editorial
Advisory Board
Integrating technology....e-nabling to stand out in the crowd!
Prof. Asha Kanwar, Vice President, Commonwealth of Learning
The digitalLEARNING Smart B-Schools Survey is our maiden attempt at establishing the patterns of technological integration into Management Education across India.
Dr. Jyrki Pulkkinen, CEO, Global eSchools & Communities Initiative (GeSCI) Shri Subhash C Khuntia, Joint Secretary, Department School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India Prof. V N Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor, Indira GandhiI National Open University (IGNOU)
The unique Technology in B-Schools Survey is an exercise aimed at understanding and grasping the importance and relevance of changing B-School dynamics in the globalised world, and the concomitant efforts being made by B-School functionaries in assimilating the ever changing technological innovations. ICT programmes in business schools have helped enrich the curriculum with the tools on which modern business is based. The survey of ICT priorities, investments, support, and curriculum integration in business schools across India has indicated high interest in incorporating technology across domains. The study reveals several trends that are both positive and encouraging. The technology usage in Management Institutes are still in a nascent phase. It reflects a pattern where technology is being assimilated into an education system that is still overwhelmingly stuck with the chalk and talk method, but aspires to achieve great strides through integration of the latest in innovative technologies. Although several technological solutions are readily available in the global market, these are yet to be commonly used in the management education circle. Strong presence of private digital higher education service vendors, including - online course content providers, commercial University Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution providers and digital teaching tools providers - prove that the demand and awareness exist among the higher education fraternity. It will not be long for the management schools to catch up, and perhaps set a trend for other institutions to follow suit. Barring premier institutes, the milling number of management institutes are in essence trying to catch up to world standards. To catch up to the latest trends, there is a need for further awareness pointing out the corners for further awareness, expansion and the barriers that might come in the way of productive assimilation of technology into education. These are some of the essential parameters that need to be simultaneously addressed. The study has helped us understand the process of technological integration in the growing Indian economy. The B-Schools survey is a precursor to moving into the domain of further studying the technology trends in Higher Education Institutes across streams. Watch out for more in this space!
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digital LEARNING
february 2010
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