IGNOU, NIIT to enhance employable talent pool

New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and NIIT have entered into a 'Global Partnership in Education and Skill Building for Enhanced Employability.' Under this partnership, IGNOU and NIIT plan to collaborate in domains like Information Technology and Management Sciences for its India and international operations.

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Joint programs in IT would include programs in undergraduate programs or combined Master's programs. An Executive MBA will be offered as a part of management programs. The tie-up will also be extended to finishing school programs that would be available as optional programs for IGNOU students and Alumni. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on this significant partnership was announced by Prof. V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice-Chancellor, IGNOU and Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman, NIIT.

Pillai remarked, "More and more people today look up to us to get customized education which is internationally viable. We gradually found our education rather lauded both for employability as well as intellectual recluse. Students today pursue our education in a system of learning process. This global partnership with NIIT will enable students to acquire employable skills for the domestic as well as global markets."

With the return of strong hiring outlook, industry would be on the lookout for job-ready talent. According to industry experts more than 900,000 jobs are likely to be created in the year 2010 in India, of with over 350,000 new jobs will be added in the IT services companies alone. As per latest industry figures announced by NASSCOM, the IT BPO exports market alone is expected to grow by 13-15 percent and the domestic market by 15-17 percent.

Prof. Manohar Lal, Director of the School of Information and Computer Sciences (SOCIS) of IGNOU said, "Somewhere we are duty-bound to take education to all. Democratisation of computer education is the call of today. Taking the state-of-the-art IT education to the doorstep of the learners, everywhere and anywhere, is a challenge we have undertaken."

The IGNOU- NIIT partnership aims at initiating the process for developing a pool of industry-ready professionals by bringing together higher education and skill building. Pawar said, "Inspired by Prime Minister's skills mission, the NIIT- IGNOU partnership seeks to contribute to large scale skill development."