The international certification organisation Edexcel inked an agreement with SQTL Integrated Solutions (India) on August 22, to provide its globally recognised BTEC HNC (Higher National Certificate) qualifications to SQTL students.

The Pune-based SQTL offers its study programmes in 13 locations in India to over 4,000 students and professionals annually. Career-oriented courses in the IT (information technology) sector and skills enhancing programmes are offered. According to Shashikant Mohite, chairman of SQTL, with a growing number of international organisations outsourcing their IT requirements to India, SQTL responded by designing its BTEC (Business Technology Education Council) study programmes.

“The need for graduates who are able to slip straight into the workforce is vital for the IT sector in India,” says Mohite. “Our BTEC combined with Edexcel’s HNC and diploma programmes are designed to provide students with skills required in the workplace. Moreover many of our students use their BTEC HNC and HND certification to qualify for degree courses around the world. A vocational qualification with a history of nearly 25 years, our BTEC HNC program offers a tried and tested balance of education and vocational application in work-related arenas,” he adds.

IMT-Ghaziabad-NEN concord

The Institute of Management Technology (IMT)-Ghaziabad, has signed an agreement with the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) to introduce the latter’s entrepreneurship development programme to build successful start-up companies.

A new cell established by IMT-NEN will educate, aid and advise aspirant entrepreneurs. The cell will also commission research studies in entrepreneurship, offer skills-building and networking workshops, mentorship and company start-up advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. The partnership was initiated with a day-long entrepreneurship workshop organised at IMT to acquaint students with critical drivers of economic growth and entrepreneurship.

“Enthusiasm about entrepreneurship has been overwhelming and I hope our students are able to convert this into a great movement, which will add to the pride of IMT-G,” says Dr. B.S. Sahay, director of the institute.

IMT-G (estb.1980) is widely acknowledged as a centre of excellence in management education which has adapted to changes in the business and social environments.

MeritTrac Wins Red Herring accolade

Merittrac services, which bills itself as India’s largest skills assessment company, has bagged the coveted Red Herring 100 Asia award, an accolade which acknowledges 100 private firms driving the future of technology. “We are very proud to be included in the exclusive list of 100 companies in Asia by Red Herring. We believe that this award is another endorsement of the importance of assessments across sectors today. It is also a recognition of the technology and process innovation that we have brought to the talent engagement space,” said Madan Padki, co-founder-chief executive of MeritTrac who received the award in Hong Kong on August 29.

The Red Herring 100 Asia awards celebrate Asia’s hottest private companies from a pool of more than 500 applicant corporates in 16 countries including China, India, Japan, Singapore, Korea, Australia and Vietnam. As part of its short-listing process, an editorial team of Red Herring rigorously evaluates applicant firms on quantitative and qualitative criteria such as financial performance, technology innovations, quality of management, execution of strategy, and integration of these attributes into their ecosystems.

Red Herring is a global media company uniting the world’s best hi-tech innovators, venture investors and business decision makers across a variety of owned forums — a leading innovation magazine; an online daily technology news service; technology research, and major events for technology leaders around the globe.

MeritTrac is India’s largest skills assessment company which designs and delivers assessments to evaluate abilities, skills and knowledge of corporate and individual customers.

Two new CNN-YJA Awards

To celebrate 60 years of independence of India and Pakistan, the US-based 24×7 news channel CNN — a Time Warner company — announced the launch of the fifth edition of its CNN Young Journalist Award (CNN-YJA). Launched in India in 2003, CNN-YJA recognises and encourages quality journalism among young media professionals in India and Pakistan. CNN has added two new categories this year — the CNN Photo Journalist Award and CNN Journalist Award.

Entries are invited from media categories such as print, online, photography and television. To be eligible for the award (with the exception of entries from journalists) all entries should be published or aired between January 1 and September 30, 2007.

Moreover applicants for CNN-YJA must submit an essay in 1,000 words on the subject ‘Has the media broadened its reach only to narrow its focus?’ Short-listed participants in the television and print category will be invited to New Delhi to participate in an on-the-spot contest, which will determine the winners of the categories.

The deadline for entries is October 12, 2007. Entries of published material will be adjudged in November by a prestigious panel, and winners of the annual awards will be proclaimed at a gala ceremony in New Delhi in December. The winners of the CNN Photo Journalist and Young Journalist awards will also be invited (all expenses paid) to the News Xchange Conference 2008, an internationally recognised networking forum for broadcasters and media professionals across the globe, scheduled to be held in October 2008. For further details of the awards, visit www.cnnasiapacific.com/yja.

Making the announcement, CNN New Delhi bureau chief, Phillip Turner said: “The CNN Journalist Award salutes the best of insightful Indian and Pakistani journalists and their efforts in voicing often unpopular issues and concerns — issues that often require great courage. This year, we have also introduced the CNN Photo Journalist Award to recognise the rich tradition and contribution of photo journalists.”