- A Royal Cavalcade carries the King of Chess and his Queen at NIIT reception.
- Anand flags off NIIT MindChampions Academy Tournament 2007-08 by making his
first move after the World Chess Championship, playing the stars of
tomorrow.
New Delhi, October 16, 2007: World Chess Champion
Viswanathan Anand arrived in a Royal Cavalcade at IIT Delhi campus to flag off
NIIT MindChampions Academy Tournament 2007-08. The King of Chess was given a
splendid reception by NIIT students and young chess enthusiasts from schools,
who had gathered in large numbers to see their hero in action.
At the event, NIIT Chairman, Mr. Rajendra S. Pawar felicitated the World
Chess Champion for his recent achievement at Mexico. Anand made his first public
appearance after winning the World Chess Championship, along with wife Aruna, at
the launch of NIIT MindChampions Academy Tournament 2007-08.
Striking the gong to flag off NIIT MindChampions Academy Tournament
2007-08, the World Chess Champion said, “Chess is a Mind Game. To be at
the top of World Chess requires consistent performance through focus and
practice, combined with passion and determination to do well. NIIT MindChampions
Academy is our initiative to provide a platform to young minds to get initiated
into the Game of Chess”.
Congratulating NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand, Mr. Rajendra S. Pawar,
Chairman, NIIT said, “Anand has brought respect and pride to every
Indian, through his consistence performance at the global level, for more than a
decade.
NIIT MindChampions Academy is our initiative to enable development
of young minds, who have a key role to play in realising India’s dreams on the
global arena”, added Mr. Pawar.
The NIIT MindChampions Academy Tournament 2007-08 is expected to have
participation from over 150,000 children from 5232 Government and Private
schools across the country, mostly from rural India. Anand flagged off the
tournament by making his first move after the Finals of the World Chess
Championship in Mexico, playing winners of last year’s tournament, on a gigantic
chess board.
The NIIT MindChampions Academy will conduct inter-school chess competitions
from district to national level to identify young talent in the game. The
tournament will run across schools starting now, and promising players will get
mentoring and motivation from none other than the World Chess Champion,
Viswanathan Anand.
Started in 2002-03, NIIT MindChampions Academy is joint initiative of World
Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand and NIIT, to initiate young minds into the
World of Chess. The Academy has fostered nearly 5280 clubs with over 100,000
students as its members across the network of schools where NIIT offers
computer-aided learning. The young members of the Academy get to play Chess in
both online and offline format and are given coaching using NIIT’s technology.
The students use computer-based tutorials, during and after school as a
virtual playfield to hone their skills in the game of Chess. Apart from
tutorials, promising Chess players get an opportunity to interact with NIIT
MindChampion Viswanathan Anand, in person.
Leveraging its inherent strength in technology, NIIT MindChampions Academy
has created a virtual community of Chess enthusiasts in the country. The Academy
has Viswanathan Anand, Rajendra S. Pawar and L. Balasubramanian, President of
NIIT’s School Learning Solutions Business, on its Advisory Board.
NIIT through its School Learning Solutions division is reaching 1.4 million
kids in government and private schools, mostly in rural areas, equipping them
with crucial IT skills to prepare them for tomorrow’s knowledge society. NIIT is
working actively to make computers an intrinsic part of the lives of children
and also those of the socially and economically challenged sections of the
society, who may never have had a chance to integrate with the emerging 21st
century environment, to give a better prospect to their future.
About NIIT
NIIT, Asia’s No. 1 trainer and leading Global Talent Development
Corporation, offers learning and knowledge solutions to 5 million students
across 32 countries.
Leading IT magazine Dataquest has conferred upon NIIT, the Top IT Training
Company Award 2006. Rated among India’s Superbrands (2003-05), NIIT’s Individual
Learning Business offerings include: Industry-endorsed programs for students
seeking careers in IT: GNIIT, Integrated ANIIT for Engineers (IAE) and Advanced
Technology Programs for IT professionals.
For working professionals, NIIT Imperia, Centre for Advanced
Learning, offers Executive Management Education Programmes in
association with Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) at Ahmedabad, Indore and
Kolkata.
NIIT Institute of Finance Banking & Insurance (IFBI),
formed with equity participation from ICICI Bank, offers programs to develop
talent for the banking industry.
NIIT offers turnkey IT integration program for schools. NIIT has provided
computer-based learning to over 5000 government and private schools.
NIIT’s Corporate Learning Solutions, offers integrated learning solutions
(including strategic consulting, learning design, content development, delivery,
technology, assessment and learning management) to Fortune 500 companies,
Universities, Technology companies, Training corporations and Publishing
houses.
Element K delivers learning solutions for customers and
partners through a tailored combination of catalog learning products,
technology, and services. The offerings include: vLab®:
hands-on labs, instructor-led courseware, comprehensive e-reference libraries,
technical journals, and KnowledgeHub™: hosted learning
management platform.
NIIT together with Element K is now the first and the best choice for
comprehensive learning solutions, worldwide.
For media queries, please contact:
Prateek Chatterjee, NIIT Limited, Ph: +91 9910201085, +124 4293041;
Shivanjali Singh, NIIT Limited, Ph: +91 9811991107; +124 4293044;