Chandigarh, May 09:Signifying the nationwide launch of ‘NIIT MindChampions Academy (MCA) 2008-09 Series’, World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand today flagged off the popular Chess initiative, by unveiling the horse head shaped ‘Chess Master’ mascot, while engaging in a technology driven workshop with school students and media, across 12 Indian cities.Nearly 300 school children participated in the live tutorial by Anand, and witnessed the MCA launch ceremony across—Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Pune and Vishakhapatnam—facilitated by NIIT Imperia’s synchronous learning technology.
Addressing the students, NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand said, "Chess is a unique sport that helps build Mind Champions. It touches young people in many ways, enabling them to improve their concentration, and help them accelerate their success in academics. NIIT MindChampions Academy is our initiative to provide a platform to young minds to get initiated into the Game of Chess."
World Chess Champion, Anand, gave playing tips to young Chess enthusiasts and responded to their queries, using NIIT Imperia’s national network which is being used by premier business schools such as the IIMs (Ahmedabad, Indore, Kolkata) and others, to offer their executive management education programs to working professionals across the country.
Earlier welcoming Anand, and the children, Mr P Rajendran, Chief Operating Officer, NIIT said, "NIIT has been developing talent globally, by equipping the youth with skills necessary for the knowledge economy. The NIIT Mind Champions Academy aims at exposing young minds to the Game of Chess to enable their all-round growth and better performance".
In its sixth year, The NIIT MindChampions Academy will mentor students on Chess and organize inter-school, district, state, zonal and national level Chess events. In the past years, the zonal and national winners have been felicitated by the World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand, who also mentors and motivates the young, promising talents of the Game.
The MCA 2008-09 series will be taken to over 4000 government and private schools, across the country, where NIIT offers its computer aided learning solutions.
About NIIT MindChampions Academy
Started in 2002-03, NIIT MindChampions Academy is joint initiative of World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand and NIIT, to initiate young minds into the World of Chess. The Academy has already fostered 6180 clubs with over 1,75,000 students as its members across the network of schools where NIIT offers computer-aided learning. The young members of the Academy get to play Chess in both online and offline format and are given coaching using NIIT’s technology.
The students use computer-based tutorials, during and after school as a virtual playfield to hone their skills in the game of Chess. Apart from tutorials, promising Chess players get an opportunity to interact with NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand, in person.
Leveraging its inherent strength in technology, NIIT MindChampions Academy has created a virtual community of Chess enthusiasts in the country. The Academy has Viswanathan Anand, Rajendra S. Pawar and L. Balasubramanian, President of NIIT’s School Learning Solutions Business, on its Advisory Board.
NIIT through its School Learning Solutions division is reaching 2 million kids in government and private schools, mostly in rural areas, equipping them with crucial IT skills to prepare them for tomorrow’s knowledge society. NIIT is working actively to make computers an intrinsic part of the lives of children and also those of the socially and economically challenged sections of the society, who may never have had a chance to integrate with the emerging 21st century environment, to give a better prospect to their future.