Video-conferencing gives IMT-CDL a global campus

India’s pioneer in video conferencing – through its Centre for Distance Learning -InstituteofManagement Technologyhas made the world its campus. As IMT-CDL director Dr. A.M. Sherry has said “By leveraging the use and power of technology we are striving to bring education right to a student’s doorstep.”

Dr. Sherry told the Indian Management Conclave 2011, “I think ‘dot com’ is the new DNA because without this technology and without the power of this technology, such an advanced form of education would not possible.”

“We were the first in the country to introduce the concept of a digital library in the field of education for 50,000 students across the globe.” Video conferencing and online classes remove the physical restraints of providing education. This year, IMT-CDL organized a series of workshops on such things as marketing, human resources, operations research, personality development and communication skill. While the hall the workshops were held in had a capacity of about 300 students, IMT web cast them all.

“This experiment proved to be very, very successful,” said Dr. Sherry. “Of the 50,000 students at least 30,000 were present online across the globe.” Video-conferencing technology is also helping solve issues related to what Dr. Sherry called “the current faculty crisis.” He told the conclave “We are now using the WEB-EX system developed by Cisco. With this there is no need of a studio or specific setup to deliver the lecture. Some of our faculty members were at our Dubai campus delivering lectures to 50,000 of our students. With this technology they can also telecast a lecture from their residence.”

 “This is the beauty of technology,” he said. “We have solved problems related to the faculty crisis simply, with technology.”

A student taking classes online can ensure they have a quiet, comfortable, healthy, studying environment and be in contact with experts from around the world via their browser. They can interact with faculty using the using chat function and participate in question periods after class.

“Distance learning with us doesn’t mean studying alone,” says Dr. Sherry. “Our Personal Contact Programmes (PCP), nationwide network of information centres, online digital library, video conferencing, excellent curriculum and a great faculty-student interaction are second to none, no matter where you are in the world.”

IMT CDL students make the most from the Digital Library

The digital library at IMT Center for Distance Learning provides an all new and unique learning experience. The unabridged contents of several Technical, Finance and Business books are available online in this library. It does not only give access to each and every word, graphic, formula and table that is present in the Original books, in addition to this the library also gives access to the content of the companion CD that comes along with these books. As Dr. A.M. Sherry puts it, “Our library resources are available online. The IMT CDL students can make the most from these resources”.

 It is a known fact that the business concepts and methods keep changing every now and then and the same goes with technology ; the techniques keep evolving. Thus, in order to provide information about the latest techniques and methods, it is essential to update the library with the latest information, which is done by adding new books. These are updated on a regular basis and the IMT CDL students do not have to wait too long to access the newly added books. “Our team of experts works continually to update the content of the digital library. The aim is to offer updated information to the students”, says Dr. A.M. Sherry.

Another unique feature of IMT CDL’s digital library is the use of advanced search techniques. Unlike most search engines that offer thousands of search results, out of which most of the results are irrelevant, the digital library offers advanced search options that offer exactly the same search results you are looking for.

IMT Center for Distance Learning has made the most of the technological advancements. Dr. A.M. Sherry believes that one of the reasons for the popularity of their courses is the use of latest technology for imparting education to their students.

2011: A Rewarding Year For IMT Centre For Distance Learning

IMT Centre for Distance Learning has achieved a number of awards for the quality of education it has been imparting. It has been ranked number one on a number of other parameters as well. The institute has also been appreciated time and again for the way it is making use of the technology to reach out to its students. Read on to find out about IMT CDL’s achievements in the year 2011.

IMT CDL is striving hard to achieve its mission which is, “To serve society and enhance the quality of life through excellence and leadership in management education, research and consultancy, as an academic community which is outward-looking and committed to innovation and life-long learning”. The efforts of the management and dedication of the staff members is visible by the rewards this institute has achieved.

IMT CDL offers online classes; the professors provide lectures via online video conferencing. It also has a well socked online digital library which of great help for the distance learning students. IMT CDL students are continually mentored online to bring out the best in them. No wonder, Zee Business has ranked IMT Centre for Distance Learning as the number one distance learning institute in India. Competition Success Review has also ranked it as the number one institute for providing distance learning management education. IMT CDL was also awarded World Education Award 2011 for Best PGDM Programme. This award was given on the basis of public voting during the World Education Summit held in July this year.

Other achievements-

IMT CDL has achieved a number of other awards including The Business Sphere Award for the Best Management School in Distance Learning, The Dainik Bhaskar B-School leadership award for the Best B School in Distance Learning and Asia’s Best B-School award in Distance Learning. These are just to name a few; IMT Centre for Distance Learning has achieved various other laurels this year and is continually working hard to achieve many more in the years to come.

IMT CDL Organizes A Workshop On Diversity And Inclusion

The workshop held on 19th December at India International Center, New Delhi was directed by Dr. Deepak Dogra who happens to be a Professor at IMT CDL. Dr. Deepak Dogra is a highly learned man with several years of experience in various Indian as well as multi national companies. He has an in depth knowledge about Cross cultural Management and Diversity Management and shared his opinion on the same during the workshop conducted by IMT Centre for Distance Learning. Dr. Sherry believes that Dr. Deeepa Dogra’s knowledge and views on the subject are indeed valuable.

Anika K. Warren, who is proficient in the diversity consulting area and has published research papers and articles on diversity and inclusion issues, was also present at the IMT CDL’s workshop. She spoke at length about the gender discrimination. She shared as to how women have to work twice as hard as men to achieve the same position. She spoke about the difficulties that women have to face during their professional career and the need to bring about a change. Dr. Sherry agrees and agrees that not only is this true for women in the West but also for those in the East as well.

Dr. Saini, professor of Human Resource management at MDI, Gurgaon was also invited by IMT Centre for Distance Learning to attend the workshop. He shared some valuable piece of information. He spoke as to how diversity can be turned into corporate asset by giving example of organizations such as Google.

Apart from them, various other highly qualified and learned professionals attended the IMT CDL workshop on Diversity and Inclusion and shared their views on the subject. Most of them were of the opinion that the concept of Workforce Diversity Management would certainly be helpful in augmenting organizational competitiveness. They also shared that in a country like India it is very important to understand the societal context before rolling out a Diversity Management program. There are various diversity issues that India must look at. These include caste, religion, age, gender, education, regional background, language, etc. “ To gain more insight into the current complexities of diversity in India, it is important that such conferences are held often,” says Dr. Sherry.

A lot of knowledge sharing was done during the workshop in an attempt to figure out the degree to which the Diversity Management has been accepted in the Indian market, especially the corporate so as to enhance competitiveness.
IMT Centre for Distance Learning has brought out a very important issue by way of this workshop. With the encouragement and support of Dr. Sherry, the workshop was a success.

IMT CDL: IMT CDL Continues To Be On Top

It is not an easy task to remain at the number one position consistently for years. There are various aspects that need to be worked upon in order to get this ranking and maintain it. IMT CDL has worked upon every aspect and done everything that takes to produce good market leaders. No wonder, the demand for IMT CDL graduates is always high in the market.

IMT CDL rankings have been on pinnacle since the last few years. The management and faculty members at IMT CDL are working hard to maintain this position. Their main aim is to instill their students with a zest for learning and horn their skills so that they are able to face any kind of challenge once they are out in the market. 

IMT CDL leads the way for distance learning because of its learned faculty members, great infrastructure and easy access to the training sessions.

IMT CDL ranking has been on top owing to a number of factors. The very first thing that needs to be taken care of is the infrastructure. Though IMT CDL offers distance learning programs, still the management has never been  negligent about the IMT CDL campus infrastructure. The IMT CDL study centers are also well maintained and have efficient staff members who are there to help the students at every step. The reason for high IMT CDL rankings in India can be judged once you enter its 6 acre campus set up near Delhi. The campus has an outstanding infrastructure, outfitted with the latest technological equipments. The entire campus is networked by Wi-Fi. The classrooms are well-equipped with all the latest facilities. The campus auditorium also has all the modern-day facilities and the library couldn’t have been better. You would be able to find almost all the books relevant to the subjects offered at IMT CDL in the campus library.
 
A number of IMT CDL study centers have also been opened so that the students can attend classes at their nearest study center every weekend. Though most students who opt for distance learning programs prefer to study on their own as per their ease, however, there are times when one needs guidance. The classes conducted at the study centers are a great help for the IMT CDL students. The institute also offers online classes; this is also one of the reasons why IMT CDL ranking has been high.

The study centers and online classes have been a success only because of the learned faculty members at IMT CDL. IMT CDL ranking has been on top consistently and by imparting quality education the management is hoping to maintain this position in the years to come.

IMT CDL : IMT CDL Faculty Works Hard Continually To Keep The Institute On Top

 

The management at IMT CDL understands the importance of a teacher’s role in a student’s life. This is the reason why all the faculty members at IMT CDL have been handpicked. It is a known fact that IMT CDL ranking has consistently been on top. Major credit for this consistent performance goes to its learned faculty.

The number of institutes offering management and technology courses has increased over the past few years. Apart from offering the management courses in Finance, Human Resource and Marketing, most of these institutes have come up with a number of other specializations. Management courses specializing in retail management, export management, Material and Supply Chain Management, etc are available in almost all the institutes these days.

Same is the case with the Information Technology courses. Despite this, certain institutes are able to fetch more students;  IMT CDL is one of them. IMT CDL rankings have always been high. Be it the courses offered here or the infrastructure or the faculty members; IMT CDL ranking has always been on top on all the parameters.

Designing good curriculum is certainly important; however a good curriculum alone cannot do any wonders. It is not the only reason why IMT CDL rankings in India have been on top consistently. IMT CDL leads the way for distance learning owing to the hard work and efforts put in by the faculty members. IMT CDL rankings have also been high owing to its outstanding infrastructure and well stocked library.

The efficiency of any educational institute is determined by the kind of education it imparts. It can further be judged by seeing how well groomed its students are. Both these aspects can be taken care of only if the faculty is good.

The faculty members at IMT CDL are doing complete justice to the proficiently designed curriculum. The curriculum is updated from time to time and the professors at IMT CDL also keep themselves updated with the latest in the market. Both the Indian as well as global market scenarios are studied before upgrading the course
content so that once out of the institute the students are ready to take up work in our country as well as outside.

The IMT CDL faculty is always there to help and support its students. The students can visit the IMT CDL study centers for attending the classes and clarifying their doubts. They can even attend the online classes through video conferencing. These online classes are of great help for the students who do not have the time to visit the study centers physically.

With so many institutes around, deciding as to which institute to opt for is one of the biggest confusion for a student. However, looking at the IMT CDL rankings in the last few years, more and more students are getting drawn towards this institute. The management and faculty members at IMT CDL are continually trying to improve the standard of education and embed good managerial skills and technological knowledge in their students.

The students at IMT CDL are educated and trained efficiently to become future managers and technology experts. IMT CDL graduates/ post graduates are much in demand in the market these days.

IMT CDL Wins Prestigious Asia Award

Doing things to perfection is second nature to IMT Ghaziabad – a management institute that has received several laurels and awards from different panels across the country and overseas. The latest award comes from Business School Affaire and Devang Mehta Business School Awards. IMT-CDL has been awarded Asia’s Best B-School Award in ‘B-School providing Management Education through Distance Mode’.

Held at Suntec Singapore, B Schools from 29 Asian countries participated in this prestigious competition. It was judged on various stringent parameters by a panel of eminent personalities – Management Gurus and top executives from different industries. The information itself was collated by trusted professionals from different countries, while secondary data came from sources like the internet, social groups, alumni, newspaper reports, etc. phone calls flew across countries. Interviews were conducted on the various aspects that go to make a B School complete and finally a list was put together.

IMT Ghaziabad topped in the category of B School providing Management Education through Distance Mode. Winning this award is a very important milestone for IMT Ghaziabad’s Center for Distance Learning (IMT CDL). A lot of careful thinking, planning and management have gone into this futuristic and very important segment of management education.

Programmes offered at IMT CDL are in the different areas of Management studies and durations, lasting from one to two years. Two year programmes include Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM), MS in Cyber Law and Security, Advanced Diploma in Management and the PGDM for Corporate Tie-ups. The one year programmes are PGD in Retail, Exports, HR, Marketing, Taxation, Business Administration, Finance, Material and Supply Chain, Cyber Security, and Executive Management. The Ph.D. offered by IMT CDL is in collaboration with NLU, Jodhpur. It aims at providing high quality training to interested students so that they in turn can become distinguished, pioneering teacher in their fields of specialization.

Deeply dedicated and highly qualified, the faculty plays a key role in IMT CDL winning this award. Led by Director, Dr. A M Sherry, every member is committed to making IMT CDL what it is today. Being awarded the B School Providing Management Education Through Distance Mode is an achievement that comes hand in hand with a sense of unfathomable responsibility towards students located in different corners of the country. It motivates us to do better and give the IMT CDL students the best that they can get in every area of Management learning.

IMT Ghaziabad’s CDL is successful thanks to the meticulous planning and study material provided to Distance Learning students. The curriculum for the 15 courses is devised by a highly qualified and professionally aware faculty, it is like a flowing river – ever changing, never losing focus.

Commenting on receiving this prestigious award, Dr. A.M. Sherry, said, “IMT has the oldest institute of Distance Learning education. We have always focused on providing the best of the course content and technology at affordable fees and offer flexibility to our students.” Being a true IMT faculty, he adds, “I still feel that there is plenty of scope for improvement. Our priority is to provide the best course material and technological assistance. Though we are consistently ranked and awarded, our aim is to be the best and grow into global leaders of Distance MBA Education.” 

IMT-CDL Is On The Cutting Edge With EDGE 2011

Once again bringing academia and industry together in a workshop, the Institute of Management Technology, Centre for Distance Learning showed as to why IMT-CDL’s ranking is Number One among B-schools in the distance learning mode.Held May 15, 2011, at the India International Centre, the IMT-CDL workshop focused on trends in production and operations management, with speakers highlighting the innovative changes operations management could introduce to improve diverse production and operations.
The aim was to clarify the key roles that production and operations management play in a firm’s success and show how to structure and solve operations-related problems analytically.

In his opening address, Dr. A.M. Sherry, Director of IMT-CDL, mentioned that the workshop was a new initiative by IMT to bridge the gap between industry and academia and to also bridge the gap between an MBA and a distance MBA.

Among the many speakers from the academic side, IMT-CDL’s Prof. S.K. Sachdev informed the 306 delegates – “Innovation has been recognized as one potential lever for value creation” while Prof. Santanu Roy of IMT Ghazibad remarked – “Capacity decisions must be integrated into the organization’s mission and strategy.”

Prof. N.M. Mishra told delegates: “Statistical process control is to detect and eliminate the sources of variation in the process that could not be attributed to the routine operation.”

The importance of location was stressed by Prof. Vivek Kumar, of FORE School, who added the idea that the site for a manufacturing or service facility should be one “that minimizes costs and maximizes revenue,” and Prof. Nand Kumar of TERI pointed out: “Quality has to be proactive and it should be built into products and services.” Speaking from industry’s viewpoint, S.S. Sharma, principal partner of System Dynamics, said: “Building a competitive service advantage is the best operational strategy,” and Mr. P. Narayan, former Director of SAIL insisted that “Maintenance helps in continuous and regular production by minimizing plant shutdown time.”

Sanjeev Sherry, assistant vice-president and SAP delivery head for Mahindra Satyam told delegates: “We need various tools to manage inventory, however tools may vary depending upon the business complexities.”

Praveen Chauhary, Dy, GM,HCL said: “Information technology is an excellent enabler to achieve the supply chain needs,” and senior consultant Rajeev Bhatia told the assembly: “CPM, PERT and PERT/Cost are also used to provide activity-by-activity planning and control.”

Such innovative workshops are an example of why Zee Business, the business news channel, listed IMT-CDL’s ranking as Number One, factoring in such things as: course content, quality of course material, course delivery mode, personal contact, exclusive faculty members, research and consultancy, library facility, industry acceptability and examination system.

Dr. Sherry, IMT CDL Director Says- “Dot Com’ Is The New DNA” At Indian Managament Conclave 2011

The second edition of the Indian Management Conclave (IMC) 2011 was held on August 11-12, 2011, in New Delhi on the theme — the ‘New DNA’ for Indian management education. The Conclave saw eminent leaders from the academic and corporate world addressing a congregation of 500 delegates. On Day 2, in the Special Session, the informative presentation by Dr. A. M. Sherry, Director of the IMT Centre of Distance Learning (Session Chair), demonstrated how institutions can leverage technology in the field of education to optimum effect. Presented here are excerpts from his presentation…

“It is my pleasure to be a part of the Indian Management Conclave, Two-Zero-One-One. This is a unique platform because this year, ‘One’ represents the management gurus present here, and the other ‘One’ represents the industry gurus who are also here today.

If either industry or management gurus were missing the sum total would be ‘Zero’. Similarly, if academic import is supplemented by industry import, then ‘One’ plus ‘One’ will always add up to ‘Two’. Here, academic gurus and industry experts are on the same platform, i.e., One plus One. And this is the beauty of the Indian Management Conclave, Two-Zero-One-One.

The theme of this session is related to technology and the use of technology. Consider this… the organiser of this event is MBA Universe.com… ‘dot com’; this demonstrates not only the use of technology but also the power of technology. And this particular session is dedicated to the use of technology in management education. The theme of the Conclave is building new B-Schools; building a new DNA. I think ‘dot com’ is the new DNA because without this technology and without the power of this technology, such an advanced form of education would not possible.

Let me share you my own case study at IMT- CDL as a case in point…

We started the Distance Education Programme in 1980. At the time we had just 300 students but today the figure is more than 50,000. In 2002, we started a technology-based, E-MBA programme but the experiment was not wholly successful and finally we had to pull out of it. This was because there was little acceptability to such a programme in the year 2002. Our content was digital, lecture delivery and examinations were online but there was little acceptability in the market. But today, in the year 2011,things are different. How many of you use Facebook? I think everybody does. This scenario augurs well and demonstrates both the growth and the reach of technology.

In 2006, encouraged by the spurt in the growth of technology, we once again introduced the use of technology in our management programme. Our first experiment was the use of a learning management system to deliver the lectures, the content and the examination. We were the first in the country to introduce the concept of a digital library in the field of education for 50,000 students across the globe.

In 2008, we introduced an online admission process and a payment gateway to deposit the fees. We also introduced a personal contact programme through video conferencing by using a very flexible technology called WEB-EX. Despite that, these experiments were just about okay and not extremely successful.

This year we have conducted a unique experiment. We had organised workshops related to subjects such as marketing, HR, operation research, personality development, communication skills, etc. The hall the workshops were held in could hold just about 300 students and our student base is 50,000. So here’s what we did… Academic gurus and industry experts delivered lectures related to marketing, operation research, etc., on the same platform, and we webcasted the entire workshop. This experiment proved to be very, very successful! Of the 50,000 students, at least 30,000 were present online, across the globe.

Additionally, with the aim of solving issues related to the current faculty crisis, we are now using the WEB-EX system developed by CISCO. With this, there is no need of a studio or a specific setup to deliver the lecture. Some of our faculty members were at our Dubai campus delivering lectures to 50,000 of our students. With this technology, they can also telecast a lecture from their residence!

Our campus is in Ghaziabad, if somebody is in Gurgaon and if he or she wants to deliver a lecture to our students, there is no need to visit the campus to do so. They can telecast the lecture from their residence itself. This is the beauty of technology! We have solved problems related to the faculty crisis simply, with the help of technology.

We are also starting another unique programme called the MS Programme in Cyber Law and Security which has two components — one related to cyber law and the other to security. There is a dearth of cyber security experts in India which means there is a huge demand. People are not even aware of cyber laws because the laws are different in India, the USA, the UK…

So what we did was this — for the cyber law component, we collaborated with the National Law University, Jodhpur where the faculty members are based in Jodhpur. And for the cyber security component, we tied up with experts based in the US. Our campus is located at Ghaziabad and our students are in different geographical locations; but we are delivering this programme with the help of technology and this experiment again, has proved to be extremely successful.

We have also implemented this technology into our Ph. D programme. Our scholars are at different locations and their supervisors are at different locations but they can interact comfortably using the WEB-EX system. Our library resources are available online and our examination system is online as well. Many people working in the corporate world who want to pursue their Ph. D are enrolled in this particular programme. They are also very keen to join educational institutions after a certain age. These people have industry exposure, they have an interest in education, and they want to join the education sector in the future. This technology will help them do that sooner than later.

At the IMT Centre of Distance Learning, we are doing our very best to resolve the major issues related with technology-based education in India. By leveraging the use and power of technology we are striving to bring education right to a student’s doorstep.

IMT CDL Ranking: IMT Ranking Is No. 1 on Business World’s Distance Learning List

IMT Ghaziabad’s meticulously planned and highly effective Centre for Distance Learning (CDL) offers a very good distance learning option to those who seek an MBA but cannot move into a campus for whatever reason. In fact, IMT’s CDL has been ranked the best in India by a survey conducted by Business World magazine.

The survey, with 501 respondents from Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai, included five very important parameters: proper approval or affiliation; online admission and examinations; IT facilities; study centres; and finally foreign collaboration. IMT scored top points in almost all areas.

Distance Learning is a need that has far reaching results. The number of people who gain by this sort of learning is phenomenal. IMT’s Distance Learning MBA is surely an idea whose time has come. Not everybody can afford to take two years off from a career that is just beginning to take off. Yes, the benefits are many, but the thought of leaving a blossoming career almost as soon as you’ve started it is not something every MBA aspirant can do. Coming up with a very viable and valuable solution, IMT set up its CDL programmes which took off almost as soon as they were announced.

At IMT, distance learning options abound. Students can choose from the 15 courses available. The two year courses include PGDM, MS in Cyber Law and Security, Advanced PGDM and PGDM for Corporate Tie-ups.

IMT CDL offers one year post graduate management courses in Retail, Marketing, HR, Export, Business Administration , Finance, Material and Supply Chain Management, Taxation, Cyber Security, and the evergreen PGDM (Executive). The Ph.D programme in collaboration with NLU, Jodhpur is for those tireless academics and researchers who take Management to the next level.
The curriculum for each of the 15 distance learning courses is perfectly contemporary. Devised by a highly qualified and professionally aware faculty, it is like a flowing river – ever changing, never losing focus.
Students in different parts of the country are provided with better services and facilities for Counselling and Personal Contact Programmes with Information Centres set up across the country.

IMT is in the process of adding Information Centres so as to make a distance learning MBA more accessible to whoever seeks it.
Commenting on being ranked No.1, Dr. A.M. Sherry, Director, Institute of Management Technology’s Centre for Distance Learning, said, “IMT is the oldest institute of Distance Learning education.

We have always focused on providing the best of the course content and technology in an affordable fees and flexibility in terms of the students. But I still feel that there are scopes where we can improve.
Our priority is to provide the best course material and technological assistance. Though we are ranked consistently as number one, but our aim is to be the global leaders of Distance MBA
Education.”