ICT Success in North Eastern India

CyberLearning-Cosyne-Reliance partnership-Making a Difference

July 19, 2006- Alexandria, VA

CyberLearning, Cosyne and Reliance partnered and created a program to bring ICT education to the North-Eastern India, a technologically backward and economically depressed region. This collaborative effort took over 8 months to deliver results. The aim was to do a pilot project to provide ICT education and certifications to 100 people from Nagaland and see the results. The first batch of 15 students has already earned their MCP certification. They are well on their way to get their MCSE and in the meantime, these 15 students are mentoring remaining students for their certifications. In a short period of 8 months, the efforts have paid off, students who had no prior exposure to computers are on their way to earn their Microsoft certifications. This project in Nagaland is opening the next horizon for creativity, innovation, growth and competitive advantage by harnessing the technology in an efficient, effective and creative manner. This project is well on its way to boost the productivity of the people, create employment, and improve their standards of living.

North-Eastern India- A Region in Turmoil

Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Sikkim are known as the eight sisters of North East India. In 1947, at the time of India's independence all these states other than Sikkim were one entity called the North East Frontier Province. Sikkim was an independent kingdom. People of this region belonged to the Indo-Mongoloid race and the majority were tribal people. The region is rich in natural resources such as wildlife, forestry and oil but lacked the infrastructure for the modern world such as educational institutions, transportation facilities, clean water supply, electric and telecommunications. The people of the region felt that they were being neglected as they did not matter politically. They did not have the guidance to achieve economic or industrial growth. As a result they took to arms and subversive tactics which lead to some recognition of their aspirations for self rule. North East Frontier Province was gradually broken into seven states with its own governments. When the ruler of Sikkim sought India's protection for his kingdom, India annexed it. Regional terrorism which reached its height in the 1980s lead to severe restrictions on travel, near permanent militarization, exploitative economic practices, and an exodus of youth in search of better education. Lack of job opportunities in the private sector, complete absence of well intentioned and guiding mentors, along with a natural affinity to the homeland brought the educated youth back to the region disillusioned and unemployed. All doors seemed to be closing on the people of North East India.

Confluence of Enabling Forces

Halfway around the world, the 1980s was seeing a revolution of another sort. One of the leaders of this revolution was Microsoft. With its vision of "A computer in every home", Microsoft was bringing extraordinary power to the hands of individuals. Starting from the 1990s, the world saw the next stage of this revolution with the advent of Windows from Microsoft and the birth of the World Wide Web. It became easier for everyone to use their computer and to build virtual communities. The world of business began to change with a rise in the number of people benefiting from the connected world. Organizations like CyberLearning were democratizing education by making available online the best of educational content for access from the remotest corners of the world. High speed internet access was becoming cheaper day by day through fiber optics, DSL and satellites. Economic crisis awakened the sleeping giant that is India and freed the fetters that were shackling the entrepreneurs. Around the world Indians were being honored for their IT knowledge and India was becoming recognized as a destination for low cost, quality programming talent. Separatist groups realizing the futility of violence were making peace. Cosyne, whose management included people from North East India, realized that the North East may get left behind yet again. This would not have been good for the people, the region and for India. Cosyne after doing a thorough research on eLearning companies decided to team up with CyberLearning to educate the people on modern technologies. Cosyne partnered with Thomson Prometric to certify the people. Cosyne won the support of the Government of Nagaland as a reliable partner in working for youth empowerment which lead to 100 scholarships from the government. Cosyne also invested in setting up an online training center in Nagaland connected to the Internet through satellite.

Bending to Catapult Over Obstacles

One of the first things Cosyne realized was that the youth of Nagaland were so disillusioned about education that they were not interested in trying anymore. They have had education but no jobs and did not think that was going to change. Cosyne took the extraordinary step of announcing that anyone who went through the training would be guaranteed a job. CyberLearning's commitment to the project made the courses affordable and with the Government of Nagaland to provide tuition scholarships for all students. These moves generated a good response and 100 students were chosen for the training. While choosing the students Cosyne discovered that very few had any computer knowledge. Cosyne decided to teach them from the basics of computers and to focus them on Microsoft technologies. Even though CyberLearning courses alone were sufficient, we had to augment the CyberLearning courses with a library of books that the students can refer.

The issue of slow connectivity via satellite was addressed by CyberLearning. CyberLearning allowed the courses to be hosted locally while the Learning Management System continued to be at CyberLearning. This is a successful model and can be replicated in other remote areas. As time progressed, Cosyne realized that students who just learnt about computers needed more handholding than other students. This group of students barely had any practical knowledge so Cosyne decided to change the approach to provide a structure that would enable the students to leap forward. The top four students were selected and mentored directly by top professionals in the US. The training was organized to cover three primary areas, PPP - Published Materials, Practical Training and Practice Tests. Every student was made accountable to their mentor and to each other in the team. Each student who underwent the intensive training and passed the certification was also made a mentor of four more students. Rewards were instituted to celebrate their successes as individuals and as a team. This is designed to be a self propagating cycle.

Sweet Taste of Success

After eight months of trial and error, we have a winning formula, which has proven itself. Within a month of this new model, fifteen students have cleared Microsoft's Exam 70-270. The effect has been similar to breaking the four minute mile barrier in athletics. Everyone's confidence level has increased and a "can do" attitude has set in. These fifteen have been training four students each. Students who have cleared the first level are expanding their horizons and are willing to take additional challenges. After becoming certified MCPs, they are preparing to become MCSEs.

Vision of Extraordinary Optimism and Glory

According to Certification Magazine, there are a million Microsoft certified professionals in the world. What an impact it would be, if there were many thousands from the North East of India? Cosyne's grassroots model will create an exponential growth in the number of certifications. CyberLearning is supporting Cosyne's mission to make "North East India as the World Leader for Microsoft Product Support". Cosyne's philosophy of "Global Presence, Local Essence" ensures that globally acquired knowledge is modified to adapt to each local area. North East India has turned a corner and is heading to a glorious future.