Top level talks for telecomms' e-learning specialists

Tata Interactive Systems (TIS), the global e-learning pioneer, and telecom giants ntl played host to their colleagues in the telecom industry at a forum to discuss ‘making e-learning relevant to business’. The forum was held - by invitation of TIS – at ntl’s headquarters in Hampshire last week (7th June).

Delegates from companies including BT, Telewest, Vodafone, O2 and Equant as well as ntl, heard case studies from Vodafone and the Netherlands-based international consultancy Scientafix. They also networked with their peers and discussed best practice approaches to the use, monitoring and measurement of e-learning within their organisations.

"This is the first in a series of highly focused, one day ‘discussion and discovery’ events that spring from the Tata Learning Forum (TLF) – which involved a specially invited audience of the top e-learning practitioners in the UK and Europe and was held in London in February," explained Manoj Kutty, TIS’s worldwide president of sales and marketing.

According to TIS’s Pankaj Jathar: "This event was designed to bring together people – particularly those from the telecommunications sector - to discuss issues and challenges common to companies in the industry, such as making e-learning relevant to business, how to align e-learning better with business goals et al. The aim was to explore and define best practices within e-learning and help organisations maximise the effectiveness of e-learning."

"The event offered some valuable insights," commented Dave Perring, head of blended learning at ntl.

Sean Ramgoolam, the e-learning project director of Vodafone, added: "It was both an enjoyable and instructive experience."

Key topics discussed by the delegates at the ‘mini learning forum’ included:

· E-learning’s role as a tactical or a strategic tool in meeting a business’ objectives.

· The effective measurement of e-learning’s contribution to improving a business’ ‘bottom line’.

· The effective management of the flow of e-learning materials to meet business needs.

· The use of e-learning to meet the need for unstructured, informal learning within an organisation as well as meeting its structured, formal learning needs.

· Justifying using e-learning in terms of savings in the cost of learning materials development or justifying e-learning purely in terms of improvement in the business’ bottom line.

"These events offer a wealth of vital information for any professional whose job involves commissioning and deploying e-learning materials throughout their organisation," explained TIS consultant Suman Nambiar. "We plan to hold several more of these events in partnership with our clients throughout the rest of the year, leading up to the next TLF in February 2006.

"TIS is happy to facilitate this information exchange – attendance at which is by invitation only. For further details of these events, please contact TIS on 020 7235 8281 or email suman.nambiar@tatainteractive.com"

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Notes for Editors:

About Tata Interactive Systems (TIS)
Tata Interactive Systems (TIS) is a global pioneer in e-learning. A part of the £7bn Tata Group – one of the largest and most trusted business conglomerates in India, TIS has 15 years of experience in designing and developing innovative and cutting-edge e-learning solutions.

TIS employs a global team of 850 multi-disciplinary specialists – a unique mix of project managers, software engineers, instructional designers, content developers, visual designers and animators. Its service bouquet includes Simulations, Systems Training, New Hire Training, Business Processes and Skills Training, Regulatory and Compliance Training, Sales and Customer Service Training, Adaptive Assessments, Story-based Learning Objects and EPSS. Powered by creative talent, sound processes and technological excellence, TIS has developed over 950 e-learning solutions for more than 300 clients – including 50 Fortune 500 companies – across the UK, Europe, US, Australia and Asia. Its client roster includes leading corporations, renowned educational institutions and government bodies such as British Airways, BECTA, Citibank, Colgate-Palmolive, ExxonMobil, GlaxoSmithKline, HP, McGraw-Hill, NHS, ntl, Orange, Pearson Education, Qwest, Royal Mail, Swiss Re, UNICEF, University of Phoenix, University of Maryland and Vodafone.

Apart from holding ISO 9001 and BS7799 certification, TIS is the only e-learning organisation in the world to be assessed at Level 5 in both the SEI CMM and P-CMM frameworks. TIS’s quest for excellence is reflected in 20 prestigious industry awards, including BETT 2004 Best Product Award, Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Award 2004, APEX 2004 Award of Excellence and three nominations for the prestigious WOLCE Awards.

For more information log onto www.tatainteractive.com

About the Tata Group

The Tata Group, established in 1904 by the visionary Jamsetji Tata, is one of India’s largest and most trusted business houses. The group pioneered the industrial revolution in India by founding, among other things, the first steel plant, power plant and chain of luxury hotels.

The Group employs more than 330,000 people in 91 companies across diversified industry sectors including steel, automobiles, cement, telecom and IT. Generating revenues to the tune of £7bn per year – 2.6 per cent of India’s total GDP – it is recognised as a leader in several industry segments such as such as steel, power, software exports and chemicals. It is also the parent company to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Asia’s largest software producer.

Further information from:

Alan Samuel, Tata Interactive Systems, 020 7235 8281

Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, 01727 860405

www.tatainteractive.com