dL February 2016

11 ISSUE 04 APRIL 2016 2015 VOLUME VOLUME 12 ISSUE 02 FEBRUARY

SPECIAL ISSUE INTERVIEWS Dr Rajni Kumar Founder, Springdales Group of Institutions

Dr Farooq Ahmad Wasil CEO, Goldline Education, Dubai

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Kamal Gupta COO, Global Indian International School

Dr Rakesh Singh Director, IMT Dubai

Prof Ammar Kaka Vice Principal, Heriot-Watt University

Dr Ayoub Kazim Managing Director, DKV & DIAC Santosh K Choubey Chancellor, AISECT University

Vandana Gandhi Founder & CEO, British Orchard Nursery

Cover Story

DUBAI DISCOURSE

Setting the Agenda for Futuristic Education

Dr Vajahat Hussain CEO, Amity University Dubai

Dr Nabil Ibrahim Chancellor, Abu Dhabi University

James Neill International Director, GL Education

Ross Barfoot Partner & Head of Education, Clyde & Co

Narendra Kumar Director, Orion India Systems Private Limited

Dr Abdullah Al Karam Director General, KHDA

Prof Eric Fouache Vice Chancellor, ParisSorbonne University

Aparna Verma CEO, Scholars International Group

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Onkar Parmar Founder & Managing Director, EduLabs

WORLD EDUCATION AWARDS 2016

Sumit Shukla Senior VP, Apar Technologies

Special Focus

STEM EDUCATION

Catalysing Hands-on Learning

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

ASIA’S PREMIER MONTHLY MAGAZINE ON ICT IN EDUCATION Volume 12

Issue 02

February 2016

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Dr Ravi Gupta MANAGING EDITOR: Raghav Mittal

EDITORIAL TEAM EDUCATION Senior Assistant Editor: Nirmal Anshu Ranjan, Garima Pant Assistant Editor: Aamir H Kaki Senior Correspondent: Manish Arora SALES & MARKETING TEAM: digitalLearning Project Manager: Seema Gupta, Mobile: +91-8860651643 Product Head: Fahim Haq, Mobile: +91-8860651632 Assistant Manager: Mayank Sharma, Mobile: +91-8860651645 SUBSCRIPTION & CIRCULATION TEAM Manager Subscriptions: +91-8860635832; subscription@elets.in DESIGN TEAM Creative Head: Pramod Gupta, Anjan Dey Deputy Art Director: Om Prakash Thakur, Gopal Thakur Senior Web Designer: Shyam Kishore Graphic Designer: Ismat Pal Singh ADMINISTRATION Head Administration: Archana Jaiswal EDITORIAL & MARKETING CORRESPONDENCE

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SPECIAL ISSUE digitalLearning is published by Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd in technical collaboration with the Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS). Owner, Publisher, Printer - Dr Ravi Gupta, Printed at Vinayak Print Media, D - 249, Sector-63, Noida 201 307.UP and published from 710, Vasto Mahagun Manor, F-30, Sector - 50, Noida, UP and published from 710, Vasto Mahagun Manor, F-30 Sector-50, Noida, Up

Editor: Dr Ravi Gupta All rights reserved, No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic and mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage or retrieval system, without publisher’s permission.

digitallearning.eletsonline.com egov.eletsonline.com ehealth.eletsonline.com events.eletsonline.com bfsi.eletsonline.com smartcity.eletsonline.com Write in your reactions to news, intervews, features and articles. You can either comment on the individual webpage of a story, or drop us a mail at: editorial@elets.in

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

Editorial

In Education Kingdom Often referred to as the land of plenty, Dubai has moved beyond its glitz and glamour to grow into an emerging education hub. In the last decade, the private education sector witnessed significant growth that saw enrolment figures getting doubled, leading to an increased supply of education spaces. This has brought about a competition within the local education market, to the advantage of the people, who have greater choice of academic institutions for their children. Dubai, in particular, and the UAE, in general, present a unique case in the education sphere in the sense that they have much larger number of institutions in the private sector as well as students attending those institutions. Private schools across the Emirates account for almost 70 per cent of the total population of schools, while their enrolment figure stands at close to 90 per cent, thanks to the conducive policies of the government. A pro-active approach of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and other government agencies has seen various school chains and universities from across the globe setting up their campuses there, and also attracting large investments to the sector. Driven by the UAE’s ‘Vision 2021’, which lays emphasis on the development of a first-rate education system, technology and other latest global trends in learning are fast taking over the space. As Dubai takes shape of a pre-eminent edu-destination, at Elets Technomedia, we decided to convene the 6th edition of its flagship event “World Education Summit 2016” – a global learning platform that champions innovations and investments in futuristic fulfilling education – in Dubai on February 7-8, 2016. The Summit aims to bring all the stakeholders on one platform to facilitate communication and collaboration. It will bridge the divide between the key stakeholders and provide a highly crafted platform for the industry and the academia to connect and converge. During its last five years of journey, the World Education Summit has witnessed the education sector undergo a paradigm shift. The Summit has strived to look beyond being just an event, by building a strong community around it and providing various business and networking opportunities for the government, education leaders, private sector and civil society organisations. And taking forward the objective of knowledge sharing of the digitalLEARNING magazine, WES Delhi on 6-7 August 2016 and WES Dubai on 6-7 February 2017 will bring together education stakeholders from across the globe, transcending education barriers. As the Vision 2021 takes shape in the years to come, the World Education Summit remains committed to move shoulder to shoulder with the stakeholders in the Kingdom country and elsewhere in the world to help usher in and be witness to the transformation in the education system and teaching-learning methods.

Dr Ravi Gupta Editor-in-Chief Ravi.Gupta@elets.in

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

Special WES Special Focus

COVER STORY

DUBAI DISCOURSE Setting the Agenda for Futuristic Education With the UAE emerging as a major education hub, the major universities and educational institutions across the globe are setting their campuses in the country. Keeping the signiﬁcance of the region as an important educational destination, Elets Technomedia is convening the 6th edition of World Education Summit 2016 in the city of Dubai. Elets News Network (ENN) shares a brief about the education landscape of the Kingdom Nation and the relevance of WES 2016 in the land of plenty

ver the recent past, the Emirates has been gaining a strong foothold in the education sector and drawing global players, thanks to its conducive policies and forward thinking. The education sector in the region is being driven with a focus on the UAE’s Vision 2021 that lays emphasis on the development of a ﬁrst rate education system.

Dubai, the largest city of the UAE, boasts of a state-of-the-art infrastructure, an incredible skyline and breathtaking architecture. However, there is much more to the vibrant and pulsating city of Dubai than its Gold Souk, dazzling deserts and breathtaking architectural beauty. And the one avenue that is fast emerging as Dubai’s most important specialty is its prominence as an education hub.

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It should come as no surprise that Dubai has jumped onto the education hub bandwagon, as the city is known for doing just about everything on a grand scale. Considering the huge influx of immigrants, numerous well-known foreign universities and schools have established their campuses in Dubai to impart high-quality education that is at par with western standards. Dubai has actively pursued branch campuses of top schools around the world, presenting an amazing spectrum of international learning centres. These campuses are housed in four major education hubs in Dubai — Dubai Knowledge Village, Dubai International Financial City, Dubai Health Care City and Dubai Silicon Oasis. Each hub caters to a specific set of students and some are affiliated with programmes from big educational institutions of the world that offer students a chance to get a degree at all levels, be it bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral. All this probably has been an outcome of a unique practice of continual discourse, whereby educators are convened from across the globe to share their

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

positive practices for the benefit of all schools and universities in Dubai. In addition, there are several other factors that work in favour of Dubai: ❖ Excellent academic system that stands at par with western standards ❖ Scope for tax-free earnings from an employment opportunity after graduation or post graduation ❖ Low cost of studying when compared to other developed countries like the USA, the UK and Australia ❖ Conducive policies of the Government In furtherance to this unique phenomenon of Dubai emerging as a pre-eminent edu-destination, we have undertaken to convene the 6th edition of our flagship event “World Education Summit 2016” – a global congregation championing innovations and investments in futuristic fulfilling education – in Dubai on February 7-8, 2016. WES 2016 aims to bring all the stakeholders on one platform to facilitate communication and collaboration. In our endeavour, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has lended its valuable support as a Knowledge Partner. The authority is responsible for the growth and quality of private education in Dubai. It supports schools, universities, parents, students, educators, investors and government partners to create a high quality education sector focussed on happiness and wellbeing. Among eclectic mix of speakers, Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), has agreed to enlighten the gathering with his salient perspective at the WES 2016. Dr Karam is responsible for a wide spectrum of education in Dubai’s private sector, spanning early learning, school, and higher education and training institutes. In addition, the leading lights in the field of education spanning early learning, schools and higher education and training institutes across the world will discuss and deliberate on a wide range of themes concerning the future of education. In this WES special edition of digitalLEARNING, we present the compelling views of a galaxy of global experts leading the innovative practices in education, share their learnings and findings. ■

WES Special

Special Interview

Taking Education to

THE NEXT LEVEL

Dubai’s private education landscape has grown rapidly in the recent years. Extending new opportunities to investors, parents, students and teachers, Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has redeﬁned the private education sector. From helping schools collaborate better by showing them ‘What Works’ to providing more choice to parents through school inspection reports – KHDA has transformed education in Dubai for good. February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

digitallearning.eletsonline.com

Dr Abdulla Al Karam,

Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of KHDA, has led the education sector in Dubai over the last decade. In an interview with Dr Ravi Gupta, Editor-in-Chief of digitalLEARNING magazine, Dr Abdulla shares his ideas for a more inspiring educational future. Here are the excerpts:

Dubai has focused on building a quality-driven education system. How do you stay relevant in the constantly changing times? Dubai’s greatest asset is the diversity of its education landscape. We have 17 different education systems, which reﬂect the best from America, the UK, Japan, Russian, Canada, India and many other countries. We have always looked to build upon this diversity, which has helped increase happiness in Dubai. Diversity connects people better, and greater the diversity of schools, the better the performance of an education system.

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

What is the road ahead for KHDA and education in Dubai? A national agenda has been set for 2021 and the target for education is quite ambitious. Over the last eight years, Dubai schools have seen continuous improvement, be it in terms of inspections or assessments. If we hope to achieve the goals outlined in Vision 2021, we need to push the linearity of the graph exponentially. Our focus has always been on helping schools perform better. To do this, we have been giving them feedback on their educational outcomes rather than disrupting their input, i.e. the educational content, school infrastructure, teacher recruitment policies and the likes. This is where happiness and wellbeing work as contributors in shaping a new dimension in education. What we

“Our focus has always been on helping schools perform better…we have been giving them feedback on their educational outcomes rather than disrupting their input, i.e. the educational content, school infrastructure, teacher recruitment policies and the likes. This is where happiness and wellbeing work as contributors in shaping a new dimension in education”

expect from schools is consistently good performance while creating a balance in the school culture with happiness, wellbeing and growth of students at the core of their learning. What are your views on the changing trends in education? Education has always been geared towards bringing out the best in people. Today, people live in better homes, eat better and have their basic needs met. We live in the best of times and the overall human standard of living has seen remarkable improvement over the last few decades. All these developments have had a net effect on education, because today’s generation no longer has the same challenges or aspirations. Education today is not just about providing information and educating the mind; it is a lot more than that. Educators face the challenge of meeting the needs of a generation, who are growing up in an age of information and access to content. There is also an element of emotional and physical wellbeing, which is increasingly linked to education. Lastly, can you share more about KHDA’s office and its belief in wellbeing and happiness? How did this transition take place? Getting the commitment of people is never an easy task. At KHDA, the happiness of our employees is a priority for us and we want our people to be committed and engaged while being happy at work. Five years back, we started our first initiative with a happiness survey asking them one simple question – “Are you happy?” When someone asks about your happiness for the first time, you actually feel happy about it. People could see their happiness scores, which marked a starting point. Since then, we have kept doing this survey every six months. This is a serious proposition for any business, because if your people are happy, then your customers are happy, too. ■

WES Special

Special Interview

Education Landscape

PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE Dr Rajni Kumar a veteran educationist and Founder of Springdales Group of Institutions, has been closely associated with education for over seven decades now. Having seen various twists and turns in the evolution of education system in India, as also elsewhere, Dr Rajni talks about what’s best to shape up the young minds. Excerpts from an interview with Elets Technomedia (ENN)

You have been a veteran educationist, who has seen the birth of the Indian Nation. What has been your experience of transition from a British education era to that of an indigenous one? I came to India in 1946, just a year before India won its freedom after waging a glorious struggle for more than 200 years against the British colonial rule. An educational system is always a microcosm of the sociopolitical structure of the society, in which it operates, and the British Education System in India was meant essentially to fulﬁl the objectives of British Colonial Rule and to produce an army of clerks and pen pushers to run the administration. As for the upper classes and castes in accordance with Macaulay’s famous “Minute on Indian Education”, the idea was for them to imbibe the innate culture and lifestyles of the British rulers and become “brown sahibs”. The education imparted was stereo-typed, academic textbooks and examination-oriented and very bureaucratic. As freedom dawned, there was a tremendous feeling of exuberance. Fresh wind was blowing and there was a promise of a new day, a new India and a new world opening up before the country. One of the great urges and aspirations of the people was for Education. The British had left behind a huge legacy of poverty and illiteracy. The literacy rate at that time was only l8 per cent and educational facilities were totally inadequate for a large and diverse country. After freedom, the education system had to be remoulded in tune with the needs of a burgeoning Republic. Although the basic educational structure did not change, India’s constitutional goals of secularism, socialism and democracy had to be incorporated and worked upon. A cultural renais-

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

WES Special sance began to take shape, and a huge programme of quantitative expansion of facilities was initiated, such as building of schools-colleges, teacher training colleges and enrolment of students. Sadly though, not enough attention was paid to qualitative improvement or to the base of the educational ladder, the primary schools, which even today are the weak areas of the state system of education. From Sister Nivedita to Miraben to Dr Annie Basant, a galaxy of women leaders from the UK have come and served India. What was your inspiration for choosing to serve India through education? Right from childhood, I felt an affinity with the darker skinned races of Africa and India, maybe because of my black hair and swarthy skin inherited from my Welsh father. As I grew into a teenager, I began to feel an aversion about “Empire Day” and later empathised with the humiliations of people in India suffering under colonialism. I read about the great movement of liberation under Gandhiji in India, and became a supporter of these human struggles and a social activist. It, therefore, followed the natural sequence of events at the University in England. I joined the India Society of the L.S.E., fell in love with an Indian Barrister and fellow social activist Yudhister Kumar, who swept me off my feet and into India. I stayed in a military cantonment in North India just after freedom when the British army had left India and the Indian Army was coming up with their families and needed education for their children. The school house was there, but locked up and no one to run it. Their eye fell on me. Not listening to my protestations that I knew little about education or the Indian culture, and was just 25 years old, they insisted that I run the school for the Army. Well, I took up the challenge as a great learning experience and that decision became a defining moment in my life. Founded in 1955, Springdales continues to be an eminent educational institution with a limited set of five instances. What has been your founding philosophy in nurturing these nurseries of talent? Springdalian education is primarily based on the educational philosophies of great

“Springdalian education is primarily based on the educational philosophies of great educators of both West and East. Our educational work is our motto “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, meaning “The World is a Family” educators of both West and East, Bertrand Russell, Badley, Maria Montessori and John Dewey as well as the educational thoughts of Gandhiji and Tagore. Underpinning our educational work is our motto “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, meaning “The World is a Family”. This lies at the core of our multi-dimensional curriculum and value system. It teaches the students to become good family members, supportive community dwellers, proud Indians and caring members of the whole family of humankind working with a spirit of Internationalism and socially oriented. Dubai, an education destination in the Middle East, has Springdales, too. What prompted you to expand to the Kingdom of Arabs? Three years ago, when I had turned 90 and thought my life’s work was done, my student Dr Navjeet Singh Anand, a Springdalian of the 1976 class, suddenly appeared from nowhere, introduced himself as the Chairman of the Goldline Group of Companies, and sought permission to build Springdales Dubai. Once a doctor, then a successful entrepreneur and now with a mission to enter the education domain, it was an offer too good to miss. What a beautiful happy and well endowed school he has created and what a great source of delight, of joy and satisfaction the school has become to me in this last stage of my life as I see already more than l,200 happy talented children imbibing the Springdalian ethos and singing the songs of the family.

One of the central themes of the upcoming Education Summit is ‘Learning from Dubai’. What are the areas for India to learn from Dubai? There are many things we in India can learn from it: a) Firstly, the high premium the country places on Education, as a valued tool for development, for the individuals and for the country and the resources they pour into it; b) Dubai has a large variety of educational institutions that have been allowed to be built on its soil, catering to the different needs of the children of the expats of the Indian community and for their own Emirati population. They lay emphasis on high quality performance in all schools, including those for the local population, which is completely free and without any gross disparities and inequalities, which we ﬁnd in India between the majority of private and state-run institutions; c) The pride they have in their own culture and heritage, and their stress that this is given a pride of place in all schools; d) The respect and tolerance they have for other diverse cultures and ways of life; e) The importance given to law and order, for cleanliness and for putting in place the mechanisms required for enhancing not only the learning process, but all aspects of education, security and safety, health etc.; and f) Making effective use of education technology. Technology has emerged as a key constituent in the educational ecosystem. What is your take on its adoption? Education technology can be a very valuable tool to enhance the learning process. It can increase substantially the horizons of knowledge, speed up the process of absorption and alert the minds of our children and direct them into new channels of thought and action. It can help us with distance learning in removing the curse of illiteracy. But there is also the dark side of the moon — its possible misuse. So, we must proceed with utmost diligence and caution and put in place all possible checks and balances to prevent its misuse, and indelible harm to the minds and bodies of children. The human element in education must always remain supreme. We must never become a slave to technology. ■

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

WES Special

Special Interview

Setting the Course of

SKILL-BASED EDUCATION

Dr Ayoub Kazim, the

Managing Director of Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV) and Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), is responsible for strategically steering all DIAC and DKV entities and further consolidating their status as leading centres of learning excellence in the region. In an interview with Seema Gupta & Manish Arora of Elets News Network (ENN), he speaks about partnerships with Indian educational institutions, role of technology in education, Dubai Vision 2020 and more

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING LEARNING

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Please share with us your partnership with Indian institutions and vision for future. We (Dubai Knowledge Village and Dubai International Academic City) have partnered with several Indian academic institutions including Manipal University, BITS Pilani, IMT and Amity University in Dubai. These institutions have majorly contributed towards human capital development and economy, especially meeting the needs and expectations of the industries here. We have a large student base, comprising 145 nationalities, which not only consists of the students from undergraduate level, but executives also come here to pursue various post graduate programmes. Talking about the models adopted by the universities here, some of them have adopted the Blended Learning model, which has proved quite successful in the local context. For example, Manchester Business School has employed this model and has been here for almost nine years. Initially, they had only 55 graduate students and now they have more than 1,200 post graduates, mainly catering to the business executives in Dubai. However, we want to move beyond that. We are working on a paper to ﬁnd out how the future of education would look like. In my experience of over 25 years, I have seen the evolution of education not just regionally but also globally. In future, we are looking for students to interview faculty members and administrators of the institutions to know what they want. This way, at the end of the term, we can ﬁnd out if they had really imparted the education needed by the students and how well the faculty members performed. This is one of the models we want our academic partners to explore in the future. With regard to digital education, we have been focusing on online education over the recent past. This is an area where we have spotted some challenges. The main challenges faced by the providers of these types of courses are public perception, dual recognition and employer’s perception towards these degrees. These perceptions need to be changed as we are in the digital age.

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

ago, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, set the goal to make Dubai the most advanced smart city in the world. We are going in that direction and for that we need the support of human capital. He has a great vision, as he knows we have the capability and resources to fulﬁl that vision. Above all, we have to persuade our academic partners to offer the right programmes that are desired by the industry and will lead to human capital development in the region.

“His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, set the goal to make Dubai the most advanced smart city in the world. We are going in that direction and for that we need the support of human capital…”

When you say online education, can the providers offer these courses without setting up campuses here? This is something that needs to be understood as the decision should be made by the Ministry of Higher Education and most of the universities are licensed by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA). As for students, we need to tell them that these universities are accredited and licensed by the government authorities. These organisations can operate only if they have the proper license, either from the local or federal authorities. According to you, what is the role of technology in transforming education in Dubai? It has been great, as couple of years

What is your vision to make the universities in Dubai the best globally? It is good to be highly ranked; however, when it comes to being assessed by external parties for ranking purposes in the country or a region, my personal suggestion is that universities should not solely focus on this. They should base their academic operations on developing the local and regional communities, regardless of ranking concerns. They have to think how they can support the vision set for the country. I have seen that some universities are so obsessed with rankings that they have forgotten their main objective and role in the community and the country. However, their responsibility should be to contribute to the vision of the government and to develop human capital in the region. The rankings and accolades will surely come after this, but the universities need to focus on their primary objectives. What is your take on the Dubai Vision 2020? To achieve the goals of Vision 2020, we need to keep in mind the sustainability and the future. We need to draw on our partners to offer programmes that would contribute to fulﬁlling the vision for 2020, where there will be around 280,000 workers needed for Expo 2020. In this regard, the government has done a fantastic job. Every year, we have 13,000 Emiratis graduating from the current education system. This is where we need to ﬁll the gap. We have to develop both regional and international workforce with a wide range of skill sets needed in different sectors.■

WES Special

New Skills Must for

UAE YOUTH

Dr Farooq Ahmad Wasil,

a doctorate degree holder specialising in education, is currently the CEO of Goldline Education, Dubai. In an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN), he shares about the importance of education, Springdalesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; unique proposition, achievements and the vision

How much stress is on education in the Middle East region? Education is not only a fundamental human right, but perhaps the most necessary element of development of any nation. Today, the literacy rate in the UAE is 90 per cent and

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the Government spends close to 25 per cent of the total federal spend on education. The UAE is always on the lookout to ensure quality education and has ensured accountability of institutions through inspections by external bodies. In the 21st century, the emerging workforce of a nation needs to be well equipped with the necessary skills to ensure active participation in economic development. This is possible only if they have acquired the knowledge and competencies, such as critical thinking, problem solving and the requisite expertise, in their respective fields of engagement. Springdales is a pioneer in K-12 education in Dubai. What sets it apart from other institutions in the region? v A Clear and Shared Focus: The focus is on achieving a shared vision and everyone from head of school to the learning support assistant understands their role in achieving the vision, which is developed from common beliefs, values, creating a consistent direction for all concerned through School Development Plan; v High Standards and Expectations: All grades, subjects and individual students are assigned minimal and aspirational targets; v Effective School Leadership: The school has effective instructional and administrative leadership which is required to implement the School Development Plan; v High Levels of Collaboration and Communication: There is strong teamwork among teachers across all grades and with other staff. Everybody is involved and connected to each other, including parents and members of the community; v Curriculum Aligned to International Standards: The planned and actual curricula are aligned with the essential academic learning requirements. Staff understands

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

the role of assessments, what to measure, and how student work is evaluated; and v Structured Monitoring: A study cycle of different assessments identifies students, who need help. More support and instructional time are provided, either during the school day or outside normal school hours, to students who need more help. What are the major achievements and the pioneering work undertaken by your institution? v CBSE Affiliation: Within the first two years of operation, the school

“Springdales will grow and invest in resources to enhance the quality of education opportunities. It will also contribute positively towards the UAE Vision 2021”

got affiliated to CBSE after fulfilling all the requisites; v Three-year Development Plan: We developed a three-year development plan and based on that school performed better in all the key areas of operation. Over 115 initiatives were introduced, and the results can be seen in the forthcoming years; and v DAST Award: The school won DAST Award in School Transportation category, awarded by Road Transport Authority, Government of Dubai. How does the school try to achieve

Happy Learning framework of KHDA? v Meaningful Use of ICT: Interactive Smart Board, Laptops, Ipads and web-based activities. v Student Prefectural Board and Student Voice: Enables student express their views and concerns freely and ensures student empowerment; v Star of the Week: Recognition and awards given to students ensure good behavior and positive environment; v Perfect Attendance, Great Punctuality Certificates & House Points: Ensures punctuality and very good attendance; v IDEAL Approach: Identify, Describe, Explain, Analyse and Link approach, which ensures critical thinking, problem-solving and innovation; and v SAT: Student Achievement Tracker (Set Targets, Monitor and Support Under achievers). What is your vision for the next three years? v To contribute positively towards the UAE Vision 2021; v Grow and invest resources to enhance the quality of education opportunities, comply with powerful factors determining School’s effectiveness - teaching for effective learning; curriculum; protection; care; guidance and support for students; leadership & management (four powerful factors determining School’s effectiveness as per KHDA model); and v Continuously improve quality of educational programme and ensure two key outcomes – Student Achievement; Students’ Personal, Social Development and Innovation Skills (as per KHDA Model). v The actions resulting from this three-year plan will directly contribute to the advancement of excellence and innovation in education at Springdales School, Dubai. n

WES Special

Global University with

LOCAL PERSPECTIVE

Dubai has become an attractive destination for global economies to invest in education domain, says

Prof Ammar Kaka, Vice Principal

of Heriot-Watt University, Dean & Head of the Dubai Campus, in an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN) Can you brief us about the initiatives and achievements of Heriot-Watt university? Heriot-Watt University is one of the most prestigious universities. Established in 2005, we recently celebrated our 10th anniversary. Initially, we set up in the Dubai International Academic Centre and have the very first lot, to which we introduced couple of programmes: one postgraduate and the other undergraduate. Initially, we admitted 120 students. Since then, we have been growing very rapidly and brought many programmes from various universities. Now we have 40 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Within short span of time, we have grown to a student

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population of 400 students and have emerged as the largest international campus, not only in Dubai but also in the whole of the UAE. We are planning to introduce Ph.D programmes as well in three of the campuses. We have established and owned a campus that has its own residence and food courts. With increasing number of student trafﬁc getting directed towards the UAE, the factors making the UAE a viable alternative university destination? Dubai now has a large number of international campuses in the world. There is a variety of students who want to come to Dubai for technical programmes; that is one of the attractions, but the key one is the prospect of what happens when you become graduate, especially in terms of jobs. This is a very vibrant region in the world. Banking on the clients for economic growth, Dubai has a lot of opportunities for development in the region. Most of our students, who graduate and come from abroad, stay back to find a job, and get the experience of the region and have exposure to the business culture. After two-three years, they can go back to their own country and can still work in a global organisation. Are you targeting Indian students here? We are definitely targeting the Indian

“Dubai is a very vibrant region. It has a large number of international campuses in the world. There is a large number of students who want to come to Dubai, especially for technical programmes”

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

market, as it is an important market. We also have an outlet in India, to manage our business. There are a lot of Indian schools in the UAE. In fact, we also have British schools with Indian students. In the past, the trend was that Indian students finished their schools and joined a university here. Now they are joining in their own country. An alternative is to go out. We feel that a big chunk of the Indian market comes to Dubai. What are the emerging trends deﬁning transnational language education in the UAE? Transnational education is probably an emerging trend in Dubai. Students, rather than going to Scotland or Edinburgh, come here as they have an easy access to this region. We do have campus in the UK and one in Malaysia, which we opened about two years ago. We run a programme, under which a student can join Dubai, and do one year in the UK and one year in Malaysia and then he/she can come back and do his/her fourth year or do masters. Therefore, transnational education is about taking opportunity to be able to take different cultures, all part of learning. The students in the UK, who are coming to Dubai, spend some time here and they value this experience a lot. Given the wide spectrum of opportunities in education in the Middle East and MENA countries, what are the key initiatives to bridge the gaps between learning and learning spaces for the next generation? We feel that now classrooms are no longer the classrooms where we put a lecturer to teach students; it is more about discussion, problem solving, base-learning, etc. As part of the learning spaces, i.e. virtual learning, we have an aide called VISION. All our learning material is actually put there, so that students can access it wherever they want. Digital technology has revolutionised the education sector. How do you see this transformation impacting the entire enrolment structure and delivery of traditional education in the UAE? I think it is a huge opportunity for

the students to experience and come to Dubai for education and join the university. Doing other courses in other universities around the world like Harvard, Oxford is an option, but chances of what you wish to learn and accessibility is greater here. How do you see higher education landscape shaping up in the

“Dubai is a land of opportunities as most of our students, who graduate and come from abroad, stay back to ﬁnd a job, and get the experience of the region and have exposure to the business culture”

region with growing investments and innovations transforming the education landscape? I think their aspiration is to become much bigger and that requires investment, be it private or otherwise. Universities can themselves be investors. For the education providers to be sustainable in the long term, they need to have proper funding sources. The UAE Government is taking new initiatives to support innovations and development. For universities to open properly, they need reliance on funding. Your views on the World Education Summit? Any message you would like to share? I think it is a very good initiative and one of the things we look forward to. The profile of lined up speakers are very good. I am coming as a speaker and look forward to network with other speakers. It would have been good if there was more participation from India itself from the universities and organisations. You do help us. ■

WES Special

Best of France

NOW IN DUBAI Prof Eric Fouache

Vice Chancellor, Paris-Sorbonne University, Abu Dhabi, in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN), shares his views on students in the Middle East universities, emerging trends in education landscape, digital transformation of education, Paris-Sorbonne Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision and more

Can you throw some light on the achievements of the university? Is your vision in line with the UAEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Vision 2020? Paris Sorbonne University is itself a part of the 2020 Vision. We are here to join the platform of education. We have a specific segment. Today, the country has a good opportunity in education. There are 97 private universities, out of which 77 are American. We are the only French University platform for education in the country. It is very important for a country to cover international market and to offer huge diversity. We represent the French and European system of education. The UAE is a small country, but from the point of view of investment and diplomacy, it is a country of first importance. In the education sector, investments are the main actor today. Young Emirati people is relatively low in education. Therefore, we need to get access professional skills, which enable them to discuss and negotiate with people all over the world. Presence of Sorbonne University in the UAE gives the possibility to train Emirati people in the international language and culture. After that we send them to France for specialisation or they join one of our masters. At Sorbonne University, we provide the facility to learn all the European languages, not only French but English, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and more. Around 80 per cent of our graduates have the ability to speak three languages French, Arabic and English. Almost 40 per cent of our alumni find jobs in the UAE and 60 per cent of them abroad. Our University is a place where students come to acquire a profile that leads them to occupy international positions in big companies. In terms of measurability of

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our programmes in Humanity and Arts, we deliver one of the best degrees in the world. The degree is delivered from Paris. A few places in the world are offering a good system for education and the UAE is one of them. We are here to participate under the umbrella of ADEC, and our programme has the double accreditation of the French Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Higher Education of the UAE. We are here to build a network that has a positive effect not only on the growth of the UAE but on the society as a whole. How has Paris-Sorbonne University fared in increasing the number of students’ intake in the Middle East region? What about targeting the Indian market? Today, around 60 per cent of our students are coming from families who are working and living in the UAE and 40 per cent from other places in the world. About 25 per cent of our students are Emirati students. We are really a regional or national university, as we have a better percentage of Emiratis compared to several private universities or schools in the country. Considering the number of our students, 60 per cent are from the Middle East only. On the other hand, we are also a worldwide university, because 40 per cent of our students are coming from other countries. Currently, we have around 900 students from 77 countries, which is a 13 per cent growth this year. Last year, the growth in number of students was 16 per cent. We want to move to sustainability while also maintaining the quality. Targeting Indian market is now a challenge for us. However, when it comes to Science and Mathematics, Indian students are very good. As French pedagogies are good in Science education, In Science programmes, we can meet the demand of the Indian market. According to you, what are the emerging trends defining the

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

Nearly 60 per cent of our students are coming from families who are working and living in the UAE, while 40 per cent are from other places in the world. About 25 per cent of our students are Emirati students

education landscape? Today, the education landscape in the UAE is incredible, given what the country has achieved at secondary level education in a very short time. About 85 per cent of the present generation in the UAE attends high school, which is one of the best percentages in the world. Even in France, only 65 per cent of the generation is going to high school. The gap is only after that where only 25 per cent of the generation goes for higher education. The country is witnessing high economic growth and the challenge is that it needs highly qualified people. Therefore, it has to increase that percentage. It is strategically important for the country to ensure that they have enough qualified Emirati people. Also, it has to ensure that the quality of education and that all the programmes are also accredited. Today, a majority of institutions are concentrated at same location in Dubai. Therefore, there are requirements some needs that should be in place. There is a real need in the country for technological education and for professional and practical education. In addition, there is a need for quality intermediate professionals to fill the middle level jobs which are not considered to be good among people. Given the wide spectrum of opportunities that exist in the education sector, what are the key initiatives being undertaken to

bridge the gap between learning and learning spaces for the next generation? We are amid transition – technological and social, I would rather say even deeper psychological evolution. The young generation today is living in a society having greater freedom. There are opportunities for young people now, which was unbelievable 20 years ago. Life is much less difficult for this generation. As a result, they accept less rigidity and authority of the system, they demand freedom of choice and look forward to self-learning opportunities. In this age of technological evolution, today’s generation—people between 10 and 20 year age bracket—born with a mobile and Internet is educated to work on these tools. They want to have access to all the information, whenever and wherever they require. But, teachers are conservative about this approach, though considering the importance of technology, they should try to transmit knowledge through new methods, which will also help them learn the new techniques. Digital technology is revolutionising the education sector. How do you see this transformation impacting enrolment, structure and delivery of traditional education in the country? We have to change and adapt to this digital transformation. For this, we need massive investment in technology in the university to make possible e-learning, tele-projections and interactions between the people and students, who want to interact with professors online. However, this technology requires massive investment, because the current infrastructure is based on the old teaching pedagogy. The other challenge will be to follow the increase of the demographic exploration of students to other countries. There is no remedial solution at this moment, but gradually one needs to adapt these technological advancements. n

WES Special

In Pursuit of

QUALITY EDUCATION

Teaching is not just about imparting textbook-based education, Amity also ensures its students’ alignment with the industry, says

Dr Vajahat Hussain,

CEO, Amity University, Dubai, in conversation with Dr Ravi Gupta, Editor-in-Chief, digitalLEARNING Magazine

How did the idea of opening a campus in Dubai emerge? How did the vision evolve? I think we have been quite successful in India in providing quality education. There came a time when our foundation decided to expand our institutions outside India. Steps were taken to expand operations in the UK, Romania, Mauritius, Singapore and Middle-East, with the last one being identified as close to India and a potential market. We started with 100 students at this campus, set up by the Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), which is a member of TECOM Group, and the name given to the campus is ‘incubator campus’. This is where the foreign universities can come and incubate. And, once they settle down and decide what they want for future, then they take the next step. In our case, the initial four years were so successful that we decided to set up the largest private university campus in Dubai that is fully owned by our foundation. Generally universities take land on lease, but we purchased it to make our commitment very

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clear to this nation that we are here to stay, and that we will align ourselves to the mission and vision of this country and then produce and train students who can align with the national agenda of the country. Even for the selection of our programmes, we took the help of Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) to identify the national agenda, so as to pick up the best courses to go with the same. How has the number of students increased over the years, and what they are generally doing after completing their studies? Beginning with 100 students, we now have 1,600 students. Three batches have passed out and are successfully employed or have gone ahead with higher education. We ensure that the student’s alignment with the industry takes place well while they are with us. It is a compulsory must-have that all the students undertake industry engagement while with us. We also work on their personality development, interview skills and social skills, so that when they face the interview, they can be recognised as professionals. You are surrounded by brands from various regions and are facing a stiff competition from them. What is the secret of your success? When we started with this campus (in Dubai), we made a conscious commitment to make a difference to the student community. Our focus is always to develop well-rounded graduates and that has been the major differentiator for our campus. Our well-shaped graduates are our strength. When we evaluate ourselves, we look in terms of how we are able to achieve create task-based learning, internships, students-based self-organised groups, etc. Hence, the focus is more on what we are able to deliver in terms of the student experience. We ensure overall experience, and that is what is drawing our students. We have different quality standards - we have regular visits to our campus, moderation process,

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

“When we started with this campus (in Dubai), we made a conscious commitment to make a difference to the student community. Our focus is always to develop wellrounded graduates and that has been the major differentiator for our campus here”

international accreditation, professional bodies’ associations, etc., and all these together give a lot of inputs, that make our campus different. You have various campuses in different countries. How does the knowledge sharing happen? We have a three-country programme, where students get an opportunity to gain invaluable exposure, experience and practical knowledge by studying in three reputed institutions across three continents and get certificates from the partner universities in the UK and the US. A lot of student mobility is happening. We also take a lot of collaborative efforts across the universities among the campuses. As far as Amity is concerned, it has a long and rich experience whether it is case studies, real-time research, applied research, etc. We have very senior scientists in our campuses, and a lot of collaborations happen between the senior teams in our campuses. We have a vision that Dubai should become the hub of international faculties. You can see recruitment of international faculties from the West, but taking them to India is a bit more challenging than to bring them to Dubai. If we get them here, it is easier to take them to India for semesters. As

far as our faculty exchange programme is concerned, our target is to develop Dubai as a hub of international faculty and then share it with the rest of the centres. You are an international university now also having presence in Dubai. How are you map profiles of students from various other countries? We have students from multiple nationalities and they have accepted us as an international university, which is not predominantly Indian. Although majority of our students are Indian, we also have students from MiddleEast, the US, Canada, etc. I think what is driving us is the geographical area around us, as the economies are opening up. The student feels,m once they study here and have an exposure to the market, there would not be dearth of job opportunities around them. What are the other arms of Amity? We have two more arms — pre-school arm and K12 arm. The largest preschool in Dubai will be operational in September 2016. In fact, we have two pre-schools in Dubai — one towards the end of Dubai on way to Abu Dabi and the other in the premium area named Jumeirah. These are 100-children preschools. Nursing care is also available, so working mothers can leave their onemonth-old children and go to work. The medical care is good enough to take care of the children throughout the day. What makes you stand out in this sector? I think there has been a lot of success in India itself in both these areas. Education is the only thing we are concerned with. We are a not-for-profit foundation, so we do it for a purpose and there is no reason why we should not address all the issues relating to children. This is what makes us unique. We are in all these related verticals and deliver quality. After all, it is a qualitydriven market.n

WES Special

Tech Aids for

SMART OPERATIONS Orion Group,

an education technology providing company, has been offering customised solutions to some of the top education boards and universities to make their operations smooth, says

Narendra Kumar,

Director, Orion India Systems Private Limited, in an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN)

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What are the education initiatives from Orion group? Orion has been serving the education sector by providing out-of-the-box and custom technology solutions that offer education boards and universities a fresh look at business process automation. Orion has filed patent for

“Orion solutions are built after considering the key challenges that higher education faces today”

two of its major inventions, usage of which brings enormous benefits to the education sector. They are: v Orion Bundle Management Solution (BMS) v Orion Live Ink Character Recognition Solution (OLICR) The two solutions support the development of effective processes at below mentioned prestigious educational bodies, right from affiliations or student enrolment to examination and evaluation: CISCE (Council for Indian School Certificate Examination): Orion has automated end-to-end operations of the Council for Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE), one of the premier education boards in India. CISCE takes care of more than 3,000 schools under its umbrella and caters to the needs of education for lakhs of students. Key functionalities of our solution deployed at CISCE encompass Digitisation, Affiliation, Registration, Examination, Dispatch Management, Online Verification and Issuance of Duplicate Documents. ICT (Institute of Chemical Technology): ICT, Mumbai was established initially as the Department of Chemical Technology and gradually became one of the most important deemed universities in the country. Orion has taken care of the automation of most important functionalities, such as Attendance Management, Timetable Management, Library Management, etc., for

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the Institute and has been widely appreciated by the users. Orion provides an ERP solution called CAREEVS to the education boards and universities for facilitating their end-to-end operations. It encompass several modules that automate most of the back-office and front-desk operations of school boards and universities by connecting people, processes and systems on a single platform. CAREEVS facilitates schools or colleges to manage affiliations, candidate registrations and confirmations, examination management, evaluation management, verification and enquiry management, document receipt and dispatch management, DILO Dashboards for different stake-holders and a wide spectrum of user-friendly drill-down reports. Major beneficiaries of this innovative business solution are the school boards and universities. How do these benefit the higher education institutions and examination regulating authorities? The solutions are built after considering the key challenges higher education institutions face today. The solution: v Smoothens the process of conducting examinations, registration and affiliations. v Provides seamless connectivity between affiliated institutions v Keeps information redundancy to the minimal v Offers one window for complete information v Brings transparency in the entire operation v Reduces the risk of malpractices v Expedites result publication v Ensures effective monitoring and control through audit trail How do you see the learnings from across the globe becoming applicable to the MENA region in terms of education? Orion’s CAREEVS solution provides an impetus for the success of education across the world. There are majorly three important challenges faced by the education domain today: v Outdated and legacy technology processes

v Resistance to embrace new technologies v Inflexible budget for automation Orion CAREEVS addresses all the above three challenges and assists to make the educational board or universities state-of-the-art in their

“Orion provides an ERP solution called CAREEVS to the education boards and universities for their end-toend operations. It encompasses several modules that automate most of the backoffice and frontdesk operations of school boards and universities by connecting people, processes and systems on a single platform”

stream.The MENA region faces shortage of skills in HR, IT, Finance, Marketing and Sales. CAREEVS solution alleviates some of these challenges by way of automation and simplification of business processes. The solution provides true and real value addition in terms of increasing the time for teaching as well as knowledge assimilation and reducing the time in non-productive processes imposed by legacy school technologies. The solution has the potential to completely eliminate all paper transactions and bridge the unfilled gaps existing due to lack of alternatives to human dependency. This helps educators focus on strategic business growth rather that operational and administrative issues, thus, enabling better business outcomes. n

RAJIV GANDHI

NATIONAL QUALITY AWARDS

NPSites shine in Academics & Co-curricular Activities A few laurels won by our Students in 2015 & 2016 :

WES Special

Where Quality

REIGNS SUPREME The Institute of Management Technology Dubai (IMT Dubai) has created courses to meet the global needs. It provides platform for budding managers to be business-ready for global as well as local markets. In an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN),

Dr Rakesh Singh, Director, IMT

Dubai, speaks about the opportunities for Indian universities in Dubai, marketing approach of educational institutions, IMT Dubaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s USP and the branding strategy

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What is the USP of IMT? We are the only Indian university, having accreditation from the Commission of Academic Accreditation (CAA), UAE. We have gone through a rigorous accreditation process and have to go through this every three years. We are among the few universities, who have 100 per cent Ph.D faculty members. This all sets us apart from others. How do you develop and train your students to prepare them for placements? We have recently taken a very different approach. We are now focusing on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions for placements. For this, we have a very well established Middle East business emerging programme. Now the change that IMT is going through is that all our products are acceptable to the local markets. We have adopted a unique approach. Now we are sensitising our students to the needs of the economy and industry in the MENA region. It is a great localisation of our product. We have a call, “Dubai experiences global impact”. In our Executive MBA programme, we have diversiﬁed student base, largely Emiratis and other nationalities including Indians, Pakistanis, Germans, etc. In terms of quality, we are one of the best institutions and have the best quality students. We want to be focused that way only. Though we want to grow in numbers, too, but our main focus would be on quality. What is the difference in marketing approach of educational institutions here as compared to India? Marketing of institutions is same everywhere. It depends upon the type of segment you want to serve. For marketing in any region, the purpose needs to be put as ‘your story’ rather than ‘my statement’. However, the market here is very unique that doesn’t require quality of institutions as a large number of institutions, who offer something, get numbers here. If you believe in quality, you will not be at risk to manage the students. You will get a few good students, which is a good growth model for some institutions. We are conservative in marketing ourselves. However, we are changing our approach a little bit. We are not aggressive but we are conscious of being present. I think that is

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the way we want go about it. The amount of funds required to run an institution here is huge. How do you sustain with the limited number of students? We have a student base of 600 and that is not a huge number. But the fact is that we have never made losses. Compared to last year, we are relatively in a good position. Even when the market is declining, we are growing. We have already got admissions in our MBA and Executive MBA programmes. Internship is also happening well. We have a strong internship framework, where

“IMT conducts short-term exchange programmes, in which students come here on a business, academic and social tour and learn about the economy, opportunities and challenges in Dubai” projects have to be predeﬁned with the company and for the students. The market in the UAE is highly competitive and is mainly for undergraduates. However, we are largely a postgraduate institution. We have just started at undergraduate level. We are now focussing on targeting schools of undergraduate studies. We are also looking for tie-ups with universities in the UAE to offer dual-programmes and that can lead us ahead. At undergraduate level, the admissions have started happening in IMT. We have allowed dual-degree programmes with the University of Toledo in US, and Bedfordshire University and Staffordshire University in the UK. All these are adding value to our programmes. What are the opportunities for universities in India for collabora-

tion with institutions in Dubai? There are lot of opportunities in Dubai. For instance, what we do with our sister institution in IMT Ghaziabad is a brilliant initiative and also with our other sister institutions in Nagpur and Hyderabad. We conduct short-term exchange programmes, in which students come here on a business, academic and social tour. For example, on February 21, 2016, from Nagpur, around 20-30 students are coming here. We will take them around for nine days’ business, academic and social tour of Dubai. We will take them for a tour of Burj Khalifa, Night Safari and let them also experience the nightlife in Dubai. In addition, we have a series of lectures every day on themes like Emergence of Dubai, to make them learn about the economy, and opportunities and challenges in Dubai. Besides this, every day a CEO/Head of a corporate venture comes and speaks to students in the evening or morning, depending on the schedule. This becomes a part of course and students have to submit an assignment. This way it becomes a nice training opportunity for them. This we did for IMT Ghaziabad last year. Now Nagpur has signed for 42 students and Hyderabad 66 students. This programme is not free, we charge around AED 10,000 per student. This gives me conﬁdence to say that other Indian universities can also create short-term programmes and collaborate with universities here. What are your strategies for promoting your brand in the media? We do promote IMT, but we are a little media shy. We just use the strong pipeline of IMT Ghaziabad, where 20,000 students are in the list and that is sufﬁcient for us. In addition, we do some ads in newspapers, participate in trade fairs, etc. This year, we are changing our approach and focussing on branding. We are looking at a media channel in each city to advertise and create a buzz that we are here next year. India will be a prime market for us, as Indian students bring lot of vibrancy. Besides, Pakistani students also have the vibrancy. I expect that in another three years, all the students—be it Indian, Pakistanis or Emiratis—would look at IMT as an option and come to us. I believe, quality-wise our standards on a much higher pedestal. ■

WES Special

Churning Out Industry-Ready

PROFESSIONALS Santosh K Choubey

the Chancellor of AISECT University—a higher education institution with a focus on skill development and research—speaks to Elets News Network (ENN) on the Indian Government’s policies on education, Dubai education scenario, AISECT University’s readiness for the changing times, collaborations with international institutions and more

With the changing education paradigms, how has the AISECT University adapted to the evolving times? The AISECT University (AU) is a progressive higher education institution. Our effort is to excel in skill development and research in addition to formal education. That is why we have introduced compulsory skill courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, thereby making AU India’s first skillsbased university. Eight departments of the University have opened multiskill academies in partnership with NSDC, where over 30 skill courses are offered with an aim to create a cadre of professionals, who are industry-

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ready the moment they pass out from the University. Research is another focus area for us. We have collaboration with several research centres and universities in India as well as abroad for conducting research in Renewable Energy, Material Science and Environmental Science. We also organise entrepreneur development programmes to encourage students to think in terms of starting their own enterprise. Students are motivated to go beyond classrooms and take up serious social activities. Therefore, we have adopted three nearby villages where students organise various programmes to educate people about social betterment, education, health and other vital issues. Our quest is to develop as a skill university with best research environment to produce excellent professionals with good social values. How do you see the policy initiatives undertaken by the Government for making higher education reach the masses? The Government has taken several steps in the right direction, like opening its universities to reach the unreached, establishing private universities in most states, introducing educational scholarships and loans for those who are unable to afford higher education, and the upcoming Government MOOCs platform ‘Swayam’ as well as encouraging higher education institutions to adopt technology in order to reach a larger segment of the population. However, the Government needs to take some measures to encourage private participation in higher education in the non-metro areas. The norms for opening a university campus in Tier II and III cities have to be more transparent and clearer, and availability of land for setting up private universities should be made easier. Moreover, higher education in local languages should be promoted in a big way, as it will break a lot

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

“Dubai is an international hub with around 80 per cent of the population comprising nonEmiratis. This allows students studying in Dubai to interact with people from diverse nationalities and learn about the businesses and cultural practices of various countries” of barriers. Also, national open universities and state open universities should focus primarily on the rural and remote areas. How is Dubai education landscape relevant to the growth plans of the AISECT University? We are eager to explore the possibility of setting up a campus in Dubai in order to cater to the Indian diaspora residing in the Middle East. Moreover, we specialise in ICT and skills-based education. Our endeavour is to impart formal education in such a manner that students simultaneously gain knowledge and skills for a holistic educational experience which would enable them to address the industry’s need for skilled workforce as soon as they graduate. After years of experience in promoting this mode of learning across India, we would like to bring our specialised mode of education to Dubai as well. What are the learnings from the education scenario in Dubai that the AISECT University would like to adopt? Dubai is an international hub with

around 80 per cent of the population comprising non-Emiratis. This allows students studying in Dubai to interact with people from diverse nationalities and learn about the businesses and cultural practices of various countries. We would like to bring a similar cultural experience to our University. Though we already have some international students studying at AU, we would like to see an increase in the number of international students coming to our campus. To ensure a greater experience for such students, AU offers excellent facilities in place, including a large number of technical labs, state-of-the-art hostels, antiragging and anti-sexual harassment cells and much more. However, there is always a scope for improvement and we would like to closely observe and learn from the facilities being provided to international students in Dubai and apply some of those practices in AU as well. Are there any global collaborations that the AISECT University is looking forward to in the coming times? AU already has international tieups, wherein we offer educational exchange, cultural exchange and research programmes in collaboration with universities like the University of Siegen (Germany), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (USA), KAIST (South Korea), ICA (Nepal), ICE WaRM (Australia), KYIV University (Ukraine) and NCTU (Taiwan). The University also has a research project in collaboration with Taiwan and IITDelhi for developing efficient material for solar cell to increase efficiency by 100 per cent. There is a project with Ukraine on earthquake prediction. In March 2016, we are holding an International Conference on Climate, Water, Environment and Energy in which more than 20 countries are participating with around 300 research papers. We will be happy to explore further international collaborations for the benefit of our students. n

WES Special

A Nursery that

NURTURES KIDS Vandana Gandhi,

Founder and CEO of British Orchard Nursery – the UAE’s largest nursery chain, in an interview with Dr Ravi Gupta, Editor-in-Chief, Digital Learning magazine, talks about what it took to make the Nursery what it is today, and more

What is the concept behind British Orchard Nursery? It started a decade ago. My father supported me to conceptualise this whole system. I was the manager in a multinational bank at that time, but I was interested in education space. We have worked on the brand from the scratch. We had a British management team and followed the curriculum from the UK. We strictly follow the guidelines of quality.

“We are the ﬁrst company in the schooling sector, led and managed by an all-women workforce. We have been awarded by the European Foundation for Quality, and by Dubai and Abu Dhabi Government”

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The government here is supportive to women and in making the life and environment conducive for working women. We are the ﬁrst company in the schooling sector, led and managed by an all-women workforce. We have been awarded by the European Foundation for Quality and by Dubai and Abu Dhabi Government. You have several branches across the UAE. Are there any particular guidelines they have to follow? We follow the government guidelines. These branches are like a corporate franchise, as they have their own infrastructure. We just support them with the curriculum and teachers. It is like a partnership in which we have to work with them and look after the needs of the children. They also support in our CSR and Emiratisation policy, i.e. to support the country. Our nursery follows strong CSR policies. We support the local communities in many ways. This way we help Arabic children. Even Arabic children learn the high quality international British curriculum in close proximity of their working mothers. Any mother is the toughest customer, more so for a pre-school, because in the high school, mothers drop their children and go. However, in the preschool, mothers come to drop and pick up their children. There is a high level of interaction with customers, thus a lot of transparency and communication is required. Therefore, it is very important that we have strict policies and great communication tools. How do you ensure that these branches follow the guidelines? This is through standardisation of policies and guidelines that we have and through the systems in place, whether it is a manual documentation system across all the branches to support each other or standardised curriculum across everywhere. All the branches across follow the three-year rolling plan, developed by us after years of research. These are individualised to a child’s learning through various inputs and assessments. Abu Dhabi and Dubai branches follow the same weekly planning, so there is no room for deviation. Although teachers come from different parts of the world, there is consistency and structure in the entire curriculum. We

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

have Arabic, French and Islamic Studies in the government branches, we teach values and morals and we also have activities like drama and dance — all weaved into the curriculum. We have got curriculum experts, who continuously work to make it better. To ensure that the weekly plans are effectively followed, we have an assessment system. Every plan is linked to assessment, which the teacher has to make. If a weekly plan is completed, assessment is made and the assessment book

“We got the systems developed from the UK, based on the guidelines for nursery and preschooling followed there. This is the general preference of the UAE mothers, because when their children go to higher schools, they prefer the British national curriculum” ﬁlled. Mothers and teachers go through it. This way, it is a very robust model of curriculum and assessment linked to each of the topics and each child. Is this business more of a holy business? We don’t take it as a monotonous business. It is a child-centric system. Quality and care comes ﬁrst for us. The government here is great in its support system. I like the systems here, where everything is clear and transparent. There are set of norms and systems for the protection of the child, parents and school. You can easily start nursery schools in the UAE. In India, you have big names with hundreds of nursery chains, having 50 pre-schools each, unlike Dubai. But we have got the largest chain of nurseries across the UAE, though it is not like India, because India is huge, while Dubai is a small place. British Orchard nursery got awards as we have robust

systems developed the and have R&D team in place. We maintain high quality by investing in the education model, resources for the children, health and safety-certified parameters. What is your take on global practices? International practices are great. Our team comprises women from different parts of the world. We got the systems developed from the UK, based on the guidelines for nursery and pre-schooling followed there. This is the general preference of the UAE mothers, because when their children go to higher schools, they prefer the British national curriculum. However, our team members in the R&D team comprise people from New Zealand, the US, Europe, Asia, Singapore, etc. We listen to the best practices from these countries. New Zealand has a team hierarchy curriculum, which is very nice and well-researched. We have hired experts from these curriculum, pedagogies and practices and take advice from them and incorporate their suggestions in our curriculum. How many students are there in all? Across our 15 branches, we have more than 2,500 students. The number of children keeps increasing as we grow. A nursery in Dubai caters to 100 children; that is the model of a nursery in Dubai. What are your plans for the next five years? To grow within the country, both in Middle East and India, we take primary curriculum and follow quality standards. We have got awards at the government as well as national level. We have got one of the most women-friendly employee awards from the Ministry of Economy in Dubai and from Cherie Blair. It was part of the Wil Economic Forum, the leadership forum for women. We are the most womenfriendly employers and our HR policies are conducive for working women. We also want to take the model of “happy employees” and “happy children” to other parts of the world. In the next five years, we want to grow to higher levels — either to more classrooms in our own nurseries or primary education and even expansion towards Asia, Middle East and other parts of the world. ■

WES Special

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WES Special

Grooming

GLOBAL CITIZENS

Kamal Gupta

COO, Global Schools Foundation, talks about the vision of the organisation in shaping tomorrow’s global citizens in a tete-a-tete with Dr Ravi Gupta, Editor-in-Chief, Digital Learning magazine

What is the vision of Global School Foundation and how it started? Guided by the motivation to become a global role model for teaching and learning, the Global Schools Foundation (GSF) works towards empowering students to become global citizens of the world. GSF is a social entrepreneurial initiative, which uses innovative principles to organise, create and manage a social beneﬁt programme. Established in Singapore in 2002 as a social entrepreneurial initiative, the foundation is led by Chairman and Co-founder Atul Temurnikar under the guidance of GSF President Chandu Borde, former captain of the Indian National Cricket team and a Padma Bhushan (India’s third highest civilian award) and Padma Shri awardee. Nurturing students to become leaders of distinction through high quality, value-based education, the foundation looks after its member institutions that provide schooling and socio-cultural training bound by strong Gandhian values. The member institutions include award-winning international school Global Indian International School (GIIS) - with 20 campuses across 7 countries – Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, the UAE, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and India. With the launch of Global Indian International School Abu Dhabi, GSF has ambitious plans of expansion, particularly in the Middle East. The Abu Dhabi campus, with state-of-the-art infrastructure is spread over 20,640 sq. m.creating a network of innovative, student-centered spaces in a safe and welcoming environment. The campus aims to offer parents value for money through a tailored school fee structure, designed as a gesture to the cooperation of Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) and the UAE Government. Global Indian International School operates in different cultural geographies, like Singapore, India, Japan and Malaysia. How

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do you customise the curriculum across various countries? At Global Indian International School (GIIS), our endeavour to amalgamate diverse cultures, perspectives and facilitate knowledge sharing to foster a holistic learning experience across geographies has been consistent since inception. We encourage students to consider their responsibilities towards their community and to the world around them, by creating conceptual and practical connections. Holding strong academic credentials and vast teaching experience, GIIS’ faculty forms the backbone of the school’s vision. GIIS students, over the years, have secured exemplary achievements in academic and nonacademic spheres. GIIS encourages the use of technology in the classroom and to maintain open communication, making learning a fascinating experience at GIIS. Both international and Indian curricula are offered at GIIS and include IB Diploma, Cambridge IGCSE, CBSE, CBSEi and Global Montessori Plus programme. Based on the geography of the school is operating in and as per local preference, the core curriculum is decided. Around it is woven our curriculum delivery system which is demonstrated through our Nine Gems™ model, which equips our students with the skills and awareness needed for them to become ‘Global Citizens’. We measure its success in terms of its global orientation and the impact it makes on the society. By implementing the United States Excellence Standards “Malcolm Baldrige” to effect continuous improvement in the standards of their schools, we benchmark our education excellence against the best schools in the world. Since the ﬁrst campus was launched in Singapore, and currently there are three campuses catering to over 4500 students, it is needless to say that GIIS is very strongly involved in the education system of Singapore and works very closely with the education bodies of the country. In Singapore, GIIS is ISO 9001:2000 certiﬁed and has also been

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

“Global education is the essence of learning at Global Indian International School and our endeavour is to amalgamate diverse cultures, perspectives and facilitate knowledge sharing to foster a holistic learning experience across geographies”

certiﬁed by EduTrust and BizSafe Level 3 by Workplace Safety and Health Council (WSH) of Singapore. With reference to local connect, GIIS Tokyo has 50 per cent local students. Japanese students learn about Indian culture and art like Bharatnatyam and Indian vocal singing while their Indian counterparts learn about Japanese culture and art like Kanji and martial arts. Similarly, in GIIS Kuala Lumpur campus, 20 per cent students are Malaysians, 10 per cent Chinese and the rest are Indians. The cultural activities and festivals of all communities and ethnic groups are celebrated in our campuses. How do you address the local requirements of the Middle East, given it has an altogether different set of localised requirements? Global education being the essence of learning at GIIS, the curriculum delivery system is based on universal values and sensitivity towards the global environment. Therefore, understanding of local culture, community connections and aligning to the vision of education councils of Middle East are imperative towards imparting complete education to our students.

GIIS has been recognised in the UAE for educational excellence. GIIS was awarded the Golden Peacock in the ‘Innovative Product/ Service Award’ category for ‘Kindness Movement’ initiated at GIIS Singapore campus on the 25th World Congress on Leadership for Business Excellence & Innovation in Dubai on 20th April 2015. It was an honour to receive the award from His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, Government of UAE. Incidentally, KHDA has recently talked about the concept of ‘Happy School’, which we have already implemented couple of years back in our Singapore and India campuses by setting parameters to measure the ‘Happiness Index’ of each student, if the Happiness Quotient is high. We know that happy children learn better. As far as academic results are concerned, we have also produced four IB Diploma world toppers from our Singapore campus in the last few years; there were several others, who achieved almost near-perfect score of 44/45, and also IGCSE toppers. In fact, we have bagged the second prize at the Global Benchmarking Awards recently for our Singapore campus. Such feat has not been achieved by any of the schools in Dubai. We have made a mark in education in the last 10 years, and have been honored with 53 prestigious international awards by most reputed international organisations across the globe. What are your expansion plans for the next three years? In terms of expansion, we are keeping the Middle East on the top priority, especially locations like Qatar, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Then we will also focus on India. We are working on a long-term rental model. Our brand new campus is coming up in Singapore which will be a state-of-the-art world class infrastructure. In addition we are looking at key cities in India and selected other geographies. ■

WES Special

Dedicated to the

CAUSE OF EDUCATION The Scholars International Group (SIG) has been educating children for over 40 years now and is dedicated to providing high calibre, achievement-orientated schools to develop the next generation of leaders. Aparna Verma, CEO, SIG, talks to Elets News Network (ENN) on the group’s journey so far, its vision, achievements, expansion plans and system challenges to primary and secondary education in the UAE SIG has been imparting education for over 40 years in the UAE. Please share the group’s proﬁle, number of schools it runs and the journey so far. SIG’s vision is to develop quality schools across the region. We currently have three institutions under our umbrella and are looking to expand. Our expansion is driven by our desire to maintain the integrity of our school’s offering and our promise to parents. Describe your vision for SIG improvement. To what extent have you been able to translate your vision into reality in your schools?

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At the end of the day, we want to be the best and we can be. We have a number of expectations which we measure against ourselves from students’ achievement to parents’ communication. All our schools go through a continual process of self-evaluation, which is embedded in the culture of the schools. This is not only a responsibility we owe to our most important stakeholders (the children), but something we owe to ourselves. With increasing competition, (the UAE is now the largest private school market in the world after China), we need to stay abreast of trends in the market if we are to stay relevant. Our focus is not just on where to improve, but how do we continually deliver on our improvement goals while maintaining a strong and cohesive organisational culture. This requires an engaged, strong leadership within each school, who can effectively shepherd change. How do you ensure best standards in education? What are the big challenges in primary and secondary education landscape in the UAE? Ensuring best standards in education is easy to talk about, but a very arduous and ambitious goal to achieve. At SIG, we are constantly engaged with the global educational community and the research that exists with regard to what works and what’s new. Each of our schools has its own characteristics and parent base. We recognise that each child is different and learns differently. What we attempt to do is to ensure that we get the highest quality teachers, who can meet the individual needs of each child. All our schools, regardless of their fee bracket, are known for the quality of the teaching staff. This is our focus. As to challenges facing primary and secondary education in the UAE, there are a number of inherent challenges, but that is to be understood given that the UAE and its educational infrastructure have grown very rapidly. The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has done a phenomenal job in a short time to raise the quality of education. I am conﬁdent that they have the vision and determination to continue with that growth. The biggest challenge that the sector faces is the lack of quality teachers.

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

“With increasing competition, we need to stay abreast of trends in the market if we are to stay relevant. Our focus is not just on where to improve, but how do we continually deliver on our improvement goals while maintaining a strong and cohesive organisational culture” Lacking an indigenous teacher development programme, most teachers have to be hired from abroad. General global supply and demand is making this an increasingly tenuous situation. Also, Dubai schools have to pay high competitive salaries, which has a tangible impact on the schools here. What has been your biggest achievement as a premier education group? How big is your alumni size? Our proudest and premiere achievements are the outcomes of our students. The list of universities they attended includes Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and more of the top universities. We have a large alumni body and are now working on our 40th anniversary of Dubai Scholars, galvanising our worldwide alumni to participate. In their careers, they are working at Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc., and they return to give back to the school and recognise the role of the school in the successes. What systems and processes have you used to ensure the effective running of your schools on a dayto-day basis? Our Quality Assurance (QA) is studentcentred and maintains a balance with the needs of the other stakeholders. It

is aligned with the school guiding statements and is a process of auditing and improving on the school’s programmes and services. The QA process is overseen by the Head of School, who is ultimately accountable to the SIG Management. The framework is built using systems, resources, risk assessments, checklists, evaluations, procedures, policies, personnel and professional development to help effectively guide and support the myriad of functions that make up the running of a school. All supporting material and documentation is on the school intranet with appropriate access provided. The framework is additionally supported by the third party accountability, such as KHDA. Staff ’s professional development, awareness of roles and responsibilities, and corporate standards create an environment for high productivity. We heard that SIG is launching another school—Clarion School— in Dubai. Can you your expansion plans? We are very excited about the opening of Clarion School in Dubai. The opportunity to afﬁliate ourselves with the Bank Street College of Education, the gold standard in education, will help us develop what we feel will be the leading American curriculum school in the region. We feel we are bringing something different to Dubai and creating a shift in the paradigm as far as education is concerned. Progressive American education is giving children the necessary skill sets to thrive in this ‘new age’. We are exploring other opportunities, both internally developed and from approaches by other parties. Our expansion plans are measured. We are very particular about every project we undertake, as they must reﬂect the ethos and commitment of our group. Keeping their children’s education in mind, parents have many priorities? What is your USP and what parents should expect from you? There are a number of good schools in Dubai. We are unique in the high quality of our teachers. Our focus, our values and our ethos are delivered by our teachers. Parents should expect and deserve a quality education for their children and we are committed to providing that to every child, whose education is entrusted to us.■

WES Special Every student has some hidden potential, some latent talent unique to him. What is required is to spot and groom that hidden talent. And that is where GL Education techniques play a vital role, writes

James Neill,

International Director, GL Education, for Elets News Network (ENN) sessments for Maths, English and Science, and the Pupil Attitudes to Self and School (PASS) survey. At GL Education, we take a 360° view of a pupil’s education, one that will benefit not only each pupil but also the school as a whole. This is achieved by looking at pupils’ ability and attitudes as well as attainment and progress. In doing so, a complete picture of each pupil can be built, enabling schools to adapt teaching and learning accordingly and realise every student’s potential.

Pathways towards

HOLISTIC LEARNING

or over 30 years, GL Education has provided rigorous and high-quality assessments for children’s education, mental health and wellbeing. To ensure our assessments incorporate the very latest thinking and research, we have worked together with numerous distinguished organisations in the UK and abroad, including King’s College London, the University of Cambridge and the University of Michigan. Our portfolio of published tests includes widely-used assessments, such as the Cognitive Abilities Test, 4th Edition (CAT4), the Progress Test Series of as-

When I am preparing for class observations, parent meetings or discussions with teachers about learners in their classrooms, the first document I reach for is the CAT4 report for the pupil or class concerned. Teachers have their CAT4 reports at the front of their planning folders and the information contained in the reports directly impacts class groupings, planning for personalised learning, further assessment and reporting. CAT4 has been an invaluable tool at our school.

TIM RICHARDSON Head of Primary School Dubai International Academy

For example, the unique learner profile produced by CAT4 identifies a student’s ability in four key areas: verbal, non-verbal, quantitative and spatial. Students with a strong spatial profile are likely to do well in Science, Technology, Engineering and

February 2016 / digital digitalLEARNING

WE ARE PROUD TO OPEN OUR NEW BRANCH AT KALYANPUR, KANPUR (U.P)

The Chintels School 121,HIG,Ratan Lal Nagar Kanpur (UP)-208022.Tel; 0512-2280714,2281826

WES Special Mathematics (STEM) subjects, but if this is coupled with a weak verbal score, they may struggle to understand written explanations or questions concerning complex concepts. As a result, their scores in tests of the curriculum may be masking their inherent ability. By highlighting the distinct areas of ability, the reports from CAT4 make it easier to identify these ‘hard to spot’ students and to put in place the right kind of teaching to allow them to maximise their strengths while simultaneously reinforcing areas that need greater support.

Recently, we’ve noticed that the added value has increased significantly, as has the achievement of lower ability students. There has also been a significant improvement in answering harder questions, such as measurement, which bodes well for the future. Teachers are moving away from telling pupils things, to working with them and getting the children to understand how to solve problems more. FRANK EADE Numeracy Specialist, The Cayman Islands The data from our assessments helps schools to: v Deliver personalised teaching and learning v Improve student outcomes v Manage admissions v Communicate with parents v Respond to inspections GL Education is the UK’s leading provider of formative assessments, with teachers in around two-thirds of the UK secondary schools and a third of UK primary schools using our assessments to support learning. The desire to develop students’ 21st century skills to meet the challenges of an increasingly competitive world as well as the visibility of international surveys, such as PISA, has resulted in governments, education ministries and schools around the world to focus very closely on the effectiveness of teaching. The use of data to ensure that each student reaches their full potential is an obvious approach to consider and as a result, our assessments are now being used in international, bilingual and state schools in over 100 countries worldwide.

It gives us credence and credibility, and if children do move to another system elsewhere in the world, that school will be able to recognise the outstanding level they have already achieved.

LYNETH MONTEITH Acting Chief Education Officer The Cayman Islands

We have worked with leading international schools in the Middle East for many years, especially those following the

UK curriculum. However, the introduction of the UAE National Agenda Parameter (NAP) at the start of this academic year has significantly raised awareness of the importance of assessment throughout the Emirates. The Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB) now expects schools to participate in international and external benchmarking assessments on an annual basis – to help provide a more objective picture of student attainment and progress, identify gaps in understanding and tailor teaching accordingly. As the publishers of CAT4 and the Progress Test Series (PTS) of assessments, which are identified by DSIB as appropriate tools to measure attainment and progress, we have had to react to the demand from senior leaders within schools for advice on how to effectively incorporate assessments into their approach to teaching and learning and for additional CPD for staff to help them to administer and evaluate the tests accordingly.

Thanks to your support with the CAT4 data, we were able to present the inspection team with a very detailed data tracking and monitoring system. This has led to a very successful inspection.

VICE PRINCIPAL International School, Abu Dhabi

This increased awareness comes at an exciting time for GL Education as we announce the publication of the Cognitive Abilities Test, 4th Edition (CAT4) CBSE Edition. This represents a new standardisation of the internationally respected CAT4 assessment, based on data from thousands of students undertaking the CBSE curriculum in India and the Middle East. Like the original version of CAT4, the test offers a unique learner profile for each student and delivers detailed, automatic reporting at the individual student and group level, together with summary reports for senior leaders. The test already provides indicated results for some of the key subjects at Grade X including: English Communicative, Hindi, Mathematics and Science. These indicators can be used by schools to set realistic but challenging target grades for students and help to set a reliable benchmark against which future progress can be measured. We are continuing to work to expand the range of subjects for which we offer indicators and to extend them to Grade XII. As a result, we are actively recruiting additional schools and school groups to participate in our standardisation studies. Participating schools receive significant discounts on the published tests in return for sharing examination data to contribute to our ongoing development. We are, therefore, very excited to be part of the ‘World Education Summit 2016’ in Dubai. As a speaker, and with the support of regional school leaders, I am looking forward to reinforcing the importance of assessments to a wide audience. I hope to find new schools, who wish to work with us to further develop our assessments. Most importantly, I am looking forward to meeting as many of the dedicated school leaders at the event as possible, to open a dialogue and explore how our assessments can contribute to your work giving each and every individual student the very best start in life we can provide. n

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

WES Special

Committed to

CHILDREN’S EDUCATION

British Council is working in the area of special education needs (SEN) and supporting the UAE education authorities in implementing their SEN policy

he British Council is committed to and an ambassador for SEN and training, as it reflects one of our core values — “Every child matters everywhere in the world”. We positively promote a social model of inclusion, recognising and promoting that differences are a normal part of diversity, and that teaching must be adapted to the needs of the learner. In the UAE, the British Council is one of the leading organisations supporting the UAE education authorities in implementing their SEN policy, working across policy reforms, capacity building and teaching. For example, our resources for educators include an online SEN training course for teachers in mainstream schools, training courses held — either face-to-face, through online learning method or a combination of the two, and free online teaching resources. ‘Taqaddam’ initiative Addressing youth employability in Middle East and North America (MENA) region is a pressing challenge, which requires government, educational institutions and businesses to come together to provide young people the skills they need to get the jobs they aspire for. About 63 per cent of business leaders say that lack of young people with the right workplace skills is a major barrier

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

to productivity and commercial success. To overcome these challenges, HSBC and the British Council have developed a pilot programme, ‘Taqaddam’, based on new research around the ‘growth mindset’ that will impart 15-16 year old students the skills they need to succeed in the workplaces. Taqaddam, meaning ‘progress’ in Arabic, is an innovative programme that provides skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work. Taqaddam is a targeted core skills initiative developed in collaboration with nine ministries of education. The course content will impart students the skills, confidence and lifelong learning to reflect the needs of the 21st century living. It is based on research, which shows that 15-16 year olds are most responsive age group to learning and developing these soft skills. Other Initiatives This year we are celebrating “Shakespeare Lives” as April 23rd will mark completion of 400 years since Shakespeare’s death. We’ll be delivering workshops in schools for teachers interested in learning more about teaching Shakespeare to younger generations. You can find out more information about the global campaign here: http://www.shakespearelives.org/

WES Special

Technology that

PROVIDES EASE OF LEARNING Onkar Parmar,

Founder and Managing Director, EduLabs, speaks to Elets News Network (ENN) on the contribution of EduLabs in education space, its unique proposition, future plans and the role of technology in education and much more

What exactly does EduLabs do in the Education space? EduLabs is an education consulting firm that helps schools adopt ‘Technologies and Methods’ for supporting their differentiated, learning needs. We have engineered a stunningly effective educational support model that wins over the apparently insurmountable challenges related to ICT implementation and its optimal use value. There are several learning solutions available in the market. What sets you apart from the rest? Our flagship solution, known as iTOP, is unique in many ways. It is a rich blend of best practices in Education and Cognitive Psychology. The existing school curriculum is remodelled as per ‘Reconstructed Bloom’s Taxonomy’ and is delivered in the form of ‘interactive digital assessments’. We use a unique technological model that allows us to deliver ‘an episode of content’ at school, followed by highly connected episodes at home, in the form of assignments. By virtue of its unique artificial intellect, iTOP also measures cognitive development in every student separately and builds a learning environment that is highly differentiated and personalised. Use of technology in teaching and learning has had its own downside. How well do you think you’re placed from that perspective? Probably, the biggest change in education over the last few decades has been the introduction of new technologies. Our schools, teachers and students have witnessed regular induction and presence of various ICT solutions in various ways. The technology is there to stay.

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From the perspective of EduLabs, I strongly believe that technology should be adopted only when it increases the efﬁciency and effectiveness in teachinglearning. It is essential to investigate the real impact of technology on an improved learning state. Having seen the initial phase of pilot studies and rigorous market testing, our technological model now ﬁnds home in 100+ Indian schools and proves to be nothing less than a major pedagogical breakthrough. National and international, urban and rural, rich and community, or large and small — this model has proved reliable, valid and consistent at schools in diverse environments. Through its unique nature, it has circumvented the effects of limited infrastructural and network resources, lack of usage, and also conquered the technical challenges of volume requirement at schools. What is the ‘one major change’

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

that EduLabs would like to bring in the education space that can really transform the learning-teaching experience? To help establish a strong connect between the ‘imparted knowledge’ and ‘cognitive development’ of every single learner... We follow a simple mantra: make learning experience highly personalised with effective cognitive development metrics. What are company’s future plans? Any new products or solutions in the pipeline? I think there is a lot of ground that we’d like to cover through this business vertical (iTOP). New and more enhanced versions of iTOP will be released with time. Apart from expansion in Indian metropolitan cities and in the UAE, we plan to start operations in farther parts of the globe within next two to three years.

Within the Education LOB (Line of Business), we’re also operating on another vertical (LiveOlympiad), which happens to be the only ‘Tablet-driven Olympiad’ in India. Another innovative platform is where we use our ‘tablet-lab on wheels’ to conduct Math, Science and Technology Olympiads within school premises. From a student base of 50,000 last year, we intend to scale the size of student base to 3 lakh by year 2017 and 10 lakh by the end of 2018 (within India). In addition to the education domain, we also plan to expand our business with Corporates. Currently partnered with MNCs like BT (British Telecom) and NSN, we use our ‘Tablet-lab on wheels’ to meet their testing needs in hiring process. We’ll be increasing the client-base. We also look forward to enhance this product portfolio and make additional contribution to address regular training needs of employees. ■

WES Special

Friend, Philosopher and Guide to

EDUCATORS

Across the Middle East and North Africa, governments are actively investing considerable capital to reform and improve education systems. In an interaction with Manish Arora of Elets News Network (ENN), Ross Barfoot, Partner & Head of Education at the global law ﬁrm, Clyde & Co, gives some insights about the emerging education market in the region

Setting up an educational institution of global magnitude calls for a diverse expertise. How does Clyde & Co support setting up of greenfield projects in education? Clyde & Co has a leading, diverse education practice based across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region comprising specialist lawyers from a range of legal disciplines across the firm, including corporate, commercial, regulatory, dispute resolution, employment, intellectual property, construction and real estate. We provide commercial, pragmatic and innovative advice to education sector clients on all aspects of their business. Our depth of understanding of the education sector means that we understand our clients’ operating environment and commercial needs, and is a direct result of a long-standing track record of advising clients in this sector. We are also connected to education practices and education-focused lawyers from across our network of 45 offices across six continents, including the UK and Europe, North and South America, and Asia and Australia. Our education clients include public and private sector players, operators and investors specialising in education investments as well as primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions, local education authorities, educational administrative organisations and

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

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professional bodies. We are committed to helping our clients succeed in the markets in which they operate, adapt their businesses to changing market developments and guide them through new territories as they plan for future growth. Our lawyers have extensive experience of advising on complex corporate structures that meet our clients’ specific requirements and are in keeping with the laws and practices of the jurisdictions in which they operate. A lot of Indian edu-preneurs are keen to set up institutions in the Middle East. What are some of the key differentiating elements of this market which makes it attractive? The Middle East has one of the fastest growing education markets in the world. Recent reports have demonstrated significant growth in demand, enrolment rates and fees available in the sector. These have been fuelled not only by private investment but also increasingly by regional governments. Across MENA, governments are actively investing considerable capital to reform and improve education systems, enhance human capital and promote themselves as knowledgebased economies. Growth in this market is being largely driven by favourable demographics, increasing demand for better standards of education and growing private participation as a result of significant investment opportunities. Around 35 per cent of the Middle East region’s population is under the age of 25 and UNESCO has estimated that there will be an additional 9.5 million students by 2030 across the GCC. There are simply not enough schools, colleges and universities, either public or private, for them. Governments in the region, particularly in the GCC, have the money to invest in the sector and are increasingly doing so. Government expenditure on education in the GCC now accounts for around a quarter of all total public expenditure. A shortage in the K12 private education sector also makes the region attractive to investors.

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

“We are connected to education practices and education-focused lawyers from across our network of 45 offices across six continents, including the UK and Europe, North and South America, and Asia and Australia” Parents in the region are ready to invest in their children’s education; rather than the fees, it is mostly the quality of teaching and the reputation of the institution that play a part in parent’s decision-making. They just need the schools to be able to do so. The demand for private schools is across the expat and local population, with an increase in the number of UAE nationals moving their children from state-operated schools to private schools, because of a perception that they offer a better quality education. We have seen a greater number of “premium quality” schools entering the market because parents will pay high fees if they feel their children are getting premium quality education. However, we now see greater opportunities for Indian curriculum schools, and those schools coming in at the mid-level fee bracket. Your firm is connected to education practices across the globe. What’s your understanding of the education market? What are the key trends that will dominate the educational landscape in the years to come? A key trend we are seeing across our MENA and Asia offices is a drive by Indian and Western institutions

to expand internationally. As their home markets remain flat, schools and universities are looking to establish themselves across these regions where demand for places continues to grow. The investors are keen to partner with established education brands to take advantage of that growth. This is in line with the current trend globally on the use of private capital to fund development of education, particularly in developing countries. Education for long has been seen as a social good. However, there is a shift to make it market driven. What are the key regulatory challenges or pitfalls of an entirely market-driven model? I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive. The UAE education sector is heavily regulated, with both KHDA and ADEC enforcing caps on school fees linked to performance, and day-today regulatory compliance increasing. However, we are seeing an increase in private for-profit schools and that trend will continue as long as investors see opportunities. Regulation should always reflect the lifecycle of the education sector. Currently in the region a shortage in schools means that fee caps are needed to ensure parents can afford to send their children to school and employers can afford to recruit staff with school-age children. As the number of school places increases, we will see an increase in competition for admissions, and then we will naturally see the market taking over to regulate the school fees. Out of your vast experience, what do you think are the key hallmarks of a globally-acclaimed educational operating ecosystem? Regulators need to make it as attractive and as easy as possible for new quality institutions to be established and attractive to private capital, while at the same time ensuring high educational standards and access to education for all children. An unenviable task for any regulator! ■

WES Special

Driving Education to

PLANET FUTURE

Sumit Shukla, Senior VP, MS Dynamics Practice Head, Apar Technologies Pvt Ltd, tells Elets News Network (ENN) about the changing education landscape in India, USP of Apar Technologies and its future vision

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING LEARNING

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How technological transformations and innovative learning tools are changing the education landscape in India? We are in the 21st century now and technology is emerging faster than ever before. It takes a blink of an eye for any information to travel the whole world, and people want to be aware about every bit happening all around. India is also in the race and education sector is all where it starts from. What you learn from your school or college is what you take forward and use in the practical world. Today’s students want everything on the tip of their ﬁngers. Be it concept of smart classes or automation tools for the educational institutions, IT is empowering every hand to implement the innovation they require and aspire for. With numerous companies in IT and consulting services, what makes Apar Technologies different? It has been a long journey till here. We have learned and improved with every hurdle we overcame. eLite SIS was a concept that evolved during my college days. I had thought of this name then, it has been over a decade now. The idea was to enable

“Our prime focus is Digital Media. I aspire that our product can be used as a smart solution in an institute... Biometric attendance and bar code reader are old concepts now. I am trying an innovation where as soon as a student puts his thumb on a device, one can see his whole activity in a single screen”

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

a channel where everyone is heard and information is used in a way to benefit students largely. The core of the system is ‘Student Relationship Management’ and with time, the vision added cores like: ❖ Construction of knowledge ❖ Social integration ❖ Compliance and planning ❖ Analyse and deliver ❖ Social transformation What is different about us is that we are not in the competition, but to provide the quality and stick to what we dreamt about. How your solutions are beneficial for organisations? It is an ERP, based on the concept of Student Relationship Management. It is meant to benefit both educational institutes as well as every individual related to the institute. It is a one-stop solution, which gives a holistic approach or solution to all the activities happening around an institution. We don’t want to just store the data and make it available; the system is planned to be intelligent enough to suggest, based on the data present. If I have to name two top things as example, it will be Predictive Analysis and Compliance Management. As per the recent studies and our market research, Compliance Management in education vertical ERP is not a part of any solution, but eLite SIS is. Please share the vision of your company for next five years. Vision in terms of business and vision in terms of evolution are two different aspects. If we talk about business, I certainly see eLite SIS being used in every fifth college and university in India and has at least over 100 case studies in regions, focusing right now internationally (ASPAC and MENA). But I would like to share my aspiration about the evolution of our product as a platform, which enables all possible integrations and can truly be used as a Smart Solution in an institute. Anything you can possibly think of like biometric attendance and bar code reader are old concepts now. I want to turn it into an innovation where student puts his thumb on a device and you can see

“We have learned and improved with every hurdle we overcame. eLite SIS was a concept that evolved during my college days. I had thought of this name then. The idea was to enable a channel where everyone is heard and information is used in a way to benefit students. I visualise eLite SIS being used in every fifth college and university in India and has at least over 100 case studies in ASPAC and MENA regions” his whole activity in a single screen and the analytics suggest you what to pin-point and where to appreciate student’s efforts. What are the methods you are using to increase the visibility of your organisation? “My work will take me forward” is an old saying but still stands true. We are trying to involve more with the marketing activities happening around the regions we are targeting for education verticals. Microsoft is giving us a good helping hand to get us the visibility we require. Physical campaigns, door-opening meetings and other mediums are certainly the channels we are utilising, but our prime focus is on Digital Media. What I would like to add here is, one successful case study in one institute opens doors to five new institutes. Relationship Marketing is never outdated.■

Special Feature

TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

Are We Addressing the Right Problems?

Education technology should be guided by pedagogical considerations, learning sciences and the phenomenon of social learning in the context of schools, says Anil Mammen, Chief - Learning Design and Social Impact, Tata ClassEdge

magine two villages separated by a lake; the only way anyone could get from one village to the other is by swimming across the lake. Free travel between the villages is not easy. How do you solve this? You could start a boat service or you could build a simple wooden bridge. You could even build a concrete bridge so that vehicles could ply easily between the villages, encouraging more trade in the process. But how about an ornamental, architectural splendour of a bridge? Why not? It could bring in some tourism revenue for both the villages in addition to making transport more efficient (if you set aside the question of short-term cost-benefit). On the other hand, imagine someone trying to install a fixed size bridge between multiple villages regardless of whether they are separated by wide lakes or narrow rivulets. Such an act is neither a response nor a solution. The use of technology in education is somewhat like the use of bridges in these scenarios. It could be an effective response to some fundamental problems or it could be just an object that can be placed anywhere without any tangible benefit. So what are some of the problems plaguing our education systems? To begin with, the schools run by the government (except Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas) have almost been reduced to ‘low income’ schools. With the weakening of public education system, we see schools being divided across economic hierarchies—from international schools for the very rich to government schools and budget private schools for the poor. In fact, research studies on the social benefits of education mostly confirm what we intuitively know—that education can not only bring about economic improvements in people’s lives but also improve their awareness about health, civic sense and social rights. There is no doubt that educational inequity hurts our economy. But how do we respond to this problem? Before jumping to conclusions, it might be wiser to pay closer attention to what Andreas Schleicher, Director for Educa-

tion and Skills, and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, says. He says that technology seems of little help in bridging the skills divide between advantaged and disadvantaged students. And that, according to him, is the most disappointing finding in the latest OECD report on the use of technology in education. He couldn’t have put it better when he says, “Technology can amplify great teaching but it seems technology cannot replace poor teaching.” That brings us to the question on pedagogical practices, both in government run schools and private schools. Are our practices in synch with the way children interact with the world outside? Are we able to engage our students and kindle in them some passion for the subjects we deal with in classrooms? Can technology enhance engagement and make learning more interactive? Animations, simulations, and virtual laboratories are all fairly stimulating ways to engage the students. Therefore, technology can help address the problem of engagement, but with the caveat that it should be used in the right measure by an involved teacher. That is to say, a teacher who not only guides learners to discover the concept she is dealing with but also demands that students think about it, question it and articulate what they make of it. Education technology should be guided by pedagogical considerations, learning sciences and the phenomenon of social learning in school contexts. Blending technology with chalk and talk is not the answer. Active economic and social agents of tomorrow (why tomorrow, even today) require deep conceptual understanding, critical thinking skills and the ability to innovate. For this, we need more intensive student-teacher interactions, multiple learning experiences and a genuine research orientation—not standardisation, conformity and an over-reliance on textbooks. If intellectual interactions in the outside world cannot progress without technology any more, you cannot keep technology away from schools either. But it is not yet time to close the door on the question of how. n

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

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digitalLEARNING / February 2016

WES Special

World Education

AWARDS 2016

181Awards Across 5 editions of WES WES 2016 has recognised, highlighted, honoured and encouraged leading models, projects, processes of excellence and sustainable innovation in school and higher education. The awards saw entrepreneurs in the education space getting recognised, giving the award winners a platform to showcase their innovations and best practices. Here is the roll call of the awardees selected through an elaborate procedure

40Award Categories

DELHI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, Sector-23, Dwarka, New Delhi Impelling Innovations in Teaching Pedagogy For introducting Research based Learning along with physical fitness & â&#x20AC;&#x153;Super Brain Yogaâ&#x20AC;? to boost mental alertness and concentration power

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

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Speakers, Delegates & Guests from more than 14 countries at

WES 2016

CHILDRENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ACADEMY, Mumbai

DR K N MODI GLOBAL SCHOOL, Modinagar

Global Collaborative Learning Environments

Impelling Innovations in Teaching Pedagogy

For having deployed the Connecting Classrooms programme in its vivid elaboration & extension

For carrying forward technology backed assessment of Speaking and Listening Skills of students

CENTRAL INDIA PUBLIC SCHOOL, Nagpur

THE MILLENNIUM SCHOOL, Noida

Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choice: Academic Excellence

Impelling Innovations in Teaching Pedagogy

For providing quality education to promote intellectual, social and cultural vivacity among its learners

For crafting an enriched learning environment having four distinctive pillars namely Technology, Innovative Smart Books, Scientific Teaching Methods, Intuitive Assessments to cater to the personalized learning needs of every learner

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

WES Special

NPS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, Guwahati Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choice: Academic Excellence For curating an Academic Ecosytem which is Forward Looking and induces Ethical Universal Values, Excellence, Leadership Attributes & Social Responsibility amidst students in the North Eastern part of India

INDUS GLOBAL SCHOOL, Mandi Global Collaborative Learning Environments For having taken up the very first steps in creating a Collaborative Learning Ecosystem in the Hill State of Himachal Pradesh

BAHRAIN BAYAN SCHOOL Innovations in Language Learning For advocating & internalising dynamic bilingualism with communicative development through the use of Arabic and English in a wide range of content areas, contexts, and for varying purposes and audiences

DR BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, Mumbai Collating Global Best Practices in Education For deploying an Online PhD Academic Management & Online PhD Thesis Processing System to make research programmes expedient & effective

SHRI RAM GROUP OF COLLEGES, Muzaffarnagar Collating Global Best Practices in Education For establishing a socially sensitive realm of higher education serving local problems

THE ORCHID SCHOOL, Pune Impelling Innovations in Teaching Pedagogy For undertaking a spree of innovative learning interventions

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

thrive, some children

need a different kind of education. An

individualized education. The award-winning K12 curriculum is individualized to give every child the opportunity to reach his or her full potential.

Our program features: • Individualized Learning Plans for each child • Online teacher support • Cutting-edge technology that enables individualized learning to happen anytime, anywhere • Daily lesson plans that automatically update as the child progresses • Rich, challenging, and engaging content, delivered in state-of-the-art online lessons alongside traditional materials • Over 200 courses, including AP courses • English as a Second Language (ESL) courses

+971 4 440 1212 | info@icademymiddleeast.com | www.icademymiddleeast.com

WES Special

JAIN TODDLERS (A JGI Institution)

LITTLE WONDERS NURSERY - Jumeirah

Innovative Interventions in Pre-School Teaching & Learning

For having adapted the PEARL Curriculum (Play, Enagage, Activate, Reflect & Learn) duly into the learning ecosystem

For getting a well researched and pre-planned deployment of EYLOG, Bornsmart, Interactive White board and Step UP in the learning ecosystem

LATE SHRI BRAHM DUTT GULATI, Founder Chairman, Blue Bells Group of Schools Editor’s Choice: Edupreneur and Visionary For his outstanding and visionary contribution in the field of School Education and as a Chief Town Planer of Haryana

EDUCOMMERCE TECHNOLOGIES PVT LTD Technology Enabled Learning Platforms For creating MYLY- a mobile platform improving learning outcomes globally, by creating engaged communities of student and educators

BLUE BIRD SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL, Aligarh eGovernance in School For having taken up the entire spectrum of School Admissions and Application Submissions; E-Attendance; E-Payment of Fees thru Gateway; E-Appointment; Student Response Systems; Online Assessment; Flipped Classrooms etc to empower the learning process

LIFEBOARD EDU SOLUTIONS PVT LTD Digital Laboratories For paving the path for Multilingual Skilling over Telephone through the product ecosystem “SKILLPHONE”

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

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LTT GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS SDN BHD

APAR TECHNOLOGIES

Technology Enabled Learning Platforms

Enterprise Resource Planning Solutions

For creating a device agnostic low-cost learning anywhere and anytime platform “MyMobileUniversity”

For developing eLite SIS having a built-in Compliance Module

MANIPAL INTEGRATED SERVICES Editor’s Choice: Innovation in student housing For creating a delightful experience in the way core enabling services like hostels, mess, housekeeping & security at higher education campuses are managed

SRI. KONERU SATYANARAYANA, PRESIDENT, K L UNIVERSITY, Andhra Pradesh Editor’s Choice: Edupreneur For having taken up the cause of employability centric Higher Education in the sunrise state of Andhra Pradesh

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

GLOBAL INDIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Impelling Innovations in Teaching Pedagogy For internalizing the 9 GEMS Framework for holistic learning duly supported by 7S Analysis for Academic Results Prediction and Planning

K L UNIVERSITY, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh Collating Global Best Practices in Education For Enabling an Entrepreneurial Academic Ecosystem through a wide range of initiatives and programmes

WES Special

SHREE BALAJI INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES, Nagpur Best and Next Practices In Open & Distance Learning For having taken up the advocacy and proliferation of Distance Learning in the central parts of India

AISECT UNIVERSITY, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Progressive Higher Education Institution operating in the Private Space For taking up the quest of developing into a skill university with best research environment to produce excellent professionals with good social values in the right earnest and in the rightful direction

DR C V RAMAN UNIVERSITY, Chhattisgarh Best and Next Practices In Open & Distance Learning For creating a tech enabled skills & employability ecosystem for the emerging vocational learning needs of Chhattisgarh

GLOBAL INDIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL PTE LTD, Singapore Pro-Active Initiative in Education Supported Under Corporate Social Responsibility For putting up an entire curriculum around the strategic theme of Kindness and Peace as an instrument for resolving any conflict by all stakeholders - Students, Teachers, Parents

RYAN GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choice: Special Mention For exemplary service in the promotion & development of quality school education across India

DR K N MODI UNIVERSITY, Rajasthan Progressive Higher Education Institution operating in the Private Space For the intrinsic drive towards open, rigorous and intense inquiry fostering the spirit of rigorous analysis of complex problems from multiple perspectives

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

WES Special SH SANTOSH K CHOUBEY, FOUNDER AISECT UNIVERSITY & DR C V RAMAN UNIVERSITY Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choice : Edupreneur For his visionary outlook and initiatives that led to the foundation of two prominent and exemplary higher Education institutions

HIMALAYAN UNIVERSITY, Arunachal Pradesh Progressive Higher Education Institution Operating in the Private Space For creating an Innovative Academic Ecosystem in the North Eastern Part of India Bridging the various learning needs with due Academic Freedom, Rigor and Sustainability Considerations

SREE BALAJI MEDICAL COLLEGE & HOSPITAL, Chennai

VIKRANT GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS, Indore Progressive Higher Education Institution Operating in the Private Space

For laying out the acquisition of new knowledge with creative thinking and pragmatic execution in due synchronisation with the global dynamics

BHARATH UNIVERSITY, Chennai Best Globalised Higher Education Institution For introducing a gamut of courses appealing and catering to a global student community and spreading it global footprint

BRAINY BEAR PRE SCHOOL AND ACTIVITY CLUB

Excellence In Medical Education & Research

Innovative Interventions in PreSchool Teaching & Learning

For nurturing well educated, well mannered, skilfully equipped, socially committed Doctors who would be useful to the society at large

For its Innovative Intervention which has created a difference in PreSchool Education, making it a holistic learning experience

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

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digitalLEARNING / February 2016

Special Feature

English Language Labs

IMPACTING LEARNING, POSITIVELY

Good English language labs are able to meet all the necessary parameters for effective language learning, says

Jasvinder Singh, CEO, Words Worth

cademics have always been seen as the gateway to good career opportunities and professional growth. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects are invariably the more sought after for the same reason, with a lot of emphasis being laid on these subjects by schools, teachers, students and the parents themselves. The scenario is gradually changing now with the importance of language and other humanities subjects being recognised by the academicians and the industry at large. English as a skill has been identiﬁed as the hallmark of personal and professional success and this realisation has brought its teaching to the fore. The result being, STEM is giving way to the new acronym STEEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, English and Mathematics. English, an important component of the STEEM subjects, when seen beyond being just a subject and with the focus being brought more to its aspect as an important skill that a candidate must possess invariably has come to be imparted differently, now. It is now the prerogative of the institutes to ensure that the learners go beyond the learning of reading and writing, and enhance their listening and speaking skills. Their proﬁciency in listening and speaking is after all a ga me changer as far as the success of a candidate is concerned. A conscious teaching of English as a skill is thus the need of the day. A curriculum catering to all the language learning skills - listening, speaking, reading and writing needs to be available to the learners, focusing more on enhancing their communication skills. The advantages of technology in language teaching when leveraged for this purpose make the teaching-learning experience more effective. Good English language labs are able to meet all the necessary parameters to effective language learning. While acting as catalysts, they bring about tremendous yet positive changes in learners. The self-paced learning and secure environment provided to learning English by such labs lets the learners acquire

the language at a better pace than they otherwise would. At Words Worth English Language Lab, we feel that, the use of the blended methodology for the execution of lessons using language labs adds value to the teaching experience. Our experience as the creators of this lab is that the human touch brought in through the involvement of the teacher in the class while making use of technology makes a phenomenal difference in the learning of the language. Various aspects of pronunciation, like rate of speech, intonation and voice modulation can be mastered well using technology in teaching English. The inhibitions shed by the learners while working at the individual level in the lab paves way for learning the language faster, while interactive activities in the class with the teacher and peer, allow them to practise and learn in near real life conditions. With Words Worth English Language Lab running in more than 3,000 schools and colleges in the country, and with over a million users accessing it annually, the success rate of the implementation of English labs can be gauged. Added to this is the attraction that this lab can run on both Thin and Thick clients, using either Windows or Linux OS. This cost effective installation makes great economic sense to the institutes. The language labs and technology have a positive impact on teaching-learning experiences that can be safely acknowledged. Many of our user institutes have acknowledged the beneﬁts accrued from the use of our language lab. They have felt that the change in the English language skills of their students is palpable and the positive difference becomes evident over a period of time. The modern learner, when allowed, with this facility does surely beneﬁt and adds value to his skill base and future employability. ■ The author can be reached at jasvinders@wordsworthelt.com and for more information on the Words Worth English language lab please visit www.wordsworthelt.com

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

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digitalLEARNING / February 2016

Industry Speak

Teaching Techniques

THAT SUIT STUDENTS

Puneet Jhingan,

CEO & MD, Attain Education - part of Vidyamandir Classes (VMC), in an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN) shares about VMCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique proposition, major initiatives, future vision and much more The name of Vidyamandir Classes (VMC) has become synonymous with success in IITJEE. What factors went into making of this success? VMC has been creating success for students in IIT preparation for over 25 years now. Our success is founded in the success of our students. While there can be many different ways, one way to paraphrase the mantra of success can be Aptitude, Attitude and Hard Work. We have to identify, encourage, nurture and sharpen each one of these attributes in our students and in ourselves. At the outset, we ensure that we attract, engage, prepare and retain the best faculties. VMC was founded and is still being hands-on operated by the Gupta brothers: Brij Mohan, Shyam Mohan and ManMohan, all IIT Delhi Alumnus, and the principles of their success, which then became the foundation of success for thousands of

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

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aspirants after them, are still assiduously followed at VMC. Our students are a part of us. We are mindful that they have come to us with lots of hopes and aspirations. We ensure that the environment of the institute and the treatment to our students is as if they are a part of our family. We have a rigorous admission process for aspirants. Our National Admission Test is carefully designed to attract and ﬁlter the right aptitude for IIT. For many, success and ranking in this test has become a reliable indicator of eventual success. The right Attitude-of-Success is important. After admission, students go through an induction process, which spells out the principles of success for them and lays out the direction and path to success. The students are explained the desired values and culture they should inculcate, and how they should structure their goals, intervening milestones and daily routines. VMC’s study material, method of teaching, assessment and corrective follow-up are crucial factors. Our study material, assessment pattern and analysis system are known to be among the best in the industry. The resultant student ranking is a fairly good indicator of eventual success for the students. The education paradigms are changing. How has Vidyamandir adapted to the changing times? IIT graduates are among the best in the world. They will be looked up to, to solve the problems of the world of tomorrow. As nobody cannot imagine the world of tomorrow, those problems also will be very different. Therefore, the students must learn to be agile in their thinking, innovative in their approach, dexterous in their treatment and intense in their focus. The evolving paradigm of selection endeavours to reﬂect the same. That is why, teaching and learning for IIT and other competitive exams is a different ball-game altogether. We are mindful of ourselves as well as our conduct and are constantly

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

“Attain Education is the part of VMC that has established 50+ VSAT centers as part of their outreach programme. We have doubled the number of centers in the last two years”

scanning the environment for cues and clues to improve our ecosystem (environment, faculty, study material, course-coverage, teaching-standards, assessments, analysis, remediation, feedback-mechanism etc) to equip our students to face the challenges – not only of the exams but also of the world of tomorrow. What are the major initiatives in IT and education technology undertaken by Vidyamandir to enhance the learning experience? IT is increasingly playing a bigger role in education delivery, especially to students with constraints of time and travel. Vidyamandir has been using VSAT technology for over ﬁve years now, to spread the fruits of its labour to students, even in the remotest corners of India. Attain Education is the part of VMC that has established 50+ VSAT centers as part of their outreach programme. We have doubled the number of centers in the last two years. What is your vision for the institution for next three years? Our mission is PCM: Prepare-ConnectMentor. Foremost, is to prepare students for success. Success has to become a habit, and be pursued like a habit. The sooner this is ingrained into student’s mind and every-day conduct, the easier it becomes for them to achieve their long-term potential. For this, we have to start early like the Gurukuls of earlier times, and challenge

students to direct and channelise themselves. With the right goals, right desires and right direction, they start choosing the right behaviours and habits all by themselves. As we double our presence in the next two years, we will partner with schools. In fact, be inside schools. Through our VSAT system, we can bring country’s best faculty inside the school classroom, within the school time and deliver the best teaching, in a live and interactive manner. The sessions are auto-recorded and schools can review them whenever they want. Our LMS-enabled pre-learning modules and pre-learning assessments allow the child to get prepared beforehand for the sessions, real-time quizzes during sessions keep the sessions alive; and timely post-work assessments help in review, feedback and remediation. All of this is carefully recorded and reported to the school teachers. In all, we seek to develop our teaching methodology such that it ﬁts the student’s needs like a glove, so that the entire process becomes simple, lucid and effortless. How do you compare the education scenario in India with that of other countries (especially the UAE)? Indian education system is quite rigorous and challenging. Many UAE students desire to pursue higher studies in India, and to that extent they should be clued into the patterns and behaviour of Indian education system and Indian students. Technology and telecom have effectively eliminated geographical barriers in many ways and even in this case it is possible for UAE students to study and prepare with and alongside the best minds in India. For instance, it is possible to partner with schools to establish InSchool or AfterSchool centers for students to be a part of the same sessions that are being delivered to students in India. In this way, they can get the same facilities and treatment as if they would in India. Our test series and correspondence programmes are in any case available globally. ■

Special Focus For students to remain in competition in the 21st century, educators and industry experts must continue to increase their understanding of STEM education. They must also realise the need to establish support systems for diverse learners as they relate to STEM education. Aamir H Kaki of Elets News Network (ENN) analyses about the relevance of STEM in today’s scenario and how it can catalyse learning experience

STEM EDUCATION

Catalysing Hands-on Learning

TEM education includes every stream under the umbrella of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math—from chemistry to physics, and software design to trigonometry. From a purely economic standpoint, students would benefit from better STEM education because the fields are expanding more quickly than any other besides the healthcare industry. By 2018, one in 20 global jobs will be STEM-related. STEM forms the basis of a solid education that enables those who benefit from it to enjoy those benefits throughout their life. These benefits include being able to keep up personally and professionally with the tremendous and transformative developments that science and technology are bringing to our societies. A good STEM education helps students to find jobs and develop interesting careers. It is true that STEM courses are typically more academi-

cally rigorous than the social sciences and humanities, but as any educator knows, students can achieve tremendous boosts of confidence when they meet such challenges. Greater opportunities to study the STEM fields mean more opportunities for students to learn skills they may not even know they have. The main resources include lab simulations, games, tutorials, podcasts—anything that can supplement students’ learning or offer them new opportunities. These also include professional development products, for teachers and administrators looking to increase their technological knowledge and their mastery of advance STEM subjects. In implementing STEM offerings, there are some obstacles too such as budget restrictions, lack of resources, inadequate teacher qualifications, and lack of professional development, for schools looking to include more high-level STEM courses in their curriculum. However, partnerships with content providers can help schools in expanding their STEM offerings. The potential collaborators include virtual schools, curriculum vendors, and STEM-specific organisations. These are typically comprehensive and can help educational institutions add dozens of courses for students with proven STEM

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

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interest and skills. The STEM labs, coupled with a supporting, robust curriculum, expose students to science, math, and other subjects, in ways that are fun and engaging. The STEM education helps build the life skills necessary for success in the 21st century. In STEM labs, students experience subjects by ‘doing,’ which increases understanding and retention of core academic concepts. Students’ cognition and sensory skills are engaged through the STEM experience, that enable students to connect core content knowledge with tactile experience and learn collaboration and critical thinking along the way of learning experience. Nowadays, the STEM labs are designed to ignite and stimulate the intellectual curiosity and creativity possessed by all students. By encouraging and promoting student engagement

and autonomy over their own learning, the STEM experience helps students become lifelong learners. STEM Labs are comprised of tools designed to integrate science, technology, engineering and math into the education system. The labs provide hands-on, inquiry based learning solutions that will prepare the workforce of tomorrow for the high tech careers of the today. The content providers are offering STEM solutions to provide educational communities a cost effective learning solution that improves teaching efficiency while engaging students with hands on technology. To delve into the core aspect of STEM labs and how these are catalysing hands-on learning for measurable outcome, we take views from experts from content and STEM solution providers that bring out a holistic picture about this much discussed subject.

CREATING Borderless Learning

TEM is not just a subject which explains the property of waves, calculate square root of 25 or encompass technology to contrive devise but it is a powerful weapon which can be used to design, innovate and build an approach to understand, explore and engage with the 21st century skills by not only ‘What You Know’ but by ‘What You Can Do With What You Know’. As educators, when we provide a platform like STEM Lab to students to solve real-world problem in context, students grasp a deeper understanding of the content and to apply their knowledge in a meaningful way. We leverage technology to create an engaging and personalised environment to meet the emerging educational needs of this generation. Students master content while producing, synthesising, and evaluating information from a wide variety of subjects and resources with an understanding of and respect for diverse cultures. Virtual tools and open-source software create borderless learning territories for students of all ages, anytime and anywhere. MindBox acts as a catalyst to evolving education. We empower students with 21st century skills with an output method of developing creativity and life skills of students by using Visual Communication as a Language, Design Thinking and STEAM as a Subject. The delivery happens using ‘Technology as a Tool’ inside the school campus through project and design-based learning methodology for class I-XII students. MindBox provides content, kits, worksheet, industry expert sessions and software’s along with qualified faculty to conduct these sessions and a four-way assessment system for school and students. We also provide national and international level competition for students to demonstrate and showcase their skills. STEM represents a paradigm shift from traditional education philosophy based on standardised test scores to a modern

digitalLEARNING / February 2016

Rishi Khemka, Founder and

CEO, Mindbox writes how STEM is catalysing hands-on learning for measurable outcome

idea to focus on valuing the learning based on reality and exploratory learning environment. Through MindBox, students get hands-on experience through analysis and application of knowledge. MindBox Creativity & Design Lab (MCDL) is designed to facilitate creative possibilities in school education that will nurture the creative mindset of children. The complete setup of MCDL includes computers, projectors, Chroma screens, cameras, lights, all kits, furniture, interiors, etc, which are developed by MindBox team. MCDL provides student to develop: v Motor skills (hand eye coordination); v Develops programming and logical reasoning skills; v Enable students to invent and explore multiple solutions to a problem; v Strong tools to build foundation of engineering and design; v Improves number and shape recognition, grouping and counting; v Develops sense of visual perception and colour recognition; v Exposure to digital imaging process; v Learn how to use mobile/digital cameras effectively; Ignite creative potential of students.

Special Focus

When Knowledge becomes

NOWledge

n a recent work with educational technology around the world, we have started to use a new term that help to think about the issues surrounding about how younger digital age learners are participating in the teaching and learning process. I would like to put forth that our relationship with knowledge and information is also changing and that this should also eventually change how we teach, learn and work. In the past, we ‘owned’ knowledge. It was to be acquired, remembered and retained. In school, this of course manifests itself in the classic lecture or reading activities followed by some exercises and a test to see if the ‘knowledge’ was retained (memorised). Access to information is shared and no longer restricted just to library repositories, physical locations, or with learned individuals. It is now simply available 24/7 anywhere that you can get online, and is increasingly almost everywhere. In businesses, access to information is essential to many jobs for utilising and keeping track of information, adding value, communication, collaboration, production and for enhancing activities as well as jobs. A good analogy to consider is that of just-in-time manufacturing. This is where the parts show up just before a manufactured item is assembled or produced. Many factories today do not need large warehouses anymore to store parts in advance; instead the parts arrive at the time of assembly or use and go directly to the production floor. I would like to put forth the concept of “Just-in-Time Information”. Education in the past treated the mind to some extent like a warehouse; it was to be filled with information and knowledge in preparation for some future use. However, much like the hard drive on our computers, it seems that this function is shifting to cloud or information networks where it is always available and accessible when and where you need it. Today’s youth are not interested in remembering or retaining information or facts in the old manner or to be asked to digest information according to some outdated curriculum and learning methodology. They are comfortable with the fact that information is literally at their fingertips, they know it is there when they need it and will always be so. They think it is useless to spend time remembering things that are commonly available; they are motivated to seek out information when they need it, in other words NOW and not before. So when the need arises the youth of today will search and locate the information, bookmark it, organise it, digest it, analyse and manipulate it, put it to use to accomplish the task. Then they will file it or store it away for future use and reference and finally share it. The digital skills associated with these tasks are what we need to include in our teaching and learning programmes so that they can become better at this. I

Steven McKee, President and

Founder, Labtech International Ltd. speaks about the importance of just-intime knowledge and tools and digital resources in facilitating the same have come up with a new term to express and define this use of just in time information: NOWledge. The Oxford dictionary defines knowledge as “information and skills acquired through experience or education. It is the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject”. In updating this for the digital age, I propose that we alter this word to become NOWledge which we can define as just in time acquisition and use of information and/or skills facilitated and augmented by digital resources and networks. It is the theoretical or practical application of digital resources (information and software applications skills) to a problem at hand. In this concept, the digital domain constitutes or represents a significant factor in a person’s extended memory, resources and potential capabilities. It is in some ways a substitution for memory and even learning. This alters the way that information and its associated ideas and understanding are treated in that they do not have to be retained in the same way as in the pre-ubiquitous-internet age. The younger generations are starting to rely on technology for retaining information, you do not need to ‘know’ and retain it in the old sense of filling the warehouse. Nowadays, you need to only know how and where to find it, ‘bookmark’ it and acquire the skills to use it. In this new age, the information is always there and growing, so access and navigation are what is important, as well as perhaps contributing to it and in a way becoming part of the information community. I find the new term of ‘NOWledge’ to be a useful reference concept in reflecting on how the structure and activities of teaching and learning can or should change. How can we use NOWledge in the learning process? What skills should we teach to use this more effectively? What tools and applications should we introduce to the students to make this effective? How can this concept be infused into the curriculum and importantly how should it be assessed? These are interesting points to ponder for our future forward thinking. ■

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING

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digitalLEARNING / February 2016

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Special Focus

STEM EDUCATION Getting Measurable Outcome

Sajeev Karuthody, Director, Edutech India, talks about the importance of STEM education and Edutech’s STEM solutions

ith our rote learning based on memorisation technique, we get students to clear examinations but not to make them employable or solve problems of the industry, government or the community. STEM education is a welcome development in India where we focus on applying what we learn. The experience students gain through hands on learning and simulations bring them closer to real world challenges. STEM education creates critical thinkers, increases science literacy, and enables the next generation of innovators. STEM is, potentially, the next generation educational powerhouse, and when applied properly, it can make a big difference in how our future leaders see the world and solve problems.

Tool to Get Measurable Outcomes STEM platforms are a better way to get true measurable outcomes. The objective or theory-based exams only evaluates the understanding of a concept, while STEM goes a step further and ensure that students can understand the concept and apply the same. It can be a great tool to get measurable outcomes, be it inquiry based learning through various sensors and data logging tools, Robotics or visual and applied mathematics through math labs. The project-based activities can power up elementary, middle or secondary school learning. The lessons are developed to enable students’ skills and understanding in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as well as language and literacy. Each activity produces explicit learning outcomes and matches specific graderelated math and science concepts and standards. With some focus on project-based approach, aligning curriculum with STEM activities and platforms, observational assessments and competitions measureable outcomes can be achieved. One of the innovative and effective methods of teaching the STEM disciplines is through Robotics. Through Robotics, Edutech provides an exciting hands-on/ exploratory learning experience to the students and at the same time help to improve their fundamental science, analytical and problem-solving skills. Edutech’s STEM Solutions Edutech offers complete range of STEM products and services covering: world class STEM platforms in the form of hands on tools, hardware based kits etc; activities, project and curriculum aligned content; teacher training and delivery services. To create awareness and handholding towards these concepts, Edutech STEM+ Studio is first of its kind in India, designed to provide hands on education in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Language Arts along with other areas of the curriculum. The studio is aimed to bring together schools, students, teachers, parents, corporates and STEM enthusiasts to provide education based on ‘learning by doing’ that will lasts a lifetime. Edutech India represent some of the world leading STEM platforms like LEGO Education, Vernier, PITSCO, Makerbot 3D printing, etc that are aligned with various learning outcome standards across the world like Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. Concepts of STEM are imparted through projects and activities covering fundamentals of science and maths through hands-on learning, Robotics, Aeromodelling, Electricity and Renewable Energy, Programming and Electronics, Language Arts and Storytelling, Makerspace and Fablabs, Game design and Apps development 3D printing and many more. STEM Studio programmes are delivered in flexible formats designed to meet students and school convenience of: after school programme, weekend Programme, in school programme, competition training and teachers training and train the trainer programmes. n

February 2016 / digitalLEARNING