The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Postgraduate programme through `virtual classrooms'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 06, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Postgraduate programme through `virtual classrooms'

Special Correspondent

XIMB will offer a one-year programme in business management, using Reliance's platform

CHENNAI: Effective July 31, India's first postgraduate programme through "virtual classrooms", spread over 100 cities, will begin by optimally using the 240 Reliance Web World outlets.

The Reliance Infocomm; the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar (XIMB); and a Chennai-based software and service provider company, Blueshift, are bringing this innovative Information Technology initiative.

Giving details of the new partnership initiative as a major step in the distance learning in the country on Wednesday, Sarup Chowdhary, CEO of Reliance Web World, told mediapersons through video-conferencing from Mumbai that under the tripartite agreement, the XIMB would offer a one-year postgraduate certificate programme in business management, using Reliance's platform. Unlike the satellite-based technology, this medium offered real-time, multi-way audio and visual presence of the professor and the students. Those who miss the class could catch up with the video recording on demand at the Web Worlds.

Prospectus

Fr. E. Abraham, Director of XIMB, said distribution of prospectus would be done through the Web World outlets and the first batch would commence on July 31. It would have 240 hours of virtual classroom and 60 hours of campus education. The course fee was Rs. 1,80,000 which could be paid directly to XIMB through three instalments. The eligibility was a three-year Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in any discipline recognised by the Association of Indian Universities as eligible for postgraduate studies in management. The on-line registration would end on May 15.

"We are delighted to be a part of distance learning to include the excluded. This represents one more way in which we bring technology to educational processes," said Sankaran Raghunathan, Chairman, Blueshift.

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