YCMOU to collaborate with IBM’s ‘SUR’ programme

Typically,this will involve technical collaboration with the company’s experts,access to IBM software and high performance computing needed for the successful completion of projects related to education,YCMOU spokesperson Shrinivas Belesere said.

Other institutions selected for the programme are IIT Mumbai,IIT Delhi,College of Engineering,Pune and PSG Tech,Coimbatore.

The IBM award,which is given after a very critical scrutiny of all the proposals,is highly competitive with several countries across the globe competing for the same.

The SUR project with YCMOU,based in Nasik,is focused on intelligent Information and communications technology (ICT) enabled educational content delivery system for the University’s 3,50,000 students across 35 districts of Maharashtra and its several study centres spread all over the country,Belesere said.

The university will use and create the content necessary for the project,while IBM will extend its collaboration technologies and later cloud computing technology to enhance the effectiveness of this initiative,he said.

The project will have capabilities of two-way discussions thereby facilitating a greater degree of collaboration between all participants which often is complained to be missing in Open and Distance learning system,the release said.

“Special focus under this SUR Award will be given to providing the benefits of technology to marginalised sections of society who have hitherto remained unreached – the dabbawalas,barbers,maid-servants,rickshaw/taxi/bus/truck drivers and the personnel from the police,defence and paramilitary forces who have joined the YCMOU family as students,” Dr R. Krishnakumar,vice-chancellor said recently in Pune.

“This is for us a very prestigious project that appropriately links technology and education,and we look forward to working on the same,” he said.

IBM India’s Country Manager (University Relations) Bhooshan Kelkar said. “Worldwide,education is a top priority for IBM. The company realises the power of education,may it be at the primary level or in higher education. YCMOU is playing a very unique role in providing education to the masses and this project has ignited a lot of interest among IBMers,especially because of the new challenges it presents,” he said.