Shampa Paul

Adoption of Digital Technologies in Tertiary Education: Evidence From India:

The article delineates the existing paradigm of educational technologies in Indian tertiary education institutions. The findings are expected to be useful for tertiary education institutions and policy makers so that they can reorient the existing policies that will be helpful in providing quality education commensurate with industrial needs. The study investigates the adoption of new educational technologies and its impact on students. The empirical findings are based on primary data collected from state and privately funded universities located in and around Delhi, India. The findings of the study suggest that there is a positive association between the intensity of technology used and its impact on students. We also find that the use of latest technologies makes students more creative and improves learning abilities. The other factors that influenced the degree of new technologies used are the opinion of students on the following descriptions: (a) Helps in understanding concepts more clearly, (b) Contributes in better illustration of ideas, (c) Provides opportunity to interact with students of other institutions effectively, and (d) Equates with international teaching methodologies.

New educational technologies in tertiary education in India: adoption and consequences

Purpose The educational institutions in India have been experiencing New Educational Technologies (NET) led technical change for the last two decades or so. The present study aims at investigating the use of NET (all possible forms of new technologies) and its impact on students enrolled in tertiary education institutions in India. The main objectives of the study are – to identify intensity of NET used by the students; to investigate whether use of NET is influenced by the financial nature of institution; and to examine the consequences of NET use. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a primary survey of seven higher education institutions located in National Capital Region of India. The universities included are both private- and public-funded. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 201 students in these universities. Advanced statistical techniques have been applied for the analysis. Findings The study finds that the NET use enables students to communicate with thei...

ICTs as Enabler in Higher Education

The paper aims at examining impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on higher education and to identifying major impediments that have resulted in slow penetration of ICTs in higher education institutions in rural India. The study is based on primary survey of students studying at graduate and post graduate levels. A sample of 72 students come from four higher education institutions located in Sitapur, a district selected as one of the six e-districts by the Government of Uttar Pradesh. The survey was conducted during October 2012 and January 2013. Findings of the study suggest that while affiliating university is taking all possible measures to facilitate students to improving the quality of education and access to digitized critical literature needed for higher education, the technological and physical infrastructure in rural areas is still a major hindrance in capitalizing benefits of ICT revolution. The paper finds evidence to suggest that faculty also needs to be motivated to use more modern and effective ICT led teaching tools. Based on the findings of the study we recommend that cyber-cafe may be set up in the premises of the institutions on Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model so that ICT could impact higher education in rural India in a more effective manner.

Institutions and Innovation: A Study of ICT-MSMEs in India

The huge base of manufacturing in India is characterized by the predominance of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the export performance of which has been far from impressive. Poor product quality has often been attributed to inadequacy in institutional framework supporting innovation in MSMEs, even those in the knowledge-based information and communication technology (ICT) subsector that holds much promise for its global presence. Recognizing the ICT sector’s sensitivity to the global industrial environment, this chapter investigates the relationship between innovation activities and firm performance. They attempt to identify factors influencing innovation related to product quality and, in the process, investigate the role of institutional support in innovation activities of MSMEs of ICT clusters. In addition to traditional variables representing size and CEO characteristics, the study includes variables representing innovation strategies. The results show that firm-specific characteristics influence innovation activities and supporting institutional policies stimulate innovation; firms formally associated with state facilities (as the Software Technology Parks of India) pursued better innovation strategies than those which did not. The role of the state in terms of providing for both technological and infrastructural support is seen as a broad-based approach to improve innovation potential of MSMEs and, in turn, ensuring higher product standards through endogenous efforts.