Intense competition and quality compulsions are prompting universities to deploy cutting-edge IT solutions and collaborative technologies alongside modern software. by KTP Radhika
“Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them,
the teacher is most important,” said Bill Gates back in October 1997. However, the changes that technology has introduced to education over the years are so powerful that the Chairman of Microsoft might be prompted to rephrase his comment today. Technology has taken a place that equals the role of the teacher in the West. India is also catching up quickly, especially in its universities. Competition and rising demand for quality have prompted the country’s universities to deploy high-tech solutions and, in the process, they are transforming the way that India learns.
“Tomorrow’s classroom would be from a child’s home,” said Subashini Ramakrishnan, Chief Technology Officer, Dax Networks. With more private and foreign universities entering the fray, higher education has become a highly competitive sector. Universities understand that in order to win in this race, they have to ensure quality, provide access to technology including the Internet, employ innovative technologies and enable collaboration. The annual report of the HRD ministry revealed that, by 2011-12, India had 523 universities and 33,923 colleges and around 13.7 million students studying at these institutions. Many universities are relying on new technology solutions to tackle problems and creating greater levels of engagement. IT solutions are definitely enabling universities to meet the rising demand for higher standards of education while helping them revolutionize the delivery mechanism. Apart from making classrooms smarter and snazzier, smoothing the administration process and automating student relationship management, IT is bringing about a paradigm shift in the way that education is imparted on campus.
For instance, many Indian universities are now using technologies such as videoconferencing, learning management systems and Cloud computing for better presentation and delivery of content. According to Ashok Pathak, Chief Systems Manager, Indian Institute of Management-Kozhikode (IIMK), IT plays an important role in the successful delivery of leading-edge education and contextually relevant content. It also helps in ensuring smooth administrative processes.
“IT not only offers the critical infrastructure that’s needed for supporting modern academic needs; it also becomes a central component of the whole academic process,” he said. IIMK, like many of its ilk, employs ICT tools for Technology Enhanced Learning.
These institutions enjoy considerable support from the government as well. For instance, in order to keep pace with developments in ICT, the University Grants Commission (UGC), an apex body of universities, is encouraging IT adoption in colleges and universities through several schemes. Understanding the potential of IT in higher education, the Ministry of Human Resource & Development has envisaged the National Mission on Education through ICT in order to focus on digitization and networking of universities and other institutions of higher education in the country. The mission got an allocation of Rs 4,612 crores during the eleventh Five Year Plan. These initiatives, among others, have helped IT to emerge as a powerful tool for the diffusion of knowledge and information in the higher-education sector.
“Having the latest technologies allows students and faculty to focus on gaining knowledge and to gain real-time access to information,” said George Varghese, Senior Director, Applications, Oracle India. While enhancing the campus experience, universities are increasingly looking to augment physical, campus-based learning with the virtual, online delivery of educational programs and service.
On the classroom front, technology has become a vital part in delivering lectures. Latika Singh, Associate Professor, Department of IT, ITM University, explained, “ICT is bringing about a major change in the delivery of courses in higher education. Universities are realizing the need for connecting to the world and they are using Cloud computing including Software as a Service (SaaS), mobile computing and similar technologies.”
Smart classrooms, connected campuses
Over the years, Indian universities have seen significant growth in the scale of institutions and multi-campus models. Today, there is the need to streamline and control processes within universities, both on and off-campus. End-to-end campus connectivity has become a basic infrastructure requirement today. Many universities are using IT-supported education technologies for easier access to knowledge sources, sharing and quality distance learning. Advances in technologies such as Web conferencing, networking, collaboration & communication tools etc are giving classrooms a comprehensive makeover.
Dr JS Sodhi, Assistant VP, Head IT, Amity University, said, “Projectors, Web & videoconferencing, LCD screens etc are a regular feature of our classrooms. Apart from lecture-recording and live transmission of lectures and events over the Intranet and Internet, videoconferencing is also extensively used during guest lectures, interviews, discussions and so forth. All of our university campuses and local campuses across the country are inter-connected, enabling them to transmit live classroom sessions and special lectures to all locations.”
Many university campuses are using similar tools. Dr Rahul Banerjee, Professor, Computer Science, BITS, Pilani, said, “Our campuses are connected using world-class infrastructure. With BITS Connect 2.0, we are bringing state-of-the-art telepresence and interconnectivity to all of the four campuses of BITS Pilani. Off campus students can view lectures through Web conferencing.”
Universities are also implementing state-of-the-art networking solutions in order to streamline educational and administrative procedures. Dr Sodhi said, “Our locations are connected through a MPLS VPN network to access Intranet and Internet resources under a uniform network policy. We are using Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series switches with Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) for load balancing and high availability.”
Explaining the networking at IIMK, Pathak said, “We have distributed and clustered computing across the campus through a wired and wireless backbone. Our campus is interconnected through a six-core SMF Gigabit Fiber Optic backbone.” Apart from the routing, switching and cabling solutions, another technology adopted by the universities is that of IP surveillance.
Ramakrishnan of Dax Networks said, “IP surveillance is playing a vital role in helping institutions broaden their reach to multiple sites and in delivering and maintaining the same quality of service as on-campus.”
Learning through the Cloud
Apart from facilitating the delivery of teaching and learning resources in universities, Cloud computing is providing a way for educational institutions to leverage computing and storage resources on demand.
Mrinmoy Purkayastha, Associate VP, Alten Calsoft Labs, commented, “While universities have been using Cloud-based services such as email, Web conferencing and Google Docs for some time now, a number of leading institutions have started evaluating the possibility of virtualizing data center resources and sharing the available capacity on an as-needed basis.”
The scalable architecture of the Cloud is transforming academic institutions and it is helping them serve students, faculty and other staff. Rajesh Patel, Delivery Manager, Education Vertical – Marlabs Software felt that Cloud computing would provide the answers to many of the challenges faced by the Indian higher education sector with regard to IT adoption. “One of the biggest challenges faced by universities in adopting technology is lack of budgetary allocations for procuring hardware and software. Apart from providing enormous cost savings, Cloud technology helps maintain IT infrastructure and scale up data storage according to need.”
According to Kabir Khanna, CEO, Chalkpad Technologies, the Cloud helps universities focus on core competencies while at the same time enabling them to leverage the power of IT. “With Cloud solutions, they can experiment with new technologies faster without much upfront cost,” he added. Overcoming the initial apprehension of data security, colleges are starting to realize the benefits of hosted systems and Cloud-based solutions.
Dr Banerjee of BITS Pilani said, “Many of our academic activities happen through the Cloud. We are using Cloud services for our Web conferencing setup and are planning to have computational capacity in the Cloud.”
Singh of ITM University said that the University was using SaaS solutions for its administrative needs and that it was easy to fine-tune the process with the Cloud.
ERP, analytics and more
Learning Management Systems (LMS), ERP, Library Management Systems, CRM, etc are all gaining popularity in higher education. Kabir Khanna, CEO, Chalkpad Technologies, said, “Educational ERP systems that automate the complete functioning of an institution and connect students, parents, faculty and the administration through a common information platform are being adopted by universities. It allows them to manage the delivery of education and ensure process quality more efficiently thereby freeing up more time for core academic activities and it also automates the academic and administrative systems in the university.”
“We are using Blackboard LMS and the Open Source Course Management System known as Moodle. This facilitates anytime, anyplace access to academic content,” said MG Sreekumar, Head, Center for Development of Digital Libraries, IIMK. A lot of educational technology vendors are also offering e-learning infrastructure for creating, managing, tracking, delivering and assessing interactive courses through learning management platforms. Another trend is that of using analytics for integrating various administrative functions in order to optimally utilize resources and to improve efficiency. Analytics tools are also helping in predicting demand, understanding student profiles, updating courseware and improving overall operational efficiency.
“While course content is being constantly changed, delivery channels are also evolving. Hence, we see a clear progression towards classroom analytics, which will help universities obtain real time and actionable feedback on teaching methods, content or any other parameter that affects learning within the classroom. Outside the classroom, the quality of student services delivered will be constantly monitored for ensuring that campus benchmarks are upheld,” said Raj Mruthyunjayappa, Managing Director, APAC & Europe, Talisma Corporation.
Solutions such as Education Collaboration Software, Document Management System (DMS) and Management Information System (MIS) are also used extensively by these institutions.
“Apart from providing better automation, these solutions also help archive as well as digitize files and documents. They also help in collaborating and easily sharing of documents with students, faculties and parents,” said Sachin Rane, VP & Head for Information Management Practices and Application Management Services, Datamatics Global Solutions.
Many high-tech campuses have rather active Intranets and portals that facilitate day-to-day activities. For example, Amity’s Amizone facilities students with study materials, recorded lectures et al.
Dr Sodhi said, “Powered by enterprise-class servers and high-end storage devices, the zone offers a single point access to information, services and resources for both the students and the faculty.”
The mobile way
Bring Your Own Device or BYOD and mobility are gaining ground in this sector. Indian universities have started embracing mobile technology for ensuring the reach of quality education to students. Smartphones and tablets are enhancing the learning experience. Mrinmoy Purkayastha, Associate Vice President, Alten Calsoft Labs, said, “With the proliferation of wireless connectivity and mobile phones, our universities are compelled to capitalize on capabilities of tablets and smartphones for teaching and enhancing the learning experience of students. Tasks such as managing schedules, sharing class notes, downloading lectures, instant messaging, conferencing etc are possible from any location where wireless service is available.”
Mobile phones are also being used to access computer files from remote locations. Applications such as online results, information about important events and so on are now being made available to both student and faculty communities over mobile devices.
Dr Sodhi of Amity described, “To ensure that interaction does not end with the classroom, we have brought virtual classrooms onto mobile phones. Amity students can access Amizone and all of its features on their phones. Even parents can view the attendance and exam grades of their children, while faculty can mark attendance using their mobile devices.”
Social media tools are gaining importance among students for academic purposes. “The usage of Web 2.0 tools such as Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, Mashups and social networking communities are transforming the traditional learning environment into something more social and personalized,” opined Purkayastha of Alten Calsoft.
Hurdles remain
Compared to their Western counterparts, IT adoption is still in its infancy at Indian universities. Sreekumar of IIMK observed, “The lack of proper planning and unscientific ICT strategies often render Indian universities unable to tap and leverage the true potential and strength of ICT. Similarly, the availability of technically trained quality manpower poses a challenge to proper ICT adoption.”
Sharing the sentiment, Mruthyunjayappa of Talisma opined, “Adopting innovative technology presents a challenge for IT folk on campuses. To overcome that, these institutions should frame a perfect roadmap. They should evaluate the existing infrastructure and prepare a continuity of business plan and set aside resources for running pilot projects in campuses.”
Challenges such as lack of funding, connectivity and infrastructure issues, poor technology familiarity among staff and faculty and a low perceived Return on Investment (RoI) are some of the factors standing in the way of widespread IT adoption.
Dr Sodhi of Amity University felt that the lack of a dedicated team for managing IT in certain universities was also posing a challenge for better IT adoption. “Many universities lack a dedicated team for handling IT and networking. Authorities should see IT adoption as an important subject and look into the same. There has to be greater education amongst authorities as to the benefits of automation and transparency,” he said.
Varghese of Oracle said, “There is an overall resistance to adoption because of the belief that learning these will be a lengthy exercise, which is a result of low awareness. Also, many believe that the implementation will be a long and time consuming process and are not aware of the benefits of these technologies.”
Campus of the future
It is becoming imperative for universities to invest in technology in order to attract and retain a good student base. Therefore, smart classrooms, application-based learning and innovative distance education models are on the wish list of universities. Innovative technology solutions will facilitate a lot in these initiatives and they will transform campuses and make them competitive and on par with their western counterparts.
Seeing the opportunities in the educational sector, technology companies are also crafting and delivering state-of the-art technologies for the sector. Varghese said, “Oracle has developed complete and integrated solutions that enable higher education and research institutions to adapt to the changing needs and demands of all their constituents including students, faculty, researchers and staff. Many big private universities and IIMs have adopted our solutions to reinvent their academic, finance and administrative functions by reducing manual intervention while simplifying and streamlining processes.”
Added Patel of Marlabs, “Our analytics and reporting framework targets the higher education market and solves real world educational challenges such as tracking student assessment, stepping up program results and optimizing resource allocation.”
“IT will transform universities into places where learning is more convenient, and relevant with exceptional quality,” said Purkayastha of Alten Calsoft. It will also help facilitate any time, anywhere learning. “The education system will be able to offer customized and specialized teaching right at home,” asserted Ramakrishnan of Dax. Multimedia and e-content based study materials will offer self-help options to students. There’s a lot happening here and Indian universities seem determined to get to grips with technology and reap the concomitant benefits.
