Press Release

2012

NIIT unveils ‘The Turning Point’: an all-new Cloud Centric Curriculum to develop future-ready IT professionals

Presents new GNIIT program enriched with insights from the industry
Highlights the life-changing experiences of GNIIT alumni
New Delhi, May 17, 2012: NIIT Limited, leading Global Talent Development Corporation and Asia’s largest IT trainer, today launched ‘The Turning Point’ campaign that unveils a transformational GNIIT program based on an all-new cloud-centric curriculum, enriched with insights from the IT industry.

The latest campaign by NIIT - which is currently celebrating 30 years of innovation in the field of IT education and training - features 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.

Earlier this year, NIIT had created the Industry Advisory Council (IAC), wherein industry leaders shared their inputs on how GNIIT could be further improved, to help students become future-ready and find suitable placement in the evolving IT industry. With inputs from the industry as well as NIIT’s technology partners, the new syllabus is a perfect blend of Core IT skills, Professional skills and Cloud technology. It ensures that the students’ IT knowledge & skills are mapped to the industry requirements and role competencies.

The new GNIIT program maximizes career opportunities by offering programs that lead to exit profiles in diverse fields of IT like - Cloud Applications Developer, Enterprise Application Developer, Business Intelligence Solutions Developer, Server Administrator and Network Administrator.

Speaking on the launch of The Turning Point campaign Mr. G Raghavan, Chief Executive, Career Building Solutions, NIIT said, "Over the years GNIIT has been the turning point in the lives of youth seeking challenging career options in the global IT industry. With a view to further improve the program and make students ready to take up challenging assignments in the ever-evolving IT sector, we are in constant dialogue with industry leaders. This has enabled us to offer a program that is completely aligned to the manpower needs of the IT industry."

The new GNIIT syllabus is now based on a Cloud & Collaborative Learning Model. This pioneering initiative takes learning beyond the traditional student-teacher relationship and addresses the needs of today’s generation’s lifestyle and their learning style. It helps seamlessly blend the instructor-led classroom-based learning, virtual classrooms and online learning using Cloud services being offered through NIIT Cloud CampusTM- India’s First Cloud Campus ecosystem.

Furthermore, the technology backed learning environment of NIIT’s Cloud Learning Methodology supports group learning through interactive features like 24x7 lab and e-library access, instant tech updates, interaction with faculty and peers and access to online video streams. Thus the learning process is not just limited to textbooks but is enhanced through group learning.
Arun Benty, Co-founder of Trellysis.net, Social Media & Mobile App Developer, Webby Award Winner (2011), said, "The GNIIT program exposed me to the challenging world of IT and helped me decide my career path. GNIIT is to a great extent responsible for all that I have achieved as an IT professional today. Today, we have several GNIITians apart from me working in our company"

The new GNIIT program prepares students, enrolled in a college, for a successful entry into the professional IT world by making them job-ready, the day they graduate. The program gives students the benefit of a dual qualification, as this program can be pursued along with graduation. GNIIT is a Credit based Curriculum, designed to offer flexibility to students in learning. In other words, the students will have the flexibility to choose courses as per their interest and career goals.

Apart from technical skills a successful IT professional also needs to have the right attitude, communication skills, work ethics and a host of other personal attributes that play a crucial role in his/her career. Hence the new GNIIT program aims to strengthen the basic communication and professional skills by making these part of the core syllabus.

The uniqueness of the GNIIT program also lies in its professional practice of a year-long internship that gives the students the opportunity to work at leading IT organisations. This one year of internship gives exposure to ‘live’ case studies and a stipend that lets them earn-while-they-learn.

With recruitments in over 3000 companies, the GNIIT program gives a jump-start to students’ careers. NIIT students have started their careers in leading organisations like Infosys, TCS, Wipro, IBM etc.

Evolution of GNIIT
The GNIIT program was introduced in 1992 by NIIT’s Higher Education Wing as the first education offering in India which combined academic rigour and a full year’s training in the IT industry. This feature called the Professional PracticeTM owes its origin to the Practice Schools in MIT, USA which was adapted by Dr. C.R. Mitra for BITS, Pilani and thereafter for NIIT as per the needs of the IT industry.

Over the last 20 years the GNIIT program has constantly evolved to be relevant to the current and future industry requirements. This year, NIIT is announcing the new GNIIT under Cloud Centric Curriculum.

Over 34,600 NIIT students have been placed in the last one year alone and more than 1,60,000 students have been placed since 2005. NIIT students’ have also been placed in Data Quest Top 10 companies.
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 and data cards that 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 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 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 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
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