MSN’s Hotmail may be more popular, but its educational portal too has interesting features for young readers. What are the new courses launched by the Indira Gandhi National Open University? Which are the world’s top 10 universities? Or, what is wonder kid Sushma Verma’s claim to fame? MSN Education (http://education.in. msn.com) will give you the answers to all such queries.

The site has seven main categories through which it offers education news, career information, exam alerts, admission schedules, course details, profiles of institutions and informative features. It boasts a neat layout with the right mix of soft colours and images. It is easily navigable and has fewer ads and pop ups to distract serious readers surfing for relevant data.

The home page has a snapshot of content from all the categories, making it easy for a student to choose according to his or her interest. The news section is a good place to begin exploring MSN Education. Here you can find a compilation of interesting happenings from campuses all over the country. From the best of education in 2010 to B-school updates and a code of ethics for teachers, the site covers a multitude of topics related to education in India. You can also rate articles, comment on them and share them on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites.

The admissions section is where you can keep an eye on the admission notifications from various institutes. Click on the examinations link to know about the various entrance tests. For instance, an article on the Joint Management Entrance Test talks about the four sections in it and strategies to prepare for them, while another advises on how to deal with some common dilemmas during entrance tests.

The category on courses gets you the lowdown on new courses offered in schools and colleges across the country. From certification courses at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, to the commerce curriculum for Class XII in 2012, there is an interesting mix of course information. Likewise, the section on institutions gives you facts, rankings and events taking place at various universities in India and abroad.

The next section to explore is the one on careers. There is information on a range of topics — for instance, how ERP consulting can be a rewarding option for MBAs, the rise of women managers, sabbaticals for a cause, tips on writing resumes, how to overcome your fear of interviews and many more interesting tid-bits on career issues.

The features section offers readers news and information about individuals who have made a mark with their work. You would get know about unsung heroes such as Utkarsh Tripathi — who is an editor and publisher at the age of 12, philanthropist Christel DeHaan, Leeladhar Viyogi — who taught Sushma Swaraj “to speak without fear”, and Pooja Mishra — a 30-year old founder of a school.

On the whole, MSN Education has a useful medley of the latest and offbeat education-related articles. However, most of the write-ups are sourced from other publications or agencies, and so it’s possible that you might have read them somewhere. The site is also not exhaustive, as some sections do not seem to be updated frequently. Moreover, the portal seems to focus more on B-schools and MBA exams than other streams.

Nevertheless, MSN education does a good job; you get know about a lot of things at one place. However, don’t list it on your daily dose of education alerts, a weekly one should be more like it.

WHAT IT IS

MSN’s site on education in India

Membership fees

All features are free

Address

http://education.in.msn.com

Downside

Not exhaustive, some pages are not updated frequently, focuses more on B-schools and MBA exams