Talking on futurism of education and the need of a complete disruption in existing education system,
Dr. Jitendra K. Das, Director at FORE School of Management, New Delhi, cited the likelihood of Google Glass or similar wearable intelligent device, being used by students while writing an exam is imminent in the future.
“Along with innovation in pedagogy, transformation in teaching methodology, evolution in examination pattern is also a crying need. Open book examination system, where all resources are made available to the students, can be looked upon as an option as an alternative to the existing conventional pattern of Read, Recollect and Reproduce”, said Dr. Das who was the session chair at the recently held seminar -
The Asia Pacific Summit on Teaching Learning Content and Process on Higher Education, organized by Federation for World Academics (FWA).
Other panellists in the session were
Prof. M. J. Xavier – COO, Karunya University, Coimbatore;
Ms. Anjali Singh, SVP & COO Financial Services, Genpact;
Dr. Irfan A. Rizvi, VP-FWA,
Ms. Pria Warrick, President, Pria Warrick Finishing Academy.
Prof. M. J. Xavier mentioned about the highly polarized job scenario and said, “There is a complete mismatch in the compensation slabs with either a highly paid job or a low level one. Employability has to address the concept of universal basic income. If you want to be an entrepreneur you are either in a high tech or Finmart business else end up being in a ‘pakoda’ business. How do you balance this? New models and reforms are needed where students can learn ‘Just in time’ as they need to be equipped with the different types of market demands which will eventually address this polarization.
Ms. Anjali Singh mentioned about the significant gap in ‘Talent Readiness’ as by the year 2030 an estimated 1/3
rd of the jobs will change typically and what a student learns in the 1
st year will probably become redundant when he is in the 4
th year. “Talent Readiness is a CXO top priority among the corporate. Genpact has come up with modules and tying up with universities to avoid the initial training period for fresh recruits. More of these programs are needed which eventually could address the issue and be a win-win-win situation for the university, student and corporate”, she said.
Dr. Irfan A Rizvi stated that higher education programs rolled out should be in sync with the market and outcomes should be well-defined. He recommended a 5 P guideline to be followed for designing any program:
1. Purpose
2. Products and services
3. Process and People
4. Partners and stakeholders
5. Purchasers or Market
Delegates from academia, industry and government attended the seminar. Speakers from Universities, Business Schools, NASSCOM, NSDC and CII deliberated on challenges and futurism of education with Vision of 2030.
Earlier in the day,
Dr. Sandhya Chintala, Vice President, IT-ITeS Skill Council at NASSCOM, shared thought-provoking insights on the changing scenario and impact of Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, 3D printing or Nanotechnology. She mentioned how the new age technology will be creating more avenues and said, “While India becomes a trillion dollar economy by 2025, the single largest challenge country will face is creating talent readiness for the immense opportunities and changing job roles. For an MBA student, the administrative or project management skills may not be that critical anymore as it would be something which is expected to be an inherent skill-set in every candidate. Similarly, future-ready master faculty would also be in high demand”.
Prof. Suresh Advani, President- MODY University, resonating similar sentiments, said, “We educators have to inculcate a culture where students are inspired to learn and acquire knowledge instead of pushing some classroom theories down their throat, and encourage rote learning to score marks”.