New Delhi, July 2 :    New Delhi, July 2:  Get your post-graduate diploma course in business management from XLRI without ever going to Jamshedpur. Sounds like a dream? Making it come true are distance learning and the march of technology. Hughes Escorts Communications Limited (HECL), the satellite services operator, has tied up with XLRI Jamshedpur to offer this course through satellite-based DirecWay Global Education platform across nine cities-Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh and Kozhikode. The XLRI off-campus course is a 15-month programme and has the same profile as the residential course. It is targeted at working professionals who want to enhance their skill sets. XLRI will decide on the modules to be taught in this course and the course fees by mid-July. 'Currently, we are offering short duration programmes through this medium to test the technology, its effectiveness and market acceptability. On the basis of our experience from these programs, we will decide on launching the long duration program,' said Ashis K. Pani, associate professor and chairman, information technology and operations management area, XLRI. Students pursuing a course through the interactive system can choose a guide, as in a traditional course. The project will have to be submitted to the institute at the end of the course. The viva will also be held at the institute. 'Our aim is to initially help working professionals who cannot spare time to pursue higher studies or courses, add qualifications which could be helpful in their career. The education and training market for corporate professionals is growing in India,' said Amit Tripathi, vice-president, DirecWay Global Education of HECL. 'Later, we hope to rope in universities which offer long distance education to provide courses using interactive learning platforms. Technically, we can offer courses at the student's house using the direct-to-home (DTH) facility once the guidelines for it are spelt out,' he added. Hughes DirecWay Global Education interactive learning platform interface enables a large number of geographically scattered participants (who sit in their respective city classrooms) to have a highly interactive 'one-to-one' exchange with the central instructor (who sits in a centrally located studio). The system incorporates a live broadcast video, two-way audio and data interactivity to enable participants watch and interact with the instructor live on their PCs. The Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, will also offer an interactive post-graduate certificate program in management and has tied up with HECL. The fee for the IIMK program is Rs 1.05 lakh as against Rs 2.5 lakh for on-campus course. HECL plans to capture a 60 per cent market share in this burgeoning market for such satellite-based interactive education programmes. Analysts say that this could be a Rs 350-crore market by 2005 with major management schools opting to offer their degrees in a long distance electronic environment. Currently, DirecWay Global Education has one studio (in Gurgaon) and 14 classrooms spread across nine cities. 'Our target is to have 16 centres and 35-40 classrooms by October this year and a few more studios,' said Tripathi.