The Indian education sector has been undergoing a metamorphosis of sorts over the past decade and is today one of the fastest growing segments in the country. As India becomes increasingly globalised in terms of educational standards, one of the key role changers, is the surge in adoption rate of technology products in imparting and receiving knowledge. Taiwan’s ICT industry, which comprises some globally renowned players like Acer, BenQ, D-Link, Micro Star International (MSI), Optoma and others, have been working closely with the Indian Govt., NGOs and been effecting several market oriented initiatives to bring the latest and best in quality technology products to Indian teachers and students. These brands have been equipping Schools and Educational Institutions with innovative, reliable and value worthy ICT products to up competency levels of Indian students, towards synchronizing their skills and capabilities with their international counterparts.

All of the above Taiwan ICT players have been awarded the Taiwan Excellence mark, by the Govt. of Taiwan, which represents their innovative and technological edge.   They have been making inroads through strategic alliances, engaging platforms to enable audiences get a feel and experience of their technology strengths and product superiority.  World leader in projector business BenQ, replicates the same in India, with more than 20 per cent market share and is no.1 in the education segment with 35 per cent market share. In first six months of this year, BenQ has sold more than double the total number of projectors sold in entire previous year, reflecting a 480 per cent growth.  “In CY 2011, BenQ has enabled over 15000 classrooms gain access to superior technology by providing more than 20 types of durable and user-friendly projectors designed to meet today’s classroom requirements.  Our projectors impart a whole new dimension to the learning experience” says Mr. Rajeev Singh, Country Head, BenQ, India.

Transcend, another Taiwan based leader in storage and multimedia products has also seen ascending sales with more and more school going kids using USB drives to store data. According to Mr. Gordon Wu, South Asia Regional Head of Transcend, they have sold 3.5Mn USB drives in India last year and expect to close 2011 with a 25 percent growth.  Recently Samrita Trust, a school for the visually handicapped located in the state of Andhra Pradesh, opted for Transcend’s 4GB MP330 MP3 players to cater to their requirement of using audio books as a learning tool for students. This is one of the key indicators of the transformation India’s education space, with the increased use of technology in the form of gadgets, in classrooms and elsewhere and it’s also indicative of the Indian

MSI, Taiwan’s leading Motherboards & laptop manufacturer, engaged with around 1100 students in a computer gaming fest at Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, one of the popular engineering college of Delhi. This was an endeavor from the company’s side to reach out to their potential consumers, wherein the students could have a feel of their power-packed range of products and experience the cutting edge technology.

Optoma, another award-winning projector brand from Taiwan, is the main supplier to Electronics Corporation of Tamil NaduLimited (ELCOT), the ICT supplier and semi-official organization of Tamil Nadu state. Optoma is currently working with ELCOT to install few thousands EX615 projectors in schools across Tamil Nadu. In the past, Optoma has partnered with NIIT and ILFS ETS to support their educational initiatives.

Mr Rajendran, Chief Marketing Officer, Acer India said, “Acer is the number one player in the education segment with a market share of 40% per cent. And this spans both the Government and the private sector. We have a clear strategy to grow our business in India.  We have focused and strengthened our presence in various business verticals and education sector has been one of the key focus areas since 2009. Through our competitive value offering backed by a very robust after-sales support we have been able to reach out to the youth in the country and equip them with the right technology tools to enhance their learning capabilities. There have been several successful projects that we have executed in the last many years such as K-12, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan and higher education. Education is the backbone to the economic growth of any country and we are proud to be associated in empowering India’s Gen-Next  for the future through our range of offerings that includes Desktops, Notebooks, Netbooks, Servers and Projectors.”
Another Taiwan ICT player, Thermaltake,is considering bringing its global property, the “Thermaltake eSports Triathlon” a learning through fun competition for gaming enthusiasts, blending the most advanced technology and superior performance of PC hardware in the industry with a verity of professionalism training courses. It provides a platform that not only educates, but also helps merge interests, knowledge, comprehensions, and dreams into one package

These are some key indicators of the transformation in India’s education space, with the increased use of technology in the form of gadgets, in classrooms and elsewhere and it’s also indicative of the trust in the quality and relevance of Taiwan ICT Industry’s products, displayed by the Indian Govt. and NGOs. A trust born of a physical demonstration by these Taiwan to understand the specific needs of the Indian market in terms of technology, aesthetics and cost, and coming up with customized solutions that excite the audiences

Besides the Indian Government’s efforts on upgrading the educational infrastructure across the country encouraging the use of multimedia for teaching, private education institutions have also actively adopted the use of technology products in the teaching process. Most classrooms today see students using laptops, USB drives to store their projects and notes, while teachers use projectors and interactive whiteboards.

Over the years, Taiwan has been at the forefront for introducing cutting edge ICT products all over the world. The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) a non-profit trade promotion organization, entrusted by Bureau of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan, has last year launched the ‘Taiwan Excellence’ campaign in India with an aim to build preference for the reliable, innovative and worthy Taiwanese ICT products among the discerning young Indian consumers.

Taiwan ICT industry is home to many of the world’s largest makers of computers and associated hardware. Taiwan companies produce more than 70% of LCD monitors, 88% of netbooks, and more than 94% of all laptops worldwide. Taiwan’s superiority in hardware offers a perfect match for India’s intelligence in software. Thus a combination of the two provides for an excellent IT (India + Taiwan) lifestyle for Indians.