|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
'Education gap can be bridged by IT'
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Experts say in addition to setting up more varsities, government should also use information technology to impart education
|
Out-of-the-box thinking is need of the hour: Experts
|
|
|
|
Mihika Basu
E
ven as the government of India goes about establishing new IITs and IIMs, experts believe that digital learning can play an important role in imparting quality education to nation's bright minds. Speaking at the 20th Annual Management Education Convention of Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS) in collaboration with Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Dr Vijay Govindarajan, professor at Tuck School of Business (Dartmouth-US) and chief innovation consultant at GE, stressed that the fastest way to close India's education gap is through digital and information technology
"At present only a few thousand students are able to study at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). But another 100,000 are equally smart. So why can't the IITs come together and create an e-IIT and expand its reach," he questioned. ____ "Most of the institutions in the
|
rethink and reinvent our education system fundamentally. The education gap cannot be closed by merely building more universities," he said. Pointing out that establishing more universities would mean acquiring land and putting together the necessary infrastructure, Govindarajan said India must instead make good use of digital technology "Information Technology (IT) will allow our students to have access to global faculty"
IIT Madras professor Mangala Sunder Krishnan, who is the national coordinator for the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) web courses, said that each IIT is developing its own distance education programmes and there is a proposal for developing an e-IIT as well. While it is important to set up more universities, a concept like e-IIT can also help students immensely, he said. "The fundamental problem here is unavailability of good quality faculty We can tide over this issue by using concepts like e-IIT." For this, he said, many labs will have to be set-up so that students can have
|
IITs as well as simultaneous creation of national labs."
The main objective of NPTEL programme, being carried out by the seven IITs and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, is to enhance the quality of engineering education in the country by developing curriculum based video and web courses. In the first phase of the project, supplementary content for 129 web courses and 110 courses in video format has been developed. Phase-II will see the creation of additional 500 web and video courses. "Through NPTEL we want to build enough e-content repository that will help to create a joint e-IIT programme," said Krishnan.
IIT Bombay director Ashok Misra said that the IITs can develop distance learning education for other institutes that do not have enough good faculties. "But the IIT ethos, the whole system of direct contact and residential programme cannot be replicated through an e-IIT system," said Misra.
Govindaraian also said that telemedi-
|
|
|
|
I
nnovation is the key to success, said Dr Vijay Govindarajan, professor at Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth, US, and chief innovation consultant at GE, exhorting Indian educationists to encourage out-of-the-box thinking among management students. "Our innovation gap is huge. As management educators, what are we doing to help youngsters close the gap? What are we waiting for," he asked. Govindarajan was speaking at the 20th Annual Management Education Convention of Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS) in collaboration with Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research on Wednesday "Nurturing Thought Leadership through Management Education" is the theme of the three-day convention (August 27-29) that will see luminaries like industrialist Kumar Man-galam Birla and entrepreneur Kishore Biyani of Pantaloon Retail address the gathering.
Govindarajan said that India has the ability to become the world leader and this can be achieved through lateral thinking. "We need to encourage our MBA students to come up with out-of-the box solutions," he said.
Stressing upon the need to innovate instead of merely aping successful policies, Vijay said it is high time the country re-invented its curriculum. He advised MBA students to become entrepreneurs. "We need to look at ways to reinvent our management education and bring in new, innovative concepts," he said. Citing the example of Tata Motor's small car project Nano, Govindarajan said, "By launching the Nano, Tata Motors has is trying to convert non-consumers, comprising those who currently use two-wheelers, into consumers. This is out-of-the-box thinking. This is how we
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Transformation begins with high ambition. Tata Group set before itself the uphill task of getting the two-wheeler users to switch to a four-wheeler, he said. While managing the present and selectively forgetting the past, "we need to create the future," he said.
|
to design the future.
"For our country to progress, we need foundation building in terms of people development and management schools have a huge role to play in this. The industry is rooted in the past, but the future beckons us. So, are we preparing a course for the young demographic cut? Have we geared ourselves for the 10% growth paradigm?"
Kamath said that the country's booming job market will soon require 10-15 million. "Is our our education system is responding to that stimuli," he asked. "Ten years from now there will be a dramatic change in the real world. Will there be a corresponding change in our education system?"
Saying that the country requires thought leaders and a "renaissance" in vocational education, Kamath said that he will push the agenda with CII for having active academia-industry collaboration. "This is the way forward. We need to have co-creation of curriculum along with academia right from the kindergarten to undergraduate to vocational to professional education," said Kamath.
b_mihika@ dnaindia.net
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Uday Salunkhe, Welingkar director and AIMS president further reinforced the need to have an "innovation overdrive".
K V Kamath, managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank Limited and president of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), stressed the need to constantly look back and forward in order
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|