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“LMS focuses on the academic part of education delivery using digital technology to create a fantastic user experience for teachers and students,” says Dr. Prem Das Maheshwari, Business Director South Asia, D2L in an interview with Pratik Ghosh, Content Writer, ArdorComm Media Group at the ‘New Normal – Education Leadership Summit & Awards 2023’ #ELSAChennai #ELSATamilNadu How are you feeling to witness The New Normal Education Leadership Summit and Awards in Chennai? Fantastic, I think it’s a very nice gathering of dignitaries from higher education institutions from South India. South India happens to be the hub of education, especially higher education. So having these stalwarts and the leaders from the higher education industry at one place is a fantastic opportunity for us. I’m delighted to be here. Can you tell us about the services you are providing? I am the regional director for a company called D2L, formerly known as Desire2Learn, for South Asia. This company is into Learning Management Systems (LMS). We are the world’s number two learning management system company, providing the Brightspace Learning Management platform to a large number of higher education institutions, K-12 schools, and corporates worldwide. We have over 1500+ customers and 20 million users using this platform. We have a strong foothold in India as the only LMS that is 100% UGC compliant with all parameters. We have more than 54 clients in India and have been locally hosted on AWS Mumbai servers for the past three years. With the new normal and the changing UGC policies, it will be mandatory for most higher education institutions to run 40% of their education delivery completely online. We are there to serve them with our compliant Learning Management platform. What is your take on bridging the urban-rural digital divide when it comes to technology transfer? I think the urban-rural digital divide has already thinned to a great extent. Even in rural areas and small towns, everyone is using smartphones and has access to technology and the internet. Internet coverage is fantastic, and people are exploring various social media sites. This means that the divide is gradually thinning down, which is good for India. When it comes to online education or digital education, this thinning gap is going to be of great help. Accessibility to higher education through digital technology, such as smartphones, is fantastic and available to anyone anywhere in the country. Learning management platforms play a crucial role in making education accessible to everyone. In events like this where the government, education fraternity, and corporates come together, how does this gathering help the education sector at large? There is a great amount of uncertainty and lack of information and clarity about what an LMS is. People have heard about LMS, but if you ask many people, they think using Zoom or Teams is an LMS, which is not the case. Zoom and Teams were used during the pandemic, but they are not true Learning Management Systems. LMS focuses on the academic part of education delivery using digital technology to create a fantastic user experience for teachers and students. Our job, especially in forums like this, is to educate and clarify the difference between using simple technology versus using Learning Management platforms. There is also a misconception that ERP solutions are LMS, but ERP solutions are administrative tools, while LMS focuses on academic delivery, student-faculty interaction, competency-based digital education, and the use of artificial intelligence to monitor learner progress. LMS provides a vast array of reports to monitor education delivery. The gathering helps to address these misconceptions and provide education on the true nature and benefits of Learning Management Systems. What message do you want to give to the ArdorComm Media Group? I think you are doing a fantastic job. You should continue to organize such events regionally. National events are good, but they can be crowded. Focusing on a particular region allows you to address the concerns, issues, and contemporary topics among education leaders of that region. Each region has its specific issues and concerns, so organizing small regional events is much better before going national. Overall, keep up the fantastic work.

“I’m so happy to see people come up and say that this is the kind of change we are making at a grassroots level, at a rural level, where there’s no access to education,” says Dr. Manjula Pooja Shroff, MD and CEO of Kalorex Group in an interview with Chandan Anand, CEO & Group Editor, ArdorComm Media Group at the ‘New Normal – Education Leadership Summit & Awards 2023’ #ELSAChennai #ELSATamilNadu How was an outcome of this event and what were the takeaways? Chandan ji it’s always very good to come here to your events. I believe that the morning event was very good, and we’re so glad that the minister was here because it shows a certain seriousness from both sides, from the participants as well as the people on the dais. There were government officials in very good positions. I love the fact that you selected the NIOS because that’s a place that people need to understand and therefore apply. It is in this way that you’re making a differentiator. I would like to understand more about Shroffism from you. In a single term I call it the impious of education. The mental, physical and spiritual dimensions if we don’t help students grow in a unified and holistic 360-degree balanced manner. They can actually get swayed with whatever happens in life, but that’s not the idea. The idea is to be so strong in your core that life will happen, but you’ll always be the winner and never the victim. And what about the DHI episodes which are going on? Can you please throw some light on that? Spiritualism is so big that people think it’s hard to understand. So, I’ve tried to do this daily thought, a one-minute daily thought towards conscious living. And the word ‘DHI’ is a Sanskrit word for reflection, introspection, a deeper level of intellect. So, I’ve tried to use it to bring it in a package which is easy to do. ‘DHI’ is your one-minute daily thought for conscious living. Handling the academy, looking after the thing which you are passionate about, how do you organize yourself and your life in that way? When you are clear about what you want to do, you put energy and intention together. So I believe that there are teachers. By now, we have a very, very strong team. Some of the team members are teachers who are already doing what they believe is the 2D educational deliveries. My addition is the third angle, whether it is the teacher, the child, or anybody that I can influence, which is the 3D angle, which I believe is the MPS, which is mental, physical, spiritual. So out of the series of book launches you have done, any special recognition or any special occasion which is in your memory, which is that city, and why is that memory with you? Jaipur is in my mind. I don’t know why. It’s something that I did with you, but Jaipur got a lot of acclaim. And every time I look at the pictures, I love the way we came across in Jaipur. I really do like this. I genuinely believe that Chennai and the South have preserved the Indian education system a lot more than many other states, where it’s far more diluted. And it’s such a pleasure to come here. And I must say this, that you’re not even two years old, and you’re doing a terrific, terrific job. And before you ask me if I have any words, if I want to say anything for the ArdorComm, let me just say this. I believe that any organization, the culture comes from the person who leads it. And I believe that you not only understand education well, you have a quality perspective on education. When you have a quality perspective, you’ll deliver quality, and that is your differentiator. What is the outcome of certain forums and how does it help the community at large when we see the corporate, academia, and government on a platform together? Unless the corporate, academia, and the government work together, we cannot make any change. Everybody has to work together holistically. It’s in platforms like this that not only do you network, but you also get to see what is happening in the industry and how that can be applied to the delivery of education. And how the people who make the policy decisions can shape those decisions to take the country’s progress educationally in that direction. So, these are very, very important platforms. Any takeaway from today’s event? I’ve been talking about opening your own mind and opening the minds of students in order that we can live in a VUCA world or prepare our students for the future. I am so happy to see how many people resonate with that. I’m so happy to see people come up and say that this is the kind of change we are making at a grassroots level, at a rural level, where there’s no access to education. That’s real India. We are slightly more urbanized, but India lives in rural and hilly regions. So, when people from there come up and share their success stories, it’s very gratifying.

“This kind of forum helps in bridging the gap between education and industry through digital technologies,” says Dr. Ramesh S, Principal, Jerusalem College of Engineering in an interview with Pratik Ghosh, Content Writer, ArdorComm Media Group at the ‘New Normal – Education Leadership Summit & Awards 2023’ #ELSAChennai #ELSATamilNadu How are you feeling to witness The New Normal Education Leadership Summit and Awards in Chennai? Yeah, actually, The New Normal Education Policy is required nowadays. Once the government announced a new normal education policy, it needs to be implemented in all institutions, right? So, we are seeing a lot of education continuing until the end. And some institutions are discounting their education for students from a disadvantaged background. This new normal is totally useful. I am feeling good about it. ArdorComm has conducted a good leadership education program here in Chennai, and that will be more useful to convert into educational institutions. That will be fruitful, in my opinion. It’s a great initiative. Could you highlight about your institution? Yeah, my institution is Jerusalem College of Engineering, located in the heart of the city near Velachery. Our institution is 28 years old and offers computer science specializations and business applications courses. We are an autonomous institution, so we have the autonomy to create the syllabus and conduct examinations. We have a wonderful faculty background, which is an advantage for us. It’s easily approachable in the city through corporation transport, so students can reach us without any assistance. That’s a specialty of our institution. In this kind of forum, we bring together education leaders, tech players, and the government. How does this kind of forum benefit the education sector at large? In this forum, we connect educationists and industrialists, as well as the digital education and industry players. Through digital platforms, we can effectively connect the education and industry sectors. In this forum, educationists can meet industry personnel and discuss what is required in the education sector. At the same time, industry professionals can share what is available in their industry. This kind of forum helps in bridging the gap between education and industry through digital technologies. Frequent meetings like this are required to align with the National Education Policy. ArdorComm Media Group is a media start-up. We started in 2021 and are close to completing two years. What’s your message to ArdorComm Media Group? My message to ArdorComm Media Group is that the collaboration between educationists and industries is crucial. By connecting these two entities, important people, they are playing their roles effectively. I believe that ArdorComm Media Group is continuously improving and bringing together industry professionals and education stakeholders, which will ultimately benefit both sectors.

“Skilling will be part of their education so it will be a pre-placement opportunity to be given to the students so that they should be industry ready while coming out, that’s the ultimate aim,” says Dr. M. Jayaprakasan (I.S.D.S), CEO, Naan Mudhalvan Skill Initiative, TNSDC, Govt. of India in an interview with Chandan Anand, CEO & Group Editor, ArdorComm Media Group at the ‘New Normal – Education Leadership Summit & Awards 2023’ #ELSAChennai #ELSATamilNadu We would like to understand an initiative under your leadership which has been taken by the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation. Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation first started in the country in 2009. We have several initiatives aimed at skill development. The first one is a short-term training program with a job linkage. The second one is the recognition of prior learning, where we assess and certify individuals who already have the required skills. The third one is the promotion of traditional craft, clusters and traditional jobs with the support scheme called “SANKALP,” which stands for Skill and Knowledge Acquisition for Livelihood Promotion. Lastly, our mission project called “Naan Mudhalvan” focuses on Skilling for all, where students gain skills alongside their education to be industry-ready upon completion. So, Skilling will be part of their education so it will be a pre-placement opportunity to be given to the students so that they should be industry ready while coming out that’s the ultimate aim. Annually, our target is to skill 10 lakhs (1 million) people, and within a year, we have already crossed 13 lakhs (1.3 million). We are expanding to ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes) and polytechnics soon and plan to extend to schools as well. Do you also partner with EdTech companies or how does that collaboration happen which ultimately is for the benefit of academia? When it comes to involving Skilling, we need industrial expertise since our faculties are yet to be trained on the new technologies. Faculty development plays a key role, and we involve industries that require the specific skills. For example, Cisco offers CCNA training, and Autodesk offers manufacturing software. We engage these industry partners and training partners at the ground level to offer training to our faculty and students. We also collaborate with companies like Siemens, Microsoft, and others for English communication and assessment. We aim to interact with global partners to provide recognition and confidence to our students. These collaborations and training programs are provided at no cost, as the government invests in faculty training and provides funding to industries. Ultimately, we want to transform Tamil Nadu into the skill capital of India. We not only focus on skilling but also on the outcome, which is employment. Under the Naan Mudhalvan scheme, we enable placements for students who have undergone training. We have created a skill registry where industries can search for trained candidates. The registry allows industries to access profiles of candidates based on district, sector, college, and specific skills. This way, industries can easily recruit suitable candidates. We also facilitate industry-college interactions and assist industries in recruitment, bridging the gap between industry and academia. You witnessed this event, we have an amalgamation of corporate, EdTech companies, academia as well as the Government. How does such a forum help the community at large? Such a forum enables interaction, experience sharing, knowledge exchange, and networking among various sectors, including corporates, edtech companies, academia, and the government. It allows each participant to learn from one another and stay informed about developments in different sectors. Networking plays a significant role as it provides opportunities for collaboration and upskilling. These types of events are wonderful opportunities to explore, learn, and upskill ourselves. ArdorComm Media is just a 20-month-old media startup. How was your experience, and what message would you like to give to ArdorComm Media? Thank you so much for arranging this wonderful event, connecting educationalists, industries, and academicians in a single platform where everyone can share their experiences. We would like to work together with the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation and explore future collaborations through these type of programs in future to create awareness among students, industries, institutions, and education.