IGNOU on the World Map: Media Release

Media Release

IGNOU on the world map

"The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has now a significant international presence," announced Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, VC, IGNOU. The cumulative gross enrollment of overseas students till now is more than 35,848 spanning over 40 countries through 67 Partner Institutions. IGNOU has the largest number of foreign students among all Indian universities and has tie-ups with universities in Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and America.

In the Gulf countries the University has a presence in UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain; In the Indian Ocean countries it is represented in Mauritius and Seychelles. In Africa, IGNOU's academic programmes are being offered in Ghana, Ethiopia, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Madagascar and Liberia in collaboration with the International Institute of Capacity Building in Africa and UNESCO.

In collaboration with Commonwealth of Learning and South African Development Community, IGNOU offers COL-IGNOU Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship to offer PGDDE and MADE programmes in Malawi, Jamaica, Samoa, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland, Nigeria, Botswana, Zambia, Lesotho and Ivory Coast. In Europe, IGNOU's academic programmes are being offered in London; it also offers its educational programmes in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malaysia and Singapore.

In July 2010 cycle, Ghana and Ethiopia also joined IGNOU under the Pan-Africa Project for the MBA programme. Mauritius joins the programme from January 2011. Students from Botswana, Malawi and Rwanda joined for the Diploma in HIV and Family Education (DAFE) programme. Study centres are being opened in six European countries including Germany, France, Netherlands and Austria. A study centre already exists in London. A programme with the University of Vienna for German Language teaching has been launched which is a tri-country collaboration with Germany, Austria and India. This is part of a broad range of initiatives to carry forward the mission of the University to other countries across the globe.

Collaborative ventures of IGNOU in the international education arena relate to provision of training in open learning systems and distance education methodologies to personnel of the open universities in developing countries and licensing of IGNOU's course materials to open universities outside India. Some of the prominent collaborations include: TASMAC London school of Business, London; Emirates Professional Training Institute, Sharjah, UAE; University of Papua New Guinea, New Guinea; Hautes Etudes Commerciales, Abidjan, Ivory Coast; University of South Pacific, Fiji; National Board of Higher Education, Eritrea; Royal Roads University, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; Emirates NCC University, Ras Al Khaimah.

Collaboration is under process with institutions in France, UK, Spain, New Zealand, China among others. Academics and administrators from open universities in South Asia and Africa visit IGNOU either to familiarize themselves with the functioning of IGNOU or to undergo specific training in the development of self-learning materials and various aspects of media production. The USP of IGNOU is its course materials, much sought after by open universities especially in Tanzania, Kenya, Mauritius, Guyana, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka with the provision that the Universities can adopt the courses in their entirety or modify the courses to suit their needs.

 

Date: 19th April, 2011