- 6 of Delhi NCR prestigious educational institutions among the 20 awarded certificates of international league at House of Commons, London
- The initiative by SkillTree Knowledge Consortium in association with Lavasa Corporation Ltd. gives India its first international recognition platform to identify educational institutions that make a global appeal
New Delhi, June 30, 2014: India’s prestigious higher education institutions were the cynosure of all eyes at the ‘SkillTree Great Place to Study’ initiative as eminent personalities from the education sector of India and the UK came together to honor 20 of India’s most respected educational institutions that have contributed to put the country at the forefront of a global education revolution.
The ‘SkillTree Great Place to Study’ is a new initiative launched by SkillTree Knowledge Consortium, a thought leadership communication strategy firm, that aims to put a renewed spotlight on India’s education sector by promoting India as a global destination for education.
The event marked the first international education convocation of its kind in London to profile some of India’s most renowned institutions in the sector. The recognition positions the selected Indian colleges and universities as proven leaders on a global platform.
20 institutions from across the country were awarded certificates of international league at a glittering ceremony at the House of Commons, London. Among them are Delhi based FORE School of Management and Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies; Noida based IMT- Centre for Distance Learning; and Gurgaon based Ansal University; Apeejay Education Society & Apeejay Stya University; and G D Goenka University.
The other institutes that were picked up for the honour are AIMS Institutes; Ecole Hôtelière Lavasa; GOA Institute of Management; Great Lakes Institute of Management; ICFAI University; ITM University, Gwalior; JIS Group, Educational Initiatives; Manipal University; R.V. College of Engineering; S.R. Group of Institutions; Shoolini University; Whistling Woods International; XLRI- Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur; and Yenepoya University.
The programme was hosted by British parliamentarian Mr. Bob Blackman, and contributed towards cementing India’s position as an educational destination of choice by the global student fraternity. The high-profile gathering saw senior representatives from some of India’s most prominent colleges interacting with esteemed UK public personalities, business leaders and lynchpins from the education sector.
Renowned since ancient times for being a leader in knowledge and learning, India today is regaining its glory on the educational front. With one of the largest higher education set ups in the world along with the USA and China, India churns out an estimated 50 lakh graduates each year and boasts of 35000 educational institutions.
SkillTree Knowledge Consortium is an organization engaged into higher education advisory, spreading knowledge and sharing ideas through research and publication, television series, conferences, talk shows and learning theatre. The ‘SkillTree Great Place to Study’ India edition has been sponsored by Lavasa Corporation, with a long term aim to make India counted as a global destination for higher education.
“India has great potential to become a global education hub for people from different destinations. Already, a number of students from our neighboring countries as well as several African nations turn to India for higher education. This country has a share of approximately 8% of the global student market with somewhere around 200000 students having decided to pursue higher education in India. ‘SkillTree Great Place To Study’ initiative is aimed at magnifying the appeal of India by giving Indian Institutions an international platform. India’s higher education system has exhibited impressive growth over the past two decades. The private sector has played an instrumental role in this growth and can be credited with the establishment of some globally renowned institutions that have established state-of-the-art infrastructure and impart world-class education,” says Miss Arvina Purkayastha, COO, SkillTree Knowledge Consortium and Editor, Great Place to Study.
“Skilltree Great Place to Study is an international academic auditing and research wing that studies, recognizes and creates great institutions of international standard. It is a biannual recognition and India’s only international award and felicitation platform. We have a thorough scrutinizing process of rigorous research and auditing, & a dedicated jury that goes about its task scrupulously. To ensure that the credibility of the process is not compromised, there are also in place high-end transparent benchmarks for the selection of institutions. Our objective is to highlight institutions that offer excellent world class education. This was our first certification ceremony,” elaborates Mr. Shekhar A. Bhattacharjee, Founder, SkillTree Knowledge Consortium, on the aims and aspirations of ‘SkillTree Great Place to Study’.
“In ancient times, India was recognized as a leading centre for education in the world. Gradually over a period of time the country lost its pivotal position. Today, a number of favorable factors are once again at play which will propel India to the position of a global education hub. One of the many endeavors to promote higher education is taking shape at Lavasa, the first of India’s 100 new cities. Being developed as a premiere education hub, the city is slated to host 50,000 students across the many education institutes based here. ‘Great Place to Study’ is an excellent platform for promoting Indian education institutes which are growing in stature and to showcase what India has to offer in the education space. Hence we decided to support this pioneering initiative,” says Mr. Nathan Andrews, President and CEO of Lavasa Corporation Ltd.
The certificate presentation was followed by a gala dinner at London’s iconic Madame Tussauds recently. To promote bilateral trade relations between the UK and India, awards were also given to select eminent businessmen and education leaders from the UK. Some leading luminaries including industrialist Lord Swraj Paul; British Indian lawyer Sarosh Zaiwalla; Liberal Democrat parliamentarian Lord Navnit Dholakia; businessmen Richie Nanda and Rami Ranger; and parliamentarian Keith Vaz were also recognised with Global Leader Awards for their work and contribution in various fields.