Panacea Or Placebo by Smita Polite

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FOR LEADERS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Panacea Placebo OR

Will the foreign universities bill really

open doors for overseas institutions?

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Dialogue

Rebecca bushnell “Liberal arts can shape world leaders” P40

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Profile

V.N. Rajasekharan pillai “research requires flexibility” P60

Campus

beyond beds and books new age hostel trends P52

Contents EDU february 2010 Volume 01 | Issue 04

UPDATES 06 07 08 10

academics AT A GLANCE academics report funding strategy approved voices launched

viewpoints

34 Rahul Choudaha Training of educational leaders is necessary 50 Rishikesha T. Krishnan Systematic innovation is needed to rid India of the culture of quick fixes

58 Dheeraj Sanghi Stop equating deemed status to poor quality

PROFILE

60 V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai Believes that flexibility is a pre-requisite for innovation By Smita Polite

expertise

38 design & Architecture Aaron B. Schwarz talks about the new directions in library design

Administration

28 Documentation Institutes are adopting technology to manage data better. Find out how. By Indu Prasad & Shweta Verma

Edu Tech February 2010

“I am not shy of experimenting and (a) university is a place where I look for new ideas” 60

Cover Story 12 doors wide shut! The Foreign Educational Institutions Bill may not do enough for India’s higher education sector. Experts debate the alternatives By Chitra Narayanan

Campus

52 Residences Student aspirations are the driving force behind campus hostel designs By Erica Lee Nelson

TIMEOUT

62 Books Review: n Turnaround Leadership for Higher Education New Releases: n Assessment Clear and Simple n College Men and Masculinities 63 Products n Apple iPad n LG Chocolate

FOR LEADERS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Managing Director: Dr. Pramath Raj Sinha publishing director: Vikas Gupta Printer & Publisher: Kanak Ghosh Group Editor: R Giridhar Consulting Editor: Aman Singh Assistant Editor: Smita Polite editorial advisor: Dr RK Suri international contributor: Vinita Belani

strategy

22 the foreign hand Globalisation of the economy is spurring tie-ups with overseas universities By Chitra Narayanan

DEsign Sr Creative Director: Jayan K Narayanan Art Director: Binesh Sreedharan Associate Art Director: Anil VK Manager Design: Chander Shekhar Sr Visualisers: PC Anoop, Santosh Kushwaha Sr Designers: TR Prasanth & Anil T

DIALOGuE dialogue

26 encourage global mindsets

Paolo Cancelli, global alliances manager, Bocconi, believes collaborations are key to attracting talent By Chitra Narayanan

40 Lobbying for liberal arts

Rebecca Bushnell, Dean University of Pennsylvania, talks about well rounded development By Pramath Raj Sinha

64 Satya Narayanan r Education pays high dividends and should be made a priority

MICROSOFT SAMSUNG

COVER FLAP IFC & 1

ePSON

Scientech

fortinet dsk Dell VOLUME 01

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rEBEcca BusHnEll “liBEral arts can sHaPE WorlD lEaDErs” P40

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EDUC ATION

PANAcEA PLAcEBO open doors for overseas institutions?

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V.n. raJasEkHaran Pillai “rEsEarcH rEQuirEs flEXiBilitY” P60

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BEYonD BEDs anD Books nEW agE HostEl trEnDs P52

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FOREWORD The Show-stopper

“The Bill states that foreign providers are welcome to invest, but cannot repatriate any surpluses generated from indian operations”

o, it seems that everyone is waiting for the Foreign-based Education Providers (FEP) Bill that is expected to transform our higher education, and usher in the world’s best. But, will it? If implemented in its present form, the Bill will do little to change the status quo. Though our government has discouraged foreign institutions from awarding degrees in India, over hundred overseas universities are active through “collaborations” with Indian private educators. Ideally, this Bill should enable the government to regulate these “collaborations”, and courses being dumped on hapless students with a foreign tag. But, the FEP Bill gives the government authority to revoke the university status of a foreign provider (much in the way the 44 deemed universities were recently “de-recognised”) and asks for a hefty corpus—the current version proposes Rs 100 million, but it is rumoured that it the corpus could well end up being Rs 500 million. This is a significant commitment, and works well as a curb. But, it does little to inspire confidence, especially since the Bill goes on to suggest that this corpus is really a security deposit in case a university’s status is revoked. Thirdly, the Bill states that the foreign providers are welcome to invest, but cannot repatriate any surpluses generated from their Indian operations. Expecting a Bill that has provisions to curb and control the bottom-rung players, to also enable the top-ranked universities enter India, is like asking someone to run with shackles around his feet. The truth is that, financially speaking, the best overseas universities are going through a tough time. Endowments shrank by an average of 60 percent in the economic downturn. State funding is still being reduced. Salaries are being cut, and programmes are being shuttered. Even the best are in no position to invest the “modest” millions, let alone do it with zero returns. The economic proposition, as it stands in the current Bill, will prove to be a show-stopper. Unless we solve this, the much-touted queue of the world’s top universities lining up to enter India, will remain just a dream.

Dr Pramath Raj Sinha pramath@edu-leaders.com

Edu Tech February 2010

Edu Tech December 2009

at a glance 0 7 ac a d e m i c s 0 8 s t r at e g y

0 7 r e p o rt 1 0 a p p rov e d

08 funding 1 0 vo i c e s

10 launched & more

Railway boost Indian Railways inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, to promote research and development in the organisation, on February 13, 2010. “We are going to sign an MoU with the IIT to promote research and development activities for the railways,” said railway minister Mamata Banerjee, after inaugurating a computerised reservation counter. “We may float scholarships for IIT students to carry out research activities,” she added.

Funds for Manipal

Chitkara University floats new classes for the new-age techies

academics

Chitkara Starts e-CAD Classes Facilitators will be drawn from across the world to train students on handle Synopsys tools

handigarh-based Chitkara University and Synopsys, a provider of electronic design automation solutions, software and semi-conductor design, launched a two-year masters of engineering programme (ME) from January 2010 with a focus on micro-electronic systems. The programme offers a curriculum that has been successfully adopted in more than 900 technical schools worldwide. Classes will focus on the use of Synopsys tools for practical sessions, access to live technical support through Seer Akademi, and will offer fellowships to qualified candidates. Facilitators will be drawn from top universities around the world and industry specialists, especially from Synopsys Armenia Education Department. One of the primary focus of the programme would be on training qualified specialists for India in the field of “very large scale integration” (VLSI) to meet the requirements of the semiconductor industry companies—a key component in the nation’s high-tech economy.

Edu Tech February 2010

Manipal Education, the education and academic service provider has received an investment of $43 million from Premji Invest, the $1-billion investment fund sponsored by Azim Premji, the chairman of Wipro. Manipal Education had earlier raised around $70 million through private equity from Capital International and IDFC Private Equity in 2006. Manipal Education will use this fresh infusion for its expansion in India and overseas. In India, funds will be utilised for IndiaSkills operations, technology upgrades (EduNxt platform)and other corporate purposes. Internationally, the funds will be used to enhance Manipal Education’s Dubai campus and it’s Antigua campus for the second phase of expansion plans.

Private college plans Emaar Education, a branch of Dubai-based real estate company, is planning to set up a private university in India, according to a recent report. The university will be set up in Jaipur and will include disciplines such as business studies, information technology, science, art and hospitality. The proposed university is being set up in collaboration with Gamber Education Foundation. In September 2006, Emaar Education had acquired Singapore-based education provider—Raffles Campus Limited—to initiate projects in education. Raffles Campus is operational in Singapore, Dubai, India and Vietnam.

updates academics

Pioneering Module On Franchising Spells Success

Mass communication hub collaborates with industry association to create interactive sessions

he Indian Franchise Association’s (IFA) recent interactive session on franchise management programme in Mudra Institute of Communications (MICA), Ahmedabad, was a success. Students were guided through the session by the director of MICA, Ashok Ranchhod, and IFA’s Venus Barak. Students focused on the instructional module of franchising and on the introduction of franchise studies in India. Commenting on the programme, the IFA chairman, Gaurav Marya, hailed it as the “first-of-its-kind” course, focusing on the ground realities and businesses available under this system and its potential. “Students got to know about the business and its future. The session enlightened them regarding career prospects in the field. Now, as representatives of the franchising industry, we could look forward

Franchise studies can help students find jobs, as well as train them to explore entrepreneurship practices in the industry

to new recruitments and budding entrepreneurs. I am pleased to have taken this initiative with MICA and will be announcing similar ventures with other institutes shortly,” said Marya. The session provided an opportunity for the audience to examine the possibility of

choosing franchise management as a career. IFA, the main body for the franchise industry, aims at strengthening franchising. It has associated with institutes to conduct programmes and will be introducing students to intricacies of franchising and strategic approach.

report

eLearning Graph Heads North As Demand Grows Among Students A new report tabled by Ambient Insight—The Worldwide Market for Self-paced eLearning Products and Services: 2009-2014, Forecast and Analysis—has declared that the global market for eLearning reached $27.1 billion mark in 2009 and that the demand has been growing at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.8 percent. The revenues are projected to reach $49.6 billion by 2014. North America is expected to top the demand charts throughout 2009-2014 forecast period. In 2009, western Europe accounted for the second-highest expenditures, says chief research officer Sam S. Adkins of Ambient Insight. By 2014, Asia is slated to overtake western Europe and account for the second-highest global expenditure on online education, toeing the North America demand line. The report also provides forecasts of expenditures for five types of online training products and services across seven regions: North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, Middle East, and Africa.

Global Update

13%

was the average demand growth for eLearning in North America (mainly US)

Source: Worldwide Market for Self-paced eLearning Poducts and Services: 2009-2014

$50

billion (approx) will be the revenue mark for eLearning by 2014 February 2010 Edu Tech

Updates funding

US Foundation Plans Aid For Green Classes A global network, comprising 20 varsities, is working together on disaster management and development practices

he John D & Catherine T MacArthur Foundation will help establish a masters degree programme in development practice (MDP) through a global network of more than 20 universities worldwide over a span of three years. So far, the foundation has committed $16 million for the three years, to provide seed funding to universities, creating a critical mass of MDP programmes to help launch the field and support leadership training. The first MDP program was launched by Columbia University’s Earth Institute and the School of International and Public Affairs in 2009. The announcement was made on February 7, at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS2010) hosted by TERI University, a partner in the program. “Concurrent crises of the environment, global health and the economy leave many countries in a downward spiral,” said Jeffrey Sachs, the director of

Programmes to train experts in disaster management has become crucial

the Earth Institute. “The recovery effort in Haiti makes clear the complexity of the challenge of sustainable development and the need for a new generation of global leaders

strategy

Ranchi B-School Looks At Kolkata Mentor For Officer Selection Institute gets Jharkhand government nod to be put under the purview of the Common Admission Test

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ranchi is set to start its academic session with the Jharkhand government recommending a list of officials to be appointed as officers on special duty (OSDs) to regulate its functioning. The list has been forwarded to IIM Calcutta—the mentor institute—for the final nod. If everything goes according to plan, the officers will be appointed by the end of February. The higher education director of Jharkhand, Anjani Kumar Srivastava, said that the officers would be expected to act as catalysts to ensure that classes begin from the coming academic session at IIM, Ranchi. For 2010, IIM, Ranchi, has been included under the Common Admission Test (CAT) and as many 60 stu-

Edu Tech February 2010

who take a multi-sectoral approach to problem-solving. The programmes will train leaders to meet these challenges and will help foster a global network of universities united in this effort.” The MDP is slated to be a two-year, cross-disciplinary programme that provides graduate-level students the skills and knowledge required to identify and address the global challenges of sustainable development. During the two-year MDP programme, students will be undertaking rigorous, cross-disciplinary, practical training, supplemented by two field experiences. The programme’s core curriculum will emphasise on systems-thinking through classroom study and practice, combining a range of disciplines, including health, natural and social sciences, engineering, policy and management. Students will also take a Global Classroom: Integrated Approaches to Sustainable Development Practice, an interactive course blending online and offline learning led by field experts. The course, it is expected, will fosters cross-border and cross-disciplinary collaboration. The 20 universities were selected on the basis of five criteria, including support from university leadership, infrastructure and academic programmes. And on their ability to serve as a regional hub.

dents are expected to be shortlisted for the coming session. Srivastava said the appointment process for the faculty and the administration will start right after the OSDs (also the liaison officers) are appointed. “An OSD will co-ordinate with the mentor institute and the Union human resource development (HRD) ministry and the state government to facilitate the launch of academic procedures,” the director said. The Centre had cleared the proposal for IIM, Ranchi, a couple of years ago. IIM Calcutta will be extending technical and administrative support to the Ranchibased institute.

Edu Tech December 2009

Updates approved

Cabinet Approves More Medical Seats Government go-ahead to 148 state colleges to offer more postgraduate courses

h e U n i o n Ca b i n e t h a s approved a proposal to upgrade 148 state medical colleges and start postgraduate disciplines—a move that will result in the creation of 5,000 more seats. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the proposal tabled by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to strengthen and upgrade government medical colleges. The cabinet panel agreed to release an one-time grant of Rs 13,500 million to fund government medical colleges under a new centrally-sponsored scheme. This scheme would allow for 75 percent

central funding, while the rest will be borne by the state governments, to boost the number of seats in courses such as anatomy, pharmacology, pediatrics and anesthesiology. The central government will release funds only to states that are willing to spend on the necessary infrastructure and maintain facilities. “Funds will be disbursed directly to the heads of the institutes, in two instalments. The state governments will seek a refund, if the proposed increase in PG seats or courses, do not take place within the prescribed period,” a news release stated.

Voices “parliamentary standing committee would thoroughly study and lay down a system of rules and procedures for the functioning of foreign universities before they are allowed to set shop here” — Oscar Fernandez Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee

“A better economic model would establish global campuses in India and train people right here rather then taking them out of India” — Kapil Sibal Union Human Resorces Development Minister

launched

IGNOU’s e-Course Gift For Rural Youth Programmes will deliver international-quality skill development programmes at an affordable cost

GNOU will be collaborating with Sahaj—a social service organisation— to help approximately 100 million youths across the country through vocational online courses, says Vice Chancellor V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai. By the end of 2010, the university has promised to take the online courses to 27,255 common service centres in Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Bengal. “This is the first time that online education, through distance mode, will reach the remotest corners of this country, empowering the rural poor. The IGNOU-Sahaj partnership will help bridge the educational divide within the rural landscape and make advanced computer education available to all villagers,” Pillai said recently. A total of five courses—diploma in advanced computers, certificate programme in HTML, certificate programme in Java Script, certificate programme in SQL and certificate programme in Flash— are already available. A candidate has to pass matriculation to be eligible. All programmes will be accredited to IGNOU. Sahaj will administer the programmes, including enrollments, registration, fee collection, evaluation and perform the IGNOU certification.

Edu Tech February 2010

“India cannot build internationally recognised research-oriented universities overnight, but the country has the key elements in place” — Philip G. Altbach Director, Center for International Higher Education, Boston College

“An average science student takes more than one common entrance test..., a single common entrance test across boards will ease pressure on the candidates” — Professor D.N. Reddy Chairman Eamcet Committee, Vice Chancellor JNTU

COVER STORY

Panacea Placebo OR

Will the foreign universities Bill really open doors for

overseas institutions? While the proposed legislation could plug the flood of fly-by-night institutions to India, it might not get the top players in higher education to town. EDU talks to both national and international experts, as they grapple with the issue in an effort to improve the educational environment in the country

I N s i d e

12 Cover Story

doors wide shut!

22 Strategy

the foreign hand

26 Dialogue

Paolo Cancelli

February 2010 Edu Tech

COVER STORY

Edu Tech February 2010

cover story

doors Wide Shut! Will the Foreign Universities Bill lure in the Ivy League? Or, will it attract more pests than honoured guests? By Chitra Narayanan

round 6th Century BC, when Nalanda flourished as the world’s first residential university, it was a time of borderless education. Students from all over the globe came to study at a classroom called India. Circa 2010. Higher education has become borderless again. The difference—instead of the world coming to India to learn, about 160,000 Indian students travel to foreign shores every year. Several stay permanently. India’s education minister Kapil Sibal hopes to plug this brain drain by pushing through the long-delayed Foreign Education Institutions (FEI) Bill, which will allow universities around the globe to set up branch campuses in India. In one fell stroke, he hopes that the FEI Bill will succeed in addressing five important issues that are plaguing higher education here—access and equity, relevance, quality and excellence, governance and management, and funding. Concurrently, the Bill also aims to introduce rules and accountability in a hitherto unregulated environment, where foreign institutes have managed to sneak in despite India’s closed-door education policies. According to estimates, at least 130 foreign providers have forged partnerships with unaccredited, private institutions. February 2010 Edu Tech

cover story But, will the Bill really succeed, given that its drafting process has been plagued with dissension (see story, The Bill's Tortuous Journey)? It continues to flit from one ministerial desk to another in search of a consensus. Critics fear that it is an empty legislation that will lead to crass commercialisation of education. A few administrators, keen to allow international universities in, have faced stiff opposition from the Left, and from leading academics, who believe that the gov-

“Have you heard of a foreign university transplanted somewhere else? ...only run-of-the mill universities will come here, if the Act is allowed”

“Education cannot be confined by artificial barriers. fettering it (education) is detrimental to the nation”

Yash Pal Academic, Scientist

Anand Sudarshan CEO & MD Manipal Education

ernment would do good by increasing funds to higher education, than call in experts from the overseas. The result is a stalemate.

The Compulsions That we need a policy on foreign universities is not disputed, rather the dissent is about the policy contents. So, let’s look at some of the motivations behind the drafting of the Bill.

Global trade in higher education is already large; it is estimated to account for $30 billion each year. Projections from the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education indicate that of the 165 million people seeking higher education in 2020, about 60 percent will come from India and China. Not surprisingly, the biggest educational exporters today—the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand—are keenly eyeing the two nations.

Edu Tech February 2010

While China opened its bamboo curtains to international universities in 2003, India, despite pressure from the WTO and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), has resisted, so far. Yet, scores of foreign universities are already present in the country having entered through indirect routes and collaborations with private players. According to Sudhanshu Bhushan, the senior fellow and head of the higher edu-

cation unit of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), there are nearly 150 institutions in India that have some kind of foreign collaboration. Many of them offer foreign degrees through twinning arrangements or dual-degree programmes. Twinning arrangements are a popular form of partnership because they involve the least risk and most income, as partners share tuition revenue for a part of the programme taught in the host county, but the foreign institution gets to keep the students’ fees, once they transfer. (See story: The Foreign Hand) However, most of these collaborations have been dubbed illegal by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and have earned the wrath of bodies like the University Grants Commission. But, as educational consultant and former IIT Delhi professor Shashi Gulhati points out, the market (in this case students as well as prospective employers) does not seem to care about legality. Not only are students willing to pay fat fees to get into institutions, employers are also happy disbursing premium salaries to students. Placement is not an issue. “The government does not recognise many collaborative programmes. Quite frankly, how many of the students are interested in joining the government?” asks Gulhati. There is also the issue of the current capacity crisis. According to the National Knowledge Commission, there is a shortfall of at least 1,000 higher education institutions in the country today. Aware that the government doesn’t have the funds to meet this shortfall, experts believe that capacity addition, with a little help from foreign investments, should be allowed. The third factor is that the entry of foreign universities may help lift quality and standards. Ask the students enrolled at the Goenka World Institute or Modi Apollo International Institute (MAII) why they joined these institutions, and the answer is that the curricula offered by institutions with foreign collaboration are more practical, market-oriented and

cover story

THE BILL’s tedious Journey There is still confusion regarding the provisions of the proposed Foreign Universities Bill. First framed in 2007, when Arjun Singh was the education minister, the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations, Maintenance of Quality and Prevention of Commercialisation) Bill, as it was originally called, was supposed to be introduced in Rajya Sabha on May 2007. However, resistance from the Left meant that it could not be tabled. Currently, the Bill, in its new avatar, is doing the rounds of the ministerial desks and is awaiting a consensus. The Bill can trace its origins to a committee set up by the ministry of human resource development in January, 2005. Headed by the noted scientist and professor, C.N.R. Rao, the committee was set up to look into issues surrounding the entry of foreign educational institutions (FEIs) into India and frame recommendations. At that time, India had to take a decision on General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), where it was facing pressure to open up its educational services. Though India had allowed FDI in education by then, it was against the idea of opening up the sector to foreign universities. The Rao committee submitted its cautious recommendations by April, 2005. The committee was concerned that unqualified educational institutions would enter, and noted that even reputed foreign institutions could adopt double standards while establishing institutions abroad. Based on their recommendations, the drafting of the Bill began. The key highlight of the proposed Bill, tabled in 2007, was that no foreign education providers (FEPs) could start functioning in India unless it was accorded the “deemed-to-be-university” status first. Section 3 of the Bill clearly stated that the provisions of this Act would apply only if the FEIs wished to start an institution independently. It would not apply in cases where joint arrangements were made with any recognised institution. The prime objective of the bill (proposed in 2007) was to stop unscrupulous private higher education institutions from entering

flexible. The job prospects are also better. Thus, with increased competition, Indian institutions may also start offering more relevant curricula. The fourth professed reason is to stop brain drain and reduce foreign exchange outflow— though Delhi University (DU) professor and author of a paper Commercialisation of Higher Education in India, Dr Vijender Sharma notes that this is not a sound argument. Every year 160,000 students may be leaving the country for higher education, but this number represents a mere 1.3 percent of the total students

into collaborations with FEIs just to make profits. To do so, the University Grants Commission, or its successor—the proposed National Commission for Higher Education and Research—were granted powers to inspect foreign institutions here. However, the 2009 draft, which has been renamed the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, has undergone substantial revisions based on recommendations made by the National Knowledge Commission, Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education in India—a report filed by a committee led by professor Yash Pal—and the Prime Minister’s Office (which is keen to see Ivy League universities here). The objective of the bill has been amended. The new bill empowers the Centre to notify FEIs as FEPs instead of “deemedto-be-universities”. Further, the Bill’s preamble does not include maintenance of quality and prevention of commercialisation of education by FEIs as an objective. These institutes will be empowered to grant degrees, diplomas and equivalent awards, but not in a “distance mode”. Interestingly, the definition of FEIs in the present Bill describes them to be institutes that have been offering educational services in their country of origin for the past 20 years. This clause was not mentioned in the Bill tabled in 2007. The draft that has been placed before a committee of secretaries will no longer grant power to Indian regulators to inspect foreign institutions. But, it will be mandatory for foreign institutions to disclose fee and admission process details. The earlier draft named the central government as the appellate authority to which foreign institutions could complain. Under the new draft, education tribunals—proposed under a separate law— will act as appellate authorities. It is also reported that foreign universities will need to guarantee a corpus fund five times the amount proposed earlier (Rs 500 million instead of the Rs 100 million) in the bill. This change apparently comes at the behest of the health ministry.

enrolled in the country. Besides, the outflow—estimated to be in the region of $7 billion—would, in the long run, result in more in-flows for the country, because a majority of Indian students working overseas send generous NRI remittances home. The fifth reason is to promote research. It’s the desire of mandarins in the education ministry to get researchfocused institutions into India, hoping that India would have a home grown Nobel Laureate someday. Some suggest that foreign universities be allowed only on a case-by-case basis, and with a to

conduct research. In other words, the universities would need to set aside a fixed corpus for research, only then they will be permitted in. Jayshree Chandra, the legal expert at Zeus Partners, hopes, “Vocational education that has remained underdeveloped, will be strengthened, since many foreign countries and their universities focus more on training.”

A Degree of Doubt While intentions are laudable, there are many in this country who fear that allowing foreign universities in, could open a February 2010 Edu Tech

cover story Pandora’s Box rather than solve the current problems in the education system. In the words of Philip G. Altbach, a professor at Monan University and the director of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College, USA, who studied the Chinese experience closely, the biggest fear is that if not regulated effectively, the Bill could let in more “pests than guests”. As Dr Asha Gupta, the director at the Directorate of Hindi Medium Implementation at the University of Delhi, in a presentation—Cross Border Higher Education: India’s Response—points out that the Indian middle-class craze for “foreign degrees” remains unabated. This often results in students not verifying antecedents of the collaborating foreign university. A prime case being the Indian Institute of Planning and Management in Delhi, which has repeatedly come under legal scrutiny for its affiliations with unaccredited B-schools from overseas. Given that so much foreign activity— and much of it clearly dubious—is already happening, there is little choice for government than to introduce regulations. Indeed, the stated objective of the 2007 draft of the Bill was to curb the entry of foreign institutions which may be “resorting to various malpractices to allure and attract students, particularly in smaller cities and towns.” Bhushan is apprehensive that the new Bill may lead to crass commercialisation of education in India given that overtly for-profit foreign university chains, like Apollo International, are already in the country. And, it is second rung and third rung foreign institutions that are evincing interest in entering India—not the Ivy League. Agrees Professor Yash Pal, asking, “Have you ever heard of a great foreign university transplanted somewhere else? Just see, only the run-of-the mill universities will come here, if the Act is allowed.” The educational doyen feels that India has enough resources to provide learning on its own steam and foreign universities have no place here. But those supporting the entry of foreign institutions have a ready counter

Edu Tech February 2010

“Licence Raj Needs To Be Nipped In EDU: What are the salient features of the Foreign Education Institutions Bill? Chandra: The Bill provides a timebound approval procedure of application by Foreign Education Institutes (FEIs), and subsequent notification of Foreign Education Provider (FEP), involving the registrar, commission, statutory authorities, advisory board, and the central government. The Bill lays out an elaborate procedure to scrutinise credibility of FEIs, before granting them permission to ensure that only established institutes, providing quality education in their home country, set up shop in India. The central government may grant approval after receiving the advice from the commission, which in turn will have to rely on the registrar’s report and act on the advice of concerned statutory authorities.

Central government is empowered to reject the application for the grant of approval by recording reasons in writing. The provision, if effectively complied with, may keep away rogue providers. It is proposed that the foreign education providers imparting technical, medical and legal education will be regulated by the respective statutory authorities already in place in India. This would ensure that the foreign educational institutes, notified to establish institutes of higher education, follow the educational standards and practices prescribed by the statutory authorities for the respective technical fields. The Bill also seeks the disclosure of details relating to fee, admission process, seats and course syllabus. Details of the experiences of teaching faculty, pay and emoluments of staff and teachers also need to be revealed, along with administrative and physical infrastructure details, in the FEP prospectus, which needs to be published. The proposal to regulate the surplus revenue generated by FEP to be invested in the education institutions established by such FEP in India would act as a check as there will be no repatriation of profits. This provision would deter the institutes and universities whose primary motive is guided by profit or market alone. In case the

Jayshree Navin Chandra, Managing Associate, ZEUS Law Associates, New Delhi

argument. They cite how India’s blue chip institutions, the IITs and IIMs, were actually created with foreign help. MIT was involved in the creation of IITs and BITS Pilani, while Harvard assisted the birth of the IIMs.

The pro-Bill lobby points to Asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore that have successfully attracted the best campuses to their country and demonstrated that foreign-sourced, in-country provision is a more cost-effective method for educating students.

cover story

The Bud To Clear The Path For Varsities” institution fails to comply with the Bill provisions, it may face penalties that may extend to the cancellation of the FEP status, attachment of its corpus funds and properties to compensate the affected students and employees. The application of the provisions of this Bill should be in addition, and not in derogation, of the other statutory provisions applicable to education institutions operating in India. Thus, in addition to the provisions of this Bill, FEPs will be subjected to other acts and regulations governing educational institutions and universities of higher education in India.

If the Bill is legislated, how will it impact higher education? If the Bill indeed becomes an Act, it will have a tremendous impact on the present higher education system in India, particularly affecting the domestic players. Presence of foreign institutes in India will provide an opportunity to students contemplating a journey overseas to specialise, and the country, to save billions. It will promote education tourism here, as it would open avenues for foreign students coming in from the neighbouring countries. And hopefully, the Bill’s screening mechanism will act as a check on the existing collaborations with “dubious” foreign universities. It may create problems for domestic players, who will be exposed to international competition. Indian universities will be required to increase and maintain a higher standard, and we may witness an infrastructure improvement—

Red Tape Alert However, one important point is that many of the Asian countries that have secured famous campuses have actually dangled attractive carrots to lure them. Incentives in the form of cheaper land have been offered. In the late 1990s

The Act would definitely be a first step toward achieving this objective, provided scrutiny and approval mechanisms that have been contemplated is earnestly adhered to. In the initial years after enactment, a cautious approach should be adopted. Approval should be granted in a phased manner, providing adequate time to domestic universities to cope with the competition.

Currently, though the government permits 100 percent FDI and a substantial amount of liberalisation of higher education, investors have not been forthcoming as (domestic) regulations are unclear and there are barriers that permits twinning arrangements—where an foreign institution can collaborate with a domestic one. Bench-marking of standards required for professional practice and academic content or inputs required for professional courses will have to be uniform and clear. There is also a need for clear-cut guidelines as far as the admission procedure, fee, course content, academic standards and examination system is concerned. Few legislations are already underway viz. the Bills, in respect to the National Education Tribunal and the accreditation of higher educational institutions and several others, which are at various stages of discussion. I sincerely hope that the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill brings a clarity to the regulatory reforms in higher education, which are longawaited and have been proposed by the Centre or are in the pipeline. Hopefully, the Bill will clear doubts pertaining to aspects of entry and operation of foreign institutes in India, and management and maintenance of standards of higher education. However, our country’s “licence raj”—all pervasive and a contributor to the deterioration of higher education—needs to be nipped in the bud.

when the Dubai government was wooing foreign educational institutions, it provided single-window clearances. Given our notorious red tape, can we do that? In India, as legal experts believe, rather than carrots, sticks are being placed in the path of the interested for-

eign institutions. It’s reported that in the last round of changes in the Bill, the corpus figure that foreign institutions need to set aside as guarantee money has been raised to Rs 500 million (from an earlier Rs 100 million). Though the PMO’s office is said to

that’s long overdue. The legislation, if passed, will open employment avenues for the Indian teaching fraternity and set a precedence of poaching (from domestic to foreign institutions). With Ivy Leagues coming into India, the quality of general tertiary education—which maybe labelled as poor in this country—may be expected to improve. Vocational education would be strengthened, as several of these foreign universities focus on such courses. The Bill will also boost reasearchbased collaborations between Indian universities and overseas ones, help students to access data freely—if the new campuses indeed bring in their best technology to town. It would also upgrade the quality of education, as courses offered would be linked to job strategies and practical applicable skills required to create competitive managers, entrepreneurs, administrators and social workers. Further, it would lead to development of new courses and niche areas and upgrade existing courses and curriculum.

Is our system equipped to ensure that the Act fulfills its objectives?

February 2010 Edu Tech

cover story have suggested that exemptions be made in the case of Ivy League institutions, there are many who fear this differential policy is going to cause further heartburn. As Amitabh Jhingan, a partner and a national sector leader (education) at Ernst and Young, points out, it’s not just the corpus fund alone, the capex required to set up a campus will run into millions. “So, more likely than not, foreign universities are going to charge hefty fees, which will be nearly equiva-

“We have collaborations with IMT Ghaziabad, IIM Calcutta and MDI Gurgaon. Right now, these are mainly in the area of student exchanges”

“The government does not recognise many collaborative programmes. but, how many students are interested in joining the government?”

Feite van Dijk Senior Adviser, BI Norwegian Management School, Oslo

Shashi Gulhati Educational Consultant, Former Professor, IIT Delhi

lent to the amount paid by a student travelling abroad to study,” he says. Interestingly, the Indian private institutions, expected to oppose the entry of these foreign universities, have welcomed the move. As Jhingan says, “Consistently, private education players have voiced their happiness at the Bill being passed at forums.” According to him, they are not worried about competition as “their brands are strong enough.”

Besides, many of them would perhaps like to enter into joint ventures with the foreign universities—to bring down costs at both end. Welcoming the opening up, Anand Sudarshan, MD & CEO of Manipal Education, says, “Education cannot be confined by artificial barriers. And fettering it (education) is detrimental to the nation.” He admits that he is in talks with several foreign universities. “We have had interesting conversations with universities, as we wait for the final gov-

Edu Tech February 2010

ernment norms. There are multiple models that are possible.” As the private sector remains gung-ho, it is the government universities that are reacting with caution and suspicion. One great fear is that it is their teachers who will migrate.

The Other Side What do the foreign universities think? How keen are they? Both external affairs

minister S.M. Krishna and education minister Kapil Sibal have reiterated at forum after forum that they are being inundated by visits from university presidential delegations. Representatives from Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Purdue and Imperial College have come on recce trips to India. Some like Georgia Tech and Schulich School of Business at York University have reportedly started to scout for land in Hyderabad and Maharashtra. The scouting delegations are mainly from the US, the UK, Australia and Canada. The US, in fact, have escalated pressure at the trade-talks level, though the last round of talks at Doha broke down. The US interest in India is not surprising. India has been the United States’ largest source of international students for eight years in a row. Over 100,000 students went from India to the US during this academic year. However, talks with key players eyeing India throws up doubts and questions. There are trepidations about the bureaucratic red tape and lack of standardisation. Besides, the huge investment required to enter is a deterrent. As an education expert says, “The fact that you need to buy a ticket to enter, and that ticket will cost a lot of money, is a crippling provision.” There are also some grey areas such as the quota issue—though minister Kapil Sibal says that the foreign institutions will not be forced to set aside quotas. This has predictably raised a furore as many feel that domestic universities and foreign universities should be treated on a par, with same rules applying to both. For now, the foreign players are noncommittal, preferring to wait and watch. Take Bocconi University from Italy, one of the top-ranked institutions of the world, which has tie-ups with institutes like ISB and IIM Ahmedabad. Says Paolo Cancelli, the global alliances manager at international relations of Bocconi, “We are evaluating the new regulations set by the education ministry and will observe how the education sector develops in the next few years. We envisage closer ties with

cover story India in terms of academic collaborations at many levels. “ Reading between the lines, what is evident is that the foreign players are more interested in coming in through collaborations, twinning and similar arrangements, keeping the status quo intact. Feite van Dijk, the senior advisor at BI Norwegian Management School in Oslo, sees the possibility of a dual-degree programme in India in the future. He says, “Our school has existing studentexchange programmes with IMT, Ghaziabad, MDI, Gurgaon, and IIM Calcutta.” BI’s interest is not surprising. It has done well in China, where it has around 500 students through its partnership with Fudan University in Shanghai. The Oslo-based university has also made it big in former Soviet Union countries, with around 2,000 students in Lithuania. Clearly, this mode pays huge dividends. But the draft Bill with its stringent regulations makes it mandatory for universities exempted from regulations to reinvest profits into its Indian operation. Observers, however, believe that expected foreign universities to keep all its profit in the host country is excessive. Even for a top institution, the lure of branch campuses, stems from the money. But, some academics remain hopeful. As Jhingan points out, “Setting up a campus in India allows foreign students to participate in the India story. Living, working and interacting with companies in India and China is a big advantage in any CV in this global economy.” Indeed, the jobs are here, the money is here, and in this globalised world, every-

India Vs China statistics on Foreign presence in class India

China

Legislation

Still awaited

“Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Chinese-Foreign Co-operation in Running Schools” passed in 2003

No. of foreign collaborative programmes

Estimated 150 collaborations

More than 1000 (740 in higher education)

Which sphere

Maximum in Management

30 percent in management, 18 percent in economics, 16 percent technical, 10 percent languages

Top Partner Countries

UK, US, Australia, Canada

Australia, UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong

Problems

Lack of regulations, too many second rung institutions coming in

Many ambiguities still remain. Even as many collaborations are with government permits, there are several unapproved partnerships as well Trying to ensure cultural appropriateness of the joint programmes

Opportunities

Expected to give students in India more choice. Could attract foreign investment

China has begun attracting a number of foreign students—notably American—to its shores

body now wants a cross-cultural work experience and a piece of the Indian market pie. This is what makes education minister Kapil Sibal optimistic about the proposed change. “Let's build India into one such hub of top-class education that

Advancing the Enterprise of Education

India Higher Education Conclave will bring together senior leaders from a variety of private higher education institutions to consider new approaches to fostering and harnessing innovation, creativity and technology to drive the growth of their institutions. It will also help them develop an agenda for their institutions to capitalise on these emerging opportunities. The agenda of the conclave will be led by key stakeholders and will involve expert analysis, in-depth panel discussions, focused breakout sessions and insightful keynotes. http://www.edu-leaders.com/edu2010/

Edu Tech February 2010

the world will want to come here,” he says. But, before the world converges on the Indian campus once more, as it did in case of Nalanda several centuries ago, a few more carrots need to be dangled.

March 2010, New Delhi

FOR MROE DETAILS

TURN TO PAGE 44

by photos.com

cover story Strategy

Edu Tech February 2010

Strategy cover story

The

foreign

Hand

At a time when legislation on foreign activity in Indian higher education is imminent, a look at international collaborations and forward trends By Chitra Narayanan

t the Seventh India-Asean Summit at Hua Hin in Thailand, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for an Asian collaboration to revive Nalanda University and make it into an international centre for excellence. The revival plan for the ancient seat of learning, which in its heyday hosted over 10,000 students from Korea, Japan, China, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey, has already received a promise of funds from the Japanese government. In August 2010, the first academic session of the South Asian University, a joint venture of the SAARC nations, will begin. The campus of the global university, with a pool of faculty and researchers drawn from all the SAARC nations, is coming up on a 100-acre plot at Maidan Garhi in Mehrauli, New Delhi. Thus, it is ironical that while the Indian government has been frowning at the possibility of foreign activity in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s higher education sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; it has also been setting up international collaborative ventures of its own. According to Sudhanshu Bhushan, the senior fellow and head of the Higher Education Unit at the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA), foreign activFebruary 2010 Edu Tech

cover story Strategy ity in higher education started to pick up pace post-liberalisation (1991), with the past few years registering an exceptional growth. Currently, there are around 150 institutions in the country that have entered into some kind of foreign collaboration. Most collaborations have been in the vocational programme sector. Bhushan cites a survey that he conducted in which (of a total sample of 131 institutions with foreign partnerships, 107 were providing

country. Examples of such twinning arrangements are Manipal Academy’s collaboration with Maleka (Malaysia), Amity Business School’s partnership with University of Westminster, UK, and Purdue University in the US. Other types include franchisee arrangements—only two examples are known to exist in India—and distance education arrangements such as those undertaken by the Academy for Management Excellence (ACME), Chennai, that

Looking For The Foreign Touch Indian Institute

International Partner

Indian School of Business

Wharton School, Kellogg School of Management, London Business School

GD Goenka World Institute

Lancaster University (UK)

Lovely Professional University

San Francisco State University

Xavier Labour Relations Institute’s School of Darden School of Business Business and Human Resources Symbiosis

University of Houston

Bharati Vidyapeeth University

Foreign Institutes from Japan, Italy, the UK, Germany, Sweden and the US(60 MoUs)

VIT

GEM group of institutes, France Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

Academy for Business Management, Tour- Kings International University of Science ism and Research and Technology Manipal University

35 tie-ups with various universities

Source: CII-Technopak Report (Global Summit on Higher Education February 2010)

vocational programmes, 19 were involved in technical courses, and only five in general courses. In the vocational category, management programmes appeared to be the most popular, while only 19 institutions were offering technical classes. Bhushan’s research also showed that the maximum number (30) of programmes were being offered under twinning arrangements—one of the most preferred methods for foreign institutions to attract international students to the host country. Twinning is a cheaper option (for all parties) as a part of the academic programme is undertaken in the host

Edu Tech February 2010

offers an MBA degree in collaboration with UK Open University through a distance learning programme. Setting up an off-shore campus is the fourth way to collaborate with international universities. But, the process is still not legally permissible in India. Besides, given the amount of investment required for the process, it is not surprising that few overseas universities have evinced interest. However, study centers of some UK universities are operational in India, Bhushan says. Some international universities have a presence in India through student exchange programmes—Italy’s Bocconi

University being one of them. The university entered into a dualdegree programme with IIM Ahmedabad in 2005 and has also organised Annual Campus Abroad Programme at the Indian School of Business. As a part of its collaboration programme, Bocconi carries out month-long courses in which 30 Bocconi students undertake a course in international business management, delivered by a team comprising Bocconi and ISB faculty. There are also company visits, meetings with business communities and country-specific seminars (on Indian economy, culture, politics and society; outsourcing operations or microfinance). What started as a mere trickle, is now a flood. Between 2006 and 2007, 60 UK schools offered programmes through Indian partners to (approximately) 5,000 students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. An analysis of the presence of foreign universities shows that the UK and the US schools are leading the pack, followed by Australia and Canada. Consultant Shashi Gulhati remembers how five years ago, he had invited an Australian university, keen on setting up a shop here, to offer distance-learning programme. The university was also willing to abide by the rulebook. However, since there were no rules, the process was stalled. Other players have, however, not waited for any legislation at all and have gone ahead with collaborations through twinning programmes (that the AICTE website terms illegal). But, as Asha Gupta explains—Indian minds want it, though the national heart may not be for it. Collaborations are indeed flourishing. Strangely enough, while the government has allowed 100 percent FDI in education, not much investment activity has taken place, though there are reports that Modi Apollo International has received funding from a foreign partner. Meanwhile, why have reputed Indian universities stayed away from these ways to collaborate? Bhushan’s belief is that they have no time. “Reputed institutions have no time for making investments abroad as they concentrate on the home turf,” he

Strategy cover story

“The Objective Is to Provide World-Class Education” One recent example of an international partnership in education is the GD Goenka World Institute’s tie-up with the UK-based Lancaster University for a 68-acre campus in Gurgaon. Together they are offering six courses— three undergraduate and three post graduate ones. Excerpts from an interview:

EDU: What motivated the international collaboration? Umashankar: We are starting from scratch, as Gurgaon lacks distinct and specialised (educational) opportunities. Since GD Goenka already has international schools that sends students overseas every year for higher education, that was another reason for us to think about offering international programmes in India. Networking among overseas academic institutions is one of the ways in which we can prepare our youth for a globalised world and provide them with options and avenues that otherwise may not be available to them.

How long did the process take? We looked at the top 10 UK universities and focused on management, economics and finance courses to start with. We zeroed in on Lancaster University, because of its expertise in these areas. The British Council helped us to make the initial contact. The process took around 15 months with several rounds of talks and visits, from both sides.

What value will students and the partner university derive from this international collaboration? l Internationally recognised and valued qualifications at students’ doorstep l Low cost of programme when compared to Lancaster University’s original fee l Exposure to and interaction with the faculty at Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) l Assistance and collaboration in curriculum, pedagogy and assessment design that will help make the programmes contemporary and cutting-edge l Partner benefits from the quality control process of the university leading to adoption of internationally accepted practices in all spheres of higher education delivery and administration l Students could make a seamless transition to the global mainstream of professional careers and other aspirations

What does the partnership envisage? We have started with a handful of undergraduate and graduate-level programmes in business, management and economics. Some of the curriculums would be co-developed, whereas some would be adapted from LUMS curriculum. Students may transfer to Lancaster, but these are not twinning programmes. A student can complete the degree or diploma programme at GD Goenka, if she wants to. And, we propose to start collaborative PhD programmes later on. Two-way faculty exchanges are already on and the LUMS faculty visits and teaches a part of the syllabus in some of the programmes. The objective of the collaboration is to provide students an atmosphere of world-class education and make them qualified at an affordable cost. We plan to achieve this by investing in best facilities and infrastructure that facilitates learning at the highest levels; attracting in quality faculty and providing them with the right incentives and environment; continuously upgrading and updating curricula and pedagogy; investing in faculty development and training; encouraging research and publication (Therefore, a research journal is on the anvil).

Umashankar Venkatesh Professor, Dean, GD Goenka World Institute

explains. Unlike China, where there are clear legislations marking the collaboration route, India scares the global players (who wish to play by the rulebook) away. Foreign universities admit that India is a key emerging market for them (which is why many have set up liaison desks

here), but that the lack of clarity in the education system is worrisome. As the dean of Goenka World Institute, Dr Umashankar Venkatesh, says, “It is time that we liberalised the higher education sector just as we have done for our industries. We hope that

the proposed Bill on the presence of foreign universities will create additional facilities and upgrade existing framework to support and facilitate the Indian youth. The ball is now in the Human Resources Department’s (HRD) court.” February 2010 Edu Tech

cover story Dialogue

Collaborations encourage

global mindsets”

EDU: Tell us about Bocconi University. What prompted the university to opt for international collaborations? Paolo: Bocconi is a research-based university that ranks among the top 20 B-schools in the world. In-breeding is strongly discouraged. Our professors have served as faculty in Ivy League universities. Teachers don’t only teach from books, but often they write them. Over the past few years, we have made our curriculum more international by incorporating programmes taught in English. Moreover, we accommodate 14,000 students annually, who expect international opportunities from us. To cater to them we offer scholarships. We ensure that the best minds across the world get the right opportunities. An increasing number of our faculty is international, and so are our students. Quality is crucial and is always a priority. We believe that all of our international partnerships—exchange and double degree agreements—reflect this vision. We have over 180 partner universities in around 50 countries across the world.

What motivated your partnerships with Indian institutes?

Paolo Cancelli, the global alliances manager at international relations, Bocconi, talks to EDU about the advantages of collaborations By chitra narayanan 26

Edu Tech February 2010

Our interest in India was triggered by the changes that the country has undergone since the 1990s. On the educational front, Indians have always been prominent researchers and scholars. There has always been an emphasis on education, visible, in the way that the government has been setting up IITs and IIMs. Bocconi’s relations with India began because of the combination of industrial and educational elements. As a private university specialising in economics, business and law, Bocconi is pre-eminent in its home market. Since 1902, our strength has been our ability to attract the best talents from all over Italy. Over the past few years, our task has been to play the same role on an international scale. Our international strategies, across the globe, have been to create academic partnerships with business institutes that mirror our vision and goals. Unlike most foreign institutes operating within India,

Dialogue cover story our primary objective has been exchange of intellectual resource and stimulus— not brain drain. In India, Bocconi has been present since 2000, fostering education and cultural exchange with a strategy dedicated to nurturing collaborations with the finest business institutions in India, Bocconi today has a wide network of Indian partner schools, together with collaborations with top industry players. Our dedication to the region is evident by our full-time presence in Mumbai with a local liaison.

research grants. Bocconi’s main goal is to become a key player in the international education scenario, to be able to attract the best and the most talented students from across the world, and thus, meet the demand from MNCs to have not only top academic performances, but also candidates with a global mindset.

Can you outline your partnerships in India? Since 2002, we have entered into collaborations with Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. A double-degree programme has been launched with IIM Ahmedabad from the academic year 2008-09, involving a selected number of Bocconi and IIM Ahmedabad graduates. After the completion of two academic years—at the home and host schools— participants are awarded both IIM Ahmedabad’s postgraduate programme diploma and Bocconi’s MSc in International Management. We also have collaborations with Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, and Management Development Institute, Gurgaon. Moreover, we have also developed a network of over 30 Indian and international institutions that host Bocconi’s undergraduate and graduate students on three to six months internships.

What are the advantages of crossborder education? Building international links in education is often paralleled with the larger process of globalisation. They facilitate diplomatic and political relationships and to an extent, aid economic relations in education and other sectors. Trade relations, in turn, generate closer cultural contacts. Thus, cross-border activity has its effects on many levels. Usually, governments support cross border educational links as a way to increase national capacity. They do this through scholarships, exchange schemes, and

“Our goal is to become a key player in the new international Education scenario, to be able to attract the most talented students” Paolo Cancelli Global alliances Manager, Internationa Relations, Bocconi Did you face any regulatory challenges while you were tying up with Indian universities? Not yet. The process was facilitated by the 2005 presidential visit by Ciampi, and later in 2007, by Prodi, that forged strategic partnerships on different fronts, including educational relations.

Compared to China and Singapore, how are your partnerships in India working? Bocconi has close links with schools across five continents. In fact, over the

past few years, it has been focusing intensively on internationalising by seeking academic excellence. Thus, wherever we entered into partnerships we have made sure that we connect with the schools that were able to guarantee the same level of quality. We follow the same policy in China and Singapore. In these countries, too, we cooperate with leading schools according to local and international rankings (according to the Chinese Ministry of Education and Financial Times). Some of the schools that we are collaborating with are Tsinghua (Beijing), Peking University (Beijing), Fudan (Shanghai), Jiao Tong (Shanghai), Chinese University of HK (Hong Kong), HKUST (Hong Kong), National University of Singapore and Nanyang (Singapore). We want our students to grasp skills and knowledge required in our partner countries to facilitate their career paths as future leaders. Of course, some emerging non-English speaking countries, such as China, might require more patience and work to find a suitable academic match, as they are yet to open their markets fully. We are hoping to forge closer ties with our existing and new partners. India’s educational landscape is intriguing and attractive for foreign players. The country has brilliant minds and a rich history of education. On the downside, there is a paucity of educational institutes that meet the demand-supply gap of the education sector and the research lacunae. However, the reality is changing. Many educational institutes are realising the need to support faculty and to inculcate a culture of research. But, more fellowship and doctoral programmes should be encouraged in India, as research is crucial to ensuring a good cycle in the education system and guarantees that a country’s future professors have the right academic backgrounds. In India, what is remarkable is the culture of knowledge (in economics, history, sciences and literature) that exists. A proper cultural environment is only possible if the educational infrastructure is in place. And this, in India, is a given! February 2010 Edu Tech

Administration

Documentation

Educational institutions need an intelligent document management that can save time, effort and money By Indu Prasad and Shweta Verma

Edu Tech February 2010

B Documentation

etween Jalandhar and Phagwara towns in Punjab is the Lovely Professional University (LPU), a 600-acre campus with 25,000 students in 20 disciplines. Obviously, a large amount of paperwork flows through the offices of LPU to keep up with students and course information. Presumably in a university like this, it would be a nightmare to dig out any information. “When a student came to us for some information, we would take a minimum of one day to locate it. We had a dedicated space of more than 500 square feet for papers and documents. More than space, we had a lot of manpower— nearly 10 people dedicated to document management. It was prone to human errors like misplacement. Tracking errors was impossible. We also had to put in a lot of effort to keep the papers safe from rotting or pests because there were no duplicates,” explains Aman Mittal, assistant director of the university. Growing numbers persuaded LPU to opt for a digital documentation management system. With over 20 tie-ups with foreign universities, there were lessons to be learnt from all quarters. “We decided to take the best practices from all of them,” Mittal explains. However, none of the off-the- shelf IT solutions in the market addressed their needs. “We decided to create our own ERP with the help of HCL. A team of 30 software experts was involved to develop the system that cost almost Rs 12.5 million. This system covers everything from admissions, attendance, exams, faculty to student records,” says Mittal. One of the most daunting tasks was to integrate archival data. “We had to do a lot of re-entry into the system with dedicated DTP operators . It was a painful exercise since we had to verify everything. But the time spent was completely worth it,” admits Mittal. What LPU now has in place is a highly sophisticated ERP system. The time required to access data is down to one minute, manpower has been reduced to one person, the set-up has been decentralised for each of the disciplines, error tracking is easier with login information, and the system is more student and parent-friendly. As for the threat of losing the data, “We have a differential backup system that saves data every 30 minutes. There are three back-ups of all data, one on the server’s hard disk, one on CD and one in a secure setup 20-km away from the campus,” says Mittal. LPU has received rave reviews from peers, students and parents alike. But Mittal says that there is still a long way to go before the university becomes completely paperless. Human resources (HR) is only 50 percent on the ERP. Vendor management and inventory management continue to be very paper intensive. LPU aims to up its automated operations from the current 48 percent to 93 percent in 2010.

administration

BUYING TIPS l Choose a service provider with end-to-end capabilities in documentation– from data capturing to storage, design, distribution and processing l Solution should provide for adequate storage space to meet your present and future needs l It should allow integration with existing systems l Ensure data security and access control, particularly for critical documents l Create appropriate workflow systems for document processing l Enable features such as data mining and analysis l Ensure a user-friendly system with ease of accessibility and transactions l Look for providers with large client base, and ensure after-sales support service in your region l Create a system that allows flexibility, scalability and overall efficiency in operations

Challenges of Data Management

eye stopper

or the institutions that still depend on paper documentation, the challenges are the same— human errors leading to misplacement of records, duplication, or loss. Moreover, storage of the records also requires dedicated staff and funds to ensure they are not damaged by dampness, pests or fungus.

Rs 12.5 million was spent by Lovely Professional University to develop a customised ERP for record keeping

37 Reams of paper are used by an average office worker every year

February 2010 Edu Tech

Administration

Documentation

Neeta Singh, a lecturer at Delhi University recollects, “In the earlier days, we used to work so hard in filing and documenting our important papers. Now technology has made the task much easier.” A case in point is Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, where a Knowledge Portal was created to consolidate all the knowledge and relevant documents within the institute that would aid strategic decisions as well. Or the ERP software solution created by Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon that is used to manage over 10,000 online journals at the institute.

The Technology Edge

hile schools gradually tread the technology path, there are many challenges. The bigger management and technology institutes have many advantages in terms of availability of funds, management commitment and knowledge of IT. Puneet Datta, senior marketing manager of Canon points out that among the institutes in India there is a wide disparity among the haves and have-nots. “If you look at the IITs and IIMs, they are way ahead of the crowd. Many others don’t even have a basic infrastructure in place,” he says. However, the real problem is that educational institutes are not bound by any statutory requirements for maintaining student records over a longer period. “The absence of compliance norms has been the main reason why this sector has been slow in adopting IT. Others like banking and insurance are bound by strict regulations,” confesses Datta. That apart, pressure to reduce operational costs, expectations for improved service standards, and environmental pressures to reduce paper contribute to an unceasing search for better processes. Many administrators feel that resistance to change is the biggest hurdle. “I don’t think funding is such a big issue,” says Dr D.P. Goyal professor of Information Management and chairperson of the computer centre at MDI. “It is the attitude of the people that needs to change. The commitment of management to improve the situation is very important.”

Edu Tech February 2010

“We decided to follow IT companies like TCS and Wipro because they have smart IT systems” —Dr K Mohan Senior Director IT and Learning Resource Centre ISB

As institutions grow in size and scope, the challenge of managing critical records only increases. From financial data and student records to library records, research papers, staff records and journals— a typical university has a

large volume of information. And a good document management system for institutions must include strategic planning of student life cycle management, academic services, and student services. Of these, the student life cycle management efficiency is especially hard to achieve due to inter-departmental information silos, and the diverse teaching materials and methods used by faculty. Institutes like LPU have tackled this with customised ERP solutions. This is followed by library documentation which could include keeping track of both online and hardcopy journals that institutions typically order, lending information and due date, and other finer management issues. ISB Hyderabad has managed this by opting for the Virginia Tech Library software, while MDI in Gurgaon uses Livesys Software. Intellectual property management is of greater consequence to higher education institutes with stakes in research. University of California issued a white paper on Copyright Legislation and Scholarly Communication that clearly

olutions Snapshot

There are a number of document management related solutions available for various applications. We have made an attempt to broadly categorize some of the solutions with examples of companies that provide solutions under each category. The list is only indicative and is by no means exhaustive or complete. Electronic Document Management/Content Management: For management of workflow systems, processing of documents and overall transactions across different functional units. Solutions are available from IBM, EMC, Oracle, SAP, Microsoft, Xerox, and Canon. Storage and Data Management: For storing, retrieving and managing large volumes of data. Contact EMC, Hitachi, HP, Dell, Sun Microsystems and IBM. Web Portals: For creation and management of Web portals to enable anytime anywhere access to important documents and information approach Microsoft SharePoint, IBM, SAP, or SUN. CRM: For managing customer-oriented or student-related transactions you can try Siebel, SAP or Oracle Talisma. Managed Print Services: For printing, copying, faxing, scanning & related document services look at solutions from Xerox, Canon, and HP. Application-Specific Solutions: There are other niche solution providers. For instance Virgina Tech and Livesys provide solutions for Library records.

Documentation

states “how to maintain a balance between the interests of the creators and the public”, “maintenance of a viable economic framework of relations between owners and users of copyrighted works” and most importantly how “all intellectual property should be stored appropriately to be shared with all members of the community”. Managing HR and finance documentation could be adapted from the processes used by other sectors where performance appraisals, promotions, and salary raises, are all tracked in one module. Many institutions have opted to stick to a tried and tested accounting platform like Tally while some integrate it onto the ERP. Performance of the students can also be linked to the performance of the teachers, as has been done by the Department of Education in Chicago.

“Indian Institutes Are Slow In Taking Advantage Of IT” Mark Pettit, executive director, Xerox Global Services, Xerox India talks about his experiences with higher education institutions in India What has been your experience with Indian educational institutions? Educational institutions, particularly in the government sector, are slow in coming forward. One has to go through a series of procedures and legislative processes. But once they make a commitment, they do want to take advantage of technology. A large volume of information and documents reside in this sector. So there is tremendous potential.

Looking at the present level of IT-enablement, what approach do you think must be adopted here? I think they have to take small steps first. Maybe start by simple workflow management systems. Once they have the basic network in place, we can help them make a difference.

Best Practices

o solve their documentation issues, educational institutions could also look at the solutions adopted by other sectors like banking, insurance and telecom. ISB, for instance used TCS and Wipro as its benchmarks. Dr K. Mohan,

“We have created our own in-house solution for registration and record keeping. It was built by our students, who got the Banyan Award for their voluntary contribution to the institute” —Dr Kamal Karlapalem, Dean Academics, IIIT Hyderabad

administration

But government institutions are also grappling with shortage of funds… Yes, everywhere across the world, private institutions are usually ahead of government institutions because funds are more readily available there. But government institutions can also make use of corporate sponsorships to make up for the lack of funds. This can be beneficial to both sides. For the students, it gives them an insight into the latest technology. For us, it is a good for our CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives. It also gives us an opportunity to find good developers and scientists for the future. In fact, we have been conducting such workshops to foster creativity and thought generation among students. And I have observed that the logic and creativity that Indian students apply is quite unique and refreshing. Mark Pettit Executive Director, Xerox Global Services, Xerox India

senior director IT and Learning Resource Centre, ISB explains, “Banks have a large number of records and realtime transactions, so they have to create huge redundancy. We decided to follow IT companies like TCS and Wipro because they have smart IT systems.” Content management is a big investment for many companies, as emphasised by a recent study by IDC. Managing content with ever-increasing volumes of information, mounting regulatory pressure, and disparate applications with isolated data repositories, remains a big challenge, as Ridhi Sawh-

ney, Market Analyst for Asia Pacific Software Research at IDC explains. IBM, EMC, HP, Oracle and Iterwoven remain the biggest players with over 58 percent of the market share (in content management solutions space). Construction major DLF, had over 8 00,000 pages stored on precious real estate which were digitized with DocImage software, saving the company Rs 16 0,000 a month in real estate and manpower costs. At Sony Entertainment Television, employee documents were constantly getting lost. Then there was also the February 2010 Edu Tech

Administration

Documentation

security concern with important documents stored on local hard disks or even e-mails. The company invested in a Rs 6 million document management system that resulted in savings of Rs 5.2 million each year.

ERP for Every Level

part from developing their own ERP or buying ready software, the other option which could be considered by education institutions is outsourcing of documentation and records management. There are companies like the Writer Corporation that offer information management services. However, academic institutes have so far used outsourcing mainly for digitising their paper documents. Goyal says, “The volumes of student records are not so huge and they can be easily managed in-house. Moreover, we have better control over them this way. With outsourcing, maintaining security and confidentiality becomes an issue.” Many tech-savvy institutes prefer their in-house systems over ready-made packages. “The problem with them is that at

times, you have to do a lot of re-engineering to suit your requirements. Or you have to change your way of working according to their systems and processes,” admits Goyal. “We have created our own in-house solution for registration and record keeping,” says Dr Kamal Karlapalem, Dean Academics, IIIT in Hyderabad. “This was built by our students, who got the Banyan Award for their voluntary contribution to the institute,” he claims proudly. A simple document for maintaining records can even be created in a Microsoft Word or Excel sheet. Manisha Sethi of JIMS (Jagannath International Management School) explains, “We can easily manage our student records of up to two years on simple Excel sheets.” Although it is difficult to find a single solution for all your document-related needs, there are a number of choices available for every stage in the document life cycle (read box: Stephenson College: Moving towards a paperless operation). Companies like Xerox and Canon, are offering a whole range of documentation solutions including scanning, digital

tephenson College

Moving towards a paperless operation. Stephenson College, one of the UK’s newest colleges, has 14,000 students and 800 teaching staff. It has adopted a smart document management system that has enabled the institution to move towards a paperless operation.

The college had been wilting under space constraints. Filing cabinets were growing at an alarming rate with an estimated 38Kg of files stored per sq m. The college finally opted for Document Manager software, which was well-priced and had a modular construction. The solutions’ SQL Server technology integrated well with the colleges’ other software. The new document management system greatly helped accelerate student and teacher access to learning materials; streamlined college’s business and administrative processes; brought costs down and conquered the paper mountain problem; reduced internal post; and accelerated approval of POs and invoices. Today, nothing gets lost or mis-filed, while the college authorities estimate that the new system would most likely pay for itself within a year or so. Every student across the college now has access to learning materials via the Web API. Life for teachers has become dramatically easier, as the software helps them prepare course materials, check student attendance and more. The system, upon successful installation and integration, has now become part of the college’s learning environment.

Edu Tech February 2010

“The absence of compliance norms has been the main reason why this sector has been slow in adopting IT. Others like banking and insurance are bound by strict regulations” —Puneet Datta Senior Marketing Manager, Canon

imaging, indexing and other workflow systems under ‘Managed Print Services’. The National Informatics Centre also provides support to government-run institutions. For instance, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) provides a number of online journals and other library facilities to its students through the Web. Books and articles are also arranged from other libraries through DELNET, an inter-library network supported by NIC. JNU has also developed an e-governance cell or University Management System to reduce paperwork by providing online access to important forms, circulars and other documents. While there is enough help and systems to work with, it should be kept in mind that whatever system is chosen, it has to have longevity as well as work well with the long-term goals of the institute.

What’s Online To read more articles on administration go to the EDU Website www.edu-leaders.com Write in your views and opinions about the stories in this magazine or on any other issues relating to higher education. Send them to the Editor, EDU at editor@edu-leaders.com

Edu Tech December 2009

Viewpoint

Rahul Choudaha

Leading Without Leadership

ore than 25 years ago, George Keller in his book “Academic Strategy: The Management Revolution in American Higher Education” noted: “American higher education has entered a new era that requires better planning, strategic decision-making and more directed change. To accomplish this, universities need new procedures, structures and attitudes. What is important is a more sharply defined sense of how US academic institutions should be governed, managed and led.”

Today, Keller’s quote is as relevant to issues of leadership and management of higher education in India as it was for the US, 25 years ago. Indian higher education is facing a multitude of challenges both at an institutional and a system level. They range from issues of access, accountability and funding on one hand, to quality, research and relevance on the other. These are complex problems that are interrelated with socio-political and economic environment of a country. Consider the case of Vedanta University in Orissa, for instance. In 2006, Anil Agarwal announced his vision of a multi-disciplinary university to be established with $1 billion that Agarwal was willing to shell out. Undeniably a noble and a bold vision, it could create standards of excellence and philan-

Edu Tech February 2010

thropy in India. However, it is struggling to gain the trust of the local community. What is not working well for Vedanta? One idea is that its vision may have underestimated the unique nature of academia, challenges of building a world-class university and inter-connectedness of education and society. Philip Altbach, the professor of higher education at Boston College, in his 2007 article published in Hindu, noted that “…one cannot be very optimistic about Vedanta’s chances for success. Let us hope that those funding the project will have the foresight to anticipate the problems...” He added, that academic leadership would be necessary to provide “…an intellectual vision, as well as the ability to build and manage a complex organisation.” This leads me to my argument that establishing higher education institutions require a unique set of professional competencies. To build these competencies one has to recognise and develop a profession of educational leadership—leaders who understand the nature of higher education and have the ability to integrate teaching and research with institutional efficiency. In this context, I propose a strategic framework that aims to develop a profession of educational leadership by focusing on three primary action areas—education, research, and practice—with the catalysing support of government and industry (see figure).

Rahul Choudaha

Education Programmes According to a 2006 survey conducted by the American Council on Education (ACE), 43 percent of the nation’s college presidents received their degrees in either education, or higher education. In India, the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) is one specialist institution that focuses on education and research. However, given the challenges before us, there is the need for more such programmes. Existing colleges need to take a proactive role and create new courses, while business schools should venture into this domain and offer specialisations.

Strategic Framework for Developing Higher Education Leadership in India

Practice

Education

(Continuous Learning) Professional Associations

Educational Leadership

(Professional Expertise) Master’s/PhD Programs

Research (Knowledge Creation) Research Centers

A Culture Of Research Research is integral to development of a field. In the US, knowledge creation is supported by university-based centres and independent think tanks. In India, one existing challenge is the lack of a research culture and reward mechanisms. Our country needs to engage in application-oriented research. The launch of education magazines, especially focusing on field leaders,

Viewpoint

Government

Collaboration Policy Funding

Industry

Government, Corporate Support Finally, education, research and practice of higher

ne has to develop a profession of educational leadership— leaders, who understand the nature of higher education

is one such step towards building a culture of research. Conferences are also important in engaging in a dialogue. In addition, more publishing opportunities are required for faculty and researchers.

Practice: Professional Development The “practice” aspect of strategic framework refers to opportunities of continuous learning and professional development. Currently, the administrative track in higher education is not recognised as a “profession.” There is an urgent need to systematically develop leaders and managers who understand the context, constraints and challenges of education. Professional associations are the key, as they keep an eye on quality and prepare specialists for a changing environment. A pan-India professional association that brings together administrators from across institutes, may go a long way in building a “profession” of educational leadership.

education leadership cannot develop in a vacuum. They need support from the government and industry, as far as funding or understanding of industry needs are concerned. Given the socioeconomic structure of India, government will continue to play a critical role in policy making and setting directions. Industry associations such as FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM need to support the collaboration among stakeholders.

Education Leadership Is Imminent The Indian Prime Minister had announced the establishment of 14 world-class universities as a part of the XIth five-year plan. The execution of such a vision requires leaders who understand the challenges of institution building. Creating a profession of higher education leadership by bringing together elements of education, research and practice will catalyse the quality and competitiveness of Indian higher education both at an institutional and a systemic level.

Rahul Choudaha A higher education specialist based out of New York, Dr Choudaha specialises in strategic management of higher education, institution building, academic leadership, collaborations and market development. He has a PhD in higher education from the University of Denver, MBA from NITIE, Mumbai, and BE from Jabalpur University

February 2010 Edu Tech

expertise Design & Architecture

Aaron B. Schwarz

asktheexpert@edu-leaders.com

“Library Is A Cultural Hub On Campus”

ither lampooned across television and the big screen as the space known to induce drowsiness, or revered, a library has been an integral part of a nation’s cultural history. Before the digital era, it was one of the few spaces that collected evidence, sources and resources— making such an archive indispensable for any community. Archaeologists believe that the first rudimentary archive, with a systematic cataloguing system, was set up in Sumeria in 1,900 B.C. around 1,900 B.C. But, in this day and age, one is forced to re-think the idea of this space, and emerge out of its traditional definition. Today’s libraries, especially abroad, are re-inventing themselves and are turning cool, not damp. Our present-day gizmo and gadget-controlled lives are forcing us to rethink the concept of this space and the library is breaking out of its traditional definition. It is no surprise that current libraries, especially overseas, are going in for an image makeover.

Moving Beyond Access To Information So, has the WWW, wireless connections and on-line databanks, drawing information from almost anywhere, made this room on campus redundant? Not really. The library is more than just an information room. With proper design and planning, it can be translated into an interactive resource centre and a cultural hub, defining the very fabric of campus life. Some libraries are now being designed for the following activities: l Technology training and assistance

Edu Tech February 2010

Aaron is the Principal and Executive Director at Perkins Eastman. He has more than 25 years of experience in architecture. His award winning portfolio includes numerous projects for colleges and universities in United States and other countries. He is currently involved in designing some university projects in India

l Multimedia experiential learning l Group study and project-based work l Reprographics l Long-distance learning and video conferencing l Social interaction And, it is cutting-edge technology that is helping the library to transform, allowing them to facilitate access to not only collections that they possess, but also resources from afar. The Harvard University library website begins with the following mission statement, “Today’s library is a dynamic set of resources—people, facilities, online catalogues, collections and things—things that we own and things that we provide access. We are in the midst of shifting from a library that has emphasised upon how many objects it owns, to becoming a library that puts a higher priority on connecting users with items that they need, whether from physical collections or from online resources.”

Aaron B. Schwarz

Thus, it is apparent that libraries in top campuses, around the world, are now more focused on facilitating users’ needs, than collecting and protecting physical assets. Thanks to the Internet and the WWW, we are bombarded with more images, texts and knowledge, than we are capable of processing. I believe that the library of today, in its new avatar, can help us navigate this sea of information. However, before a “traditional” library (read: shelves of books and the aisle in between) is forced to don several hats to meet demands of modern students and researchers, it must tweek and tamper, here and there, as far as space and staff are concerned. Especially the staff, who must be trained and taught to navigate, access, filter and use information in more diverse ways than they ever had to before.

Design According To Need There is no longer one or two information mediums, nor do we want to be forced to use only one medium at a time. In traditional libraries, books resided in one area, microfilms in another, films and music archives yet somewhere else. Today’s teaching methods and research requires the use of all resource types on demand, and at the same time. Many of these mediums have different technical requirements, as far as power, lighting, and multi-use interactivity is concerned. A library plan must accommodate all these needs and work out a balance between design, pedagogy and learning. Easy access to the Internet has enabled an increase in individual isolation. Thanks to wireless connectivity, a student can access any information s/he wants from her/his dorm. However, our understanding of education tells us that isolated learning is not the goal, and that new methodologies are increasingly focusing on team building and interdisciplinary learning. The library can be translated into such a fun space for group learning activities. But, to become such a hub, the library will have to accommodate a diversity of technically advanced spaces, which encourage interaction, but at the same time may be isolated from each other into quiet zones. These spaces must also accommodate virtual connections, allow people and resources from afar to join in interactive discussions. The library, thus, translates into an interface zone, a compromise between the physical and the virtual. Yesterday’s archive is today’s campus hub. Studies have proven that a large percentage of campus learning happens outside

no more bookish: Open spaces, clean designs, Wi-Fi connectivity, conference rooms, cafes, restaurants, make a visit to the library worth the walk

Advancing the Enterprise of Education

expertise

the boundaries of the formal classroom and the laboratory. It is important to encourage informal interaction, especially interdisciplinary discourse, and at the risk of repeating myself, again it is the library that may promote this activity in a meaningful way with instantaneous resources to drill down deeper into innovative ideas—as they arise. Present day librarians are waking up to the fact that food is a key ingredient to socialisation, as well as endurance of focus. The staff are relaxing prohibitions and allowing food and beverages into the “hallowed” portals. Many libraries are integrating cafés and snack bars in their buildings, while 24/7 reading rooms, study areas, and group study rooms—healthy alternatives to isolated hostel rooms—are becoming the design loci for current breed of architects. In conclusion, libraries are being reconceived from repositories of books to highly interactive, engaging spaces that facilitate access and promote collaboration. We are witnessing an expansion of library programmes to include performance and exhibition spaces, restaurants, and accommodations for visiting scholars. Rather than shrinking, campus libraries are expanding their missions.

March 2010, New Delhi

FOR MROE DETAILS

TURN TO PAGE 44

L dialogue

Rebecca W. Bushnell

obbying

for liberal arts Rebecca W. Bushnell, the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, talks to EDU about leadership and education

By Pramath Raj Sinha

EDU: What brings you to India? Rebecca: This is my fourth visit to India. I am here to meet the alumni, friends and parents of students of School of Arts and Sciences at Penn. This time, I am travelling with the Dean of Admissions for Penn, and we are spreading the message about Penn in general, and especially, about the School of Arts and Sciences, in Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. I am really amazed by the country’s energy and am impressed by its hospitality. We have some terrific students coming from India. It’s an exciting place.

Could you share the history of University of Pennsylvania’s relationship and collaboration with India? Penn has had a strong relationship with India. We partnered to set up the very first department of South Asian studies 60 years ago, and amassed a tremendous collection in our library. We have been engaged in the study of India’s past, but are also involved with the country’s present and future. Fifteen years ago, we founded the Centre for Advanced Studies of India (CASI), really the only research centre in the US dedicated to the study of India. We also have University of Penn’s Institute for Advanced Study of India (UPIASI), which is Delhi-based. Our UPIASI research was possible through direct

Edu Tech February 2010

support and collaboration between the two countries and its scholars and we are proud of the achievements of both, as far as research is concerned.

Does Penn or the School of Arts and Sciences have any strategies for India? What you want to do here, or what you want to get from India? We feel that we have a lot to learn from India, and we have a lot to offer to this country, as well. One of the things that we have been doing is getting support from the Gates Foundation, and from the Gartner Foundation, to engage in research here in India—for instance on hospital management and health care—to help India move forward in making policy decisions. Penn is also engaging in dialogues at the faculty level, and would also like to see the same at a student level.

Rebecca W. Bushnell dialogue

Fact file

by dr lOHIA

Education MA & PhD, Princeton University (1978 to 1982) MA Bryn Mawr College (1976 to 1978) BA, Swarthmore College (1970 to 1974) Academic positions Dean, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania (January 2005 till the present) Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania (January 1998 to July 2003) Junior professor, Thomas S. Gates (January 2005 till the present) February 2010 Edu Tech

dialogue Rebecca W. Bushnell

Never tell faculty what to do. Motivate them to work together What is your view on the role that liberal arts education can play? In the recent economic downturn, people thought about providing education that could prepare for a future that is uncertain and always changing. I feel that liberal arts education is perhaps the best education that you can get to prepare yourself for a future where you may have multiple careers, and multiple options. What we do in liberal arts education is to prepare students to communicate and to write well—with a global focus. We have a strong verbal focus in our undergraduate curriculum in the college. We prepare students to lead and make them international, agile thinkers. We are not just trying to pursue one thing.

In India the challenge right now with liberal arts education is that people want to go for education that gets them a job. Employers tend to hire well-trained specialists. Is there a role that liberal arts education administrators can play? Well, in the US, organisations employing our students say that they prefer to appoint people with a liberal arts background. They say, “We will teach them business, we will teach them how to work. Bring us students who can think, who can write, who can communicate and know something about this world.” In most cases, an understanding of business means going back to the fundamentals and understanding the politics, history and culture of a place and a community. We give the message back to the anxious 18-year-olds, and their parents, that we do not train people, we educate them. And they all get wonderful jobs at the end of it. The first job they get may not come with a six figure salary, but they will find a way to multiple careers. We have a great example of an Indian graduate Ashutosh (Phatak), who did a major in economics, a minor in mathematics and a lot of course work in music. He is now based out of Mumbai and is a successful entrepreneur, (she was referring to the co-owner of Blue Frog) with a recording label of his own. Ashutosh, is just one of the multi-dimensional, agile

Edu Tech February 2010

thinking graduates that came out with a liberal arts education from Penn.

What is the philosophy behind the inter-disciplinary programmes at the School of Arts and Science? One of the remarkable things about the university is that there are 12 schools, and if you are a student of one, there is the opportunity to take classes in all the rest. So, you have students of engineering and nursing taking liberal arts courses in the College of Arts and Sciences, or in law. We also have innovative dual-degree programmes. Our Huntsman Programme encourages applications from students with an interest in both business and international affairs —and it is an opportunity for them to apply to both Wharton and the School of Arts and Sciences at the same time. These inter-disciplinary courses shape students, who understand history, politics, language and culture, and then combine all that with a sense of business. One recently-launched programme combines a bachelors degree in life sciences and management, for which students can work in scientific research labs, while interning at bio-tech or ––pharmaceutical companies. So, our students not only understand an innovative science project, but they also know how to market and manage it. I don’t know of such a comprehensive programme, anywhere else in the world. This opportunity to combine is

Rebecca W. Bushnell dialogue unique to Penn, that helps build leaders.

What have been the major changes in the university in your 28 years there? Penn has been wonderful—it’s really the place where I eventually wished to be in my life. I came to Penn right after my PhD at Princeton in comparative literature. Over the years, Penn has become more global. From being very US-centric, the campus has become international. Now, if you walk on campus you will see this tremendous diversity and an international presence. In my freshmen class I teach 16 students—with one coming from Zimbabwe, another from Beijing, and an Indian student coming in via Australia. I also have a first generation Asian-American student from Northeast Philadelphia and a student from Netherlands. They are smart, exciting and engaged in learning, and I love to teach them. And the campus has become a much prettier place (laughs)!

What do you see as some of the bigger challenges for American education? The traditional US model of education is facing a challenge from new technologies. There are people who are questioning the future of places like Penn, especially since you can get all the information online. But, I believe in the campus-based education model, and that we still have a stronghold. Of course, we will have to come to terms with technological changes and use it more to expand our reach globally. The second challenge is to increase cost consciousness about the price of US education and create pressure to provide true value for the investments that the students make. The third challenge is sustaining the quality of scientific research, centered around prospects that are important for the future. The federal government has pulled back in recent years on its investments in scientific research, so that’s a real challenge before us.

What does academic leadership entail? Leadership in academia is peculiar because our academic leadership— deans and presidents—have no management training, or management expertise. We take academic leaders from the faculty because these are the people who understand the value of the institution. They bring in a passion for education and research. You have to be able to motivate people through your intellectual leadership; you also have to have a lot of common sense and an ability to deal with money. You have to be good with people and understand that you can’t tell the faculty what to do. That’s the golden rule—never tell your faculty what to do (laughs). You have to find a way to bring them along to enter into collaborations to create a united vision for a university.

Is there a way to proactively prepare oneself for academic leadership, or does it just happen? Preparation might certainly help. In order to become an academic leader people have to understand and get involved in governance of their universities. They have to understand what makes people tick, and how to move things forward and how to get things done. Meetings with committees could sound awful because people just get tied up in talking about a lot of other things and forget relevant issues. But, meetings are also wonderful ways of getting people to come to agreements. Personally, I learnt through attending a lot of service committees and volunteer programmes. They taught me what the broader institution was all about, what were its main concerns and issues. I learnt through volunteer service in the university,

what made the university tick and how to work with people to move the institution forward. I did serve in the graduate chair of my department and involved myself in governance, and that’s where I learnt about governance.

How has the role of women in academic leadership evolved in the US? I like to think that women have a role in transforming and bringing about a new leadership style based on collaboration, building consensus and listening. It is interesting that in the past 10 years there has actually been a real move in putting women as presidents and deans in universities across the US, especially among the Ivy League colleges. Penn was the first. Judith Rodin became the president of Penn in the 1990s, now there is Amy Gutmann, who is the current president. Then, there is Drew Faust of Harvard, who I would like to point out is a Penn grad (laughs), and a gymnast, and Ruth

Studies merging fields prepare students for jobs, future Simmons who is heading Brown. So, there has been a sea change as far as women and leadership are concerned. I would like to think that they (women leaders) bring their strong academic vision and values and new leadership styles— based on collaboration, listening and on building consensus—to the table.

What advice would you give new universities in their pursuit for excellence? Remember that you should be educating, rather than training students. You have to realise the importance of history, philosophy and liberal arts that should be present in conjunction with engineering and medicine. These fields should not be separated, as it is only through inter-disciplinary interactions that one can prepare leaders who can function in an uncertain future. February 2010 Edu Tech

TECHNOLOGY

Interactive White Boards

Interacting WITH THE

Future Interactive White Boards reduce distances and make learning exciting. EDU unravels the myriad uses of the device in higher education and steps involved in getting the right product

By Parul Gupta

n todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world in which students are not just competing with their college peers, but with pupils across the globe, knowledge and understanding cannot be limited to classroom lectures alone. An Interactive White Board (IWB) is one modern tool that helps students connect and compete with their global counterparts. Take a typical class at Sharda University campus (Greater Noida) for instance. Here, the professor does not waste his, or his studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, time by drawing a nuclear power reactor on the blackboard and then move on to an exhaustive lecture on its various components and functions.

Edu Tech December 2009

eye stopper A single teacher can conduct classes spread across 40 locations at the same time using an IWB An IWB could cost anywhere between Rs 60,000 to 150,000 depending on the brand, features and technology being offered

Interactive White Boards

Instead, he clicks on an IWB to give a demonstration of what happens to uranium and plutonium inside the reactor and how cadmium rods reduce concentration of neutrons, to shut down or slow down the chain reaction. Another click on the board explains how coolants (such as carbon dioxide or water) carry heat from the reactor to the heat exchanger to produce steam, which in turn drives turbines to produce electricity. Students then use a stylus to interact with their professor on the pros and cons of using other fuels such as deuterium beams for nuclear reaction analysis, or to access latest findings and discoveries related to the use of deuterium in nuclear processes. “The students’ response is far more enthusiastic than it would have been had it been just me standing and talking,” the professor admits. Driven by continued technological developments, IWBs are taking the Indian classrooms by storm. But, what exactly are these IWBs that people talk of? They are blackboard-type devices, of varying sizes, that hook up to computers and projectors to create large, touch-sensitive displays on any screen or board. The device also helps a teacher or student to interact with images on screen, highlight or write notes, with the help of an electronic pen or pointer, to incorporate graphics, sounds or videos, the same way as a desktop computer can. Finally, an IWB allows all the extra input to be saved in a computer for future reference. An IWB also helps reduce the distance in a global classroom as almost 30 to 40 IWBs spread across locations can be connected together with the help of Local Area Network (LAN) protocols and broadband, and a single teacher can teach and interact with students in all these dispersed classrooms.

The Indian Picture According to Sergio Carniero, the director of marketing for the Europebased manufacturer, Clasus Internationally, the education sector accounts for more than 80 percent of the total IWB sales globally. The picture is not different in India. More than 3,000 schools in India have IWBs in their classrooms, including Amby Valley School and Delhi Public School. Software content providers such as Educomp Solutions, Evergreen Education Foundation and Edurite Education (in the K-12 category) have been largely responsible for introducing IWBs and in helping the device make inroads into Indian classrooms. However, in the higher education segment where content depends more on an individual professor’s point of view and teaching style, IWBs have had a limited impact. Additionally, higher education institutes are often more pre-occupied with competing on parameters such as faculty, foreign affiliations, research or placement ratios, rather than IWBs, to attract students. There is, however, a perceptible shift, as an increasing number of higher education institutes are discovering the various uses for IWBs in their classrooms. Sharda University, for instance, prepares engineering and management lectures in advance and saves them on the institute server. “This process has led to classroom productivity and better understanding, when compared to the conventional mode of teaching,” says Vikram Jindal, the head of the Centre for Innovative Learning, at the university. IWBs are also being used to address one of the bigger concerns of higher education in India today—faculty crunch—and to deliver programmes over distant locations. Institutes such as Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) use IWBs to deliver lectures across its Goa and Pilani campuses. They are also being used with dedicated links to organise lectures for various companies in Bangalore through the BITS centre in Delhi.

TECHNOLOGY

what’s new i Power If you plan to buy a notebook today, you should know that the days of Core Duo and Core 2 Duo are over. What you will encounter, instead, are Intel’s new i3, i5 and i7 processors— increasing in speed and processing power with the model number. These processors are said to have a better graphic processing power that their predecessors. More specifically, the i3 is said to be a powersaving processor, the i5 a mid-segment processor, while the i7 is more suited for high-end workhorses.

USB 3.0 Is Here The first gadgets sporting the next generation of USB connectivity are now beginning to roll out. USB 3.0 will (theoretically) support 4.8 GBps speed, manage power much better than USB 2.0 and be backward compatible. It will also do something the previous versions didn’t—allow a simultaneous upload and download, both at high speeds.

Anyone For Twhistory? History, as we know, is actually made up of details and not just a string of large events. Understanding that a group of students, some from the Utah State University in the US, came together to start TwHistory.org, a project where Twitter is used to re-enact important historical events. Students tweet as historical figures, maintaining as much authenticity as possible—sometimes using real quotes— after researching historical diaries and other records. The re-enactment doesn’t just help those who tweet as these figures, but also those ‘following’ them.

February 2010 Edu Tech

TECHNOLOGY

Interactive White Boards

Many IWB brands are available in India, including Smart, Promethean, Hi t a c h i , C l a s u s , Pa n a s o n i c a n d Geneepower. Buying them, however, requires financial planning since, a single IWB could cost anywhere between Rs 60,000 and Rs 150,000 depending on the features and technology it offers. Again, with add-ons, (such as the projector, computer, software and accessories like pens), the cost could rise to a steep Rs 0.15 million for a standard IWB. Of course, there are less expensive portable interactive devices being offered by US-based brands like Mimio and Luidia that make conventional marker whiteboards mimic and behave like IWBs. These can meet the needs of the priceconscious buyers and are slowly gnaw-

ing at the market share of established and expensive IWBs. ICT Consultant Anand Chawla admits that while many institutions with budgetary constraints are demanding these products, they too, have their limitations as far as long-term use is concerned. His advice is that buyers should ascertain if the software being offered by the portable interactive device supports the content software and if the response time is normal. This means that the content appearing on board should follow the tip of the pen. Mohammed Ghouse, the manager (analyst and media) of the Indore-based Scientech Technologies, which markets Luidia products in India, claims that the modern portable interactive devices do not have such limitations. “They are

stop before you shop, ask: W hat will be the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) of IWBs? The calculation should include an estimate of costs incurred for retrofitting and additional hardware, which would mean installation, projectors, computers and cables; software compatibility and upgrades later; replacement of parts, maintenance, and durability; technical support an its concomitant costs; and professional development like on-site training, free training and ease of use W ould you prefer “resistive” technology, which means the whiteboard responds to hand pressure, rather than use a single pen, or pointer, which comes with the technology to interact with the board? Whiteboards offer different methods of interaction H ow easy is it to incorporate a broad range of multimedia Internet resources and classroom content into lesson plans using the whiteboard? I s the system compatible with the current softwares available for Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, or Linux? D oes the company offer Cloud computing support and security software? I s the product durable enough to sustain the normal wear and tear of the classroom, or would it require continuous air-conditioning, dust, heat and humidity control? W hat period of warranty does the company offer, especially when power fluctuations and resultant spikes can damage sensitive electronic equipment?

Edu Tech February 2010

light and offer portability to users, which means after finishing a lecture, the teacher can carry it to another classroom,” he explains. However, if the IWBs are to be used as a regular educational tool in classrooms, then institutions should plan for them. “Though IWBs are more expensive than portable interactive devices, their utility is better. Over a period of time, IWBs justify their higher costs,” feels Chawla. Jindal suggests that instead of installing the white board in all classrooms, an institute could consider pairing a couple of them with several conventional marker whiteboards using proper connectivity, server, Internet and projection facilities to impart a complete and an interactive education.

Selecting Right The first step towards the right purchase is by deciding the purpose of installing an IWB. There has to be a clarity on whether the focus is on quality education, or simply competing with other institutes. This will decide the nature, type and number of IWBs required. Only then should an the institute explore the brands and products available in the market. While IWB features for most brands are similar, technologies vary; The commonest are electromagnetic boards, where a mesh of electromagnetic wires is embedded behind a solid board surface. These wires interact with a coil on the tip of the pen (stylus) to determine the co-ordinate of the stylus. Though these boards are bulky, they offer an option of writing on them with a pen or any other pointer—including a finger. The pens are passive and alter electrical signals produced by the board, but do not contain batteries, or other power sources. Supporters of electromagnetic IWBs claim that the system is more accurate at emulating a mouse and offers a natural pen action that does not malfunction if a user leans on the board while writing. It also has an in-built ability to offer multiple input, using multiple pens. The other technology uses a combination of infra-red and ultrasound wave-

Interactive White Boards

receivers to track the location of the stylus (equipped with a transmitter), or a standard dry-erase marker in a transmitter-equipped sleeve. A separate receiver unit, attached to the edge of the whiteboard, determines the distance and direction of the transmitter pen. Since an electromagnetic circuit is not present behind the screen, these IWBs are light in weight and are easy to repair. Some variants come with Bluetooth tablets (that allows a teacher to move around the classroom, while writing on a Bluetooth tablet. The writing appears on the board), while others are desktop boards (which means that a teacher can command the IWB from his desktop). With rapid technological advancements, additional options like Wi-Fi connectivity, Net-meeting features, exporting data to other formats, and compatibility with operating systems such as Linux are being offered. The software accompanying most modern IWBs is equipped to support additional hardware and allows the device to function as a printer, scanner and as a digital camera. This means that while delivering a lecture, a teacher can scan or print any document with a click on the board. With the help of an additional document camera, the teacher can click a photograph of an object or textbook page and bring it instantly on the board.

Points To Check Before zeroing in on a specific tool, institutes should seek live demonstration from IWB brand vendors. Checklist should include established presence of the brand, software compatibility with programs that the institute intends to use, dealer’s authorisation to sell in India, training facilities provided by the company, durability of the board, service facilities and, of course, the price. A brand’s established international presence ensures that their products have proved themselves in a global market. And that it brings with it the latest innovative uses. The board’s compatibility, as well as the delear’s authorisation to sell here needs to be checked. The latter becomes important

TECHNOLOGY

IWB Suppliers ACCO www.acco.com

Plus Vision Corp. www.plus-america.com

Hitachi www.hitachi-soft.com

Polyvision www.polyvision.com

Luidia www.luidia.com

Promethean www.prometheanworld.com

Mimio www.mimio.com

Qomo Hitevision www.qomo.com

Numonics Corp. www.numonics.com

SMART Technologies Inc. www.smarttech.com

Panaboards www.panaboards.com

3M Visual Systems www.teamboard.com

as many companies directly import and sell products. “Most IWB companies do not provide after-sales support for products that have not been bought from authorised dealers in India,” warns Vipin Makkar, the business development manager for HCL Infosystems (an exclusive channel partner for Hitachi and Polyvision boards in India). Training is also important since an IWB brings in new technology. Brands like Hitachi organise two to three training sessions, of which one is delivered by an established international trainer. “Trainers usually hail from countries where IWBs have been installed successfully,” explains Rajesh Kumar Singh, the senior manager of Hitachi India TP Ltd. Durability is also critical, because electromagnetic boards have circuits behind screen membranes. Any damage to the screen leads to permanent nonfunctioning. However, there are some that work even if there is a hole on the screen as the boards are tougher. Still, availability of a service network and a clause to provide servicing should be insisted upon. Ordering in volume brings down per unit cost. Some products do not have advertised prices and vendors quote a price. “Negotiations can bring down prices by 30 to 40 percent,” says an official (who refused to be identified) from an institute that has installed IWBs on its campus.

ICT consultant Anand Chawla avers that IWBs represent a technological revolution similar to a computer and that it will not be long before all institutions have it in classrooms. UK-based Futuresource Consulting predicts that global installed base for IWBs would triple in the next five years to more than seven million pieces, with every fifth classroom having an IWB by 2013. Due to an eagerness to invest in this technology, markets like China and India are expected to witness growth rates of almost 150 percent. Experts are of the view that IWBs are an interface and it is the content which makes the real difference in a class room. One should not forget that the absence of proper content for teaching— through these IWBs—and lack of training (as far as both teachers and students were concerned) led to a wastage of 50 million pounds, when blackboards were replaced by IWBs in half of the classrooms in England in 2007. Sanjay Gupta, the head of the Centre for Research in Cognitive System (CRCS) at the NIIT University, aptly sums up by saying: “While technology and computer-assisted education is here to stay, teachers will have to go beyond the frills and create meaningful applications with the help of visualisation tools to achieve the goal of giving quality education through IWBs.” February 2010 Edu Tech

Viewpoint

Rishikesha T. Krishnan

Moving from Jugaad to Systematic Innovation

t has been almost 20 years since economic liberalisation started in India, yet industrial innovation is not one of our strong points. India ranks 58 out of the 82 countries on Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Innovation Index (a patent-based index) and 21 out of the 33 countries on Georgia Tech’s Technological Standing Index (based on high-tech exports). To make matters worse, by 2012 it is expected to move up a single notch in the EIU chart, while neighbour China is expected to top the Georgia Tech Index chart! Our poor performance could be attributed to an inability to move from the paradigm of Jugaad to systematic innovation. Jugaad is a solid approach for survival—a quick-fix here and a clever move there, helping improvisation. But, successful industrial innovation requires systematic innovation— planned, organisation-embedded strategies, processes and routines that enable continuous improvements in operational efficiency and creation of products and services that meet the changing need of users. Systematic innovation is a scalable process and arises with a synthesis of technology and customer insights. It needs teamwork, because contemporary industrial innovations are too complex to be created by an individual. It requires experimentation and involves a synthesis of theory and practice. Scalability of innovations comes from the use of scientific method and established engi-

Edu Tech February 2010

neering practices across the innovation chain. As I explained in my book From Jugaad to Systematic Innovation: The Challenge for India (available online at indiaplaza.in), India’s social, cultural, political and managerial barriers obstruct a systematic innovation culture. However, the situation can be redeemed by building a robust higher education system. I believe that industrial firm is the locus of innovation, but higher education provides two cardinal inputs—trained people and basic research. It can help innovation by improving the quality of both. A seven-point agenda can make this happen. Encourage Teamwork: Research (and Indian cricket!) shows that Indians are not strong team players. We believe in “individual brilliance” over “collective excellence”. Institutes need to boost team spirit among students by making them work collectively encompassing diverse disciplines, gender and problem-solving styles. Teamwork should be encouraged in academic and community projects and extra-curricular activities. In addition to the goal, students could be encouraged to reflect upon team processes such as leadership, communication and conflict resolution. Offer Design Projects: Design and innovation are skills that are learnt by doing. Engineering students should be encouraged to take up projects that use simulation in the design process, but result in working prototypes. Workshop facilities

Rishikesha T. Krishnan

need to be upgraded to facilitate conversion of designs into prototypes by collaborating with industrial training institutes and polytechnics. Encourage Open Ended Problem Solving: Most problem solving at college is close-ended. Students write algorithms that have been solved before. Laboratory experiments are conducted to get the “expected results” (find the known viscosity of a substance or “prove” that the acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 m/s2). As Rancho demonstrates in the Hindi blockbuster 3 Idiots, students of Indian engineering colleges rarely experience the excitement of discovery. Many US schools are overcoming this problem by allowing undergrads to work with the faculty in research teams. Use Government Support Efficiently: In recent years, the Centre has launched programmes to help engineering colleges upgrade infrastructure. Today there is a piquant situation where funds are chasing professors and schools. The World Bankfunded TEQUIP programme and the Ministry of Human Resources Development-funded programme for Modernisation and Removal of Technological Obsolescence have helped install new

Viewpoint

toral qualification in carer progression, almost every teacher signs up for a doctoral programme, but receives little support from supervisors. In private colleges, the curriculum pressure, barely allows the faculty to conduct independent work. Though colleges do consider research output for promotion, it is gauged in a mechanical way based on number of publications. As a result, even the best of faculty is forced to concentrate on quantity. A solution to this problem is not the imposition of norms on publication in refereed journals but a combination of skills upgradation, individual development plans and institutional support (through less pressure and access to mentors with quality research experience). Expose Students To Humanities: Innovation is not about technology alone. Understanding users’ needs and inventing products and services to meet those needs is crucial. Consumer behaviour is explained more by psychology than technology. There is no guarantee that the “best” technology will achieve the greatest acceptance; social, political, cultural and economic factors play a role in determining the future trajectory of a product.

ndustrial firm is the locus of innovation, but higher education provides two cardinal inputs— trained people and basic research

equipment primarily in publicly-funded institutions. TIFAC’s REACH programme brings together college, industry and the government to fund specialised infrastructure to boost masterlevel programmes. Generous research funding is available from the Department of Science and Technology. Engineering institutions should make use of available funds to enhance faculty and research quality. Stanford University (see my column in the December issue of EDU) provides an excellent example of how this can be done. Build Research Culture: None of the initiatives listed above will be successful unless issues related to faculty motivation, skills and incentives are addressed. My experience of working with teachers in Strategic Management Forum’s faculty development programmes has taught me that they are keen and enthusiastic. However, they lack research skills because they have not been trained. Increasingly, because of the importance of a doc-

Engineers who lack sensitivity to these issues that fall under the rubric of the humanities and social sciences can never be effective players in the systematic innovation process. Encourage Deliberate Practice: Incremental innovation or continuous improvement is as important as the innovation of new products and services. Continuous improvement can start with the individual. Recent studies, such as Geoff Colvin’s Talent is Overrated and Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, show how outstanding professionals cultivate a habit of deliberate practice throughout their careers. These professionals identify elements of performance that need to be improved, exercises that help them improve, and then practise relentlessly till results are achieved. Good coaches (or teachers) are critical to identification of these elements and exercises. Colleges should emphasise on the importance of such deliberate practice.

Rishikesha T. Krishnan Dr Krishnan is a professor of Corporate Strategy at IIM Bangalore. He has a MSc in Physics from IIT Kanpur, MS in EngineeringEconomic Systems from Stanford University, and a PhD from IIM Ahmedabad

February 2010 Edu Tech

Residences

by photos.com

Campus

Edu Tech February 2010

Residences

Campus

Beyond beds and Books Hostel life grows up Technological developments, growing student aspirations are driving new thinking in residential design

By Erica Lee Nelson

eye stoppers IIt Madras allotted an extra two feet of space for closets at girls’ hostels French Architectural firm Olgga Architects used 100 shipping containers to design an economical and sustainable student housing in Le Havre, France

hich is the period of life that you remember the most? C.N. Raghavendran, the partner at the Chennai-based architecture and engineering firm, CR Narayana Rao (CRN), says, “I spent five years as a student at IITKharagpur. If you ask me which was the best period of my life, I would say my time at the IIT.” Decades later, Raghavendran has had the opportunity to play an important role in shaping that experience for students across the country. His designs have transformed hostels at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras, Mahatma Gandhi University in Calicut (now Kozhikode), and at many more such campuses. “The hostel experience is important for students. It need not be fancy, but it needs to be memorable,” he remarks. February 2010 Edu Tech

Campus

Residences

Towards 21st Century Campus Housing

The Association of College and University Housing Officers-International (ACUHO-I) brought together students, faculty, hostel and facilities staff, campus administrators, financiers, architects, developers, vendors and designers, in 2008 , to collaborate on designing the hostels of the future. The participants established the following guiding concepts: Community: Student housing should “return to the core” of the campus and be integrated with non-academic activities. A hostel should have different spaces for different activities: i.e., a performance hall, a restaurant and a place of worship. While many activities can take place in a hostel building, certain areas must have restricted access and careful security. Sustainability: Building materials should be selected locally when possible. Hostels should use technology to reduce and monitor energy use. Hostel interiors should be built to easily reconfigure layouts to meet future needs, thereby reducing wastage of building materials. Alternative energy sources and building orientation vis-a-vis the morning and evening sun should be considered. Recycling should be encouraged by the building’s waste disposal features. Flexibility: Room layouts and furniture should be of a type that can be easily shifted to create public and private spaces when needed. Hallways should contain open spaces to encourage conversation. Different students have different needs and these should be reflected in room layouts (i.e., married students). Rooms should be easily accessible to students with disabilities. Technology: Hostels should feature technology that allows students personalise their space (i.e., adjusting lighting), connect their laptops and other devices wirelessly. A web community or site can be created to foster virtual participation in both academic and social lives. This list is only a brief explanation of the concepts identified by the project. For more information, please visit: http://www.21stcenturyproject.com/concepts.html

Edu Tech February 2010

Hiked land prices are starting to squeeze the ambitions of private campuses that do not have the benefit of government-provided land. Added to that is the trend of students increasingly opting for off-campus paying guest or apartment accommodations, says Shobha Mishra Ghosh, the director of education at Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Though these are often more expensive, students find more privacy and better services off-campus, Ghosh adds. A combination of these factors are pushing universities, both in India and overseas, to add amenities, innovate with design, and raise the bar. “In this global world, we have to provide a basic comfort that is available to all,” says Ghosh. The latest buzzword on campus is thus “community”: how to create it, sustain it and make sure students are included in it.

Privacy At A Premium Administrators and architects agree that today’s students have a set of expectations. “They look for better facilities. Whether they have it back at home is irrelevant,” says Raghavendran. Expectations range from 24-hour electricity, water and goes farther. When Manipal University Vice Chancellor Raj Warrier joined office 45 years ago, the best room on campus had an attached bathroom—shared by five. “Today’s students are sophisticated,” says Warrier, noting the demands for airconditioners and single-seat rooms. Though students may aspire to such amenities, a university knows that many may not be able to afford them. To meet diverse students’ needs, Manipal has evolved a tiered hostel system, in which room rates vary from Rs 34,000 (for a three-seat, non-air-conditioned room with common toilet) to almost Rs 190,000 a year (for a single room with separate study, kitchenette and attached toilet). Despite the high prices, Warrier clarifies that the university just manages to break even on hostel revenue. “India is a democratic country, we are a democratic university. It’s like anywhere. If you can afford it, you can get it,” he says. While FICCI’s Ghosh does not sub-

Residences

scribe to the practice of providing “hierarchies” of housing (making exclusions for married students or post-doctorals), she concedes that in a country as large as India, a variety of facilities are bound to come up. “I think the market can absorb the differences and there is room for all,” she says. Michael Schultz, the president of the US-based Association of College and University Housing Officers-International (ACUHO-I), reports a similar trend. More “apartment-style” dorms are being built with shared kitchens and living spaces. He says, “We are also seeing a trend towards privacy. Seventy-two percent of the space in the last building I inaugurated, comprised private bedrooms.”

Structure And Social Life With more students hailing from nuclear families, educators need to remember the importance of social interactions. Schultz has considered this issue, and comments, “There is always the dilemma of giving students what they want— privacy—and what helps them develop—community.” Amity University Chancellor Atul Chauhan agrees, pointing out that hostels allow students to “make friends and develop into personalities capable of independent judgment and competent to handle day-to-day pressures of life.” In CRN’s hostel designs for IITMadras, hostel buildings accommodating over 1,000 students each were broken down into large spaces. Rooms were built around these spaces, linked by hallways. Raghavendran explained that the spacious rooms encouraged social interaction and “could be used for assembly, lectures or entertainment.”

Fostering Communities One important aspect of building an effective campus community is making room for activities outside the classroom. Chauhan reports that Amity’s hostels (for over 8,000 students)provide yoga classes, a shooting range, a horse riding academy, a swimming pool and basketball, badminton, squash, volleyball and tennis courts at no extra charge. Some like Indian School of Business and

Campus

EXPERT SPEAK

Michael Schultz President, US-based Association of College & University Housing OfficersInternational (ACUHO-I)

Raj Warrier Vice Chancellor, Manipal University

“It is my belief that it is the student community on campus that brings life to the space, 24 hours a day, seven days a week”

“ We are very much driven by customer requirements... We got the students’ advice on what they needed”

Sharda University also offer on-campus recreational and housekeeping services. Not that students only focus on the fancy. When Nandita Badami, a secondyear MA student at Jawaharlal Nehru University, started her university and hostel hunt, her needs were practical. For Badami, a crucial factor was proximity. She calculated the time it would take her to walk to class with a laptop. “Certain cost-benefit analysis is required,” she admits.

Designing For Context But, a five-star facility is only one side of the coin. What does it take to build a hostel that is comfortable, but not necessarily fancy? Raghavendran, who set out to achieve a balance through his IITMadras designs, reports: Maximise space and avoid the cramped rooms of the past. Maintain a connection to green areas outside and the environment in general. Provide for ventilation. Create spaces that allow privacy, even in shared rooms. As hostels grow in vertical height,

ensure they do not look, or feel, intimidating. Consider parking facilities for motorcycles and bicycles. In his designs, Raghavendran incorporated large central courtyards to draw the city’s hot breeze away from buildings, and to create a relaxed space. Windows were on opposite walls to facilitate crossventilation. Beds were purposely placed in this path for cooling at night. An equal amount of planning went into the bathroom design. The fact that most hostel lavatories are shared, puts a premium on hygiene. CRN’s designs placed the toilets in either the east or west-facing portions of the building, enabling them to receive direct sunlight, which killed germs and helped the floor to dry quicker. The CRN team also interacted with 100-odd students and solicited their ideas while planning the hostel. The students’ first request was for a laundromat, as they were “tired” of washing in buckets. Their request compelled the management to look at the cost and, eventually, approve the feature. The second February 2010 Edu Tech

Campus

Residences

unique feature rose during consultations with the female students—extra closet space. “Girls require creative wardrobe space,” admits Raghavendran. An extra two feet of closet space was included in the girls’ rooms, in addition to the existing four feet.

EXPERT SPEAK

Space-Starved Campus While students may be getting larger closet spaces thanks to responsive designers, Indian universities are often short of real estate, especially in urban areas. To combat this scarcity urban US universities such as Emerson College (Boston), have done away with the classical notion of a campus and houses students, classrooms and libraries in buildings scattered across the city. While Columbia University in New York has a central campus, its 18 residence halls are spread across a 10-block radius. “The nature of an urban university, like Columbia, is that its facilities are an integrated part of Morningside Heights and New York City,” says Robert Hornsby, the director of media relations at Columbia. The campus allows for the “best of both worlds”. Students are able to enjoy the experience of NYC living, while being connected to a traditional campus environment. Indian colleges are also being forced to change their designs in response to land issues. According to Raghavendran, the average private college prefers to plan academic buildings first and preserve space for academic growth. Since facilities, such as labs, are hard to build across several floors, hostels are increasingly becoming the taller portions of campus.

Building Up Even a campus like IIT-Madras, with acres at its disposal, prefers to build its hostels vertically in order to preserve green space. Earlier, campus buildings were limited to two to three floors, plus the ground level. Now, Raghavendran says, plans are on to build seven floors (plus the ground level). Though taller, buildings are still not higher than 30 metres. This is due to a National Building Code of India norm that mandates extensive fire safety measures above that height, which can add significantly to

Edu Tech February 2010

C. N. Raghavendran Partner, CRN Architects

Atul Chauhan Chancellor, Amity

“the hostel experience is important for students. It need not be fancy, but it needs to be memorable”

“ We want students to focus on their studies in a stress free and peaceful environment, without missing their homes”

costs. Raghavendran estimates that high rises are 10 to 15 percent more expensive to construct than low-rise buildings. But, he points out, “The extra spent on buildings is a pittance compared to what is spent on land.”

Future Of Hostel Design With all the technological changes entering a student’s life, it is inevitable that hostels will change too (see box). The ACUHO-I held a conference and design contest in 2007-08 documenting innovative and winning ideas being implemented in campuses. The winning entry from Jonathan Levi Architects (JLA) of Boston, Massachusetts, featured a modular hostel filled with stackable rooms, fold-out beds and a one-piece sink and toilet. Jonathan Levi, the principal of JLA, explained, “Fixed arrangements imply boundaries and inhibit spontaneous adaptations to new forms of knowing and communicating. Flexible arrangements help blur boundaries and accommodate the spontaneous groupings needed to support change and invention.” Already some US campuses are installing beds that fold up into walls to save space. Rice University, in Houston, Texas, used pre-fabricated bathroom

“pods” made of sustainable materials to reduce the construction costs. Many universities now offer full Wi-Fi connectivity—a development that has led to new thinking about room design such as interactive, smart-media walls in rooms. Another winning design in the ACUHO-I contest was by a group of young professionals from the US and China, which worked under the direction of senior architects of Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company in Norfolk, Virginia. The team’s design, with movable, shutter-like walls, allowed students to create their private and public spaces within an existing building. They wrote that the future hostel is “about students’ new way of living and learning, about the impact of new technologies, about new methods of exchange, and new social relationships in an everchanging information age.” Perhaps in this case, the journey and the destination are one and the same.

What’s Online To read more stories on Campus go to the EDU website www.edu-leaders.com Write in your views and opinions about the stories in this magazine or on any other issues relating to higher education. Send them to the Editor, EDU at editor@edu-leaders.com

Edu Tech December 2009

Viewpoint

Dheeraj Sanghi

The Curious Case of Deemed Universities

inistry of Human Resources and Development’s (MHRD) decision to de-recognise 44 deemed Indian universities, pending in the Supreme Court, has turned the spotlight on the autonomy system; especially on the three-point process adopted to establish a deemed institute in this country. The model that an average Indian university follows—a federal structure of management with colleges being affiliated to a university, and the latter controlling the academic processes, curricula and examinations— has been discarded in almost every other part of the world. The system disregards students’ feedback, as the university continues to shroud the examination process in a blanket of secrecy, appoints anonymous groups of teachers to set and examine question and answer papers. Admission criteria, tuition fee, faculty qualifications and laboratory equipment are decided by a university as well. But, the process does not entail accountability, as colleges and university indulge in a blame game for the poor state of affairs.

Deemed Dilemma In India, a university can be established through an Act passed in the Parliament, or in the State Legislature, and through an “executive decision” taken by the MHRD. While central institutes (such as an IIT) are established through parliamentary Acts, state universities, including private ones, are a

Edu Tech February 2010

state legislature’s responsibility. On its part, the MHRD can declare an institute to be “equivalent to a university” based on recommendations of University Grants Commission (UGC) after which an institute becomes a deemed-to-be-university or deemed university. MHRD’s de-recognition decision has ruffled a few feathers and thrown up questions related to this executive decision. To answer the questions, one needs to consider a scenario where the option is not available. It is natural for a college, providing quality education for decades, to demand academic autonomy. When it does, should Parliament debate on such a demand, and if yes, for how long? Parliament has steered clear off such decisions in the past 60 years. When it comes to such decisions, track records of state governments and legislatures are blemished—most have sat on the autonomy issue for months, even years. If India is to set up thousands of technical and medical hubs, as it plans to do, informed debates on each and every one of them, either in Parliament or legislatures, seems implausible. Executive action is indispensable. For now, the Centre is mulling a super-regulator, merging functions performed by UGC and AICTE, to monitor the establishment process. Though guidelines are not clear yet, the new system may ask newly-formed universities to “report” before Parliament. But, if the Parliament will not debate each addition, then such a move has limited value.

Dheeraj Sanghi

Status System Snags While there is no doubt that bodies such as AICTE and UGC need an image makeover, the snag—in our accreditation and establishment system—needs to be identified first. At a personal level, I believe that the overall problem has been exaggerated. Interestingly, in the past five years, approximately 50 institutes received the deemed university status. Between 2008-2009, eight new IITs were set up, while in the previous 50 years, only six were established. It seems that for the first 50 years the Centre was not preoccupied by Gross Enrollment Rare (GER), till it began to fire all its cylinders—establishing IITs, NITs, IISERs, central and innovation universities. Even state governments began permitting a number of private universities and approved a number of deemed universities. It is being implied that the rate at which universities are being deemed, and new ones are being set up, is mala fide. However, fact remains that India still has a low GER. And, more schools, colleges and universities are needed. If it is found that institutes have resorted to unfair

Viewpoint

Is there any reason to believe that the presence of family members in the administrative or the managerial rank necessarily leads to poor quality of education in an institute? An associated argument goes on to stress that often the “appointed relative” does not have a background in the field of education. But, are all IAS officers—appointed as vice chancellors or registrars by the government—experts in education? The government has also slammed institutions for hiking fees substantially, especially after receiving the deemed status. However, a closer look would reveal that most institutions opted for this alleged (and, according to the government, unfair) hike more out of necessity, than to make profit. Ideally, a college is supposed to have a facultystudent ratio close to 1:20 (the standard being 1:15). While running an institute, 35 percent of expenses go into recruiting and retaining a faculty. A quick analysis reveals that the combined sum of the tuition fees of five to six students go into the remuneration of a single teacher—especially, since the sixth pay commission report rec-

sudden increase in number of deemed universities is no reason to assume that all of them provide poor quality education

means to obtain the deemed status, then a probepunishment-penalty system should be used. However, a rise in the number of deemed universities is no reason to suspect that all of them provide poor education.

A Way Out? The government recently slammed several Indian universities for possessing “poor” infrastructure—a declaration I find surprising. The MHRD-appointed committee, sitting at New Delhi, interacted with a vice chancellor for 20 minutes to arrive at a truth that escaped a UGC team, consisting of experienced professors, that visited these campuses for three days, before the ministry made its assessment. The Centre has also slammed some universities for their “nepotism”. But, is it not true that a number of family-owned Indian businesses are doing extremely well, globally?

comends a further boost to teachers’ salaries. So, a college either has to be creative to survive—or, it has an option to charge for the quality it offers. According to reports filed by National Assessment and Accreditation Council, most deemed universities do provide quality education. The process for granting deemed university status in this country is reasonably robust, admittedly sometimes the process fails due to human greed—as does any other process. In such a scenario, the government should identify the exceptions. More importantly, the government should not discriminate between institutions on the basis of their ownership pattern. If the Centre is serious about maintaining the quality of India’s universities, it should set up a benchmark of quality—applicable to all institutions irrespective of ownership. If it results in closure of government institutions as well, then so be it.

Dheeraj Sanghi Dr Sanghi is the director of Laxmi Narayan Mittal Institute of Information Technology, Jaipur. He is currently on leave from IIT Kanpur, where he is a professor of computer science. He has a BTech in computer science from IIT Kanpur and an MS and PhD from University of Maryland, USA

February 2010 Edu Tech

PROFILE

V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai

fact file Name: V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai

things he likes: Book: Kalam By M.T. Vasudevan Nayar Music: Carnatic vocal, especially Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagvatar Food: Home cooked Holiday destination: Lausanne Pastime: Listening to musicÂ Awards and achievements: Presidential Gold Medal at the Indian Science Congress:2008 Triennial National MV Pylee Award for Top Academician of India:2007 RR Varma Foundation Best Teacher Award:2006 Indian Chemical Society Award For life-long research achievements in chemical sciences:2005 Research Society of India Lecture Award:1996

For The Love Of Learning The concept of innovation excited V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai enough to make him abandon a government job to pursue research

By Smita polite

Edu Tech February 2010

s a boy of four V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai got goose bumps every time he travelled to schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;an open space underneath a tree in the small village of Chengannur in Kerala. Pillai was a student in a newly independent India, where amenities were hard to come by. He remembers sitting on the floor in front of his teacher, tracing Malayalam alphabets on sand that he would carry in his school satchel. The day he perfected his first alphabet, his teacher engraved it on a palm leaf with a thin, iron rod. On his way back home through the lush paddy fields of Kerala, an ecstatic Pillai plucked some leaves and crushed them over the engraved letter to make it shine clearly. It was the most beautiful letter he had ever seen.

by DR Lohia

Current engagement: Vice Chancellor Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, and Chairman of Distance Education Council Date of birth: 20 October, 1949

V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai

This boy, with a fondness for schools, grew up to be an extraordinary student, and eventually, the vice chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi, and the chairman of the Distance Education Council (DEC). Years may have passed, but the eager student in him has refused to grow old. Brought up in a traditional agricultural family, Pillai was the youngest of six children. But, academics was important. “My father decided to send me to a college 10 kilometre from my village,” Pillai remembers. When he completed his masters from Kerala University, he was offered a job as a junior lecturer at a government college. It was an honourable offer made to only 10 candidates across Kerala, but Pillai had other plans.

Research And Innovation “The concept of research excited me and I settled for it full-time with a scholarship of Rs 250,” he reminisces. “I was unaware that PhD was the first step towards research. I had imagined that I would be engaged in scientific discovery or invention almost as soon as I started,” he adds with a smile. It was this desire, that led him to a unique gram-scale preparation of biologically important peptides—for which he holds an international patent and which is an integral part of a Swiss research company. “Innovation cannot be prescribed, and discoveries do not happen overnight. It needs diligence, focus and commitment. In the first few years of my career, I was in a government college. At that point the lab assistants did everything—even lighting burners. When I went to Germany for post-doctoral research, I was surprised, as the concept of lab assistants did not exist there. A 78-year-old Nobel laureate was also working at the same lab and he would enter with a shopping cart of chemicals that he had picked up in a local mart,” says Pillai. That memory stayed with him. To this day, Pillai’s style is hands-on. As a teacher and a research guide he made sure that his students accompany him to seminars and expositions. In the several administrative roles that

he has held (he was the vice chancellor of universities, chairman and vice chairman of University Grants Commission, director of National Assessment and Accreditation Council and founder director of School of Chemical Sciences) he has ensured that he takes inputs not only from institution heads, but from teachers and students as well, to initiate course changes. In early 1990s, Pillai became the VC of Mahatma Gandhi University at Kottayam in Kerala. He was one the youngest VCs of the state. “I had never imagined such an honour and was happy doing research. However, the responsibility made me realise that only a strong

PROFILE

leadership the university earned the distinction of being the world’s largest with a student base of almost three million. The university also introduced initiatives inviting feedback from students online, to bring in accountability. “I am not shy of experimenting and the university is a place where I look for new ideas,” says Pillai. “Unfortunately, in the past 39 years of my experience in the academic field, the system is becoming increasingly rigid. We need to become flexible and promote independent initiatives,” he emphasises. Pillai clarifies that it is not the system that is at fault alone. “We make the system. It is up to us to make it work. Rules

“We need to become flexible and promote independent initiatives” teacher or a researcher can become a strong administrator.” It was not just the academic world that benefited from Pillai’s thirst for knowledge. Some of that thirst rubbed off on his family. Wife Dr P. Geetha is an English professor and the director of the Centre For Women’s Studies at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Sanskrit University, New Delhi. Son P. Balanarayan is a CSIR senior research fellow at Pune University, while daughter Dr P. Gayathri teaches biology at Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore.

Opening Up Education When Pillai joined IGNOU in 2006, he had already experimented with technology to enable learning. However, it was at IGNOU that he explored technology’s true potential. Under Pillai’s

provide the framework; every teacher should have the ability to contextualise and then change it, if need be.” For this seasoned academic and scientist, knowledge and skills are the “text” of education. “If you want to apply the text of knowledge to society, then you have to understand the context of society, which is dynamic. Once, when I talked about the text and context at a convocation, a student walked up to me and pointed out that there were no such concepts, and that there were only tests and contests in present day scenario. He was right,” laughs Pillai. In his role as a leader at IGNOU, Pillai is committed to make learning more open, joyful and flexible so that others can experience the beauty of learning, as he once did, walking through the green fields in Kerala. February 2010 Edu Tech

classic thinking Book Review

Turnaround Leadership for Higher Education An in-depth look at leadership and classroom problems, and a discussion of solutions Turnaround Leadership explores the culture of leadership and change in the education sector, and its effect on students and teachers alike; especially focusing on the technology-driven generation. S. Cox’s 1995 definition of “turnaround leadership” mentions “confronting, reconciling and fulfilling disparate aspirations through unifying experiences and win-win scenarios; and doing this against clear, explicit, and widely-shared criteria on what constitutes a civil society”. According to authors Fullan and Scott, the concept is also applicable to educational institutions. The book identifies problems in the classrooms, explains the “correct” state, offers solutions and strategies to achieve change. The primary focus is on how universities should put the teaching-learning process above everything else. Authors argue that: “...the importance of the new centrality of teaching and learning is that it will engage students in productive learning, retain them to degree completion, and result in better graduates.” While the book largely talks about the American system, its solutions may be relevant to the Indian scenario, as well.

Author: Michael Fullan, Geoff Scott Publisher: Jossey-bass

The Republic Plato’s The Republic, a Socratic dialogue on governance and justice, also takes an in-depth look into matters related to pedagogy. It outlines three main types—warrior-guardian, philosopher-king and pedagogical education. Interestingly, many hail The Republic as the strongest insight into Socrates’ (who also happened to be Plato’s teacher and is the former’s mouthpiece in this book) vision of education. In an ideal state “guardians” keep a city safe for which they require extensive training (read: education) that makes them “fierce with enemies and gentle with familiars”. Such education entails a training in music and gymnastics, with a focus on morality. The book goes on to praise the philosopher-king school of thought with its emphasis on “absolute” knowledge of the morals as a more complete form of learning. The philosopher-kings’ education aims the attainment of four virtues (courage, moderation , justice and wisdom) and includes the greatest and most beneficial study: that of “the good”. Knowledge of the good is the ultimate virtue; without it the attainment of other virtues is impossible. To fulfill all the requirements of education a philosopher-king would require fifty years of training.

Author: Plato (Available free on Project Gutenberg)

Price: Rs 1,788 (March 2009)

New releases Assessment Clear and Simple

College Men and Masculinities

After the success of the first edition that outlined assessment processes for educational institutions, the second version includes strategies that help meet accreditation requirements and chalks out a basic plan that is cost-effective and simple.

The book contains research involving undergraduate male students and inspects popular behaviour in institutions. It focuses mainly on questions of identity, development and deviance. It also includes strategies for educators and faculty, applicable in an Indian scenario.

Author: Barbara E. Walvoord Publisher: Jossey-Bass Price: US$ 30 (April 2010)

Author: Shaun R. Harper, Frank Harris III Publisher: Jossey-Bass Price: US$ 65 (March 2010)

Edu Tech February 2010

timeout

Gizmos

Apple of my i Will the Apple iPad change the face of video watching, just as the iPod has changed the way we listen to music? The Apple iPad, launched after months of speculation, packs in a range of features offering a gamut of services—songs, video, games, Internet, e-books, maps, contact lists, calendar, mail, diary and more. Apple’s design prowess ensures that the mini-marvel’s minimalist design is also supremely functional. Though fans may complain that the iPad is a close cousin of the iPod Touch (with a larger screen), an iPad packs an impressive list of e-books that Apple procured after extensive dialogues with publication houses. It sports a multi-touch, LED, back-lit screen which flashes the keyboard when needed. Processing is handled by a 1GHz ‘A4’ chip and the gadget comes in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB memory versions. Connectivity is over Wi-Fi and/or 3G. The iPad will be available worldwide from late March or April, 2010.

Price: Wi-Fi versions: US$ 499 for 16 GB, US$ 599 for 32 GB and US$ 699 for 64 GB

gADGETS Close Comfort Think of a projectoraided presentation, and an image of the machine’s light on the presenter’s face flashes up, especially if the gadget is not placed at a comfortable distance. The ultra-short throw projector, Hitachi CP-A100, can cure such this problem. Ideally suited for small rooms, the gadget can be placed four inches from the screen to project a 60-inch image. Adaptable and neatly packed, with all connector points at one side, it can be placed on a table or mounted on a wall.

Price: Rs 99,000

Silent Zones For the traveller on the move, there is no bigger blessing than the active noisecancelling headphones to block off ambient noise. Previously, there were only two models (Bose and Sennheiser) available in the Indian market. Now, Philips, has entered the scene with its SHN9500. With circum-aural cups that engulf your ears, the headphones do a pretty good job. For an audiophile these might not be good enough, but for most people, the SHN9500 delivers.

Price: Rs 5,999

Delectable Chocolate

Lug It, Play It

From one design wonder to another. The new LG Chocolate BL40 is the ebony to iPad’s ivory. As far as looks are concerned (including interface, screen and overall design) it offers a delightful, and a surprisingly thin package. Its 4-inch wide AMOLED screen offers a 21:9 aspect ratio and rich colour. It has a capacitive touch-screen, making it super-sensitive, though it doesn’t take stylus inputs. The keypad is onscreen, with well-spaced keys in a landscape mode. However, the feature takes up space. The Chocolate has a 5 megapixel camera, Google maps, games and applications, including a social networking site.

The Iomega ScreenPlay HD 500GB multimedia drive, is for playing movies, music and slideshows on TV, bypassing the computer. Apart from the USB, ScreenPlay also supports HDMI, though it doesn’t come with a HDMI cable. Find out more at http://bit.ly/ ceeXO8

Price: 27,200

Price: 15,000 February 2010 Edu Tech

Perspective Satya Narayanan R

Chairman , Indus World School of Business

Nation’s Success Lies In Its Intellectual Capital And Education Considering education pays high dividends, government should make the sector a priority—allowing tax exemptions, corporate presence and better planning

ducation as a concept that exists both at a macro, and at a micro level. For an individual, it involves self-introspection and, at a macro level, it is about building a nation.

Social Myopia A common administrative belief is that education pays low dividends; its expenditure incurred exceeds return—a belief that I must label as myopic. I remember reading a report, published a decade ago, establishing that the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) for government investments was highest in the education sector, which made it higher than what is achieved from road and port tolls, from building ships, or setting up steel plants. The data did not surprise me. Education plays a cardinal role in the nation-building and (as the above example shows) economic process. Thus, policies involving pedagogy should be holistic. Ideally, five to six per cent of India’s GDP should be set aside for education, as a first-line item, before budgetary planning every year. For a nation, investment into higher education pays back in a shorter period of time. However, to get these “dividends” (and, I do not imply only economic ones), a few pointers need to be kept in mind.

1. Enabling Access Our collective idea of higher education is coloured by the existence of IITs and

Edu Tech February 2010

IIMs. Without a doubt, these are excellent seats of learning, however, we need to see the gulf separating the two main realities in India—over 82 percent of school students drop out before they reach Class VIII, while seven percent of the population opt for higher education. We must accept that not all our students will make it to an IIT or an IIM. The route to higher education has to be made accessible with more polytechnics, community colleges, open enrollment schools and ITIs—so that even an ordinary student can dream big. While most countries have built a system to address this problem, we have not.

Inclusion of the corporate sector in higher education could help make the millions required to rescue our colleges and universities from doom, along with a tax break for 10 years for all income derived from this sector.

2. Corporate Push

4. Society In Sync

India needs an immediate classroom revolution (much on the lines of the Green Revolution) that would entail more than just curriculum change. All factors of this sector—funds, policies, regulations and taxation—need to be reevaluated.

Research-wise, we still appear to be enamoured with the West. Applied research needs to focus more on India and adjoining regions. Specialised centres—IITs and IIMs—should develop a deeper connect with the society, focusing on knowledge creation and developing solutions. With better planning, tax exemption and corporate presence, Indian schools can compete with the world’s best and improve its own reality. All we need is a visionary who would lead us to the path of learning and light.

The route to higher education must be made easy-to-access with more polytechnics, ITI And community colleges

3. Bring In The best Simply put, success of a nation lies in her higher education strategy. Plugging the brain drain should be an immediate concern for the government. Again, (corporate and government) funds would be required to attract the best professors, researchers and human talent and stop the intellectual migration to the west.

Satya Narayanan R. completed his bachelor’s degree from St Stephen’s College, New Delhi. From there he moved to the Indian Institute of Management at Bangalore. He is the founder and chairman of Career Launcher. He recently announced plans to launch a B-school— Indus World School of Business