New Delhi, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/06/2010 -- K.Balaji & Sabina Khan are the winners of the Vidyadeep, a national level case study competition conducted by Sikkim Manipal University - Distance Education (SMU-DE) at “EDGE”, the national forum focusing on “Emerging Directions in Global Education” today. They received a prize of Rs. 75,000 from the guest of honour Sri Sam Pitroda, Advisor to the Prime Minister of India on Public Information, Infrastructure and Innovation.

Today’s contest was a culmination of more than six weeks of activity and enthusiastic participation from MBA students of SMU-DE, one of the largest providers of Distance Education in India. At this prestigious forum, the six zonal winner teams presented their solutions of a pre-distributed case, to distinguished academicians and marketing specialists from across industries.

The first runner up team - Ajay Maheshwari & Nishchint Gogia took home Rs. 50,000 & the second runner up team - Tasaduq Bhat & Pallavi Singh won Rs. 25,000. The other teams took home a consolation prize of Rs. 10,000.

As part of the Vidyadeep scholarship programme, the Vidyadeep annual case study contest “a pioneering initiative” was launched specifically for MBA students of SMU-DE, thus providing them a platform to showcase their superior problem solving skills and decision making abilities in a business environment. Over 250 teams from across the country participated.

SMU-DE in December 2009, in an effort to recognise and reward meritorious and deserving students and help them in their quest for quality higher education, launched Vidyadeep a Nationwide Scholarship programme for 1500 meritorious and deserving students of SMU-DE programs across India. Out of these 1500 scholarships, 500 scholarships are earmarked for students from the North East alone. This scholarship is a ‘first-of-its-kind pioneering initiative’ in the field of distance education in the country!

About SMU & SMU-DE
Sikkim Manipal University is a unique public-private initiative between the Govt. of Sikkim and Manipal Education. SMU, a state University, is recognized by the UGC, Ministry of HRD and is a member of the Associations of Indian Universities. The Distance Education Council has granted recognition to all Distance Education programs offered under the aegis of SMU (Sikkim Manipal University). The SMU Directorate of Distance Education is ISO 9001:2000 certified.

Sikkim Manipal University - Directorate of Distance Education (SMU-DE) is amongst the largest distance education providers in India and offers Post Graduate, Degree and Diploma programs across 10 disciplines. The SMU DDE was established in 2001 by the Sikkim Manipal University of Health, Medical and Technological Sciences as part of its efforts to bring education to the masses to fulfill the growing demand for professionals and individuals who do not have the luxury of time to join regular, full-time courses. The programs offered by SMU are recognized by the Distance Education Council of the Government of India.

As a part of its continuous efforts to improve pedagogy and instructional system in distance learning, Manipal has recently introduced EduNXT, the next-generation interactive learning system. Affordable and easy to use, EduNXT enables a collaborative and interactive environment for learning thus shifting the Education paradigm from being ‘faculty-centric’ to a ‘learner-centric’, thus making quality education available to all, at the convenience of their own time and location.

For more details please log on to http://www.smude.edu.in