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Patni Computer Systems announced an MoU with
the Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS), Pilani to
offer educational programmes to its employees through the ‘BITS
Off-Campus Distance Learning & Collabora-tive Programmes’
scheme.
Under the terms of the MoU, starting April 2004,
BITS will operate an off-campus centre at Patni, initially at its
Mumbai and Pune facilities. Later, this programme will be offered
at other Patni centres.
The employees admitted to the BITS programme
under this collaborative arrangement, will be treated as BITS students.
Enrolment to the programme will be open to all
employees. Patni would be involved actively in providing corporate
and financial support, enabling selected employees to participate
in the programme.
The duration of the ‘work integrated learning
MS Software Engineering programme’ will be eight semesters
for a basic level of BSc or equivalent and four semesters for a
BE/MSc or equivalent.
Commenting on the alliance, Milind Jadhav, vice
president of HR, Patni said, “Patni understands the dynamic
nature of the IT business and the significance of continuous learning
that increases intra-organisational career opportunities for its
employees. This initiative will allow us to build our next level
of leaders.”
“We are glad to be associated with an institution
of this calibre and are confident this association will benefit
Patni and its employees tremendously. This partnership is a major
step forward for Patni and will provide us immense value in the
future,” he added.
Prof B R Natarajan from BITS opined, “BITS,
Pilani which is a deemed university from 1964 has acquired the reputation
of a highly purposive and innovative university often setting the
pace for workable reforms in higher education, suitable and relevant
for the Indian cultural milieu.”
Natarajan added, “With a strong university-industry
collaboration in operation at BITS for the past three decades, the
tie-up with Patni which has consistently been heralded as an industry
leader will be a new milestone in the saga of cooperative education.”
While the courses will be customised to suit
Patni’s requirements, the proposed programmes will have the
same rigour and standards as those offered on-campus and the degrees
offered would be equivalent to the corresponding ones at BITS Pilani.
Patni would make available the necessary infrastructure
facilities (such as classrooms with necessary equipment, library
facilities, computer and communication facilities with access to
electronic mail and the Internet) for the smooth and effective conduct
of the educational programmes.
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