The perfect plan

A first of its kind, this multidisciplinary research oriented university has been set up by the not-for-profit Shiv Nadar Foundation.

India Today

by Devika Jeet - 18 Jul, 2011

Built on a 286 acre campus in Greater Noida, the Shiv Nader University is all set to open its gates for students this academic session. A first of its kind, this multidisciplinary research oriented university has been set up by the not-for-profit Shiv Nadar Foundation. This merit- based and need-blind university will begin its academic programme with the launch of its school for engineering.

On the eve of this landmark moment in the Indian education segment, Shiv Nadar, founder, HCL and chairperson, Shiv Nadar foundation, along with Dr. Nikhil Sinha, founding vice chancellor, Shiv Nadar University, discuss their idea, concept, vision and expectations from the university with Devika Jeet.

Right track
Shiv Nadar: The fundamental decision behind all our philanthropic endeavors was because of my mother. Her gentle push and coaxing made me realize that god has been very generous and now I should give back to society. My father was a judge with limited income but my mother would still put away small amounts of money or clothes for philanthropy. As a child, I watched and learnt from her.

My mother suggested opening an educational institute and we set up our first institute in Chennai. Today, S.S.N. College of Engineering is one of the foremost private engineering institutes in Tamil Nadu. There is no capitation fee and no one can buy a seat in the institute. This makes the students feel proud.

The college caters to students from across the country with a nearly equal sex ratio. We provide opportunity to capable students and from this institute came the idea of building a university.

To make a difference

Shiv Nadar: I saw my daughter when she went to study for an undergraduate degree to America and two years into the course she completely switched her subject. We felt that this should be available to students in India also and we should widen the education scope. We want students to have a diversity of choices of subjects. They should be able to study subjects they are interested in. An engineering student can have the choice to study philosophy and physics also.

We chose to build the university in the state where HCL grew, Uttar Pradesh. We owe it to this land and wanted to give back to society from here itself. Noida was born in 1976 so was HCl and so were the first computers of the world. Modern computers were born that year and the first personal computers in the world have been built in Noida. We owe it to the community here and now want to give back to them.

Nikhil Sinha: We are building a unique path breaking institution and want it to be seen as a flagship university in India. At present we are not considering any multiple flagships. But, as far as global education is concerned, it is critical that the university build relations with other educational institutions across the globe.

Global outlook

Nikhil Sinha: The University will offer a four-year undergraduate multidisciplinary programme and will broaden the existing Indian education system. Students will have the option of taking core courses, engage in intellectual discovery and will be able to graduate in subject matter expertise needed for their jobs. The University is built on our pedagogical structure and philosophy. This structure is very similar to the ancient Indian education system. India created the multidisciplinary system- Nalanda and Takshila-not completely alien to Indian tradition.

Shiv Nadar University will emphasize teaching ethics and service as part of the curriculum. Experiential learning, internships and social service will also be part of the study programme. We will not ape the American system but leap frog it, to take the best of both and craft a University according to our need and requirements.

Shiv Nadar: We have a blank sheet and an opportunity to learn from universities across the globe. We have looked at the education systems and institutes of various countries, such as, England, German, Singapore, China, Japan and Australia. We have developed an understanding about how to provide broad based well-rounded education. We will be part of a global trend, setting an example in India.

Money wise

Nikhil Sinha: The fee structure of any institute must reflect the value of an education that is provided. But the university has to ensure that the students are eligible for an education purely based on merit.

Shiv Nadar: We are a need-blind institute, if scholastic requirements are met. Any student who qualifies for admission, the university will provide financial resources to start and complete the programme. Even the poorest will be able to afford it. Nobody eligible will never not be able to attend the university because of financial problems.

This is an institution whose endeavor is to serve society and it must be able to give back. It is very clearly stated that the institute is a not-for-profit university.

Scope for excellence

Nikhil Sinha: I have nothing against the way people are taught under the current system. It serves a purpose. Institutions believe and have a pedagogical philosophy that they think is the best and educate students in manners appropriate.

We have a different view and mission. The way we change things is a product of our view for our institution rather than a criticism of the way others teach. As chairman Mao Zedong said, "Let a thousand flowers bloom".

Shiv Nadar: The university is backed by a well endowed foundation; one of the largest in the country. The university is not build for profit but in the long term it has to be sustainable. This will be achieved not only by how it teaches but also how it researches.

One way to ensure that teachers continue to research is that, any faculty member teaching for over five years will have to enroll for a Ph.D. We want to recruit faculty with Ph.D degrees or someone who will register and start working on their research. To excel as a research based industry we require professors with a certain bent of mind.

Sneak peek

The Shiv Nadar University is located on a 286 acre campus with over 1.8 million sq. feet of built up area.
This year, the university will take in 200 students and will reach its full capacity of 10,000 students over the next 10 years.
The university will begin its academic year with the engineering school and will roll out four more schools in the coming years, namely business, humanities, natural and social science.

Be an entrepreneur

You may have the business streak in you, but a formal course can train you on intricacies of running a business and give you an edge over others.

India Today

day - 10 hours ago

Qualification: Graduation in any discipline
Duration: One year
Cost of course: Rs 1,25,000 p.a.
Starting salary: N/A
Institute: Pearl Academy of Fashion, New Delhi (www.pearlacademy.com)

Pearl Academy of Fashion has launched a post graduate certificate programme in entrepreneurship for creative industries. AKG Nair, group director, Pearl Academy of Fashion, says, "India ranks second in terms of innovation and the entrepreneurial viewpoint or method. This programme was launched to provide required entrepreneurship skills and knowledge to aspiring young professionals in creative industries."

The one-year programme will also put them through a simulated process of taking risk to ensure success. It will induct 15 students. After doing this course students can start their own enterprise with seed money from venture capitalists or banks. Return will vary according to the industry they want to start their business in.

The dealmaker

Having transformed a village in Uttar Pradesh so much so that it's now called Snapdeal.com Nagar, the e-commerce specialist, Kunal Bahl tells us how its done.

India Today

by Deepshikha Punj - 18 Jul, 2011

The start up
There weren't many career options I explored beyond academics growing up. I went to school at Delhi Public School RK Puram, New Delhi. We grew up in a middle class family and there was no concept of pocket money. But, if we wanted something, it was usually not refused, as long as the request was reasonable.

There was a significant focus on academics in our household from the beginning, and this discipline probably ensured that both my brother and I ended up doing reasonably well at studies. He went on to go to IIT-Delhi and then IIM Calcutta. I went to Wharton, which is honestly, something I regret in hindsight. But, it's never too late.

Nerves of steel
Entrepreneurship at a young age, especially if you have a good academic background, is a fairly irrational decision, because the short team economic opportunity costs as a result of becoming an entrepreneur would never make sense otherwise.

We faced every kind of challenge-funds, hiring good people, finding the right business model, dealing with daily problems, convincing potential partners that wisdom doesn't only come with age and 24 year olds can be good at something too. For both, me and my friend and co-founder, Rohit Bansal, giving up was never an option. After a certain point, we didn't know of a life outside building our company.

It was challenging, and continues to be. Rohit and my biggest contribution to our business is the team we built. Many respected people in the industry often tell us that Snapdeal has the best team in the Internet industry in India, and that's of course just not Rohit and I - it's our entire team of rockstar professionals.

Lose some, get some
Sacrifices are part of life and definitely a part of building a business. Both Rohit and I try our best to take time off to go on a vacation once or twice a year, or a Sunday off and play video games. We still go out for frequent dinners after work, which has been a ritual since the early days of the business. I would go as far as to say that our friendship when we first met in class 11th over a decade ago was based on our mutual love for food.

To be honest, professional life does take over most things, but as long as you are having fun, it doesn't really matter. One should spend time doing what they love and lead a regretless life. And for us that special thing is our company.

The good samaritan
We always wanted to build a socially responsible company, and recently we came across a situation where we found out about a village in Uttar Pradesh. The village has approximately 2,000 residents (about 650 families) and didn't even have access to basic necessities like water. We realized that we could solve this problem very easily. By investing a reasonably small amount of Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh, we installed 15 hand pumps so that instead of walking 1 km everyday, the villagers now have easy access to clean water within 50-100m of their homes.

I spent a couple of days in the village, interacting with the villagers, and trying to understand how we can further help them, and how this initiative of ours, changed their lives. The community wanted to extend its gratitude through the gesture of renaming their village after our company to Snapdeal.com Nagar. One of our colleague's family hails from a place very close to Shiv Nagar and that is how the problems of the community were brought to our attention.

Food, movies and books
I love food and right now, I am experimenting with some innovative food related concepts, which may eventually be commercialized, but that is not the intent with which I am pursuing them. So, there is a lot of experimentation that is happening in my kitchen. In addition to food, I like reading and traveling, but my undying love is movies. Hopefully, one day I can write a book, which I can make a movie about. Now that would be something.

http://www.greatdreams.com/war/gathering-of-eagles.htm

Optometry : An interesting choice of study Clinical application of vision science

Career in Optometry and Ophthalmic science

The eyewear market in India is largely unorganised with only a few players operating in the market.

Qualification: 10 +2 in science stream
Duration: Four years
Cost of course: Rs 23,800 p.a.
Starting salary: Rs 12,000-Rs 18,000 p.m.
Institute: Krishnalaya School of Optometry, Kolkata (www.krishnalayaoptometry.org)

Students with 45 per cent score in their 10 + 2 are eligible for the course. Graduates can be employed with a starting salary of Rs 12, 000 to Rs 18,000 per month.

The institute has designed an industry-ready course. The training modules are based on knowledge development, behaviour development, and skill development for improving sales effectiveness, customer service effectiveness, managerial effectiveness and clinical effectiveness.
The eyewear market in India is largely unorganised with only a few players operating in the market. And recent years have shown depleting optic health and low penetration of innovative eye care solutions in India.
Ajay Bhootra, chief executive officer, Krishnalaya School of Optometry, Kolkata, explains, "With rise in optic retail and increasing awareness and consciousness about eye care and brands, the trend has provided a huge boost to the organised eye wear players and opened up a huge pool of opportunity in the industry as a career option."
OK people, listen up… this is not rocket science rather a 30 year old proven business model!
Below you will find its origin in the USA (LensCrafters - www.lenscrafters.com) which was later purchased by the Luxottica Group of Italy (a frame maker) and below that you will find the Reliance tie up with the Netherlands’ GrandVision BV which is basically a copy of the original. No sense in reinventing the wheel…
The model was created with the same basic retail philosophy which is decades older of passing onto the consumer discount prices due to volume wholesale buying power.
I recently accompanied a friend to one of Reliance’s Vision Express outlets and it is a carbon copy of LensCrafters USA, except they told him to come back to collect his glasses in three days rather than having them done in one hour. That will come based on the proper equipment eventually being put in place.
In the US it employees thousands of people and here it has the potential to employee several times that. As you will see below there are many different job descriptions that they employee and all based on education levels. There are pros and cons to this model but overall it’s a good thing in that it employees a lot of people and provides affordable glasses to the masses.
This can be a good thing people, if done properly like the original model and without cutting corners (see employee benefits below) it will employee a lot of people and give affordable eye wear to the masses in India.
Opening in 1983, LensCrafters was the very first optical retailer to promise eyeglasses in about an hour. We then perfected complete customer convenience by bringing an independent doctor of optometry, the optical laboratory and a wide selection of frames together under one roof. Today, LensCrafters is a leader in optical retailing, offering impeccable customer service, quality products and some of the biggest names in frames. LensCrafters is the international prescription eye-wear retailer. They also sell prescription sunglasses. LensCrafters started their business in the United States in 1983. They also subsequently expanded their stores in Hong Kong, Canada and Puerto Rico.
*One-hour service available in most locations. Some prescriptions or lens materials may require additional may require additional time.
LensCrafters brings eye-wear and malls together. Part of the growing retail arm (Luxottica Retail) of Italy's Luxottica Group, LensCrafters is North America's largest seller of eye-wear and related services (based on sales), with about 955 stores in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company-owned stores, mainly located in shopping malls offer prescription frames and sunglasses (most made by Luxottica), contact lenses, and vision exams by an on-site optometrist. Most of the locations house in-store lens finishing labs. Beyond North America, Luxottica operates some 260 LensCrafters stores in China and Hong Kong. Founded in 1983, LensCrafters was acquired by Luxottica to increase its retail presence. Working in Our Stores
We're always looking for enthusiastic, knowledgeable people with great customer service skills and a desire to help people.
Opportunities Include:
• Eyewear Consultant
• Lab/Lead Technician
• Optician/Apprentice Optician
• Production Tech
• Store/Retail/Lab Manager
• Sales Supervisor
• Contact Lens Technician
• Optometry Technician
• Field Management
• Optometry Positions
• And more
Diversity and Our Associates
LensCrafters celebrates the rich experiences and unique contributions that come with a diverse workplace. That's why we encourage people from all walks of life to join our organization. From our Diversity Council to award-winning diversity training programs to volunteer opportunities at home and abroad, LensCrafters is committed to providing a diverse environment for our associates and customers alike.
At LensCrafters, we Love Your Eyes. We also love the eyes of the world - the 314 million people worldwide who suffer from poor vision simply because they lack the means and access to proper eye care and eyewear. That's why we're proud to support OneSight®, non-profit, 501 (c)(3) family of charitable vision care programs dedicated to restoring and preserving clear vision for all those in need. Through OneSight, our LensCrafters associates and doctors have the opportunity to share our business expertise by traveling to developing countries and to inner cities and rural communities across North America to provide free eye exams and glasses to those in need.
Reliance tie up with Vision Express
Vision Express envisions 550 stores by 2015
Vision Express, the eyewear specialty store, a joint venture between India’s Reliance Retail and Netherlands’ GrandVision BV, has opened its 103rd store at the up market MG Road in Bangalore. The present market size of eyewear is estimated at Rs 4,000 crore but less than one-tenth is in the organized retail hands. Vision Express has set itself the ambitious target of opening 550 stores in the next five years. However, it has consciously kept franchisee operated models out of the picture as it fears that poor quality of store employees could ward away customers. Bijou Kurien, President and CEO Lifestyle, Reliance Retail feels no other organized retail player has managed to ramp up so fast. He says they have set up their own outlets everywhere and the store target will be reached with that intent. The brand is still able to offer spectacles at Rs 349 with frame plus lenses.
This has helped them keep the price positioning between the organized and independent retailers.
Vision Express has decided not to limit itself to just urban centers even though it is now present in 25 cities. According to Kurien, selling eyewear products in the smaller towns has been a more profitable experience since organized competition is virtually absent. Apart from smaller towns, Vision Express is also hopeful that the fashion-conscious mentality of urban youngsters to devices rather than the medical tag for eye-wear earlier will drive customers inside its stores.
Guillaume Brouwet, CEO, Vision Express sees India as a huge market. He believes they can be a reference point for the customers. GrandVision, is a leading optical retailer with various retail firms and formats, it brings in optical retail skills, technology and a wide selection of products. Reliance Retail on its part brings in access to markets as it is present in over 85 cities, scaling up strategies, co-location opportunities with over 1,000 stores and understanding of Indian customers.

Blessings

GOD made Adam and Eve in the beginning. And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."He blessed them abundantly.
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.You shall serve the LORD your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.Be revered to God.He Blesses without partiality.
By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish.
The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.