BW Businessworld Wraps Up BW Education Edunext Summit & 40Under40 Awards

BW Education in association with BW Businessworld hosted day-long event 'BW Education EduNext Summit & 40under40 Awards' on Wednesday, 31 January 2024 at India International Centre, New Delhi. The event saw participation from industry stalwarts and experts who involved in various panel discussions, powerpoint presentation and keynote address. A book based on parenting was also launched on the occasion. Later in the day, the award ceremony took place. 

Unlocking the potential of emerging technologies in education

"The biggest boon for students in the last year is generative AI since it allows one to develop large language models on very specific customised tailored content," stated Dr Himadri Das, Director General, International Management Institute, New Delhi. 

Discussing the use of technology during the Covid-19 pandemic, the director further explained that while technology was used to enhance content delivery, it did not change the way students learned.

"The ultimate learning pedagogical objective should be a flip classroom model. Students learn concepts and theories on their own and come to the classrooms to learn applications and cases from the faculties," he added.

Meanwhile, Abhay G Chebbi, Pro Chancellor, Alliance University, stated that education is different from finance and human knowledge needs to be upgraded. 

"We are the subjects here. Generative AI has taken us to a scale where we can truly augment ourselves, to do this we need to recognise that this is good, and not just for the country or society but for us as individuals," Chebbi said.

Further explaining how generative AI can create remarkable results if used effectively, the pro chancellor said "Institutions must funnel technology as a tool and chart out a plan."

"Online learning can solve many problems, but availability is key," stated Prof Dr Uma Shankar Venkatesh, Professor, Marketing, Great Lakes Institute of Management Gurgaon. Debating further about the quality of education, the professor stressed accessibility over quality. 

"Access to education is the biggest problem to solve, with a gross enrollment ratio of only 27 per cent in 2022. Quality of learning is a second notion. Online learning can solve many problems. However, we must not forget the keyword here is availability," said Saurabh Kumar Chaubey, CEO, IHUB.

Anubhuti, IIITD Foundation, believes that AI can make education more personalised, immersive, and cost-effective. "The possibilities that can open up with edtech and technology are immense. From customising textbooks to examinations and even to selecting careers."

Additionally, he mentioned that specially-abled people are accessing education through technology, and educational institutions should implement technology more strongly.

Yogendra Patidar, Director, CIVOM, who was one of the panel speakers at the BW Education EduNext Summit & 40 under 40 Awards stated that educational institutions' expectations depend on how we look at the goals. 

"How strongly we discover the program will help us enable the technologies around it, that where we can set it right. The role of a teacher has also changed in regards to technology, with traditional approaches being replaced with a guide-by-the-side approach," concluded Patidar. 

From classrooms to careers: how to nurture 21st century skills in students

With informational technology and AI being infused in the classroom, the role of a teacher is changing from being a teacher to a peer and now being a mentor. Today’s gadget world is making it more difficult to capture the attention span of a child in the classroom. According to the World Economic Forum, 70 per cent of all jobs will be mechanised entirely.

Dr Pritam Kumar Agarwal, Founder and CEO, Hello Kids Preschool & Riverstone School, emphasised, “Personally, never in my life a teacher asked me if I understood what they taught me. Teachers must be inspiring; children should feel like talking to you, listening to you and working with you. Till the time we don’t understand this, NEP or any other policy does not work.”

He mentioned that understanding the child you are teaching is key to improving the education system.

Jyotsna Davar, Lecturer, Directorate of Education, Govt of NCT of Delhi, said, “Teachers must undergo a paradigm shift and be level with today’s children. Parents are unable to provide children with the skills they need to acquire in the classroom, teachers have to do that. It cannot be taught through direct teaching; it must be taught while playing or in group activities. The whole pedagogy must go through a change including the evaluation system. Something dynamic is required which is why we keep conducting teacher trainings.”

She noted that the industry has taken a while to adapt because there was no perception about how fast children’s mental abilities were growing.

Anju Gaur, Principal, JKG International School, Vijay Nagar asserted, “Communication between two people has a purpose, it’s to make the person you are conversing with understand what you want to say. If children are taught in their mother tongue in their beginning years, it helps a lot.”

She explained that there is a need for one-on-one workshops with parents. They need to realise that there is a need to be very selective about what they speak in front of their children because most of the learning in a child’s life happens till the age of 7 to 8 years.  

Speaking at the BW Education EduNext Summit & 40under40 Awards, Sneha Rathor Khandelwal, CEO, Sanfort Group of Schools highlighted, “As educators, mental health is something which is very important nowadays especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. We see the consequences of it now especially when talking about mental health. For children and teachers, the biggest thing in dealing with mental health is being closer to the people you are working with. The problem is that you’re not hearing people out, so you’re not able to connect. The kind of lifestyle we are living in is all about running from A to B to C to D. We do not take a pause in the journey to connect with the people who are on that journey with us.”

Book launch by Dr Manjula Pooja Shroff, MD and CEO, Kalorex Group

The event saw the launch of a book on parenting – ‘Baby Steps to Big Dreams' authored by Manjula Pooja Shroff, MD & CEO of the Kalorex group. The book was launched on the 23 August 2023, in Mauritius in the presence of president of Mauritius Prithvirajsing Roopun GCSK.  

Within a short period, the book has already been declared as the Number #1 Best Seller by Amazon under the category of family and relationships. The book further has the privilege of being the only book to have been launched at a United Nation COP Summit till date. This launch happened on the 1 December 2023.

A regular columnist, vlogger and life coach, Shroff has been honoured with several awards including the Secular India award from the President of India. Shroff believes in working towards the mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing of people through her exclusive work called SHROFFism.

The book delves into a whole range of issues pertaining to parenting. Speaking on the occasion, Shroff said pre-teens are not just growing at home, but on the wide world of internet. They are being subjected to cyber bullying and body shaming. They are suffering from low self-esteem as a result. Hence, it is important to talk about sex, alcohol and drug abuse and not to shy away from addressing these issues. She informed that the book, based on development sciences has data, case studies and what’s happening on the ground and resonates in society.

Shroff talked about the need to promote understanding about AI. She cited the recent news of a chi being installed in human brain, and said whether we like it or not, by 2040, humans will be living, working and competing with humanoids. The difference will be that of intellect. It's our inner  wisdom that will define us.

Building future ready schools

Schools worldwide are embracing ‘future ready’ learning environments to revolutionise education and prepare students for tomorrow's challenges. These innovative spaces focus on equipping students with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in an ever-changing world.

Dr Neeru Madhuri Parti, Strategic Drector, Cyboard School, emphasises the urgency of adapting to the digital age, "Today universities are already online, schools need to be online as soon as possible." She highlights the importance of teachers integrating content with experience and knowledge, stating, "Collaboration will teach our children empathy and courage for life's challenges." Dr Parti marks the role of flip classrooms and peer learning in children's growth.

Mousumi Mukherjee, Teacher, GD Goenka International School, advocates for a balanced approach to learning,  "Children are more comfortable in the digital world than us, but they should also understand traditional learning methods." She stresses the importance of parent orientation and providing children with diverse experiences beyond digital learning.

Future ready schools prioritise personalised learning, catering to individual student needs and interests. They encourage real-world application of knowledge through hands-on projects and experiential learning opportunities. 

Amol Arora, Managing Director, Shemrock and Shemford Group of Schools, acknowledges the challenge of digital access and emphasises the need for careful implementation, "Learning happens at home first. Flip classrooms should be there, but expecting children to study solely from devices is not correct." He addresses bullying concerns, suggesting specific practices in school curricula for sensitisation.

In addition to academic excellence, future ready schools prioritise social-emotional learning, fostering empathy, resilience and adaptability in students. Through comprehensive support systems, they nurture well-rounded individuals capable of navigating the complexities of the modern world with confidence and integrity.

As the educational landscape evolves, future ready schools lead the way in shaping the future of learning. By empowering students to become lifelong learners and change-makers, they create a generation poised to make a difference in their communities and beyond.

How are edtech transforming the Indian education system

The key industry experts shared their insights on how edtech is transforming the Indian education system. India is at a crossroads in its educational system and is trying to use technology and motivate educators to close disparities. Technology, innovation and pedagogical changes together have the potential to bring out the good change and create a dynamic educational environment for future generations.

Nirvaan Birla, Managing Director, Birla Open Minds and Birla Brainiacs, shared his thoughts on how edtech is amalgamating with academia. “Technology and edtech is a supplement to the traditional method of education. I don’t think technology can ever replace traditional schooling methodologies, but technology has somewhere helps teachers as well to analyse students’ strengths and weakness,” Birla stressed. 

Dr Sameeruddin Khan, Dean, School of CSE & IS and Presidency University, Bangalore, shared his thoughts on how edtech’s application is transforming the education system. “I won’t say that edtech will lead to hybrid learning, but edtech can be very helpful for teachers,” Dr Khan said. “ChatGPT is very significant in use that if I would ask a kid to write an essay he might take help from ChatGPT but we won’t be able to put his personal experiences in the essay. And for that we need to blend some teaching methods,” he added.

Atul Bharat, Group Director, Acropolis Institutions, Indore, shared his thoughts on how edtech solutions have contributed in bridging the gap in educational systems. “As per the need of the education system, the academicians have to redefine their methodologies. In our education system, by 2030-35, Tier 1 and Tier 2 institutions may become enablers of better hybrid modes, while Tier 3 will take additional years to develop,” Bharat stated.

“According to me, Tier 3 will take a long time to catchup with edtech as hybrid learning is not developed yet and Tier 1 & 2 is facing challenges with finding the quality teachers. The education system needs academicians monitoring sessions,” Birla added.  

Dr Rana Singh, Director, Chandragupt Institute of Management, Patna, shares his thoughts on the challenges faced by edtech Tier 1,2 and 3. “Regulatory component of not allowing any institutions to start online education is the biggest challenge that our education system is facing and according to me, the sooner we start regulatory complusions - the faster we can accomplish the envision goals in more efficient and effective manner,” Dr Singh underlined. 

Etinder Pal Singh, Dy Director, Apeejay School of Management, sharing his thoughts on the challenges faced by edtech said, “According to me, edtech is the biggest challengers of edtech itself. Democratisation of content is the main issue, as Indians have the most access to digital use, if a person is using technology for using whatsapp and scrolling Instagram, then that person can use technology for educating himself as well, but schools/institutions need to take a step ahead to make education to be reachable to everyone.”  

“According to me, the biggest challenge is the ‘focus’ while learning. The entire content of digital media is coming from advertisement and I’m a bit worried about what my child will consume. Digital media should have a quality content, because learning totally depends on what we consume,” Bharat added.  

“There is a major difference between edtech and YouTube and the content on YouTube is not curated. I have a slight doubt in effectiveness of edtech’s learning,” Dr Khan added.

Learning spaces: How to develop them in schools

Yogendra Patidar, Director, CIVOM, shared his thoughts on why learning and learning spaces should be changed and the importance of technology advancement, knowledge of learning and user behaviour in learning space.  

Patidar shared his point of view on how learning, education and schools are different, “According to me there is a small difference, learning is acquiring new skills and knowledge whereas education is the plant programme for learning and school is where the education ought to happen.” 

CIVOM, a space creating design organisation, collects students’ data from Indian genealogy to enable learning behaviour through space.  

Integrating skill industry, academia connect and employability for a holistic education

Two different aspects are extremely critical in today’s education, employability and employment. The edtech startups strive with the same aim to equip students with employability and provide them with ample skills which can cater to the needs of the industry. 

During the discourse at the BW Education 40 under 40 Summit, Punith Raj K N, Founder and CEO, Seminar Room Education said, “ The employability rate has moved from 33 per cent to 51 per cent which is a phenomenal increment. Wherein, to push it from 50 per cent to 70 per cent, we can not rely only on government initiatives and schemes. Instead, we need to focus on Universities and enablers like edtech firms to bring significant change.”

Speaking at the event, the experts said that the root problem in the education system is that students are conditioned to crack jobs and examinations overnight or before the placement season. Employers are looking much beyond academics or skills which are not covered in academics. Even trivial, the Indian education system lacks the training of such skills leading to the inception of various edtech startups.

"We need entrepreneurs, but more than that, we need people with an entrepreneur mindset. Meta and Google of the world are not being run by the founders but by CEOs having an entrepreneur mindset. We may need thousands or millions of entrepreneurs, but more than that we need people with an entrepreneur mindset to ensure they work in tandem with entrepreneurs to create bigger businesses and indirectly create more employment,” said Ankit Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Unstop. 

Adding to Aggarwal’s comment, Ketan Deshpande, Founder & CEO, Friends Union for Energising Lives (FUEL), also emphasised on ‘entrepreneurial mindset and said, “Such mindset needs to be conditioned at schools and colleges. We have been teaching students with academics which will not lead to creating entrepreneurs. Content should be structured in a way which will deliver and make them entrepreneurs.”

He further added, we also need intrapreneurs which will give that qualification for them responsibility. Intrapreneurs have been given P&L responsibilities to managers who manage the P&L of that division. Hence, they are also entrepreneurs in the sense who play pivotal roles in the organisation. Intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs should be used in accordance with the needs of the country.

Addressing the question on challenges while integrating students and industries, Kishor Acharya, Head - Marketing, Masai School, said, “We are getting interest from the students, however conventional requirement of credentials from hiring managers particularly in tech acts as a hurdle. Such a mindset is gradually changing and further integrating skills with job demand will reduce the friction.”

“People are looking for ways to educate people better, but apprehension persists about their employability. That’s where industry has to come towards academia and help with curriculum and thought process. Likewise academia should also understand the trend and train students accordingly to make them employment ready,” concluded Puneet Dhiman, CEO and Founder, Chaabi.

Artificial Intelligence in education

Artificial intelligence (AI) is making significant strides in education, presenting both opportunities and challenges for the way we teach and learn.

In education, AI's adaptive learning systems analyse individual student data to provide tailored lessons and assessments. Platforms like Knewton offer personalised learning experiences, addressing the unique needs of each learner.

Similarly, intelligent tutoring systems, such as Cogito, simulate human tutors to provide one-on-one instruction, guidance, and feedback, particularly in subjects like mathematics and science.

Shailendra Dhakad, CEO, Smart Owl Education, said, “We use AI to get new activity suggestions; thus, AI is helping us in idea generation; education can be the biggest vertical use case for AI.”

Educational data mining and learning analytics leverage AI to process large datasets, offering valuable insights and recommendations to educators, learners and policymakers. This data-driven approach enhances decision-making processes, contributing to a more informed and effective educational system.

Srishty Jain, Founder and CEO, Collearn, said, “30 per cent of our time and efforts and resources are saved because of using AI. We are about to induct our chatbot grading system, where AI will be used to ascertain a student's capabilities and map them with the required companies.”

AI is also employed in automated assessment and feedback. Services like Turnitin use AI to evaluate written work, checking for plagiarism, grammar and originality. Timely and constructive feedback is then provided to students, aiding in their learning journey.

Charan Lakkaraju, CEO, Student Tribe, said, “We use AI to promote vernacular language." However, the integration of AI in education comes with challenges. Concerns about biases and fairness arise as AI systems may perpetuate stereotypes and lead to unequal outcomes for different groups of learners.

Dr Nachiket Bhatia, CEO, Dr Bhatia Medical Coaching Institute, stated, “Development and training of AI is one of the biggest challenges." Ensuring transparency in AI operations is crucial, as complex decision-making processes may be challenging to understand or explain. Additionally, the reliability of AI-driven assessments and feedback must be maintained to uphold educational standards.

“Development and training of AI is one of the biggest challenges," added Dr Bhatia.