MYSORE: The Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) will complete one year of disseminating satellite-based distance education programme for engineering students in the State powered by ISRO's EDUSAT on Thursday.

For, the transmission of live sessions commenced on September 15, 2004 and was a path-breaking experiment which has revolutionised technical education in the country. The VTU-EDUSAT network was established by connecting all engineering colleges in the State with an uplink facility and studio in Bangalore, and is now reckoned to be the largest connected technical university in India reaching out to over 1.5 lakh students.

The genesis of the VTU's e-learning concept through EDUSAT could be traced to an acute paucity of skilled staff in most engineering colleges.

Decline in quality

This was further compounded by the spurt in technological developments that made any new discovery obsolete by the time a student graduated to the next semester. The industry perceived a perceptible decline in the quality of engineering graduates being churned out, more so from non-urban centres. Hence, distance learning through EDUSAT was conceived to address the issue.

The EDUSAT project has sought to wipe out disparities in quality between various educational institutions by addressing itself to key issues of access, interactivity, cost-effectiveness and consistency of information to students. One subject expert can simultaneously teach hundreds of students in multiple locations. The major issue of paucity of faculty members in higher education has been tackled in one stroke.

Major milestones

VTU's "Virtual Classrooms" through EDUSAT became a reality on September 15 last year after the pilot project took off on January 28, 2004 when the then Chief Minister S.M. Krishna inaugurated the programme in the presence of space scientist K. Kasturirangan. The VTU, in collaboration with the ISRO, conducted two dry runs in April 2004. President A.P.J Abdul Kalam inaugurated a conference on EDUSAT on July 23, 2004 while the transmission of 135 live sessions of Programme I using Insat 3B commenced on September 15, 2004 while the transmission through EDUSAT, of 400 live sessions on Programme II covering eight full semester courses and technology-relevant courses of IBM, Microsoft, and Infosys, ran through March 19, 2005 to June 18, 2005.

According to VTU Vice-Chancellor Balaveera Reddy, "the recently concluded Programmer-II amply demonstrated the capability of the EDUSAT network and heralded a new phase in university's ambitious e-Learning project. We learnt a lot in planning, organisation and execution of satellite-based programmes. Having gained in confidence, we are poised to transmit 400 live sessions covering eight full-semester subjects, technology-specific courses, soft skill and CXO Speaks programmes from this September."

EDUSAT conference

To commemorate one year of successful utilisation of EDUSAT, the VTU, in association with the ISRO, will organise a two-day conference in Bangalore on Friday and Saturday. There will be a special address by Dr. Abdul Kalam from the Rasthrapati Bhavan.

G. Madhavan Nair, ISRO Chairman, will inaugurate the conference. Dr. Balaveera Reddy will preside over the function. The objective of the conference is to create awareness among stakeholders in higher education in the State on VTU's EDUSAT programmes.

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