Government of India's National Institutional Ranking Framework

The Indian Ministry of Education has a National Institutional Ranking Framework, ranking universities. All but one of the top ten institutions for 2025 in the Indian government's ranking also appear in the top ten by Webometrics:

1. Indian Institute of Technology Madras (3)
2. Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru (7)
3. Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (2)
4. Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (4)
5. Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (8)
6. Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (1)
7. Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (10)
8. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi (9)
9. Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (17)
10. Banaras Hindu University,Varanasi (6)

Greetings from the Bangalore Club

At the Bangalore Club

Greetings from the Bangalore Club, in downtown Bengaluru. I am in India for a wedding, and our hosts have put up the wedding party at their club. The club was Founded in 1868 for British officers, and is an oasis of tranquility in the bustle of the city. The club is a good metaphor for India, and Bengaluru is particular, rushing headlong into a high tech future, while attempting to retain traditions, and come to terms with its colonial past. 

Each day I receive a newspaper under the door (yes, they still provide newspapers at the Club, which can be read in the stuffed leather chairs). Sunday's headline was "Skills training: An incomplete solution to India's jobs crisis" (Deccan Herald,  E T B Sivapriyan, 23 April 2023). The article took up most of pages one and two, indicating the importance given to education in India. The issues are very similar to Australia: How useful is formal training in getting a job? Why are so many students failing to complete? Are they getting the right skills? Do centrally funded training programs work?  

If Australia can work out solutions to these issues domestically, there is potential for export of training systems to India. But it might be better to work with India, on common solutions, than assume Australia has all the answers.

Anything Happening in Singapore or India in April?

Singapore Fintech Festival, 2022 

I will be in Singapore April 4 & 26 to 28, Goa 6 to 19, and Bengaluru 21 to 24. Any education or computing events I can help with, while there? Any conferences or events I can attend, or anyone, I should visit? I get a bit bored looking at museums. ;-)

On my visit to Singapore last year I have a talk on work integrated learning at the Singapore Institute of Technology, on Sustainable Computing at EduTech Asia, was on a panel about satellite data security with government officials, and attended the Fintech Festival, plus Predict22's Cyber-security Summit.

I see Microsoft Research is a few hundred meters from where I am staying in Bengaluru. Is that somewhere you can just wander into? I visited Microsoft Research Cambridge, but that was by invitation.

Prepare for Regional Conflict to Keep Students Offshore

Dirk Mulder reports that 19% of international students enrolled in Australian universities are offshore (Dirk Mulder on where international students are (and aren't, Campus Morning Mail, 9 August 2022). This may be an underestimate, as it is based on government figures for the number  of students with visas (students studying purely online don't need a visa). The figure is higher for Chinese students (38%), and lower for Indian (10%). The students in China may be unable to travel due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, it may be that some of these students do not see value in travelling to Australia, and would prefer to study offshore. That option has only been available from a few universities and programs, with most requiring on campus participation. Also students may be taking advantage of Australian university not indicating on transcripts that students studied online. In investigating the possibility of Chinese and Indian students studying at Australian universities online before the pandemic, I noticed that particularly in the case of China online study had a poor reputation. 

Also, in 2016 I warned that international tensions may stop students studying on campus in Australia. The type of tension I had in mind is currently taking place around Taiwan. As I wrote in 2016, Australian universities should be prepared if tension deters, or prevents, students travelling to Australia. This could effect not only Chinese students, but also Indian students, and nationals of other countries in the region. The best way to prepare is to offer quality online learning with a campus option.

EDUtech India Virtual 2021

EDUtech India Virtual 2021 is free for educators, and starts 2:00 PM AEST 26 November. Here are my selections from the program:

Friday, November 26, 2021

4:00 PM

4:30 PM

Fireside chat: Bridging the digital divide in India: ensuring access to education for all

K-12

Fireside Chat

• 

  Rashmi Arun Shami

  Government Of Madhya Pradesh
• 

  B Kalyan Chakravarthy

  Government Of Assam
• 

  Sapna Sukul

  Edu Start Solution Services

6:00 PM

6:30 PM

Presentation: Promoting student and faculty wellbeing in a hybrid learning environment

K-12

Presentation

• 

  Neeru Mittal

  SRDAV Public School Delhi

Saturday, November 27, 2021

4:00 PM

5:00 PM

Panel: 2030: A prescience into the future of universities in India

D2L

Higher Education

Panel Discussion

• 

  Prem Das Maheshwari

  D2L
• 

  Hrridaysh Deshpande

  Ajeenkya Dy Patil University
• 

  G Mallikarjuna

  Manipal University Jaipur
• 

  Aman Mittal

  Lovely Professional University
• 

  Sendilkumar B

  Vinayaka Missions Research Foundation-Deemed to be University

6:30 PM

7:00 PM

Fireside chat: Creating and sustaining healthy learning settings, creating connections, fostering inclusion and a sense of community

Higher Education

Panel Discussion

• 

  Arvinder Singh

  Ashoka University
• 

  Lay Yeo

  Singapore University of Social Sciences

10:00 PM

10:30 PM

Presentation: Emerging Teaching-Learning Pedagogies for Engineering Education

Technology-enhanced learning for engineering studentsBlended learning and its potential in the post-Covid eraEducation Technology and emerging research areas

Higher Education

Presentation

• 

  Rajlaxmi Chouhan

  Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur

Possibilities for Australia/India Education Partnerships

Today I took part in the Australia India Business eXchange 2021, in the Education section. After some short presentations (which was a relief as they can be long at these shows), we had some small group discussions. One issue here was how Australian unviersites can get a presence in India. The approach I suggested was a local partner. I was impressed when on a visit to Colombo (yes I know that is not India), I came across Curtin University staff at the  Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT). They had a very productive partnership where students studied locally for an Australian degree. One possibility discussed in the breakout room was an Indian institution providing an Australian vocational qualification (such as a Diploma), with the student also getting credit towards an Australian degree. Another possibility discussed was the local Indian partner assisting students with work integrated learning.

While AIBX was using Zoom, I experienced some difficulties with how it was implemented. Normally I would click on a link, or enter a Zoom address, and the Zoom App would start. In this case instead Zoom started in the web browser. This is much slower, to the point of being unusable on my computer. So I had to read the room number from this Zoom session and enter it in the desktop Zoom application. At one point other messages covered the number, so I had to ask the help desk for the Zoom link (they responded quickly).

Australia India Education Trade Show Online with International Education EdTech Vendors

Greetings from the virtual exhibition floor of the Australia India Business eXchange 2021, currently underway online. The program has five streams: Agrifood, Mining, Infrastructure, Healthcare and Education. There are two education areas on the trade floor: Transnational and Edtech. It is not too late to register.

The interface works much better than I was expecting. I clicked on Transnational Education and the response was instant. From their I could get a list of recorded presentations and documents for my show "swag bag".

Transnational Education:

1. Australian TNE in India - Presentation
2. Deakin University - Brochure
3. Flinders University - Presentation
4. Flinders University - Flyer
5. University of Southern Queensland - Flyer
6. Vetassess - Flyer
7. Mission Delegate Profiles
8. La Trobe University International Course Guide

The only of these I am not familiar with is Vetassess. So I clicked on it and got a 12 page capability statement. It turns out they do skills assessment.

For Edtech:

1. Didasko Institute - Flyer
2. Didasko Institute - Presentation
3. Typsy - Flyer
4. Typsy - Brochure
5. Mission Delegate Profiles

Here I found about Didasko (tech used to deliver university courses). However, Typsy, who deliver online hospitality training, appear to be in the wrong category. Presumably the target market is international students wanting to be certified to work in Australian hospitality.

Here is the education program: 

Wednesday 29 September 2021

11:00-12:00 IST / 15:30-16:30 AEST

Transnational education (TNE) roundtable: partnering for success

In this session Australian and Indian institutions will explore new possibilities in TNE in light of the internationalisation agenda in India’s National Education Policy, and in order to service India’s significant skills demand.

12:00-12.30 IST / 16:30-17:00 AEST

TNE networking (happy half hour)

Opportunity for informal networking with Indian institutions.

13:00-15:00 IST / 17:30–19:30 AEST

Find your partner

Visit our virtual booths anytime to explore partnerships with Australian businesses. Our Austrade India industry sector experts in transnational education and edtech will be available 13:00 to 15:00 IST for live chat.

Thursday 30 September 2021

11:00-12:00 IST / 15:30-16:30 AEST

Limitless learning: opportunities in India’s burgeoning edtech sector

This roundtable discussion focuses on growth trends in India’s education technology industry, key aspirations of Indian edtech companies, and opportunities to partner on content, product development and scale-up.

12:00-12:30 IST / 16:30-17:00 AEST

Edtech networking (happy half hour)

Opportunity for informal networking with key Indian edtech companies.

13:00-15:00 IST / 17:30–19:30 AEST

Find your partner

Visit our virtual booths anytime to explore partnerships with Australian businesses. Our Austrade India industry sector experts in transnational education and edtech will be available 13:00 to 15:00 IST for live chat.

Friday 1 October 2021

10:00-11:30 IST / 14:30-16:00 AEST

AIBX 2021 Business Leaders Forum: Partnering for Prosperity

Official proceedings with Minister Tehan, Indian Government representatives and industry leaders. A physical event in Delhi delivered in partnership with CII and the Economic Times and livestreamed to Business Mission participants. Program will include keynotes from ministers and a business leaders panel discussion on trade and economic partnership opportunities, moderated by the Economic Times.

13:00-15:00 IST / 17:30–19:30 AEST

Find your partner

Visit our virtual booths anytime to explore partnerships with Australian businesses. Our Austrade India industry sector experts in transnational education and edtech will be available 13:00 to 15:00 IST for live chat.

Australia India Business eXchange 2021

Greetings from the Australia India Business eXchange 2021, being held over the next three days online. I registered to explore education business  opportunities in India. The organizers have gone to considerable lengths to create the online equivalent of a trade show. One interesting feature is a "swag" bag, where you can browse through the information filling your virtual show bag with electronic brochures. There are live events via Zoom as well as chat. 

The main interface looks a lot like Second Life,or Mozilla Hubs,  which is not necessarily a good thing. The physical meeting venue does not necessarily make for a good online interface, and might just slow things down. A more intimidate problem is that the interface is only available when live sessions are on. This makes no sense and differs from other online trade shows, where you can look at the program, browse virtual trade booths, and leave messages to arrange meetings, at any time. 

Smart Phone for Video Conference in India

Greetings from the King & Wood Mallesons' International Arbitration Webinar on India. Amanda Lees is chairing the session. I am not a lawyer, but I thought it might be useful to learn a little about the Indian legal system, as I might be asked to design courses for institutions there. 

KWM are using WebEx for the webinar. This is not my favorite video conference system, but it works well on a smartphone. So I have my 4 Inch Android smartphone held in a clamp which came with one tripod, screwed to the desktop tripod from a light. I am listening, so I have no microphone plugged in. 

Hand holding the phone makes for wobbly video and a phone on a desk is too low to give a good angle. A tripod with clamp holds the phone securely at a good height. It is still possible to pick up the whole unit, if necessary, and move it to another location.

When WebEx started, it offered to call me for the sound, so I accepted this option. One bonus of this is that if you receive a phone call, the conference audio is put on hold, so there is no risk of the conference participants listening in on my phone call.