KM in technical education develops new solutions, reduces costs and risks and ... Globalisation of technical education, lifelong learning and paradigm shift from ...
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT FOR GLOBALISATION OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION Dr. S. Mohanavel Professor Dept. of Management Studies Dr. N.G.P. Institute of Technology Coimbatore 641 048
Dr. S. Gomathi @ Rohini Associate Professor Dept. of Computer Science S.N.R. Sons College Coimbatore 641006 ABSTRACT
Knowledge Management (KM) plays a key role in the universities due to changes in knowledge culture. In order to sustain in the competitive world, all educational institutes should implement effective tools for KM. Academic and administrative processes and functions result in useful knowledge leading to enhanced performance. KM in technical education develops new solutions, reduces costs and risks and promotes organisational growth, supportive and knowledge-sharing culture, adaptability and talent management. KM is drawn from a wide range of disciplines and technologies. A country, rich in educated and skilled workforce has great potentials for knowledge economy. A country that understands its dynamics should be able to manage knowledge economy in its favour through appropriate strategies. Globalisation of technical education, lifelong learning and paradigm shift from teaching to learning and new technologies are the key factors in developing KM. Globalisation of technical education needs to share the organizational knowledge. Globalization and technological advancements deliver and increase access to the world and reforms the teaching methodology. There are various possibilities to globalize the technical education. With the combination of KM and ICT tools, the education institution will be able to provide better educational facilities and services. KM gives most effective way for innovation and development. India’s innovation potential can be unleashed to achieve benefits of technology and innovation. Changing demographic composition worldwide has altered the paradigm of development in India with high number of highly educated youth. With abundance of human resources, India is well equipped for growing as a global leader in the knowledge society. The Government of India outlines the various policy and support measures in knowledge-based development. MHRD, UGC, AICTE, NKC, NPTEL, NIF of Government of India promote globalisation, innovation and KM in technical education.
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Knowledge Management in Technical Education
Knowledge Management (KM) plays a key role in the universities due to changes in knowledge culture. In order to sustain in the competitive world, all the educational institutes should implement KM. KM in educational institutions comprises information from management level to student level to improve professional knowledge of employees, industries and society and achieve quality of professors, researchers and students. For technical institutions, knowledge is the raw material as well as the finished product. The knowledge is generated in different forms like books, projects, papers, dissertations, thesis, models and concepts. KM is used to support educational administration, which in turn supports teaching and learning. Academic and administrative processes and functions result in useful knowledge that will have implications of improving the operational quality, capacity development and effectiveness of the institutions leading to enhanced performance. KM is applied in technical education in the areas like strategic planning, academic services, administrative services, curriculum development, library services, research, consultancy, alumni services, development programs, tutoring, placement, training and access to potential customers and stakeholders. Technology has enabled quick turnaround time for realizing the benefits from KM. KM in technical education develops new solutions, reduces costs and risks, avoids past mistakes and does not reinvent the wheel. It promotes organisational growth, supportive and knowledge-sharing culture, adaptability, talent management, expertise, recognition, integration with other campuses, industry institute collaboration, best practices, benchmarking, surveys and trend analysis. KM is drawn from a wide range of disciplines and technologies like cognitive science, expert systems, knowledge base management systems (KBMS), portals, groupware, technical writing, document management, semantic networks and simulation. Knowledge economy is the ability to create and disseminate knowledge and use it for growth and improved standard of living. A country, rich in educated and skilled workforce has great potentials for knowledge economy. Wherever information
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networking is strong and professionals have this important tool, they are much better placed to use networking in knowledge production. A country that understands its dynamics should be able to manage knowledge economy in its favour through appropriate strategies. 2.
Globalisation of Technical Education
Globalisation of technical education, lifelong learning and paradigm shift from teaching to learning and new technologies are the key factors in developing KM. The quality of knowledge generated in technical institutions increases competition at global level. The globalisation of technical education needs to be strategically promoted with top class institutions in a country to retain and attract talents. The technical institutions must identify the new domains of knowledge in the global scenario and build up their capacities. Globalisation of technical education needs to share the organizational knowledge. In recent years, educational institutes are looking for growth in the form of massive open online courses (MOOC), cyber colleges and virtual universities around the world, which provides tremendous opportunity for the potential students to opt for variety of courses. The reposition of technical education in response to global force drives challenge in the knowledge based economy. KM should be embedded in the policy, strategy and implementation processes of worldwide institutions. Globalization and technological advancements deliver and increase access to the world and hence reforms teaching methodology and the contest of courses. Rapid technological change makes skills obsolete very quickly and demands higher levels of initiative and more frequent learning. The role of technology and matching global standards needs to be embraced keeping a country’s requirements and challenges in mind. Fostering policy, regulatory & network readiness, building human capacity for the knowledge economy, continued efforts to expand basic connectivity & access and promoting the generation & sharing of global knowledge are the elements for KM for globalisation. There are various possibilities to globalize the technical education like curriculum, exchange programme, accreditation, appraisal system, infrastructure and connectivity. Trade in goods and services, movement of capital and financial flows are the gains in globalisation of technical education. Commercialization, implications for quality, insecurity, interdependence and harmonization are the issues in globalisation of technical education. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) revolution added an important dimension to the knowledge economy. Percolation of ICT helps in harnessing KM. Applying KM in the technical education supported by ICT, the digital infrastructure is an added advantage. With the combination of KM and ICT tools, technical institutions will be able to provide better educational facilities and services. Most KM success stories have ICT as a major contributor. 3.
Knowledge Management for Innovation
Innovation is a critical pillar of knowledge economy. Innovation is important in understanding and addressing the huge demand for technical education. KM gives most effective way for innovation and development. Though the education system of India is better than China, the preparedness towards innovation & technological development of the China is better than India. The challenge of managing innovation for an excellent environment is attracting and retaining the talent. India’s innovation potential can be unleashed to achieve benefits of technology and innovation by clear vision and leadership, coordinated working through multidisciplinary teams, active user involvement, well designed processes, active learning and experimentation. Though Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) system protects the innovative ideas and products, a few are filed locally, but not made available for general use. Such intellectual information need to be compiled at institutional level and expert databases could be generated for use. 4.
Role of Government of India in Globalisation of Technical Education
Changing demographic composition worldwide has altered the paradigm of development, notably in India and China, with high number of highly educated youth. Many developing countries, including India, suffer from mobility of educated and skilled human resource and their use in knowledge economy. With abundance of human resources, India is well equipped for growing as a global leader in the knowledge society. Globalisation is expected to improve the value of Indian education worldwide. At International level, India lays collaborative efforts in education like exchange programs, fellowships, scholarships, etc with other countries. India should look at adopting some of the globally leading practices and aligning to acceptable standards. The Government of India outlines the various policy and support measures in knowledge-based development.
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With Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD) and University Grants Commission (UGC) approval, a few USA, UK and Canadian Universities have their campuses in India. Under National Mission on Education through ICT (NMEICT), MHRD and UGC capture tacit knowledge of teachers in their subject and develop e-contents and make available to all students in India. UGC establishes connectivity with technical institutions for accessing global educational resources. Its Rashtriya Ucchatar Shikshan Abhiyan (RUSA) project is related to KM and sharing and faculty improvement. It calls for international research projects and provides funds for organising / attending international conferences and seminars for knowledge sharing. All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) invites application for collaboration and partnership Foreign Universities / Institutions in the field of technical education, research and training. The UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) is a testimony to the growing partnership between the countries. National Knowledge Commission (NKC) formulates policies in the lines of leveraging global open educational resources, promoting global knowledge economy, innovation in SMEs and positioning India as a technology super power and knowledge leader in the global market. National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), a project funded by MHRD, provides e-learning through online web and video courses. NPTEL web site visits across continents and countries. Eklavya Technology Channel, a channel dedicated to technical education is designed to carry video courses in different disciplines. National Innovation Foundation (NIF) – India provides institutional support for innovations across the country. It is a national initiative to serve the knowledge-rich, economically poor people of the country, committed to making India innovative. 5.
Conclusion
KM is used in technical institutions to support educational administration, which in turn supports teaching and learning. The reposition of technical education in response to global force drives challenge in the knowledge based economy. The role of technology and matching global standards need to be embraced keeping the Indian requirements and challenges in mind. There are various gains and issues in globalisation of technical education. Innovation is important in understanding and addressing the huge demand for technical education. Government level collaboration on policies and regulations is suggested to govern skill development institutions and industry. Given the role of technology and the increasing globalisation of technical education, it is time for with the kinds of resources and the young population that needs to be educated, which could transform the international technical education. References 1. Amrit Tiwana, The Knowledge Management Tool Kit, Pearson Education, 2006. 2. Ashwani Kumar, II International Conference on Technology and Innovation for Knowledge Management, New Delhi, 2008. 3. Guntur Koch, Managing Research and Knowledge Based Organisations, ERCIM News, 2007. 4. Harish Chandra Choudhary, Knowledge Management for Competitive Advantage, Excel Books, 2005. 5. http://www.ac.in 6. http://www.aicte-india.org 7. http://www.ekalavya.it.iitb.ac.in 8. http://www.knowledgecommissionarchive.nic.in 9. http://www.kpmg.com/in 10. http://www.mhrd.gov.in 11. http://www.nif.org.in 12. http://www.nptel.ac.in 13. Krishnan GS, Arundati Chattopadhyay and Avadh Yadav, Technology and Innovation for Knowledge Management, The Trend of Economic Generations: From Assets to Knowledge 14. Madanmohan Rao, Knowledge Management Tools and Techniques, Elsevier, 2005. 15. Mahadevi. S. Banad and Mahadev. Talawar, Impact of Globalization on Indian Technical Education System, Intech Open Publishers, 2011. 16. Mamta Bhusry and Jayanti Ranjan, Implementing Knowledge Management in Higher Educational Institutions in India: A Conceptual Framework, International Journal of Computer Applications, 2011. 17. Nishad Nawaz M and Anjali Mary Gomes, Review of Knowledge Management in Higher Education Institutions, European Journal of Business and Management, 2014. 18. Sangeeta Namdev Dhamdhere, Importance of Knowledge Management in the Higher Educational Institutes, Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 2015.
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