A delegation from Sreenarayanaguru Open University (SGOU), Keralam, led by Hon’ble Vice Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Jagathy Raj V.P., visited the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (COL-CEMCA), New Delhi and held an interaction with Dr. B. Shadrach, Director, COL-CEMCA, to discuss ongoing and potential areas of collaboration between the two institutions.

The delegation comprised Prof. (Dr.) Abhilash Babu, Registrar, SGOU, and Prof. (Dr.) Sutheeshna Babu S, Director, Centre for Internal Quality Assurance (CIQA), SGOU.

The interaction focused on strengthening the collaboration around graduate employability, skills development, technology-enabled learning, and blended learning. Dr. B. Shadrach highlighted SGOU’s significant potential to develop high-quality skill courses that respond to local and regional workforce demands. He emphasised that the implementation of graduate employability initiatives at the university can further strengthen its capacity to align academic programmes with emerging employment and skills requirements.

Prof. (Dr.) Jagathy Raj V.P reaffirmed SGOU’s commitment to continuing its collaboration with COL-CEMCA towards implementing the graduate employability framework and positioning SGOU as a champion institution for graduate employability. He also highlighted the importance of the ongoing dual-recognition process with NCVET, which is expected to further enable the university to offer high-quality, industry-relevant skill qualifications with wider recognition.

The discussions also explored opportunities for extending the collaboration beyond SGOU to support the wider higher education ecosystem in Keralam. As a way forward, COL-CEMCA and SGOU agreed to work towards organising a state-level workshop on graduate employability for universities in Keralam, along with Faculty Development Programmes (FDPs) on Technology-Enabled Learning (TEL) and blended learning.

The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to advancing graduate employability, strengthening skills-oriented learning, and promoting technology-enabled and blended learning practices across higher education institutions. The proposed initiatives are expected to further deepen the partnership between COL-CEMCA and SGOU while contributing to a stronger employability ecosystem in Keralam.