Sun Microsystems, NIIT to offer specialised education programmes

NEW DELHI: Sun

Microsystems India and NIIT

today launched an initiative to expand the technology horizons of India's

large student population by introducing specialised education and training

programmes on Sun technologies.

Both the companies signed an agreement today. Through this alliance, NIIT

will have access to the latest Sun technologies, tools, technical resources and

curricula on the Java

and Solaris platforms. Sun will enable NIIT to offer a range of customised

programmes to a broad spectrum of students through NIIT's widespread network

of IT education centers.

Bhaskar Pramanik, managing director, Sun Microsystems India said that

students emerging from these programmes would further grow the Java and Solaris

developer communities in the country.

“We are committed to the spread of Java and Solaris education in India,

through the auspices of the highly successful 'Authorized Sun Education Centre'

program. NIIT is known for its pioneering work in the field of IT education and

training and we are indeed happy to be associated with an institution that

shares our deep-seated commitment to furthering the cause of IT education in

this country”.

Speaking at the launch, Karie Willyerd, vice-president and chief learning

officer, Sun Microsystems Inc., said that the shortage of skilled IT

professionals is one of the most pressing issues in the IT industry and in

businesses all around the world and the demand for IT professionals with

up-to-date skills, far exceeds the current and projected supply. She stressed

that academic institutions need to help their students acquire skills on the

latest technologies so they can better meet that demand and succeed in their

careers.

Vijay Thadani, chief executive officer, NIIT Ltd said that as a part of its

ongoing efforts to continually enhance its Industry Endorsed GNIIT

curriculum, NIIT would now integrate the latest generation of the Sun Java

platform into the GNIIT curriculum for the under-graduates. GNIIT students will

work with high-end visual development tools such as Java Studio Enterprise that

focus on improving developer productivity and software quality. For working

professionals the high-end Sun curriculum will be integrated into NIIT's CATS

(Curriculum for Advanced Technology Studies) offerings. This will allow

professionals to get access to training on the latest platforms and tools.

“We will announce the refreshed GNIIT course in June. We are likely to

train around 2 lakh students under the new curriculum in 2-3 years duration,”

Thadani added. He said that in order to reach the two-tier and three-tier

cities, NIIT is planning to open up 60 new centers across India. However, he

hinted that there is the likelihood of revision of the course fee, which they

would announce in the next couple of weeks.

© CyberMedia News