COMPUTER SAVVY: IT -education has become affordable and accessible these days

If you ask Richa Dutta, a Class X student of a south Calcutta school, whether she plans to take up information technology after her final exams, the 17-year-old, who intends to study management, exclaims, “Of course!” She says she doesn’t know a single person in her age group who does not intend to take up IT in some form or the other.

“There is no way you can ignore IT in this day and age,” agrees her friend and fellow student, Rahul Tarafdar. “It doesn’t matter whether you are eager to pursue a career in software or want to go into a seemingly unrelated field such as medicine, you would certainly like to have some knowledge of information technology, which is now all-encompassing,” he observes.

Indeed. This is amply reflected in the mind-boggling number of IT-education institutes in the city. In fact, according to statistics, there are close to 80 large computer education centres and hundreds of smaller ones in Calcutta. And this number, if experts are to be believed, “is still growing”.

So, how on earth do students such as Dutta and Tarafdar decide which IT institutes to choose? Well, as far as they are concerned, “If you are just a little bit informed, you shouldn’t have a problem deciding.” They say that they go by the reputation of an institute.

Along with NIIT and CMC, a name that crops up in this category is Brainware, which is known for its pioneering work in the field of education, web and multimedia that focus specifically on students’ IT needs.

According to Subrata Biswas, marketing executive of Brainware Computer Academy at Kankurgachi’s Manicktala Main Road, points out, “Brainware was one of the first to recognise the need of IT literacy among school pass outs.”

He says that Brainware has been imparting high-end IT-education at highly affordable prices for the last three decades. “It has also designed its courses exclusively for school students who have just taken their Class X exams.”

The idea, he points out, is to make the study of information technology — which could otherwise be fairly daunting — accessible and easy to grasp.

In IT circles the phrase used to describe such courses is “student-friendly”. Perhaps it is this student-friendliness which makes Brainware a favourite among students. For instance, the centre at Manicktala, which opened seven years ago, has at any given point as many as 500 students on its rolls, taught by a faculty of some 20 members.

The total number of students who have passed out from this particular centre has so far been more than 3,000. And this is expected to shoot up in June when the institute plans to launch a series of degree courses. These include the following courses: bachelor of computer application (BBA), master of computer application (MCA), bachelor of business administration (BBA), master of business administration (MBA), bachelor of science in information technology (BSc IT) and master of science in information technology (MSc IT).

A Brainware spokesperson says the courses have always been designed to address the needs of students, keeping in mind the changing demands of IT-knowledge as they go from one level of education to another.

The courses for the beginners include the basic IT-literacy courses such as Brain Power. The teaching technique, said ex-student Neha Gupta, is “fun and friendly”. She said the thrust of the course is to impart fundamental knowledge of information technology to students who are fresh out of school. Gupta, who is now an IT-management consultant, feels that once upon a time she was “totally technologically-challenged”. But after going through this course she had gained, what she considers “the perfect foundation on which I could build my future career in IT”.

The “IT-Smart” course addresses students at the next level. Though it is designed for students with some knowledge of information technology, nevertheless it can also serve the needs of the beginner. The course helps students who intend to take up computer science Plus Two. The “multimedia magic” course is the next level as it is more career-oriented and introduces the student to the world of designing and graphics.

Brainware has troubleshooting courses such as PC-assembling and troubleshooting courses in which students are taught, among other things, the technicalities of computer assembling.

So then, whether your IT-education need is in the area of software, hardware, networking, financial accounting, multimedia or BPO — all of which Brainware addresses — or whether your needs as a student are specific to your courses and career, no need to wrack your brains any longer about where to study. Try Brainware.