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Those students who wish to join the BPO sector which is developing at a very fast pace, they can now have the required training in the school itself.

This comes in the wake of the introduction of the special course related to BPO which will start in class 11^th when the session reopens. This action is being taken in Ranchi in Bihar where all CBSE schools are providing this course to the students free of cost to make them fare better in the fast-growing BPO world.

The program is called the Business Processing and Outsourcing Programme and is available for the students of the commerce stream. The main focus of this course would be on various facets of BPO which include advertising, technical up gradation, customer relation management, customer satisfaction. In addition to the theory, it is also proposed that students will be taken on sites of call centres to provide them training in practice as well. Just after completing their Plus Two examinations, the students will be able to take up this upcoming profession.

This course has been developed to give the students a career option which they can take up right after school. It has been developed by the curriculum development committee under the chairmanship of G.C. Sharma who is the director of BLB Institute of Financial Markets. Framework of the course and also the learning tools has been developed by the Central Institute of Vocational Education.

There has been seen an increase in the multi-national companies like ADP, IBM Global Services, Accenture, Convergys, etc which have developed the BPO sector. Also, there are many Indian companies too which are big names that have proven their presence in the market. These include WNS Global Service, Genpact, ICICI OneSource, etc. which provide a good opening for students in the BPO sector. These would provide a good platform for the encashment of their job skills in which they have been trained beforehand.

With the changing perspective of society and therefore of the students, the need of upgrading education has finally been met with. Central Board of Secondary Education has now decided to introduce more career-oriented courses this session onwards. These courses will help the students choose more specific fields of study which will be a great eye-opener for specific key skills and interest that they have.

After experimenting with a new course of Financial Markets planning in eleventh standard curriculum, the CBSE has decided over a few other courses as well which will be introduced in the forthcoming session. These courses include ‘Human Rights and Gender Studies’, ‘Heritage Crafts’, ‘Film and Media Studies’, ‘Visual Arts and Graphic Designing’, ‘Art Appreciation’ etc. These courses are being designed with assistance from the National Council of Educational Research and Training and would cater to the professional outlook of the students for their future. A phased format is being thought over to introduce these courses and very soon they would be a part of the curriculum prescribed for the +1 and +2 levels.

39 participants have enrolled themselves in an exclusive programme that will be held at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad — IIM-A. The basic ideology is to improve upon the skills needed for formulating better public policies. This postgraduate programme is also called the PGP-PMP and the core of its students are government servants. This initiative is aimed at addressing the need for better public management among the government employees. In fact, there is discussion in the Administrative Reforms Commission of diverting civil services towards the private sector too. This also marks the coming together of the government and corporate sectors.

Indira Gandhi National Open University — IGNOU has introduced a new course related to the study of environment called the ‘Appreciation Course on Environment’. This course would be offered from the session beginning in January 2009. The course would be enriched with technological inputs like use of multimedia and would be developed in partnership with the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The course is aimed towards increasing environmental awareness and updating professionals in this regard including engineers, doctors, planners and in general, the citizens who are committed to the cause of environment and its conservation.

Eligibility for seeking admission to this course is graduation from a recognized university. The duration is only of three months and the language medium would be both in English and Hindi. The prospectus/admission information can be sought from —

Registrar SR&D, IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi – 68.

Hyderabad is on the verge of getting an international civil aviation university. Concordia University of Canada would be setting up the aviation-themed University. In all probability, the University would start offering its various courses in 2009. The campus would be set-up around 2010 in India’s first aerospace-oriented special economic zone in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.

It has been proposed that it will be called the International Civil Aviation University (ICAU). The project would seek investment in the range of $40 to 50 million. The University’s initial programmes would include B.Sc. Mechanical Engineering, M.Sc. Aeronautical Engineering, B.Sc. Aviation Management, M.Sc. Air Transport Management and Aviation MBA. The University would span across Hyderabad, Montreal and Toulouse.

IT education is about to get a major boost in Chennai, especially for the unprivileged women as Young Women’s Christian Association, YMCA has started in a school for IT education in cooperation with the Tamil Nadu State Social Welfare Board, TNSSWB and Satyam Foundation. The first batch of women would be inducted in a 3-month computer course. Satyam Foundation has provided 100 computers for this noble cause. This IT course is unique as it is solely aimed at social upliftment. The students would seek further assistance when seeking a job. Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation, TIIC has been enrolled to provide assistance for the students seeking employment.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, ICAI will be soon launching a Certificate Course on Valuation. The course would be targeted at its members who are presently/potentially in Valuation, Cross Border Transactions and Strategic Financial Management. The new course is bound to upgrade the knowledge and competency level of ICAI’s members.

The course would feature numerous case studies across various sectors like banking, insurance, manufacturing, private equity and infrastructure. The course is due to be conducted at major metros like New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and possibly a few non-metro cities. The Corporate Laws Committee would assist in providing the faculty for teaching the contents of the new certification course.

GGSIPU, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, has introduced a new course — Master of Education (M.Ed.) Programme. The new course will be offered as a part of the University School of Education at the University’s Kashmere Gate campus. The new course would be of one-year duration and is recognized by the NCTE — National Council for Teacher Education. It would begin with an initial intake of just 25 students. The fee for the course is Rs. 38,000 and the students would be enrolled through an entrance examination.

Eligibility Criteria — graduates and post-graduates from a recognized university, in any discipline, who have already qualified for the B.Ed. examination with a minimum of 60% each in theory and practical examination.

An urban consultancy firm endeavours to provide special courses in the construction industry. The ideology behind this initiative is to provide quality education in coherence with the needs of the construction industry.

The Aryama Institute of Technology, AIT is recognized by the Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC). It would provide dual degree programmes for engineering students pursuing post-graduation. Those who have qualified for SSC or CIDC certified courses would be allowed to seek admission to the 3-year course through an entrance exam.

The institution will extend its training to lawyers, CAs and economics graduates concerned with the construction sector and even extend the training to workers like welders, electricians, masons, carpenters and plumbers. The Institute plans to begin with five post-graduate diplomas — each of one month duration. Other courses that would be offered include:

· Construction Risk Management

· Project Export

· Construction & Industrial Dispute Resolution

· Construction Management & Administration

· Trenchless Technology

The Indira Gandhi National Open University, IGNOU has once again pioneered the cause of making education more accessible and has launched an online diploma programme in the study of Acupuncture. This is perhaps the first time that a medical diploma is being offered online. However, the students would be assisted with contact classes for practical training purposes.

The course is due to commence from November, 2008. The programme would have to be completed in a minimum period of 1 year and a maximum period of 3 years. The curriculum has been set up in collaboration with the Institute of Acupuncture & Natural Medicines, IANM, New Delhi. The programme would be available to medical graduates from various streams including those from allopathy, ayurveda and homeopathy. This initiative from IGNOU makes sense as the requirement for professional acupuncturists is growing by the day.

The finance students of Delhi University, DU are on the verge of gaining from an exceptional training programme. These students would get the opportunity of trading in commodities before they pass out from the University. This development comes about due to the collaboration between the Department of Financial Studies, DFS and National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited or NCDEX. However, the students aren’t going to incur any losses for the traders as they would be allowed to indulge in mock trading only.

To take this initiative further, the DFS has gone a step ahead and offered two non-credit courses to the students of M.Sc. (Mathematics) and that too absolutely free-of-cost. A new syllabus for the Master of Finance & Control Programme has also been developed. The revised curriculum will be implemented from the next academic session.

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has launched a new Post Graduate Certificate Course in Project Management (PGCPM). The course has been launched by the university in association with the Centre of Excellence in Project Management and Project Management Associates.

The course aims to equip engineering graduates and professionals with necessary skills to better manage the projects and to create better syncing between the teams.