India's Most leading Distance Learning Universities and Institutes

FEBRUARY |

02 | 2022

Lovely Professional University's Distance Education Transforming Graduates into Lifelong Learners

EDITOR’S NOTE

QUALITY EDUCATION AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

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he COVID-19 pandemic that has been a gamechanger of sorts taught one big lesson – that is, learning continues no matter what.

Educational institutions resorted to distance learning in the subsequent lockdowns that followed the coronavirus outbreak globally. During the long wait for normalcy to resume, universities also followed suit.

But distance education is not a new concept. The only new thing is online learning through various channels. Earlier, it was correspondence courses for students who were unable to attend college either due to financial conditions or because they were working and wanted to upgrade their skills or add to their qualifications. Learning through correspondence or open university education threw a variety of courses for students to choose. Today, it has matured to distance learning.

In 1962, correspondence education started as a pilot project in India. It became an immediate hit with many eager

learners enrolling in the courses. Thus, began the dawn of distance learning in India.

The first institution to offer correspondence courses was the University of Delhi’s School of Correspondence Courses and Continuing Education, affiliated with the University Grants Commission.

Initially, these institutions had to convince people of the authenticity of the degrees they provided. But with the UGC and other government affiliations, these courses and the institutions providing them became recognized and valued gradually.

In the absence of digital platforms like today, distance education providers advertised in the print and broadcast media. The admission forms used to be available in select centers or by post, and interested candidates mailed the documents to the desired address. The entire process used to be offline, with the fees paid through demand draft or cheque. Even the study material was posted to the student.

e-learning platforms. Access to the Internet in urban and rural areas made distance learning more popular than ever.

These institutes will keep evolving, given the uncertain situation at present. The traditional distance learning institutes have also embraced technology. Present-day distance learning also includes skill development.

The marketing and advertising techniques also changed with digitalization. Social media platforms are the most sought-after ones for advertising.

Organisations are demanding multi-tasking and the latest knowledge in the field. People are upgrading their skillsets and knowledge base with various distance learning modes for career growth.

This edition features some distance learning universities and institutes leading the herd with exceptional courses and teaching methodologies that make the student industryready.

Have an interesting read! T R

Digitalization and online transfers simplified the process of distance learning like one could never imagine during the offline days. Distance learning is flexible, pocket-friendly, and allows learning while earning. It offers many growth opportunities to students in a country like India.

Technology has been a boon to distance education. The last decade saw the evolution of distance learning with online or

arkar

Sumita S

Sumita Sarkar sumita@theknowledgereview.com

08

Cover Story

Lovely Professional University's Distance Education Transforming Graduates into Lifelong Learners

Cxo

24

Expert's Insights

The future of the Hospitality Industry

C O N T E N T

Articles Career in Focus

Frame Of Mind

20

32

Why e-Learning is the Future of Professional Development?

Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory

Academy of Hospital Administration Developing and Maintaining High Standards in Hospital and Healthcare Planning

The Audio Guys Institute Providing Unparalleled Standard of Audio Education

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India's MOST

Leading

Distance Learning Universities and Institutes URL

Brief

ahaindia.org

AHA has been intimately involved in the conduct of Management Development Programmes for training of Doctors, Nurses and Paramedical, from its inception.

Amity Distance Education University, Noida

addoe.amity.edu

To prepare its students for a dynamic future, ADDOE has been providing high-quality distance education in management and other professional elds for several years now.

Bharati VidyapeethSchool of Distance Education

distance.bharatividyapeeth.edu

Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University) is an academic institution with social commitment.

Book My University

bookmyuniversity.com

Book My University is an extensive search engine for students and parents who are seeking information on higher education.

École Intuit Lab French Institute Of Design Digital & Strategy, New Delhi

ecole-intuit-lab.co.in

A design school that encourages reection, learning, and understanding of design & the digital space.

Integral University

iul.ac.in

Integral University has a unique culture of inclusiveness, diversity, personal and intellectual integrity and value-based education.

JRN Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Udaipur

jrnrvu.edu.in

Janardan Rai Nagar Rajasthan Vidyapeeth is a deemed university in the city of Udaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan.

lpude.in

Lovely Professional University, the Lovely Faculty of Distance Education (LFDE) aims at making Distance Education, a credible and valued mode of learning, by providing education without a compromise.

smu.edu.in

Sikkim Manipal University - Distance Educations main mission is its efforts to bring education to the masses to fulll the growing demand for professionals.

tagmumbai.com

TAG Institute has been established with the aim towards providing unparalleled quality education in the eld of ‘Sound Engineering and Audio Production’.

Name of the Institution Academy of Hospital Administration [AHA]

Lovely Professional Distance Education University, Phagwara

Sikkim Manipal Distance Education University, Gangtok

The Audio Guys Institute

Lovely Professional University's Distance Education

impactful research

India's Most Leading Distance Learning Universities and Institutes he most prominent distance learning universities and institutes provide flexible and quality learning opportunities to the students in a cost-effective manner. They provide equal opportunities to the students to learn and grow academically and build excellent careers.

T

universities of the world by 2025. Presently, it is a leading university with a world-class infrastructure; updated curriculum focused on latest aspects; live projects; international-national placements & internships with top global brands; and much more to applaud.

One such noteworthy university, which is taking education to the heights of excellence, is none other than Lovely Professional University (LPU). Situated at Jalandhar, it is the largest single-campus private university in India. It has more than 30,000 students, around 4000 faculties and staff, and offers more than 200 programs.

In a League of its Own The university adopts technology driven blended system of delivery to offer its various ODL programmes at undergraduate and post-graduate levels in the disciplines of Computer Applications, Information Technology, Management, Commerce, Arts, and Library & Information Sciences.

About Lovely Professional Distance Education University (LPUDE) Established with an objective to provide a convenient study mode of affordable and anytime-anywhere quality education in a technology-rich environment, the Open and Distance Learning(ODL) programmes offered by LPU are fulfilling the educational aspirations of the society.

LPU ODL programmes cater to the needs of students who cannot pursue formal education in colleges and universities.

It is an endeavour of LPU aimed at ‘Bridging the Distance in Education’. The university has been offering various under-graduate and post-graduate ODL programmes in numerous disciplines for the last 14 years after getting due recognition from the concerned regulatory bodies like Distance Education Council (erstwhile), UGC – Distance Education Bureau, and AICTE from time to time.

The Erudite Leader The glorious heights gained by Lovely Professional University (LPU) within a few years of its inception bear testimony to the incessant industrious efforts, indomitable will, and strong sense of commitment adopted by its Chancellor, Mr Ashok Mittal, who intends regeneration of the glory of ancient Indian education system. Envisioning ‘Transforming Education, Transforming India’, he- like a true global leader- is carrying forward the motto of ‘Think Big’ in all fields related to propagation of industry needed education. Under his dynamic guidance, LPU has created a strong international presence, and has emerged as a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in academics, research, placements, entrepreneurship, sports, cultural& CSR activities, and other allied fields. Benchmarking LPU with top international and national universities, he has raised LPU’s stature to get ranked in line with universities of the USA, Canada, and Indian IITs. Under Mr Mittal's leadership, LPU has been scaling up regularly to get listed among top 200

Powered by its multiple award-winning online learning management system ‘LPU e-Connect’, LPU is strengthening quality and efficient delivery of higher education for open and distance learners. LPU e-Connect offers ‘any time any where’ strong and secure online connection that links LPU and its ODL students irrespective of any geographical boundaries. Based on enterprising web portal technology, LPU e-Connect truly automates various administrative and academic processes of ODL learners and minimizes the shortcomings of physical distances by providing 24*7 accessibility through its various useful features. It is a boon for students as they can learn as per their convenience along with their other commitments. The learning management system is also accessible through LPU Touch Mobile App which can be downloaded from popular app stores.

A separate website for open and distance education has been developed and maintained in-house with a dedicated team of qualified IT professionals. It is highly interactive and dynamic, providing easy access to information links and tools to meet the diverse needs of the students, faculty, and other visitors. The website is well structured, user friendly, and easy to navigate wherein all the links are categorized under relevant sections facilitating different users to fetch the desired information quickly.

The university has robust grievance handling system for open and distance learning students. It has a dedicated window at the university campus to cater to various academic and administrative needs. There is a dedicated call centre and email handling system to handle the students’ grievances/queries. Online relationship management system is also available on LPU e-Connect and mobile app for students to lodge their grievances, requests, and suggestions. Strong connect is maintained with students through various social media platforms like

graduates into seasoned professionals

Mr Ashok Mittal Chancellor Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Whatsapp, Blog, and also through periodic newsletters. Ÿ ODL students are given all the facilities, benefits, and opportunities at par with conventional mode students.

Prominent achievers of diverse fields including Olympians, Arjuna Awardee, and specially abled persons are given scholarships and fee waivers for pursuing ODL programmes.

Ÿ

Overcoming the Pandemic In order to tackle the massive challenges imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, LPU emerged with many innovative solutions which helped in simplifying procedures. This also helped the university to carry on with delivering excellent educational facilities to the students.

Ÿ

The online solutions adopted by university for the facilitation of ODL students included the following provisions

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ Quality of features available on learning management system (LPU e-Connect), mobile app (LPU Touch), and

website (www.lpude.in) are enhanced to provide better online support to the learners.

Online admission processing was further strengthened during lock-down period facilitating the aspiring students to complete their admission process sitting at home.

During the lock-down period, the arrangement was made for the counsellors to work from home to keep the call centre functional for handling the urgent issues of students.

Provision was made to conduct live virtual Personal Contact Programme(PCP) classes with various interactive features during which learners could interact live with the university faculty.

Provision was also made to make the recorded PCP classes available in the LMS logins of the students for anytime anywhere access.

Academic and professional enhancement workshops/ special classes were conducted in online mode which facilitated more participation of ODL students.

Provision was made to conduct proctored online end term exam for ODL students.

Towards New Horizons Being a premier academic institution of international repute, LPU has been contributing significantly to the industry and the society through excellence in teaching, learning, research, internationalization, entrepreneurship, and leadership.

The innovative pedagogical practices adopted by the university focus on hands on training and live projects. The university has always encouraged entrepreneurship, innovation, and practical knowledge over traditional classroom teaching. LPU has an incubation centre where potential business ideas are given a chance to become a reality. The university provides office space, seed capital, expert guidance, and other forms of support to the budding student entrepreneurs. As a result, hundreds of start-ups have already been launched and are running quite successfully and many more are expected. With its state-ofthe-art research facilities like Central Instrumentation Facility and Industry Sponsored & Collaborated Labs, LPU has achieved many milestones in the area of Intellectual Property Development at global level.

Excellent Career Opportunities LPU not only offers brilliant academic facilities, but also helps in building bright career pathways for the students. It provides at par opportunities to ODL students to compete, participate, and attend various national and international mega events held at the university campus such as Sports Meet, One India, One World, Spectra (Inter-School Cultural Fest), and Global Open Festival ‘Youth Vibe’. In many of such events, open and distance learning students have proved their mettle by achieving distinguished positions.

A division of student career services is operating at the university with a vision to equip students with versatile

traits to match core needs of the corporate world. ODL students are provided with placement support by informing them from time to time about various placement drives at different locations to enable them to avail the opportunities.

The credibility and efficacy of this system has captured the attention of the industry as many companies of repute are conducting placement drives and recruiting LPU ODL students.

Workshops, seminars, conferences, and guest lectures are conducted by the university as per the specific requirements of the open and distance learning students for their professional and academic enrichment.

The Success Saga Throughout its illustrious journey of imparting exceptional education, LPU has made many noteworthy achievements.

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LPU has been ranked 36th amongst top universities in India (in1000-1200 band among world's top Universities) by The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022,

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Ranked 2nd in Business & Economics (501-600 band), 8th in Clinical & Health (601+ band),

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Ranked 9th in Computer Science (501-600 band), and 10th in Engineering & Life Sciences (601-800 band).

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Ranked amongst India's top 100 Universities in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Rankings of Govt. of India consecutively for the last two years.

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Ranked 62 amongst all the Government and Private Universities of India, 12th in Architecture, 23rd in Pharmacy, 24th in Law, 37th in Management, and 66th in Engineering as per the recent NIRF rankings 2021.

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Nearly 10 % of the Indian Olympic participants were LPU students. 14 LPU students represented India in Tokyo Olympics 2020 held in Tokyo, Japan. 13 out of 14 LPU students in Olympics won sparkling Olympics medals for India-1 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze. LPU student Neeraj Chopra is the only Gold Medalist of India. Paralympian Nishad Kumar won the Silver medal. LPU students Bajrang Punia & Indian Hockey Team including Captain Manpreet Singh also won 2 Bronze medals.

•

Competition Success Review Top Online and Distance Learning Institute of India Award 2021

•

Top 10 Most Promising Distance Learning Institutes in India for the year 2019 & 2020 by Higher Education Review

•

12th & 13th World Education Summit Awards for Innovation in Open and Distance Learning.

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National Education Excellence Award 2018 for being India's Best University in Open, Distance & Online Learning by Career Connect.

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Academy of Hospital

Administration

Developing and Maintaining High Standards in Hospital and Healthcare Planning

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o develop and maintain hospital & healthcare planning and designing parameters, quality training, consultancy and research activities in health and hospital system through active involvement of healthcare organizers

“

16 | Feb 2022

and providers, in order to attain a leading role in continuously improving the performance of healthcare systems in the country”- this is the mission statement which Academy of Hospital Administration (AHA) abides by.

AHA is an autonomous professional organization consisting of highly qualified and experienced experts and faculty in hospital and health systems operations management, public health and multispecialty facilities planning,

India's Most Leading Distance Learning Universities and Institutes and architectural designing doyens. It also employs experts in quality management in healthcare delivery systems (NABH, NQAS, and NABL), public health strategists, and so on.

AHA has a large panel of academia, experts in bio-medical engineers, health IT professionals, HTA, telemedicine, medical & wellness tourism, bio-medical waste management, lean & six sigma, and other allied fields in health-related domains.

Enhanced Training for Better Outcomes AHA has always focused on nurturing the students to the fullest, so that when they graduate, they march ahead and serve the society and the nation with confidence and dedication. The academy has trained more than 450 healthcare professionals through a distance learning program for Post Graduate Diploma in Hospital and Health Management (PGDHHM) approved by DGHS, Govt. of India.

AHA was established in 1987 under Societies Registration Act, 1860 at AIIMS, New Delhi. It later moved to its own campus to AHA House, Sector 62, Noida (UP). AHA is also exempted from IT Act 12-A & 80-G.

It has trained more than 4300 healthcare professionals through a distance learning program for Post Graduate Diploma in Hospital and Health Management (PGDHHM) in collaboration with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) from 2000 to 2004.

The academy has trained more than 500 medical officers through shortterm Management Development Programs (6 -12 days), of UPHSDP/OHSDP/UAHSDP etc. sponsored by World Bank Projects.

An Astute Personality The personality responsible for the success of AHA is Dr Shyama Nagarajan, the Executive Director.

She is a medical graduate equipped with a dual Masters’ degree in Hospital Administration from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and Public Health from National Board. She has served in leadership positions at prestigious institutes like that of the World Bank, ICRA, Fortis Healthcare, and Ernst and Young. Dr Shyama has over 25 years of multi-faceted experience in both public and private sector including multi-lateral and donor partners.

Currently, she serves at SahaManthran Pvt Ltd, a niche healthcare consulting firm as Managing Director, and has over 65 national and international publications in peer-reviewed journals to her credit. She has the credit of pioneering the grading of health

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We are committed to providing leadership, consultancy, training, research and promotion of knowledge in all fields related to healthcare and hospital management

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The Inception Saga of AHA In 1984, at Department of Hospital Administration, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, a group of highly dedicated visionaries and health systems academia decided to form an organization. This organization would carry out health system management development, training, conduct post graduate courses, professional consultancy, research, and conduct national and international conferences. The objective was to create an organization which would become a think tank and act as an association of hospital, health systems, and allied disciplines’ professionals. It was also intended that the institution becomes a resource and advisory body to Ministry of Health & Family Welfare Central and State Governments on all matters pertaining to Hospital & Health Systems planning, policy making, and operational management. This led to birth of first and the only ‘Academy of Hospital Administration’ in India in 1987.

AHA has trained more than 1200 healthcare professionals in Quality Management and Accreditation of Hospitals from public and private sector.

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services in India, during her stint in India, which served as inputs into development of NABH accreditation process.

Standing Leagues Apart AHA has gained prominence owing to its dedication and professional approach towards education and empowerment. It is India’s oldest establishment having a large panel of qualified and experienced faculty staff locally available for all types of management training for health and hospital services.

The academy provides opportunity for training with real-life situations in problem solving and decision making through group work which is only possible during its contact programs. It provides a platform for face-to-face interaction with faculty and other participants during two contact

18 | Feb 2022

programs, which is essential for learning experience.

The QM & AHO Program conducted

by AHA was also appreciated and recommended through a letter by Secretary General, Quality Council of India, Govt. of India. It employs wellqualified faculty trainers from AIIMS, NIHFW, Defence, and so on.

Moreover, the academy does not believe in short cuts in training activities to ensure ‘VALUE FOR MONEY’ for its participants.

The AHA Team of Professionals The smooth functioning of AHA rests on the firm shoulders of the dedicated professionals, who are constantly focused of taking the academy to newer heights. Its expert team consists of the following members: • Ex Professors, Associate Professors & University PG Faculty, Industry

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• • •

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Experts– General Management, Behavioural Science, Financial Management, Hospital Management, Bio Statistics, Research Methodology, Senior Hospital Operations Management Consultants Public Health Planning and Research Consultants Medical Colleges, Superspecialty Hospital, Nursing Colleges, CHC & PHC Planning & Designing Consultants Hospital Architects & Civil Engineering Biomedical Engineering Consultants Clinical, Supportive Services planning Consultants – A&E Services, ICU, NICU, CCU, OT, Maternity & Obestretics Services, Dialysis Units, Day Care Units, Cancer Centre, CSSD, Laundry & Linen Services, Dietary & Nutrition

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• • •

• •

Services Hospitals & Health Systems human resource planning experts Health System Equipment & Medical Technology Management Planners NABH Accreditation Facilitation consultancy experts Health System IT Quality Assurance in Public Health System (New Standards Issued by Min of Health, GOI) Consultants Bio Medical Waste Disposal System Experts Disaster Management, Medical Tourism, Telemedicine, Medical Audit Experts

Admirable Infrastructural Facilities AHA not only provides students with the opportunity to excel in the academic arena, but also offers them with infrastructural facilities which are worth applauding. It has its own campus building in Institutional Area, Sector-62, NOIDA, UP 201301 with the following facilities: • Modern reception • Conference hall – fully equipped with a sitting capacity of 125 • Seminar hall (3) - fully equipped with a sitting capacity of 45, 35, and 25 • Modern technical library • Committee rooms

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President room Computer lab AC transit hostel accommodation (16 double bedded) for course participants and AHA members Seamless wi-fi connection

Supporting Students with Dedication AHA leaves no stone unturned to provide support to the students and to ensure that they excel in every endeavor. It provides consultancy in NABH across the country as Organizational Consultants of NABH Quality council of India. The academy utilizes its strong sources through social media to enrol its students in various programs.

Overcoming the Pandemic Challenge The academy abides by every rule and regulation laid down by the government in relation to COVID-19.

In view of this, AHA is conducting the classes of the 6th NQAS batch via virtual mode. Concerned authorities provide an online web link to all participants via registered email/WhatsApp to join the program before its commencement.

Achievements and Recognitions AHA has a proven track record of at least 27 years of high-quality education, training, and professional

consultancy. It is renowned for its dedicated services across central, state, and public sector organizations in hospital and health sector planning, operational management, quality & accreditation, health systems research, policy formulation, and so on.

The Career Landmark AHA always ensures that the students are offered with the best career opportunities. It conducts national and international conferences and seminars/workshops every year. The academy also conducts fortnightly webinars on healthcare management free for the students, members, and other hospital administrators across the country. It assists the students to upgrade their knowledge through sessions conducted by eminent stalwarts on different social media platforms.

Since most of the AHA members are CEOs and medical superintendents of the hospitals across the country, the academy receives constant updates about vacancies for the students across different positions in different healthcare organizations and hospitals.

These positions include hospital manager, floor manager, medical superintendent/deputy medical superintendent, and quality manager.

www.theknowledgereview.com |19

Why

e-Learning Future is

of Professional

the

Development?

A

lmost everyone around the world is adopting the concept of online learning. Online learning has existed for more than a decade. The credit for its popularity and extensive use should be given to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With digitalization and the increased use of technology, online education has become more accessible and favourable for learners. It enables teachers and students to set their own learning pace, creating a proper equilibrium between studies and understanding. By 2025 the estimated growth of the online education sector is $325 billion.

Educational Revolution Observing the changing shift in educational space, it can be argued that online learning is the new educational system. Because of the technical and social

20 | Feb 2022

Career in Focus

www.theknowledgereview.com |21

revolutions, the education industry has transformed into a fundamentally new position.

When compared to traditional enrolment, most top ten institutions witnessed a 10% increase in students enrolling for online learning.

Degree-based programs and costly learning are no longer necessary for those pursuing career growth to maintain an efficient ongoing training environment.

There is a lot of skepticism surrounding online education. It is hard for some to leave the traditional way of learning behind. But online learning has come with many benefits for the future of professional development.

Learners Can Work at Their Own Speed In the traditional way of learning, there is limited time for students to grasp what the teacher is explaining. The human brain can get distracted very easily. If a student loses focus for a few seconds, they might miss out on important topics.

learning platforms that effectively meet the industry's needs.

Online Learning Is Cost-Efficient According to a study by Dr. Brent Peterson, learning efficacy is based on three factors: The learning experience accounts for 25% of learning, individual preparedness accounts for 25%, and follow-up activities account for 50%. Companies, on the other hand, spend ten percent of their training budgets on pre-learning event activities and only five percent on postlearning event activities. This indicates that 85% of training budgets are squandered.

Most universities around the world charge economical tuition fees for online learning. More private universities than public institutions cited lower online tuition costs as a primary means of generating revenue through enrollment increases due to lower tuition fees.

In the case of online learning, learners can watch the pre-recorded video sessions repeatedly until they're satisfied with them.

Learners don't have to worry about the costs involved in transportation, textbook, and writing material if they have an internet connection and a computer. Online learning platforms can also be accessed through smartphones, making online learning more convenient and flexible for students.

Learners can progress at their own pace in a self-paced learning environment. In reality, web-based learning technologies help corporate training by taking 40% to 60% less time to complete the same curriculum.

Learners can study whenever they wish, eliminating the need for timeconsuming trips to training centers.

Online Learning Offers a Variety of Learning Segments Online education has a variety of things to offer. From short-term courses to fully-fledged degrees, one can make use of online learning according to their preference. There are several courses available for learners to choose from.

Online learning platforms like Udemy and Coursera are a few popular online

If someone wants to start their career in a specific field, it is possible via

22 | Feb 2022

online learning. And if someone wants to change their field, they can do that using online learning platforms.

Especially middle-aged people who don't wish to go to school can make the most out of online learning.

From specific computer science courses to journalism, one can find any kind of courses they wish to learn.

Advances in official accreditations allow learners to showcase skills and track their improvement on program completion.

Online Learning Is Accessible to Learners Globally One of the major advantages of online learning is its reach. Everyone around the globe can use online learning platforms easily over a few clicks.

Over 1.2 billion children are out of the classroom worldwide, choosing elearning for learning new skills.

Even before the pandemic, education technology was rapidly expanding, with worldwide EdTech investments reaching $18.66 billion in 2019; there has been a considerable increase in the utilization of language apps, virtual tutoring, and online learning software.

Conclusion According to a recent survey from Babson Survey Research Group, over 30 percent of higher education students in the United States are taking at least one distance course. Be it an professional looking for a career shift or students searching for a platfrom to learn new skills, elearning is an ideal choice for them. As a learner, this can be a useful learning method for sharpening your skills or learning a new skill.

The

future of

Hospitality Industry

W

e will never know what the future brings, but we can bring ourselves as a better person to our future” The above words are what we should need in these unpredictable times.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic has got the world in its clutches, different sectors have faced unprecedented circumstances. Especially the hospitality industry was hit hard for the last two years when everything went in lockdown mode, people were confined to their homes and gathering outside or travelling was restricted. Today the scenario as I write this is improving gradually but still, the future is uncertain. Here are some things that the hospitality industry ought to be ready with to survive and thrive in these vicissitudes of our times.

1. Be Proactive – Hospitality Industry has to come out of its comfort zone. It has to agree to change with the changing times. You cannot expect the same footfall in your hotel or travel business as it was during the prepandemic period. Today people are more cautious when making a choice to travel outside or eat outside. So if people don’t prefer to come out and eat

24 | Feb 2022

at your joint, make sure to reach them with food deliveries at the doorstep. If they don’t want to travel in a collective manner through a bus or an airplane then you may have to be ready to provide independent cabs or other means of travel. Being proactive is taking initiative and being ready to change. You cannot expect the world outside to change or wait for everything to be normal, you have to drive the change. The hospitality industry has to stop being the victim and work within its circle of influence to see the desired change.

2. Creativeness – We have all heard of the cliché, “Necessity is the mother of invention,” but there is a truth to it. It is in these challenging times when faced with uncertainty that we have to rack our brains to come up with solutions to our challenges. Could you give one full room to your customer to dine in? Could you hire more such rooms? Could you take the orders online, or through an app specially developed by your hotel so that there is no person involved, and when the customer is at the table, the food is directly served? Could you go for ready served buffet lunch and dinners?

Could you opt for robots for serving?

Could you have ‘food on wheels’ that delivers food at doorsteps? Could you have driverless cars? Could your hotel space be rented out for corporate meetings, offices? We have to brainstorm ideas and try them out. You never know which next idea you come up with, maybe a jackpot idea. Be creative, go for brainstorming, come up with ideas that you would not have thought of before and try them.

3. Ask – Jesus Christ in the Bible says, “Ask and it will be given unto you.”

Asking the stakeholders, in this case, the customers who frequently visit our hotels or take our service, is one of the very important things that the hospitality industry can do to stay relevant in these challenging times.

How would you like your food to be served? How can we make you feel safe and comfortable? What new things can we introduce that would make you happy? What are your travelling preferences? How can we make it easier for you?

You could ask all the above questions to your customers. They will tell you what is the best way to serve them so that they come back again and again.

Don‟t just assume things and try to

Expert's Insight

Sohan D. Tiwade Corporate Soft Skills Trainer, Professional Speaker, The Edge Asst Prof. Sanjay Ghodawat University

push them down their throats. Be customer-centric, study them, ask them, be ready to change yourself as per their expectation, that’s how you keep your industry alive and kicking.

4. Bottom-up Leadership – The organizations that survive and thrive during challenging times are those that adopt the Bottom-up Leadership style.

Bottom-up leadership is encouraging your people to lead without a title. A person could be just a janitor as far as his job profile is concerned but he may know the ground reality better than the ones who sit behind big titles and mahogany tables. You have to be willing to give up the traditional topdown approach to leadership. You will be thankful especially in tough times when you trust your people to come up with the solutions to the challenges in your organization. People will feel more meaningful in their work when they know that they are contributing to the higher purpose of the organization.

When they own up a problem and are allowed to experiment and make

mistakes, you will find that they will do the unthinkable. In the service sector, as it is in the hospitality industry, much of the ground staff is in direct contact with the customer. It will gauge and understand the needs and wants of the customers better than the management. You have to look for people who could be developed as leaders at the bottom. You have to give them authority to make decisions.

Hospitality Industry has to do some catching in this area that could serve it well in surviving the tough times.

Conclusion: Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”

Unprecedented times, call for unprecedented measures. Hospitality Industry is being forced out of its comfort zone due to the challenges of the modern world and the pandemic.

The industry has to take the bet and step out of its comfort zone. Heed to what Marianne Williamson said, “The miracle often lies outside our comfort zone.”

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Providing Unparalleled Standard of Audio Education

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India's Most Leading Distance Learning Universities and Institutes

O

“

ur mission is to provide unparalleled standard of audio education to the students at a very affordable fee. We want India to be projected not just as a cost-effective market for our industry but a place, a haven where film makers, artists and other professionals will find the best of the talents globally.”

Driven by this motto, The Audio Guys Institute or TAG emphasizes on delivering excellent educational and infrastructural facilities to the students.

It provides the opportunity to learn from leading industry professionals who have contributed to various critically and commercially acclaimed music, films, and other media in

studios that include some of the most advanced consoles, processors, computers, and softwares.

TAG is India’s most advanced school for sound engineering and music production. The founders of the institute, Jayakrishnan Nalinkumar (JK), Anupam Sathe, and Omkar Tamhan are professional sound engineers who have worked on international tours, music, and broadcast projects to some of India’s biggest artists and cinemas over the last decade. Omkar and JK additionally share some history as they are graduates from the same audio school in Australia. Back then, the three of them often discussed about the infrastructure and offerings that India has for sound and music education.

Soon, they realized that even though the industry was full of amazingly skilled professionals, India was not able to tap into its full potential of creative minds due to the lack of infrastructure and future technologies.

What sparked was an initiative to better the education for sound and music in India.

TAG was never an institute; rather, it was a wave of change. The trio tried convincing the existing institutes to upgrade and also offered their services to help them achieve the same. With no light to this tunnel, they decided that it is best to establish an institution which does not just request for an upgrade but is the upgrade itself.

TAG features three world class studios with equipment mainly created and hosted by the biggest professional facilities in the world. In addition to that, TAG is completely founded on extensive use of tools for e-learning with companies like Microsoft and Classpro. All this is situated in the heart of industry which allows them to expose students to some of the biggest professional establishments in the country regularly.

Embracing Technology for Better Learning Outcomes “Learning for our students is emphasised on future technologies to provide them at least a 3-5 years’ head start as compared to other with similar experience in the field,” states team TAG. Technologies like Dolby ATMOS sound for virtual reality and

We create a space where education becomes fun and interactive

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games is not an optional but a mandatory unit for the institute.

Understanding and providing services for major companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney, Hotstar, and more are also part of the compulsory curriculum. These functions have been made possible because of the institute’s immensely respected and experienced WPL (working professional lecturers).

Prolific Leadership TAG marches towards excellence and success under the fervent direction of the founders- Jayakrishnan Nalinkumar (JK), Anupam Sathe, and Omkar Tamhan. Mr. Omkar is the youngest of the three founders. Mr. JK and Mr. Anupam brought on teaching experience of over a decade when they started working together. Over 1000 students have learned under their guidance and have been successfully working in the industry. They have designed specific teaching methodologies that really help students understand a complicated subject like audio production in the simplest of ways. This foundation allowed Mr. Omkar to ideate and execute further ideas. His major experience in sound has been in technology and service provider for social media celebrities like Bhuvan Bam, Carryminati, and more. This gave him a hindsight to the future tech and the true market potential early on. When people were speculating the future of cinema, the trio of Mr. Anupam, Mr. JK, and Mr. Omkar were busy preparing for the storm of content that was about hit due to the digital revolution.

Their major reason of success is that they have not tied their success to any single person’s action. They are

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believers of change and because of the timing, they believe that they are now in a position where the content industry of India has started to see some changes due to the efforts of TAG. Exploring the Extra-Curricular TAG conducts a host of extra/cocurricular activities. Apart from the live events and programmes embedded in the course itself, the institute continuously engages in workshops, exercises, and personality building activities.

As an institute, TAG makes the students aware of the benefits of these activities in their professional career and guides them through their interests and doubts alike. This helps them make the best decision around such activities.

The Achievement Panel The Audio Guys Institute has successfully engaged in over 75 films in the last 2 years. Titles include blockbusters like AK vs AK, Mumbai Diaries, Bhuvan Bam’s Dhindora, and many others. It has also hosted over 150 recording sessions with artists such as Sivamani, Sachin Jigar, Merchant Records, Bombay Strings, Meghdeep Bose, Purbayan Chatterjee, Rakesh Chaurasia, and many more.

Taking on the COVID Challenge TAG did not face too many challenges during the pandemic as advanced technology was already embedded in the school’s infrastructure. However, minor changes had to be made in the curriculum and also redesigning certain modules imparting online activities and content that were accessible to students from any part of the world. The

institute’s online licencing server also provided access to required softwares for students to learn from their homes.

“We got through this understanding and acquiring better tools and professionals who sailed us through these waters,” shares the management.

Shaping Careers Dynamically The entire course of TAG is programmed keeping professional participation as a key ingredient. It pays utmost attention towards its faculty roster. The institute invites professionals because it knows that students learn much more than just direct education when they interact with a professional. Another important step that TAG has taken is that it has made topics based on business studies and digital marketing compulsory for the students. This is kept in the course keeping the modern nature of the industry in mind. Also, the internship programme makes it compulsory for every student to assist in professional projects that happens at the facility to have an in-depth understanding of how the industry functions and also to develop relationships with composers, musicians, and other professionals much before they enter the industry.

A Bright Future Awaits With the focus on the times to come, team TAG is working hard towards being the institute that not only teaches the student with education, but also guides them to help transition from an educational to a professional outlook in life. This added with its vision to make the country a hub for creative professionals is a future that everyone at TAG works towards.

Frame Of Mind

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Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory W

hen the word 'Intelligence' comes into our minds, we have a stereotype that only the people who study more or hold an immense amount of knowledge are intelligent humans.

An American and Harvard Psychologist, Howard Gardner, developed a theory of multiple intelligence that explains the wide boundaries of a human mind. In 1983, he published his book 'Frame of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligence' and other sequels to propose his theory to the world.

There are a total of eight intelligence he evaluated based on scientific discipline. Addressing different types of intelligence, Howard Gardner explains intelligent people as verbally smart, visually smart, body smart, musically smart, people smart, selfsmart, nature smart, and number or reasoning smart. According to his suggestion, there might be an addition of the ninth edition 'Existential Intelligence.' We may all have this intelligence, he says, but our profiles of these bits of intelligence may differ based on genetics or experience.

Learning about the multiple intelligences can help you better understand your own strengths. Read the following types of intelligence to know more about your major characteristics. Ÿ Visual Intelligence People who have a stronghold on visualizing things more than others have visual intelligence. They are good at checking maps, structures, navigation, making strategies, visual arts, and recognizing patterns quickly.

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If you are well versed in visual intelligence, there are potential career opportunities, such as Pilot, Surgeon, Architect, Graphic Designer, Interior Decorator, etc. Ÿ Verbal Intelligence A talent to write and speak in multiple languages is ‘Verbal Intelligence.’ The people who have this intelligence can accomplish their goals, analyze information, and create products through their talent such as books, speeches, etc.

Career opportunities to verbal intelligence are beyond geographical boundaries, such as Speaker, Author, Journalist, Lawyer, Curator, and Teacher. Ÿ Logical/Mathematical Intelligence Logical or Mathematical Intelligence includes analyzing problems logically, carrying out mathematical operations, and investigating issues scientifically.

Numbers or reasoning smart people have the ability to develop equations and proofs, solve abstract problems, and make calculations.

Mathematician, Accountant, Statistician, Scientist, and Computer Programmer are few of the potential career paths for logical or mathematical intelligent people. Ÿ Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence Those who have control over BodilyKinesthetic Intelligence are good at body movement, have immense physical control, and use the body to solve problems. They have the ability one's own body to create products, perform skills, or work.

Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence people are interested in work and perform

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their skills in Dancing, Athletic, Surgery, Mechanic, Carpenter, and Physical Therapist. Ÿ Musical Intelligence Having skills in performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns are refers to Musical Intelligence — people with the talent of creating a musical pitch, rhythm, and tone. They have multiple options available to pursue as a career, such as Singer, Composer, Disc Jockey (DJ), and Musician. Ÿ Interpersonal Intelligence Understanding the motive, desire, and intention of other people are the skills that an intelligent interpersonal person have. Mostly the people who become or have the ability to become a leader have this intelligence. Consistently checking people's moods, motivations, and agendas are the aspects of an interpersonal intelligent person.

Potential career choices are Leader, Teacher, Manager, Public Relations, and Politician. Ÿ Intrapersonal Intelligence Rather than understanding others, understanding oneself is an arduous task. An intrapersonal intelligent person has the capabilities to control self-desire, fears, and capacities. This helps the person to focus on goals and achieve them.

Therapists, Counselors, Psychologists, and entrepreneurs are the perfect example of intrapersonal intelligence. Ÿ Naturalistic Intelligence Nature has a big role in human life.

Human life has upgraded with the help of nature, and naturalistic intelligent people recognize and classify the different types of natural products,

such as plants, animals, weather, and space.

People with naturalistic intelligence are more helpful than others, and they have the ability to distinguish the difference between good and bad products for the human race. Botanist, Biologist, Farmer, Astronomer, Meteorologist, and Geologist are a few designations for naturalistic intelligent people.

Criticism Gardner's idea has been slammed by both psychologists and educators.

These detractors claim that Gardner's concept of intelligence is too wide and that his eight "intelligence" are nothing more than a collection of talents, personality traits, and abilities.

Gardner's idea is likewise plagued by a scarcity of empirical evidence to back it up.

The Multiple Intelligences theory does not deny the existence of the "g" factor; it simply maintains the equilibrium to the other intelligence.

Gardner's inclusion criteria are sometimes overlooked by detractors.

Despite this, educators are enthusiastic about the hypothesis of multiple intelligences. Many teachers incorporate Gardner's theory into their teaching philosophies and seek to integrate it into the classroom.

- Rahul Thakar