Press Release

2012

World Chess Champion and NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand shares his ‘Turning Point’ moments from the World Chess Championship 2012
NIIT institutes the ‘Turning Point Scholarship’ to commemorate the win; Anand presents the scholarship to Rajat Kapoor from Ambala

Chandigarh, July 17, 2012: World Chess Champion and NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand today presented the NIIT Turning Point Scholarship to Rajat Kapoor, from Ambala for the flagship GNIIT program at a function organized by NIIT in the city. Anand, who retained his title after beating challenger Boris Gelfand in a nail-biting match at World Chess Championship 2012 in Moscow recently, talked about his ‘turning point’ moments from the Championship.

Speaking on the initiative, Mr. Vinod Kumar Koul, General Manager, Individual Learning Solutions, NIIT said, "Viswanathan Anand has always demonstrated great sportsmanship abilities by translating challenges into turning point moments in his life. His phenomenal win in the recent World Championship is one such example which the youngsters of today can emulate. I take this opportunity to heartily congratulate Anand for once again retaining the World Chess Champion title. To commemorate his momentous win it gives us immense pleasure to institute the NIIT Turning Point scholarship.”

The Turning Point Scholarship has been instituted by NIIT, leading Global Talent Development Corporation and Asia’s largest IT trainer, to commemorate the phenomenal victory of NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand at the 2012 World Chess Championship. This initiative by NIIT is aimed at giving an opportunity to meritorious candidates from economically disadvantaged sections of society aspiring to make a mark in the IT industry, a platform to realize their dreams. Anand personally presented the Scholarship to a beaming Rajat Kapoor on behalf of NIIT, at a function organized in the city today. He is the recipient of 3rd of the 10 scholarships of 100% fee waiver that Anand will be giving away over the next six months. Shanmugha Priya from Chennai was the recipient of the 1st Turning Point Scholarship.

Speaking on the occasion World Chess Champion and NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand said, “Success does not happen by chance. It is the result of hard work, positive attitude, strategic thinking and making the most of the opportunities that life offers us. Over the last 30 years, NIIT has been offering that golden opportunity to youth aspiring to carve challenging career paths in the ever evolving IT industry. NIIT’s cutting edge career programs have acted as the Turning Point in the lives of millions of youth across the globe. Today I am delighted to present the NIIT Turning Point Scholarship to Rajat Kapoor that will help this young boy script his success story.”

Recently NIIT unveiled ‘The Turning Point’ - a transformational GNIIT program based on an all-new cloud-centric curriculum, enriched with insights from the IT industry. The Turning Point also highlighted NIIT alumni whose lives have changed significantly after successful completion of the industry-endorsed GNIIT program. As a flagship career program of NIIT, GNIIT has been instrumental in shaping the IT careers of students, successfully over the last 20 years.

Rajat Kapoor, the winner of The Turning Point Scholarship, said, “I am extremely happy and excited on being chosen for this scholarship. I do hope that this scholarship will go a long way in helping me achieve my desired career goals in the IT industry. ”

NIIT Turning Point Scholarship will provide 100% fee waiver to meritorious candidates from economically backward sections of the society. These will comprise 8 GNIIT scholarships and 2 IFBI PGDBO scholarships. Subsequently, 4 NIIT alumni will nominate 2 people each for 50% scholarships on their behalf for GNIIT (i.e. 50% to be paid by the student, 50% by NIIT). The Turning Point Scholarships will encourage NIIT alumni to help academically-bright but economically-challenged youth find their own turning points.

About NIIT
NIIT Limited, a leading Global Talent Development Corporation and Asia’s premier IT trainer, offers learning and knowledge solutions across 32 countries. Leading IT journal Dataquest has conferred upon NIIT the ‘Top IT Training Company’ award successively for the past 19 years, since the inception of this category.

NIIT’s Individual Learning Business offerings include industry-endorsed programs for students seeking careers in IT – GNIIT and Edgeineers, and Global Net Plus for IT professionals. The company has introduced “India’s first cloud campus”, through its new-age GNIIT program. This offers students a higher mobility as they can access courseware using Netbooks to connect seamlessly to NIIT’s Cloud Campus network.

NIIT’s Corporate Learning Solutions offers Managed Training Services including integrated learning solutions (strategic consulting, learning design, content development, delivery, technology, assessment and learning management) to Fortune 500 companies, Universities, Technology companies, Training corporations and Publishing houses.

NIIT Yuva Jyoti, a joint venture between NIIT and NSDC, offers vocational skills training programs to enhance employability of youth across India.

NIIT has provided computer-based learning to over 15,000 government and private schools. The futuristic NIIT NGuru range of learning solutions for schools comprises Interactive Classrooms, Math Lab, IT Wizard programs and Quick School (Education Resource Planning software).

NIIT Imperia - Centre for Advanced Learning, offers Executive Learning Programs in association with leading Business schools in India, KPMG, Google India and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), using the synchronous learning platform.

NIIT Institute of Finance Banking & Insurance (IFBI), formed by NIIT with equity participation from ICICI Bank, offers programs for individuals and corporates in Banking, Financial Services and Insurance.

NIIT Institute of Process Excellence Limited, a NIIT-GENPACT venture (NIIT Uniqua), offers complete training outsourcing services to the Business Process, Knowledge and Technology Services industry to create business models that enhance productivity and lower costs.

NIIT has been ranked among the ‘Top 25 Best Employers in India- 2011’ by Aon Hewitt and ‘Top 25 India’s Best Companies to Work for’ by Great Places to Work Institute. The company has also been voted the second most trusted education brand in India by Brand Equity- Nielsen Survey 2011.

For media queries, please contact:
Prateek Chatterjee
Associate Vice President & Head Corporate Communications, NIIT Limited
Ph: (Cell) +91 9910201085, (Dir) +91 124 4293041
Email:prateek.chatterjee@niit.com