abstract
we present an international human resource development scheme in the form of virtual global university concept to meet the requirements of engineering professionals to serve
different societies with ease. as a role model we have chosen one key area of technology: mobile communication technology where needs for such professionals are being acutely
felt. the proposal emphasizes international linkages in the form of a confederation of institutes across the globe joining hands for the common academic pursuits. the academic
structure has to be flexible, with some basic ingredients to be accepted by all. the manpower so trained will be conversant at least with two work cultures and ethos of two
distinct societies.
keywords: virtual university, mobile communication, international bias, masters' programme
1.0 introduction
recent developments in technology and concomitant changes in the world order, arising out of the necessity for economic/societal developments and resulting in liberalization and
globalization policies of major nations, have affected the academia and the educational scenario all over. there has been a paradigm shift in (i) the expectations of the society
from the academia, (ii) the contents, delivery of contents and the methodologies of the delivery, or even the way books are being written today, and (iii) the felt need in the
society for life-long learning skills. in general, higher education in several countries of the world is witnessing serious resource crunch due to curtailment in grants from
their respective governments mostly on the misplaced notion that the institutions of higher learning can completely fend themselves. we examine some of the issues in this
article with particular reference to higher technical education scenario. technological developments and their applications, especially in the it related areas, require large
manpower input. but we find that the academia is not in a position to produce enough quality trained technical manpower to meet these demands of the society.
free flow of technology, vanishing trade boundaries, availability of capital from beyond the national boundaries, competitive commerce etc. are being encouraged all over for
societal economic developments. however, success of such global integration and sustenance of these policies would depend on availability of adequately trained manpower with
international bias. we present an international human resource development scheme in the form of virtual global university concept to meet the requirements. as a role model we
have chosen one key area of technology: mobile communication technology where such needs are being acutely felt. since the development of mobile communication is global together
with very strong societal bias for its implementation, there is an urgent need for creation of an international study centre offering highest possible expertise. such a centre
may also act as a globalinformation warehouse for technological upgradation. institutions located in different countries would jointly train the students.
the concept rests heavily on training of engineers in at least two different countries, in two different societal melieu. a student on completion of the training will get
master's degree from his parent university; though he will also be well versed in the practices of the other society. this will necessitate the participating universities
accepting the co-existence of cross-border curricula, offering more flexibility in pedagogy and allowing teaching-learning through web-based educational set-up. the industries,
which would be the prime beneficiaries due to availability of such manpower, together with agencies for international co-operation, would be the source for necessary funding of
the scheme. we also touch upon other formal/non-formal programmes.
2.0 mobile communication
communication as a vehicle for the socio-economic progress of a society is today axiomatically accepted as the fourth dimension of transportation after land, sea and air
transportation; as communication is intimately linked with prosperity and social order. the new millennium gets heralded with the technological solutions for global
connectivity. telephony networks (pstn etc.) along with terrestrial cellular systems augmented by mobile satellite communication systems make it possible to have information
transfer between any two points on the earth. same applies to internet services. present decade will see emergence of mobile communication as the main technological platform for
multitudes of communication and multimedia applications just like the telephones served for basic communication connectivity in the last decades. present trend of merger of
audio, video and data has introduced a paradigm shift in what was hitherto known as communication. mobile communication will play a crucial role in shaping the lives of people,
how they do commerce or even governance. the technology of mobile communication is not static and will not mature at least for foreseeable future. the third generation mobile
systems (umts, universal mobile telecommunications system/imt-2000, international mobile telecommunications-2000) paradigms are still evolving. value added services based on
umts are yet to be conceived. since this development is global and not limited to a continent, there is an urgent need for creation of a global centre for mobile communication
studies which will offer the highest possible expertise and also act as the warehouse of information flow on new developments.
3.0 the centre and its purpose
the centre will provide much needed and valuable focus on the subject not only for the traditional faculty-student participants from academia for their roles in creation,
dissemination and application of knowledge in the field but also for corporate personnel, investors, executives, government, analysts, strategists, and marketing people besides
the engineers. the objective of the centre is to provide an environment where state-of-art research and development work will be carried out along with providing a platform for
discussion and exchange of ideas for commercial exploitation of the recent developments in the field.
though ushered in by leading enterprises communication technology, being a service-centered utility business, is driven by the consumer market. the telecom sector is getting
deregulated almost in all the nations but the market environment can only be gauged by the local telecom companies because only the local people can understand the market which
is influenced by the local conditions. focussed attention is to be paid to facilitate expansion of such markets. there are vast potentials in the sector in the developing world,
particularly in asia and latin america. it is for this reason that the centre should have established branches in these continents. and it is for these cross-fertilization
reasons that the manpower to be trained must have an international bias before they graduate to take up meaningful positions in the telecom field.
the centre will consist of affiliating institutions across the continents interlinked and networked in the common pursuit outlined above. the linkages amongst the institutions
necessarily have to be loose and still form a cohesive entity to really make the globe a common communication village.
thus the purpose is to establish a network of academic institutions, in different continents, having excellent credentials in the field to meet the following with cross-
continental bias:
(i) capacity building in the field through training engineers and through young
researchers;
(ii) interaction with academia and industries through networking and twinning
arrangements;
(iii) generate environment for economic and social developments in the region and
thereby become a role model for such interactions in the developing world.
3.1 the programmes
the programmes that will meet the above objectives are:
(i) research programmes: research activities, in the broad area of mobile
communication, including
(a) wideband systems; networking and switching
(b) wireless local area networks and wireless local loop systems
(c) third generation systems
(d) internet platform for multimedia applications including e-commerce
(e) network security
(f) mobile satellite communication
(g) teletraffic studies
(h) evolving market studies
(i) teleteaching
will be pursued. the topics are illustrative and not exhaustive. expertise already exists in most of the above areas. efforts will be made to recruit young researchers to
complement missing areas.
(ii) teaching programmes: in order to sustain (i), present academic programmes will be suitably augmented to provide specialization in mobile communication studies; i.e., a new
stream of specialization will be generated. successful candidates will be awarded m.tech /ph.d. degrees according to the regulations of the institute. a shorter ‘diploma in
mobile communication studies' programme for participants from serving industries, utilities etc. will be generated.
(iii) non-formal educational programmes: continuing education for enhancement of knowledge to the working engineers from industries, research institutions, service providers
etc. as well as information dissemination programmes for executives of these sectors besides government and regulatory agencies are necessarily to be part of the activities of
the centre.
(iv) consultancy programmes: the faculty and research staff will be encouraged to provide consultancy to agencies, both governmental and non-governmental. this could also be in
the form of commercial exploitation (e.g., technology transfer) of work carried out under (i), through development of region specific prototypes or particular software, say for
an industry. it may also be related to the application of technology for societal needs through market research.
(v) international linkages programmes: the emphasis is to increase the linkages through exchange programmes of students and faculty, international delivery of education,
organization of conventions at periodic intervals.
these programmes are elaborated in the following.
a. research programmes
the institutions shall engage themselves in the state-of-art activities in all or selected areas depending on own expertise. the faculty and the scientific staff will be
recruited for these activities or seconded to the programme by the respective organizations. it is imperative to have industrial bias in the research activities.
b. teaching programmes
the centre will be engaged in manpower training through postgraduate programmes only. it is the teaching programme under this proposal which is different from the usual teaching
activities of the universities. the programmes are designed to impart state-of-art knowledge, in techniques, tools and skills, in the field of communication engineering with
emphasis on mobile communication. in addition, they will imbibe multinational culture of problem solving. such graduates would be needed in a wide range of application areas,
including industrial and non-industrial research, planning, development, implementation, fabrication, distribution and maintenance of various mobile communication systems and
services.
masters' programme
it is anticipated that the main thrust of manpower training will be through the master’s programme specializing in mobile communication studies. students registering for the
programme shall pursue the programme at least at two of the participating institutions (in two different countries), including the host institution from where the student will
get his degree.
the institutions will devise their curriculum such that the coursework, to be taken by a student, gets completed in the first two semesters. these could be through courses
offered by the instructors of the respective institutions or offered, through teleteaching, by instructors located at different institutions or a mix of the two. in case of
teleteaching, it is anticipated that the institutions will accept the grades awarded by the remote tutors as equivalent to the grades of the courses the institutions offer.
there could be a possibility of an institution insisting on imparting compulsory courses in the traditional manner (and not allowing teleteaching of the compulsory courses). at
the end of course work the student will embark upon the project work towards his master’s thesis under joint supervision of faculty, one at the host institution and one at a
different location, the two faculty members having decided about the project a priori through mutual consultations. the student will move over to the other institution to carry
out the project work. the concept is, the courses are primarily done at the host institution but the project work at the other institution. at the end of the project work,
normally six months, the student returns back to the host institution and submits the work carried out, as above, for the award of the master’s degree. this period will also be
utilized by the student to learn the culture of the other place. typical compulsory courses may consist of four subjects on queuing theory, telecommunication networks, digital
mobile radio networks and communication theory which would have three hours of lectures per week for a semester of 14-16 weeks duration. elective courses may include subjects
like satellite communication, information and coding theory, data networks, stochastic simulation, digital signal processing, digital switching, vlsi design, speech processing,
etc. a student is expected to take four of these subjects, besides the compulsory subjects, towards fulfillment of his course-credit requirements.
ph.d. programme
a student registered for programme leading to the ph.d. degree will spend at least one year away from the host institution for work preparatory to the ph.d. thesis. he will earn
his grade while he is away according to the rules of the institution he is visiting. this grade will be accepted by the host institution.
diploma programme
a diploma programme of one year (two semesters and a short project work) will be designed for specific industry participants through course work, including teleteaching.
c. non-formal educational programme
perhaps the most important activity of the centre and the associated institutions will be related to the non-formal educational programmes. the technology is expanding so
rapidly, and value added services especially multimedia communications systems products are being added so frequently that there is a need to continually update and disseminate
information regarding the field. aspects of mobile communication are not appreciated by large cross-section of population, including policy makers, bureaucrats, government
bodies, service providers etc. even the executives of communication sector enterprises as well as regulatory authorities require continual upgrading of their awareness of the
trends in the communication technology and services. the institutions will be engaged in dissemination of information through sustained non-formal educational programmes. these
programmes could be run by the institutions utilizing the best expertise available on its faculty across the globe in telelearning mode (remote tutoring). besides remote-
tutoring, in-house continuing education programmes or programmes at the site of large companies/organizations will also be organized at regular intervals. a joint continuing
education programme can also be held in third countries. the institutions will also develop broadband interactive educational packages in the area for its utility by consumers.
it is anticipated that the non-formal educational programmes would not only be self-sufficient but also to large extent subsidize the other programmes.
d. consultancy programme
each institution will provide its expertise to agencies (government/non-government/industry) according to the norms of the institution. it may also act as liaison between a
client and an expert at another institution. the institutions may develop appropriate software for mobile communication. communication being a customer-driven utility industry,
there could be a regional bias, especially in developing countries, so far as the telecom market is concerned, depending on the civilization, language and ethos of people. the
market research or even application or transfer of technology will, therefore, be region dependent. the institutions may take up commercially exploitable development work with
the participating industries or agencies. basic issue is, because of the expertise available in an institute, the industries would look towards the institution for providing
cost-effective solutions for services and technology adaptations.
e. international linkages programme
the emphasis on creation of the centre is on international linkages. curriculum, mode of delivery of the curriculum, expertise to be utilized for the same will be jointly
decided by the institutions. the linkages would be in the form of students' exchange programmes and faculty exchange programmes. impetus on these two for global impact of mobile
communications is essential. faculty will be encouraged to spend teaching a semester every two years at another institute as part of their workload.
it is essential that there is a close interaction among the institutions of the centre. international co-operation flourishes only when personal contacts find deep roots.
towards this, the centre will organize a yearly convention on topics of current interest, experts addressing on the subject. the convention would also be open to delegates, say
from industry, for a fee.
3.2 a cost profile
a suggested modality to work out the cost is given. it is assumed that the students admitted to the master's programme will be supported. since the cost will be country
specific, only the parameters are listed. cost will be worked out once there is a basic agreement on the funding philosophy.
unit of the cost : us $
students
living expenses/month in an institute x
travel cost to/fro institute/home institute y
contingency expenditure (books etc.) z
expenditure per student for six months duration w
w = 6x + y + z
faculty/staff
part compensation + travel (which will be a percentage of w plus
a fixed quantum) a
infrastructure cost per institute/location (lump sum) b
institute overhead (lump sum) g
thus, the total cost for p students : p w + a + b + g
4.0 concluding remarks
to summarize, a blueprint has been proposed above to meet the following:
a. need for global connectivity
b. need for research/development/market research
c. need for continuing education for upgradation of skills
d. need for the telecom industry which badly needs trained manpower having exposure to the
work and social environment in other countries.
it is anticipated that the proposed scheme will be welcomed by the academia, industry as well as sponsoring agencies like un and financial institutions. academia is primarily
interested in two aspects:
a. education; and
b. research
it is axiomatically true that students coming from different culture enrich an academic programme with their different insights. the proposal allows exchange of students and
scholars as well as members of the faculty in the common pursuit of creation and dissemination of knowledge. it provides means for international exposure. institutions will
benefit from the expertise available in other institutions under this programme because of the cooperation. institutional collaborations would also increase the size of the pool
of the trained manpower for research. large problems can be effectively solved by sharing the tasks amongst the institutions sharing expert resources available all over.
similarly, industries, the main recipient of the manpower coming out of the schools, may endorse the proposal because of the following arguments:
1. an industry needs trained manpower, to work for manufacturing, software development service, maintenance, market research etc. in not only in its home country but also in its
network across the globe. the trained manpower, of highest calibre, should be such that they are aware of the international practices, both in the home market and abroad. this
is particularly true of the european industries. the manpower trained in the format of this proposal will immensely suit such industries, as they aretrained both at the home
ground of the industry as well as in another country.
2. the rate of obsolescence of knowledge is very high, especially in the ever-expanding field of mobile communication. the continuing education programme of the proposal
addresses to this aspect of upgradation of skills and removal of obsolescence. also, the proposal addresses to educating the bureaucrats, policy makers and even personnel from
regulatory agencies; all are needed for the telecom market.
3. industry is, after all, the recipient and beneficiary of the research in the area that these institutions will engages in. the institutions are the repository of knowledge.
it is in the institutions that new ideas germinate and fructify. it is in the interest of the industry to nurture institutions for its future products. this mode of investing in
future products is cost effective for the industry.
4. the sociological impact of trained manpower from different countries is enormous. the society, in general, appreciates such endeavours.
5. the concept, as proposed, provides for global human connectivity.
finally, governmental agencies and financial institutions may have a stake in the proposal due to following considerations:
1. the proposal brings scientific institutions in different continent together in the common pursuit of knowledge enhancement and upgradation, technical co-operation, manpower
training etc. in the field of mobile communication.
2. this would promote interaction and co-operation between scientists/technologists working in different institutions of the centre located in different countries.
participation, particularly between developed and developing nations, to strengthen research capabilities in the later, is a meaningful preposition leading to economic
development.
3. the subject of mobile communication needs no over-emphasis. the field is a vehicle for international integration.
4. the training programme as outlined in the proposal will produce manpower with international bonding.
5. it is a step towards economic equalization and cross-fertilization amongst the nations.
