PDM University: A Paradise For iGen Learners
By Chitresh Lather, CEO
The PDM University has been established by the Haryana State Legislature under the Haryana Private Universities Act No.32of 2006,as amended by the Haryana Private Universities (Amendment),Act,2015(Haryana Act No.1of 2016)and notified in the Haryana Govt. Gazette(Extra) Notification No. Leg.2/2016, dated 14 January 2016. Home to more than 15000 students and 1200 faculty members,PDM is among the most prominent choices for higher education among the students.
Call them iGens or Gen Z; they are the future of the world. Born between 1998 and 2016-meaning the oldest members are just 19-iGens are the teenagers entering college and they grew up with a Smartphone in hand. Just as the Millennials before them,iGens are disrupting the way learning happens in higher education and it goes beyond a greater dependence on technology. Most of them refuse to be passive learners and they are not interested in simply showing up for a class, sitting through the lecture and taking notes to be remembered for an exam later on. Instead, they want to be hands-on and directly involved with the learning process. More over, this generation embraces social learning environments and puts more focus on building a career of their choice.
While many universities in the country are still on the traditional grounds, following age-old educational practices, PDM University located in Haryana, seems to have a greater understanding of the iGens beat. At PDM University, every student holds an iPad in hand. Unlike many in the world, carrying this modern electronic gadget is not a luxurious passion for PDM Students,but a necessity in their learning process. PDM University's young and vibrant CEO, Chitresh Lather says,"œOne of the great technologies implemented within the campus is learning through iPads. We provide our students with these beautiful devices at the time of admission, which help them to carry all their course ware on their fingertips.
Operating in the higher education sector for more than 22 years, PDM has always challenged the traditions and developed great minds for betterment of the nation. Now a large knowledge conglomerate with 12 different institutions providing high quality technical as well as medical education, PDM has pushed forward the boundaries of knowledge, equipping young learners with leadership skills to serve our society at any level. "œAt PDM University, we are passionate for grooming the next leaders. We provide and use the latest technologies in education, a world- class infrastructure and committed teachers to impart the highest levels of education," assures Lather.
The 95-acre PDM campus surrounded by beautiful trees and green landscapes is perhaps one of the most technically advanced campuses in the country. PDM provides its students with the opportunity to remain connected to the outside world with its unified wireless communication network spread throughout the campus. With the help of networking giant CISCO, the university has set up over 100 Access Points, providing smooth wireless Internet connectivity. Every single part of the campus is connected with 10 Gigabits of Fiber Optical Cable connecting more than 500 powerful networking devices including Switches(L2 & L3), Routers,Servers(Blades, Xeon), and Firewalls(ASA, WSA, UTMs).
"œWe have a world-class infrastructure, which is equipped with more than 3200 high quality Intel machines along with a dedicated iMac lab," shares Lather. The Apple iMac Lab of PDM University is an attractive feature for iGen learners. The lab is home to latest equipment from Apple including, Apple TV, MacBook Pro and iPad Air, which would not only allow the students to develop different applications, but also give them the opportunity to sell their developed application over the Internet in every part of the world at no extra cost. This means that the students can start earning from the day one as soon as they become the part of PDM fraternity.
It is not only the industry and eminent faculty members playing their vital roles to make PDM a research oriented university. Lather adds,"œThe landscape of Indian higher education is changing,and Indian universities are manoeuvring to capture more international limelight. We have developed a formal international strategy and we are in touch with many international universities like Michigan University, USA for suitable collaboration. "Connecting with international institutions is considered as an effective strategy to augment the research activities. With strong public mission and a passion for partnership, PDM University has developed an unparalleled place to study and research, where an innovative, open and collaborative culture for scholarship thrives.
"œWe will place emphasis on research at the well spring of disciplinary knowledge, advance cutting edge, original research, enhance our role as a hub for research of the highest international standards, and cultivate individuals capable of assuming leadership positions and making important contributions to many fields of social life, all while upholding academic freedom supported by high ethical standards,"shares Lather.
Helping students with good placement and ample career opportunities has always been a strong point of PDM University. Nearly five hundred students of the university have been selected in top MNCs and established companies like Trident, Amazon, Yamaha, Reliance Jio, Wipro and L&T in the recent past. The highest package offered is Rs.6.5 LPA and the average is Rs.4.5 LPA.Lather proudly comments, "œOur students are ready from the day one when they enter into the industry. To ensure their talents and capabilities do not go to waste, our teachers and counsellors give individual attention to each student to help and guide them."
With a wide range of specializations at UG and PG levels, PDM offers a large pool of talent who are always on the radar of the corporate companies. "œTo deal with the toughest situations and make students flexible, aptitude classes, group discussions and guest lectures by prominent personalities are a regular feature of the annual activities. Different projects are allotted to the students, which require team co-operation and are instrumental in making them successful team leaders," explains Lather.
At PDM, learning is not onlyintegrated with technology, but also with life in the right perspective. Lather pinpoints, "œOur target is not to produce another graduate, but to groom the leaders of the future who will successfully bear the mantle of building the nation." The University conducts many diversified extracurricular activities like cultural weeks, sports weeks, annual festivals, technical competitions, interaction with celebrities and prominent personalities of the society. With all these, every PDM alumni would say, 'Life at PDM is an experience one cannot afford to forget.'
"œIn the coming year, we want to enhance the structure and comprehensiveness of educational curriculum, raising the mobility of students from faculties to the outer world. We also look to facilitate participation in short and long term study at universities outside India in order to foster cosmopolitan outlooks," concludes Lather.
Call them iGens or Gen Z; they are the future of the world. Born between 1998 and 2016-meaning the oldest members are just 19-iGens are the teenagers entering college and they grew up with a Smartphone in hand. Just as the Millennials before them,iGens are disrupting the way learning happens in higher education and it goes beyond a greater dependence on technology. Most of them refuse to be passive learners and they are not interested in simply showing up for a class, sitting through the lecture and taking notes to be remembered for an exam later on. Instead, they want to be hands-on and directly involved with the learning process. More over, this generation embraces social learning environments and puts more focus on building a career of their choice.
While many universities in the country are still on the traditional grounds, following age-old educational practices, PDM University located in Haryana, seems to have a greater understanding of the iGens beat. At PDM University, every student holds an iPad in hand. Unlike many in the world, carrying this modern electronic gadget is not a luxurious passion for PDM Students,but a necessity in their learning process. PDM University's young and vibrant CEO, Chitresh Lather says,"œOne of the great technologies implemented within the campus is learning through iPads. We provide our students with these beautiful devices at the time of admission, which help them to carry all their course ware on their fingertips.
Operating in the higher education sector for more than 22 years, PDM has always challenged the traditions and developed great minds for betterment of the nation. Now a large knowledge conglomerate with 12 different institutions providing high quality technical as well as medical education, PDM has pushed forward the boundaries of knowledge, equipping young learners with leadership skills to serve our society at any level. "œAt PDM University, we are passionate for grooming the next leaders. We provide and use the latest technologies in education, a world- class infrastructure and committed teachers to impart the highest levels of education," assures Lather.
"It PDM, students have access to latest technologies and new facilities that support their learning process thoroughly competent to face the challenges in their future"
Integrating Technology in Education
The 95-acre PDM campus surrounded by beautiful trees and green landscapes is perhaps one of the most technically advanced campuses in the country. PDM provides its students with the opportunity to remain connected to the outside world with its unified wireless communication network spread throughout the campus. With the help of networking giant CISCO, the university has set up over 100 Access Points, providing smooth wireless Internet connectivity. Every single part of the campus is connected with 10 Gigabits of Fiber Optical Cable connecting more than 500 powerful networking devices including Switches(L2 & L3), Routers,Servers(Blades, Xeon), and Firewalls(ASA, WSA, UTMs).
"œWe have a world-class infrastructure, which is equipped with more than 3200 high quality Intel machines along with a dedicated iMac lab," shares Lather. The Apple iMac Lab of PDM University is an attractive feature for iGen learners. The lab is home to latest equipment from Apple including, Apple TV, MacBook Pro and iPad Air, which would not only allow the students to develop different applications, but also give them the opportunity to sell their developed application over the Internet in every part of the world at no extra cost. This means that the students can start earning from the day one as soon as they become the part of PDM fraternity.
It is not only the industry and eminent faculty members playing their vital roles to make PDM a research oriented university. Lather adds,"œThe landscape of Indian higher education is changing,and Indian universities are manoeuvring to capture more international limelight. We have developed a formal international strategy and we are in touch with many international universities like Michigan University, USA for suitable collaboration. "Connecting with international institutions is considered as an effective strategy to augment the research activities. With strong public mission and a passion for partnership, PDM University has developed an unparalleled place to study and research, where an innovative, open and collaborative culture for scholarship thrives.
"œWe will place emphasis on research at the well spring of disciplinary knowledge, advance cutting edge, original research, enhance our role as a hub for research of the highest international standards, and cultivate individuals capable of assuming leadership positions and making important contributions to many fields of social life, all while upholding academic freedom supported by high ethical standards,"shares Lather.
Providing the Right Career Path
Helping students with good placement and ample career opportunities has always been a strong point of PDM University. Nearly five hundred students of the university have been selected in top MNCs and established companies like Trident, Amazon, Yamaha, Reliance Jio, Wipro and L&T in the recent past. The highest package offered is Rs.6.5 LPA and the average is Rs.4.5 LPA.Lather proudly comments, "œOur students are ready from the day one when they enter into the industry. To ensure their talents and capabilities do not go to waste, our teachers and counsellors give individual attention to each student to help and guide them."
With a wide range of specializations at UG and PG levels, PDM offers a large pool of talent who are always on the radar of the corporate companies. "œTo deal with the toughest situations and make students flexible, aptitude classes, group discussions and guest lectures by prominent personalities are a regular feature of the annual activities. Different projects are allotted to the students, which require team co-operation and are instrumental in making them successful team leaders," explains Lather.
"Operating in the higher education sector for more than 22 years, PDM has always challenged the traditions and developed great minds for betterment of the nation"
An Experience one cannot afford to Forget
At PDM, learning is not onlyintegrated with technology, but also with life in the right perspective. Lather pinpoints, "œOur target is not to produce another graduate, but to groom the leaders of the future who will successfully bear the mantle of building the nation." The University conducts many diversified extracurricular activities like cultural weeks, sports weeks, annual festivals, technical competitions, interaction with celebrities and prominent personalities of the society. With all these, every PDM alumni would say, 'Life at PDM is an experience one cannot afford to forget.'
"œIn the coming year, we want to enhance the structure and comprehensiveness of educational curriculum, raising the mobility of students from faculties to the outer world. We also look to facilitate participation in short and long term study at universities outside India in order to foster cosmopolitan outlooks," concludes Lather.