Lovely Professional University (LPU) has implemented solutions ranging from smart University Management System, MYCLASS online teaching, ECONNECT, Online Assessment System, biometrics and web-based systems for academic and non-academic functioning of students and teachers. Aman Mittal, Vice President, Lovely Professional University shares how the university is innovatively blending technology and content to create a fulfilling learning experience for its students
Q: What is the vision behind LPU, what is your core USP?
As one of India’s largest and leading universities, LPU envisions transforming the education sector such that accessible and high-quality education can be disseminated to young minds from diverse backgrounds. One of LPU’s resolute missions is to make global professionals and entrepreneurs with an innovative spirit, tolerance, and desire to make a difference in society. The faculty, pedagogy, and infrastructure at the university work in synchronization to fulfill these goals, step by step, and realize the slogan “Transforming Education, Transforming India”.
When it comes to preparing global leaders, LPU carries a stellar repute with which it has created a niche for itself. Accommodating 30,000+ students, LPU encompasses exemplary facilities within its campus that are second to none. Presently, LPU encourages students to craft a great career with unmatchable placements and study abroad provisions and has also emerged as a hub for entrepreneurship.
Q: In an industry full of Edtech players, what makes you unique against your competitors?
As technology has seeped into societies and our daily lives, Edtech will certainly continue to be significant in the post-covid era. Edtech enhances the curriculum and supports better learning outcomes for students at all grade levels, whether you teach remotely, in in-person classes, or are still in the process of acquiring your teaching credential. With the statewide lockdown in India, there has been an unexpected rise in demand for Edtech businesses, even as others struggle to find a way out. However, even during the pandemic, LPU made sure through Ed-tech to make education more accessible to everyone. LPU continued to savor its students through Edtech by providing them with daily MyClass interactions and E-connect. Edtech takes many different forms within and outside the LPU classroom, depending on the purpose it serves. LPU had a variety of online tools to nurture students, such as UMS (university management system), OMS (office management system), OAS (online assessment system), E-Connect, and learning management systems (LMS), Zoom webinars, and video conferencing. Even in the pandemic, it didn’t rest, not even for a day to make students shine. Through the online mode “MYCLASS”, LPU continued teaching and instilled the environment of learning in students during the lockdown. This online mode of learning remained a defining movement in the history of LPU, as it encompassed every student and provided them with an education.
Q: How do you intend to expand into additional areas and keep ahead of rising market competition, given the massive rise that online learning has had in the previous months?
The idea is to keep focusing on the holistic development of students while keeping the challenges in mind. LPU has started an “LPU Online” program, using which students can pursue their undergraduate and postgraduate courses right from their homes. In addition, LPU has created a lot of online content and focused on hybrid learning. Considering that covid might stay in the world for the upcoming few years, LPU is spending generously on the IT infrastructure while also coming up with innovations and tying up with top companies to provide the most relevant education to our students. With plenty of innovative study opportunities, LPU provides students with global excellence and real-world industry experience. It has collaborated with top-notch brands like Google, Oracle, Microsoft, and many more. LPU has its own Center of Excellence, where students get a chance to work directly with companies on live projects under practical exposure. Google provides LPU students with a diversified learning experience for Android and digital programming. The Intel Centre of Excellence imparts training on the latest technologies and many others. At LPU, mentors and coaches are entirely committed to keeping students relevant throughout their careers, creating a personalized student experience that will lead to long-term professional relevance. Here, students take advantage of their unique capacities to be “world-class” innovation incubators by encouraging portfolio development centered on dynamic, in-demand soft and hard capabilities. The Student Entrepreneurship Cell organizes various entrepreneurial activities on campus. LPU exposes its students to the professional scenario during their student life. The Student Entrepreneurship Cell organizes annual B-Plan competitions and provides real-time entrepreneurship exposure opportunities to students who dream of being entrepreneurs.
Q: Students in metros and non-metros can opt for Edtech platform courses. What is LPU doing to prepare students and professionals in both the urban and rural areas for the workforce?
LPU has always made sure that students from all sections of society get an equal chance to excel in life. We never discriminate against the students hailing from metros or Tier 1,2 or 3 cities while imparting traditional education. Furthermore, with our LPU online programs, we are making an effort to reach out to every university student that may be residing in any nook and corner of the country. As a part of the latest initiative, LPU is also trying to build up its Ed-tech programs in the regional languages so that the people who are from Tier 2 & 3 cities could get access to quality education. We feel that a language is just a tool but the knowledge comes from the content that you are reading or are being accessed. Also, we are trying to break the language barrier and in times to come you will have more options for accessing the content in the regional language on our LPU online programs.
Q: What was LPU’s roadmap during the pandemic and what growth has been witnessed? What are your plans?
During the Covid times, LPU remained the most talked about the university as it provided all amenities to its students. In collaboration with some of the leading IT companies, LPU created MYCLASS to provide a safe online environment for its students. It’s a proprietary platform that’s utilized for online education. The university has already tested the effectiveness of LPU My Class as more than 1,00,000 hours of online sessions were regulated for LPU students from numerous different academic programs. During the pandemic LPU witnessed a historic moment when students of LPU excelled in the Olympics and brought the very first gold medal for India in the sport Javelin throw. 13 out of 14 LPU students who participated in the Tokyo Olympics won prestigious Olympic medals for India, 1 Gold 1 Silver, and 2 Bronze. LPU student Neeraj Chopra was the only Indian Olympiad who won the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics. The plan of LPU is, to transform education through academic rigor, practical orientation, and outcome-based teaching. It aims to develop and implement a relationship of cooperation between industry and academia. To prepare graduates to be lifelong learners with strong analytical and leadership skills and to develop global professionals and entrepreneurs with an innovative spirit, tolerance, and desire to make a difference in the society.
