ONLINE COURSES
TO
FILL GAPS IN UNIVERSITY CURRICULA, STUDENTS ARETURNING TO ONLINE
COURSES DESIGNED TO MAKE THEMEMPLOYMENT-READY AND SHARPEN PRACTICAL
SKILLS,PARTICULARLY IN SPECIALISED FIELDS SUCH AS LAW ANDFINANCE
Saundankar,
29, a corporate lawyer and recent graduate from the Government Law
College in Churchgate, took an online course in commercial contracts
while in college. Unsatisfied with the college syllabus, Saundankar
found that the 12-week online programme, on a website called
MyLaw.net, had content designed by established lawyers especially to
supplement the theoretical university syllabus “The online course,
which cost 7,800, trained me to draft and reviiew commercial
contracts in more detail, and with a much more practical approach,”
she says. “I understood the topic so effortlessly that I have now
signed up for the securities law and banking law courses as well.”
MyLaw.net,
which started in 2009, started with 100 subscribers and now has
coached over 20,000 students. Similarly,Loop, Manipal Global’s
online education arm, launched in January 2014 and has already
awarded 10,000 certifications, with a 20% rise in subscribers every
month.
Loop
has partnered with Google India to launch a specialised course in
digital marketing, slated to start on August 23.“Online courses
supplement your formal education and if delivered well, they can help
sharpen your skills to a large extent,” says Shivraman Krishnan,
CEO of Manipal University. “For instance, business school helped me
understand the basic concepts of marketing, but I was never taught
digital marketing. With the advent of technology, supplementary
courses can play a vital role in making sure your skills are
up-to-date.
Some
of these courses are designed with the help of industry
professionals, who identify skills gaps in fresh graduates and
develop course content that focus on employability. “Course takers
can also interact with industry experts on discussion forums, anytime
and from anywhere,” says Vipin Khandelwal, CEO, Learning Infinite,
an online education portal. “Online courses can have interactive
audio/video content, ‘learning-by-doing’ simulations, peer
interactions, which give them an edge over traditional classroom
learning.”
Here’s
a look at some such courses that are gaining popularity. Pouching
upon a wide spectrum of the laws, courses on MyLaw.net are formulated
by legal experts who also make sure the courses are regularly
updated. The panel includes Deeksha Singh, ex-legal manager, Essar
Ltd; Deepa Mookerjee, ex- senior associate, Amarchand &;
Mangaldas ; Suresh A Shroff Co; and Sindhu Sivakumar, associate,
Allen and Overy
Students
are taught using a combination of videos and reading material. The
videos incorporate PowerPoint presentations and infographics.“In
India, very few colleges provide students the opportunity to
participate in moot courts, or teach them how to draft a commercial
contract,” says Antony Alex, CEO, MyLaw.net. “MyLaw.net aims to
fill these holes.” The portal has a section on tips to argue your
case in court, mergers and acquisitions and CLAT preparations,
amongst other courses.“In college, we only skimmed through mergers
and acquisitions, completed in one semester,” says Akriti
Bharadwaj, 22, a student from Amity Law School, Delhi. “The online
course clarified my concepts immensely and taught me the effect of
the New Companies Act.” The courses end with an examination.
“MyLaw.net is recognised by many law firms in India, so the
certification helps students score internships too,” adds
Alex.“Applying law in the real world is a huge leap from studying
theory in college,” says Sawant Singh, legal manager, Phoenix
Legal. “We encourage our associates to refer to this portal for
basic practical knowledge, so that it partially reduces our burden of
training.
”WWW.LEARNINGINFINITE.
COM
Learning
Infinite provides online courses in business, finance,
problem-solving and personal effectiveness. While the other courses
are targeted at working professionals, the problemsolving course,
launched in June, has gained importance amongst students. Suresh
Lulla, the founder of Qimpro, a quality consulting firm, has
designing the course along with Khandelwal. Lulla has helped save
about 17,500 crore, locked in chronic problems for his client
organisations.
“Few
realise that there is a structure to effectively solve problems,
which can help long-term gains of an organisation’s bottom line,”
says Khandelwal.
The
problem-solving course covers problem definition, key problem solving
steps, problem diagnosis, finding & implementing solutions.
The course requires 15-20 hours on an average to complete the course.
The course has up to three hours of interactive video lessons, a
question and answer forum to resolve doubts and interact with peers,
practical exercises to check understanding of key concepts and other
resource downloads. It also involves project work to apply the
learning in real world.
Projects
can be showcased on a ‘talent gateway’ page to improve visibility
to prospective employers.“The problem-solving course dramatically
changes the way you approach business problems,” says Pramod
Avarchamal, 28, assistant managerbusiness planning, L&;T.
Avarchamal
took the course while at IIM-Bangalore in May 2014.“It teaches you
how to systematically define the root causes and strategize
solutions. For instance, generally, increasing profit means
increasing revenue. However the course entails ways to increase
profits by reducing cost,” he adds.
The
prog ramme also involves conferences with experts from different
backgrounds. “It almost felt like I was talking to the expert
face-to face.” says Naveen Pachabhaiye, 24, an MBA student from
WeSchool, Matunga.
HT
140820
No comments:
Post a Comment