IGNOU Takes Education Mobile with Ericsson

University classrooms are now moving to mobile phones, thanks to a new partnership between The Indira Gandhi National Open University, or IGNOU, and Ericsson.

 

The India-based university, which is present in 34 countries with 53 partner institutions abroad, announced it will use e-learning to reach about 2.5 million students. Under the deal, Ericsson (News - Alert) plans to build a 3G environment for students to download IGNOU course contents. They can also receive SMS alerts on their mobile devices.

 

“Our university is founded on the idea that education should be offered to less advantaged sections of society,” Professor V N Rajasekharan Pillai, vice chancellor of IGNOU, said in a statement. “With Ericsson's help, we will create a learning platform that uses mobile devices to build educational excellence and exchange information. Our students will benefit from the flexibility of learning at their own pace, any time, anywhere.”

 

The India government recently began promoting higher education in the country, where only 15 percent of students reach high school.

 

IGNOU was set up to pioneer open and distance learning. The university offers various academic programs for students to receive certificates, diplomas and degrees.

 

“This partnership is yet another proof point of telecommunication being key for development of society,” Gowton Achaibar, president of Ericsson India, said in a statement. “Education using mobile broadband technology will provide an efficient and economical way to get content to students in distance learning programs. We have a clear opportunity to use India's rapidly rising teledensity to bring the advantages of broadband to the world of education.”