With numerous conclaves being organised every other day across India, there is a growing sense of curiosity to know different aspects that may define such summits’ importance. Sandeep Datta and Akash Tomer of Elets News Network (ENN) chose to underline how these mega-events are facilitating things in various ways and sometimes even in exploring answers to perennial problems.
As part of collective endeavour, these summits or conclaves are actually organised to understand, highlight, and discuss any set of issues that influence a sector in various dimensions. Created as platforms for deliberations, arguments or pondering upcoming or existing challenges and their possible solutions, these summits are vital outlets to establish dialogue among all key stakeholders of a mission or contributors giving shape to a vision.
At a time when India is on its way to be a leader in various sectors, conferences and seminars can support the nation in its efforts in innumerable ways. But how? Let’s look at the Indian education sector and scope of such conclaves in paving the way for a big transformation.
The World of Education and the Conclaves — the New-Age Knowledge-Exchange Forums
The education landscape is transforming at a rapid pace to impart quality education to every child. At the same time, a lot of countries across the world are embracing innovative methodologies to improve their teaching-learning processes as well as to nurture their young citizens as the future global leaders.
With a lot of innovation taking place and modern technologies existing in the market, there is a strong sense of desire in a major section of educational organisations to improve and grow holistically. These organisations and their visionary leaders wish to share and understand the best and latest practices at frequent intervals.
Be it seminars, conferences or conclaves, they come up as such useful platforms that may lead to high-level policy changes or rethinking on major issues. They also help stakeholders to talk about or observe the challenges, reforms, innovations, latest practices, pedagogical changes and future prospects of the education sector.
Changing educational scenario andsurge in usage of technology
In case of school education, there was a time when most of us used to look upon it as something confined to merely the study of some common subjects (i.e. Mathematics, Science, English or regional language) to be eligible to earn livelihood or acquire higher education later.
But perceptions have changed due to globalisation and hence the education sector has acquired a new meaning with its own set of challenges and scope of financial benefits as well for various stakeholders.
Due to technology and new career opportunities, a growing number of schools like parents do not wish their students or children to be restricted to thinking of becoming an engineer, doctor or lawyer. They want them to explore something distinct. They are supporting the youngsters to pursue hobbies as career options such as in dance, music, theatre, sports. In brief, there is an overall change in society and growth opportunities for all.
The changing scenario and inclination of parents are among the reasons that the Central and State Governments are now emphasising on skill development of students from a very young age. The Governments have launched various schemes, programmes and initiatives to boost creativity and make Indian youth skilful as per the present industry needs.
Another most important factor for transformation in the education sector is more use of technology.
The technology has now moved beyond the smart board or smart classrooms. Educational institutes are using technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) to provide their students real-time learning experience of different concepts.
These technologies are helping the students to understand topics of different subjects through info graphics, videos, audio-visuals, and presentations.
Reality Check – Are stakeholders awareabout latest innovations?
As a lot is happening in the education sector nowadays in terms of innovations, there is a huge need to fully discuss and understand all possibilities by all stakeholders from end user (public) to service providers (educational institutes and industry).
As in India, a big section of schools continues to rely upon the traditional chalk-and-talk method to impart education, there is a huge scope to propagate about latest technologies and innovations.
In various regions, schools or colleges can benefit tremendously, provided they are familiarised about latest innovations. It is probable that irrespective of government or private sector, looking at elementary or higher education, or even skill education may require a transformed perspective. It is possible to discuss such challenges or scopes of imparting new skills to trainers and trainees and even their organisations through participation in educational conclaves i.e. Elets World Education Summits.
These platforms can serve as useful forums for obtaining detailed information of the latest practices and accordingly bringing the change in goals and approaches.
Conclaves – A Multi-Dimensional Solution of Common Challenges
While the Government is taking lot of initiatives and schools want to adopt every innovative and successful practice and parents want their children to study in a globally competitive environment, various challenges exist.
The major challenge is of communication gap. There is still a big scope and need for a majority of stakeholders of the education sector to properly understand and explore about the Government or private sector initiatives, latest methodologies, technological tools. But the information is not getting delivered from source to end user at an expected pace. Here, summits or conclaves play a vital role.
Ultimate Solution to Bridge the CommunicationGap
Every day, there are new innovations related to lecture delivery methodologies, curriculum and pedagogy. These innovations and ICT are supporting schools, colleges and universities to deliver the knowledge swiftly and precisely.
As a platform, which brings policymakers, preschools, schools, higher education institutes, edtech corporate and edu-leaders, a conclave serves as the best medium to facilitate things as a comprehensive communication channel about the most recent developments in the education sector.
There is a need to duly recognise genuine and reputed conclaves that involve conferences, expos, and networking opportunities between the buyers and sellers, or for the innovators, experts, and policymakers. This is because these are needed as quintessential platforms of open and all inclusive knowledge-exchange. Also, because they initiate highest level of engagement for all irrespective of place. These conclaves also continue to influence the decision makers and experts, even months after they actually take place with the help of social media as well.
Summits such as being organised for about one- and-a-half decades by Elets Technomedia in the field of education, smart city, e-governance, and the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI).
In case of educational conclaves, the annual events like the World Education Summits are helping the educational institutes and teachers to take the meaning of imparting education to a new level.
The summits hold an unprecedented significance in redefining the objectives and approaches to perceive meaning of literacy, knowledge, and skills in sync with the modern-day trends and making them relevant as per market demands.
