Education thought leaders & industry experts share innovative ways to position India as global hub for higher education
New Delhi: With a view to deliberate upon the future of higher education & skilling and with the objective of promoting world class quality education, innovation and research in India, apex industry body ASSOCHAM conducted a two-day 13th Higher Education, Skill and Livelihood Conclave that kicked off here today.
The day one of the two-day event featured about 10 sessions spanning key areas viz., quality education, innovation, research and others with over 100 participants including university professionals, industry experts with decades of higher education sector experience.
Setting the tone for the event, ASSOCHAM’s secretary general, Mr Deepak Sood welcomed the delegates and said, “The education curriculum needs to instill apprenticeship and internship more holistically. The assigned budget of Rs 100 lakh crore for skill development is undoubtedly a step in the right direction.”
Terming education as a crucial and a fundamental pillar to society, Mr Sood said, “The well-being of students and teachers need to be considered for a holistic approach.”
He added, “India is going to be the youngest country by 2030, thus it becomes important and pertinent to instil our youth with employable skills.”
Delivering the thematic address, Dr Prashant Bhalla, chairman, ASSOCHAM National Council on Education said, “Artificial intelligence, internet of things (IoT) and machine learning are the requisites for industry 4.0 and need to be inculcated in our academics.”
He also said that government, institutions and industry bodies need to come together to enable a better educational environment in the country.
Dr Niranjan Hiranandani, president, ASSOCHAM delivered the special address and stressed that for India to become the educational hub of the world. The change has to start today.
“Today the top CEOs of the world are Indians who completed their education abroad, as such we need to set up aspirational benchmarks and goals for India to succeed as an educational hub,” said the ASSOCHAM chief.
Dr Hiranandani further said that India is now at a position where education and skill development needs to be revolutionised beyond policies.
In her keynote address, Dr (Mrs) Pankaj Mittal, secretary general, AIU said that all skilled jobs need to be dignified in our society as only then we can promote skill development and provide a learning environment for our youth.
“Upskilling and reskilling are not just required for students but also for the teachers of curriculum,” she said.
Dr Mittal, while sharing her perspective on current scenario in education sector in India also congratulated ASSOCHAM on their achievement for shedding light on the imperative pillar of growth.
In the concluding remarks, Kunwar Shekhar Vijendra, co-chairman, ASSOCHAM National Council on Education said, “We need to work towards the common goal of ensuring that our demographics prove to be a boon for us rather than be a bane.”
“We need to be learners first and educators later,” he said thereby focusing on the need for continuous upskilling for all.
He added that democratisation of education is possible through online learning.