IGNOU ties with Ericsson for 3G Mobile education services

Updated on: Tuesday, October 27, 2009

New Delhi: Students of IGNOU can now look forward to downloading their study course contents and get SMS alerts through mobiles.

India's largest university will ink a pact with telecom major Ericsson to provide facilities supported by 3G Mobile services in Open and Distance education.

'IGNOU university is open to latest technologies that can be used to reach maximum students. We specifically target rural students who cannot always have a one to one meeting with teachers to clear their doubts among other things,' IGNOU Vice Chancellor V N Rajasekharan Pillai said.

'A certificate course in IT, covering 5,000 students, will be held as the pilot project in which the 3G service will be utilised. Based on its success we will then chart out courses and contents,' IGNOU VC K R Srivasthan, who conceived the idea, said.

Under the programme, mobile service provider Ericsson, which has a network practically covering the entire north-east, will help in students access parts of the course web pages, download files like assignments and video clips.

'The service will be available in any mobile handsets having a 3G service,' Goton Achaibar, President and Country head of Ericsson India said in reply to a query.

The 3G technology helps a learner stream through video, audio and selective Internet browsing. New notebooks with built-in 3G chip sets advanced e-learning services, which will allow consulting with academic counsellors, course co-ordinators, peer-to peer discussions etc., Srivasthan said.

The total investment in rolling out the project will be worked out on the basis of the pilot project.

'Each student may have to shell out an additional around Rs 25 to the service charges they are paying now. Also the government should give concession to those who cannot afford it. More students using the facility means less cost per head,' Pillai said.

Ericsson India Chief, Achaibar, said the roll out process (after the pilot project) is relatively easy in India as it has established network providers (BSNL, MTNL), a large per cent of mobile users besides technology.

IGNOU ties with Ericsson for 3G Mobile education services

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