Hits Receives The Qs E Lead Certificate For Excellence In Digitisation

Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science (HITS) was awarded QS E Learning Excellence for Academic Digitisation (LEAD) certification and the institution has emerged as one of the first private institutions in India to achieve this mammoth glory. The certificate was presented during an online event organised by QS i Guage team on 1st June 2020 with a view to recognising institutions that are ensuring preparedness of Indian Higher Education for the Digital Age.

Mr. Ashwin Fernandes, CEO QS – ERA India hosted the event in the presence of the Chief Guest, Dr. Mrs. Renu Batra, Former Additional Secretary UGC, New Delhi and Guest of Honour, Dr. Krishna Ella, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Biotech International Ltd. Hyderabad.

QS i Guage team has taken this initiative to do a readiness check of institution in India to certify the institutions that has adopted technology and enabled services for online teaching. HITS emerged as one of the premier institutions in India to be awarded the QS e- LEAD certification.

QS Audit team had done a rigorous data collection, verification and validation process to certify the preparedness of institutions to conduct online Teaching and Learning with a well designed methodology. HITS successfully conducted online tutorial and lectures. The student faculty interaction has been verified and appreciated. HITS had done exceedingly well in the audit and scored 150/150 points encompassing all the criteria related to Student Faculty Engagement, Learning Management System, Information Technology Support, Best Practices and Information Technology. The results proved that HITS established itself as the leading engineering institution adopting Digitisation in its entirety.

Dr. Ashok G. Verghese, Director, HITS expressed his view point that, “Hindustan 4.0 has always been in the forefront of Quality Education in Asia. We benchmark with the best and this recognition by International QS rankings and certification is the measure of success. We believe in delivering the best practices to our students. This lockdown has proven that our faculty are as competent as any in the world and the testimonials by students are indeed impressive. The achievement by HITS is the result of the concerted efforts of the entire Hindustan fraternity”.

Dr. N. Vasudevan, Dean Academics, HITS spoke during the QS i Guage e lead certification event that was held virtually and in his presentation he informed that, “At a time when COVID-19 has thoroughly shaken up the education sector and forced institutions to devise ways and means of grappling with the pandemic, the Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Chennai received E-(E-LEAD) Certification from the coveted QS IGAUGE for E-learning excellence.

This is a remarkable recognition that has come at a time when online education is not just an option to consider for universities but is an inevitable necessity to do justice to the goals and aspirations of the students. Online education and digital learning opportunities have the ability to contribute towards the democratisation of the higher education system with a strong emphasis on quality, accessibility, inclusivity, and excellence. Receiving the QS IGAUGE E-LEAD certificate demonstrates the ability of HITS to adapt quickly and achieve academic continuity for students with online courses. HITS utilized the MOODLE platform as LMS and MS Teams for delivery of lectures and successfully completing the semester. It is a remarkable achievement of HITS to successfully conduct 124 industry expert lectures during this period”.

The team spearheaded by Dr. Akkara Sherine, HOD Languages & Rankings and assisted by Dr. N. Madhumitha, AP, School of Management compiled the reports systematically and provided the necessary documentation as per the requirements of the QS audit team. The team was guided by Dr. N. Vasudevan, Dean Academics, HITS. The success of HITS is attributed to the contribution of every staff encouraged by the Management that had resulted in Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science achieve QS e LEAD certification.