event report
EDGE 2011:
Shaping Youth’s Future with Higher Education
Panelists at EDGE 2011
Inaugurated for the period of three days (9-11th March 2011), at Indian Habitat Centre, New Delhi, the Edge Forum came up with agenda to shape the future of youth with Higher Education
By Pragya Gupta
S
tarted in 2007, EDGE conference is taking its legacy forward year on year by taking Higher Education to next level of intensification. To speak on ‘Shaping the Future of Indian Higher Education’ EDGE 2011 conference brought together a constellation of stars including Vice-Chancellors, Presidents, Directors, Professors, Education Councils, Entrepreneurs, policy makers and Union ministers to interact, collaborate and understand the prevailing trends in the Higher Education sector. Inaugurating the conference, Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for HRD and Communications and Information Technology, Govt of India said, “India is poised to become the ‘centre of gravity in global Higher Education. We are at the cusp
of next revolution in education in India and more investment in Higher Education is the only way forward. Financing education is a government commitment and our national duty with no strings attached. What we need is a change of mindset among all stakeholders in the Higher Education sector. We must also ensure that the profession of teaching gets highest priority.” Dignitaries present during inauguration are Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Prof C.N.R. Rao, Chairman, Science Advisory Council to Prime Minister, National Research Professor and Linus Pauling Research Professor and Honorary President, JNCASR, Bangalore, Dr Ayoub Kazim, MD, Dubai Knowledge Village and Dubai
International Academic City, Prof Bertil Andersson, Provost, Nanyang Technological University, Ajit Gulabchand, Chairman, Lavasa Corporation, Dr V.S. Ramamurthy, Director, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Prof V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor, IGNOU, Dr S.B. Mujumdar, Chancellor, Symbiosis International University. Prof C.N.R. Rao, well-known educator, scientist and institution builder was honoured with the EDGE Education Personality of the Year Award to recognise his extraordinary and exemplary contribution to Higher Education sector. While receiving the award, Prof Rao focussing on the need and value of teacher-student interaction commented, “Absence of teacher or direct teaching totally based on digitalLEARNING / april 2011
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