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Singapore, 2 May 2003
In SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) hit countries across Asia, daily activities, normally taken for granted, have been rudely disrupted. Many hospitals, schools, offices, factories and entertainment outlets have been temporarily shut down or quarantined in the fight to contain the spread of SARS. All it takes is just one staff member or student or even a visitor to come down with the infection for an entire office building or school to be shut down temporarily and everyone quarantined at home. Such precautionary measures, though necessary, are highly disruptive to business and education. The threat of disruption to their education and examination schedules is very real for students in SARS hit countries. Already a number of schools and universities have been temporarily shut down. However, one group of students can confidently carry on with their studies, course projects and exams without even the slightest threat of disruption by SARS. They are the students of Purple Train. The very nature of Purple Train's e-Learning concept makes it literally SARS-proof. Not a single aspect or participant in its e-learning process can be threatened from within Purple Train nor can it be threatened by external circumstances caused by SARS. Students, course facilitators, backend administrators - are able to communicate and interact freely with each other online but physically and safely separated. There is absolutely no possibility of catching SARS from a fellow student. And if an unfortunate student gets infected, perhaps from his workplace, it has no quarantine consequences on the rest of the class. A similar infection in a regular university would result in an immediate suspension of classes. What about the teaching faculty? A home quarantine order would normally put entire teaching departments out of action since they are usually located in the same building. The course facilitators at Purple Train, on the other hand, are never under the threat of en masse quarantine since they are located across different institutions or even overseas. Even if one of them is quarantined, he is still fully capable of carrying on his role as an online facilitator. And what about the system administrators who maintain Purple Train's online Learning Management System (LMS) and other staff members who take care of administrative matters? Firstly, the LMS is hosted on a robust infrastructure with more than sufficient redundancy. It also allows for total remote management. The entire technical team could be located at another center or even work from home, and Purple Train will continue to run without a hitch. The same applies to administrative staff since all administrative matters can be carried out online or through the phone and fax. Even the rare exam, which is about the only aspect of Purple Train that requires physical attendance, offers the flexibility of being carried out simultaneously at different centers. All said, not a single aspect of Purple Train's e-Learning process can be directly threatened by SARS or any consequence of SARS. Purple Train is indeed truly SARS-proof.
ABOUT PURPLETRAIN.COM By combining innovative technology with world-class training content, PurpleTrain.com offers companies and individuals a high value, quality and effective on-line training solution. Over 700 on-line courses are available, offering masters, degrees, diplomas and certificates in business and IT programs. Our online learning community now stands at over 67,000 users. PurpleTrain.com is a 100%-owned venture of Informatics Holdings Limited, a leading training and education provider listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. Informatics Holdings Limited is a world class institute for quality lifelong learning services and made the ranking among Forbes Global's 200 Best Small Companies in the world. ABOUT INFORMATICS GROUP The Informatics Group, established in 1983, is a multinational corporation providing training and educational services in information technology and business management. Through its international franchising programme and strategic acquisitions, Informatics presently has a global network of more than 550 centres spanning over 45 countries. The company presently offers six franchise products: Informatics Computer School, Thames Business School, Informatics Professional Development Centre, CAL Computer Training Centre, Cambridge Child Development Centre and RACC. For more information, please visit http://www.informaticsgroup.com. For more information, please contact : Boey Taik Boon All trademarks and registered trademarks are property of
their respective owners. Certain of the statements in this press release
are forward-looking in nature and, accordingly, are subject to risks and
uncertainties. The actual results may differ from those described or contemplated. |