event report
Emerging Directions in Global Education: Catalysing Change EDGE 2010 was a conference that was spread over a period of three days (3-5th March 2010), at Indian Habitat Centre, New Delhi, with agenda that was to address the ‘Emerging Directions in Global Education’. The first day witnessed registration for workshops and inaugration of the conference and two workshops. The First Day Workshop I: “Lessons Learned: Issues to Consider in Building a National Admissions Test” by The College Board, USA. The panelists for the workshop consisted of Janine M. Farhat, Senior International Specialist, The College Board, who also chaired the session; James Montoya, Vice President, Higher Education Relationship Development, The College Board; Dr. C. Peter Magrath, Senior Presidential Advisor, The College Board; Dr. Andrew Wiley, Executive Director for Higher Education, The College Board; and Madan Padaki, Co-Founder 7 CEO, MeritTrac Services. Workshop II: Education Governance The panelists coinsisted of Prof. N. Ravichandran, Director IIM Indore; Prof. Rachel Davis, Adjunct Professor, National University of Singapore; Prof. Krishna K. Ladha, Professor, IIM Kozhikode; Prof. C.V. Baxi, Former Director, MDI Gurgaon; Sharat Kumar, Former Director, IMT Ghaziabad; Dr. Pallab Bandyopadhyay, Vice President – HR, Dell Perot Systems; Prof. Pankaj Gupta, Director, SIBM Bangalore (Also the Chairperson); and Dr. Vidya Yeradekar, Principal Director, Symbiosis. The last session of the day was a Round Table on ‘Catalysing Change’ (Close-Door), whereby, the day ended with a close door meeting between the eminent dignitories present at the conference, which was followed by dinner. 42
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Left to right: Anand Sudarshan, Dr. V S Ramamurthy, Sam Pitroda, Shri Kapil Sibal, Dr. Martha Kanter and Prof. V N Rajasekharan Pillai at the inauguration of EDGE 2010
The Second Day The next two days of the conference saw sharing of views and discussions held between many eminent scholars and head of the institutions. To begin with, Shri Kapil Sibal, Human Resource Development Minister, Government of India, in his inaugural address of the Third edition of Emerging Directions in Global Education( EDGE) stressed the need for giving freedom to the universities and education institutions for them to develop ability to collaborate globally and find solutions to global problems. He said, “Education through global collaboration can provide solutions to the global problems. But we will have to reform the structure to allow it to happen, and for that we need to give freedom to our universities and educational institutions.” Dr. Martha Kanter Under Secretary, US Department of Education was the ‘Guest of honour’. Other dignitaries present were Sam Pitroda, Advisor to the Prime Minister of India, Dr. V.S
Ramamurthy, Director NIAS, Prof. V.N Rajashekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor, IGNOU, and Anand Sudarshan, MD & CEO, Manipal Education amongst many other prominent names in the education sector. Three research reports - NIAS EDGE vision document 2010; Catalysing Change, EDGE - Ernst & Young Report “Building blocks for education” and FED UNI (Federation of Universities), Parthenon Report on ‘Bridging The Higher Education Gap: National Universities And Other Models’ were released during the inauguration function. Two More reports - Institute of International Education (IIE) Report on ‘International India: A Turning point in Educational Exchange with the US’ and EDGE-VALUNITES report on ‘Examinations and the role of technology: Emerging Directions were also released later in the day. Sam Pitroda, in his “highlight lecture” said that it was a time to question fundamental issues and a time to change in big way in education sector. He advised the gathering to stop talking
and start taking action now. Expressing concerns over declining quality, he said in 90 per cent of our universities the quality was not up to the mark and needed to be improved substantially. He said expansion was also a key issue and the government was committed to open 14 universities of innovation and 400 new colleges. He said diversity was critical to innovation.
of higher education. The high rate of obsolescence of knowledge will result in greater emphasis on lifelong education and the realization of a learning society. The session highlighted the need for strategic policy interventions and industrygovernment-academia interactions to strengthen engineering education in the country.
Enhancing Effectiveness of Examinations by Leveraging Technology
EDGE Awards
This session endeavored to look at issues related with traditional paper-pencil examinations and the potential benefits of leveraging technology to deliver such exams. The session provided insights into the awareness, perception, readiness and experience of key stakeholders in Indian higher education with respect to technology solutions to assessment, primarily online examinations. “It was heartening to note that decision makers are not only aware of the benefits of using technology for assessments, but they have also indicated positive intent with regards to implementation of online assessment,” said Dr Arun Nigavekar, Former Chairman, UGC and member MeritTrac Education Advisory Panel. Holistic Infrastructure for Quality Education Adequate or good infrastructure is needed, in order to enhance the quality of education and services that the institutions provide. Classrooms should be equipped with the equipment needed to facilitate communications between instructors and students. The session provided valuable inputs in such requirements and emphasised that libraries and World Wide Web or electronic resources go hand in hand with research. Current references and subscription to journals and magazines will facilitate the task of the students and the faculty. Also, with the limitless amount of new resources regarding almost all topics, virtual library is very crucial in this field. Quality Improvement in Engineering Education India, like other countries, is aware that a new age is dawning – one that will be characterised by unimaginable advances in technology, knowledge and synthesis of knowledge, triggering major changes in the objectives, contents, and methods
‘EDGE Personality of the Year’ award was conferred on Prof. Yash Pal, an accomplished scientist and the architect of the Report of “The Committee to advice on renovation and rejuvenation of Higher Education” which has emerged as a reference for the Government to formulate education policies. Prof Yash Pal also delivered a ‘Vision Talk’ in the context of the present education scenario and future directions in an interesting and engaging talk. The second award Young EDGE Award 2010 was presented to Shri Achyuta Samanta, Founder KIIT University and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences for his commitment to inclusive growth in the field of education. It is commendable that through his efforts very high standards of education is imparted exclusively to tribal children in one of the educationally deprived regions of India. The day two ended with the above ceremony, whereby, the awardees were honoured. The Third Day The third day of the conference had sessions and discussions on Engaging India: Initiatives at US Universities Session by (AIEA), Highlight Session with Presentation on FED UNI: Parthenon Report on ‘Bridging The Higher Education Gap: National Universities and Other Models’ (report released and discussed by Karan Khemka, Partner & Asia Office Head, and Rob Lytle, Partner, The Parthenon Group), session on ICT Empowering Education, Progressive Directions in Online Education for Quality & Reach, and session on Vocational Education by Choice, Engaging India: Initiatives at US universities-conducted by AIEA The talks revolved around on the topics that over the past several decades India has been one of the major exporters of knowledge resource to the West. But in contrast, little has happened in the
reverse direction. However, much of this stands to change with the globalisation of education. Although during the session, it was established that, US institutions will serve as examples of the options and opportunities that might exist for others to explore. The session was chaired by Dr. Duleep Deosthale, Vice President for External Relations, AIEA & President Knowledge Exchange Institute. ICT Empowering Education In the next session, the panelists discussed on tomorrow’s technology solutions to create IT enabled campuses for better management, better dialogue amongst parents, teachers and students, better delivery of education making it a delightful learning and teaching experience and enabling sharing of knowledge resource by connecting campuses. The discussion was led by Rajeev Shorey, President, NIIT University. Progressive Directions in Online Education: for Quality and Reach The following session also observed that shortcomings in the Indian education system like limited reach, flawed delivery system, and paucity of faculty can be addressed through online education. The education sector is waking up to the interesting possibilities through online education. The session brought together the leaders and pioneers in the online stream to share experiences and point out possibilities for the future. The subject was chaired by Prof. K.R. Srivathsan, Pro Vice Chancellor, IGNOU. Vocational Education by Choice The concluding session debated largely that Vocational Education is slowly emerging as one of the looked upon streams and both government policy makers and industry leaders are vocal about the need for VE and are taking steps to promote the cause. It was all debated by Hari Menon, CEO, Indiaskills, Sabyasachi Das, Vice President, National Skill Development Corporation, Swapna Dhawan, Principal, Campus & Beyond, Kate Shoesmith Senior Manager for Policy and Practice, Centre for Skill Development, London and Ramesh Takulia, Director-Learning and Development, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces. \\ digital LEARNING
APRIL 2010
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