Global dialogue on the new paradigm of education witnessed a significant positive thrust through insights from international educators and thought leaders at the STTAR Global School Education Conference hosted by Saamarthya Teachers Training Academy of Research (STTAR).
Held on May 19 & 20, 2023 at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi, the two-day conference saw exchange of innovative ideas on the theme ‘Education For A Sustainable Future’. The inaugural day had keynote addresses by Anurag Tripathi, secretary, CBSE, Dr. Pavel Luksha, founder-director of Global Education Futures, Netherlands, and Shishir Jaipuria, chairman FICCI Arise and chairman, Seth Anandram Jaipuria Group of Educational Institutions.
While Tripathi highlighted the challenges Indian education faces in its quest to meet the vision of NEP 2020, Luksha provided the global perspective by touching upon the emergent trends in both pedagogy and technology, with a particular focus on the disruptive AI interventions. Shishir Jaipuria laid out the societal, economic and geo-political challenges the world currently faces and stressed on the ever important role of education in meeting them. Delivering the vote of thanks, Vinod Malhotra, chairman, Academic Council, STTAR, underscored the importance sustainable practices in all human endeavours and extracted from the audience an oath of allegiance towards creating a sustainable future.
The first day was power-packed with three panel discussions on the most relevant topics pertaining to education ecosystems, namely, ‘Reinventing the Roots of New-Age Education’, ‘Building Future Learning Systems’, and ‘Student Engagement and Assessments’. The discussions witnessed deep deliberations on the important aspects of modern education with insights from top educators and thought leaders such as Vrinda Sarup, former secretary, school education and literacy, Government of India; Dr. Rupamanjari Ghosh, former vice chancellor, Shiv Nadar University; Ranjan Paul, former director, IMS; Abha Adams, former director, The Shri Ram School; Narayanan Ramaswamy, national leader, education and skill development, KPMG; Darshan Singh, chairman, Welham Boys School and Anil Rewari, global AI and ML consultant, to name a few.
The day also saw the release of the ‘21st Century Framework for Teacher Education’ and four knowledge reports by STTAR. The framework is a particularly helpful guide for the teachers who want to stay abreast of the new-age pedagogy and technology.
The second day featured a mix of academic masterclasses and industry-oriented sessions. Shreyaan Daga, co-founder of OLL, an online learning platform, spoke about putting learners and their interests and dreams right at the centre of education. A case study of Druk Padma Karpo School from Leh was presented by its principal Mingur Angmo. The case study was an eye-opener about how a school nestled in the Great Himalayas leveraged innovative pedagogy to turn challenges into new opportunities.
The highlight of the day was the STTAR Education Excellence Awards during which Padma Shri Mohandas Pai, chairman of Manipal Global Education Services and Aarin Capital, was awarded the Shiksha Garima Puraskar and also delivered a powerful address on ‘Education and Skills For Amrit Kaal’. He said that a future rife with immense potential and opportunity awaits India which is the fastest growing large economy with the world’s highest population with a median age in the 20s. The awards also recognised and honoured educators and schools in different categories for their exemplary contribution to education.
The winners were selected through a rigorous scanning and vetting process by an independent jury comprising the likes of Saba Alam, partner, Leadership Mavericks; G. Veerappan, former vice president, Quess Corp; Dr. Ranjan Paul, former director, IMS Delhi; Anand Mohan Jha, ex senior vice president, NSDC; Ruby Malhotra, principal, Delhi Police Public School; Shiv Shukla, education consultant, and Shelley Chhabra, senior policy manager, IAMAI.
Given the phenomenal response to its Global School Education Conference, STTAR and its global partners Global Education Futures and The Weaving Lab, have decided to make the conference an annual affair.
Sushma Raturi, member secretary, Academic Council, STTAR, says, “Right from conceptualisation to implementation, we have been convinced of creating a positive narrative for shaping education for a sustainable future by bringing together some of the sharpest minds and experienced personas from the world of education. I’m extremely heartened by the response to the conference and happy to share with you that the conference will be an annual event and a significant forum for the education community globally.”
During the conference, STTAR — a premier teachers training academy that is transforming the education landscape through professional development of teachers, curriculum development, school enrichment programmes, and action research — also launched self-paced learning courses for teachers which can be accessed on https://online.sttar.in/
Annual school exams are just round the corner. It’s that time of year when teachers gear up to address the learning needs of students, guide them in better preparation, share tips and tricks to consolidate learning and – by and large – ensure better performance and outcomes. Doing so requires cutting-edge competencies over and above what K-12 teachers may already have.
