Bangalore, July 30. IFIM Business School, Bangalore (estb.1995), one of the few AACSB accredited management institutes in India, in association with the Academy of Indian Marketing (AIM) launched the first-ever index of Service Excellence in India (iSEI) and unveiled the IFIM-AIM Parasuraman Centre of Service Excellence in Bangalore which will function under the guidance of Dr. A. Parasuraman. Prof. A. Parasuraman’s pioneering work in the area of service quality measurement and improvement, is globally acclaimed in academic and practitioner circles. Eventually iSEI is expected to become a national benchmark for assessing and improving service excellence across all sectors of industry.

“The launch of India’s first iSEI will positively impact the country’s GDP which is heavily dependent on the services sector. A credible index to measure service quality will help businesses win customers by meeting their expectations and aligning with their perceptions,” said Dr. Jagdish Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt, professor of marketing at Emory University, Atlanta, USA, speaking on the occasion.

Online career skills programme

Delhi/Mumbai, July 10. TCS iON, a strategic unit of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s premier IT services, consulting and business solutions company, announced a collaboration with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) — the country’s apex advisory and regulatory body for technical education — to provide students a jointly curated digital learning programme to equip them with career skills.

According to Venguswamy Ramaswamy, global programme head of TCS iON, many graduates fail job recruitment tests despite strong academic credentials because of lack of soft skills such as effective communication and interpersonal relations management. To bridge this gap, TCS iON has designed a free, 20-hour career skills course covering subjects such as corporate etiquette, effective email writing, impactful presentations, IT awareness etc. The course will be available to students free-of-charge throughout the duration of their degree programmes.

“As a responsible recruiter, we would like to collaborate with education institutions to help students develop better career skills. We are delighted with AICTE’s support of this initiative. The course is available on the TCS iON Digital Learning Hub at https://learning.tcsionhub.in/courses/career-skills/, and can be accessed anytime, anywhere, and on any device,” says Ramaswamy.

ILSO registration invite

New Delhi, July 9. Skillizen Learning Foundation, a Singapore-based global socio-education company, invites registrations for its International Life Skills Olympiad (ILSO), 2019.

“ILSO is the world’s first and only Olympiad that tests young children’s life skills and aptitudes. This global test is specifically designed for school children — including home-schooled students — from classes III-XII. This test evaluates real-world skills and competencies critical for young children to manage and succeed in their personal, professional and social lives. The most unique feature of this Olympiad is that it gives participants an opportunity to make decisions about real-life situations by applying critical life skills such as leadership, ethics, teamwork, communication, empathy, goal setting, etc,” says Sidharth Tripathy, chief convener of the Skillizen Olympiad Foundation.

According to Tripathy, parents and schools can register students on www.lifeskillsolympiad.org by paying a nominal registration fee of US $7.99 (Rs.560) to receive a preparation pack which includes life skills guides, practice questions and a mock test. In 2018, children from over 2,000 schools in 61 countries participated in this global online olympiad. Apart from numerous prizes, winners were given air tickets to visit Harvard University. “Participation in ILSO will be their first step towards becoming global citizens,” adds Tripathy.

UKIERI Study in India initiative

Bangalore, July 25. Universities UK International (UUKi) and British Council India announced the launch of the UKIERI Mobility Programme: Study in India, a bilateral pilot programme which will support UK universities collaborating with Indian partners to send British university students to India.

The programme began last month (July) with a target to create 200 Study in India opportunities for undergraduate students in UK universities by March 2021. This initiative has the support of the British Council, the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and education.

“We are delighted to enable 200 UK students to study in India by March 2021. We know that students who go abroad tend to do better academically and professionally. We also know that exchanging students supports the development of strategic partnerships between universities. This scheme will not only be good for individual students and UK universities, it also fits neatly with the government of India’s goal to attract a larger number of international students and support the development of international networks for some of India’s strongest universities,” said Vivienne Stern, director of UUKi, speaking on the occasion.

The programme will be funded by the UK and India governments under phase III of the UK-India Education Research Initiative and delivered by British Council.