Tata Infotech has launched a 360 degree Learning Approach for the IT industry.

According to a NASSCOM survey, the Indian software industry has not only been growing exponentially but has also been moving up the value chain. In fact, this era is witnessing a trend where industries are shifting from the market place to cyberspace while products are moving from shelf space to disk space. Hence, there is an unprecedented scramble to acquire IT skills at any cost. In order to feed this burgeoning demand, computer-training institutes have mushroomed in every nook and corner of the country. But, the question is how helpful will these courses be once learners start serving the industry?

"Corporate demands are ever changing and it’s essential to keep a track of the industry needs to modify existing courses," says Rahul Thapan, Head, education Service Division, Tata Infotech ltd. Indeed, major software players like Infosys, HCL, Wipro, Tata etc. are no longer in the business of merely providing technology services. "Surely that’s there, but it’s on the lower end of the value chain," says Thapan, adding, "Moving on to the higher end, corporates are looking at providing domain solutions in certain specified industry segments. It becomes imperative for us therefore, to identify these segments and adequately familiarise our students with the skills required."

Keeping this in mind, Tata Infotech has introduced a 360 degree Learning Approach for the IT Industry. "This approach, driven by market requirements, is the result of a research conducted by IMRB with corporates and professionals. It takes the earlier 360degree product offering of Business-Application-Technology to a higher platform-of a three-way partnership between Tata Infotech – Academia-Corporates – for a holistic experience. This not only helps students pursue higher education worldwide, but also provides them with the curriculum accreditation and certifications that have global recognition." The 360 degree Learning Approach has six perspectives encompassing industry, career, student, product, delivery and academia.

Tata Infotech has already introduced a semester on emerging industries in their G-Tech course. "Sectors like banking, telecom and insurance have geared up to accept private players, resulting in a surge in demand for trained IT professionals. This semester, which concentrates on apprising students on the latest technologies in emerging sectors, includes industry specific syllabus on banking, telecom and insurance," says Thapan.

Tata Infotech’s G-Tech course is based on the principle of concepts rather than software versions. It stresses on fundamentals, so that the knowledge gathered by a student is long-lasting and not impacted by the release of new software versions.

At the end of the G-Tech course, students receive seven international certifications-six from Microsoft and one from Sun Microsystems. They also receive B.Tech degrees with honours in IT from university of Hertfordshire, UK. Since G-Tech conforms to the Higher National Diploma syllabus from EDEXCEL International (UK) students can directly enter the 2ndor 3^rd year of B.Tech courses at more than 10 universities in UK. At home, G-Tech professionals can take admission into the 6^th trimester of the Bachelors of Information Technology (BIT) course at IGNOU.

Thus, for those looking for courses that not only give them the ammunition to be a web professionals but also go beyond IT, the restructured 360 degree Learning Approach in the G-Tech course, along with a semester on emerging industries, seems the best answer.