MYSORE: In a move that will elevate technical education in the country to a higher orbit, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will facilitate Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) to establish an exclusive satellite interactive VSAT channel with two-way video and two-way audio network facility.

This is the first such venture in the country and the two-way interactive network through Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) technology through ISRO's EDUSAT will bridge the gap among the industry, the student community and the academia.

So far, VTU was broadcasting its lessons and reaching out to students in remote areas hit by paucity of qualified staff in the areas of emerging technologies, through EDUSAT. But it was a one-way video and two-way audio system with the interaction restricted to telephone conversation.

But with the commissioning of the second channel using VSAT technology that finds application in transmitting data to remote locations including video, the face of distance education in the country is set to change and make virtual classrooms a reality.

ISRO, which has pioneered the use of cutting-edge space science and technology to create state-of-the-art infrastructure for expanding education, will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with VTU on May 28 in Bangalore.

A. Bhaskaranarayana, Director, Satellite Communications Programme, ISRO, and Adviser, EDUSAT, told The Hindu over phone that the new initiative underlined the growing recognition of the benefits of EDUSAT and the imperatives of harnessing technology to minimise the impact of shortage of teachers, especially in high-end technology-related areas.

ISRO had established the infrastructure and it was now for the end-users to exploit its potential.

The project will cost Rs. 4.18 crore, of which ISRO will provide Rs. 2 crore. The VTU will chip in the remaining amount.

With the launch of the VSAT channel, VTU will emerge as the first university in the country to have two exclusive channels to transmit lessons. K. Balaveera Reddy, VTU Vice-Chancellor, explained the rationale behind the setting up of a second channel.

He pointed out that the first channel had broadcast purely syllabus-based lessons for about eight to nine hours a day while there was demand for technology-specific classes concerned with emerging trends and requirements in the industry.

"We also have other soft-skill learning programmes such as English communication, all of which was not possible under one channel of EDUSAT. Even the industry preferred an interactive mode, and hence we teamed up with ISRO to establish VSAT network," Dr. Reddy said.

Leading players in the industry including IBM, Microsoft, Boxch-Rexroth, Infosys, Intel, HP and Sun Micro Systems have agreed to conduct technology-specific lessons for which there is demand from the student community and the industry.

Dr. Reddy said that IBM had come forward to conduct a certificate course in DB2 Websphere through the VSAT channel and Microsoft had evinced interest in .Net technologies.

These courses would be targeted at a core group of students who would be identified through a coordinator in respective colleges.

G.L. Shekar of VTU's e-Learning Centre said that the VSAT network would initially cover 30 engineering colleges in the State which had been identified on the basis of their participation in VTU's EDUSAT programmes. ISRO would supply the VSATs and other peripheral equipment to run the show apart from providing adequate bandwidth on the EDUSAT satellite's transponder, he said.

A new studio is coming up adjacent to the VTU's existing studio near the DSERT campus in Bangalore, and the channel has the potential to be on air round the clock.

An inherent advantage of this system is that it can be used for online examination and data transfer when it goes offline, according to Dr. Shekar.

A tripartite MoU will be signed in the presence of ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair and Dr. Reddy on May 28 in Bangalore. Governor T.N. Chaturvedi will launch the VSAT channel that will be another milestone in technical education.

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