EDUCATION INSIDER

RNI No: 114514 KERENG/2012/41957

A good education is a great insurance: Pavan Soni

Don’t emulate the West:

Githa Hariharan March 2013 l `50 $5 www.educationinsider.net

Hospitality

Jobs IN VOGUE CAMPUS FOCUS NUS Singapore

SPECIAL FOCUS Medical Education ENTREPRENEURIAL COLLEGE MIT, Massachusetts

Volume 2 Issue 3 | March 2013 Editor Ravi Deecee Head-Operations M Kumar Assistant Editor Dipin Damodharan Chief Copy Editor K S Rajagopal Senior Reporters Lakshmi Narayanan Prashob K P Sreekanth Ravindran RESPONSE TEAM Coordinating Editor Sumithra Sathyan Reporters Tony William Biyanka Merlyn John Shalet James Neethu Mohan Design & Layout Kailasnath Anil P John Web Manager S Sreenath

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EDITOR’S NOTE

DC Media Publication

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Invest in yourself

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s a super power in waiting, India needs new ideas to solve complex challenges faced by its multicultural society. For that, we have to constantly produce smart minds from our educational institutions. If the output from our educational institutes, including the elite ones, does little to advance the pursuit of knowledge and innovative ideas, there’s every chance that the Indian vision of becoming a super power remains stock-still. The very basic approach of the policy makers towards education has to be changed. As the practical oriented, activity based learning approach is gaining more prominence, we have a real chance to change the equation now. What’s the way out? ‘Invest in yourself’, this is the idea that should drive our education policies and lies at the core of the Education Insider DNA. The idea is to promote true education by following a method of “inward looking” rather than the present “outward looking model”. The government should treat good education as the biggest investment for shaping the future generation. Our columnist, innovation evangelist Pavan Soni, takes up the issue in-depth. He says any sort of education is an investment, and not just an investment, but insuring oneself throughout his/her lifetime. However, not‘any’ education, but a ‘good’ education is indeed a great insurance. By good education, Pavan means the one where ‘you earn your place on merit’, and which offers a wider exposure. Read Pavan’s article on page 30.

As a solution to the chaos in the sector, S Vaidyanathan, Chief Executive Officer of Manipal Global Education Services, suggests that the government should encourage public-private partnerships in education. Meanwhile, in our Brain Wave section, Indian-born English writer Githa Hariharan says the system is limited to a rigid curriculum and evaluations are only done on the basis of examinations; naturally, an all round development suffers. This reminds me of C Rajagopalachari’s (freedom fighter) statement that all examinations are different forms of compulsions.We also bring you the reactions of campus community on the unwanted ban on creative expressions, in the backdrop of Vishwaroopam incident. Is creative freedom under threat in India? See the debate on page 34.

Then there’s a motivating cover story for students interested in clinching a career in hospitality industry. Plus an article on the hiring trends in 2013 and much more. I hope these articles will stimulate your thoughts. And, of course, do tell us, what you think of this issue once you’ve read it.

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

15th March 2013, The Oberoi, New Delhi

OF

INDIA

FOR SPONSORSHIP AND SPEAKING OPPORTUNITIES: Rajat Wadhwa, Email: rajat.wadhwa@network18online.com, Mobile: +91 9999090990 Vijo Mathew, Email: vijo.mathew@network18online.com, Mobile: +91 9871234381 | Website: www.indiaedusummit.com

CONTENTS 22 COVER STORY THE REGULARS

50 Leadership “The three quotients involved in leadership are vision quotient, business quotient and emotional quotient,” says S Y Siddiqui, COO, Maruti Suzuki

10 Edu Capsule 12 News Plus Indian varsities should do more research, innovation

16 Personalities For Sony Joy, CEO and cofounder of Mob ME Wireless Solutions, entrepreneurship comes first

18 Expert Interview

The art of hosting, do you have it in you?

78 Motivation Pravin Bhasin is the founder of the NGO ‘Books for All’ which makes good-quality books available to underprivileged children in schools which do not have libraries

A career in the hospitality industry in India and abroad is very much rewarding as it opens up a new world of opportunities before the young professionals. Unlike in the previous days, hotel management today is a vast area that requires expertise to cater to diverse clients whose demands are fast changing. Besides proper training, skills, utmost commitment and above all hard work are most essential for one’s professional success and growth

EXCLUSIVES 44 Sramana Mitra

BRAINWAVE 64 Githa Hariharan Indian-born English writer Githa Hariharan talks about her vision on education

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One Million by One Million founder Sramana Mitra says women entrepreneurs in the world don’t seem to get as much recognition as their male counterparts get. She is always excited to learn and work with other technology-focused female entrepreneurs like Zoe Peden, co-founder of Insane Logic

30 Pavan Soni Innovation evangelist Pavan Soni’s exclusive thoughts on education. “What’s common between Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Buckminster Fuller? They are all college dropouts, and dropouts from no ordinary college, rather from Harvard University,” says Pavan

The government should encourage public-private partnerships in education: S Vaitheeswaran, CEO, Manipal Global Education Services

42 Inspiration How to cope with adversities in life, learn from young entrepreneur Arun Pandit

COLUMNS 53 Dr B Ashok, IAS Tips to crack Civil Services examination

48 T P Sethumadhavan Advanced study programmes for career growth

39 Dr R Jubi Facing the challenge of career choice is critical in adolescents’ lives EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

CONTENTS 56 FOREIGN CAMPUS NUS, Singapore NUS, located at Kent Ridge, is the oldest and largest university in Singapore in terms of student enrolment and the curriculum offered. NUS offers a global approach to education and research with focus on Asian perspectives and expertise

16 Entrepreneurial College The revenues of the MIT alumni together represent the eleventh biggest economy in the world – nothing more needs to be said about the entrepreneurial spirit of MIT

Special Story

34 India ideal destination for medical education India has a rich tradition of medical practices from ancient times. Physicians like Charaka and Susrutha have added glory to this hoary tradition. In course of time, with modern technology and sophisticated research, the country gained an eminent place in the map of global medical education

66 Finishing school We need more finishing schools like Good Shepherd Finishing School (GSFS), a fully residential school that envisions women empowerment through quality living

28 Is creative freedom under threat?

Welcome to the second edition of Campus Voice, Team Education Insider has conducted a debate on the issue among a cross-section of the campus community

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

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FEEDBACK

Gardner, an exceptional genius Howard Gardner is an exceptional genius. It was a privilege for Education Insider to interview such a personality like Gardner. His theory on Multiple Intelligences has profound impact on students. He has shaken the basics of conventional teaching method and opened a new world of knowledge. Congratulations to the editorial team of Education Insider Avinash, Coimbatore

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The article on Multiple Intelligences in the last issue of Education Insider is outstanding. Our educational institutions should implement Howard Gardner’s theory on Multiple Intelligences. It is really wonderful to know about such thought process through this magazine. Congrats to the editorial team. Expecting such articles in the coming issues as well.

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Mind-boggling interview

E-MAIL YOUR LETTERS TO: editorial@dcmedia.in

The interview was excellent with mind-boggling information.

FAX THEM TO: 0484 4021 145 TO SUBSCRIBE: 0484 3047 405 FOR SUBSCRIPTION QUERIES: info@dcmedia.in Letters may be edited for brevity and clarity.

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Outstanding interview

Aarya, Mumbai

Vaman Kumar, Kochi

A great piece of work The interview with Howard Gardner was nice. I have learned some new terms in psychology. I also read the interview of Rajiv Malhotra which appeared in a previous issue of Education Insider. It was really great.

Sunil Mishra, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg

Innovation Evangelist Pavan Soni’s column is a good recipe for the policy makers. In spite of being caught up in the cobweb of red-tapism and bureaucratic shambles, our country has been able to churn out worldclass talents and a prominent position among the emerging nations of the world. We should acknowledge the fact very well that government is hardly doing anything to promote entrepreneurship among youths. We can’t become major stakeholders in the international business unless the government promotes entrepreneurship to the maximum extent. We can’t follow blindness to the fact that countries, which are of the size of small Indian states such as Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan are doing excellently well to promote entrepreneurship and they stand much taller than us when it comes to contributing towards international trade.

A role model

Kiran Deepak, Delhi

The story of Anand Kumar, the Founder of Ramanujan School of Mathematics, published in the last issue of Education Insider, is an inspiration to all. His social commitment and passion for mathematics is highly commendable. All the best for his future initiatives.

Rangeer, Bihar

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

EDU CAPSULE Toyota Green Journey winners Applications invited for MPhil, PhD and LLD

BANGALORE: Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt Ltd has announced the winners of Toyota Green Journey, an innovative contest where students share innovative ideas on sustainable initiatives and methods of improving waste management, fuel consumption and usage of green technologies for a greener future.

Students from top 200 institutes in India participated in the contest. The National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai, (the best Ad Campaign), Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai, (the best Blog Article) and Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, (the best Concept Paper) are the winners.

Applications invited for MSIT admissions

HYDERABAD: Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, has invited application for admissions to Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT), a post-graduate programme offered by a consortium of universities in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University, US with the support of the state government of Andhra Pradesh.

The candidates should have 10+2/ Intermediate/CBSE/ ICSE. Aspirants should attend three stages of selection process, including Graduate Aptitude Test, Listening Comprehension and Counselling, and Preparatory Course for the admission.

Entrance exam will be held on April 18, 2013 and the last date for the submission of the application form is May 13, 2013.

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Bangalore: National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore, has invited applications for admissions to MPhil, PhD and Doctor of Law (LLD) courses which will be commenced in 2013. Candidates should have LLM degree from a recognised university securing ‘B+’ grade or an aggregate of 55% marks or its equivalent to pursue their MPhil. Candidates should have PhD degree in Law with minimum 10 years of teaching and exceptional academic achievement in the field of Law for LLD and for PhD, candidates should have a LLM degree with 55% marks or securing ‘B+’ grade.Candidates will be selected by the PG Council.

AICTE receives180 applications NEW DELHI: With regard to the opening of new undergraduate technical educational institutions, the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has received nearly 180 applications.

AICTE has received maximum number of applications from Tamil Nadu with 30.

By the end of 2012-13 academic year, the state will have a total 525 technical colleges. According to a report, in many technical institutes, several engineering seats are lying vacant.

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

UK Law School announces 30% scholarship for Indian students

SOUTHAMPTON: University of Southampton’s Law School has declared 30 per cent scholarship for Indian students who aspire to pursue undergraduate LLB programme in the UK. The scholarships are given for the courses such as LLB Maritime Law (3 years), LLB Law (3 years), LLB International Legal Studies (4 years) and European Legal Studies (4 years). Aspirants can apply through University and College Admission Service for the scholarship. The entry requirements include a minimum IELTS score of 6.5 in each component and a satisfactory personal statement.

LPU inks MoU with four US varsities

JALANDHAR: With the aim to increase co-operation between the partner varsities in research and development activities, Lovely Professional University (LPU), a private semi-residential university, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with four renowned universities in the US. The major varsities in this agreement are State University, University of Iowa, Kirkwood Community College and University of Northern Iowa.

MoU encourages quality education and co-operation in the fields of academics, students’ exchange, research proposals, administrative staff exchange and joint degree programmes.

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

Applications invited for MPhil, PhD admissions CHENNAI: Meenakshi University has invited applications for admissions to MPhil and PhD for the academic year 2013-14. The university offers MPhil course for one year full time or two years part time and PhD course for full time three years or part time four years.

MPhil in Commerce, Corporate Secretary, Mathematics, Tamil, English, History, Economics, Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry, Management, Bio-technology and Education, and PhD in Medical, Dentistry, Health Sciences and Engineering are offered.

UTI MF to launch investor education programmes KOLKATA: UTI Mutual Fund is all set to launch investor education programmes in 3,000 blocks and sub-districts in 2013-14. It will also provide training to nearly 5,000 foundation level advisors in the top 15 cities.

Having a tie-up with National Institute of Securities Market (NISM), UTI MF will focus on helping the company boost its market shares in these cities.

Nearly, 30 per cent of the company’s total business comes from outside the top 15 cities at present.

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NEWS PLUS

Dadaab Campus to provide education to Somali refugees DADAAB: The first higher-level institution in Kenya, Dadaab Campus of Kenyatta University is set to improve the life of Somali refugees and their education opportunities, and prepare them for returning home.

Classes will include diploma, undergraduate and master’s courses in public policy, peace and conflict studies, commerce and education which

will be open to refugees, students from the local community and staff from humanitarian agencies.

Known as ‘the father of education’ in Dadaab, Marangu Njogu, Executive Director of the Windle Trust, is a key player in the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees (BHER) project, a partnership between Canadian and Kenyan institutions.

“The Kenyatta University campus will act as a launch-pad to provide education which is the most critical element in helping human beings to develop and be self-reliant,” he says.

Training teachers on how to use computers in the classrooms and organising electricity, and internet connections, funds for the projects are being offered by a UNHCR campaign. Teachers, parents and community leaders should be involved for the great success of this project.

Technology is the key to another education initiative in Dadaab, a joint project by UNHCR’s education and innovation units that has received funding and support from Microsoft and Kenyan telecoms firm Safaricom.

Cambridge University to restart entrance tests CAMBRIDGE: Cambridge University has announced that the university will be replacing the AS-Level qualifications with its own entrance eligibility test for prospective students. The entrance tests will be held after 27 years with regard to the university admission procedures.

As part of the government’s directive, the university has begun to explore different options in order to attract the brightest talents to its campus. Depending heavily upon its AS-levels, Cambridge University seems to be considering its proposition in the admission procedure. A source from the university stated that the introduction of new test would be extremely different from the older version test which was abolished in 1986. The university will be cautious while preparing the new test paper for the students. Currently, students in the UK are being largely motivated and inspired to attain good AS-Level grades in order to apply for their admission into this renowned university. As the govern-

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ment is concerned with the quality of graduates being churned out in the UK, the government had announced A-level reforms. It would help resurrect the traditional two-year A-Levels, which had been criticised by the education sector. As per the government claims, the new A-Level tests will be launched in 2015. Cambridge University officials would like the government to continue with the current test until year 2012. As the University currently chooses its students based on their AS-Level results, the teaching staffs at the university have expressed concern over the entrance test.

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

‘Indian varsities need to do more research, innovation’

NEW DELHI: With a view of catapulting Indian education to global standards, Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for Human Resource Development, remarked that Indian education has gone through an amazing journey during the last 65 years.

The minister was speaking at Edupreneurs Awards Ceremony organised by Engineering Watch at Russian Centre of Science and Culture, Delhi.

“When Britishers left, India had just 17 per cent literacy, 36 universities and four lakh students. Today, India has 74 per cent literacy, 670 universities and 20 million students. Though there has been a stupendous transformation, we cannot be complacent about it,” the minister said. Sharing his concern, he stated, “No Indian university is ranked amongst the top 100 universities in the world, which is due to the lack of promotion of research and innovation in Indian colleges and universities. The ranking agencies globally give great importance to R&D in educational institutions.” Talking about the technical education and skill gap witnessed by industry, Tharoor said that as per FICCI survey, 65 per cent of employers in India are not satisfied with the kind of workforce prepared by educational institutions. “The technical students hired by companies are given one more year of education by the companies in order to assimilate them,” he said. He called upon the edupreneurs to work closely with the companies and understand their requirements in order to nurture globally employable workforce.

EPSI summit held to discuss needs of Indian Higher Education system NEW DELHI: A two-day summit, organised by Education Promotion Society for India (EPSI), the national body of over 500 higher education institutions, was held on February 14-15. Shashi Tharoor, Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, addressed the crucial need for transformational leaders, inspiring academicians and capable education administrators in the Indian Higher Education system.

In the keynote address, Vayalar Ravi, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, highlighted the opportunities of the young Indian diaspora soaking in the heritage, culture and values that Indian education can offer.

Scores of senior academic leaders from educational institutions discussed the need for transformational leaders. “The success of “winning university” is directly linked to the type of leadership. Today, we do not have competitive leadership. It is true in the case of vice-chancellors, academic deans and heads of departments,” says Prof Arun Nigavekar, former UGC Chairman and EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

Raja Ramanna Fellow in Science and Technology Park, University of Pune.With the lack of 50,000 capable academic leaders to manage institutions of higher learning, the Indian education system faces the biggest challenge in creating “winning universities” that produce graduates who are a driving force in the knowledge-linked economy and are also talented brains that generate new knowledge.

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PERSONALITIES Sony Joy Though Sony Joy was a class-topper in the engineering college, he did not take up any job, instead ventured into business with the sole determination to become an entrepreneur. Within six years, his efforts paid off. Sony currently serves as a CEO and co-founder of Mob ME Wireless Solutions, one of the successful start-ups in the telecommunications sector in India

Entrepreneurship comes first

by Biyanka Merlyn John

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bout six years ago, Sony Joy and his team had dreamt of establishing a venture where they could do something creative, apart from their studies. They had to go through many hardships and face many challenges to attain their goals. As they were always out-of-box thinking, the team was not willing to give up its firm determination. The dream of Sony Joy and his team came true when their company started on December 12, 2006. Their success itself is an instance of their determination, hard work and effort.

With the aim of being an engineer like any other students, Sony Joy pursued his engineering studies at College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram. Although he was a class-topper, Sony and some of his batch mates came together and planned to establish a venture with focus on their creativity. He felt that friends from colleges would ensure the quality of relations and the smooth-functioning of the company. The comfort zone also can be maintained and hence, the possibility for risk will be less.

Sony Joy currently serves as a CEO and co-founder of Mob ME Wireless Solutions, one of the successful start-ups in the telecommunications sector in India. A native of Thrissur, he makes himself a live-wire in the smooth functioning of Mob ME, the first college start-up in Kerala to be incubated through a government funded Technology Business Incubator at Technopark.

Being an entrepreneur at the age

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of 27, Sony directs the m-VAS and Network Solutions Verticals of Mob ME. Sony Joy believes that an entrepreneur is someone who seeks an opportunity from the people around the world. An entrepreneur is someone who wants to make a change in and around the world and he must have a view of the world in a different way. He always prefers to have various choices, changes and moves.

Making changes play a vital role in the entrepreneurship and the biggest factor to be accomplished as an entrepreneur. The people should know how importance does an entrepreneur have.

Sony says that the creative ideas or themes, capital and mentorship should be the major requisites for a successful entrepreneur. NRIs who can invest their money should appreciate the students who get equipped with creative ideas. The eminent people who hold a high position in a leading company can guide the students who are interested in business ventures.

Sony Joy has been awarded Sri Sri Young Entrepreneur Award-2012. It is a recognition for the company as their start-up village project ensures not to keep an eye on profit and equity from any company. It can be considered a non-commercial project which would extend financial assistance to the people who belong to the middle class.

Sony strongly feels that the quality of curiosity should be instilled in children to nurture more entrepreneurs. Children should be free to ask anything

and they must have enough space to convey their opinion and wishes.

Sony Joy was inspired by the book Rich Dad Poor Dad written by Robert Kiyosaki to achieve more heights in his entrepreneurial career. Richard Branson, founder and the Chairman of Virgin Group, was his role model. Sony intends to give a message, “Failure is the cost of success and persistence� to all the budding entrepreneurs.

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

Most Entrepreneurial Colleges MIT

Mentoring entrepreneurship, the way

by Dipin Damodharan

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts Undergraduates: 4384

Entrepreneurship should be a response to societal changes; and so it has to be taught in the best way. The world now thinks that the best solution to the problems of unemployment and poverty is nothing but entrepreneurship. When one thinks of becoming an entrepreneur, he has to learn the basics from the best. Education Insider starts a series to present the 10 most entrepreneurial colleges in the world. In this edition, we are featuring the most famous and one of the widely celebrated educational institutes of the world, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The revenues of the MIT alumni together represent the eleventh biggest economy in the world–nothing more needs to be said about the entrepreneurial spirit of MIT.

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EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

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IT’s education system spans five schools, architecture and planning, engineering, humanities, arts and social sciences, management, and science. In addition, there are over 30 departments and programmes. However, the driving force of the institute’s entrepreneurial activities is Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. Founded in the early 1990s, the centre at the MIT Sloan School of Management, the business and management school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has a long-term vision – that is, nurturing MIT students’ entrepreneurial activities and interests in education and research.

MIT Entrepreneurship Center Location: Room E40-160, Muckley Building, One Amherst Street (MIT Building E40), Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Founders: Florence Sender, entrepreneur and Sloan School faculty member; and Edward B Roberts, MIT Professor, entrepreneur and venture capitalist.

Elite Alumni

Some of the best alumni entrepreneurs from MIT are:

Roger Ward Babson: Entrepreneur, founder of Babson College.

Aditya Birla: Industrialist, son of Basant Kumar Birla and father of Kumar Mangalam, who heads Aditya Birla Group.

William R Hewlett: Co-founder, Hewlett-Packard (revenue: US $120.357 billion-2012).

Colin Angle: Co-founder of iRobot (revenue: US $400.95 million).

Amar Bose: Founder and chairman, Bose Corporation (revenue: US $2.28 billion-2011).

John S Reed: Chairman, New York Stock Exchange.

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

The mission The Entrepreneurship Center has been imparting practical entrepreneurial education throughout MIT courses. It also gives assistance to student entrepreneurs in the form of office resources, space, expert mentorship, and grants and awards.

Entrepreneurship Center helps commercialise the technologies invented by MIT students. It also supports the annual MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, and the activities of student groups called Innovation Teams.

According to Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, these groups are designed to support internal MIT students by organising resources relevant to entrepreneurship. The MIT $100K is one competition and three contests. Each contest is independent. What this means is that you do not have to enter or win one to enter the others.

The first is Pitch Contest, followed by Accelerate Contest, and culminating in Launch Contest. The website of The MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition defines it as a leadingedge forum for students and researchers in the MIT community to act on their talent, ideas and energy to launch tomorrow’s leading firms.

One-year-long educational experience, the MIT $100K brings together a network of resources (feedback from top venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, media exposure, mentoring, educational guidance, networking and over $350K in cash and prizes) to help participants through the new venture construction process.

Budding entrepreneurs get prizes over $350K each year through participation in three contests – Pitch Contest, Accelerate Contest, and Launch Contest.

Courses The centre offers many courses related to entrepreneurship.

One of the most attractive courses for entrepreneurs is a programme for entrepreneurs within the MBA degree called Entrepreneurship & Innovation (E&I). Along the MBA awarded by the Sloan School, participants are awarded a Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from MIT. The students have a lot of benefits from this course as it brings together students and faculty from across MIT’s disciplines to build businesses around ideas and technologies. Students have the opportunity to attend a specialised weekly seminar for entrepreneurs, which features a speaker series and a networking dinner. There is also a one-week trip to Silicon Valley. For more details about the other courses and admission, visit www.entrepreneurship.mit.edu Fast Facts A study conducted in 2009, based on data from 2001 and 2003, suggested that 25,800 companies founded by MIT alumni were active as of 2006, employing 3.3 million people and producing annual revenues of $2 trillion.

Hundreds of new companies are started each year.

The average new entrepreneur who graduated in the 1990s starts a company at the age of 28, whereas founders who graduated in the 1950s started their first companies, on an average, at the age of 40.5.

Around 30% of international students at MIT go on to found companies – half of them located in the United States.

Around 20% of MIT’s US students have founded companies

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EXPERT INTERVIEW S Vaitheeswaran

Affordable education without compromising

y t i l a qu

In an exclusive interview with Education Insider, S Vaitheeswaran, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Manipal Global Education Services, talks about the mission of his organisation in education

You took over from Anand Sudarshan in July 2012. What has changed since then? What are your long-term plans for the institution?

I don’t think a change in leadership in an institution like Manipal Global Education, which has been around for some time, brings drastic changes overnight. In education, our mission is very simple and straight. We focus on providing affordable education. We are a globally acclaimed institution for excellence in the academic world.

In the last six months, we have revisited our working model, which sets out a roadmap for the next 10 years. To reinforce the core values that we want to disseminate, we have decided to focus on leveraging technology as one of the main drivers of progress.

What does Manipal Global Education do to reach out

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to the poor sections of society who cannot afford higher education?

The rate of higher education in India is going to scale up exponentially. Clearly, campus education cannot alone meet this growing demand. You ought to have a very good mix of campus education and distance education. Our Edunext project enables us to reach out to the remote corners of the country. We have 7,000 students in the North-East alone. It is not easy to reach out to so many students at different places if you are a campus-based institution. We have over 7,000 students from Africa and the Middle East under our distance education programme. Scholarships are offered to the economically backward students. We offer affordable education as opposed to cheap education. A price point has to be set to offer more value to services, as well as to limit it to the affordable range.

How has Manipal Global Education ushered in a paradigm shift in the Indian education system?

Technology is our strongest point.

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

Our online, real-time, database is made accessible to all our students. Even people from remote areas get access to quality education. We conduct three million examinations in over 280 locations online.

Manipal Global Education has tie-ups with 10 leading banks. The banks recruit employees, and we train them. Our workshop enables the recruits to take up the challenges in the banking sector. The programme offers opportunities to a number of people from the backward areas, and almost 40 per cent of recruits are women.

Can you tell us about your tie-ups with international universities and how they helped you expand your global footprint?

Students want quality education and good jobs. Keeping that in mind, we provide a platform for students to pursue higher education in foreign

private partnerships. The corporates should come in the education sector. The government should not be just a regulator; it should be an auditor. Rating of organisations should be encouraged, and the government should encourage the higher-rated institutions to take up new initiatives.

Technology-wise, how updated are your institutions?

We are making the most of the technology to bring value to the table. We have a strong online presence, where the students can interact with teachers, discuss ideas in the chat rooms, and download lectures.

But, then, you are taking the teacher away.

Education is not just about dissemination of knowledge; it is also about imbibing values, ethics, etc.

Earlier, we believed that teaching can be done

The rate of higher education in India is going to scale up exponentially. Clearly, campus education cannot alone meet this growing demand. You ought to have a very good mix of campus education and distance education.

Our Edunext project enables us to reach out to the remote corners of the country. We have 7,000 students in the North-East alone countries. We have multi-campus, multi-discipline university in India and abroad. The students can do a two-year programme in India and complete the next two years in one of the accredited universities in Europe or the US. We recently got a licence to start a 100% online e university. Globalnext is a global university registered in Kuala Lumpur. Students from all over the world can take courses through this e-university.

What is the motivation behind the setting up of green campuses?

Eco-sustainable development is the need of the hour. Our campuses, both in India and outside, are strictly green campuses. Our institution is conscious about the commitment we have towards society. We encourage the students, both on-campus and offcampus, to take up issues of social relevance. Ecosustainable model campuses are a good place to start with.

What reforms do you think the government should bring to promote our education system?

Our country will have the largest youth population in the coming years. However, our enrolment ratio for higher education is very low (26 per cent), compared to the US (87 per cent) and Europe (67 per cent. We should take advantage of the demographic dividend. The government should encourage publicEDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

only through classrooms. We don’t have the luxury of having teachers to reach out to 25 million students.

But, with distance education and online courses, it is possible for students to take courses from anywhere in the world. Even universities like Harvard and MIT are offering free online courses, which anyone can take up provided he/she has online access. One should have the freedom of choice in selecting the course that suits him/her best. Why should the government get to decide what you should learn?

Values and ethics can be taught in many ways.

There are programmes that deal with values and ethics. Then, you have social networks, forums to express yourself and learn the ways of the world.

Teaching is not seen as a lucrative profession. The best minds always opt for better career options.

Clearly, there is a demand-supply gap. What can be done to bridge the gap?

If you allow market forces to decide the compensation element, the demand-supply ratio will take care of itself. The government intervention should be limited. The government salary scales are not helping the cause. Ideally, the government should only set minimum wages. The education sector should encourage partnership with the industry and offer consultation services to make more money.

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VOICES

“Education is one of the very few recession proof sectors in the Indian economy. This has to do with our inherent (positive) bias towards education.”

Anand Nagarajan, Founder and CEO of Dexler Information Solutions Pvt Ltd

“In quality oriented research, we are good.

Still the quality has to improve. There are regional imbalances as most research comes from cities and larger areas remain excluded” Prof Sukhadeo Thorat, Chairman of ICSSR

“Engineering education is undergoing drastic changes. NIT-T is setting up Centres of Excellence in the emerging areas of Surface Engineering, Electronic Packaging, Secured Networks, Energy, Environment, Safety and Health” Dr Srinivasan Sundarrajan, Director of National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli.

“I don’t think that we should start looking at

new areas. We have to build up a tradition of research. Good institutions that have a tradition of research have been around for a hundred years or more”

Prof. Ramakrishna Ramaswamy, Vice Chancellor of University of Hyderabad

“ICT is probably the only way to reach for quality and equality of education.The demand for quality teachers, shortage, absenteeism and non-availability of teachers can be tackled by ICT” Veena Raizada, Director, Next Education

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COVER STORY / Hospitality Industry

The

of hosting Do you have it in you?

A career in the hospitality industry in India and abroad is very much rewarding as it opens up a new world of opportunities before the young professionals. Unlike in the previous days, hotel management today is a vast area that requires expertise to cater to diverse clients whose demands are fast changing. Besides proper training, skills, utmost commitment and above all hard work are most essential for one’s professional success and growth.

by Sreekanth Ravindran EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

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career in hospitality management is not everyone’s cup of tea. The prerequisites are many and that include a penchant for hosting guests, cooking and serving them with sumptuous dishes, and ultimately providing your guests with lasting memories. With the foray of world-class hotel chains into the country and several international events being held in the country, the hospitality sector is expected to create about two million job opportunities in the coming decade.

In a broader aspect, hospitality management encompasses many professional areas consisting of hotel and restaurant management, cruise ship hotel management, hospitality administration and catering, hotel and tourism associations, airline catering and cabin services, managing and administering various clubs, forest lodges and guest houses. Apart from these, expansion of global travel industry will also be an impetus to the continued growth of the hospitality industry.

N S Bhuie, the former director of studies, National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology (NCHMCT), says, “Today, hospitality education has emerged as one of the most sought after career options among aspirants.

And to ensure that there is no erosion in the quality of education imparted to the students, we have set our own norms and benchmarks for institutes affiliated to NCHMCT. Our institutes produce about 15,000 graduates every year, apart from 5,000 diploma and certificate holders. In order to meet the increasing demand for professionals, during my directorship,

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

a decision has also been taken to increase intake at all institutes.”

The main areas under hospitality management education are: Food and Beverage Production, Food and Beverage Services, Front Office and Housekeeping.

Food and Beverage Production Preparing delicious delicacies for the guests is the true reflection of his/her hospitality skills. One of the core areas of hospitality education, Food and Beverage Production is an integral part of the curriculum.

It is mandatory for every hotel management institute to have a special department to impart various techniques of preparing food and beverages, to its students. All students get an introduction to the world of professional cookery, organisational structure of a commercial kitchen, food commodities used in the catering industry, beverage service equipment, types of food and beverage services and latest techniques of food preparation. Generally, food production consists of three sections: Bakery, where sweets and desserts are prepared, Prime Kitchen, where all regular dishes are prepared and a Speciality Kitchen for preparing special cuisines such as Italian, Thai, Chinese, and so on.

Recalling his experience in the industry, P Nisanth, the chief candy maker at Taj West End, Bengaluru, says, “Being in the food and beverage

production is very challenging.

One has to be confident, passionate and innovative to succeed in this sector.” A fresh hotel management professional begins his career as a junior chef and it takes about 10 years to climb up the ladder and become a chief chef.

“A fresher in this sector must be prepared and willing to attend any kind of tasks that he/she confronts.

There are many who come with a lot of enthusiasm after completing pastry courses, and later fail to put in the right effort and right approach. I can only say sorry to such beginners. This is not a right career option for them,” adds Nisanth.

An ever-growing sector, food and beverage industry offers a wide variety of opportunities to hotel management students, both in India and abroad.

Food and Beverage Services A number of opportunities are available for hotel management professionals in this sector. The main function in this department is to look after guests and their requirements.

Professionals should have a knack for handling their guests and hence they must have exceptional hospitality skills apart from a positive body language. While restaurant and food service executives (junior level staff) have to keep stock of everything, starting from tableware to what goes on the menu, managers (senior level staff) hold the responsibility

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COVER STORY / Hospitality Industry

for organising, managing, and coordinating daily functions within their department, as well as the staff members who carry out these functions.

Purnima Ghosh is a restaurant manager at The Windsor Castle, Bengaluru. She says, “The job of a restaurant manager is not limited to monitoring the service of food and drinks to guests and customers.

He/she should have an absolute understanding of labour laws, health compliance regulations and customer satisfaction, besides payroll and other aspects. Food service managers must also possess the capability of dealing with the unexpected situations, such as staff or customer complaints, lack of inventory, shortage of staff members, and even hiring and firing staff members.”

Besides managing and serving at restaurants, hotel management graduates or diploma holders could always look forward to becoming bartenders and sommeliers. Both jobs are extremely exciting and equally rewarding. The role of a bartender includes designing menus, developing new products, overall management of the bar, training new staff and preparing for special events. A bartender’s salary is normally much higher than that of hotel management professionals in other departments.

This is because of the expertise and experience required in this particular area. A bartender also has a career option to become a beverage consultant. A successful beverage consultant normally earns millions.

A sommelier is an advisor on wines or an expert on the wine industry.

He/she should have understanding on the pairing of wines with all food dishes to have an enhanced dining experience.

Front Office Services Front office jobs are meant for those who possess excellent communication skills and are

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endowed with exceptional manners.

All standard hotels, irrespective of the number of stars, even stand-alone or budget, have a special regiment, a group of well-groomed individuals, to handle front office operations.

“The role of a front office member is very challenging. From the very moment a guest enters, the front office department has to put itself on alert, until he or she leaves the premises of the hotel. Training students to meet the demands of front office is the most difficult thing at a hotel management institute,” says S S Singh, a faculty member at Institute of Hotel Management, Shimla.

The role varies according the hierarchy. A front office manager is the head of the department. He leads a few duty managers, who are in-charge

Guest relation executives attend to the likes and dislikes of the guests and constantly appraise by receiving frequent feedbacks on the services provided by the hotel or restaurant.

Someone of the rank of an assistant manager usually heads the guest relations division, which handles guest booking and room tariffs.

Several guest relation associates report to the head of this division.

Housekeeping It is the distinct standards observed in housekeeping that play a significant role in the reputation

Generally, professionals with a degree in hotel management join hotels as supervisors who are responsible for organising, assigning and coordinating the work of the room attendants

of assistant managers. Assistant managers are those who head different divisions within the front office department. The concierge division is also an integral part of the front office. Members of this division should take care of transporting guests to and from the hotel to nearby destinations, sight-seeing, and also should properly guide the guests when it comes to selecting right restaurants, shopping centres and other activities.

This division is headed by an assistant manager, to whom a bell captain reports. A bell captain leads a group of bellboys, who directly assists incoming guests with luggage and packages. Bellboys also travel at the behest of any guest to carry out the latter’s work or deliver messages for them. Apart from these, there are also reception assistants and guest relations executives in the front office department. Reception executives are in charge of the check-in formalities such as filling up the registration card and updating the required details.

of hotels. Simply, housekeeping is that particular department which essentially deals with cleanliness and all attached ancillary services in a hotel. Being the most important department in any hotel, the housekeeping staff is expected to maintain standards of excellence in sanitation, comfort and aesthetics at the hotel, including rooms, public areas, corridors, patio and lawns.

They are also in charge of other facilities, including laundry, dry cleaning, amongst others. As hygiene and guest satisfaction are directly connected, this department effectively determines to a large extent whether the guests are satisfied or not during their stay.

Generally, professionals with a degree in hotel management join hotels as supervisors who are responsible for organising, assigning and coordinating the work of the room attendants. Upon attaining seniority, they are promoted as assistant managers, several of whom EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

are supervised by deputy managers. According to their performance, supervisors are promoted to executives who receive training under assistant managers. An executive housekeeper is the head of housekeeping department and oversees the entire operations of all divisions under the department.

If the hotel is a larger player in the hospitality industry, it might have a corporate housekeeper as well, overseeing several executive housekeepers across different locations. On the managerial front, a housekeeping professional also needs to handle and groom contractual staff, including cleaners and other manual labourers, facilitate induction of new employees, motivate and counsel staff and supervise their discipline while maintaining proper communication amongst them.

According to Bhuie, opportunities are plenty in the hospitality industry. “The development of India’s tourism sector will definitely bring in endless opportunities for hotel management graduates, in all areas, including food production, service, housekeeping and front office operations,� he adds.

Remuneration in the hospitality industry differs depending upon the institute the candidate belongs to, work experience, skills and ability to handle tough situations and communication skills.

The students who come from top notch hotel management institutes such as Institute of Hotel Management (IHM) receive a starting salary of Rs 25,000 monthly or more. Similarly, monthly salaries of candidates who have undergone diploma or certification programmes could be in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs15,000. Moreover, the salary package is pegged to the reputation of the company which is employing the individual. Bigger hotel chains often offer attractive remuneration and other perks to avail and maintain the best talents in the industry.

Overseas opportunities Hospitality professionals working in the United States receive a minimum monthly salary in the range of $ 6,000 to $7,000.

Middle East is also a good career option for hotel management graduates as monthly salary could be in the range of Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000, even at junior levels

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

There are many international hotel chains, including Shangri La, Hilton, Ramada, Hyatt, La Quinta, Marriott, Radisson, Days Inn and Best Western along with many international cruise ships and clubs that offer attractive career option for hotel management graduates from across the world.

Hospitality professionals working in the United States receive a minimum monthly salary in the range of $ 6,000 to $7,000. Middle East is also a good career option for hotel management graduates as monthly salary could be in the range of Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000, even at junior levels.

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COVER STORY / Hospitality Industry

‘Mushrooming of institutes will not affect quality’ Yateendra SINH is the Chief Executive Officer of Lausanne Hospitality Consulting SA (LHC), the consulting and executive education division of Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL or Lausanne Hotel School), Lausanne, Switzerland.

Founded in 1893, EHL is the world’s oldest hotel management school offering one of the best programmes in hospitality management.

Before joining LHC, Yateendra held various operational responsibilities such as preopening and managing of hotels, business clubs, townships and large IT infrastructure networks. Yateendra comes with an expertise in various sectors of the hospitality industry that includes planning, policy-making, industry diagnostics, strategic analysis, new product and concept development, re-engineering, marketing and information technology. In an exclusive interview with Education Insider, he says that the mushrooming of hotel management institutes across the country will not have any adverse impact on the quality of hospitality education in the longer run as more competition would lead to an increase in the quality of professionals

by Sreekanth Ravindran

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Yateendra Sinh

hat make your programmes unique?

The academic programmes which we get involved with always combine the arts and sciences of the hospitality business. Our graduates possess a fine blend of skills and attitudes which make them the most capable leaders and managers of our industry.

Has the economic slowdown in Europe and the US adversely affected the hospitality industry across the EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

world?

Yes, we have seen some weak results from specific markets. Switzerland for example has been working hard to retain its occupancy figures from pre-crisis days. This is a tough process. In our experience, such economic slowdowns also help clean out the weak and make the good players shine. So companies which have been investing in their people and products always survive such slowdowns and come out stronger, and gain a competitive advantage.

In emerging countries like India, hospitality management institutes are mushrooming. Do you think this trend has led to a decline in the quality of professionals?

No, I see this as an evolutionary step. More institutes will result in greater competition and greater awareness amongst students and the hotel industry. It results in a drop in quality, but the long term competition will create higher quality educators, institutes and graduates who will benefit the Indian industry.

Tell us about your international partnerships?

We have supported the development of benchmark schools in several countries, including India (EcoleHoteliereLavasa), Brazil, China, South Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Portugal, Thailand and United Arab Emirates. All our partner schools commit to the same values of education as Lausanne, but at the same time differentiate with programmes which are focussed on the regional markets within which they operate. Thus, the Mexican programme at CESSA has a distinct set of values which are unique and differentiated from the Thai excellence being delivered at the DusitThani College.

Nevertheless, we aggregate all of these institutions into one family of Lausanne Certified Schools, which provide

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

students and faculty a global knowledge platform.

What are the new avenues available for hospitality professionals?

The sky is the limit for the hospitality school graduates.

The best are in high demand with hotels and tourism companies. We are finding that good professionals are in great demand with all industries where there is a customer contact or customer service component. We frequently get requests from car companies, insurance companies, IT providers and banks, to list a few, who seek to employ hospitality professionals to enhance their business. This is because such companies have realised that good customer service is a significant competitive advantage.

What is your vision on hospitality education?

Well, I see education as an enabler towards a career; thus the two dimensions to measure the quality of education are “rigour” and “relevance”. Good schools and good faculty should always be evaluating themselves against these two dimensions. Finally, I see education as a pathway to growth – personal, professional and national growth. The best route for youngsters anywhere in the world is to first arm themselves with knowledge and thereafter apply this in their life and improve their prospects. This is particularly relevant for India.

What about the future of hospitality industry?

The future is bright. This is an industry which requires limited capital investment, and is a route to transfer wealth quickly into the local community. These are the reasons many governments are including hospitality or tourism into their economic development plans. In addition, we are now seeing the development of the hospitality function across all industries– the service revolution. I am really happy to be involved in this revolution.

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Campus Voice

Is creative freedom

by Lakshmi Narayanan & Shalet James

A series of unwanted censorship on filmmakers (Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam), writers (Salman Rushdie, Tasleema Nazreen), artists (Abir Karamkar, Nagesh Goud), social scientist Ashish Nandy and the all-girls band Pragaash from Kashmir has once again poised a serious question. Is creative freedom under threat in India? Here is how the campus perceives the issue. Welcome to the second edition of Campus Voice, Team Education Insider has conducted a debate on the issue among a cross-section of the campus community. Though profound, the students’ reactions on the topic vary.

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used if there is a chance for arousing social, religious and political sentiments of people.

Anjana Raghavan

Today, controversies are just used to make an economy. Whether it’s a political, social, cultural or a religious issue, controversies often followed.

It’s really hard to understand why the movie Vishwaroopam faced such trouble in releasing while the most people did not have an issue with it.

Some anti-socials let the issue get unwanted attention. In the name of religion, these people are curbing freedom of expression. People here lack intellectual maturity.

JestoThankachan

In a country where you have the right to freedom of expression, why are there such controversies? For creating problems, controversies are raised. People just ignore the positive side of a film or any creative work and highlight the negatives.

Athira Antony

ight to freedom must not infringe up on others’ rights. If a film shows Muslims as terrorists, then this view will be propagated across the country and hence the particular community members get agitated. As India is known for its diversity, it’s better to avoid such issues. Then only love and harmony will prevail in the country.

Deepa Noble

Creative freedom should be used by an individual in right perspective. Artistic licence should not be

Creativity is a talent and there are only a few people who are blessed to exhibit their talents. Art should be unshackled, creativity unbridled. Films like Vishwaroopam should be appreciated and not criticised. World needs to see this.

Joseph Sebastian

The movie Vishwaroopam is hats off. People should respect the fact that the filmmaker puts years of his life in one movie. Artists are believed to be visionaries, trend setters and path-breakers. Such

protests are discouraging and are also a hindrance for the upcoming creative people to exhibit their talents. Creative people think business differently and bring in new dimensions to life.

Vishnu K V Creative freedom should not touch anything that could be sensitive politically, culturally, socially or religiously. Films can influence people one way or the other, so it’s better not to make films which portray violence and hurt religious sentiments.

Shuaib Abdullah Artists, actors, authors are all creative persons, so they should be given freedom to express what they feel and use their creativity to their maximum. Films, art works and books are creative forms of art, accept it without taking it personally.

It’s really insane to question them.

Linta Maria George I don’t feel there is a need to make such a commotion regarding the film Vishwaroopam. After all, faith remains within and it’s not going to be deterred if we see a movie or read a book or see a work of art.

Muhammed C M Every artistic creation ultimately has a moral side in it, which most of the people fail to recognise.

Vishwaroopam also gives us an insight into the aftermath of illegal activities. I just have to say that all Muslims are not terrorists and the characters depicted in this film are imaginary.

Lakshmi Sarojam Controversies are just a gimmick by illiterate people who want to get instant recognition. People who demand ban on books must not have even read them, or wouldn’t have seen a single art show or a film. Artists are not working to create problems, controversies or induce violence.

Shano Jose Society is reflected in each piece of art, a creative person just expresses his feelings through his creativity. We get to learn more from these creative heads. It is the religious leaders who demand unwarranted bans. A particular group cannot decide if people should watch or not watch the film.

Paul Raj Mindset of people has to be changed and people should be more broad-minded. Creativity can only flow if there is freedom and that’s why art should be left alone to flourish.

Vinny Vincent Controversies are just hyped up and there is a particular agenda set by a particular group of people. How can a film, a book or an artistic work hurt anyone’s religious sentiments? The people who want to ban these artists are fighting their own inferiority complex and inability to adapt to the changing times.

Rony Sebastian

THE INNOVATOR Guest Column Pavan Soni

good

A education is a great insurance What’s common between Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Buckminster Fuller? They are all college dropouts, and dropouts from no ordinary college, rather from Harvard University

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I

f you ever visit the Harvard Business Review online, you would encounter their subscription page reading – ‘Invest in Yourself!’ I would venture stating that any sort of an education is an investment, and not just an investment, rather an insurance for the lifetime. But, behold the qualification that a ‘good’ education is indeed a great insurance, and not ‘any’ education. Let me explain.

Let’s look at three categories of successful professionals around us. Here, by professionals, I also include entrepreneurs, and not just working executives, and, as for the definition of success, I would go with the saying that ‘success is depicted by number of lives you touched.’ The three categories are: 1) well-educated professionals or entrepreneurs; 2) college dropouts; and 3) family businessmen. The former category is oriented towards the working professional types, while the latter two are entrepreneurial in nature. Regardless of the route to success, self- employment or employed under someone else, good education does play a very significant role, and here’s how. For a working professional education equips him/her with the various tools and techniques for problem-solving, understanding cause and effect, learning from others’ mistakes, and building on the best practices. Little doubt firms like Google maintains that ‘a good engineer is worth more than ten average engineers.’ The same sentiment is echoed by numerous studies by NASSCOM, McKinsey & Company, and other consulting outfits on the state of quality of graduates in India. Job market looks for quality, and increasingly better quality of students.

But, how about college dropouts?

Aren’t they successful without education? To answer these questions, let’s do some fact-gathering.

What’s common between Bill Gates,

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

Mark Zuckerberg and Buckminster Fuller? They are all college dropouts, and dropouts from no ordinary college, rather from Harvard University. Does it say something about the nature of these dropouts? For one, they did have the calibre to make it to such a prestigious institute. And, secondly, perhaps their dreams were incongruent with what the campus had to offer, so they forked out.

But, remember that their societies, the US in this case, did have sufficient resources for them to play with and eventually make a fortune and inspire thousand others. But, where do these people hire from? Again, the answer remains – good academic institutions. Even a school dropout understands the value of college education, and hence ensures that he/she works with the best in the business. This is not to discount that there exist enormous amount of intelligence outside of the formal schooling system, nevertheless great education has great virtues, something I will talk about in a while. But, for the time being, let’s talk about the last category for a while.

Our third category of successful people is those endowed with a family business, and are bestowed with the responsibility of growing it. Why should they opt for higher education, let alone formal education? Kumar Mangalam Birla went to London Business School, Anil Ambani studied at Wharton School, and Anand Mahindra spent time at Harvard Business School. Was it because they had all the money to throw on education, or was there something more rational to it? I reckon that it’s more that what meets the eye.

Having argued for the prominence of education in the lives of successful people regardless of the path to success they opted, let me now depict the key virtues of a good education. By good education, I mean the one where ‘you earn your place on merit’, and which offers a wider exposure, preferably global. I am not a proponent of a Soviet-style education, which is insular, or a donation-based staffing of institutions. That’s not good education.

Remember, ‘education is to be earned, not bought!’

By good education, I mean the one where ‘you earn your place on merit’, and which offers a wider exposure, preferably global. I am not a proponent of a Soviet-style education, which is insular, or a donation-based staffing of institutions. That’s not good education. Remember: ‘education is to be earned, not bought.’

Anyways, back to the virtues of a good education.

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Educational institutes foster network ties: Ever wonder why a student at an IIM is offered higher salary than his/her counterparts at other business schools? Is the difference in salary in

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

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THE INNOVATOR Pavan Soni

But, how about college dropouts?

Aren’t they successful without education? To answer these questions, let’s do some fact-gathering.

What’s common between Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Buckminster Fuller? They are all college dropouts, and dropouts from no ordinary college, rather from Harvard University. Does it say something about the nature of these dropouts?

commensuration with different in talent or abilities? Certainly not. The premium is associated with being associated with the ‘network’ of the institute. By the very fact that IIMs have a huge alumni base in the industry, and business runs on social ties, it makes sense to hire an IIM graduate such that he/she can exercise his/her network ties to get work done. As one moves up the corporate value chain or even as an entrepreneur, the bearing increasingly is on connecting the ideas with right set of people to mobilize action. Rich network ties, and positions in strong networks assist in getting work done. Imagine the funds an entrepreneur can mobilize if he/ she has studied at a reputed institute, or the job prospects one might accrue.

• Good institutes broaden perspectives: One of the most significant sources of ideas is at the ‘intersection of disciplines’. Ideas aren’t just important to an entrepreneurial venture, but are of

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enormous value even as an employee.

The chances of such cross-pollination and intersection of disciplines increases as one’s perspective broadens. When the kid goes for the first time outside of the comfort of his/her home, it’s a terrifying moment, but equally excited he/she is when he/she returns with a bagful of knowledge and stories to mom. Same applies to us at all levels of education.

We get into new places often nervous, but come out jubilant and confident.

The greater the exposure an educational institute offers in terms of subjects taught, background of students, their nationalities, and physical location, the richer becomes the appreciation of the real world around us, and higher are the chances of generating breakthrough ideas.

Knowledge offers you a safety net: Trapeze artistes train themselves on safety nets, and the experts can do without. The same applies to taking chances in careers, and enterprises alike. Education increases the odds that, with every mistake, you ‘fall forward’, or, in other words, you don’t make frivolous mistakes. There is often a saying that education lowers risk propensity, but equally true is the fact that education increase the odds of success.

Educated people know when taking risk is worthwhile, and when is it good to wait and watch. The safety net that I am alluding to is in terms of getting EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

•

to develop a rational approach to decisionmaking, and avoiding biases that might be costly. Of course, there is no undermining the power of heuristics, and hunch, but learned guesses are always better than wild ones.

Education helps you increase your chances of success while taking a risk, for, it offers you the tools and techniques of assessing a situation and weighing the options.

Education offers a common vocabulary: Education, especially that of science, offers a common vocabulary for us to understand the world around, so that when say ‘the Sun is rising’ we understand that’s it’s morning, and not that Sun is revolving around Earth!

How does this common understanding of phenomenon around us help? It certainly helps us develop as a species. Knowledge is cumulative, from generation to generation, and all the inventions that we witness today are built standing on the shoulders of giants.

Good education makes this possible. An institution brings students up to speed on what all has gone by in the erstwhile, and the key challenges that we are faced with. Such institutions act as lenses that focus the energies of the great talent which is available to the mankind to solve the problems that plague us all. The great CERN experiment on Large Hadron Collider is a case in point.

•

Good education builds character: Of all the claims senior citizens make about their good, old days, they must agree that at least one thing has improved over generation, and that’s our disposition towards social evil. Whether it be draconian laws of the land, injustice against women, or corruption, the younger generation is much more aware, and much less involved in such social ills. One prime reason is education, and not just literacy. As our students get exposed to science, travel and meet people, learn about the world outside, and solve problems, they get aware of social deficiencies, and are motivated to take action. Education has, in fact, served its ultimate purpose – to foster character. Since time immemorial, from our famed gurukuls and university systems, the focus of education has been on character building, and searching the ultimate truth of life, and am glad to see that it hasn’t ceased.

So how does education result into insurance?

To answer that, let’s paraphrase what we have just learnt. Education exposes you to new people and ideas, helps foster network and a character, develops a scientific understanding and worldview, and finally offers chances to explore the world.

What else insurance has to do? Insurance allows you to take risk and covers your downside. That’s what precisely a good education helps you with.

It exposes you to the world of opportunities, and because now you know so many more people to seek help from, so many concepts to apply and so much knowledge to tap into, your chances of failure is contained!

Equipped with this understanding, the riskiest bet after getting a good education is in not taking any risk. The risk could be in terms of going for a venture, working in a startup, pursuing your hobby seriously, or working for society in a profitable manner. Education must truly increase mindful risktaking, and then only it can add to social good. No marks for playing safe here.

About the author

Pavan Soni is an Innovation Evangelist by profession and a teacher by passion. He is currently pursuing his doctoral studies at IIM Bangalore and specialises in the areas of strategic management, innovation, and creativity. He works closely with the Karnataka Knowledge Commission and the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and offers consultation to leading organisations, helping them promote a culture of innovation. Catch him at www. pavansoni.net, or contact him at innovation. evangelist@gmail.com

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MEDICAL EDUCATION

India ideal destination for medical education In course of time, with modern technology and sophisticated research, the country gained an eminent place in the map of global medical education, with hundreds of medical universities and colleges

by Lakshmi Narayanan

I

ndia has a rich tradition of medical practices from ancient times. Physicians like Charaka and Susrutha have added glory to this hoary tradition.

In course of time, with modern technology and sophisticated research, the country gained an eminent

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place in the map of global medical education, with medical universities and colleges. Now, India is much sought-after in medical education by students in the subcontinent and outside.

China is perhaps the most renowned medical

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

education destination with globally acclaimed medical institutions that offer good-quality research practices along with world- class faculties and infrastructure. During the last decade, India, China’s neighbouring country, also has leaned towards this category by increasing its investments and updating R&D in the field of medical education.

By analysing the potential of medical education in the Indian scenario, the government has formulated policies to produce high-quality medical practitioners from prestigious Indian campuses. With the government-approved fees structure, strict monitoring of private universities, rigid system of entrance examination, frequent evaluation and modification of syllabus, adaptability of faculties to new researches, and easy availability of modern technologies, medicines and machines, India set to attract students from abroad.

Many systems India is among a few countries in the world having a variety of medical practices. India provides equal opportunities for allopathic, homoeopathic, ayurvedic and unani systems of medicine. Each has its own way of research and development, and there are medical colleges and governing bodies associated with each system.

Medical colleges in India are among the best in the world. Many top-ranking, world-class doctors are Indians who got their basic medical education from their hometown, which had served as a stepping-stone for their higher studies abroad.

In India, medical students are allowed to go to hospital from the second year onwards, but in China, the most-sought-after destination, students are allowed to go to hospital only during internship except for arranged class during the second, third and fourth semesters. This means that a medical student in India gets sufficient practical training in hospital. While doing medical study in India, one can also join a leading doctor’s team to get practical experience and exposure.

A majority of the premier medical institutes in India have many students from abroad. The education system in India allows immigrants to pursue their education here by simplifying the student visa process. Those who wish to study medicine in India can do so by consulting any of the leading names in the medical education sector in India to get all necessary details.

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

Major medical colleges in India 1. All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi 2. Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore 3. JIPMER College, Puducherry 4. Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune 5. Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), Delhi 6. Grant Medical College, Mumbai 7. Madras Medical College, Chennai 8. St John’s Medical College, Bangalore 9. Institute of Medical Sciences, Varanasi 10. King George Medical College, CMM Medical University, Lucknow 11. Christian Medical College (CMC), Ludhiana 12. B J Medical School, Ahmedabad 13. Kasturba Medical College (KMC), Manipal 14. Bangalore Medical College (BMC), Bangalore 15. Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata 16. Institute of Post-graduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata 17. Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad 18. Seth G S Medical College, Mumbai 19. Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi 20. Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC), Delhi 21. B J Medical College and Sassoon Hospital, Pune 22. Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 23. Guwahati Medical College and Hospital, Guwahati 24. University College of Medical Sciences and GTB Hospital, Delhi 25. Stanley Medical College (SMC), Chennai

Admission process The admission process for MBBS in Indian universities starts in May every year. Those who have passed Plus-Two with Science as main subject can apply for the entrance test.

Entrance tests are usually conducted at two levels: One at the all-India level, and the other at state-level. Those who want to apply for MBBS aptitude test should have a minimum of 50 per cent marks for General, 45 per cent for General-PC candidates, 40 per cent marks for SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer).

Foreign nationals are not required to appear in the PAT-2013 examination for BAMS/B.Pharm (Ayurveda)/BNYS courses.

They may seek admission through the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi. The applications must reach before July 15, for admission this year.

All the candidates who apply for medical study should have completed 17 years of age but should not have crossed 25 years of age as on December 31, 2013.

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RECRUITMENT TRENDS

Despite odds, India’s hiring outlook for 2013 cheerful Hiring intentions are positive in all industry sectors

by Shalet James

T

he year 2012 was one of recession, and India remained mostly stagnant owing to global economic slowdown. Despite the continuing impact of global macro-economic situation and the uncertainty around the economic and political environment prevailing in India, hiring by employers remains positive across sectors and geographical regions. Sectors like health care and life sciences, FMCG, education, IT, retail, manufacturing, and infrastructure are expected to be bullish towards hiring in 2013.

According to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey of 4,496 employers across India, the hiring activity is expected to continue at a strong pace for the first three months of 2013.

However, opportunities for job seekers are expected to be considerably weaker than they were a year ago during the same period.

Once seasonal variations are removed from the data, the outlook remains at +27%, unchanged from the prior quarter and 18 percentage points weaker year-over-year. Still, job prospects remain healthy in a majority of industry sectors surveyed, particularly in the service sector (+30%) and in the wholesale and retail trade (+29%).

Employers in the public administration/ education (+14%) sector report the country’s weakest hiring pace. Hiring intentions are positive in all seven industry sectors and all four regions.

According to the survey, “despite the continuing impact of the global macro-economic situation and the uncertainty around the economic and political environment in India, employer hiring intentions remain positive in all seven sectors, primarily driven by ITeS and IT sectors where employer hiring sentiment appears to be improving. Though hiring activity in the country in 2013 is likely to be at a slower pace, India would still fare better than its global peers.”

At Godrej Consumer Products, the growth in manpower headcount in India over last year was in the range of 3% to 4%. “Demand will primarily go up for functions in sales and marketing and R&D in the FMCG sector,” says Rahul Gama, EVP, HR,

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at Godrej Consumer Products.

Aditya Birla Retail will concentrate on training fresh graduates and post-graduates in the coming year for roles that traditionally see lateral hiring.

The company will hire around 350 professionals in the first quarter, and about 75% to 80% of the hiring in this quarter and the next will be for fresh hires.

The public sector also could emerge as the major ground for any large-scale hiring, especially banks, even as recruitment activities in human capital-intensive sectors like technology, as also for functions like sales and marketing in other sectors, would track the macro-economic developments.

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

The hiring numbers for public sector banks are expected in the range of 50,000 to 70,000 people in 2013, while the private sector banking space could also see a fair amount of such activities if licences are given to new players.

The retail sector is also expected to see largescale hiring after the entry of foreign players into this business.

When compared with Quarter 1 2012, hiring plans in other sectors like the mining and construction sector outlook declined by a steep margin of 21 percentage points. Outlook decreased by 20 percentage points in the finance, insurance, real estate, and service sectors.

In a quarter-over-quarter comparison, employers report stronger outlooks in three of the four regions, with the most notable improvement of 10 percentage points reported in the West.

India is ahead of the curve when it comes to measuring regularly employer brand. Around 50% of all India-based corporate recruiting leaders measure their employer brand as against the global average of 33%. This year, says T P Sethumadhavan, an Academic Consultant based in Kerala, sectors like management analytics-driven HRD and consultancy will have great boom.

Meanwhile, the two biggest obstacles to hiring top EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

talent are competition and compensation. Respondents are worried that their competitors will invest in employer branding, improve referral programmes, and invest in new recruiting tools.

Sectors likely to hire in 2013 IT: IT has been one of India’s most promising sectors for quite some time now. The industry has contributed considerably to changing India’s developing economy and has helped India become a global player in providing world-class technology solutions. At the moment, the sector IT seems to be unsure of increased hiring. However, the sector will need to keep pace with the 2012 hiring.

Infrastructure: Recent policy movements within infrastructure and the Government’s clear mandates to banks instructing them to move faster with funding infrastructure projects are an indication that, in 2013, there will be heightened hiring activity in this sector.

Manufacturing: Mid to senior hiring within manufacturing across health care and life sciences, and FMCG seem to be on the uptake for the coming 12 months.

FMCG: Owing to the Government’s schemes in rural India, there is an improvement in purchasing, which is leading to a significant growth in this sector. The FMCG sector is growing at 15%-16% year-on-year, and hence contributing to the improvement in the hiring outlook.

Oil and gas: Most companies within this sector are actively hiring and see 2013 as being busy recruiting for niche talent in both upstream and downstream skills.

Retail: India has emerged as the fifth most favourable destination for international retailers. The Government recently permitted FDI up to 51% in multi-brand retailing. This policy initiative is expected to add to the growth of the sector. With such policies starting next year, India’s retail sector is expected to grow to about US $900 billion by 2014.

Health care: The Indian health care sector is expected to reach US $79 billion in 2012 and US $280 billion by 2020, on the back of increasing demand for specialised and quality health care facilities. This is a clear indication that health care is going to be a major sector that stimulates economic growth and contributes to employment in the coming year. This will result in significant employment generation across various functions such as sales, marketing, HR, and IT operations within the sector.

Life sciences: The life sciences sector is one of the fastest growing industries in India, and it is expected to have a CAGR of around 25%-30% between FY2011 and FY2013. As this sector is seeing rapid growth, the manpower requirements are consistently increasing.

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MAKE YOUR CHOICE What is the scope?

Ocean water is processed to extract commercially valuable minerals such as salt, bromine, magnesium etc. Also the extensive deposits of petroleum-bearing sands have been exploited in offshore, particularly along the Gulf and the California coast of the US.

Nature of job

Oceanographers are known to undertake tasks such as studying the ocean basins and observing the behaviour of the tides and currents.

Their responsibilities include study of volcano formation in deep sea, topography of the ocean floor and studying the pebbles, rocks and sediments.

Oceanography Oceanography is the study of the deep sea and shallow coastal oceans. The subjects like Biology, Chemistry, Geology and Physics together make oceanography a richly interdisciplinary science

What is psychology?

Psychology is a systematic approach to the understanding of people, their thoughts, emotions and behaviour.

Analysis of these factors and application of this understanding help solve human problems.

What is the scope?

Being in the mechanical life, people seem tense and depressed. They fail to solve their problems and here lies the opportunity of a psychologist.

He studies the human behaviour and provides best solution to their problems.

Job opportunities

The psychologists can work in the field of child psychology, female psychology, business psychology, health psychology etc.

Remuneration

The annual salary of psychologists varies according to their specialisation. The details are given below.

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Remuneration

anything between $100,000 and $150,000.

How to apply?

Many prominent colleges in India and abroad are offering BSc and MSc courses in oceanography.

For BSc oceanography, Plus Two with Science or Geography as main is necessary. For MSc in Oceanography, BSc in Geography or Oceanography is required.

MTech in Oceanography is there in some universities.

Best institutes • • •

The average salary of an oceanographer with less than five years of experience is around $ 60,000. Those who have an experience of over 10 years in the industry, it could be more than $ 100,000. Highly skilled oceanographers are known to earn

•

National Institute of Oceanography, Andhra Pradesh Bharathidasan University, Tamil Nadu Calcutta University, West Bengal Central University Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh

Study abroad • • •

Bangor University, UK University of Southampton, UK Sunway University, Malaysia

Clinical Psychologist: $63,000 Counsellor: $47,530 Experimental Psychologist: $56,500 Forensic Psychologist: $59,440 Health Psychologist: $85,000 Industrial-Organisational Psychologist: $97,820 Psychiatrist: $144,020 Neuropsychologist: $79,570 School Counsellor: $53,750

Where to study?

• • • • •

Saarvy Institute Of Health And Management (SIHM), Gurgaon Christ College, Bangalore Acharya & B M Reddy College Of Pharmacy, Bangalore Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai Indian Institute of Counselling, Delhi

Study abroad • • • •

City and Islington College, UK University of Chester, UK Missouri Western State University, US Bond University, Australia

Psychology psychologists can work in the field of child psychology, female psychology, business psychology, health psychology etc EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

TURNING POINT Guest Column Dr R Jubi

Facts that make your

career choice

A

dolescents’ occupational choice is influenced by many factors, including life context, personal aptitude and educational attainment. Facing the challenge of career choice is critical in adolescents’ lives. A qualitative study has explored factors that play key roles in rural high school seniors and adults career choice process. Cultural and social context of a family and a community were found to be instrumental in how a youth learns about careers and influential in the choice process.

Extension strategies that target parents and community to increase their involvement in youth career selection can promote sound career decisions. As Kerala is the cent per cent literacy state, there can be high chances of the influence of entrepreneurship concept for the sustainable development.

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

Career choice

Career development, for most people, is a lifelong process of engaging the work world through employment opportunities available to them. A major turning point in adolescents’ lives was the career choice they make while in high school. Frequently, it is viewed by family and community as a mere start to workplace readiness.

However, this decision plays a major role in establishing a youth in a career path that opens as well as closes opportunities. Given the differences in the social and economic context of college-bound versus work-bound adolescents, the present study was designed to explore the factors that influence rural young adults’ selection of specific careers.

Methodology

The focus groups study was seeking to

A major turning point in adolescents’ lives was the career choice they make while in high school.

Frequently, it is viewed by family and community as a mere start to workplace readiness

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TURNING POINT Dr R Jubi The interdependence of family, school, and community culture played a critical role in shaping the youth’s occupational choice

uncover the nature and nuances that operate in young adults’ lives during their career choice decision-making process. The participants provide information without being directed to answer specific questions. Participants of the study include a heterogeneous group of students, employed persons, parents of young groups and the unemployed.

The questions • • • • • •

What are the career/job goals you now are considering?

Who or what helped you learn about your choices?

Who or what has had the greatest influence on your employment decisions?

What are the barriers in achieving your employment goals?

Where in the future do you plan to work?

Whether the concept of entrepreneurship has influenced you?

Findings

Throughout the study, a consistent picture of the major influencers of young adults’ career choices emerged.

The interrelated nature of the

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groups’ perceptions highlighted the importance of family and community in shaping young adults’ career choices.

Young adults, through interaction with the context of family, school, and community, learn about and explore careers that ultimately lead to career choice. The interdependence of family, school, and community culture played a critical role in shaping the youth’s occupational choice. The economic and social circumstances of the broader community influenced the youth’s perceptions of appropriate career choices.

Youth in communities of more affluence appeared to have more family and school support in career exploration, which resulted in consideration of a wider range of career options. Parents and other family members provided valuable learning experiences through their own role models and supporting activities that assisted in exploring career interests. Work-bound youth’s parents frequently taught skills that provided youth with a broader understanding of their own aptitudes contributing to career choice.

“My father is forcing me to select the engineering career but personally I am not into that,” “I would like to start my own business but my family is restricting,” “I have a dream of starting my own dream career but my family prestige forced me to continue the hereditary job”...these are the responses perceived from the focus group interactions.

Social and economic factors

College-bound and work-bound young adults are influenced by vastly different social and economic factors in their pursuit of markedly different occupational paths while transitioning from school to work. College-bound and work-bound youth exist side by side in high school, but face the transition to the workplace in different time frames and with different expectations for career opportunities available to them.

College-bound youth had career trajectories that were future oriented, with the first step being college participation. “College gives me a chance to test what I want to do. I can always switch majors. It’s most important to graduate.”

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

For work-bound youth, occupational goals were identified by a specific type of employment that drove their skill development and educational attainment. “I had to know what I was going to do when I get out choosing a major for training. I knew what I was good at, so I choose welding.”

The transition for work-bound youth was more direct and dependent upon gaining employment that quickly shifted their roles from adolescent to adult, binding them to adult career expectations.

Ideal job

The career choice that young adults make is embedded in their perceptions of the ideal job and their career decision-making maturity.

Occupational choice is not a mere matching process. Rather, it is a choice made in a context of many influencing factors. The perception of the ideal job acts as a filter for job appropriateness and influences the choice process.

The lack of family involvement in the career choice process appeared to be influencing youth inability to make decisions. In these groups, youth perceived it was not their family’s role to assist with their decision-making process. “We don’t talk about it at home. Besides, it’s up to school to help me figure this out.” It appeared that both the youth and their families were taking a passive role in making a future career decision and implementing a

plan of action to achieve it.

Barriers

Young adults recognise that barriers exist to implementing their future career choices and seek ways to overcome these obstacles. All of the youth voiced that the lack of financial resources to attend additional schooling or training was the major barrier. For college-bound youth, the second most identified barriers were college acceptance and being capable of graduating. Work-bound youth identified the lack of employment opportunities as their second barrier to achieving employment goals. Moreover, the concept of entrepreneurship is not at all reaching everyone.

Discussion

The study confirms the existing knowledge about the great impact that family, school and community have on young adults’ self-identity and career choice. All come into play in providing input into the adolescents’ perception of self, educational efficacy and vocational interests. The study shows the understanding of the critical role parents play in shaping career choice.

Through educational expectations and perceptions of occupational appropriateness, parents were found to have key roles in shaping career choices. The study also points to the importance of extending career

educational efforts beyond adolescents to families and community.

Implications

Developing programmes and strategies that assist both parents and youth in exploring a wide range of occupations can open the door to emerging and non-traditional career choices. Providing adolescents with learning opportunities in which they are challenged to make sense of situations that they will encounter in various types of employments can provide them with a greater understanding of career options. Community-based learning that involves teens in solving real-world workplace problems directly connects them to the reality of various occupations. Engaging parents and community in active support of career exploration and choice provides the context that assists adolescents in making successful transitions into adult workplace roles. Providing more into entrepreneurship concepts of Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDP) has to be made lively in each and every corner of our study so that it can have high impact on career selection of employees as well as self development of our country.

(Dr R Jubi is Director, MarThoma Institute of Information Technology, Ayur, Kollam)

The career choice that young adults make is embedded in their perceptions of the ideal job and their career decision-making maturity.

Occupational choice is not a mere matching process.

Rather, it is a choice made in a context of many influencing factors

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

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KINDLING MINDS Arun Pandit

Lead by example Arun Pandit’s dontgiveupworld. com reaches out to those who need counselling and motivation in life which is ridden with grief and disease.

If you don’t have anyone to bank on in the times of emotional crisis, the website comes in handy

by Neethu Mohan

H

ave you ever felt suicidal after one or two failures in life? Have you ever thought that your existence in this world is not worthy? The life story of Arun Pandit is an inspiration for those who want to embrace death after failures.

The life of Arun Pandit, who is the founder of the dontgiveupworld.com and SMS motivational group smsgupshup.com, is a long story of a series of failures. It started when he was studying in 12th standard. During this period, he suffered a series of failures. Arun failed thrice in the NDA (National Defence Academy) written examination. He was a literary captain of the school and wanted to become the best literary captain the school had ever seen. Then he was removed from the captaincy. Later, he was misdiagnosed with a disease, resulting in his hospitalisation during 12th board exams and he even fainted during one of the board exams. During the preparation for the IIT main exams, the board results were out. He failed but later he got another chance to write the exams.

He failed in almost all the engineering entrance exams. Practically, Arun lost everything he loved. So he decided to commit suicide and began sending messages to his good friends. He told them that he can’t take the failures anymore. But an SMS sent by one of his friends changed Arun’s life. The SMS read ‘I was crying for not having shoes until I saw a man without feet. Take this world as a challenge. Prove your mettle!’ Somehow these words lifted him up. This led to the establishment of the website dontgiveupworld.

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EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

com. Now, Arun is a management trainee at RPG Enterprise after completing MBA from IIFT (Indian Institute of Foreign Trade). Microsoft Research has conducted a research on mobile social networking platforms in India with the help of SMS group called smsgupshup.com established by Arun.

Now, people may wonder what dontgiveupworld.com exactly does.

He says, “dontgiveupworld.com works on a community based model. The members contribute regularly based on their skills to various functions of the website. For example, Amandeep (Lecturer at LPU) is good at Adobe Photoshop, so he helps design wallpapers, posters and book marks.

networking. Nawang does the social media planning. Shefali and Rahul are school teachers who help us in counselling students. There are lots of other people who contribute based on their area of interest and expertise.”

“The USP of the website is that it is a one-stop solution for people’s motivational needs. Different people have different motivational needs.

Some may be motivated by a quote while others by a song, a story, a movie or wallpaper. This community tries to bring together different categories under one roof. In addition, the whole concept gives its members a sense of belongingness and ownership. Apart from it dontgiveupworld.com has conducted three motivational seminars

In near future, the dontgiveupworld.com team will be launching a more attractive website with interactive features like project ‘Motivate Me’ for suggesting motivational content based on the preference and state of the person.

They have already launched silicon bands for dontgiveupworld.com. The team will be launching apps for both the apple and the android platform soon.

They are all set to launch a one of its kind initiative of online psychological counselling which will help a person maintain privacy

Ritika is a keen reader with sound technical knowledge, so she helps in both editing as well as administration of the CMS (Content Management System). Ritu helps in updating content on website and social media sites. Prakash helps in the website development and editing, SEO and digital marketing. Satwik, a doctor, is an expert in managing servers. Vaibhav helps in both adding content as well as

in schools. They have also partnered with IIT mentors, the Global IIT alumni organisation, for providing counselling and relevant motivational content for the students of IITs,” he adds.

“We want to make the site the world’s biggest and the most useful motivational website and community.

We also want to take motivation to the masses by making it both accessible as

and will also save a person from the social stigma attached with going to psychiatrists.

“We will also launch a low cost service of motivational seminars as well as experience sharing sessions by prominent personalities via webinars and webcasts to the schools in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. This will make motivation and counselling both affordable and accessible,” Arun says.

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

well as affordable,” says Arun.

Imminent plans

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MILLION DOLLAR BABY GUEST COLUMN Sramana Mitra

Insane Logic

makes sense

W

omen entrepreneurs abound in the world, but they don’t seem to get as much recognition as their male counterparts get. As a serial entrepreneur with a focus on technology, I’m always excited to learn about and, in this case, work with other technology-focused female entrepreneurs like Zoe Peden, co-founder of Insane Logic, in our One Million by One Million premium programme. Insane Logic is an education technology (EduTech) startup that provides interactive communication products to the education and health sectors.

Zoe Peden spent the first nine years of her graduate life working in the education and academic publishing industry in product development and editorial. In 2007, Peden started as a senior manager at The Makaton Charity,

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a UK-based communications charity that owns a proven language programme consisting of sign language and symbols that aid language acquisition and development to build effective communication skills. It is primarily used for children and adults with learning disabilities but can also be used for unimpaired pre-school children.

Makaton has been around for over 35 years and was used by mainstream primary and special schools throughout the UK. All the EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

resources were on paper and in VHS video format, and customers were begging for a more mobile version.

Peden left the charity in 2010 to start a prototype of the language programme on the iPad and formed Insane Logic with her friend and technical co-founder Andrew Jackman.

Peden and Jackman launched Insane Logic’s flagship product MyChoicePad a year ago, targeting schools and the speech and language therapy markets.

Since then, MyChoicePad has taken over Peden’s life.

MyChoicePad is an alternative toolkit for language

speech, language and communication needs.

Peden and Jackman are now looking to build partnerships in the education and health sectors to increase distribution for MyChoicePad. Peden and Jackman are also extending the brand to a more mainstream audience with the release of a series of three game applications. These are all around building effective language development by using sign language, symbols and pictures. They are aimed at the parental market, specifically for parents with children under five years old, in addition to the special needs

Zoe Peden (pictd) is the cofounder of Insane Logic, an education technology (EduTech) startup that provides interactive communication products to the education and health sectors

development and communication that enables children and adults with learning or communication difficulties to build confidence to communicate and interact more effectively with peers, teachers, employers and coworkers, and parents.

In September 2011, Peden became a Big Venture Challenge Winner in a competition organised by the UK charity for social entrepreneurs. The competition aimed to find the 25 most investable social entrepreneurs in the UK. All the winners received a grant and three years’ support to help them scale their businesses. In 2012, MyChoicePad was a finalist for Innovation in the Technology4Good awards.

Insane Logic was selected for Telefonica’s first UK business accelerator programme, Wayra, in June 2012.

Currently, the company has 1,100 paying customers spending an average of £120 and 5,000 customers on the free version of the application. Forty per cent of all downloads have taken place in the last three months.

The company is now getting the word out about how MyChoicePad can help language development and provide access to alternative communication for the 1 in 10 children in the UK who enter school with EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

market that Insane Logic has with MyChoicePad. The first game, MyChoicePad Memory, should be out in the UK Appstore in September 2012.

Finding the right partnerships to expose the brand to a broader audience is a challenge for the company.

UK parents, teachers, kids and speech pathologists love the product, but Peden and Jackman need to chart a path to be heard above the noise of the bottomless pit called the iTunes application store.

Sramana Mitra is the founder of One Million by One Million (1M/1M), a global virtual incubator that aims to help one million entrepreneurs globally to reach $1 million in revenue and beyond. She is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategy consultant. She writes the blog Sramana Mitra On Strategy, and is author of the Entrepreneur Journeys book series and Vision India 2020. From 2008 to 2010, Mitra was a columnist for Forbes. As an entrepreneur CEO, she ran three companies: DAIS, Intarka, and Uuma. Sramana has a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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STUDY DESTINATION Germany

Germany offers higher courses taught in English

The German higher education is currently adapting to the three-cycle degree system of the European Higher Education

by Biyanka Merlyn John

G

ermany is well-known for renowned personalities like physicist Albert Einstein, mathematician and astronomer Nicolas Copernicus, theologian Martin Luther, and songwriter and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven.

The country, with a literacy rate of 99% and one of Europe’s strongest states, is blessed with its cosmopolitan cities, healthy economy and sophisticated education and health care systems.

Being the economic powerhouse of Europe, higher education institutions offer in Germany study programmes taught in English to attract a larger number of foreign students. Also, Germany has one of the world’s highest standards of living.

Germany’s education system

The German higher education is currently

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adapting to the three-cycle degree system of the European Higher Education. Bachelor and Master’s programmes are now offered at most institutions instead of ‘long’ programmes, except for study programmes in law and medicine.

Being designed to provide a vast variety to students in planning and pursuing educational objectives, the Bachelor and Master’s programmes intend to enhance international compatibility of studies and international mobility as well.

Germany offers three different forms of institutes, which are focused on higher education, including universities, universities of applied sciences and universities of arts/music. These universities concentrate on basic research in which theoretical orientation and researchEDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

film and other media and in a variety of design areas, architecture, media and communication.

The academic year in German universities include summer and winter semesters as well as spring and autumn semesters. A semester consists of the lecture period, in which all courses will be held, and the non-lecture period where the semester breaks. The lecture period depends on the type of university where the students prefer to pursue their studies.

The regular university normally runs its summer semester (SS) from April to September and the winter semester (WS) from October to March. The universities of applied sciences run the summer semester from March to August and the winter semester from September to February.

According to the entry requirements, the students will have to appear for a qualification, normally based on continuous assessment, Abitur (upper secondary school leaving certificate), other higher education entrance qualifications, or certain continuing training qualifications.

Courses offered

oriented components play a vital role.

The ultimate aim of applied research is its application-oriented focus and professional character of studies that include integrated and supervised work assignments in industry.

In universities of applied sciences, the study programmes include engineering discipline and other technical disciplines, business-related studies, design areas, and social work. Universities of arts/music offer studies for artistic careers in fine arts, performing arts and music such as directing, production, writing in theatre, EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

Universities in Germany focus on nurturing the talents of students by offering various degree courses and post-graduate courses. They offer Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering, Bachelor and Master of Mechanical Engineering, Master of Biomedical Computing, Master’s Degree in Transport and Logistics, Master of Communications Engineering, Master in Advanced Materials Science (Elite graduate programme), Master of Computational Mechanics, and Master of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology.

They also offer courses such as Master of Bioinformatics, Master’s Degree in Sustainable Resource Management, Master of Science in Industrial Chemistry, Master of Computational Science and Engineering (Elite graduate program), Master in Integrated Circuit Design, Master of Laws (LL.M.), Master’s Degree In Intellectual Property and Competition Law, Master In Microelectronics, Master of Mathematics, Master’s Degree in

Land Management and Land Tenure, Master of Integrated Circuit Design, and Master’s Degree in Transportation Systems.

Scholarships Special Application Scholarships are offered to those students who show keen interest in and commitment to a particular field and those students who have special talents in extracurricular activities. The scholarships provided to students include Rupert T Barber Scholarship, Bonner Scholars Program, Bremer German Scholarship, Patricia Cornwell Scholarship, Dobson Neely Scholarship, Music Scholarship, Pepper Visual Art Scholarship, Wachovia Teaching Scholarship, and W Olin Puckett Scholarship.

Visa requirements

Students are offered three different types of visa – the language course visa; the study applicant’s visa and visa for study purposes; and the student visa in which the students are being permitted to stay longer in Germany. Study visas are valid for the duration of the study period.

Short-stay visas are valid for 90 days.

The hybrid, long-stay visit/permanent stay (residence permit) visas are valid for periods of over 90 days.

US citizens who hold a valid US passport do not need a visa for airport transit, tourist or business trips up to 90 days, and the passport must have the validity until the scheduled trip ends.

Students need a valid passport along with the evidence of previous academic performance and proof that financial support is guaranteed for one year.

Applicants from Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand as well as the Union Territories will have to send their application to the German Embassy office in New Delhi. The German Consulate-General also deals with the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.

Universities in Germany were recognised internationally in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) for 2008. Six of the top 100 universities in the world and 18 of the top 200 universities in the world are in Germany.

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PROSPECTIVE COURSES GUEST COLUMN Dr T P Sethumadhavan

Advanced study programmes for career growth Whilst natural levels of fish stock decline, demand for seafood continues to grow dramatically. As a result, the requirement for the production of cultured fish is predicted to rise sharply in the 21st century.

Consequently, demand for scientists with knowledge in this area will increase

Tourism and Hospitality The tourism and hospitality sectors form one of the dominant industries of the 21st century.

They provide more than 10 per cent of total world employment. Recently suitable programmes which will help to prepare for management positions within tourism and hospitality are available. It is aimed at future managers in the tourism and hospitality sectors who wish to develop a strategic perspective while enhancing their management skills.

Coastal Engineering Coastal engineering is a programme aimed at engineers or physical scientists intending to work in coastal engineering within government agencies, local authorities and engineering consultancies.

Coastal engineering deals with the protection and management of the world’s coastlines for the social and economic benefit of the communities who own them. The master’s programme in coastal engineering is aimed at both graduate scientists and engineers seeking employment or career progression within organisations that work in this field.

Curriculum includes wave theory, coastal processes and modern techniques in coastal data collection, analysis such as GIS and remote sensing, numerical modelling techniques, issues of environmental law and the application of current coastal defence guidelines.

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EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

Agricultural Sciences Agriculture has profound influence on health and well-being of humans and the environment in which we live, and it must be managed through the application of appropriate scientific principles. Consumer sensitivities and public concerns about the impact of farming methods on the environment are some of the important research themes.

These themes are mapped into research programmes, including animal nutrition, plant stress tolerance, nutrient and soil management, composting, crop protection, invertebrate ecology and the health, and welfare of livestock.

Applied Fish Biology

The decline in global fish stocks, the exploitation of fish for livestock feeds and the endangering of species through environmental changes, pollutants and habitat destruction are the major issues of national and international concern.

Whilst natural levels of fish stock decline, demand for seafood continues to grow dramatically. As a result, the requirement for the production of cultured fish is predicted to rise sharply in the 21st century.

Consequently, demand for scientists with knowledge in this area will increase.

Central to this industry is the requirement to develop artificial diets to maximise production and efficiency. Also the diagnosis and treatment of common fish diseases and health promotion of reared fish are important. Another growing global industry is the trade of ornamental fish and aquatics. It raises issues of breeding and husbandry, aquarium management and the impact of new technology. Fish toxicology is also an important aspect of the programme.

Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience These multi-disciplinary programmes provide a comprehensive knowledge of theoretical principles and concepts of brain functioning, mathematical and computational modelling of brain neural activity and cognitive function, and statistical techniques of neuroscience data analysis.

Neuroscience is one of the most intensively developing and important sciences of the 21st century.

Huge progress has been made in experimental approaches and techniques. Particularly the imaging and recording of brain activity is providing extensive experimental data about different aspects of brain functioning. Theoretical neuroscience provides the solid basis necessary to understand the data and shed fresh light on the basic mechanisms underpinning brain function at the cellular, circuit and systems levels.

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

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LEADERSHIP S Y Siddiqui

Challenges current business

leaders face The three quotients involved in leadership are vision quotient, business quotient and emotional quotient

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he business environment is becoming increasingly volatile, competitive and global. This will result in turbulence and uncertainties. The business environment is passing through hard times in which leadership has to face increased challenges. The cost of production, technology, distribution, manufacturing, core competencies and product features are some of the net sources that play a vital role in the competitive edge.

As far as leadership is concerned, the focus has to be shifted to three major elements – capital, technology and customer. When a new enterprise is set up, enough and more capital should be invested in the enterprise, along with advanced technology.

I invite you to revisit leadership styles. I feel that managers or leaders need to become more and more flexible learning, de-learning and re-learning new DNA of leadership. There is also a great challenge of motivating, engaging and managing Generation Y. I believe that managers or leaders should look forward with a new perspective to get an effective leadership. The

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leadership should face present challenges and learn from the past. The leadership should manage the present, selectively delete the past, and create a bright future.

A leader is a person who should listen to his people. He is the one who can play the role of a mentor and a coach to them as well. He has to keep sharing his constructive, candid feedback to the customers. A leader will have to guide and appreciate his/her team or juniors. A leader should have a foundation on transformational leadership, in which he has to look within, look around, and look beyond.

The three quotients involved in leadership are vision quotient, business quotient and emotional quotient. Compared with the Japanese, Indians are very attached to the emotional quotient, which is based on values and ethics.

(S Y Siddiqui is COO, Maruti Suzuki.The article is based on his speech at the 32nd Annual Management Convention organised by Kerala Management Association (KMA) in Kochi.)

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

Christ University INDIAN CAMPUS

Christ University – saga of phenomenal growth

Christ University offers a range of nationally and internationally recognised undergraduate and post-graduate programmes in a variety of academic disciplines,

by Neethu Mohan

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

C

hrist College was established in July 1969.

Within a short span of time, it became the most chosen educational institution in Bangalore. The college was granted ‘deemed university’ status in 2008.

Christ University was born out of the educational vision of Kuriakose Elias Chavara, founder of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) congregation.

The institution is run by priests of the CMI order.

Christ University offers a range of nationally and internationally recognised undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in a variety of academic disciplines, including Law, Business Administration, Commerce, Management, Humanities, Sciences, and Social Sciences.

In addition, the institution offers

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INDIAN CAMPUS Christ University

The best part of being a Christie is that you get to meet a whole bunch of people who are very much different from you. JournalismPsychology-English is really a fun-filled and happening course.

Moreover, doing triple majors is an opportunity to learn three different subjects and you greatly benefit from it regardless of which masters you are planning to pursue. The best part is that triple majors mean non-stop college fests and opportunities.

Tresa Ann, third-year Journalism-Psychology-English

professional courses in a number of fields like Business Management, Computer Application, Hotel Management, Mass Communication, Social Work, Engineering, and Tourism.

Undergraduate programmes are of three-year duration except Bachelor of Education (B Ed, one year), Bachelor of Hotel Management (BHM, four years), Bachelor of Laws (LLB, five years), Bachelor of Technology (B Tech, four years) and an integrated B Tech/M Tech or MBA (five years). Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Science (B Sc) programmes follow a triple major system.

The university conducts doctoral programmes in Commerce, Computer Science, Economics, Education, English, Chemistry, Law, Management, Mathematics, Philosophy, Physics, Tourism, Media Studies, Social Work, Sociology, and Psychology.

The university publishes five journals: Artha – Journal of Social Sciences, Mapana – Journal of Sciences, Ushus – Journal of Business Management, Atna – Journal of Tourism Studies, and Tattva – Journal of Philosophy. It has published 220 books in Kannada, through Kannada Sangha, a non-profit organisation promoting Kannada around the world.

Christ University is spread over a vast campus of 25 acres, which is a part of the 100-acre Dharmaram College campus, in the central part of Bangalore city.

In 2009, Christ University opened a campus, spread over 75 acres, at Kengeri on the Mysore Highway, which houses the Faculty of Engineering, CU Residential College, and the Christ University Institute of Management (CUIM).

CUIM is one of the excellent colleges coming under MAT. For MBA, it offers Finance, Marketing, HR, and Lean Operations and Systems.

Christ University has a very strong international community and a vibrant student body. The university has exchange programmes with major universities across the world, and runs its flagship India Experience Programme, by which students from other universities may experience Indian student life for a fortnight.

With the introduction of innovative and modern curricula, insistence on academic discipline, imparting of holistic education, and with the help of creative and dedicated members of the staff, the institution has been continuously rated among the top 10 educational institutions in the country.

Christ College is the first educational institution in Karnataka to be accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) for quality education. Christ College was granted recognition by the UGC on June 17, 1972. It is currently rated an A+ institution by the NAAC.

I am a second-year Economics-Political Science-Sociology student.

I have chosen Economics because I have a passion for this subject.

Poverty is the worst threat to India’s development. Economics is a very dynamic subject and is helpful in eradicating poverty. I think I can play a part in this. Christ College is one of the best colleges in India, and I have exposure to a variety of cultures.

Narayanan Sreekumar, second-year Economics-Politics-Sociology

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EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

INSIDER VIEW Guest Column Dr B Ashok, IAS

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The curse of genius

arents who have academically, athletically and artistically talented children pin high hopes in them. Many parents, especially working in the public sector, hope that their children will not fall short of anything but making the grade.

Excessive pressure of this expectation becomes an embarrassment and early failures start to appear

apply for IIMs as well as IITs. School and college boards in the annual system, are deceptive since, and a thorough last minute preparation will secure high ranks, as opposed to year round systematic and analytical study. If he or she is not the type who spends 7-10 hours a day with books and is keen to update him or herself, then the compulsory attribute

bigger than they really are. The aspirant himself starts getting bogged down by the pressure of the parents’ expectation and I know a few instances where they reached a position in life much lower than they would have achieved had the choice been left to themselves.

It is therefore important for the parents to realistically assess the suitability of their wards for an examination like the civil services. This may

of competitiveness is absent. While he/she is indeed good in this aspect, it needs to be tested whether he/ she is keenly practising and rehearsing the acquired knowledge. In competitive examinations, it is not good enough if you accumulate ideas, facts and figures; you need to practice long/short and multiple choice questions with an optimum level of accuracy.

In a multi choice format, which is the qualifying format for IAS, IITs and IIMs, it is not the

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

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INSIDER VIEW Dr B Ashok IAS

most knowledgeable scholar who sails through.

In fact senior many academicians will trail if they take the tests with their own students. Multiple choice questions involve a lot of problem solving with or without in-depth understanding. There is an element of practice also in MCQ’s. The more you practise, the more accurately your darts land.

The magnitude of your knowledge helps you only up to a point. The rapid irretrievability and establishing quick relation to the question being asked is crucial. The knowledge one has must be sculptable i.e. moulded quickly to suit one’s use at that point of time.

The UPSC also uses a strategy of cut-offs both in general studies and the selected subject paper for civil services. Only those candidates who cross the hurdle in one will be evaluated with the others. Therefore, a balanced preparation in both the papers is advisable. Many a time, candidates who have remarkable grasp of their subject fail to cross the first hurdle of GS while a more than average candidate in subject might sail through. If your weakness is GS, then it is advisable to prepare it thoroughly over a two- year period up to the deadline. If the paper you are taking as optional is new for various reasons, more focus obviously has to be there.

Many candidates choose ‘popular’ options for the preliminary exam. A subject is not recommended as the optional if it is only opted by a minority. For example, a subject like Medicine or Agriculture is chosen by a very small number as compared to Geography or Public Administration.

The trouble with the poorly subscribed subject is that an unusually tough question paper and a

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higher cut-off can impede your efforts pretty early.

The UPSC does follow a ratio system for main exam whereby the toppers from all preliminary subjects do make it in proportion. So thinner the subscription, thinner the chances are. Be sure that your efforts in another subject will not yield you better if you choose to invest in a thinly attended subject.

The mains exam on the other hand calls literally for slogging through the subjects of choice, GS and Essay-Paper. If your language skills are decent, do not even worry about the qualifying language papers. The cut- offs are quite low and candidates who are just beginners in English also sail through. Working to a plan of sustained effort, regular study and dedicated writing hours are keys to success. Attempting short answer questions as well as essays and correcting them for perfection are important. After you attempt an essay of 2000 words, please leave it away for a few days. After a week, pull it out and read it with the glasses of an altogether new reader who is just aware of the subject. You will find that what you thought as your finest effort reads like a piece of messy prose which is difficult for even an experienced reader. Numerous omissions, errors and silly mistakes surface. After two such rounds of editing show your writing to a teacher of English as well as the subject expert. Take their feedback and comments. Redraft the writing.

Now it will undergo a magical transformation from an ugly ducking to a dancing peacock.

The point to note is that these facilities are completely absent in the three hours of the examination. It is not feasible to write drafts EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

and then elaborate in the UPSC exam hours for all questions. You can at best avail some time to structure your essay in draft. The writing preparation is absolutely compulsory for making a mark in the exam. So geniuses need to practice their writing non-stop in the run-up to the exam.

Some extraordinary candidates also suffer from severe verbosity. I have seen some choke on flowery language and expressions. This is absolutely uncalled for. Never spend a word or phrase in excess to arrive at the point. Each sentence in a formal context should be chiseled for perfection. Be direct, honest and convincing in communication. Shaky and halting conversation indicates a shaky thought process and infirmness.

Neither is a good feature of a prospective administrator.

Boldness in views must not spill over as brashness to adhere to a given view point.

Views of a twenty-something will be highly influenced by the intellectual content of their education and political consciousness. Many ideological underpinnings may influence thinking in those formative years. Ideology and theoretical inclinations are not sins. But a cool consideration and pragmatism must enliven your presentation.

Activists can become civil servants, but civil servants need not be activists to deliver. A cool mind that is both analytical and solution-oriented is

the best presentation a candidate can possibly offer to any interview board.

Many ‘so-called’ geniuses also fail on account of lack of sheer manners. Genius without good behaviour is dangerously close to being evil. So mind social graces and small niceties like avoiding slang, taking permission to enter, sit and leave, thanking a compliment, asking to be excused while interrupting a speaker asking for “pardon” if you need a question or comment to be repeated etc. These simple things will not be discounted even for geniuses. They stand to lose if these are in default. So, many a time, geniuses finish behind the average in the civil service exam. It is not unusual to find an average first class guy in the first ten while university toppers end in the less demanded services. If one carefully analyse their lower performance, some cracks do appear in their efforts. Excessive confidence, avoiding practice writing and speaking sessions, mock interviews, betting too much on chance and bad luck are common reasons of failure.

Civil services exam needs no genius nor extra ordinariness. What you need is a better than average ability, command and control over expression, a balanced and pragmatic thinking style and politeness. Raw genius is of no use in this game.

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CAMPUS FOCUS The National University of Singapore

NUS nurtures Singapore’s NUS, located at Kent Ridge, is the oldest and largest university in the country in terms of student enrolment and the curriculum offered

by Biyanka Merlyn John

S

ingapore’s higher education sector has become increasingly vibrant and varied, with local universities offering a greater variety of options and programmes for Singaporeans, which has added to the richness and vitality of higher education in the country.

The National University of Singapore (NUS), a leading global university centred in Asia, is Singapore’s flagship university, which offers a global approach to education and research with focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. NUS, located at Kent Ridge, is the oldest and largest university in the country in terms of student enrolment and curriculum offered.

Established on January 1, 1962, the university’s transformative education and vibrant cosmopolitan community help in nurturing the thinkers, innovators and global citizens of tomorrow. Some of the university’s programmes are Student Exchange Programme, Summer School or Overseas Internships, work internships in Singapore and overseas, including Entrepreneurial internships with start-ups under the NUS Overseas Colleges Programme and co-curricular activities and double-degree and joint-degree programmes with some of the world’s top universities.

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Professor Tan Eng Chye, Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost, National University of Singapore, says: “The National University of Singapore is home to 16 faculties and schools, known for its multiple academic pathways that include over 70 joint, concurrent, and doubledegree programmes with top universities.

There is also a vast menu of study-abroad

opportunities with 300 universities across 40 countries.”

NUS offers opportunities for students to broaden their horizon and realise their potential and deep cross-cultural perspectives. Over 37,000 students from 100 countries enrich the community with their diverse social and cultural perspectives. Seven NUS Overseas EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

higher education We are committed to ensuring that no deserving student is denied an opportunity to study at NUS owing to financial difficulties

Prof Tan Eng Chye, Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost, NUS

Colleges across China, India, Israel, Sweden and the USA also provide a signature entrepreneurial experience. The university continues to pioneer innovations in education to enrich academic offering.

For International applicants seeking admission to NUS, the students should have completed or are completing high school, with at least 12 years of general education in the year of application.

NUS is a comprehensive university offering an EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

unparalleled range of courses across disciplines such as accountancy, architecture, arts and social sciences, business, computing, dentistry, engineering, environmental studies, industrial design, law, medicine, music, nursing, pharmacy, project and facilities management, real estate, and science.

The following are the courses and programmes

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CAMPUS FOCUS The National University of Singapore

that NUS offers:

Concurrent Degree Programmes (CDP)

The National University of Singapore is home to 16 faculties and schools, and also known for its multiple academic pathways that include over 70 joint, concurrent, and double-degree programmes with top universities.

There is also a vast menu of studyabroad opportunities with 300 universities

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NUS offers Concurrent Degree Programmes such as BBA & Master in Public Policy; LLB & Master in Public Policy, B Comp & Master of Entertainment Technology; BBA & Master of Science (Management); B Comp & Master of Science (Management); B Eng & Master of Science (Management); Computing (Communications and Media) & Master of Entertainment Technology (Carnegie Mellon University); Computing (Computational Biology) & Scientiae Magister in Computer Science-Computational Biology Track (Brown University); Computing (Information Systems Courses) & Master of Philosophy in Management (Cambridge University); and Computing (Information Systems Courses) & Master of Science (Management).

Double-Degree Programmes (DDP)

NUS offers DDP in Business Administration, Communications & New Media; DDP in Computing & Business Administration; DDP in Computing & Mathematics/Applied Mathematics; DDP in Economics & BBA; DDP in Law & Life Sciences; DDP in Materials Science, Engineering & Physics; DDP in Business Administration & Engineering, DDP in Business Administration & Law, DDP in Economics & Law; and DDP in Engineering & Economics.

Double-Major (DM) Programme NUS provides courses such as Second Major in Management; and Second Major in Management (Technology).

Law School

The university offers Undergraduate Law Programme and Graduate LLB Programme comprising various subjects such as Asian Legal Studies, Banking and Finance, Biomedical Law, Commercial Law, Comparative Law, Corporate Law, Criminal Law, Intellectual Property, International Law, Law and Social Justice, Legal Jurisprudence, Legal Process and Skills, Public Law, and Transportation Law. It aims at providing excellent liberal education that will produce lawyers who are able to think critically, are globally oriented and socially conscious.

Engineering

The Engineering courses include Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Engineering Science, Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.

NUS recently introduced two new models of undergraduate education – the NUS University Town and the Yale-NUS College. Exploring subjects of global importance with Asian perspectives, NUS offers a unique living and learning experience in an intellectually, socially and

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

culturally vibrant environment at the University Town. The students can take a distinctive fivemodule curriculum to enhance communication and critical thinking skills through the country’s first residential colleges like Tembusu College and Angsana College.

According to Professor Tan Eng Chye, “Class sizes for these college modules are small, allowing for a rigorous, interactive and highly personalised academic experience. A host of informal learning activities, such as talks by distinguished visitors as well as social and sporting activities complement the formal curriculum. We believe that learning within and outside the classroom is essential. We recognise that our students will be working in a globalised and interconnected world facing complex issues.”

Another example of bold innovation by NUS in education is the newly set up Yale-NUS College, which aims at aerating a distinctive brand of liberal arts education that brings together the best of Eastern and Western traditions. To nurture graduates with global mindsets and who will be effective in different cross-cultural settings, NUS puts forward various experiential programmes to augment its students’ academic experience.

Over half of NUS’ undergraduates will have at least one overseas exposure stint and a quarter of the undergraduates will spend at least a semester abroad.

“At NUS,’ says Professor Tan Eng Chye, “we aim at nurturing graduates who are globally effective and highly sought after by major industry players. We have received positive feedback about our graduates from local and overseas employers.

Our reputation among employers worldwide is strong and growing rapidly. At NUS, we believe in attracting the brightest students from around the world to be part of, and to contribute to our learning EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

and research communities. We are committed to ensuring that no deserving student is denied an opportunity to study at NUS owing to financial difficulties.”

He adds: “The vision of NUS is to be a leading global university centred in Asia. We strive to nurture the thinkers, innovators and global citizens of tomorrow, conduct high-impact research, and contribute to Singapore and the wider community through thought leadership in education and research.”

With the partnership of Singapore’s five Research Centres of Excellence (RCE), NUS has three Research Centres of Excellence (RCE) and 22 university-level research institutes and centres.

NUS is actively involved in international academic and research networks such as the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) and International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU). This global networking further enhances the university’s international presence.

Says Professor Tan Eng Chye: “We are also pleased to note that generations of students from NUS have gone on to serve with distinction in numerous important positions and ways, in Singapore and beyond. Our alumni include five Singapore Presidents and Prime Ministers, as well as leaders of industry.”

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair had named NUS as the headquarters of his Asian Faith and Globalization Initiative, together with Durham University in the UK and Yale University in the USA, to deliver an exclusive programme in partnership with the Tony Blair Faith Foundation.

In 2012, NUS was ranked among Top 15 by employers around the world and the first by regional employers in the 2012-2013 the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings and the 2012 QS Asian University Ranking, respectively.

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FOCUS Presidency College

A campus where you would love to study

Presidency College is considered one of the best business schools in Karnataka. Sheer determination of the school management and concerted efforts of the faculties made it different from other business schools in the state

by Tony William

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P

residency College, established in 2000 under the leadership of Chairman Nissar Ahmed, has been in the forefront of delivering quality education. The institute has been ranked as the top business school affiliated to Bangalore University and one of the top five institutes in Karnataka. It has also found its place in the top 45 business

institutes of the country. The institute today has about 3,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students from 10 countries, and has 125 faculty members at its campus in Kemapura, Hebbal, Bangalore.

The institute, which promotes a multi-cultural environment, offers undergraduate courses such as BBM, BCom, BCA, BSc Biotechnology, BA EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

Nissar Ahmed, Chairman

Journalism and Post-Graduation courses, including Master of Financial Accounting (MFA), MCom, MSc Biotechnology, Master of International Business (MIB), Master of Communication, MCA and MBA. Presidency College was awarded NAAC ‘A’ accreditation in 2011 and is also one of the institues, which have received A+++rating in the India’s Best Private B-School ranking done by The Pioneer.

Suhail Ahmed, Vice Chairman, Presidency College, says, “Every student who enters Presidency College would experience the robust synergy of academic brilliance, value engineering through value added courses (VAP), caring faculty, warm and supportive social life, collegial harmony, exciting extracurricular rendezvous and a student centric management, all against the backdrop of a youthful climate. We want your academic endeavours to be fruitful because we, here, believe that success is a matter of choice and not a matter of chance.”

Echoing similar voice, Dr Muddu Vinay, Director and Principal, Presidency College, says: “The syllabus we follow makes sure that the students will step out of the campus with an edge over others. We give the curriculum an international dimension, incorporating the latest methods and technology in pedagogy. To develop an academic bent of mind, various associations conduct activities round the year. Due importance is given to classroom learning, sports, cultural and other activities. All round development of personality is the cornerstone of education imparted at Presidency College.”

“Even professors are given intensive training to mould them according to our standards. We go to the micro level and use the latest pedagogical tools to get the desired standards,” adds Dr Vinay who is also the Chairman of Association of Indian Management Schools.

This institute has at least four guest faculties from the industry who conduct many sessions for the students each year.

Apart from these, students have industrial visits that would provide them with required exposure. Motivational classes by eminent persons impart the value of ethics and teamwork. Also, the institute under its social outreach programmes distributes computers to the rural schools and conducts computer awareness programmes for them. In every semester, the institute organises blood donation camps too. Vinay opines that the commercialisation of business education EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

Suhail Ahmed, Vice Chairman

Dr Muddu Vinay, Director,Principal

would automatically bring down the quality. He states that India has 3,900 business schools. “Although 85 business schools were closed down last year, 100 new applications have come up this year. You can see that there is a demand for business school education,” he points out.

Commenting on the difficulties of university affiliated colleges in the areas of research and entrepreneurship, Vinay said that they have limited freedom. “Each college has to follow the pattern prescribed by the university. An autonomous college has more scope for guiding students into entrepreneurship,” explains Vinay. Despite these limitations, Presidency College could excel in its mission. Emphasis on enhancing soft skills, personality development and extra activities is the key factor that retain the institute’s top position among B Schools.

Presidency College is all set to be a private university soon,” says Vinay.

Presidency College has 90 per cent placements and the major recruiters include Wipro, Span Outsourcing, Flora Group of Companies, Ocwen Financials, J P Morgan, Orange County Resorts, Target HR, IDIL (India Today), Ernst & Young, ANZ, Thomson Reuters, WDC, Lilliput, Deutsche Bank and Capgemini.

To facilitate research, Presidency College has got a separate Research and Development Department headed by a Pro Vice Chancellor. Besides, every semester a faculty member has to submit two papers.

The institute enjoys tie-ups with La Trobe University of Australia, University of Bedfordshire, UK, New College, Manchester and Swansea University, London.

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GCC CAMPUS Masdar Institute of Science and Technology

Grooming energy experts

The institute is the right place for the exceptionally brilliant students to pursue their research, especially those from the developing countries. Scholarships are provided by the institute to the deserving students. The institute claims that it could be a unique opportunity for students to live and learn in a true environment

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he Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST), located in Abu Dhabi, UAE, is a private, non-profit, independent, graduate level, research-driven institute with the collaboration of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). With the aim of making Abu Dhabi as a knowledge hub of socioeconomic growth, the Masdar Institute focuses on developing indigenous R&D capacity in Abu Dhabi, including advanced energy, sustainable technologies, microelectronics and its environment.

Masdar is working to become a world class graduate level institute which produces future world leaders. , Being the world’s first graduate level university in Masdar City, MIST is all set to nurture highly-

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skilled persons in order to enhancing economic diversification in Abu Dhabi. In partnership with industry leaders, the institute aims to transform Abu Dhabi as a leader in global energy.

Providing students with a unique opportunity to live and learn in a true “living laboratory� environment, the Masdar Institute integrates theory and practice of innovation and entrepreneurship to nurture critical thinkers and leaders. The institute is set to provide equal opportunities for employment and advancement of all employees. It strives to maintain work environment in a positive way which would encourage excellent performance and high morale.

The institute is to educate students to be innovators in technology

by EI Bureau

and enterprise in the region and worldwide.

With its world class faculty and top tier students, the institute is committed to find solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change. It invites the brightest UAE nationals and international graduates who have exceptional intellectual and entrepreneurial qualities.

Masdar Institute provides a test bed for the world to develop commercially viable, sustainable energy solutions which would provide applied research to the four corporate arms of Masdar Group and the UAE. Courses offered at MIST Applicants who meet high admission standards will be offered admission in an immediate process.

The institute will concentrate on EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

Being the world’s first graduate level university in Masdar City, MIST is all set to nurture highly-skilled persons in order to enhancing economic diversification in Abu Dhabi

rolling admissions process to admit more students. With a focus on retaining, nurturing and developing efficient people, the institute provides a dynamic environment that encourages participation of each faculty. The institute offers graduate and post graduate courses (MSc & PhD) in Science, Information Technology and Engineering disciplines. It includes MSc in Engineering Systems and Management, MSc in Microsystems, MSc in Mechanical Engineering, MSc in Water and Environmental Engineering, MSc in Electrical Power Engineering and MSc in Materials Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Computing and Information Science etc.

The graduate students will also receive a certificate jointly signed by EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

the President of Masdar Institute and the Director of the Masdar Institute/ MIT Collaborative Agreement.

Applicants for the PhD programme are required to submit a brief proposal for research outlining the scope of their research and naming at least three potential advisors, from the Masdar Institute faculty for this research.

Scholarships for students Qualified students who meet its high admission standards which include appropriate TOEFL score, GRE and an excellent CGPA from a recognized university will be provided a full scholarship. A minimum CGPA of 3.0 on 4 point scale or 2:1 in the British system, minimum TOEFL score of 577, and a minimum GRE quantitative score of 700 are the basic requirements.

The ETS institutional GRE code

for the Masdar Institute is 3870 and only GRE general test is required. The ETS institutional TOEFL code for the Masdar Institute is 5786. The institute offers the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) scholarships up to 20 highly- accomplished applicants.

As part of efforts to support the countries affected by challenges such as energy access, energy security and climate change, all the applicants from the developing countries will be given special consideration. The scholarship and benefits will be provided to the student who maintains a minimum CGPA. This university has set its own benchmark in the education sector of both United Arab Emirates and the Middle East.

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BRAIN WAVE Githa Hariharan

‘Don’t emulate the West’ Githa Hariharan needs no introduction. She is a globally acknowledged Indian-born English writer. A novelist and journalist, Githa has openly criticised evils of society through her writings with many of them raising controversies over the social order. In 1995, Hariharan challenged the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act as it was discriminatory against women. Her attempt has led to a drastic change in the mindset of people.

Githa Hariharans’ novels, including The Thousand Faces of Night, The Ghosts of Vasu Master, When Dreams Travel, In Times of Siege, and Fugitive Histories show her deep thoughts. She has been a visiting professor or writer-in-residence at several universities, including Dartmouth College, George Washington University, the University of Canterbury and Jamia Millia Islamia University.

In an interview with Education Insider, Githa Hariharan talks about her views of education and its role in our society

by Lakshmi Narayanan

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You had education from two cities with extremely diverse cultures.

Could you share your experience?

I was just 13 when I left for Manila.

I can say I went to an excellent school in Manila where I was rigorously trained in a range of subjects – from math and literature to research and writing skills, even some classical music and dance.

I think all round programme is best for school, even for an undergraduate course. In India, we are in a hurry to specialise and classify students into arts, science, etc.

What is role of education in moulding you as a writer?

I learnt a lot of rules, and it is

important to know the rules before breaking them. I also learnt to think independently and articulate my arguments. All these are invaluable in the life of a writer. It helps you develop curiosity in others, and construct a rational and progressive worldview which is essential for a good writer.

Do you think the educational institutions serve as a platform to nurture one’s individuality?

Of course. Interaction with family, popular culture, society and the times also play crucial roles.

No Indian university is among the world’s top institutions. Why? We have enough criticism of Indian

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

Githa Hariharan We don’t need to be a mirror of the West.How do we know we don’t have anything to learn from the experiences of schools in non-Western countries? We must not forget we live in a multilingual country. This needs to be reflected in our education system, and there may not be a great deal the monolingual West can teach us about this

universities without worrying about lists of the best in the world compiled by god knows who and on what basis.

Do you think imparting Western education can make positive impacts on our society?

We need to take a look at our own educational world in relations to the needs of our country. There is much that is good in our schools and colleges that we should build on and there is much that needs to be drastically overhauled. We don’t need to be a mirror of the West.

How do we know we don’t have anything to learn from the EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

experiences of schools in nonWestern countries? We must not forget we live in a multilingual country. This needs to be reflected in our education system, and there may not be a great deal the monolingual West can teach us about this.

Is women empowerment needed in education? Do you think India has to go much ahead in this area?

Let’s skip the overused word empowerment. Choices in general and educational opportunities in particular, should be there for everyone irrespective of class,

gender, caste or religion. Yes, we have leagues to go before we achieve this in any measure.

Your take on the current education system?

The system is limited to a rigid curriculum and to evaluation through examination; naturally, an all round development suffers.

What are the ways to uplift the education of the underprivileged?

I am not an education expert.

More scholarships and exchange programmes, translation studies, less obsession with degrees and focus on actual learning, linking curriculum and society.

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FINISHING SCHOOL

We need more finishing schools like Good Shepherd Finishing School (GSFS), a fully residential school that envisions empowerment of women through quality living. GSFS is located at an idyllic Good Shepherd Gardens in Ooty, Tamil Nadu. In an exclusive interview with Education Insider, Elsamma Thomas, co-founder and Principal of GSFS, says that the programmes are designed in such a way to explore the leader in each individual and ensure that every girl student takes part in all the activities and makes use of her skills and abilities

Study at GSFS to have

the

by Sreekanth Ravindran

W

hat was your inspiration to start Good Shepherd Finishing School?

The GSFS motto states, “Give us a girl and take back a lady!” When we thought of a finishing school for girls, we visualised empowered women in every respect who could contribute to bringing up a well knit family and thereby contribute to a meaningful society.

When we were searching for a finishing school for our daughter, we realised that

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the existing finishing schools (There weren’t any in India at that time except for one or two deportment schools) were more focused on creating social butterflies and that less importance was given to the real growth of a woman. At that time, a finishing school which deals with the overall development of a girl to change her into an empowered lady was the need of the hour. Good Shepherd International School had completed 27 years by then and our experience with

the girls, especially in the higher classes, in the school encouraged us to initiate Good Shepherd Finishing School. This school was born in 2003.

Tell us about the uniqueness of GSFS. What is the general profile of your students?

GSFS is unique by all means. The curriculum at GSFS is designed to help the students study all subjects which would come in practical life.

The students would not have had EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

the opportunity to learn all these in detail due to their focus on academic performance. The residential style of accommodation imparts lessons in community living. In the 10th year, when we reflect on the successful life of our wide range of alumni, be it a professional, corporate personnel, home maker, or entrepreneur, they prove to be the best. GSFS helps its students to have a vision for themselves, know their strength and aptitude and motivates them to pursue their goal in life.

Regular practical sessions and hands on training in public speaking, protocol and social graces, beauty therapy, food and beverage production and service, fashion designing, art and craft, business English, French, accent training, presentation, creative writing, housekeeping, health and hygiene, personal vision, counselling, career guidance, pre-marital counselling, and dietetics and nutrition will make the students confident. Physical activities include yoga, fitness training, swimming, horse riding, golf, lawn tennis, squash, shuttle badminton, billiards, table tennis, ball room dancing and mountaineering.

Activities, events, competitions and cultural programmes will make them competent in all areas of life. The programme helps to explore the leader in each individual.

The students are in the age group of 16 to 32. The eligibility to attend the programme is the completion of Grade X at the time of admission. We have students from all over the world participating in our programmesundergraduates, graduates, post graduates, professionals and housewives.

At present, the institution has three programmes, the longest being the nine-month programme. Is this duration sufficient for the real transformation of individuals?

The three programmes that we offer -the nine-month, the three-month and the six-week- have distinct curriculum and the objectives of them vary. Also, we organise lectures, seminars and workshops.

In the nine-month programme, along with the other activities, we have five value added certification from reputed universities. Business English EDUCATION INSIDER I February 2013 EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

Certificate- Cambridge University (BEC Higher), DELF A 1– Government of France, Diploma in Fashion Design– NIFT, Theory in Music–Trinity College of London and Duke of Edinburgh Award are the certifications.

Competitions in each subject will help the students do research and perform themselves. The duration of the course is not a constraint in meeting with the objective of the programme since we have residential accommodation and we work on all days. We celebrate important festivals and national holidays on the campus. Since the faculty of the school is also residential, we work round the clock to meet with the objective.

Also, all the subjects taught under the curriculum are practically implemented, regular feedback is given by the faculty and the students habituate and imbibe all the concepts taught. This helps in the transformation of the students.

The house activities happen under the three houses; Elegance, Excellence and Emancipation into which the students are equally divided.

What are the initiatives of GSFS to improve the communication skills of your students?

Regular communication classes equip the students with these skills.

Individual attention is given to weak students and the mandatory and regular practical sessions in public speaking will help them improve their communication skills. We ensure that English is the medium of communication at all times.

Foreign language learning is mandatory since that will help develop the linguistic skills of the students.

Any international tie-ups?

For the certification in Theory of Music, we are associated with Trinity College of London. We also have Duke of Edinburgh Award.

What are the future plans?

Taking Good Shepherd Finishing School to the heights that it deserves is primary. Today, we realise that women opt for a career and at the same time they want to be family-oriented. We revise our curriculum from time to time and make sure that our students remain confident, smart and elegant throughout their life.

P C Thomas and his wife Elsamma Thomas, the co-founders of Good Shepherd Finishing School

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FOCUS IIITM-K

IIITM-K

taking the

lead Since the onset of IT boom, which played a pivotal role in the economic growth of India during the late1990s and the 2000s, Kerala has been one of the IT destinations in the country. But the growth in the sector in Kerala remains much less as compared to that of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. As a result of commercialisation of education in the state, quality standards have suffered largely. In an interview with Education Insider, Dr Rajasree MS, Director, the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management–Kerala (IIITM-K), talks about the future of IT sector in Kerala and the role the institution has to play

by EI Bureau

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T

he IT boom had granted a new lease of life to the state’s staggering economy during the early part of the previous decade and provided the biggest source of employment after the government. But lately, this sector has been viewed with increasing skepticism mainly because of the not-so-attractive salaries under the present economic condition and the ‘hire and fire’ nature of the most IT jobs. The question is whether the IT sector would continue to play a significant role in the state’s growth as it did in the past decade. But Dr Rajasree disagrees: “Opportunities still continue to proliferate, but talent seems to percolate. Employment catchment of today’s progressive companies is global. Hence, graduates with relatively lower skill sets find it hard to earn a foothold.

Presently, the companies are looking for the ability of recruits to grasp newer technologies and their flexibility to adapt to the constantly changing and diversifying IT atmosphere. However, their ability to think out-of-the-box is lacking in a good majority of students.”

“There is a large number of

engineering colleges in Kerala, and these engineering colleges have started to absorb a significant portion of the graduates coming out of these institutions. So there is a necessity more than ever to provide quality education to the students so that they would in turn mould more quality professionals. Education is a set of processes that are imparted formally to take a student from level A to a higher level B,” says Rajasree.

IIITM-K, established in 2000, functioned at a temporary place for many years before moving into its present building constructed on one-acre land within Technopark campus at Kazhakootam, Thiruvananthapuram, in 2011.

“IIITM-K is distinctly unique.

You will find a host of courses offered, which are well ahead of its time. This is perhaps the only institution in Kerala or even in India with a full-fledged digital studio.

Socially relevant programmes, especially in the agricultural sector, are edited and telecast from this institute,” she says.

The protracted infancy of IIITM-K can be attributed to the scarcity of land in Kerala. It took EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

almost a decade to acquire this present infrastructure, which the insiders see as a temporary bay towards the fully residential campus. It is coming up 10 km north of the campus.

“We have been allocated 10 acres of land at Technocity to build a full-fledged campus,” says Rajasree.

“The new campus is to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 70 crore and the construction work will begin soon with full support from the government.”

IIITM-K aims at providing students with a symbiotic environment where academic activities go hand in hand with projects like KISSAN (Karshaka Information System, Services and Networking) and other government funded projects. Students are also exposed to various research works, there by giving them an idea of the potential that lies in the future of the IT sector, she says.

IIITM-K is an institute with a fine blend of Science, Technology and socially relevant outreach programmes.

“Our centre focuses on research in Applied IT. Interdisciplinary academic exercises are our strengths. In addition to the postgraduate programme in IT, we offer programmes in Geoinformatics, Ecological Informatics EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

and Computational Sciences. We are working towards a programme in Agri-informatics, which we expect to roll out in 2014. Jointly with Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences we will soon be announcing a programme in Medical Informatics.

Our strength lies in our diversity. We are consolidating these to become a preferred academic destination.

It finds applications to several top domains in the system. We run a very unique geo-informatics programme and also have an inbuilt programme on ecological informatics. There is an MSc programme in IT and one in Computational IT. All these are interdisciplinary. The potential is tremendous as they are applicable to any filed in science and engineering.

Another field we are venturing into is Medical Informatics. We have a funded programme from the Department of Science and Technology and we are collaborating with Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology where these programmes would be used. We are also planning a PhD programme in collaboration with them,” says Rajasree.

One of IIITM-K’s trademark programmes is in E-Governance which is targeted at creating capability for the E-Governance initiative taken by the state government.

“E-Governance is not merely computerisation in the government sector,” she says, adding “it involves re-engineering the entire process within the system so that better services could be provided to the public. The inputs are taken from graduate students working in association with the various government departments so as to create a sense of awareness among them and help make the system function in a more efficient manner.”

IIITM-K follows an exclusively prepared syllabus that’s taught by an eminent faculty of 16 members.

Visiting faculties from institutions like the Asian School of Business also take classes at IIITM-K. Additionally, a large number of workshops and training programmes aimed at capacity building in the field of IT are conducted. Programmes are also held targeting skill improvement of teachers belonging to various engineering

Our centre focuses on research in Applied IT. It finds applications to several top domains in the system

Dr Rajasree M S, Director, IIITM-K

colleges in the state.

“Since the institution is placed within the Technopark campus, we have tremendous opportunities to interact with the dynamics going around in the IT sector. Right now, we are planning to launch a programme on Technology Management which would be initially offered as a short term programme. IIITM-K has got tremendous potential in spearheading the IT education in the state, especially in the field of Applied IT. The immediate challenge is to meet the structural requirements so that we could award degree certificates to different technological courses which would provide the drive to push the IT sector still forward in the state.”

The ever evolving Information Technology and Applied IT demand from an aspirant the will to work hard, the ability to adapt to the changes and a drive to overcome initial failures.

From the field meant for job seekers, the Kerala IT industry has evolved to accommodate job givers as well, in the form of entrepreneurs and enterprises.

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FOCUS Gems B School

Where students earn while they learn

To many business schools in the country, field exposure is often restricted to a few hours in the whole curriculum. However, here is a B School that offers five days of work and two days of lecture in a week. And, mind you, this is not a foreign university. It is Gems B School, which offers such a flexible curriculum that students not only get field exposure but also they earn real work experience

by Tony William

The programme at Gems B School is comparatively tough since the students have to work almost all days a week, either at the college or at the workplace. Gems do not have any professors at all.

All the members of the faculty who teach at Gems are from the industry

B

earing in mind that nothing can be equal to real work experience, Gems B School has designed a curriculum in such a way that each student who is enrolled here has a job even during the beginning of his/ her period of study.

Dr M I M Nehruzii, chairman of Great Eastern Management School (GEMS), says: “From Monday to Friday, a student has to work in a corporate, and on Saturday and Sunday, for two full days, he/ she comes back to college for studies. It is not an internship; it is a full-time job, and what the student gets is not stipend but salary.”

Spread across 280 acres in the precinct of the Bangalore Palace in Vasanth Nagar in the heart of Bangalore city, Gems B School began as a dream with an idea of imparting values to the youngsters. “Initially,” says Nehruzii, “ We had only one student in 2005. I had to request my two sons, who were engineers, to join the college. From one student, it became three and then to five, five to 30, and, today, we have 3,000 students. From one campus at Bangalore, we have grown into 10 campuses spread right

from Kerala to Kashmir.”

The success of Gems B School programme is attributed to the placement offered by the institute. Gems alumni are already working in various multi-national companies, including IBM, Dell, SAP, Volvo, Airtel, Accenture, Wipro, and Infosys.

According to Nehruzii, “We offer 100 per cent placement. Thanks to our unique model, we assess every student the moment he/she joins the college and decide where each one fits in – HR, marketing, finance, IT, retail, health care and hospital administration, event management. Before admission, our students undergo a thorough screening.”

Students have to pass an admission test called ‘Gems Online Admission Test’ (GOAT).

In one hour, the aspirants have to hit at least 50 correct answers out of 200 questions.

Followed by that, they are put through a ‘psychometric test’ to ascertain their career preferences. Within a week’s time, the college starts placing students in various organisations according to their calibre. Nehruzii envisages creating leaders, and not just managers through EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

The salary that a student gets depends entirely on a student’s calibre.

Low-profile students are given special training for the initial three months in personality development, communication skills, and relationship management management education. In a world which fast adapts to self- centred lives, they need to think about ‘we, us, ourselves’ rather than ‘I, me, myself.’

The programme at Gems B School is comparatively tough since the students are busy almost all days a week, either at the college or at the workplace. Gems do not have any professors with only academic background. All the members of the faculty who teach at Gems are from the industry with a minimum of ten years of industrial experience.

The salary that a student gets depends entirely on a student’s calibre. Low-profile students are given special training for the initial three months in personality development, communication skills, and relationship

management. Once every three months, students are supposed to submit a project report. Within a span of two years, a student submits almost eight project reports.

Recently, Gems B School has introduced an MBA programme in Healthcare Management, targeting mainly medical doctors, dentists, and other graduates. “There are many doctors,” says Nehruzii, “who do not want to practise medicine but want to be administrators. They will get training in various subjects related to hospital administration. We have already received 116 applicants, of whom about 100 are doctors, lab technicians, biotechnicians, nurses and physiotherapists. We have already begun screening process for the 40 seats of the course and are also planning to start an additional branch.”

On the ‘craze” for MBA, Nehruzii remarks: “MBA is not an automatic passport to get a job. The many business schools that have mushroomed have not been able to add any value to the education of youngsters.

Students have to prove their worth, and now they have realised that MBA from a good school is the requirement rather than MBA from any business school.”

What about imparting ethics and team spirit in the future managers? “We ask our students always to give more than they get. Ethics comes above all. In fact, we have almost four invigilators for every 40 students during an examination. As a management school, we feel that it is very important to teach students life skills rather than merely prescribing the curriculum.”

At present, Gems B School has branches at Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Thrissur, Srinagar, Krishnagiri, Mysore, Hosur, and Puducherry. All the branches across the country are run by former students of Gems B School, which help in preserving their unique culture. The institution has international tie-ups with University of Iowa in the USA, South Asia University in the UK, and Cambridge University in the UK. “We have faculty and students coming from there. Students who can afford studies there are allowed to go there for internship for three months,” according to Nehruzii.

The fees charged by this business school is very reasonable so that they can reach out to all sections of the society,” he adds.

Dr M I M Nehruzii, Chairman, GEMS B School

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FOCUS IBS

A business school with a difference Dr K Balakrishnan

IBS Business School has set certain standards for management professionals. They should be all round managers with commitment to society and should practise ethics and teamwork for the successful functioning of the organisation and society as well

by Tony William

W

e intend to be more fashionable by imitating the West, always following the herd mentality. B Schools apart, engineering institutes have mushroomed like the nursing colleges and medical colleges did some time back. Their motive is to make quick buck only.

They forget the truth that an institution must provide value to society,� says Dr K Balakrishnan, Director, IBS Business School, pointing to the boom of business schools in India.

IBS was founded by N J Yasaswy, a well-known EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

FOCUS IBS

finance and investment writer, and founder of Institute of Charted Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI). IBS was recently shifted to its new campus at Kengeri, Bengaluru.

IBS’ flagship programme is the Post Graduate Degree in Management (PGPM). Here, students can choose their specialisation or take the overall programme in general management.

“We intend to create all round managers for the future and don’t want to place them in specialised sectors,” clarifies Balakrishnan. The summer internship programme which covers almost 14 weeks offered by IBS is a major attraction now.

“It is not the time they spend, but the rigour which is a part of the programme that makes it challenging,” he adds. Most of the summer internship assignments are identified by a placement team of IBS. The students can identify organisations for internships too. A committee screens all proposals and examines how beneficial would they be to the students. IBS, different from other institutes, is a centre of excellence having students from across the country.

The students are allowed to choose organisations in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur and Dehradun for their internship. Each student has a corporate guide as well as a faculty guide during their internship. The faculty members pay at least three visits to the company during the internship to evaluate their performance at the company. There is a faculty for every six students.

To promote entrepreneurship among its students, IBS has

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a club called ‘Entrepreneurship Club’ comprising 80 students. IBS also has an elective course on entrepreneurship and this serves as a platform for inviting a large number of entrepreneurs for motivational classes. It has plans to introduce an incubator, in the near future. Balakrishnan is of the opinion that the success of entrepreneurship does not mean that you must become an entrepreneur as soon as you finish your college.

“The programme on entrepreneurship will make them capable of addressing any given situation in their professional life. Students must know they should not be carried away with the idea of a white collar job,” he adds.

About imparting ethics and teamwork sprit among students, he says future managers must have the concern about the stakeholders. Ethics and teamwork are integral parts of any industrial units and the absence of which could result in poor performance and a crisis situation, he says, adding “the reality is that business schools have always talked about ethics and teamwork, but industry leaders and others do not heed to them.

Most of the good business schools have

been practising this for a long time”.

Today, IBS is well connected to the industry and does many custom made management programmes for various corporates, including Billboards and Honeywell. The major recruiters at IBS include KPMG, Bank of India, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Reliance, Airtel, Capital IQ, JP Morgan, SBI, Coca Cola, Barista Coffee Company and Britannia.

One of the strongpoints of IBS is that it is not over dependent on any particular recruiter, points out Balakrishnan.

He says that the management education in India has a larger scope, not just doing business or NGO activities.

Balakrishnan envisages an era when the people who get trained in management change society.

Speaking about the importance of research, Balakrishnan says that the entire faculty at IBS is encouraged to do research and present papers. “I think there is a scope for at least 50 more good B Schools of the calibre of IIMs. It is not the institute which gets you qualified for the profession.

Students must develop a passion for excellence in what they want to do in their life and today they have a wide array of professions to choose from. Follow your dream rather than following in someone else’s footsteps,” says Balakrishnan who is optimistic about non-IIMs emerging as the top ranking B Schools in the country in a few years.

Looking ahead, IBS plans to grow in terms of the number of students and programmes.

“We will introduce more undergraduate courses as well as a formal PhD programme,” says Balakrishnan.

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

ICSI FOCUS

Role of company secretaries on the rise The Institute of Company Secretaries India (ICSI) has been playing a leading role in the growth of the Indian corporate sector which contributes to 60% of the overall GDP of the nation. ICSI is the only recognised professional body in India to develop and regulate the profession of corporate secretaries.

Constituted under the Company Secretaries Act of 1980, ICSI now has a total of about 32,000 members, including more than 5000 members holding certificate of practice. Now, with the approval of the Companies Bill which is set to replace the existing Companies Act, 1956, the ICSI will have to pass through a transformative stage under the leadership of SN Ananthasubramanian, who was elected president of the institute in January this year

by EI Bureau

T

he ICSI has been training company secretaries for Corporate India ever since its inception in 1980.

Over the years, the role of corporate secretaries in a company has gone up from ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements and with the decisions of the board of directors, to providing advice on corporate governance as well. Maintaining its track record of keeping one step ahead with the changing scenario, ICSI now plans to develop a model for rating corporate governance on its own.

“The institute will build on its existing insights and exposure to governance practices in terms of the Corporate Governance Awards it has been giving away for the past 12 years,” said S N Ananthasubramanian, the President of ICSI. “We had developed a questionnaire and critically evaluated companies for handing out the Corporate

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

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FOCUS ICSI

Governance Awards. All that collective wisdom will now be tapped to develop our own rating model for corporate governance,” he said.

The vital obstacle the institute will have to overcome to realise this goal is the mandate put out by the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) stating that only credit rating agencies will be permitted to undertake corporate governance rating. However, it is argued that other entities, such as stock exchanges, should also be allowed to rate corporate governance.

“We plan to approach SEBI to permit even others to do the rating,” said Ananthasubramanian.

A student attains the designation of a company secretary once he or she qualifies for the membership in ICSI. Under the law, the companies with a paid up share capital of Rs 5 crore or more and all companies seeking a listing on the stock C S Anantha Subramanian, President, ICSI exchange are required to appoint a full time company secretary. Today there are over 8,50,000 registered companies in India, offering a company secretary a starting salary of Rs 25,000 a month.

ICSI is actively involved in research activities in the area of interest of the corporate sector and those required by company secretaries. The institute has already chalked out a five-point action plan to train company secretaries in accordance with the new requirements held in

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Companies Bill 2012, which seeks to provide a role of substantive oversight to company secretaries as against the technical compliance role envisaged so far.

“We have to recognise the changed circumstances,” he says, adding “when the context changes, the text also has to change.

We have to move from being ministerial to managerial which is role envisaged for company secretaries in the new Company Bill.”

With the changing corporate atmosphere in the country and the diversifying roles of a company secretary, the future for CS aspirants is more promising.

“The scene is not far away where company secretaries are appointed as a chief governance officer in corporate India. We want company secretaries to be moral beacons within corporate boardrooms,” says ICSI president.

Students can gain access to the institute after passing the 10+2. There is a lot of scope for company secretaries in the areas of banking, insurance, valuation and direct and indirect taxes.

The new Companies Bill also requires prescribed class or classes of companies to appoint at least one woman director, which favours girl students opting to attend ICSI. The institute besides offering courses, also arrange for the training of the students according to demands in various sectors of work. ICSI has its headquarters in New Delhi, with four regional offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai and 70 chapters under its jurisdiction.

Different eligibility criteria are set for candidates with different educational qualifications. The students can opt for distance courses or avail the classes. After the course, an examination is held, passing which the student is made a member of the institute.

The Indian corporate sector is witnessing an exponential growth and correspondingly a demand for qualified professionals is also on the rise. Company secretary is a key position in a company and with proper training and experience the individual can acquire very high positions in the company as well as in society.

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

A melting pot of

KOCHI BIENNALE

art and

culture

Bose Krishnamachari, an artist and one of the chief organisers of the ongoing Kochi biennale, laments the poor status of the country in the exposure of ‘our art and culture’ to the world, whereas foreign countries with ample museums and galleries are bringing adequate attention of the world to their art and culture. In an interview with Education Insider, he talks about the significance of Kochi biennale in the present context

by Valsala Vijayan

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013

To what extent Kochi biennale helps promote artists?

Biennale is not proposed to provide a better life for artists. An artist has greater responsibility towards society than that of a doctor, engineer or any other professional. Artists from all parts of the world are participating in the biennale and they could make use of this experience with great artists, experts and technicians from around the world to improve their skill.

What are your suggestions to promote art education in our country?

Abroad they have facilities to learn art, both contemporary and traditional. There, museums are devoted to art, but in India only 0.4% of the budget has been earmarked for art. There are private as well as government owned museums and institutes for learning art in foreign countries. In Delhi, private art galleries are helping promote upcoming artists.

Do you think Kochi biennale is a success?

Kochi biennale is a huge success as far as the people’s participation is concerned. People from all sections of society are visiting biennale every day.

People who do not comprehend the artistic depictions have visited the biennale more than thrice to capture and enjoy the aesthetic essence of art. Seven million people have visited the website and 2.5 lakh people have arrived to see the biennale so far. The testimonials taken from the people and experts in diverse fields are a token for the success of the biennale.

What is the significance of art in the current society?

All countries have soft power of culture and art.

With the power, countries should make relationships with each other.

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MOTIVATION Pravin Bhasin

MOTIVATION

by Neethu Mohan

P

ravin Bhasin, a professional manager with over 40 years of experience in top Indian MNCs, is in a new role for the past three years. Bhasin is the founder of the NGO ‘Books for All’ which makes goodquality books available to underprivileged children in schools which do not have libraries.

Books for All is spearheaded by Pravin and Kanchan Bhasin.

“The initial idea was very simple – to collect old and unused children’s books lying in homes like ours,” said Pravin about the reasons for the establishment of Books for All. “We started our first centre at Prathmik Pathshala, Gejha, on January 30, 2010, with the aim of helping children of Hindi-medium schools, mostly from underprivileged families, realise the importance of education as a ladder for a better quality of life and a focused career.”

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“We converted one room,” said Kanchan, “into a library.

Infrastructure such as a white board, soft board and table to do artwork was provided, so that the children could look forward to spending their free time and be encouraged to read books.”

Books for All has a full-time librarian-cum-caretaker in charge of the centre who helps the children select books and further initiate the process of self-study.

Books for All, which started out as a basic library concept, has become a multi-pronged initiative striving to tap the children’s hidden talents such as public speaking, art and craft, theatre, and singing.

“We want Books for All to complement the education system, by setting up library-cum-creativity centres in government/aided schools across North India. We want to help children realise their potential, boost their vitality and seize the opportunities that higher education can open to them,” according to Kanchan.

Pravin says they need a central warehouse for sorting, coding and further distribution of all material needed for the schools and for the children. They need to organise collection centres for books in offices and malls in major cities and transport all collections to the central warehouse. “The organisation also needs like-minded and committed volunteers to help take our mission forward,” says Pravin.

EDUCATION INSIDER I March 2013