Institution Profile

Ahlcon International School, Delhi

In the authoritative EducationWorld-C fore India’s Most Respected Schools Survey 2011, Ahlcon International School, Delhi (estb.2001) was ranked among the Top 10 day schools of Delhi and among the Top 20 in north India Within a decade after it was promoted by the Shanti Devi Progressive Education Society — a trust constituted by Dr. Rohini Ahluwalia, chairperson of Ahlcon Parenterals Ltd (revenue: Rs.68 crore in fiscal 2010-11) — Ahlcon International School (estb. 2001) has won golden opinions as a top-ranked CBSE-affiliated K-12 co-educational day school of the national capital. Last year in the authoritative EducationWorld-C fore India’s Most Respected Schools Survey 2011, Ahlcon International (mission statement: “to establish Ahlcon International School as a world class centre of learning, a leader in imparting joyful, relevant and values-based education to each child and ensure complete fulfillment of the aspirations of all stakeholders”) was ranked among the Top 10 day schools of Delhi and among the Top 20 in north India. More pertinently, on the parameter of leadership and management quality, it was ranked first all-India (together with five other day schools), and fourth on the parameter of providing students/parents value for money. Earlier in 2010, the school received the International School Award (ISA) of the British Council making it eligible to participate in international projects with K-12 schools beyond national borders. Ashok Pandey, an alumnus of Allahabad University who began his career as a teacher in Mayo College, Ajmer (1985-91), was founder-principal of DPS, Jammu (1999-2003) and put in teaching and administrative stints with the Indian International School, Dammam, Saudi Arabia (1991-97) and the Amity Group (1997-99), was appointed principal of Ahlcon International (AI) in 2003. Almost a decade after he assumed charge of the school which has 2,300 boys and girls mentored by 140 teachers on its muster rolls, Pandey is “very satisfied” with the speed with which AI has made it to the Top 10 league tables of most schools rating and ranking publications. “Of course the management of this relatively new school is very satisfied with the Top 10 ranking awarded by EducationWorld and Hindustan Times. But this rapid rise in public esteem has imposed a heavy responsibility upon us to move further up the rankings. To achieve this we are sharpening our focus on values education, and capacity building in terms of infrastructure augmentation and teacher training and development,” he says. According to Pandey, the distinguishing features of Ahlcon International School, Delhi include the heavy emphasis the school’s management places on values and culturally-rooted education, child-centricism, parental involvement with children’s broad-based education, and innovations in teaching. Yet he believes that the “truly differentiating characteristic of Ahlcon International is the management’s enthusiastic embrace of new technologies to track the academic progress of every child to realise her full potential”. “To this end we have installed the (managing, scheduling, tracking, analysing and reporting) software of the New York-based new technologies company MGRM Net which tracks, analyses and monitors the academic progress of every student from the time of admission until…

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Institution Profile

Wigan & Leigh College, UK

Designed and developed in partnership with industry and employers, Wigan & Leigh College, UK programmes are distinguished by their practical, hands-on skills development focus Wigan & Leigh College (WLC) is one of Britain’s premier general further and higher education collegiate groups offering a range of vocational and professional programmes to over 14,000 students, including 300 from foreign shores. Sited in six campuses in the towns of Wigan and Leigh in the Greater Manchester area, Wigan & Leigh College, UK offers 40-plus vocational education programmes across the disciplines of art and design, business, childcare, early years education, engineering, computing and IT, forensic science, media, music and performing arts, psychology and sociology, sport, teacher education, travel, tourism and hospitality. Students have the option of choosing from a range of qualifications including foundation degrees, BTEC (Business and Technology Education Council) diplomas and BTEC higher national diplomas conferred by Edexcel, the largest certification board in the UK for academic and vocational qualifications. Completion of WLC’s two-year diplomas qualifies students to enter the second or final year of bachelor degree programmes. Wigan & Leigh College, UK in partnership with the University of Central Lancashire and University of Salford also offers the option of top-up (bachelor) degrees to students who complete its foundation programme or higher national diploma. Designed and developed in partnership with industry and employers, Wigan & Leigh College, UK programmes are distinguished by their practical, hands-on skills-development focus. Students learn through work-related projects, assignments, and practical work experience. “WLC offers high quality education and training to students. Our curriculum and courses are designed to meet the requirements of industry and prepare students for immediate employment, as well as qualify them to pursue higher education. We offer a wide choice of study programmes from entry to professional and postgraduate levels for full and part-time students, both school-leavers and adults,” says Cath Hurst, principal of WLC. Established in April 1992 through the merger of Wigan College of Technology (formerly Wigan Mining and Technical College) and Leigh College, WLC has firmly planted its flag in India. Since 1996, through its Indian partner — Wigan and Leigh College India, promoted by Vinay Pasricha — it has been offering certified study programmes in business, fashion, media and design to Indian students. Currently, WLC India has campuses in 16 cities with an enrolment of 3,000 students who are awarded diplomas and degrees of the UK-based parent college. Under the terms of the partnership/franchise agreement, WLC India students also have the option of completing a part of their programmes in the UK. Wigan & Leigh. The towns of Wigan & Leigh are situated in north-west England between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester. The borough of Wigan (pop. 81,203) has an interesting mix of character, history and heritage. Its defunct coal mining history remains with several former colliery sites being redeveloped. It hosts the Grand Arcade which offers a fabulous line-up of major retail stores, as well as numerous pubs, clubs and restaurants. Mesnes Park separates two Wigan College buildings and…

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Institution Profile

Indus International School, Pune

The latest presentation of the Bangalore-based Indus Trust, which has promoted Top-10 rank international schools in Bangalore and Hyderabad, is IIS-Pune, off to a flying start.One of the most inspiring success stories of high-end, upscale K-12 education in post-liberalisation India is of the Bangalore-based Indus Trust, constituted in July 2003 by Silicon Valley-based entre-preneur Kumar Malavalli and Bangalore-based real estate tycoon Sushil Mantri. Since 2003 when the trusts first Indus International School (IIS), Bangalore, affiliated with the International Bacca-laureate Organisation (IBO), Geneva and the Cambridge International Examination (CIE) Board, admitted its first batch of students, two Indus International clones have sprung up in Hyderabad and Pune (estb.2008). Remarkably, under the leadership of Lt. Gen (Retd) Arjun Ray, PVSM, VSM, who was hand-picked and appointed chief executive of the Indus Trust in 2003, within less than a decade not only are three international schools under the flagship brand up and running, two of them — Bangalore and Hyderabad — are ranked among the Top 10 inter-national schools countrywide in the latest EducationWorld-C fore Indias Most Respected Schools Survey 2011. The latest presentation of the Indus Trust is IIS-Pune — a day-cum-boarding co-ed school affiliated with IBO and CIE — which admitted its first batch of 40 students in August 2008 and currently has an enrolment of 200 students from 22 countries in classes K-XI. Theres a great shortage of leaders in society. Therefore our objective is to shape evolved leaders of tomorrow by delivering balanced, holistic education to produce citizens who think globally and act locally. The motto of Indus International schools is in omnia paratus — prepared for all challenges. We offer our students K-12 education based on the core character-building values of love, empathy, discipline and respect, says Shouquot Hussain, an alumnus of St. Pauls School, Darjeeling and Gauhati University who began his teaching career with DPS, Digboi, and served with Pathways World School, Gurgaon (2003-07), before signing up with IIS-Bangalore as vice principal. In 2010, he was deputed to head IIS-Pune. According to Hussain, under IIS-Punes carefully designed curriculum, boys and girls in K-V classes are schooled in the time-tested and globally accepted primary years programme (PYP) of IBO, Geneva. Thereafter in classes VI-VIII, they are integrated into the Middle School Programme (MSP) — a liberal, holistic curriculum common to all Indus International schools — before switching to the IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) curriculum of CIE, UK in classes IX-X. Subsequently, in classes XI-XII they revert to the IB diploma programme. We believe this thoroughly international academic programme promotes independence, love of learning and a connection to the world with a sense of social respon-sibility, says Hussain. In keeping with the best traditions of the parent IIS-Bangalore, no pains have been spared to provide an ideal learning environment for IIS-Punes 200 children. Spread over 36 green acres on the periphery of the Manas Lake on Mulshi Road, the school offers a serene and scenic environment, and clean oxyg-enated air amid undulating countryside. The campus designed…

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Institution Profile

University of Kentucky, USA

Sited on a 670-acre campus in Lexington in the southern state of Kentucky, University of Kentucky is a highly reputed public research institution and is ranked among the top 150 universities of America Founded in 1865, University of Kentucky (UK) is a publicly-funded higher education institution with an excellent record of providing contemporary tertiary education and research facilities, particularly in the sciences, engineering, pharmacy and medicine. Sited on a 670-acre campus in Lexington in the southern state of Kentucky (pop. 4.3 million), the eponymous university is the states most highly ranked public research institution as well as the largest in terms of student enrolment (27,171). While the US News & World Report in its 2011 league table of Americas Best Colleges rates UK 129 nationwide, several of its study programmes including anatomy, clinical psychology, pharmacy, geography, surgery, physiology, molecular and cellular biochemistry, and nursing have been ranked among the top 20 academic programmes by several national publications and organisations. The university’s 16 colleges and a graduate school offer over 93 undergraduate, 99 Masters, 66 doctoral, and four professional programmes. In 1997, the Kentucky General Assembly signed a compact with UK to transform it into a Top 20 public research university in the US by the year 2020. As part of the Top 20 plan, the university intends to increase enrolment by 7,000 to 34,000 students and augment academic improvement and research expenditure by $470 million (Rs.2,115 crore) to $768 million (Rs.3,456 crore) per year. To finance this plan, in the millennium year (2000) UK launched an aggressive fundraising campaign. By 2006 it raised $600 million (Rs.2,700 crore) which has been used to enhance facilities, academic programmes, public service, and scholarships. “Since our inception in 1865, the states flagship university has carried the Commonwealth of Kentuckys hopes and dreams. It has served as Kentuckys hub for education and opportunity, delivering new ideas and innovation to every corner of the state. Today, the UK family is united like never before. Our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends are committed to changing the Commonwealth by helping UK become one of the nations Top 20 public research universities”, says Dr. Lee T. Todd, vice chancellor of the university. Lexington. Located in the centre of Kentucky states Bluegrass region, Lexington (pop. 282,000) with its lush pastures and thoroughbred horse farms is popularly known as the equine epicentre of the US. It hosts two historic horse racing tracks — Keene Land, one of the most picturesque race courses worldwide as well as a prestigious auction house for thoroughbreds, and Red Mile Harness Track, the oldest race course in Lexington and the second oldest in the US. A 1,200-acre Kentucky Horse Park was inaugurated in 1978 and serves as a working horses nursery and an educational theme park. Its equine farms apart, Lexington also hosts three distilleries producing bourbon, the only native American liquor. Lexington also has a rich historical and cultural heritage and hosts landmarks such as Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate; Lexington Public Library; Lexington…

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Institution Profile

University of Cambridge, UK

Highly prized for its teaching excellence and research, University of Cambridge, UK is routinely ranked among the top five of the worlds best varsities. In the the-QS world university rankings 2009 it was ranked second, behind Harvard The second oldest (after Oxford) university of the English speaking world, over the past 800 years, the University of Cambridge (estb. 1209), has built — and perhaps more important, maintained — its reputation as one of the worlds most respected and admired institutions of undergrad and higher education. Highly prized for its teaching excellence and research, Cambridge University is routinely ranked among the top five in the league tables of the worlds best varsities. For instance, in the 2009 Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings, Cambridge was ranked second, behind Harvard. In the 2008 Academic Ranking of World Universities compiled by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, Cambridge was ranked fourth. Founded in 1209 by a group of scholars who shook the dust of Oxford University from their feet after a dispute with the townsfolk, Cambridge nevertheless has many commonalities with its parent varsity and the two are commonly referred to as Oxbridge universities. Like Oxford, Cambridge is also a collegiate university comprising 31 autonomous colleges, 29 of whom admit under-graduate students. Under the common Oxbridge schema, each college is an independent institution with its own property and income. The colleges also appoint their own staff and are responsible for selecting students for admission, within the framework of university regulations. The onus of teaching all students is shared between the colleges and over 150 university departments, faculties and schools with all the colleges under the Cambridge umbrella awarding degrees of Cambridge University. Currently the university has an aggregate enrolment of 18,396 students and 8,614 faculty and staff. While most of Cambridge Us 31 colleges admit a variety of students, there are some exceptions: Newnham, Murray Edwards and Lucy Cavendish are women-only colleges, while Hughes Hall, Lucy Cavendish, St. Edmunds and Wolfson bar students aged less than 21. The colleges provide essentially the same range of facilities to students: board, lodging, pastoral care and tuition under the unique Oxbridge tutorial system. Moreover each college maintains its own library, sports grounds and recreation facilities. The secret of Cambridge’s great teaching strength is to be found in the partnership between the colleges and the university: a combination which provides superb facilities, contact with the very best minds, and the personal support to help you make the most of them. You will have an unparalleled chance to develop your academic interests, and explore plentiful opportunities for sports, drama, political and social activities, says Alison Richard, who was vice chancellor of the university until last month. (Sir Leszek Borysiewicz took charge as VC on October 1) Cambridge. Fifty minutes north of London by rail, Cambridge (pop.22,000) is a university town with students accounting for a fifth of its population. The placid River Cam flows through with the appellation Cambridge derived from the river. A compact town, Cambridge offers…

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Institution Profile

Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi

Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi is one of the most selective colleges in the country. In the recently concluded admissions session, of 10,000 student applicants for undergrad courses, a mere 624 were admitted Ranked India’s no.1 commerce college for the 14th year in a row in the India Today-AC Nielsen Survey of Indias Top Colleges 2010, the Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC, estb. 1932) is unarguably the country’s premier college for undergrad economics and commerce education. Founded in 1932 by businessman-philanthropist Sir Shri Ram, founder of the formerly blue-chip DCM group of companies, who also promoted the Lady Shri Ram College in the national capital, SRCCs exclusive focus on offering commerce and economics education has paid off handsomely. For the past two decades and more, its students have routinely topped the Delhi University undergraduate examinations with several of them securing high ranks in the all-India civil services and chartered accountancy exams. Currently 1,850 students are pursuing bachelors degree studies with an additional 100 enroled in SRCCs Masters (commerce and economics) programmes, tutored by 150 faculty. Like every year, this year too, our students have secured the first three ranks in the B.Com degree exam of Delhi University. Given that SRCC is one of the countrys most prestigious colleges, we attract high-quality students from across the country. It is our constant endeavour to flower their potential by providing excellent academic, cultural and intellectual resources, says P.C. Jain, principal of SRCC. An alumnus of Rajasthan and Delhi universities, Jain began his teaching career in 1971 as a lecturer in SRCC where he taught for 40 years before taking charge as principal in 2005. Affiliated with Delhi University, which has more than 80 constituent colleges in the national capital region, SRCC is one of the most selective (in terms of admission) higher education institutions in the country. In its recently concluded admissions session, of 10,000-plus student applicants for undergrad courses, only 624 were admitted into this highly-prized institution. SRCC traces its roots to the Comm-ercial School, which was established in 1920 and offered the citys first post-matriculation commerce diploma progra-mme. In 1926 it transformed into the Commercial College after it was conferred affiliation by Delhi University and began to offer fully-fledged bache-lors degree programmes in commerce and economics. In 1951, on the occasion of its silver jubilee, the college management took a unilateral decision to rename Commercial College as the Shri Ram College of Commerce in recognition of the handsome endowment of Rs.5 lakh made by Lala Shri Ram. Six years later in 1957 the newly christened SRCC moved its campus from Daryaganj to a sprawling 17-acre site within the North Campus of Delhi University. Today, SRCCs immaculately landscaped campus is dominated by its red-brick circular main building which incorporates lecture rooms on two floors and a central Clock Tower. In 2006-07 the Delhi state government awarded heritage status to the main block. Additional classrooms, library blocks, students hostel, cafetaria, common room, and staff residences flank the main building. Investment in…

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People

Renaissance initiative: FLAME Academy

A higher education enterprise of great pith and moment has got into its stride on the Baner-Balewadi Road on the outskirts of Pune, Maharashtra’s second largest industrial city (pop. 5 million). Since the Foundation for Liberal And Management Education (FLAME) Academy admitted its first batch of 108 postgraduate students into its two-year business management study programme in 2007, this institution, set within an eco-friendly, state-of-the-art 75-acre campus amidst undulating hills and green countryside, has rapidly added the FLAME schools of liberal education, communication, and performing arts to its pioneer business school. Currently the four schools which offer wholly residential two-to-five year programmes, boast an aggregate enrolment of 240 students instructed by a 45-strong residential faculty, supplemented by a galaxy of 80 visiting lecturers.Constituted in 2004 by (unrelated) visionaries Nemish Shah (promoter-chairman of the Mumbai-based merchant banking firm Enam Financial Consultants) and Pune-based serial entrepreneur Parag Shah (promoter of Snap Marketing Pvt. Ltd (vending machines) and Oxford Realty which has developed 40 million sq.ft of commercial and residential real estate in Pune), the FLAME Foundation is a not-for-profit philanthropic trust born out of the founder-trustees strong reaction against the rigidity, aridity and empty formalism of a syllabus bound educational system. The distinguishing feature of the curriculums of all FLAME schools — business, communication and performing arts apart from the school of liberal education — is that they are heavily infused with liberal arts content. After studying the worlds most respected academic institutions and meeting with their leaders, academics, and students, I became aware that education for the future requires inter-disciplinary knowledge rather than mere specialisation. The objective of our insistence upon the study of liberal arts is to graduate happy, well-rounded, well-groomed and responsible global citizens, says Parag Shah, founder chairman of the FLAME Foundation and its path-breaking schools. Thus far the foundation has invested Rs.104 crore of its Rs.110 crore corpus in developing the FLAME campus, which offers an 18-hole golf course, an equestrian sports in-house stable, two floodlit tennis courts, world-class football field, and swimming pool among a plethora of extra-curricular facilities. The differentiating characteristic of FLAME is the liberal arts supplementary education offered by all our schools and study programmes. Students have a wide choice of subjects — from theatre to physics, finance to dance — they can specialise in. Moreover, teacher-student interaction is integral to our curriculums and every student has a counselor and mentor to guide her through her chosen study programmes. Since all our programmes are full-time and residential, learning happens inside and outside our classrooms, says Dr. Indira Parikh. A graduate of INSEAD (Paris) and Rochester University (USA) which awarded her a Ph D in psycho-logy, and who served as faculty with IIM-Ahmedabad for over a quarter century, Parikh signed up with the foundation in 2006 and is currently the head of academics and chief executive of the FLAME Academy and its four schools. India Inc has responded enthusiastically to the FLAME Foundation and its academies. Thus far the pioneer business school has graduated…

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Institution Profile

PSBB Millennium School, Chennai

Promoted by education entrepreneur Shantanu Prakash and the legendary Dr. Y.G. Parthasarathy, this K-XII school, which blends latest ICT with Indian values and culture, has wowed the port city Sited in the heart of the port city of Chennai (pop. 4.1 million), but insulated from the noise and bustle of the busy metropolis, the recently promoted CBSE-affiliated PSBB Millennium School (estb.2005) has already set new paradigms for globally benchmarked, culturally rooted education at affordable prices. Promoted by the Learning Leadership Foundation (a not-for-profit trust constituted by the Delhi-based Educomp Solutions Ltd (ESL), founded by education entrepreneur Shantanu Prakash in 1994) in collaboration with the Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan (PSBB) group of schools headed by legendary educationist Dr. Y.G. Parthasarathy, PSBB Millennium is the fulfillment of the promoters vision to establish K-12 schools blending latest ICT (information communication technologies) with Indian values and culture, for which the PSBB group of schools has established an excellent reputation in Chennai. Housed in a leased 1.5 acre site, the modest single storey circular school building with a playground at its centre and a Ganesha temple contiguous to the entrance, has been constructed at a project cost of Rs.6 crore. Unsurpr-isingly this unique initiative has caught the fancy of the citys aspirational middle class, and PSBB Millennium which admitted its first batch of 684 pre-KG-class V students in June 2005, now boasts 2,000 students (upto class IX) supported by an 87-strong faculty on its muster rolls. Our institutional objective is to develop our students into global citizens with Indian values, and help them realise their true potential by shaping them into confident, responsible and balanced individuals with well-rounded personalities. Simultaneously we want to inculcate pride of our rich cultural heritage and value systems in them, so they mature into individuals with leadership qualities even as they strive for academic excellence, says Sita Umamaheshwaran, an alumna of Madras and Annamalai universities who served in various capacities in the PSBB group of schools for a decade before she was appointed principal of PSBB Millennium last year. True to its charter, ab initio PSBB Millennium has integrated ESLs highly acclaimed Smart Class hardware and pedagogy into its fully wired classrooms connected to a resource centre, to enhance the learning experience of students. Smart Class is a technology-driven program that provides tools and content for interactive self-paced learning by students, and equips teachers with digital multi-media based instruction materials. At PSBB Millennium, teachers consult with the schools resource coordinator (an ESL employee) and plan their lessons a week in advance. The visually rich content customised to the needs of students is streamed into classrooms via interactive white digi boards that serve both as black boards and screen projectors. The audio-visual appeal of the ready-made modules for different subjects enables students to understand and retain abstract concepts, says Umamaheshwaran. Another distinguishing feature of the teaching-learning pedagogy employed at PSBB Millennium is the use of ESLs O3 (one-on-one) Class Mate Personal Computer (CMPC) by students of classes III-IX, who learn interactively…

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Institution Profile

Lotus Valley International School, Noida

Since it admitted its first batch of 73 students in 2004, Lotus Valley International School, Noida is a CBSE affiliated day boarding school, distinguished by its superb infrastructure, has attracted 1,550 students of ten nationalities May 29, the day the Delhi-based Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) — the largest pan-India secondary school examinations board — announced the results of its school leaving (class X) exam, was a historic day for the Noida- based Lotus Valley International School (LVIS). Its entire first batch of 22 students who wrote the class X CBSE exam passed with flying colours in first division. Promoted in 2004 on a 12 acre campus in the bustling Delhi suburb of Noida, LVIS admitted its first batch of 73 students from nursery to class VII in the same year. Since then this co-ed K-XII day-boarding school, distinguished by its superb infrastructure, has caught the attention of parents from over ten nationalities with its muster roll comprising 1,550 students supported by an 80-strong faculty. The brainchild of property developer and philanthropist Nirmal Singh, who is also chairman of the schools board of directors, LVIS core philosophy is to teach every student as an individual with distinctive learning, inclination and unique ability. The lotus underlines the schools central philosophy of drawing the best from each student so that all can rise above the quagmire of modern day negativity and pessimism, just as the lotus thrusts itself upwards from the mire in an act of beautiful transcendence. Our key objective is global exposure but with Indian value systems, explains S.C. Arora, vice-chairman, chief executive and de facto principal of LVIS. In a distinguished career in Indian education spanning 45 years, Arora has served as principal of the India School in Kabul (Afghanistan), as founder-principal of the Apeejay School, Noida and as chairman of the influential National Progressive Schools Conference, Delhi. Under Aroras proactive leadership and guidance, within less than a quinquennium Lotus Valley has expanded its enrollment to 1,550 students and has acquired the reputation of a front-rank institution among the new genre of capital-intensive international schools which have mushroomed in and around the national capital region. On the academic side, in addition to its CBSE curriculum LVIS also offers students the option to follow the IGCSE and ‘A level suites of the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) board or the IB programme of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) Geneva at the Plus Two level. Commencement of studies for the Cambridge Information Technology awards starts at age seven, as does language learning and mastery of written and spoken English. Checkpoint tests in English, maths and science in class VIII are conducted to ensure that students are well prepared for the curriculum choices that lie ahead. With smart board technology integrated in all classrooms from class II onwards, the Lotus Valley management is fully committed to utilising contemporary technologies to supplement and support the classroom experience of students and encourage activity-based learning. We have attracted excellent faculty by guarant-eeing highly rewarding professional…

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Institution Profile

Richmond, The American International University in London

The distinguishing feature of Richmond, The American International University in London study programmes is its American-style four-year degree system which makes study of liberal arts compulsory for all students The United Kingdoms only American university and somewhat curiously titled Richmond, The American International University in London (RTAIUL, estb.1972) offers 1,150 students from over 100 countries American-style undergrad and postgraduate education. Richmond is the only university in the UK accredited by the US-based Middle States Commission on Higher Education and the island kingdoms sole member of the Association of American International Colleges & Universities. Also fully certified by the major higher education authorities in the UK, RTAIUL is the only dual US-UK accredited university in Britain. Spread across two campuses in London, because its four-year undergrad study programmes are accepted in the US and UK, students receive two degree certificates on graduation. The distinguishing feature of Richmonds study programmes is its American style four-year degree system (cf. three year programmes in UK universities) which makes one year study of liberal arts compulsory for all enrolled students. Study of communications and fine arts, computing, mathematics and science, the humanities and social sciences is mandatory during the first two years. Thereafter in the third and fourth year students specialise in any one of the 21 undergraduate majors that the university offers across the departments of business and economics, arts and sciences, humanities, social sciences and communications. We offer the best features of the US and British systems of education: the US focus on the liberal arts, and the British system of specialisation. However the universitys most compelling charact-eristic is its long standing emphasis on globalisation, international relations, world awareness and cultural diversity. Its clear that the next generation of leaders, in fields from business and finance to communications and public service, will be those who have a sophisticated appreciation, under-standing and familiarity with the broader world. Our student population enables a rich interchange both within and beyond the classroom, says Ian D. C. Newbould, president of the university. An independent, not-for-profit, international, liberal arts and professional studies university, RTAIUL offers an enviable teacher-pupil ratio of 1:16 and a highly-qualified faculty. The original Richmond College, founded in 1843, was a constituent institution of the University of London until it was taken over, reconstituted and renamed in 1972. London. With a population of 10 million — of whom over 350,000 are students — London boasts some of the worlds best-known monuments, buildings, museums, galleries, sports clubs, restaurants, clubs, shopping centres and theatres. The two campuses of the American International University — in Richmond and Kensington — are located in London, and offer students an enviable opportunity to learn by osmosis. Students have easy access to museums, art galleries, the University of London Library, the British Library, as well as the archives of numerous professional organisations. Moreover university students are ideally located to network with globally respected corporates and employers for internships and job placements. There are also many part-time work opportunities in London for students…

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Institution Profile

Carleton University, Canada

Ranked among the top 500 universities of the world, Carleton University, Canada offers over 200 academic programmes provided by 47 departments across five faculties Sited in Canada’s scenic capital Ottawa (pop. 1.2 million), Carleton University, Canada (estb.1942) has over the past six decades acquired an international reputation for its eclectic range of study programmes, notably aerospace engineering, geomatics, interactive multimedia and design, network technology, international affairs, industrial design, public policy and computer games development. With a menu of over 200 academic programmes provided by 47 departments across five faculties, Carleton University, Canada offers one of North America’s most innovative, relevant, and flexible mix of higher studies education. More than 2,000 faculty members instruct some 23,000 students drawn from 147 countries, reading for bachelor’s, Master’s and doctoral degrees on its sprawling 62 hectare campus. Ranked among the top 500 universities in the world by the Shanghai Jia Tong University, Carleton University, Canada also offers co-operative education to students, allowing them to alternate study terms with paid on-the-job training. Paid work placements are available in over 80 undergraduate programmes. Founded as Carleton College in 1942 during the Second World War by the Ottawa Association for the Advancement of Learning, Carleton University, Canada is ranked seventh out of 60 universities in Canada by The Gourman Report, compiled by Dr. Jack Gourman of the Princeton Review. Moreover Carleton is ranked No.1 in Canada in international research collaboration and third in quality of scientific research output, according to a study released by Montreal’s Observatoire des Sciences et des Technologies. Comments Dr. Samy Mahmoud, vice-chancellor of the university: “Among the best comprehensive universities in Canada, Carleton is a dynamic, research-intensive university, committed to ensuring outstanding learning experie-nces for its students. We recognise, however, that there is no room to be self-satisfied. Carleton is a great university, and one that is only getting better, as it positions itself for an exciting future.” Ottawa. The administrative capital of Canada, Ottawa hosts Canada’s most influential government and private organisations, over 1,800 hi-tech companies, numerous museums, close to 130 high commissions and embassies, and one of the country’s largest concentrations of clinical, medical and life sciences research facilities. Situated on the Ottawa and Rideau rivers and the Rideau Canal, the city boasts a park-like ambience with interconnecting waterways and extensive walking and biking trails. From this national capital, it’s just a five-hour drive to Toronto while Montreal is only two hours away. The climate in Ottawa as in the rest of Canada, is cold and windy. Spring comes in April and May with moderate temperatures and heavy rainfall. Summer months are from June to August with temperatures ranging from 16°C to 38°C. Winter begins in late November and lasts until the end of March with temperatures dropping between -10°C and -6°C, and sometimes as low as -34°C. The Canadian winter will probably be the biggest shock for Indian students and warm clothing is sine qua non. Campus facilities. Bordered by the Rideau River and Rideau Canal, the 62 hectare Carleton University, Canada…

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Institution Profile

Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship, Bangalore

With heavyweights from India Inc engaging in an annual stampede to snap up its graduates, the Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship has acquired an excellent reputation. The twelfth batch of 113 students, who were awarded the postgraduate diploma of the Bangalore-based Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship (XIME) on May 10 this year, had an advantage over their predecessors. By the time they received their diplomas at an impressive convocation ceremony presided over by chief guest Kiran Karnik, former president of NASSCOM, they had already been campus recruited by blue-chip majors who came calling at the campus of XIME (estb. 1991), a nationally reputed B-school repeatedly ranked among the countrys top 25 by the pink newspapers and business periodicals. When the gates of the institute were thrown open to recruiters from corporate India in mid February, all the 113 XIME graduates who offered themselves for placement were snapped up at high prices. The average start-up remuner-ation of the batch of 2008 was Rs.5.6 lakh per year with the highest touching Rs.10.7 lakh. Among the most successful recruiters were India Inc heavyweights such as Infosys, Wipro, TCS and Vedanta — a testimony to the excellent reputation that the XIME management and faculty has built up for the institute during the past 17 years. The accolades from Indian industry — reflected in the steadily rising average start-up salaries offered to the institutes graduates year after year — is music to the ears of Prof. J. Philip, who after completing a nearly six-year term (1985-91) as director of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, founded XIME in 1991. Given my exposure to Harvard Business School, XLRI and IIM-B, I always felt I had it within me to promote a B-school which would incorporate the best teaching-learning practices and provide the value addition of exposing students to international business and management practices. Therefore when I promoted XIME in 1991 — the year in which the then finance minister Dr. Manmohan Singh presented a historic Union budget which began the process of integrating what was an isolationist Indian economy with the emerging global economy — I resolved to develop a curriculum with greater outward orientation and stronger emphasis on developing entrepreneurs rather than mere corporate professionals, as was the dominant practice of B-schools at that time. And to this day they are the distinguishing characteristics of business management education at XIME, says Philip an alumnus of Kerala University and XLRI Jamshedpur who pressed on to acquire the prestigious ITP (International Teaching Programme in Business Administration) diploma of Harvard Business School. Starting his professional career in 1960 in XLRI, Philip moved on to Hindustan Steel (later renamed SAIL) in 1971, and subsequently served as vice-president (human resources) of the globe-girdling Oberoi Group of hotels (1980-85) prior to being appointed director of IIM-B (1985-91). Relatively free from the constraints of reporting to the Union HRD ministry which governs the IIMs and starting with a modest initial investment of a few lakhs in 1991, Philip has developed…

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Institution Profile

University of Waterloo, Canada

Waterloo, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, is a pioneer in co-operative education and boasts the largest post-secondary co-operative programme worldwide Founded in 1957 as Canada as first higher education institution to adopt co-operative education, the University of Waterloo (UW) is widely reputed for its challenging learning environment and teaching excellence. For the past 16 years, the Toronto-based Maclean’s magazine has ranked Waterloo as the most innovative of Canada’s 47 universities. For 14 years, UW was also ranked Canada’s best overall and “the best source of leaders of tomorrow”. Moreover it leads comprehensive universities those with significant research as well as undergraduate and graduate study programmes, but without medical schools in the category of percentage of students who win national academic awards. It also leads Canadian universities for the value of its scholarships and bursaries as a percentage of the university budget. Waterloo which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year with much fanfare, is a pioneer in co-operative education and boasts the largest post-secondary co-operative educa-tion programme worldwide. Under the programme students apply theory in practical settings, connect their learning to the world, decide on a career path, and alternate between four-month study and full-paid employment work terms. “Co-operative education uses both classroom study and temporary jobs to provide students with practical experience. Students accepted into this programme alternate between work terms and school terms. Waterloo has the top reputation for innovation in Canada, according to a respected national magazine survey of Canadian schools that has ranked Waterloo as most innovative and best overall” proclaims David Johnston, president of the university. UW’s six faculties applied health sciences, arts, engineering, environmental studies, mathematics and science offer a wide range of undergraduate, postgrad, and doctoral programmes to over 27,000 students instructed by 977 faculty. Waterloo. Sited in the heart of southern Ontario province, the city of Waterloo was recently voted one of the top three cities worldwide in the International Awards for Liveable Communities competition. With a population of 113,100, when combined with Kitchener, its twin city, Waterloo’s population rises to 350,000. Settled by German-speaking immigrants from Pennsylvania and Europe in the 19th century, Kitchener-Waterloo is currently an important centre for manufacturing and hi-tech industry, with one of the country’s lowest unemployment rates. Kitchener-Waterloo still retains much of its German heritage, but it’s a multicultural city with 20 percent of its population comprising new immigrants. Moreover with more than 50,000 full-time students in two universities and a community college, Waterloo is a student-friendly city with numerous restaurants, second-hand shops, parks, malls, coffee shops, and cinemas. Just 60 minutes east of Waterloo is metropolitan Toronto, home to University of Toronto, York University, Ryerson University and several colleges. To the west and another 60 minutes is Canada’s London, which hosts the University of Western Ontario and Fanshawe College. Studying in Canada is a testing experience. Winters (December-March) are cold, with regular snowfalls that leave 5 cm to 20 cm of snow on the ground and high winds. Spring (March-June) is cool and rainy. Summer (June-September)…

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Institution Profile

Vidya Devi Jindal School, Hisar (Haryana)

Promoted in 1984, the philosophy of Vidya Devi Jindal School, Hisar is to develop the potential of every student to become a beacon of social renewal and empowerment Sprawled over 47 green acres on the outskirts of Hisar (pop. 1.7 million), an industrial hub of the thriving state of Haryana (carved out of Punjab in 1966), Vidya Devi Jindal School (VDJS) is a CBSE affiliated residential school for girls. Promoted in 1984 with the objective of educating the girl child and empowering women, VDJS is an initiative of steel magnate the late Om Prakash Jindal (1930-2005). Over the past two decades this class IV-XII girls school, which is a member of the National Progressive Schools Conference, Indian Public Schools Conference and is affiliated with the British Council, Round Square (USA) and the United Nations Women‚ Empowerment movement, has built itself a global reputation. Currently the 700 students enrolled at VDJS include girls from Nepal, Bhutan, Indonesia, USA, Australia, and Canada. The philosophy of the school is to develop the potential of every student so that she becomes a beacon of social renewal and empowerment. “At VDJS a girl grows from being an individual into an institution who is the anchor of other institutions such as family, the economy and society. Here she learns to be of service and yet not be subservient. She learns to articulate her own needs and aspirations while fulfilling those of others. VDJS is a futuristic gurukul. A child learns to be rooted in tradition while developing an international outlook. Living in VDJS is preparing for life outside it,” says Gunmeet Bindra, the recently appointed principal of VDJS. An alumna of Calcutta and Punjab universities and the Delhi School of Economics, Bindra is the former founder principal of two Delhi Public Schools. Adds the school’s administrator Lt. Col A.K. Suri (retd.): “The distinguishing feature of VDJS is its unique blend of Indian ethos and culture with contem-porary teaching-learning pedagogies. Living with nature, respecting the environment, conserving energy and limited resources is second nature to our staff and students. Sharing a common boundary wall with Hisar Cantonment, VDJS is a safe residential school where girl children can grow into confident and well-balanced young women.” The school’s immaculate 47 acre campus includes a 38-classroom academic block, a utility block housing the learning resource centre, art gallery, sculpture lab, various science laboratories, dance, music and e-learning rooms, fashion studies, home science, and desktop computer labs, a 15,000-volume library, a large auditorium, health club, dining hall with a seating capacity of 1,000 students, 18 bed hos-pital, outdoor swimming pool, and four well-equipped hostels. A computer lab equipped with state-of-the-art laptops was inaugurated earlier this year. On the cusp of its silver jubilee year, VDJS has established extensive international linkages during the past two eventful decades. One of the five schools worldwide conferred the International School Award by the British Council in 2004, VDJS is an enthusiastic participant of the IAYP programme (International Award for Young People, earlier known as Duke of…

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Institution Profile

Our Own English High School, Sharjah (UAE)

The third primary-secondary school promoted by the Dubai-based GEMS which manages 65 schools in eight countries, Our Own English High School, Sharjah (UAE) recently celebrated its silver jubilee with pomp and pageantry On December 5, 2007, Our Own English High School (OOEHS) â€” one of the first primary-cum-secondary schools for children of Indian migrants in Sharjah â€” celebrated its silver jubilee with pomp and pageantry. The schoolâ€™s Silver Jubilee Grand Finale was the culmination of a series of events, concerts and contests which included a biennial exhibition, an inter-school extempore speech competition, an inter-school essay contest, several cultural shows and release of a documentary film (Lead Kindly Light) on the history of this institution â€” the first Varkey Group school in Sharjah (pop.750,000). Our Own English High School, Sharjah (estb. 1982) was the third primary-secondary promoted by the Dubai-based Varkey Group of schools (rechristened Global Education Management Systems (GEMS) in 1998), which during the past four decades has grown into Asiaâ€™s largest transnational private school chain, managing 65 schools in eight countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, UAE, Qatar, Libya, Kuwait, Jordan and India with an aggregate enrollment of 70,000 students. Our Own English High School and Varkey Group/GEMS are the myriad flowers of a seed planted by banker turned educationist K.S. Varkey and his wife Mariamma, promoters of primary schools mainly for children of the Indian diaspora who flocked to the United Arab Emirates in the wake of the explosion of crude oil prices between 1973-79, to build the infrastructure of the seven UAE sheikhdoms. In September 1968, the Varkeys promoted the first OOEHS, Dubai with an initial complement of 21 students and four teachers. Subsequently several other primary-cum-secondaries were promoted in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, and Al Ain under the visionary leadership of Sunny Varkey, incumbent chairman of GEMS. Spread across seven acres Our Own English High School, Sharjah (UAE) is a kindergarten-Plus Two day school with an aggregate enrollment of 11,000 students instructed by 450 teachers, and prepares students for the school leaving class X and XII examinations of the Delhi-based Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which has over 9,000 primary-cum-secondaries across India and other parts of the world affiliated with it. In 2007, of the 213 Our Own English High School, Sharjah (UAE) students who wrote CBSEâ€™s class X examination, 93.4 percent passed in the first division. Students who wrote the class XII exam (2007) went one better. Of the 139 who wrote the examination, 98.5 percent passed in the first division. “During the past quarter century, OOEHS, Sharjah has satisfactorily achieved its objective of providing quality education at affordable fees to the growing expat, particularly Indian, community in Sharjah and the neighbouring emirates. While 95 percent of our 11,000 student body is of Indian origin, we also have students from other Asian countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan on our rolls. Our academic results are excellent and OOEHS, Sharjah students are regularly admitted into prestigious institutions of higher education including the IITs…

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Institution Profile

Edith Cowan University, Australia

Sited in the coastal city of Perth in Western Australia, Edith Cowan University (ECU) has acquired a global reputation for its study programmes which strike a near optimal balance between practical knowledge and academic excellence. Less than two decades ago in 1991, several teacher training colleges â€” some with histories dating back to 1902 â€” were amalgamated to constitute Edith Cowan University, Australia. Since then this university named after Australia’s first woman member of parliament offers more than 300 study programmes. Designed in collaboration with industry and professional education certification boards, ECUâ€™s study programmes are linked with real workplace experience as students are encouraged to undertake industry focused project work and internships. Recently Edith Cowan University, Australia won two prestigious Carrick Awards for teaching in the humanities, the arts and social sciences. Edith Cowan University, Australia degrees are recognised nationally and internationally by several academic accreditation bodies, professional and vocational groups. The university is a member of the National Unified System of Australian Universities, the Association of Commonwealth Universities and Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee. Universities throughout the world recognise ECU programmes for academic and faculty exchange purposes. “Our award-winning lecturers, tailor-made courses, new facilities and use of latest technologies enable us to provide world-class education. Our courses are innovative, relevant and practical,” says Prof. Kerry O. Cox, vice-chancellor. Spread across three campuses in Perth, ECU is Western Australiaâ€™s second largest university with an aggregate enrollment of 23,000 students, including over 3,000 from more than 80 countries around the world. Moreover ECU is the first Australian university to form an educational alliance with the global technology giant IBM, which facilitates studentsâ€™ access to the latest and best information technology. The IBM partnership also facilitates ECU access to world-class research from IBM in the key areas of curriculum design and academic development. Perth. The capital of Western Australia, Perth (pop. 1.3 million) is the sixth continentâ€™s gateway to major cities in Asia, Africa and Europe. As such Perth offers extensive international air links and sophisticated telecommunications. Scenically sited on the Swan River between the Indian Ocean and the Darling Range of mountains and boasting a strong economy with low levels of unemployment, and low crime rates compared to other cities in Oz, Perth offers hundreds of restaurants and cafes, parks, cinemas, nightclubs, and music venues as well as great shopping. Moreover with its Mediterranean climate of hot dry summers and mild winters, this coastal city is perfect for sporting and leisure activities â€” everything from tennis to golf, to whale watching and sailing. Campus facilities. ECU is spread across three campuses in Perth and one in Bunbury. The universityâ€™s main campus is Joondalup, near Perthâ€™s major freeway. The Joondalup campus boasts state-of-the-art facilities including the Science and Health Building, a multi-million dollar recreation centre and an outdoor cinema during the summer months. This ECU campus is part of the Joondalup Learning Precinct â€” the only known educational facility in the world incorporating a university, police academy and technical and further education college. The precinct is constituted…

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Institution Profile

University of Rochester, USA

Rochester is a heavily research-oriented university which has been proclaimed a new ivy league institution for its highly-rated degree programmes Sited in upstate New York, the University of Rochester is one of America’s oldest (estb.1850) and most distinguished institutions, offering highly-rated degree programmes in over 55 disciplines, with students given the freedom to club differing subjects and design their own curriculums. Its four massive campuses host a comprehensive Medical Centre, the world-renowned Eastman School of Music and several other faculties of global reputation, and its 96,000 alumni include Pulitzer prize winners, highly accomplished scholars and researchers, talented artists and musicians. The 2007 Kaplan/Newsweek How to Get into College Guide has proclaimed Rochester New Ivy League institution whose academic programmes and students rival those of traditional Ivy League colleges. “For more than 150 years, the faculty, students, alumni, and staff of Rochester have been challenging themselves as a community of scholars to advance knowledge, to break new intellectual ground, and to improve the lives of those around them, in Rochester and around the world. The talented, diverse, and dedicated group of people who make Rochester what it is, share a nationally recognised record of achievement that will grow in the future,” says Joel Seligman, president of the university. Rochester is a heavily research-oriented university where every member of its 1,258-strong faculty is also a researcher who studies subjects first-hand and tests his research output in the classroom. Though it offers both undergraduate and posgtrad programmes, it is essentially an undergrad institution with an enrollment of 4,608 students and an enviable teacher-pupil ratio of 1:12. Moreover its $1.52 billion and growing endowment corpus enables it to provide generous financial aid to deserving students. In 2005-06, it gave away $45 million in scholarships. Rochester. Located on the southern shore of Lake Ontario in the Finger Lakes area of upstate New York, Rochester (pop. 1.2 million) is the third largest city in New York state. Popularly christened The World’s Image Centre, as it hosts the head offices of several leading hi-tech corporates such as Eastman Kodak, Xerox Corporation, and Bausch & Lomb, it also boasts a large number of small, hi-tech companies which offer graduate students many employment options in business and industry. Moreover Rochester offers students exciting off-campus diversions which include a vibrant night life, shopping centres, the Seneca Park Zoo, Barge Canal, Finger Lakes, GeVa theatre, Memorial Art Gallery, and many outdoor recreation options such as boating and skiing. The city’s climate is to a great extent determined by its proximity to Lake Ontario. Summers are warm and pleasant; winters are cold and snowy; and spring and fall usually pleasant. Campus facilities. Sited in a bend of the Genesee river, about two miles south of downtown Rochester, the eponymous universityâ€™s campuses are aesthetic blends of brick and stone buildings. The 85 acre River Campus is the universityâ€™s main activity centre where the majority of undergraduates live and learn. The hub and nerve of student life is Wilson Commons. Designed by globally renowned architect J.M. Pei,…

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Institution Profile

The Heritage School, Kolkata

Promoted in 2001, Heritage is perhaps the only secondary in Marxist-ruled Kolkata to qualify as a state-of-the-art nexgen five-star school In the past decade the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune and Bangalore have witnessed the promotion of a rash of showpiece five-star schools offering resort style, landscaped, fully-wired campuses bristling with hi-tech equipment and teaching aids, expat headmasters and affiliation with highly reputed offshore examination boards. Although these capital intensive nexgen schools levy chastening annual tuition fees ranging from Rs.1-6 lakh, they have found ready takers in India’s aspirational new middle class. Perhaps the only megapolis relatively untouched by the five-star schools fever is Kolkata (pop. 11 million), from where the Communist Party of India (CPI-M) has ruled West Bengal for the past 30 years. Reason: the disdain of the intelligentsia for private enterprise and institutions offering expensive education had scared away education entrepreneurs. Consequently while the city of joy boasts several British-inspired private schools of colonial vintage such as La Martiniere Boys and Girls, St. Xavier’s School, etc, new genre international schools are conspicuous by their absence. Perhaps the only secondary in Kolkata to qualify as a nexgen school is the state-of-the-art The Heritage School. Promoted in 2001 at an estimated project cost of Rs.30 crore by the Kalyan Bharti Trust (estb.1990), Heritage is perhaps Kolkata’s first five-star school offering high-end academic, information technology, sports and extra-curricular facilities. From an initial student enrollment of 421 students, this co-educational kindergarten-class XII day school has grown to 2,300 students and is fast emerging as Kolkataâ€™s most preferred secondary. “The objective behind the promotion of The Heritage School was to provide Kolkata with a primary-cum-secondary which broke away from the traditional school system characterised by rigidity of access, outdated pedagogies, admission and examination systems. The distinguishing feature of Heritage is that it offers an academic experience which is a unique blend of contemporary pedagogies and technologies, combined with Indiaâ€™s ancient Gurukul system and cultural traditions. Our focus is on holistic development of children with appropriate emphasis on extra-curricular and sports education. “Moreover Heritage is the first school in the city to offer IT-enabled classrooms, state-of-the-art laboratories and a wide range of sports facilities and extra-curricular activities. Within a short span of six years Heritage has transformed into a benchmark institution, setting new standards in contemporary school education,” says Seema Sapru, a Masters in chemistry and education of Meerut University and former principal of Kothari International School, Noida, who took charge as principal of the Heritage School in July. Sapru (the third principal Heritage has seen in the past six years) boasts over 20 years of teaching experience in top schools across the country including Calcutta International School; St. Thomas Boys, La Martiniere Boys, Kolkata; Baldwin Boys School, Bangalore; and Eklavya, Ahmedabad. Spread across 9.5 acres in a Kolkata suburb, the beautifully landscaped Heritage School is affiliated with the Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) and offers this Delhi-based board’s class X (ICSE) and class XII (ISC) exams. In the academic year ending 2007,…

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Institution Profile

Fr Agnel Multipurpose School, Mumbai

Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of Fr Agnel Multipurpose School, Mumbai which sets it as a school apart, is its conviction that supplementary technical and life skills education is a vital ingredient of secondary schooling Now on the threshold of celebrating its silver jubilee, the K-XII Fr Agnel Multipurpose School, (FAMS, estb. 1982) sited in Mumbai’s far-flung suburb of Vashi (Navi Mumbai), has acquired an excellent reputation for providing supplementary, vocational/technical education to its 4,816 students instructed by 100 teachers. The Agnel Ashram Fathers Group which originated in Goa and has branches in Delhi, Noida, Ambarnath and Pune as well another branch in Mumbai, has an inspiring history. Its founder Fr. C. Rodrigues, a prominent freedom fighter in the Goa Liberation Movement fled persecution from the Portuguese regime in Goa and took refuge in Mumbai where he set up a small school for street children in 1952. Thus was born the Father Agnel chain of schools. Today the co-educational Fr Agnel Multipurpose School, Vashi, affiliated with the Maharashtra state secondary and higher secondary school certificate (SSC) examinations board, is widely acknowledged as one of the benchmark schools of the board which has 1,200 schools across Maharashtra (pop. 96 million) with an aggregate enrollment of over 1.5 million students, affiliated with it. Fr Agnel Multipurpose School, Mumbai offers K-XII education in English and Marathi mediums with students studying in English (4,100) by far outnumbering Marathi medium students, at rock-bottom tuition fees (see box). Moreover in a society where lip service is paid to inclusive education for physically and mentally challenged children, Fr Agnel Multipurpose School, Mumbai actively practices inclusive education giving children with disabilities every opportunity for mainstreaming. To this end Fr Agnel Multipurpose School, Mumbai has tied up with the National Open School (NOS) besides the Maharashtra state education department, to allow children unable to cope with the class X SSC examination to write NOSâ€™ school-leaving exam. “We welcome children with disabilities,” says Fr. S. Almeida, a history and education alumnus of Goa University who served in Agnel Ashram Fathers institutions for over 25 years before taking charge as principal of FAMS in 1999. “To the maximum extent possible we ensure that children with disabilities learn with regular students. Our practice is to bring three-four special educators into classrooms to help and aid special needs children as they learn side-by-side with all children. We believe in admitting every child regardless of economic status or disabilities whom the Lord brings to us and give them our best.” Unsurprisingly, FAMS also runs an attached orphanage for 100 boys who receive free education in the school. Inevitably admission applications are disproportionate to capacity available. Last year the FAMS management received 900 admission applications, from which only 350 children were accepted into nursery school with the management practicing positive discrimination in favour of children from poor and underprivileged households. Yet despite the heavy pressure of admission applications, immediately after taking charge as principal, Almeida abolished the system of admission interviews for nursery and kindergarten children. Perhaps the…

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Institution Profile

Vassar College, USA

Ranked among America’s best liberal arts institutions and “happiest” college by the Princeton Review, Vassar College, USA was an exclusive women’s college until 1969 when it went co-ed Sited on a sprawling 1,000 acre campus in lower New York state, Vassar College, USA is among America’s most prestigious and high-profile liberal arts colleges. The US News and World Report(2007) ranked it 12th among America’s best liberal arts institutions and the 2002 Princeton Review described Vassar students as the “happiest” countrywide. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, a self-educated businessman and philanthropist, Vassar College, USA was an exclusive women’s college for more than a century. But in 1969 it became the first of the “Seven Sisters” colleges in the US to go co-ed after declining an offer to merge with Yale University. Today this private and highly selective college boasts an endowment corpus of $885 million (Rs. 3,717 crore). Vassar College, USA confers its highly prized BA degree in over 50 majors. As a liberal arts college it does not offer any professional and/or business education programmes. With an aggregate enrollment of 2,400 students and 260 faculty, it boasts an enviable teacher-student ratio of 1:9. More than 70 percent of the faculty lives on or contiguous to its green and leafy campus. “The world and its problems keep evolving, and addressing them requires continually new ideas, methods, approaches, and also a desire, a passion to search for them. This is what a Vassar liberal arts education does so extraordinarily well. From the very beginning, Vassar students have been encouraged to experiment, create, take risks, and realise that learning about what we already know simply is not enough,” says Dr. Catharine Bond Hill, president of Vassar College, USA. Poughkeepsie, Hudson Valley. Vassar is sited in Poughkeepsie in the Hudson River Valley of lower New York state. The greater Poughkeepsie area houses about 100,000 people and is located 120 km north of New York city. The Metro north commuter train provides a reliable rail link to New York and this picturesque town is home to a large campus of the information technology behemoth IBM. Hosting several theatres, shopping malls, pubs and restaurants, Poughkeepsie is just over an hour’s train ride to New York’s Grand Central station. The weather in Poughkeepsie is akin to New York’s. Average temperature in the winter months is about -1Â°C; while in the summer months it rises to a mean 24Â°C. During winter the town experiences modest snowfall. Campus facilities. Vassar College sprawls across 1,000 picturesque acres ranging from the manicured lawns and formal gardens of the main campus to the meadows and woodlands of Vassar Farm. A designated arboretum, the campus hosts over 100 academic and residential buildings ranging from collegiate gothic to modernist and includes two national monuments â€”Main House and Vassar College Observatory. The most recent addition to the Vassar campus is the Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film, providing state-of-the-art screening rooms, studios, and production facilities. The college’s libraries include the main, art, music, and special collections, housing over…

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Institution Profile

University of Manchester, UK

Reconstituted in 2004 by merging the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST, the University of Manchester, UK has an enviable reputation for teaching and research With an enrollment of 35,655 students reading over 500 academic programmes, the University of Manchester, UK is celebrated as Britain’s largest single-site university. In 2006 the university received more applications (63,000) for undergraduate study than any other British university. Reconstituted in October 2004 by merging the Victoria University of Manchester and University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), the combined University of Manchester, UK has an enviable reputation for excellence in teaching and research. In 2005 it was awarded the University of the Year prize by the Times Higher Education Supplement and in 2006 by the Sunday Times. The 2005 survey of the worldâ€™s best universities by the Institute of Higher Education of Shanghaiâ€™s Jiao Tong University, China, ranked Manchester the 5th best university in the UK, 9th in Europe and 50th worldwide. In 2005-06 University of Manchester, UK received Â£260 million (Rs.2,210 crore) from external sources for R&D activities. Little wonder that its annual research income of Â£191.5 million is the fifth largest of any university in the country. Moreover with an annual income of Â£590 million (Rs.5,015 crore), it is Britain’s only half billion pound university. “We believe that teaching and research should be at the heart of the university experience. The most highly prized degrees are those obtained in universities where students learn from scholars who are not only dedicated teachers, but also active researchers in their chosen fields,” says Alan Gilbert, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Manchester. Prof. Gilbert is leading a bold and exciting plan â€” the Manchester 2015 Agenda â€” which aims to vault Manchester U into the league of the world’s top 25 universities. Manchester. An hour from Britain’s showpiece Lake District and two hours by train from London, Manchester (pop.2.5 million) is a centre of the arts, media, higher education and commerce, and is often described as the capital of northern Britain. Manchester is historically notable for having been the worldâ€™s first industrial city and for the central role it played during the industrial revolution. Today it is a bustling cosmopolis hosting people from numerous nationalities and cultures. For those who believe that there’s more to the academic experience than study, Manchester is another city by night. It is replete with innumerable restaurants offering a wide range of cuisines, cinemas, music, clubs, and pubs. The climate in Manchester is damp and rainy with temperatures ranging between 1oC in winter to 19oC in summer. Campus facilities. Situated in the heart of Manchester, the campus of the eponymous university is a mix of traditional Victorian buildings and modern architecture set amidst landscaped lawns and gardens. The campus is a mini-metropolis offering almost everything a student needs â€” lecture theatres, laboratories, computing facilities, welfare services, restaurants, cafes, bars, supermarkets and a shopping centre. Study facilities include the John Rylands Library with its 3.5 million volumes; the world-famous Jordell Bank Observatory; a…

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Institution Profile

Rice University, USA

Often billed as the Harvard of the South, Rice University, USA boasts a teacher-student ratio of 1:5 and outstanding faculty which includes Nobel and Pulitzer prize winners. Set in a 285 acre wooded campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University, although low profile internationally, enjoys an enviable reputation in the US for its high quality academic programmes, teaching and research. The US News and World Report (2007) ranked it 17th among America’s best colleges and it is heralded as one of the New Ivies by the Kaplan/ Newsweek College Guide. Often billed as the Harvard of the South, Rice combines the small size and teaching emphasis of a liberal arts college with the scholarship of a major research university. It boasts a teacher-student ratio of 1:5 and outstanding faculty which includes several Nobel and Pulitzer prize winners as well as Fullbright scholars. Founded in 1912 as the William Marsh Rice Institute for the Advancement of Literature, Science and Art, Rice University was named after the eponymous Massachusetts-born businessman who endowed the institute with $4.1 million as a gift to the city of Houston, where he made his fortune. Since then the endowment corpus of Rice University has grown to $4.1 billion the fifth-highest per capita among US universities. This huge corpus allows the university to charge lower tuition, room, and board fees than most comparable private universities. Consequently Rice is routinely rated a best buy school. A member of the Association of American Universities, Rice offers an eclectic range of academic subjects across six schools (see box) to its approximately 3,000 undergrads and 2,000 postgrads. A private, non-sectarian and co-education institution, Rice follows an Oxford-inspired residential college system which requires every freshman to be assigned to one of the university’s nine colleges(Baker, Brown, Hanszen, Jones, Lovett, Martel, Sid Richardson, Wiess, and Will Rice). Houston. The administrative capital of the Lone Star state of Texas, Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States with a population of 4.7 million. It is home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center; the Texas Medical Center, (the world’s largest centre for medical research, education, and patient care) and the base of 21 Fortune 500 companies. Promoted as the urban forest, Houston boasts more than 508 parks and open areas, an arboretum, a rose garden, Japanese gardens, and seven golf courses. Houston summers are hot with temperatures averaging 90oF during the height of summer, which lasts about 95 days. But the winters are pleasant, with average temperatures in the 60s, and snow or ice is a rarity. Campus facilities. Rice University sprawls across 285 acres of heavily-wooded land adjoining Hermann Park, Houston’s most historically significant public green space, and the Houston Museum District. Next door is the world’s largest medical complex, the Texas Medical Center, and a neighborhood commercial centre, known as Rice Village. The university campus also houses several inter-disciplinary research institutes, schools and think tanks including the Rice Architecture School, James Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice Engineering Design and Development Institute, the Rice Design Alliance, and…

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Institution Profile

University of Greenwich, UK

Conferred university status in 1992 it was previously Thames Polytechnic (estb. 1890) University of Greenwich, UK has a rich history of academic innovations Spread across three campuses in south-east London and Kent county, the University of Greenwich (estb. 1890) enjoys a well-deserved reputation for excellence in teaching and research. Recently it was awarded two successive (2002-03) research-based Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Higher & Further Education, and generates £17.5 million (Rs.152 crore) in research and consultancy income annually. Greenwich offers its 20,000 undergrad and postgraduate students a wide range of programmes across ten academic schools. In particular its business school, School of Education and Training, and School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences have excellent reputations within British academia. Moreover in 2005 it was ranked 16th (out of 86) for media studies in The Guardian’s rating of top British varsities. “Many of the programmes are work-related with a strong professional and vocational focus. We have strong links with employers in the region and offer support in finding placements and part-time work to students as well as good career opportunities after graduation,” says Tessa Blackstone, vice-chancellor of the University of Greenwich. Conferred university status in 1992 it was previously Thames Polytechnic (estb.1890) this institution has a history of academic innovations. Thames Polytechnic pioneered the country’s first part-time, day-release and sandwich courses. Greenwich. Part of the south-eastern urban sprawl of London, Greenwich is a bustling suburb on the south bank of the river Thames. The London borough of Greenwich is steeped in history. East meets West on the Meridian Line, which divides the hemispheres and marks longitude zero. The line runs through the courtyard of the 17th century Royal Greenwich Observatory and marks the spot from which Greenwich Mean Time is calculated. The observatory is situated in Greenwich Park, which used to be the grounds of the Royal Palace of Placentia. At the bottom of the park is the National Maritime Museum which also includes the Queen’s House. Greenwich has excellent pubs and restaurants, plus a cinema and theatre with a broad repertoire. The numerous attractions of central London are a short train/ bus ride from the university’s Greenwich Maritime campus. Campus facilities. Greenwich University is spread across three campuses: Avery Hill in the south-east London district of Eltham, Maritime Greenwich, and Medway, in Chatham, Kent. The 86-acre Avery Hill campus (25 minutes by train from central London), which houses the schools of education and training, architecture and construction, health and social care, combines the style and grace of Victorian architecture with contemporary teaching, residential and sports facilities. The library is situated in a former ballroom and boasts an extensive collection of books, periodicals and CD-roms. The Student Village which provides housing to more than 1,300 students has a shop, launderette, parking and excellent sporting amenities, with tennis courts, a cricket square, rugby and football pitches. Additionally sports facilities are offered by the Sparrows Farm Sports and Leisure Centre, which houses a fitness suite, sauna and solarium. The university’s largest campus Maritime Greenwich is situated on the banks of the…

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Institution Profile

MVJ College of Engineering, Bangalore

Currently celebrating its silver jubilee, MVJCE which is set in a sprawling state-of-the-art 15-acre campus, has established itself as one of Karnataka’s top-ten engineering colleges Equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure and a consistently good academic record, the low-profile MVJ College of Engineering, Bangalore (MVJCE) has commenced a year-long silver jubilee (25 years) celebration programme. On the agenda are inter-faculty and inter-college cultural festivals, national level engineering seminars, blood donation camps, quiz and elocution contests. “MVJCE is ranked among the top ten of Karnataka’s 120 engineering colleges. Invariably our annual intake of 700 students is filled within the first round of CET counselling and our management quota of 108 seats attracts over 500 applications. Moreover we have students from eight Afro-Asian countries enrolled with us. Over two-thirds of our students receive appointment letters before they graduate,” says M.J. Ramani, president of the Venkatesha Education Society (VES) registered in 1982 by the late Dr. M.V. Jayaraman teacher, scholar and visionary. Since then over the past two decades, VES has promoted 11 tertiary education institutions with an aggregate enrollment of over 5,060 students instructed by 210 faculty. In 2003 MVJCE the flagship institution of VES received ISO 9001-2000 certification from TUV Rheinland (Germany) for its high quality best practices. Strategically located in Bangalore’s IT Corridor, contiguous to the International Tech Park, MVJCE is set in a sprawling 15-acre landscaped campus with over 3.5 lakh sq. ft of building space. The college inducts 750 students (including 36 postgraduates) every year and has an aggregate enrollment of 3,000 students instructed by a team of 210 experienced faculty including 13 Ph Ds and 24 M. Phil degree holders. MVJCE offers its 3,000 students a choice of 11 traditional and emerging engineering disciplines and postgraduate management programmes. Barring medical electronics, biotechnology and information science, which have been introduced recently, all other undergrad programmes are accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) of the Delhi-based All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE). Like all engineering colleges in Karnataka, MVJCE is affiliated to the Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum and has consistently recorded 96-100 pass percentages in examinations conducted by VTU. Certainly, a tour of the college campus indicates that the management has spared no effort to provide a thoroughly modern infrastructure for its students. Each of the 13 departments in the college is equipped with a specialist compact library, six fully wired classrooms with overhead projection systems, a 20-seat computer lab, a seminar hall, and two laboratories. Common facilities include a 120-system internet centre, cafeteria, separate men and women hostels within the campus, a bookstore and health clinic. Moreover MVJCE’s spacious Central Library spanning a floor area of 21,000 sq. ft houses nearly 40,000 books and subscribes to 300 national and international journals. “We believe that supplementary reading is very important. Our library is used by 800-900 students daily and has an annual budget of Rs.100,000. We have also signed up with the Developing Library Network (Delnet) of AICTE which allows our students and faculty to access knowledge resources available…

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Institution Profile

Swarthmore College, USA

Consistently ranked among America’s top three liberal arts colleges, Swarthmore is one of the few in the us to also offer undergrad engineering education Sited on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Swarthmore College has for several decades been consistently ranked among America’s top three liberal arts colleges. In its 2006 ranking of America’s colleges, U.S. News & World Report rated Swarthmore the #3 liberal arts college in the US, behind Williams and Amherst. This private co-ed college which is regularly included among the Little Ivies, boasts a student-teacher ratio of 8:1 and offers over 50 study programmes to its 1,479 undergraduate students. With an endowment corpus of $1.69 billion (Rs.___ crore), Swarthmore is one of the few liberal arts colleges in the US to offer undergrad education in engineering in addition to its bachelor’s programme. Promoted in 1864 by the Religious Society of Friends (aka the Quakers) on a leafy green 357-acre campus, Swarthmore is particularly noted for its Oxford tutorials-style honours programme, which permits students to sign up for intensive double-credit seminars from their junior year to write extensive honours theses. Swarthmore is also a member of the Tri-College Consortium (TriCo) with the neighbouring Bryn Mawr and Haverford colleges, which allows students from the triumvirate to cross-register for courses of the others. Moreover TriCo member colleges are additionally affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania and students are free to register for courses there as well. Unsurprisingly, Swarthmore’s eminent alumni include eight MacArthur Foundation fellows and four Nobel Prize winners. Philadelphia. The second largest city on the east coast, Philadelphia (pop. 5.8 million) also boasts the second largest number of colleges (over 50) in the US. A major cultural centre, its citizens have played a pivotal role in American history. The city’s oldest quarters are rich with monuments and streets from the era of Dr. Benjamin Franklin. Philadelphia is also home to more than 100 significant museums and historical sites. But the favourite hangouts of Philadelphia’s college students are the city’s downtown restaurants, coffee shops, art galleries, cinemas and shopping areas. A large performing arts community offers not only the Philadelphia Orchestra but also the opera, ballet, jazz, contemporary and classical music and theatre. From the Swarthmore campus, Philadelphia is less than half hour by train. The city’s climate tends to be cold from November to April. Summers are hot and humid and autumn and spring temperatures are moderate. Campus facilities. Located 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia, Swarthmore’s idyllic, 357-acre campus is a designated arboretum, replete with rolling lawns, creek, wooded hills, and hiking trails. From its state-of-the-art science complex to its new, environment friendly halls of residence, Swarthmore’s buildings and architecture blend seamlessly with its green campus. The college’s main bibliotheques are the McCabe, the Cornell Library of Science and Engineering, and the Underhill Music Library. Specialised collections include black studies of the Black Cultural Center, Jewish classical texts (Beit Midrash), the Friends Historical Library, the Peace Collection, and a Rare Books Room. These libraries together house over 750,000 print volumes,…

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Institution Profile

University of Toronto, Canada

With an enrollment of 59,389 full-time students and consistently rated # 1, University of Toronto is Canada’s largest tertiary institution sited in the country’s most culturally diverse city Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto (UT) is Canada’s largest varsity with an enrollment of 59,389 full-time students tutored by a faculty of 11,365 and an annual budget of C$1.1 billion (Rs.4,620 crore). Sited in downtown Toronto, UT has been consistently ranked as Canada’s # 1 research university by the Tornoto-based Macleans magazine. Likewise, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Institute of Higher Education in China recently ranked UT 24th among the best 500 universities worldwide the highest ranking obtained by any Canadian university, while the Times Higher Education Supplement rated it 29th in its annual list of the world’s top 200 varsities. Spread across three campuses in Toronto (St. George, Mississauga and Scarborough), University of Toronto offers the widest spectrum of academic programmes of any varsity in Canada. Its 17 academic divisions provide more than 300 study programmes and 2,000 courses in the arts, sciences and business (see box). The university also boasts an endowment fund of C$1.6 billion (Rs.6,720 crore), and the largest library system in Canada with 15 million volumes. “The University of Toronto offers education on a global scale. As an institution, we have been recognised as Canada’s top university and one of North America’s best public research universities,” says David Naylor, president of the university. Toronto. Rated by Fortune magazine as the world’s best city to live and work in, Toronto (pop. 4.6 million) is Canada’s largest and most culturally diverse city. Over 100 languages and dialects are spoken in Toronto and 49 percent of the city’s residents were born outside of Canada. The streets teem with cafes, restaurants, bookstores, art galleries, and museums and the vibrant city boasts four major sports teams, national ballet and opera companies, a renowned symphony orchestra, and is the world’s third largest English language theatre centre. Toronto is well-served by an extensive, affordable, public transportation system the second-largest in North America after New York and is within driving distance of a number of American cities including Washington, Chicago, Boston and New York. Situated on the shores of Lake Ontario, Toronto’s climate is one of the mildest in Canada. Spring and summer temperatures range between 15ºC-25ºC while during winter months, the average daytime temperature, with the exception of January, the coldest month, hovers just slightly below freezing point. Campus facilities. Toronto U is spread across three campuses with complete facilities, including residences, libraries and student centres. The largest of the three, the St. George campus is located in the heart of Toronto and houses the faculty of arts and science. The 43,000 students studying in this faculty are all members of one of the seven colleges sited on the St. George campus. Each college offers residential facilities, a library, cafe and student centre. “Choosing a college is a matter of personal preference and will not affect access to courses or programmes of study,” says a Toronto U…

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Institution Profile

Children’s Garden Higher Secondary School, Chennai

Despite being a quasi-government or aided institution subject to considerable government interference, this pioneer school has established a reputation for innovation and progressive education Sited in Chennai’s upscale Mylapore, the Children’s Garden Higher Secondary School housed in four compact buildings has established a reputation as one of the most innovative and progressive government-aided schools in the city. Promoted in 1937 by Ellen Sharma and Dr. V.N.Sharma, the Children’s Garden Higher Secondary School was the first of five schools established by the Children’s Garden School Society to provide primary and secondary education in Tamil and English mediums to students from under-privileged socio-economic backgrounds. The other four are the Ellen Sharma Kindergarten School (Tamil medium); Ellen Sharma Nursery and Primary School (English medium); Ellen Sharma Primary School (Tamil medium) in rural Karapakkam and Ellen Sharma Matriculation and Higher Secondary School (English medium), a residential school in Sholinganallur on the outskirts of Chennai, which has a high enrollment of rural children. Today, seven decades later, the aggregate enrollment of the five schools is 4,000. Their teachers follow the philosophy of the founder Ellen Sharma, who combined the best of Montessori and Froebel’s preschool systems and adapted it to Indian conditions. While continuing the best traditions of Ellen Sharma’s philosophy and innovations, the state board affiliated Children’s Garden Higher Secondary School has made significant strides from the time it admitted its first batch of seven students in 1937. Till the 1950s it was a middle school, which expanded into high school in 1967 and finally into a higher secondary school in 1979. Today this class III-XII school has 1,800 students instructed by 58 teachers. Students of classes III-V (co-education) are instructed in the Tamil medium and classes VI-XII (only for girls) have two sections each for Tamil and English medium schooling. Over the years, the school has absorbed contemporary pedagogies and technological innovations to provide a modern, holistic education to its students. “We believe in all-round personality development and seek to develop the natural talents and aptitudes of our students. To this end, education in our schools extends far beyond academics to include dance, music, art, theatre, archaeology, ecology, nature walks and other co-curricular programmes. Our objective is to incorporate values and life skills into our curriculum to produce honest, straightforward citizens,” says Sakunthala Sharma, daughter of the school’s founders and secretary of the Children’s Garden School Society. An economics, English and education postgraduate of Madras University, Sharma is a veteran with 33 years of teaching experience. The school has taken keen interest in shaping a botanical garden on its Karapakkam farm, where nature walks are mandatory for all classes. “We focus on activity and project-based learning. Every class does projects on different subjects, participates in science exhibitions and the school regularly bags prizes,” says headmistress Saraswathi Raghunathan, a triple postgraduate with a doctorate from Madras University, who has served the school for over 30 years. The school’s management prides itself that pass percentages in the state board examination are above 85 percent every…

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Institution Profile

La Trobe University, Australia

La Trobe University boasts 3,500 students from over 60 countries and has teaching and student exchange partnerships with universities around the world Spread across eight hi-tech campuses in the state of Victoria and a 330 hectare campus in suburban Melbourne, La Trobe University enjoys a formidable international reputation for excellence in teaching and research. The Times Higher Education Supplement, London ranks it 98th among the world’s top universities a great leap forward from its 142nd position last year. Among Australian universities, TES ranks it 11th. Founded in 1967, La Trobe offers over 450 undergraduate and postgrad courses in a variety of disciplines to 26,000 students. Arguably the most international university in Oz, La Trobe boasts 3,500 students from over 60 countries, and has teaching and student exchange partnerships with several universities across the world including some in China, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia. “La Trobe has a particularly strong commitment to internationalisation and seeks not only to attract students and staff from around the world but also to provide opportunities for local students and staff to gain international experience through a scheme of exchange programmes. Currently the university has links with some 250 institutions in more than 40 countries,” says Prof. Brian Stoddart, vice-chancellor and president of the university. A member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, La Trobe’s academic programmes are recognised by the Australian government and by professional associations around the world. La Trobe owes its unusual name to Charles Joseph La Trobe, the first lieutenant-governor of the new colony of Victoria who supervised the establishment of self-government, the public library, art gallery, and a university. Melbourne. Victoria’s capital, Melbourne (pop. 3.5 million) is the second largest city in Australia. Repeatedly voted as the world’s most livable city, it is a bustling seaport, and industrial and commercial metropolis. Built on two waterways, the Yarra river and Port Philip Bay, it boasts scenic parks and gardens perfect for walks, picnics and relaxation with the city skyline serving as the backdrop. For those interested in the arts, Melbourne offers world-class theatre, concerts and galleries. Exciting nightlife abounds in sophisticated restaurants, cafes, clubs and opulent theatres. Sports lovers have numerous opportunities to witness world-class sporting events such as the Grand Prix, the Australian Tennis Open and the Melbourne Cup. The city enjoys a mild climate round the year. Summers can be dry and hot, with average daytime temperatures touching 28oC, while winters are usually cool and wet with daytime temperatures dropping to an average 14oC. Beyond Melbourne, Victoria offers a magnificent coastline, attractive beaches, snowfields with top-class facilities, rich farmland, rainforests and even the rugged beauty of arid semi-desert areas. Campus facilities. La Trobe University has eight multi-faculty campuses spread across Victoria. They include Melbourne (Bundoora), Melbourne (City), Bendigo, Albury-Wodonga, Mildura, Shepparton, Mt. Buller and Beechworth. The Melbourne (Bundoora) campus is the university’s largest, hosting 19,000 students and staff. All the university’s five major faculties education, law and management, humanities and social sciences, health sciences, and science, technology and engineering are represented on this campus. Situated north-east…

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Institution Profile

Navrachana International School, Vadodara

Within two years of start-up, Gujarat’s first internationally bench-marked day-cum-residential school has chalked up an aggregate enrollment of 600 students, including 10 percent from abroad In promoting English medium schools and English learning in general, perhaps the most recalcitrant of the 29 states of the Indian Union is the western seaboard state of Gujarat (pop. 50.5 million). This is evidenced by statistics which indicate that there are only 14 English medium CISCE and 123 CBSE affiliated schools in Gujarat. And the number of new generation international schools affiliated with European or American examination boards is negligible. Somewhat surprising given the large Gujarati diaspora in Britain and the US. But this scenario is all set to change following the enthusiastic response to the Vadodara (aka Baroda)-based Navrachana International School (NIS estb. 2003). Within two years of admitting its first batch of students, this co-ed day-cum-residential school has chalked up an aggregate enrollment of 600 students, of whom 10 percent are from abroad. This fast-enrollment record is in sharp contrast to international schools in general, which take three-five years to attain similar levels of registration. Carefully positioned as a genuinely international K-XII school, NIS is affiliated to the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO), Geneva and Cambridge International Examinations, UK. The management has taken special care to equip NIS, sited on a landscaped 25 acre campus on the outskirts of Vadodara (pop. 1.8 million), with state-of-the-art infrastructure. Spacious, well-lit, fully wired and air-conditioned classrooms with 18 seating capacity, technology aided learning resource centres, science laboratories, culture and language centres and an amphitheatre, are fully operational. Moreover NIS boasts a library-cum-media centre with over 30,000 books, 1,000 CDs, VCDs and DVDs and 53 magazine subscriptions. The attached distance-learning studio provides access to curriculums, syllabi and teaching from some of the best education institutions worldwide. The library is also equipped with networked computers with internet access. In addition subject specific libraries are being established in subject rooms, teachers conclave and halls of residence. “We are committed to maintaining a 10:1 pupil-teacher ratio so that effective learning happens in classrooms. Our objective is to not only make students academically proficient but also to develop the qualities of tolerance, humility and compassion in them. Our mission at NIS is to train our students to become life long learners,” says Tejal Amin a commerce graduate of MS University, Baroda and chairperson of the Navrachana Education Society (NES regd: 1965), which has promoted NIS, constructed at an estimated capital cost of Rs.25 crore. A Vadodara-based registered charitable trust, NES manages five education institutions” Navrachana College of Education, Vidyani Vidyalaya, Navrachana School, Sama, NavPrerna (a school for under-privileged children), Navrachana Open School and Navrachana Sports Academy â€” with an aggregate enrollment of 5,000. Among the unique features of NIS are the school’s subject rooms/ resource centres. These are large rooms with moveable furniture which is rearranged for different teaching methodologies such as project groups, circle discussions, classrooms or demonstration sites. Each subject room is equipped with hi-tech teaching aids including DVD players, LCD projectors,…

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Institution Profile

Williams College, USA

Established in 1793 Williams College was recently ranked America’s #1 undergrad liberal arts college by US News & World Report Within the elite club of America’s globally renowned undergrad liberal arts colleges Amherst, Wellesley, Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore Williams College enjoys a formidable, even if relatively low profile reputation. Recently US News & World Report ranked Williams College as the # 1 liberal arts college in America (followed by Amherst). This 213-year-old institution sited in Williamstown, Massachusetts has the largest endowment of any humanities college in the US with over $1.5 billion (Rs.6,750 crore) in assets, and has produced 37 Rhodes scholars, the highest of any liberal arts college in the country. Established in 1793 with a modest endowment from Colonel Ephraim Williams, the college is a private, residential, co-education institution providing liberal arts (humanities, social sciences, maths and science) education to 2,000 undergrad students. Its three academic divisions (humanities, sciences, social sciences), offer 33 major degree and elective programmes. It does not offer any professional programmes (engineering, business or medicine). Says Morton Owen Schapiro, who took charge as president of Williams College in the year 2000: “With a spectacularly talented and devoted faculty and staff, great physical and financial wealth, and the absolute finest students in all of American higher education, we are obligated to realise a vision of educational excellence worthy of our extraordinary resources. We have never wavered in understanding that our mission is to provide the highest quality undergraduate education possible, centred on an appreciation, indeed a love of the liberal arts.” Williamstown. A small New England town of some 10,000 inhabitants in the Berkshire Hills of northwestern Massachusetts, Williamstown is three hours by road from New York and Boston. Surrounded by hills and dales, this idyllic town, better known as the home of Williams College boasts many natural attractions such as the Hopkins Memorial Forest, the Mount Greylock Reservation, Sand Springs, the Hoosic and Green rivers, and the Taconic Range of hills. Theatre enthusiasts have the chance to catch over 200 performances of classical and new plays during the Williamstown Theatre Festival, an annual event that runs from mid June to late August. The city’s Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute showcases an extensive collection of French impressionist art. Cultural landmarks and scenic landscapes apart, Williamstown buzzes with pubs, restaurants, bars and shops where students can chill. Campus facilities. Williams College sprawls across 450 acres comprising over 100 academic, athletic, and residential buildings including the new 62 Center for Theatre and Dance; the Hopkins Observatory, the oldest extant astronomical observatory in America; a student health centre; a chapel, and a Jewish synagogue. The Williams College Museum of Art houses 12,000 works spanning the history of art. In addition Williams owns the neighbouring Hopkins Memorial Forest (2,500 acres). There are an aggregate 862,940 volumes in the Sawyer, Schow Science, and Matt Cole libraries and 54,068 in the Chapin Rare Books Library, which also houses several founding documents of the United States including original printings of the Declaration of Independence,…

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Institution Profile

Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi

Promoted in 1956 with the objective of providing higher education to women in post-independence India, Lady Shri Ram College is widely acclaimed as India’s finest all-women’s college for liberal arts education The year-long golden jubilee celebrations of Lady Shri Ram College (LSR), widely acclaimed as India’s finest all-women’s college for liberal arts education, which began in July last year will culminate next month in a gala ceremony felicitating 50 of its most illustrious alumnae. A high-powered panel is currently finalising the awards list from a roll call which includes Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi; Naina Lal Kidwai, chief executive of the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (India); Sushma Berlia (first woman president of PHDCC); Vimla Mehra (joint commissioner of Delhi Police); Lillette Dubey (actress); Nonita Lall Qureshi (Arjuna awardee golfer); and Nidhi Razdan (New Delhi Television anchor), among others who have distinguished themselves in business, academics, sports and social work. Promoted in 1956 with the objective of providing higher education to women in post-independence India by the late Lala Shri Ram, public-spirited chairman of the DCM group of companies, in a school building in Daryaganj with 243 students, nine faculty members and three study programmes, LSR has come a long way since. Sited in the heart of south Delhi on a compact 15-acre campus, LSR today boasts an enroll-ment of 2,000 students pursuing 16 study programmes, mentored by 150 faculty. In June 2005 it was ranked as Indiaâ€™s No. 1 liberal arts college by the Delhi-based news weekly India Today. Since their commencement last July, the golden jubilee celebrations have featured special seminars, guest lectures, workshops, paper presentations and symposia on a diverse range of subjects, in addition to film, performing arts, sports and theatre festivals. A distinguishing feature of these events is that they combine academic focus with extra-curricular achievement a characteristic reflective of LSR’s larger objective of dispensing holistic education and shaping women leaders. “LSR is recognised as an institution of higher education which nurtures intellectual development coupled with vibrant extra-curricular activity, outreach initiatives and civic engagement. An LSR education enables women to reconcile excellence with humanity, to celebrate diversity and redefine notions of success. Our focus is on liberating women to look beyond traditional horizons. Our students are made to understand that with the power of knowledge, comes the responsibility to translate it into creative citizenship. LSR students are empowered with professional competence, ability to assume positions of leadership with ease, and shatter inhibitory glass ceilings,” says Dr. Meenakshi Gopinath, an alumna of LSR and University of Massachusetts and incumbent principal of Lady Shri Ram. She is also the founder director of WISCOMP (Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace) and member of several multi-track peace initiatives in Kashmir and Pakistan. According to Gopinath, LSR is an exclusively liberal arts college, i.e it doesn’t offer science related study programmes. Currently its academic menu includes 16 undergraduate and postgrad programmes in the social sciences, humanities and commerce. In addition, it offers a B.Sc. programme in statistics…

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Institution Profile

National Institute of Fashion Technology

In acknowledgement of the stellar role NIFT has played in developing Indiaâ€™s textiles and fashion industry, it was recently accorded the status of an Institute of National Importance The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) â€” the countryâ€™s premier fashion design, management and technology institute â€” was promoted in New Delhi in 1986 under the aegis of the Union ministry of textiles and Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), New York. Over the past two decades, the institute has promoted seven regional affiliates in Kolkata, Chennai, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bangalore. Its pan-India presence has enabled NIFT alumni to assume leadership positions in Indiaâ€™s fast track textiles, garments and haute couture industries. In acknowledgement of the stellar role it has played in developing India’s fashion industry, NIFT was recently accorded the status of an Institute of National Importance by President Abdul Kalam. The award places NIFT on a par with the blue-chip Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). “Our institutional objective is to develop NIFT into a centre of excellence and innovation and a growth catalyst of the fashion business through education leadership. Benchmarking performance and processes in the areas of fashion education, research and development, training and consultancy are our chosen methodologies for attaining excellence. Integrating design, management and technology and empowering the crafts community to retain regional characteristics and position their cultural identity in the global market are also high on our agenda,” says Gauri Kumar, director general of NIFT. Undoubtedly, since it was somewhat hesitantly promoted in the national capital two decades ago by the then floundering Union ministry of textiles, NIFT, Delhi, if not its seven regional clones, has built an excellent reputation for producing high fashion garments and trendsetting couturiers including JJ Valaya, Ritu Beri, and Manish Arora. The regional institutes too, have shaped top-rung fashion designers such as Manish Malhotra and Narendra Kumar (Mumbai), Prasad Bidapa (Bangalore), and several mondaine page 3 fashion gurus and divas. More significantly, NIFT has contributed over 5,000 well-trained textiles and garment industry professionals who are masterminding Indiaâ€™s global charge as a major textiles and garment player in the new post-WTO international order. Modelled after Indiaâ€™s highly respected and successful IIMs and IITs which were also promoted by the Central government, the teaching-learning process in the seven NIFTs involves creation of a cohesive, contextual and nurturing environment for students. The emphasis is on professional development through standardised pedagogy. “This involves sharing of learning processes between faculty and industry whose feedback and guidance is crucial to studentsâ€™ understanding, development, and maturity,” says NIFT spokesperson Pavan Kaushik. Moreover NIFT faculty are trained in some of the leading design and fashion institutes of the world, and bring to the classroom professional capabilities, wide exposure and years of hands-on industry experience. “The examination system focuses upon task-based assign-ments, interactive industry projects, intern-ships, research surveys and written examinations throughout the year,” explains P. Joshi, a faculty member. In 1997, a common board examination (CBE) based on evaluation in core subjects was introduced across all NIFT centres to ensure…

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Institution Profile

Modern School, Lucknow

India’s first ISO 9001 certified school, this institution has come a long way since it was promoted in 1980 and has many landmark achievements to its credit From modest beginnings in 1980 in a private home to India’s first ISO 9001 certified school, Modern School, Lucknow has come a long way. The globally recognised quality certification, awarded to the school in 1997, is one of the many landmark achieve-ments of this Kg-class XII CISCE affiliated school which is also the sole Indian member of The Koalaty Kid programme to Education and Training, a quality improvement programme developed by the American Society of Quality, an organisation committed to creating better workplaces and communities. Moreover in 2003 this 24-year-old co-educational school received a certificate of commendation from the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) for the excellent quality systems it has established. “Our emphasis in Modern School is on achieving, maintaining and enhancing qualities which students and the community value. It could be proficiency in computers or the English language, or developing personality traits like confidence and courtesy,” explains Rakesh Kapoor, an alumnus of Delhi and Lucknow universities and founder chairman of Modern School. He has developed the Kapoor Quality Education System (KQES) with inputs from renowned seer Patanjali’s Yogasutra and quality systems pioneer W. Edward Deming’s Total Quality Management (TQM) theory. According to Kapoor, the principles of KQES require formulation of systems which encourage questioning, research, discovery, team learning and academic rigour to motivate students to excel and persuade school managements to develop new pedagogies. Kapoor’s homegrown KQES is the driving force behind Modern School’s dogged insistence on quality. The school’s mission statement is “to impart quality education that achieves learning without cramming, excellence without distress, nurtures relationships of unconditional love and esteem and inculcates discipline without fear”. “Insistence on quality in education and practice of KQES in particular has enabled Modern School to set academic standards and develop a unique identity which is an amalgam of best Indian and western practices. Thus while morning assemblies feature readings from the sacred texts and Vipassana, our students also successfully compete in global scientific competitions. This emphasis on holistic education has made all the difference to Modern School,” says Shakuntala Jaisinghani, principal of Modern School and formerly principal of the B.R. Birla Public School, Jodhpur. Spread over four acres in central Lucknow, Modern School has an enrollment of 1,468 male and female students and 50 teachers. Affiliated to the Delhi-based Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), teaching at the 24-year-old school is activity and project based. “Our teaching methods are based on analysis and application. We believe that whatever a student learns in school should be applicable in the world outside. Information accumulation is important for passing board exams but learning is vital to the very process of living. Thus our commerce students try their hand at devising advertising campaigns and science students prepare projects on space tourism,” adds Jaisinghani. With pan India examination boards (CISCE, CBSE) incrementally even if belatedly testing students…

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Institution Profile

Bombay Scottish School

Established as an orphanage for females by a group of Scottish philanthropists serving in the armed forces in 1847, the co-ed Bombay Scottish School is now routinely ranked among Mumbai’s best Ranked Mumbai’s no. 1 primary-cum-secondary school in the Delhi-based Outlook weekly’s survey of schools across the country (December 16, 2002), Bombay Scottish School (BSS) has come a long way since it was established as the Scottish Female Orphanage in 1847. Then sited in Byculla, south Mumbai, the girls orphanage was promoted by a group of Scottish philanthropists serving in the armed forces. In 1855, a parallel institution was promoted for male orphans and in 1859 the two elementary schools were amalgamated under the name and style of The Bombay Male and Female Orphanage. Four years later the amalgamated institution was abbreviated to Bombay Scottish Orphanage. The first general meeting of subscribers to the Bombay Scottish Orphanage Trust was held on February 18, 1867 when the Bombay Scottish Orphanage Society, as it is known today, was established with its own constitution and rules. A decade later in 1878, BSS moved to its present premises on the Mahim sea face. The impeccably maintained, period stone buildings comprise 60 classrooms, three well-equipped science laboratories and a large library containing 20,000 volumes. The school’s supportive infrastructure includes three assembly halls with a cumulative capacity of 1,000, a boardroom with advanced multimedia learning systems, well-maintained gardens as well as sprawling grounds with excellent sports facilities, including a basketball court of international standards. Currently the aggregate enrollment of this highly-rated school which follows the syllabus of the Delhi-based Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), is 2,772 students of both sexes instructed by a faculty of 100. Though essentially a Christian school, which subscribes to Christian values, BSS offers contemporary, liberal kindergarten-class XII education to children of all religious persuasions and denominations. “We have thrown open our doors to children of all communities, though we reserve a variable percentage of our annual intake for children from the minority Christian community. Within this framework our prime objective is the comprehensive development- physical, mental, social, emotional, moral and spiritual of our students. The school’s programmes and activities are planned in terms of attaining these holistic education goals,” says D.P.N. Prasad, a history and education alumnus of Madras and Annamalai universities who served as principal of St. Johns Higher Secondary School, Tiruchirapalli (Tamil Nadu) for five years before taking charge of BSS in 1999. According to prasad, teaching methodologies at BSS have been designed in accordance with the capabilities of children of different age groups, beginning with informal fun-oriented lesson plans at the pre-school stage, followed by semi-formal pedagogies in early primary school and progressively more formal academic education in middle and senior school. “The use of contemporary infotech and computer technologies is integrated into the school’s curriculum,” says Prasad. This gradualist education system has quite evidently served BSS well, judging by the school’s consistently high performance in the ICSE board exams. “Our class X performance is of a…

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Institution Profile

Monash University

Oz’s largest Monash University with six campuses in Australia and two abroad enjoys an enviable reputation for its excellence in teaching and research The largest university in Oz in terms of student enrollment (48,000) Monash University enjoys an enviable reputation in the sixth continent and beyond for its international focus and excellence in teaching and research. The Good Universities Guide (2003 edition) awards Monash five-star ratings for prestige, cultural diversity, graduate outcomes and quantity of research. “Monash is now known as Australia’s biggest and boldest university,” it says. Monash also boasts a strong record of graduate employment with many of its alumni holding apex-level positions in government, industry and academia. In 2000, 86 percent of Monash graduates were employed full-time and earned some of the highest average salaries in Australia while 26 percent of graduates continued into postgraduate studies. Monash University is also Oz’s most international education institution. It has established six campuses in Australia; one in Malaysia and South Africa; two European centres and a research and exchange network that spans the globe. Moreover of the aggregate number of students on its muster roll more than 12,000 are internationals enrolled in Australian campuses (60 percent) and the remaining in offshore programmes. “Ours is an internationally recognised institution offering degrees that open doors across the globe. Monash is one of the Group of Eight, Australia’s leading universities recognised for excellence in research, scholarship and teaching. As a large, diverse university of the 21st century, we offer a wide rage of learning options and innovative course combinations. Our students experience academically rigorous programmes that prepare them for the highly competitive global job market, or equally for a career in further academic research,” says Prof. Peter Darvall, vice-chancellor and president of Monash. Melbourne. One of Australia’s most cosmopolitan cities, Melbourne (pop. 4 million) is home to immigrants from over 100 nations. It’s a safe city with open spaces, fresh clean environment, temperate climate, casual lifestyle, low crime rate and an efficient and inexpensive public transport system. Within an hour of Melbourne are some of the most unspoilt spots in scenic Australia” beaches, rainforest, mountains and lakes. For those interested in the arts, Melbourne offers world-class theatre, concerts and galleries. Sports lovers have numerous opportunities to witness international sporting events such as the Grand Prix, the Australian Tennis Open and the Melbourne Cup. Eating out is inexpensive with the city offering multi-cuisine restaurants to suit all budgets. Campus facilities. Monash has six campuses-Berwick, Caulfield, Clayton, Gippsland, Parkville and Peninsula and one city office in and around Melbourne. Monash’s newest campus, Berwick offers technologically advanced facilities and is home to the university’s School of Multimedia Systems. Monash’s second biggest campus, Caulfield’s diversity is reflected in the range of programmes it offers in art and design, arts, business and economics, information technology, engineering and science. Clayton is the largest campus and was the first of the varsity’s eight global campuses. The diversity of its study programmes is reflected in the fact that eight out of Monash’s ten faculties are represented on…

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