'Our Top Schools Do Meet The Standards'

 Do you think our B-Schools/Engineering schools match international standards? If not, what steps should be taken?

I guess we should not be looking at all schools and keep our focus on few schools. Yes, our top schools do meet the standards. They may not figure in international rankings but they do meet the standards. Two key elements missing in our schools are 

(1) keeping learners flexibility in the centre of all programs and 

(2) Enabling more relevant cutting edge research to happen in our schools. 

We still rely on research happening outside of India to learn and this should be the other way around

 What changes do you think should be made in the education system to make our students promising future business leaders?

Let the learner choose his path rather than we deciding the path to travel. We should not be going with defined path of learning. Also, our system and approach need to change by putting student at the center of everything. To start with, we could make our syllabus uniform.

What are the initiatives by Shopclues to help the students?

Internship is one opportunity we provide to students while they are still at college. These internships are not just the regular six week ones. We provide more opportunities for these students to interact and live with the current challenges. We also partner with institutions and suggest curriculum directions

How active is your initiative in tier 2 and tier 3 cities?

Our hiring philosophy is focused on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. We believe in enabling students from these tiers who understand the real challenges we as a country face since these are the challenges Shopclues solves for

 How do you think the increasing internet penetration will help better the learning for students coming from rural areas?

It’s a massive opportunity. MOOC programs need only internet connectivity and opens up a whole new world of learning opportunity. Internet helps students to stay connected and perform on par with urban students.

 What are the future initiatives of Shopclues in this area?

Lots of initiatives are lined up in this area and we are talking to various agencies and Government bodies to enable these.

 Brief about ShopClues CXO Next Challenge.

CXO next gave students an opportunity to shadow and work with our leadership team. It provided a platform for students across our country to come under one roof and exhibit their talent. The challenge tested students on practical, real-life aspects of their respective learning and its application

Prateek Shukla

BW Reporters The author is Copy editor at BW Businessworld