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.
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,
andKnowledgeHub™: 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:
NIIT:
Prateek Chatterjee,
NIIT Limited, Ph: +91 9910201085, +91 124 4293041;
Email: prateek.chatterjee@niit.com
or
Shivanjali Singh,
NIIT Limited, Ph: +91 9811991107; +91 124 4293044;
Email: shivanjali.singh@niit.com or Visit
www.niit.com
Intel:
Dr. Camille Miranda
Gonsalves, Head PR, Intel South Asia
Tel: 022 4070 0700
email: camille.gonsalves@intel.com
Text 100
PR:
Kiran
Balasubramanian : Mobile: +91 9886771250 Email: kiranb@text100.co.in
CISCO:
Varghese M Thomas,
Cisco India Pvt. Ltd. Ph: +91 9886605670
Email: vmthomas@cisco.com or
Text 100
PR:
Devyani Haldipur,
Ph: +91 80 2554 8808-11 Email: devyanih@text100.co.in