“Educational institutes have to go through disruption to prepare the new-age workforce for the constantly disruptive nature of jobs”
Mumbai: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) WR organized the 4th edition of the Higher Education Summit 2018 on 10 August in Mumbai. The event commenced with an address from Ninad Karpe, Immediate Past Chairman, CII Western Region & Director, Aptech. The Summit was chaired by Prof. Dr Uday Salunkhe, Chairman, CII Western Region Higher Education Sub-Committee, and Group Director, WeSchool.
In his inaugural address, Ninad Karpe, Immediate Past Chairman, CII Western Region & Director, Aptech said, “Stakeholders in education sector need to ensure the youth is provided with adequate skill sets that will be required in the future.” Underlining the skills gap, he added, “There is a huge gap between the skills imparted by institutes and industry demands. There is an immediate need for collaboration between industry and academia to work in unison towards bridging this gap.”
Addressing the gathering, Prof. Dr Uday Salunkhe, Chairman, CII Western Region Higher Education Sub-Committee, and Group Director, WeSchool said, “Emergence of disruptive technology is driving innovation and offering a plethora of opportunities for learners offline and online. With aggressive enhancement in the fields of AI and refined capabilities in machine learning, education sector needs to create leaders who are well-equipped for the new roles. Value based learning with focus on developing critical thinking is a skill which will leverage the role of technology. Educational institutes have to go through disruption themselves in order to prepare the new-age workforce for the constantly disruptive nature of jobs. The institutes will have to be built on the principle of ‘collaboration’ where the focus will be on imparting problem solving skills.
In her Inaugural address Shaina NC said, “The State government will be happy to facilitate Industry and Academia interventions through Industry Partners such as CII. There is a need to give a thrust to Higher Education and concrete efforts have to be made with specific growth areas in mind”.
The Summit highlighted the need for higher educational institutes to adapt innovation and become flexible. Eminent personalities from academia, government and corporate led the panel discussions on topics such as, ‘Voice of Stakeholders: Expectations and Responsibilities’, ‘Technology Disruption & Future of Work’, ‘Collaboration, Co-creation & Incubation’, ‘Role of Self for the Future of Education’, and the central theme of the event ‘Disrupt or Get Disrupted’.
The summit was also attended by other prominent personalities such as Sanjay Jog, Chief People Officer, Reliance Jio ; Dr. Suhas Pednekar, Vice Chancellor, University of Mumbai; Lyndon Rego, Executive Director, Centre for Leadership at African Leadership University, Mauritius ; Sujatha Sudheendra, Head-HR, Aditya Birla Finance; Sunil Khanna, Chairman, CII WR Sub-Committee on Skill Development & President & Managing Director, Vertiv Energy amongst others.