees in terms of housing improvements.