Press Release

2008

Union Minister Kamal Nath and leading technology companies converge at NIIT Centre in Chhindwara

Union Minister Kamal Nath and leading technology companies converge at NIIT Centre in Chhindwara

Key Highlights:

• Cisco, Intel and NIIT, amongst other large IT organisations to pledge support to help Chhindwara graduates become ‘Global Professionals’

• NIIT announces the launch of its 2nd District Learning Centre in the adjoining town of Barkuhi

• Cisco and Intel To Set Up Lab 'Inside’ NIIT DLC

• First Batch of students awarded titles at the 1st Convocation Ceremony

Chhindwara, May 27, 2008: Following its commitment to harness talent pool from semi-urban India, leading Global Talent Development Corporation, NIIT, today announced the setting up of its 2nd District Learning Centre in Chhindwara. Hon’ble Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Mr. Kamal Nath laid the foundation stone for NIIT’s new District Learning Centre in neighbouring Barkuhi town in Chhindwara district, today.

The Minister was joined by Mr. R Sivakumar, Managing Director, Sales & Marketing, South Asia, Intel; Mr. Harish Krishnan, Director, Global Policy & Government Affairs, Cisco India; Mr. Rajendra S. Pawar, Chairman, NIIT; Mr. Vijay K. Thadani, CEO, NIIT, and senior representatives from leading IT organizations like Cisco, IBM, Infosys, TCS, and Wipro, to flag off the 2nd DLC, and address at the 1st Convocation Ceremony at NIIT DLC in Chhindwara. Students passing out of the first batch of NIIT Chhindwara were awarded their certificates by the Minister.

Addressing students and public at Chhindwara, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Kamal Nath said, “I am happy to see the industry come forward for nurturing the inherent talent base in rural India. NIIT’s Model DLC in Chhindwara will go a long way in inducting our youth into the mainstream industry.”

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Rajendra S. Pawar, Chairman, NIIT, said, “Success of NIIT DLC augurs well for the growth of Chhindwara youth.

"This enhances our commitment to harness the hidden talent pool available in semi-urban India”, added Pawar.

Leading chip maker, Intel, announced the launch of its ‘IT Entrepreneurship Lab’, ‘Intel Teach Program’, and ‘Child Health Monitoring’ as part of the Intel World Ahead Program at Chhindwara.*

R. Sivakumar, Managing Director, Sales and Marketing, South Asia, Intel said, “Under the Intel World Ahead Program, Intel is committed to work with governments and industry across the globe to facilitate better health and education through technology. The participation we are receiving from our partners and from the government has been very encouraging. We are pleased to announce Chhindwara as our fourth World Ahead Community in India, along with NIIT, a key World Ahead Alliance partner. We are confident this will create opportunities for people and make Chhindwara a model community.”

The leader in networking solutions, Cisco, also inaugurated its state-of-the-art networking learning facility inside the NIIT District Learning Centre. Cisco has donated networking equipment for the lab and will provide technological expertise and mentoring services to students at the Centre. NIIT will offer Cisco certification courses to students in Chhindwara, starting June 2008.

The lab is a pilot project by Cisco, using technology as an enabler for rural transformation, in collaboration with the government and industry players. As part of the pilot project to enable Chhindwara’s transformation to a connected model district and promote entrepreneurship among the youth in Chhindwara, Cisco is actively mentoring group of students at the NIIT District Learning Centre over the last three months.

On the occasion of the inauguration, Mr. Harish Krishnan, Director, Global Policy & Government Affairs, Cisco India, said, “Cisco believes creating scalable, sustainable business models for rural transformation can help strengthen India’s leadership position in the global economy. We believe education and technological empowerment will fuel the engine of inclusive growth in India. We are looking for deeper collaboration with the government and our ecosystem players in the business and academia to bridge the digital divide and take technology to the grass roots. The lab in Chhindwara is a reiteration of Cisco’s commitment to foster innovation, so communities can better use technology to realize their full potential and reap the benefits of the digital revolution."

Established last year with the objective of fostering talent from Tier 3 (semi-urban) Indian cities to cater to the global talent demand, the NIIT DLC witnessed industry funded intensive training programs in IT and soft skills, being delivered to over 200 students from the deep interiors of Chhindwara district. 

Witnessing the encouraging response from the locals, and the demand raised by the industry, NIIT has laid the foundation of another state-of-the-art learning centre in the nearby Barkuhi town.

“NIIT and our technology partners have deployed the most advanced technologies in the DLC to ensure achievement of targeted learning outcomes”, said Mr. Vijay K. Thadani, CEO, NIIT. 

The new NIIT DLC is designed to have an ambience of an urban training facility leveraging technology, fully networked classrooms, machine rooms, labs, library, high-bandwidth internet, amongst other learning resources.

The NIIT DLC at Barkuhi will provide intensive training programs to students to enhance their IT skills, communication skills, professional life skills and business etiquettes, thus making them ready for employment in IT and non-IT companies and give them a bright career ahead.

The NIIT DLC ensures that students are taught the latest and most relevant content and curriculum to make them future ready. The selected students undergo full-time training and have access to resident faculty with expert guidance and mentoring through online faculty resources backed with regular visits from other faculty.

The NIIT Institute (TNI)

The NIIT Institute of Information Technology (TNI), is a not-for-profit Society, set up by the NIIT promoters. One of TNI’s missions is to positively impact the underprivileged of the country through its educational process. To give this a concrete shape, TNI has begun a number of initiatives to better understand issues at the grassroots level and build sustainable models that can be made available to the country’s like-minded institutions and to the world at large.  Chhindwara’s NIIT DLC is one such initiative.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in India is supplied by Cisco Systems International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.

Cisco, the Cisco logo, and Cisco Systems are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partnership does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.

* About Intel Teach Program

Intel has a long history of working to improve education in India, and its ongoing programs prepare teachers and students for success in the global economy. As part of its World Ahead Program, Intel has announced the launch of its Intel® Teach Program in Chhindwara. The Intel® Teach Program – one of the most successful educator development programs of its kind – is a sustained professional development program that helps classroom teachers effectively integrate technology to enhance student learning. The Intel® Teach Program has been active in India for over nine years and has impacted over 8.40 lakh teachers to date.

Intel is offering its Intel® Teach Program for 5 schools in Chhindwara and will help teachers understand and implement the full value of PC technology and aid them in the advancement of teaching and interactive learning experience.

About Intel Technology India Private Limited

Through its Intel World Ahead Program, Intel strives to improve education, healthcare, entrepreneurship and government services in developing countries worldwide, by accelerating access to computers, connectivity, technology training and localized Internet content. Additional information is available at www.intel.com/changingtheworld and www.intel.com/intel/worldahead.

As a part of its efforts under the Intel World Ahead Program in India, Intel has trained over 8,40,000 teachers under its Intel Teach initiative, demonstrated the capabilities of school health monitoring solutions and remote diagnostics solutions and has reached out to nearly 40,000 students in India under the Intel Learn Program.

Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and http://blogs.intel.com.