A Career and a Choice
And so I became a doctor although I would rather have been a journalist. But because my heart wasn't with the profession, I soon outgrew this and became a part of the charitable non-profit sector where I have spent most of my years.
WHEN I was a young student, most of the people did not have many career choices. Usually the children chose to do what their parents did before them – so lawyer’s children were encouraged to be lawyers, a teacher’s children to be teachers and so on. And if the parents were none of these and wanted something different for their children, they would push their children to become a doctor or an engineer or a civil servant. In those times these and a few others were considered to be aspirational careers which parents encouraged their children to strive for. The children’s own wishes were of little consequence. If you have seen the movie, 3 idiots, you would notice that such a tradition still exists.
And so I became a doctor although I would rather have been a journalist. But because my heart wasn’t with the profession, I soon outgrew this and became a part of the charitable non-profit sector where I have spent most of my years. And while working in an NGO, I have seen an amazing variety of people who were trained to be something else but ended up with something quite different. As the head of an organization which deals with women and children who have been trafficked, I have a team which is full of people who were trained to be something but are finding themselves driven by a passion for something else.
Today the choices and options available to young people are many. So, parents are happy to leave the choice of a viable career option with their children, but youngsters often find it difficult to make a choice. They are caught between peer pressure, the materialistic values that increasingly guide the society and the inner calling and vocation whose voice often gets muffled out.
As we consider various career options and courses for study, the singular question to ask ourselves is: “Will this help me become a better servant for others?” Our choice of a job or a career in life should be about how we can best serve our family and others with the gifts and abilities God has given us. If our whole focus in choosing a job or career is only about getting rich and serving ourselves, then we are making sinful choices. There was a time when certain professions, subjects of study and vocations were considered holier than others. Those who pursued that path were considered set apart for “full time” work. But today we know that whether we serve as a pastor or serve in a coal mine as a technician or as a Air Traffic Controller at the airport, as long as through our studies and jobs, we are able to fulfill our responsibility of stewarding this created world in a God honoring way, we are doing fine.
William Sloane Coffin, a former chaplain of Yale university speaks to our own challenge of responding to God’s call, of choosing the pathway of faithful living, when he reminds us, “A career seeks to be successful, a calling to be valuable. A career tries to make money; a calling tries to make a difference.”
The fact is that, no matter what we do for a living, it’s about serving others. Whether we work at a Café Coffee Day outlet or are a CEO in a big company; whether we are a doctor or a garbage collector, we should do our job the best we can with the understanding that we are serving our generation and our people and our careers and studies are but a tool to this greater end.
Source Link: http://www.merinews.com/article/a-career-and-a-choice/15804831.shtml
Apar Weblink:http://www.aparindiacollege.com/index.htm
Apar India College
Apar India College of Management and Technology offers MBA/BBA, MCA/BCA, MSc (IT)/B.Sc (IT), MA/BA (Journalism & Mass Communication) degree courses and provides regular classes (Monday to Friday) without charging any tuition fees along with 100 percent free Job oriented courses such as English speaking, Personality Development, Foreign Language, Hardware networking etc. Degrees are awarded by Sikkim Manipal University(SMU) which is a State Govt. University recognized by UGC, Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India. Students have to pay nominal university fee in the form of Demand Draft in favor of Sikkim Manipal University (SMU) payable at Manipal. |
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Eight students to represent India at Intel Science Fair
Eight students to represent India at Intel Science Fair
Bangalore: Eight students who have been successful at India Initiative for Research & Innovation in Science (IRIS) with their Science and technology projects will represent India in the 2010 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) at San Jose, California from May 9-14.
The students (four in individual category and two each in the Team category) with their winning science and engineering projects will compete against more than 1500 others from various countries, an Intel statement said.
As the world's largest pre-college science fair and the only global science competition for students in grades 9-12, the Intel ISEF, is a program organized by Society for Science and the Public (SSP), it said.
The Intel ISEF winners are judged on their creative ability and scientific thought, as well as the thoroughness, skill, and clarity shown in their projects.
At the national level, IRIS encourages only research based science projects, the statement said.
At the week-long Science and Engineering Fair, students will have the opportunity to meet leading scientists and exchange ideas on various evolving topics in Science, Research and Technology, the statement said.
Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_eight-students-to-represent-india-at-intel-science-fair_1374687
Apar Weblink:http://www.aparindiacollege.com/index.htm
Bangalore: Eight students who have been successful at India Initiative for Research & Innovation in Science (IRIS) with their Science and technology projects will represent India in the 2010 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) at San Jose, California from May 9-14.
The students (four in individual category and two each in the Team category) with their winning science and engineering projects will compete against more than 1500 others from various countries, an Intel statement said.
As the world's largest pre-college science fair and the only global science competition for students in grades 9-12, the Intel ISEF, is a program organized by Society for Science and the Public (SSP), it said.
The Intel ISEF winners are judged on their creative ability and scientific thought, as well as the thoroughness, skill, and clarity shown in their projects.
At the national level, IRIS encourages only research based science projects, the statement said.
At the week-long Science and Engineering Fair, students will have the opportunity to meet leading scientists and exchange ideas on various evolving topics in Science, Research and Technology, the statement said.
Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_eight-students-to-represent-india-at-intel-science-fair_1374687
Apar Weblink:http://www.aparindiacollege.com/index.htm
Canadian government threatens McGill against fees hike
Canadian government threatens McGill against fees hike
When taking the decision to raise the tuition fees for the MBA programme, the McGill University did not realise they will face problem by the name of Quebec Government.
To help the management department funding the university had earlier on decided to raise the annual cost for Quebec students from $1,700 to $30,000.
Despite its argument,that the change will make McGill the best university in Canada, the Education Minister Michelle Courchesne did not permit the government to make such changes considering the fact that it limit the accessibility of some Quebec students to the MBA programmes.
Almost threatening McGill, Courchesne said if the hike is brought into action the government will take away the subsidies amounting to $28,000 per student that it has awarded to McGill.
So far no reaction has come from the McGill side of the controversy.
Source Link: http://studycanada.learnhub.com/news/1022-canadian-government-threatens-mcgill-against-fees-hike
Apar Weblink:http://www.aparindiacollege.com/index.htm
When taking the decision to raise the tuition fees for the MBA programme, the McGill University did not realise they will face problem by the name of Quebec Government.
To help the management department funding the university had earlier on decided to raise the annual cost for Quebec students from $1,700 to $30,000.
Despite its argument,that the change will make McGill the best university in Canada, the Education Minister Michelle Courchesne did not permit the government to make such changes considering the fact that it limit the accessibility of some Quebec students to the MBA programmes.
Almost threatening McGill, Courchesne said if the hike is brought into action the government will take away the subsidies amounting to $28,000 per student that it has awarded to McGill.
So far no reaction has come from the McGill side of the controversy.
Source Link: http://studycanada.learnhub.com/news/1022-canadian-government-threatens-mcgill-against-fees-hike
Apar Weblink:http://www.aparindiacollege.com/index.htm
B-schools or placement agencies- Panel discussion at Praxis Business School
B-schools or placement agencies- Panel discussion at Praxis Business School
Popularity of B-schools these days rests on their placement records. Greater the percentage of those placed, the better the quality of education imparted by these B-schools- this is the general notion.
It was this issue that was taken up for a panel discussion on April 17 by Praxis Business School on the occasion of the convocation ceremony of class of ’09 and ’10. The panel consisted of K Dasaratharaman, President, Specialty Businesses, Spencer’s Retail, Shankar Chatterjee, Managing Director, Bertling Logistics, Dr Prithwis Mukerjee, Professor, VG-SoM IIT Kharagpur and Santosh Desai, MD & CEO, Future Brands Ltd, Future Group.
Moderating the discussion was Prof Charanpreet Singh, Associate Dean, Praxis Business School. Singh elaborated on the topic and presented both its sides – why should B-schools not be called placement agencies and B-schools should have a greater aim.
Opening the discussion was K. Dasaratharaman. The IIM A passout spoke about the philosophical, cultural and sociological aspects of a B-school. He humorously narrated how students of reputed B-schools can easily get a credit card or find a spouse.
What made his speech stand out was however a unique observation: “Life is not a choice of ‘or’ but it is the tyranny of the ‘and’. While you do one thing you have to be conscious of its opposite.” He concluded his speech by advising students to be multi-potent and ambidextrous.”
Referring to the issue under scrutiny, the next speaker Shankar Chatterjee explained the meaning of a B-school: “It is a congregation of individuals who join to create something that the business world wants.”
Chatterjee considered B-schools to be the sellers, MBA graduates to be the products and corporates to be the buyers. “These days B-schools follow the practice of selling by yelling. Instead basic fundamental values should be instilled. We, Indians, should be confident”, added the corporate honcho. He felt corporates should give importance to the individual instead of the institute. Prithwis Mukherjee, the third speaker took an extreme position and believed that B-schools had indeed reduced themselves to placement agencies.
He criticized B-schools for propagating the idea of ‘industry ready graduates’. Citing an example from his tryst with the software industry Mukherjee said, “If you know coding and C++, then you are ready for the software industry. There is no original idea because we are all ‘industry ready’.”
“Leadership, Mathematics, Psychology and Technology are the most important factors that an MBA should work upon”, felt Mukherjee, demonstrating the idea with a power-point presentation.
The final speaker Santosh Desai elaborated on the idea of how successful people are never questioned as they are considered to be intellectuals. “The essential question to ask is what does the industry need?” said Desai. He urged the students not to be in love with what exists but instead be creative. He further advised the B-schools to figure out what the business world needs and encourage students to question. The discussion, enjoyed by the audience, gave rise to a lot of questions – why B-schools are not following the way of open-source system, why cannot students stress on education, why are Indians not successful in India and the like. They all got satisfying answers from the distinguished panel and the fresh graduates had lots to take away with them.
Source Link: http://www.minglebox.com/article/mba/B-schools-or-placement-agencies/data-0001-fdbffe7e282ac19301282acf21d906bf
Apar Weblink:http://www.aparindiacollege.com/
Popularity of B-schools these days rests on their placement records. Greater the percentage of those placed, the better the quality of education imparted by these B-schools- this is the general notion.
It was this issue that was taken up for a panel discussion on April 17 by Praxis Business School on the occasion of the convocation ceremony of class of ’09 and ’10. The panel consisted of K Dasaratharaman, President, Specialty Businesses, Spencer’s Retail, Shankar Chatterjee, Managing Director, Bertling Logistics, Dr Prithwis Mukerjee, Professor, VG-SoM IIT Kharagpur and Santosh Desai, MD & CEO, Future Brands Ltd, Future Group.
Moderating the discussion was Prof Charanpreet Singh, Associate Dean, Praxis Business School. Singh elaborated on the topic and presented both its sides – why should B-schools not be called placement agencies and B-schools should have a greater aim.
Opening the discussion was K. Dasaratharaman. The IIM A passout spoke about the philosophical, cultural and sociological aspects of a B-school. He humorously narrated how students of reputed B-schools can easily get a credit card or find a spouse.
What made his speech stand out was however a unique observation: “Life is not a choice of ‘or’ but it is the tyranny of the ‘and’. While you do one thing you have to be conscious of its opposite.” He concluded his speech by advising students to be multi-potent and ambidextrous.”
Referring to the issue under scrutiny, the next speaker Shankar Chatterjee explained the meaning of a B-school: “It is a congregation of individuals who join to create something that the business world wants.”
Chatterjee considered B-schools to be the sellers, MBA graduates to be the products and corporates to be the buyers. “These days B-schools follow the practice of selling by yelling. Instead basic fundamental values should be instilled. We, Indians, should be confident”, added the corporate honcho. He felt corporates should give importance to the individual instead of the institute. Prithwis Mukherjee, the third speaker took an extreme position and believed that B-schools had indeed reduced themselves to placement agencies.
He criticized B-schools for propagating the idea of ‘industry ready graduates’. Citing an example from his tryst with the software industry Mukherjee said, “If you know coding and C++, then you are ready for the software industry. There is no original idea because we are all ‘industry ready’.”
“Leadership, Mathematics, Psychology and Technology are the most important factors that an MBA should work upon”, felt Mukherjee, demonstrating the idea with a power-point presentation.
The final speaker Santosh Desai elaborated on the idea of how successful people are never questioned as they are considered to be intellectuals. “The essential question to ask is what does the industry need?” said Desai. He urged the students not to be in love with what exists but instead be creative. He further advised the B-schools to figure out what the business world needs and encourage students to question. The discussion, enjoyed by the audience, gave rise to a lot of questions – why B-schools are not following the way of open-source system, why cannot students stress on education, why are Indians not successful in India and the like. They all got satisfying answers from the distinguished panel and the fresh graduates had lots to take away with them.
Source Link: http://www.minglebox.com/article/mba/B-schools-or-placement-agencies/data-0001-fdbffe7e282ac19301282acf21d906bf
Apar Weblink:http://www.aparindiacollege.com/
Focus on increasing college enrolment - Sibal
Focus on increasing college enrolment - Sibal
Chandigarh: Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal recently called for substantially increasing the number of students joining colleges for higher studies after completing their schooling.
"In India, nearly 220 million students go to schools and around 14 million go to colleges. Our Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), that is the percentage of students going from schools to colleges, is only 12.4 percent," said Sibal here at a seminar on education reforms.
He added, "This is a matter of worry as in other developed countries GER is not less than 40 to 50 percent. If we talk about the research sector, then in Europe for every million people not less than 6,000 go for research, in the US this number is 4,700 whereas in India it is just 156."
He said that we have to make sure that by 2020 India's GER increases to 30 percent.
"At presently 480 universities and 22,000 colleges are fulfilling the need of 12.4 percent GER. If we have to reach a mark of 30 percent GER, in the next 10 years we need around 700 to 1,000 universities and nearly 45,000colleges," he said.
He said the definition of wealth has changed globally and it now refers to ideas, innovation and creativity that are intellectual assets.
Sibal said changes are needed in school education as well.
He said that no government can run schools efficiently therefore there should be a transfer of ownership to community from the government.
"Under the Right to Education Act, we have impressed on the need of involving 75 percent people from the locality, out of which 50 percent should be women, in a school management committee. Ownership should be gradually transferred to the community and people, especially mothers of students, should decide a school's operations," said Sibal.
Talking on exam reforms, he said, "We need to move away from the examination system to creativity. There should be no exams or boards. We require a constant evaluation not for those skills that a student does not have but for those that he actually possesses." IANS
Source Link: http://www.indiaedunews.net/Today/Focus_on_increasing_college_enrolment_-_Sibal_11416/
Apar Weblink:http://www.aparindiacollege.com/index.htm
Chandigarh: Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal recently called for substantially increasing the number of students joining colleges for higher studies after completing their schooling.
"In India, nearly 220 million students go to schools and around 14 million go to colleges. Our Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), that is the percentage of students going from schools to colleges, is only 12.4 percent," said Sibal here at a seminar on education reforms.
He added, "This is a matter of worry as in other developed countries GER is not less than 40 to 50 percent. If we talk about the research sector, then in Europe for every million people not less than 6,000 go for research, in the US this number is 4,700 whereas in India it is just 156."
He said that we have to make sure that by 2020 India's GER increases to 30 percent.
"At presently 480 universities and 22,000 colleges are fulfilling the need of 12.4 percent GER. If we have to reach a mark of 30 percent GER, in the next 10 years we need around 700 to 1,000 universities and nearly 45,000colleges," he said.
He said the definition of wealth has changed globally and it now refers to ideas, innovation and creativity that are intellectual assets.
Sibal said changes are needed in school education as well.
He said that no government can run schools efficiently therefore there should be a transfer of ownership to community from the government.
"Under the Right to Education Act, we have impressed on the need of involving 75 percent people from the locality, out of which 50 percent should be women, in a school management committee. Ownership should be gradually transferred to the community and people, especially mothers of students, should decide a school's operations," said Sibal.
Talking on exam reforms, he said, "We need to move away from the examination system to creativity. There should be no exams or boards. We require a constant evaluation not for those skills that a student does not have but for those that he actually possesses." IANS
Source Link: http://www.indiaedunews.net/Today/Focus_on_increasing_college_enrolment_-_Sibal_11416/
Apar Weblink:http://www.aparindiacollege.com/index.htm
Manipal Univeristy inks MoU with two international varsities
Manipal Univeristy inks MoU with two international varsities
Bangalore: Manipal University along with Manipal Education, leading academic and educational service provider, today signed MoUs with Univerity of Melbourne Australia and University of Nottingham, to faciltiate and enhace academic cooperation bilaterally and multiterally.
The MoUs will translate into a number of joint programmes, which will be initially focussed on India. Later, based on the experience gained, and mutual agreement, the MoUs allow for programmes to be extended to other countries that Manipal Education is present in, Anand Sudarshan, CEO and MD, Manipal Education told reporters.
These broad-based MoUs with the two top univiveristies aim at facilitating active collaborations, he said.
Individual areas would also be identified, and specific working agrements will be arrived at. These areas would range from offering joint programmes, providing joint and dual degrees, teaching collaborations, student and faculty exchanges, to development of collaborative research programme.
These relationships will also potentially result in the development of new generation programmes and explore other collaborations in line with opportunities accorded by the education sector reforms being ushered in by the government.
University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Glyn Davis replied in the negative when asked whether the number of Indian students seeking admission to Australian universities had declined following incidents of attack on Indian students in his country.
Nearly 400 Indian students were studying in Melbourne university, he said.
Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_manipal-univeristy-inks-mou-with-two-international-varsities_1375856
Apar Weblink:http://www.aparindiacollege.com/index.htm
Bangalore: Manipal University along with Manipal Education, leading academic and educational service provider, today signed MoUs with Univerity of Melbourne Australia and University of Nottingham, to faciltiate and enhace academic cooperation bilaterally and multiterally.
The MoUs will translate into a number of joint programmes, which will be initially focussed on India. Later, based on the experience gained, and mutual agreement, the MoUs allow for programmes to be extended to other countries that Manipal Education is present in, Anand Sudarshan, CEO and MD, Manipal Education told reporters.
These broad-based MoUs with the two top univiveristies aim at facilitating active collaborations, he said.
Individual areas would also be identified, and specific working agrements will be arrived at. These areas would range from offering joint programmes, providing joint and dual degrees, teaching collaborations, student and faculty exchanges, to development of collaborative research programme.
These relationships will also potentially result in the development of new generation programmes and explore other collaborations in line with opportunities accorded by the education sector reforms being ushered in by the government.
University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Glyn Davis replied in the negative when asked whether the number of Indian students seeking admission to Australian universities had declined following incidents of attack on Indian students in his country.
Nearly 400 Indian students were studying in Melbourne university, he said.
Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_manipal-univeristy-inks-mou-with-two-international-varsities_1375856
Apar Weblink:http://www.aparindiacollege.com/index.htm
SP Jain won't 'lie' about placements
SP Jain won't 'lie' about placements
Mumbai: It is going to do what no other business school in India has done before. The SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, will get its placement data audited by an external agency.
It is a bold move by the management institute made at a time when there have been allegations that many business/management institutes exaggerate placement statistics to lure students.
“The whole issue of whether B-schools give misleading salary figures — what is the actual CTC (cost to company) and what is being projected — has become a major concern. That is why we have decided to get our placement statistics audited and verified by an agency to make things transparent,” an SP Jain source said.
“One should not try to attract aspiring MBAs by projecting exaggerated salary packages. Also, business school fees are becoming quite high. So, it is essential that we give students a correct picture of what is going on. One way of doing it is to get compensation figures validated by a recognised, external organisation,” the source added.
The external agency (the source did not name it) will audit the placement data of students of the two-year, full-time post-graduate diploma in management (PGDM) programme.
Confirming that all 174 of its PGDM students have been placed, the SP Jain placement office said that it will officially release the placement data only after it has been audited and verified by the agency.
“There have been cases of institutes making false claims about placements. Some institutes have quoted exaggerated figures when their students have been placed at low salaries. Good institutes abroad mention their lowest and highest ranges, as well as the middle range. But such is not the case in India,” the source said.
The institute has asked companies offering placements to its students to send in the final offer letters on their letterheads.
“Most students will join work by June. So, it will take some time before we get the final letters from the companies,” the source added.
SP Jain will calculate the figures and hand them over to the agency.
“If there are discrepancies in our figures, we will make the necessary changes. We will be the first institute doing this. Hopefully, others too will be doing the same in future. It will help students make informed choices,” the source said.
Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_sp-jain-won-t-lie-about-placements_1375577
Apar Weblink:http://www.aparindiacollege.com/index.htm
Mumbai: It is going to do what no other business school in India has done before. The SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, will get its placement data audited by an external agency.
It is a bold move by the management institute made at a time when there have been allegations that many business/management institutes exaggerate placement statistics to lure students.
“The whole issue of whether B-schools give misleading salary figures — what is the actual CTC (cost to company) and what is being projected — has become a major concern. That is why we have decided to get our placement statistics audited and verified by an agency to make things transparent,” an SP Jain source said.
“One should not try to attract aspiring MBAs by projecting exaggerated salary packages. Also, business school fees are becoming quite high. So, it is essential that we give students a correct picture of what is going on. One way of doing it is to get compensation figures validated by a recognised, external organisation,” the source added.
The external agency (the source did not name it) will audit the placement data of students of the two-year, full-time post-graduate diploma in management (PGDM) programme.
Confirming that all 174 of its PGDM students have been placed, the SP Jain placement office said that it will officially release the placement data only after it has been audited and verified by the agency.
“There have been cases of institutes making false claims about placements. Some institutes have quoted exaggerated figures when their students have been placed at low salaries. Good institutes abroad mention their lowest and highest ranges, as well as the middle range. But such is not the case in India,” the source said.
The institute has asked companies offering placements to its students to send in the final offer letters on their letterheads.
“Most students will join work by June. So, it will take some time before we get the final letters from the companies,” the source added.
SP Jain will calculate the figures and hand them over to the agency.
“If there are discrepancies in our figures, we will make the necessary changes. We will be the first institute doing this. Hopefully, others too will be doing the same in future. It will help students make informed choices,” the source said.
Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_sp-jain-won-t-lie-about-placements_1375577
Apar Weblink:http://www.aparindiacollege.com/index.htm
Asian academicians meet in Australia to improve international ties
Asian academicians meet in Australia to improve international ties
Hundreds of higher-education leaders from the Asia-Pacific region came together in a conference in Australia to define equal partnerships with Western institutions and their need to be flexible to adapt to a rapidly changing economic environment, says a report published in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Though most believed that Asian higher education was finally finding a way of its own, there was a general feeling amongst representatives from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and others that their international activities should be stepped up.
Asian universities tend to be very domestically oriented, and their self-esteem is very high within the nation. But they are very limited and their standards are not global," said Doo-Hee Lee, a business professor at Korea University and the association’s founder and president. “Western universities still set the standards, and Asian universities are always falling behind.”
To ensure that graduates do not grow up in an environment where they know nothing about their neighbours, especially in Asia, Lee announced the creation of the Asia Pacific leaders program with the participation of 15 Asian countries and 22 universities. Under this program top university students will study, volunteer, and learn the local culture in a neighboring country’s university.
There is definitely an increased interest of academicians from Asian universities about creating for themselves a regional identity. This can be verified with the increased number of participation in the annual conference ( total 900 attendees, 300 more than expected) and a definitely doubled sponsorship for the same.
Arun Sharma, deputy vice-chancellor for research and commercialisation at the Queensland University of Technology, in Australia, gave the opening address. “If the profits stay in the country, then you can broaden your network, enhance your brand everywhere, do your research at the cost price, even get some government funding and provide education in that country,” he said.
“Seeing higher education merely as an export for profit is a route down the food chain,” Sharma said. Hence, he called for a mercantile approach to higher education, in which Western countries export their programs to Asia and then repatriate the profits. He noted that the government of India is currently considering a bill that would welcome foreign universities but require profits to remain in India, which he supported.
Building partnerships at home and abroad was a popular topic with attendees since its is the best way to leverage limited resources and expose the faculty and students to a broad array of ideas.
Internationally most popular Singapore has already been working on plans and programs to attract more foreign students through a new university of technology and design, a new American-style liberal-arts college affiliated with the National University of Singapore.
In 2001, Peking University even introduced the Yuanpei honors college, a pilot program that immerses a select group of students into a liberal-arts project similar to those in the United States.
Lee wrapped up the conference saying that while American universities have time-tested academic programs, Asian universities continue to be in an age of experimentation.
Source Link: http://studyabroad.learnhub.com/news/1021-asian-academicians-meet-in-australia-to-improve-international-ties
Apar Weblink:http://www.aparindiacollege.com/index.htm
Hundreds of higher-education leaders from the Asia-Pacific region came together in a conference in Australia to define equal partnerships with Western institutions and their need to be flexible to adapt to a rapidly changing economic environment, says a report published in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Though most believed that Asian higher education was finally finding a way of its own, there was a general feeling amongst representatives from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and others that their international activities should be stepped up.
Asian universities tend to be very domestically oriented, and their self-esteem is very high within the nation. But they are very limited and their standards are not global," said Doo-Hee Lee, a business professor at Korea University and the association’s founder and president. “Western universities still set the standards, and Asian universities are always falling behind.”
To ensure that graduates do not grow up in an environment where they know nothing about their neighbours, especially in Asia, Lee announced the creation of the Asia Pacific leaders program with the participation of 15 Asian countries and 22 universities. Under this program top university students will study, volunteer, and learn the local culture in a neighboring country’s university.
There is definitely an increased interest of academicians from Asian universities about creating for themselves a regional identity. This can be verified with the increased number of participation in the annual conference ( total 900 attendees, 300 more than expected) and a definitely doubled sponsorship for the same.
Arun Sharma, deputy vice-chancellor for research and commercialisation at the Queensland University of Technology, in Australia, gave the opening address. “If the profits stay in the country, then you can broaden your network, enhance your brand everywhere, do your research at the cost price, even get some government funding and provide education in that country,” he said.
“Seeing higher education merely as an export for profit is a route down the food chain,” Sharma said. Hence, he called for a mercantile approach to higher education, in which Western countries export their programs to Asia and then repatriate the profits. He noted that the government of India is currently considering a bill that would welcome foreign universities but require profits to remain in India, which he supported.
Building partnerships at home and abroad was a popular topic with attendees since its is the best way to leverage limited resources and expose the faculty and students to a broad array of ideas.
Internationally most popular Singapore has already been working on plans and programs to attract more foreign students through a new university of technology and design, a new American-style liberal-arts college affiliated with the National University of Singapore.
In 2001, Peking University even introduced the Yuanpei honors college, a pilot program that immerses a select group of students into a liberal-arts project similar to those in the United States.
Lee wrapped up the conference saying that while American universities have time-tested academic programs, Asian universities continue to be in an age of experimentation.
Source Link: http://studyabroad.learnhub.com/news/1021-asian-academicians-meet-in-australia-to-improve-international-ties
Apar Weblink:http://www.aparindiacollege.com/index.htm
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)