Five-time World Champion and NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand inaugurates State-of-the-art NIIT Nguru- IT Wizard Plus Computer Lab at Sri Prakash Vidya Niketan. The computer lab showcased a futuristic approach by integrating 21st century skills into the teaching methodology. The holistic solution brings all the key elements required by teachers and students for learning and managing IT. The product aims at revolutionizing the way IT is taught in schools. NIIT Nguru- IT Wizard Plus has been installed in the computer labs of all the five branches of the school.

During the occasion, Anand also inaugurated the new campus of Sri Prakash Vidya Niketan, which is the biggest campus in Rajahmundry spread across 12 acre. It is the first school in Coastal Andhra to have vast play grounds with Football, Cricket, Basketball, Hockey, Volleyball, Kho-Kho, Hand Ball courts and 200 meter Running track. Science Park is an added advantage to the students of the school with working models for strengthening their concepts. The school provides separate activity halls for music, art, dance, skating & indoor games. It has separate hostels for boys and girls and also has its with own dairy, vegetable farm, mineral water plant, etc., to cater to student needs.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Venkat Ravi Madhira, Zonal Head, NIIT Ltd. said, "NIIT has been a pioneer in IT education in India and we continue to bring forth innovative learning solutions which substantially enhance the teaching-learning experience. We are delighted to launch the NIIT Nguru -IT Wizard Plus at Sri Prakash Vidya Niketan, Rajahmundry, which will help its students comprehend the subject better."

Mr. C.H. Vijay Prakash, Director, Sri Prakash Vidya Niketan, said, "Sri Prakash Vidya Niketan, Rajahmundry is committed to providing the best infrastructure to foster academic excellence. We have installed NIIT Nguru- IT Wizard Plus in our computer labs which has been innovatively designed by integrating well thought-out and relevant tasks that students enjoy doing after school with IT tools and technologies. We are also proud to introduce our new campus which is the biggest campus of Rajahmundry."

NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand also distributed prize to the students who excelled in academic and various sports activities organized by the school.

Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman & Co-Founder, NIIT Group, was honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award by Geospatial Media, an international media company with the mandate of making a difference through geospatial knowledge in world economy and society. Mr. Pawar received the prestigious award for his decades of service and leadership in helping Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and associated technologies germinate and grow in India since the late 80s.

India Geospatial Awards were introduced and established by Geospatial Media, with an objective to recognize and acknowledge contributions of individuals, institutions and enterprises working toward creating awareness, raising the profile, enhancing utilization and strengthening business opportunities for the geospatial industry in India. This year, the awards were judged by an independent Jury under the Chairmanship of Dr K Kasturirangan, former head of ISRO.

"I am confident that the momentum and the capability created by us will be fundamental in meeting the Government's vision of Digital India and in creating Smart Cities," added Mr Pawar.

Under the leadership of Mr Pawar, NIIT has played a pioneering role in building GIS-focused products and services in partnership with the leading global player Esri Inc, USA. As an undisputed leader in the field of GIS products and services in India for over two decades, NIIT has developed an extensive range of offerings for the industry. These now constitute the core of several mission critical projects in disaster management, infrastructure, power, telecom, natural resources, and urbanization. Going forward, GIS is expected to play a key role in laying the foundation for Smart Cities in India.

Congratulating Mr Pawar on receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, Mr Jack Dangermond, Founder and President of Esri said, "We have been extremely fortunate to have a very strategic partner - NIIT Technologies in India led by Mr Rajendra S Pawar. GIS industry in India has grown multi-fold in the last 3 decades; I strongly believe, it is Mr Pawar's vision, commitment and focus that have played an instrumental role in shaping the GIS Industry. Congratulations to Mr Pawar on being conferred with the Life Time Achievement Award by Geospatial Media. I am happy for this apt recognition and acknowledgement of his service to the industry. With his vision, I am sure GIS industry would leap to newer heights in the years to come."

Owing to its all-pervasive nature, GIS has considerable impact on the economy, governance and development by creating greater efficiency, more visual communication and better decision-making with appropriate integration of maps, images and attribute data. GIS market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.19%. To cater to the human capacity-building in this sector, the not-for-profit NIIT University offers an industry-aligned MTech Program in GIS with support from leading organizations working in the space. The program is designed to serve professional development at the workplace and, hence, is characterized by the pedagogic innovation of Education-Work Linkage

Nationwide Impact Study shows that MathLab has a positive impact on students' performance in Mathematics

NIIT, a global leader in Skills and Talent Development unveiled the MathLab Impact Study at an event organized at Springdale Senior School, Amritsar. A breakthrough initiative based on NCERT curriculum, MathLab Plus by NIIT aims at making the vital subject of mathematics simpler, easier and fun to learn for school students, resulting in improved performance and proficiency in Math results.

The recent NIIT MathLab Impact study, conducted by one of the big four research agencies in 34 schools across 11 states in India to understand the impact of the MathLab both at the quantitative and qualitative levels, highlighted that 20% of children (and adults) suffer from math anxiety. It has been observed that after introduction of MathLab in schools there were multiple changes among the students as well as teachers, in their approach to Math. MathLab helps to increase interest in the subject, develop logical thinking, improves retention of concepts, decreases fear of math and builds up confidence among students through interactive and collaborative learning. The NIIT MathLab Impact study clearly shows that Class X students from MathLab using schools perform distinctly better in Math than students not using MathLab.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Vivek Suman, Regional Manager, NIIT Ltd. said, "NIIT Nguru MathLab is a well-researched solution that ensures the students get a thorough grasp on the subject, thus laying a foundation to initiate students to think, analyze and articulate logically. The MathLab Impact study highlights that this product has added a new dimension to teaching and learning Math."

NIIT Nguru MathLab Plus has been successfully implemented in more than 1500 schools, with over 8000 teachers using the product to teach mathematics to more than 5 lakh students.

MathLab Plus is all about learning, verifying and visualizing mathematical concepts in a 'fun' way through educational aids, interactive tools, computer interface and guidance from teachers and NIIT experts. It inspires out of the box thinking and provides an opportunity to explore the valuable knowledge with classmates. With the help of MathLab Plus, teachers can make seemingly complex subjects, easy to understand.

MathLab Plus offers multiple teaching and learning aids comprising technology applications, videos, manipulative, measuring instruments, and tables and charts, to schools on the basis of three pillars of 'Imagine, Investigate and Interact'.

NIIT Limited, a global leader in skills and talent development announced that it was awarded a three-year contract to provide managed training services to Vestas Wind Systems A/S, a leading global wind energy company headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark.

With this contract, NIIT's Corporate Learning Group will provide learning administration, strategic sourcing, custom content development and LMS services to Vestas for a period of three years.

"Vestas' partnership with NIIT provides our employees access to virtual and classroom "best in class" programs, around the globe. It also aligns with Vestas strategy of flexibility and cost-efficiency, as we move into new regions to support the needs of our wind turbine customers," said Roald Steen Jakobsen, Group Senior Vice President/People & Culture, Vestas Wind Systems.

About Vestas
Every single day, Vestas wind turbines deliver clean energy that supports the global fight against climate change. Wind power from Vestas' more than 52,700 wind turbines currently reduces carbon emissions by over 60 million tons of CO2 every year, while at the same time building energy security and independence. Vestas has delivered wind energy in 73 countries, providing jobs for around 19,300 passionate people at our service and project sites, research facilities, factories and offices all over the world. With 52 per cent more megawatts installed than our closest competitor and more than 64 GW of cumulative installed capacity worldwide, Vestas is the world leader in wind energy.

• Foremost aptitude test for new age careers now goes beyond I.T. - includes Banking, E-Commerce, Analytics, Digital Marketing, BPM, and Retail
• Reached out to over 10,00,000 students over the past 10 years

NIIT Limited, a global leader in skills and talent development, announced the country's largest Aptitude Test— the 11th National Industry Targeted Aptitude Test (NITAT) — to enable students and graduates to access their potential and aptitude for careers in multiple skills. 'NITAT 2015', was simultaneously conducted by NIIT, in over 200 cities nationwide, on February 21, 2015.

Students could learn about the benefits of appearing in the 11th NITAT and could register online by logging on to www.niit.com/nitat2015 or by visiting the nearest NIIT centre. Over the past 10 years, NITAT has reached out to more than 10, 00,000 students with new-age career options.

According to Higher Education in India: Vision 2030, a report produced by international consultants Ernst and Young for the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry ( FICCI), the skills gap in Indian graduates is staggering - 75% of IT graduates are deemed 'unemployable', 55% in manufacturing, 55% in healthcare and 50% in banking and insurance.

NITAT aims to access skills of the students for multiple career domains. The test has been designed as an objective test of reasoning, comprehension, data interpretation skills and behavioural traits. Every student receives a score card that gives his/her Aptitude Ranking (concentric graphical form) on National and Zonal basis. NIIT also awards 50% scholarship to the meritorious students.

Students who appear for NITAT receive an assessment score card & personalized career counselling from NIIT. They will also be entitled for complementary placement preparatory workshop. NIIT's program proposition will be highlighted during counselling and scholarships will be awarded to merit holders, along with a congratulatory letter from NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand to the top 1000 students.

NIIT's pioneering initiative NITAT was introduced in 2004 to enable graduates and students pursuing their studies in engineering, arts, commerce and science streams to gauge their aptitude for a career in the IT sector, identify skills further required, if any, and thus systematically charter their career into the IT industry. The test was designed scientifically to assess students and provide a relative ranking system, which helps them to identify their position amongst all test takers.

By Mr. Rahul K Patwardhan, CEO Designate,
NIIT Limited, a global leader in skills & talent development

The government has been laying a lot of emphasis on skills development to promote economic growth, hence we are hopeful that the Finance Minister will announce some much awaited reforms to hasten the pace of the sector. As private sector participation is key to developing skilled manpower, we expect specific indirect tax rebates in the forthcoming budget, for the companies & its partners i.e. be it direct partners or their franchisees, involved in Skilling.

We would also expect the government to take initiatives to build social acceptance and industry buy-in for skills development through high decibel media campaigns, through which vocational skill courses/jobs are made aspirational. Placing a premium on certification by ensuring only certified people get government jobs is much required. Accelerated tax benefits should be provided to organizations that enable their employees to upskill through Sector Skills Council approved training and certification bodies.

The government should also create and empower Skills Universities within existing Universities, and enable them to provide training pan-India through distributed, technology-connected hubs or delivery centers. High government spends on skills development initiatives should be continued.

Further, schools and colleges should be mandated that every student of class 9 and above, acquires at least one QP/NOS certified job ready skill - in addition to regular school/college curriculum and school-leaving/college graduation certification. And all schools to be free of any restriction to work with reputed private training partners to enable this. This will ensure that every student who completes 8th standard, gets definite access to at least one certified job ready skill set.

• MoU aims to develop Human Capital in line with China's vision to promote Guian as the national center for the Big Data industry -

NIIT, a global leader in skills and talent development, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Guian New Area in the Guizhou province of China, to offer programs in new-age IT, with special focus on Big Data. The MoU was signed by Mr. Rahul Keshav Patwardhan, CEO Designate, NIIT Ltd during his recent visit to China and Mr. Ma Chang Qing, Head of the Guizhou Guian New District.

Under this MoU, NIIT will offer programs in Big Data as Guian has been identified by the Government of China as the national center for the Big Data Industry. Apart from this, NIIT will offer wide range of cutting-edge IT skills training across various fields. Currently, there are over 10,000 students studying in the New University Town campus which is likely to grow to nearly 25,000 over the next few years. Hence, there exists a potential to train a large number of students. NIIT will help support the vision of the Guizhou Government and would train these students to develop the next generation of data scientists and business analytics professionals for opportunities in the Big Data industry.

As the need for analyzing huge volumes of data presents immense opportunity for businesses today, there has been a growing demand globally for analytics professionals to power the Big Data industry. To cater to this emerging trend, NIIT has introduced cutting-edge programs in Big Data.

NIIT has a very unique business model for co-operation with Universities and Colleges in China called the - "NIIT Inside model", where NIIT programs are embedded in University/College IT curriculum. Students may undergo a 4 year Bachelor Degree program or a 3 year Associate Degree program post 12th grade in Information Technology. Currently, NIIT curriculum is embedded into both these programs across multiple Universities and Colleges in China. While the University system continues to teach the rest of the subjects that a student undergoes such as Chinese language, science etc to obtain a Bachelor Degree, the IT portion is completely from NIIT. The students get the degree or the associate degree from the University/Government and also receive a certificate from NIIT.

Mr. Rahul Patwardhan, CEO Designate, NIIT Ltd. called upon Mr. Qin Ru Pei, Vice Governor of Guizhou during his visit. Elaborating on the MoU, Mr. Qin Ru Pei, Vice Governor of Guizhou further emphasized on NIIT's key role as the training partner and estimated the requirement to be around 50,000 trained students over the next 5 years.

NIIT, a global leader in skills and talent Development, established its presence in China in 1997, becoming the first Indian IT enterprise to do so. Over the years, NIIT has been training skilled IT professionals for China's software outsourcing industry. With the support of its outstanding partners and institutions, it has trained more than 150,000 students in the country.

Facilitated by NSDC and IT-ITeS Sector Skills Council NASSCOM with support from NASSCOM member companies Microsoft, IBM, Infosys, Mettl &NIIT

Final Selections for World Skills Competition (WSC) 2015 concluded recently in the capital. Nishant Jain, NIIT student from Chennai, has emerged as the national winner in the final selections for the WSC 2015 in the IT Software Solutions for Business (ITSSB) skill category. With this win, Nishant gets an opportunity to represent India atthe 43rd World Skills Competition (WSC) to be hosted at Sao Paulo, Brazil from 11-16 August, 2015. Neha Valecha from Bhiwani and Saurabh Kanwar from Karnal were announced as the Runners up during the final selections. All three candidates wereshortlisted after an intensive nationwide competition held in the capital.The candidates were judged on the following parameters – communications & interpersonal skills; problem solving, innovation & creativity; analysing & designing software solutions; developing software solutions and testing & documenting software solutions.

IT-ITeS Sector Skills Council NASSCOM (SSC NASSCOM) has been appointed by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to spearhead India's participation at the WSC 2015 for ITSSB skill. Preparations for WSC 2015 ITSSB category is supported by NASSCOM member organizations like Microsoft, IBM, Infosys, NIIT and Mettl. Earlier, during November 29-30, 2014, the National Selections were conducted in New Delhi, hosted by NIIT. This event witnessed aspirants competing against each other over a two day intensive selection process. The shortlisted candidates, were trained under a mentorship program with the best expert and mentors identified by the IT industry.

SSC NASSCOM had facilitated India's participation in the WSC 2013 ITSSB category in the past and the candidate, representing India in that category, Sarthak Jain, was awarded a 'Medallion of Excellence'.

WSC is the largest international 'Vocational Skills Competition' in the world. It takes place in a different country every two years and brings together over 1,000 young people from across the globe to compete in skillsranging from weldingto web design. The competitors pitch their skills against the best of the best and compete for gold, silver and bronze medals. WSC attracts thousands of visitor such as schools, colleges and training providers, government representatives, employers and teachers. Details about the WSC can be accessed at: www.worldskills.org

India became the 48th member of the World Skills International on 20th January 2007 with CII as its only member organization; the responsibility has been taken over by National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC), set up by the Ministry of Finance under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, to provide the prestigious event national visibility. NSDC represents World Skills activities through World Skills India. NSDC, an empowered organization will be the official body representing the country at the World Skill Competition. In general, there are 6 Skills Clusters, namely Transport & Logistics, Construction and Building Technology, Manufacturing and Engineering Technology, ITC Technology, Creative Art and Fashion, Social and Personal Services. The competitors are required to be not more than 22 in the year of competition with exception being for Mechatronics, where the competitors must not be older than 25 years in the year of competition.