The landscape of education has been put through a massive overhaul in the last two years. And with the Indian student at centre of the world's attention, given the numbers stranded in Ukraine, time then is perhaps ripe for the best minds in the country to be provided with a platform to discuss the course that education in India is taking.
ThinkEdu 2022 is the grand tenth rendition of what has consistently been India's biggest education conclave for a decade now. March 8 and 9 will see some stalwarts of India's academic, economic and political ecosystems bring ideas, ideologies and reflections on the past, present and future of India's education system. The sessions will be viewed by a live audience, in addition to the 2,750 registered users on the Conclave's digital space.
With Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu inaugurating this year's conclave, there's an absorbing line-up of 12 sessions on Day 1. These will feature Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia delivering a keynote address titled, National Education Policy: View from the State. Another perspective from India's states comes from the Higher Education Minister of Tamil Nadu, who will discuss the theme, Not a NEET India: Respecting Regional Needs. Also, catch noted author and Member of Parliament, Shashi Tharoor speak on Hinduism and Hindutva: Education and the Civilisational Debate.
ThinkEdu has also played host to some gripping sessions in the past featuring MPs Jairam Ramesh, Smriti Irani, former CM of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah and NITI Aayog's CEO, Amitabh Kant. Amongst other notable individuals voicing their thoughts at the Conclave were former Presidents of India Dr Pranab Mukherjee and Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, and spiritual guide Sadhguru. Over the past nine years, ThinkEdu has featured over 400 speakers, delivering 310 sessions, over 175 hours. We have reached out to over 44 million people in print, digital and social media, with more than 12,000 in house audience.
Debating on the universality of education in the country will be Rajya Sabha MP and National Spokesperson of BJP, Sudhanshu Trivedi, Spokesperson of DMK, Saravanan Annadurai, and Prof Gourav Vallabh, Spokesperson of the INC in their session titled, 'Diversity in Action: Making Education Inclusive'. Also on the platform will be Economist and MP, Subramanian Swamy, speaking on India's China challenge in his session, 'The Chinese Model: Can India Catch Up?'. Plus, the day will also play host to the former directors of some of India's most noted IITs, who will discuss where engineering in India is headed towards.
The Governor of Kerala, Arif Mohammed Khan, will flag off the second day, with his speech on 'Education: Victim of Identities'. Day two will see author Vikram Sampath and Spokesperson of the Indian National Congress, Rajeev Gowda, discussing whether India has a colonial hangover and how Indians can break free from any residue shackles. This and a lot more is expected in their session, 'An Epic Idea: Decolonising the Indian Mind'.
Amongst the 16 power-packed sessions on Day 2, will also be the Chairman of the AICTE, Prof Anil Sahasrabudhe, and the UGC, Prof M Jagadesh Kumar, discussing how the education system has managed to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, and what the future holds for a fast-digitising spectrum of Indian education. A panel to watch out for chairs up-an-coming EdTech platforms in the country, discussing how digital education can be taken to all sections of the society.
With 50 such prolific speakers sharing their thoughts across almost 30 different sessions, the two-day ThinkEdu Conclave promises 15 hours of intense, enlightening discourse.
