2.15 lakh learners to receive degrees on Convocation Day

New Delhi: IGNOU will host the 22nd ConvocationCeremony at Sanchar Kendra at the IGNOUHeadquarters on April 2, 2011

Nearly 2.15 lakh students will receive degrees/diplomas with 78 gold medallists across the nation. Nearly 6,628 students from Delhi will receive degrees/diplomas with 12 gold medalists from the capital itself. Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal will be the chief guest at the ceremony.

All students who have passed their Master, Bachelor and Diploma examinations held in December 2009 and June 2010 are eligible for award of degrees/ diplomas.

A committee for Liaison, Transport and Accommodation etc. constituted by the Vice Chancellor resolved that five mini buses and 20 Gramin Sewa vehicles would be engaged for providing transportation to the students and guests who attend the 22nd convocation. The pick-up points will be Saket Metro Station and Saket (Traffic Court, Near Anupam Apartment).

Students who have registered for getting their degree certificates in person at convocation will be eligible to attend the convocation at New Delhi and at the respective regional centres. The main function will be held at New Delhi for award of gold medals, degrees and diplomas to eligible students and simultaneously at its regional centres at Ahmedabad, Aizawl, Agartala, Aligarh, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Cochin, Chandigarh, Darbhanga, Dehradun, Guwahati, Gangtok, Hyderabad, Itanagar, Imphal, Jammu, Jaipur, Jabalpur, Karnal, Khanna, Kolkatta, Koraput, Kohima, Lucknow, Madurai, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Port Blair, Pune, Panaji, Raipur, Rajkot, Ranchi, Shillong, Shimla, Siliguri, Srinagar, Trivandrum, Varanasi and Vijaywada through teleconferencing mode.

source:http://www.indiaedunews.net/Today/2.15_lakh_learners_to_receive_degrees_on_Convocation_Day_13792/

IGNOU to introduce short-term Russian course

The India Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) would soon be introducing a short-term Russian language and culture course, an official said.

IGNOU's School of Foreign Languages (SOFL) has collaborated with the Russian Centre of Science and Culture (RCSC) here to introduce the two-month course, the official said.

According to RCSC's deputy director (Culture & Information) Yelena Shtapkina, the Russian language taught in many universities of the world is not up to the Russian standard. As a result, the candidate has to pass an additional test to qualify for a job, she said.

RCSC is ready to facilitate appropriate teaching of Russian language to meet the requirements by providing native teachers to IGNOU under mutually agreed upon terms and conditions.

"Classes would be held twice a week on Fridays and Tuesdays in the campus and it has been made compulsory for all faculty members of SOFL and will also be offered to all faculty members and officers of IGNOU," said SOFL director G. Chaudhuri.

source:http://www.indiaedunews.net/Delhi/IGNOU_to_introduce_short-term_Russian_course_13688/

IGNOU announces 2 new courses in gender, women's studies

Celebrating the centenary of the International Women's Day, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has announced new programmes in gender and women's studies.

The university had organized a day-long function at the IGNOU campus on March 8 to celebrate International Women's Day.

The new programmes include development of a project to be converted into Certificate/Diploma in Gender and Nutritional Security, Certificate/Diploma in Gender & Labor and Certificate/Diploma in Gender in Cinema.

Other new programmes in design and development stage include Certificate/Diploma programmes in Gender & Law, Gender & Science and GenderAgriculture & Sustainable Development.

"When we look at the relation between education and women empowerment, we find that several kinds of social evils, like female feticide, dowry, etc., are still prevalent in the society. There is an urgent need to critically look at the sort of education provided to women today," said Vice Chancellor V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, while inaugurating the celebrations at the Convention Centre.

The occasion was hosted by the School of Gender and Development Studies (SOGDS), in association with the IGNOU Committee Against Sexual Harassment (ICASH), School of Humanities (SOH), School of Translation Studies and Training (SOTST) and School of Performing and Visual Arts (SOPVA).

The celebrations included a painting exhibition, a musical prelude, a street play (by the students of SOPVA) and a seminar on 'Feminist Writings In Indian Literature' eulogizing the importance of women in the society.

"Marking a date in the calendar as International Women's Day started in the year 1911. Today, the entire IGNOU community celebrates 100 years of great aspirations, which have remained undiminished," said SOGDS Director Prof Savita Singh.

While delivering a lecture on 'Women's Writing in Kannada', Prof U.R. Ananthamurthy, Chair Professor, Tagore Chair for Indian Literature, IGNOU, distinctly differentiated between the way women are treated in classical and folk literature.

"You have to see how certain things are preserved. Many other Indian languages were influenced by Sanskrit when it was in decline. Later writers used to develop only 'alankars', which were meaningless most of the times. What was decadent in Sanskrit became alive in Indian languages," he said.

SOTST Director Prof K. Satchidanandan elucidated his thoughts on 'Women's Writing in Malayalam' by remembering renowned English author Virginia Woolf's famous work 'A Room of One's Own'.

Quoting the author, Prof Satchidanandan said, "Had Shakespeare been a woman, he wouldn't have become Shakespeare. It is because he wouldn't have traveled London, as traveling was very difficult for women during those times; he wouldn't have got acquainted with people and thus would have never acted."

Prof Satchidanandan drew attention to four major movements in women's fiction in Kerala by four women authors namely K. Saraswati Amma, Lalithambika Antherjanam, Kamala Das and Sarah Joseph.

"There is a vibrant women's literature in Kerala, which talks about everything significant to the lives of women today," he added.

SOH Director Prof Rita Rani Paliwal highlighted feminism in Hindi literature by remembering Mirabai as the first woman litterateur of India.

Further, there were similar discussions by Prof Satyakam and Dr Malti Mathur from SOH, which were followed by paper presentations by the Research and Training Assistants (RTAs) of the University.

source:http://indiaedunews.net/Delhi/IGNOU_announces_2_new_courses_in_gender,_women's_studies_13667/

IGNOU preparing online database of experts

New Delhi: IGNOU's National Centre for Innovation in Distance Education (NCIDE) is preparing a comprehensive database of experts who may be interested to be associated with various academic activities of the university such as course writing, editing, translating, question paper setting, moderation or evaluation. For this purpose, the university has developed a software namely e-Resource of Experts which helps in online database creation and management which will be useful for the faculty of IGNOU as well as for the experts.

IGNOU's e-Resource of Experts has three modules including Data Entry Module, Data Access Module and Data Editing Module.

Data Entry Module is open for all. Any subject expert, who thinks that he/she can contribute for the aforesaid causes of IGNOU, can submit his/her profile online. There is also a provision of updating the profiles. The experts can update or modify their profile any time just by using their user ID and password generated at the time of registration.

Data Access Module has restricted access for the IGNOU officials only. The authorized IGNOU faculty and staff can access the e-Resources of Experts to search for an expert by name, subject area, specialisation or location etc.

Data Editing Module has restricted access for the administrator only for generating different types of lists of the experts. The administrator can add and update profile of an expert from time to time.

"Besides being highly user friendly for the experts, faculty, staff and the administrator, the e-Resource of Experts has certain features such as anybody from anywhere can upload his/her profile anytime, the profile of an expert can be updated from time to time by the expert as well as by the administrator. It provides facility to search for an expert by name, subject area of specialization or location and also gives a quick view of subject wise list of experts. Users can also view the complete profile of an expert for detailed information," said Dr. O.P. Sharma, Deputy Director, NCIDE, IGNOU.

All the profiles received can be scrutinized by the concerned faculty and the list of suitable experts may be generated online. Any expert who wants to join hands, can submit his/her profile online by clicking the button 'e-Resource of Experts', given on the home page of IGNOU's website www.ignou.ac.in . They should ensure that the information they provide is accurate. However, IGNOU reserves the right not to consider an expert to work in IGNOU which it believes has furnished wrong details or it finds it to be misleading or unsuitable for the University.

source:http://www.indiaeducationdiary.in/ShowUNI.asp?newsid=7944

IGNOU to train cops in human rights

New Delhi: The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) School of Law (SOL), in collaboration with the National Human RightsCommission (NHRC), has launched an online training programme to sensitize police personnel onhuman rights.

The five-day programme was inaugurated for the police academy personnel of Delhi, Haryana andUttar Pradesh by NHRC Chairperson Justice K.G. Balakrishnan at the IGNOU Convention Centre on February 1.

"This activity is an outcome of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between IGNOU and NHRC a few months ago. The main aim of this programme is to sensitize and spread awareness about human rights. With such a programme,IGNOU aims to bring down the rate of conflicts and crime in the society by creating awareness among police personnel," said IGNOU Vice Chancellor V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai.

While delivering the inaugural address, Justice Balakrishnan said, "It is our basic duty to sensitize people and protect their human rights, and the police play a very important role in the society in maintaining the law and order. NHRC appreciatesIGNOU's efforts in this field. We have launched a basic programme for lower level police personnel in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi andHaryana. The programme is currently available in Hindi and shall be translated into regional languages soon."

Keeping in view the tight schedule of the police personnel, the five-day tailor-made programme aims to equip them with the knowledge of human rights and it can be applied while dealing with the public, said SOL Director Prof K. Elumalai.

The first basic programme was attended by the police personnel in three police academies in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. They had an online interaction with the chairperson and other members of the commission on human rights related issues.

Giving details about the programme, Prof Elumalai said, "On the first three days, participants will be taught six units through interactive lectures using multimedia tools. On the fourth and fifth day, interactive counseling sessions will be held, wherein all the participants and the programme coordinators will interact through web-conferencing."

"Almost 60 to 80 percent of the police personnel are constables and sub-constables and nearly 80 percent of them are just 10th pass. There is a need to make them aware about all the penal laws in the country, along with the legal knowledge," he added.

NHRC member P.C. Sharma said, "The huge number of complaints against police personnel received in the commission compels us to think about the needful steps to be taken to train them, to make them realize their responsibility towards prevention and detection of crime."

Others present at the event included Sunil Krishna, DG, NHRC; Satyabrat Pal, Member, NHRC; K.S. Money, Secretary General, NHRC; and Prof Uma Kanjilal, Director, School of Social Sciences, IGNOU.

SOURCE:http://indiaedunews.net/Delhi/IGNOU_to_train_cops_in_human_rights_13464/

9 Distance programmes that assure careers

FOR a long time distance learning institutes were associated with regular courses in Humanities and Social Sciences with a few adventurous ones such as Annamalai venturing into Science streams as well. But in recent years, DL institutions have moved towards courses that have immediate employment potential. Offered in association with either a private institute or a corporation, these programmes have become a rage, though issues of quality, governance, academic control and cost do arise in these cases. But their ability to generate employable graduates is not in question anymore.
BA in Applied Sign Language Studies
University: IGNOU
Duration: 3 years
Fee: Rs. 36,000
Eligibility: English literacy level must be equivalent to IELTS score of 4.5 for writing skills (intermediate level) and an equivalent of IELTS 5.0 for reading skills (upper intermediate level)
Address: Programme Coordinator, BAASLS
IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068
Website: www.ignou.ac.in
This programme is jointly offered by IGNOU and University of Central Lancashire, (UCLan), UK, and aims to produce sign language teachers, teacher trainers, literacy support teachers and project workers in the specialised area of sign languages and deaf communities.
The course is taught in Sign Language and English, and is flexible so that students can study a range of modules according to their interest. Focus areas include pedagogical practices in language teaching modules and dissertation modules. The university offers a number of scholarships too.
MCom in Business Policy and Corporate Governance
University: IGNOU
Duration: 2 years
Fee: Rs. 6,000
Eligibility: Graduate in any discipline or equivalent qualifications from a recognised university/ institute and b. Pass in Company Secretaryship executive programme
Address: IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068
Website: www.ignou.ac.in
This programme is designed and developed in collaboration with the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, exclusively for the Company Secretaryship professional programme students. Students can simultaneously study this MCom programme along with the Company Secretaryship professional programme offered by ICSI.
The main objective of this programme is to develop skills and competencies of the students in business policy and corporate governance. The programme comprises 12 courses of which IGNOU offers four (which are a part of existing MCom programme) and ICSI offers eight (which are a part of CS professional programme).
MA in Participatory Development
University: IGNOU
Duration: 2 years
Fee: Rs. 25,000
Eligibility: Bachelor’s degree in any discipline
Address: Centre for Extension Education (CEE), IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068
Website: www.ignou.ac.in
The programme focuses on understanding poverty and sustainable development. It introduces students to different models of social policy formulations and its relevance to social planning and development. Completion of first, second and third semester makes the student eligible for Advanced Diploma, and on completion of all the four semesters, a Master’s degree is awarded.
Distance delivery includes print materials, audio-visual CDs, guest faculty and engaged communication through web-enabled bulletin board services. On completion the programme makes one eligible to work for developmental institutions and NGOs, amongst others.
MSc in Dietetics and Food Service Management (DFSM)
University:IGNOU
Duration: 2 years
Fee: Rs. 19,900
Eligibility: Graduation in select streams
Address: School of Continuing Education
IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068
Website: www.ignou.ac.in
This course is designed to help working professionals like dietitians, nutrition counsellors and food service managers, who want to enhance their career prospects in the healthcare, fitness and hospitality sector. It focuses on areas such as Applied Physiology, Nutritional Biochemistry, Food Safety and Food Microbiology, and provides theoretical and practical guidance on all aspects of dietetics, from promotion of health to management of diseases.
The medium of instruction is English and there is an arrangement for teleconferences and contact sessions. A unique feature of the programme is that one can exit it after one year, having earned a Postgraduate Diploma in Dietetics and Public Nutrition. Contacts classes in select locations supplement the learning process.
MSc in Geoinformatics
Institute: Annamalai University
Duration: 2 years
Fee: Rs. 17,750
Eligibility: A pass in UG degree programmes in Science/ Engineering/ Agriculture
Address: Directorate of Distance Education, Annamalainagar-608002
Website: www.annamalaiuniversity.ac.in
Geoinformatics deals with science infrastructure to address the problems of geography and geosciences. It combines geospatial analysis and modelling, development of geospatial databases, information systems design, human-computer interaction and both wired and wireless networking technologies. Subjects such as Digital Image Processing, Satellite Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) are part of the curriculum.
GIS analysis has become an integral part of complex fields such as disaster management, watershed management, environmental assessment, and risk assessment. Students after graduating in Geoinformatics can find opportunities such as the development of in-car navigation systems, automatic vehicle location systems, Geographical mapping and remote sensing, transportation planning and engineering, environmental modeling and analysis, urban planning, telecommunications, agriculture and public health.
BSc in Visual Communication
University: Annamalai University
Duration: 3 years
Fee: Rs. 28,300
Eligibility: Higher Secondary (10+2)
Address: Directorate of Distance Education, Annamalainagar-608002
Website: www.annamalaiuniversity.ac.in
This programme is the first step towards a successful future for those interested in becoming animators, graphic and web designers. Visual communication is the conveyance of ideas and information in forms that can be read or looked upon and primarily associated with two-dimensional images, it includes: art, signs, photography, typography, drawing, graphic design, illustration, colour and electronic resources.
The programme in Visual Communication aims to impart practical training and develop working knowledge in computer for effectively communicating through medium such as Television, Graphics and Animation. Subjects such as Computer Concepts and Office Automation Tools, Photography and Video Editing and Television Production are part of the curriculum. The boom in animation industry has made the programme an attractive destination.
Certificate course in employability skills
Institute: Institute of Management Technology (IMT) in collaboration with National Law University, Jodhpur
Duration: 2 years
Eligibility: Graduate with 50% marks in aggregate.
Fee: Rs.100,000
Address: A-16, Site 3, UPSIDC Industrial Area, Meerut Road, Ghaziabad - 201003
Website: www.imtcdl.ac.in
The boom in the Indian economy has enhanced the need for skilled manpower. In order to supplement the technical skills acquired during graduation or other formal education, NIIT and IGNOU have announced Finishing School Programmes.
Students opting for IGNOU-NIIT programs will get placement support from NIIT. While NIIT will design and develop and market the programmes and carry out the education delivery, IGNOU will approve admission, design curriculum, consolidate results and award degrees. The programmes will be delivered at NIIT premises through qualified instructors.
The course provides knowledge about Workplace Mannerisms, Business Writing and Presentation Skills. It also guides on how to prepare a good résumé and crack the GD (s) and Personal Interview. This programme is also targeted at working professionals and job seekers. At the end of this programme, students would be in a position to apply for Executive Assistants, Office Managers and Personal Secretary, amongst others. It caters to skill development in a hitherto unattended sector which has good potential. Students with a pleasing personality and excellent communication skills stand a good chance of getting real value out of the course.
MS in Cyber Law and Security
Institute: NIIT in collaboration with IGNOU
Duration: 91 hours
Eligibility: Graduates/final year students of all streams
Fee: Rs. 3,500
Address: NIIT Delhi,D-5 South Extension Part II, New Delhi
Website: www.niit.com/Pages/DefaultINDIA.aspx
Recent advancements in IT have revolutionised almost all the arenas of human endeavor. To understand the dynamics of cyber security and cyber law matrix, techno-legal professionals with the blended skills of law and technology are highly required.
The proposed collaborative course of NLU and IMT - CDL aims to develop the skills to tackle cyber security issues with a technological ground. It also aims to provide understanding of national and international regulations and paradigms regarding cyber law.
The proposed programme will have two parts namely (i) Cyber Law and (ii) Cyber Security. A total of 16 courses are offered under this programme with 4 papers in each semester. 8 courses are related to various issues of Cyber Security and remaining 8 courses to Cyber Law. Online classes are conducted for this programme.
MBA in Shipping and Logistics
University: Tamil Nadu Open University
Duration: 2 years
Eligibility: Graduate or Mariners with 6 years experience post 10+2
Fee: Rs. 60,000
Address: Tamil Nadu Open University
Directorate of Technical Education Campus
Guindy, Chennai 600 025
Website: www.tnou.ac.in
This sector-specific management programme aims to equip seafarers (people employed on board ships) seeking a career change to land-based employment in Shipping and Logistics companies. It also targets people working in Shipping and Logistics companies desirous of career advancement and fresh graduates interested in pursuing careers with Shipping and Logistics companies.
The programme aims to equip the students with adequate skills and knowledge in General Management functional areas and in the Shipping and Logistics business sectors. 32 percent of courses in the first year and 52 percent of the courses in the second year are oriented to Shipping and Logistics sector that would help students gain an overall perspective of the sector. The programme would provide the learners knowledge on the various modern Management theories and their applications in the Shipping and Logistics Industry.

source : http://in.education.yahoo.com/news/yeducareers360/9-distance-programmes-that-assure-careers-20110131