Karnataka higher education minister to speak at Commonwealth conference in London

Karnataka higher education minister Ashwath Narayan will address a gathering of over 150 attendees from commonwealth countries at the Commonwealth Education Conference to be held in collaboration with British education provider International Skill Development Corporation (ISDC) on May 19 in London, ISDC said in a statement.

Bridge India, a non-profit organisation, is organising the Commonwealth Education Conference this year. The conference aims to bring together leading innovators from the higher education and edtech sector.

ISDC in the past years has been working with Indian universities and colleges to address the skill gap in various sectors. The student-centric partnerships focus on quality education, skill development programme and training for students to make them career ready.

Several sessions at the event will be conducted by experts from the education sector. Narayan will be the keynote speaker for a session on ‘How to build a national Higher Education system in the 21st century'. The Karnataka minister will also speak on the National Education Policy 2020 in his address.

‘What is my vision for a post-COVID realignment of education’ is another keynote session which will have Tom Joseph, executive director, Strategy & Development, ISDC; Supriyo Chaudhuri, chief learning officer, Australian Technical and Management College (ATMC); Kevin McCole, managing director, UK India business council (UKIBC) and Priyank Kharge, former minister for IT and Biotechnology, Government of Karnataka, as panellists. They will discuss the post-pandemic education ecosystem.

ISDC presentation on ‘Collaborative Approach- Building Partnerships is the New Way of Working’ will also be a part of the session. The presentation will share how ISDC’s collaboration with Indian education institutions has given Indian students opportunities to experience British education and has helped build robust education and career for students.

‘Beyond branch campuses’, a panel discussion, will see participation of Peter Francis, deputy-vice-chancellor (Academic), Birmingham City University and Manish Malhotra, founder and chairman, ATMC Education Group. They will discuss different approaches to branch campuses, the opportunities student and staff are given through branch campuses and joint degree programmes.

“We are proud to associate with bridge India to organise the Commonwealth Education Conference. In many ways, the pandemic has disrupted the education sector worldwide, from student experiences to business models. In response to the new challenges, educators from around the world have devised innovative solutions. The Commonwealth education conference aims to bring together innovators from across various disciplines to collaborate on the best ways to set the pace and keep up with changes in education. The one-day forum will bring together education and policy leaders across countries and help build global partnerships. A special focus at the conference will be on the concept of a digital Commonwealth, which makes collaborations across borders easier in a post-pandemic world,” said Joseph about the conference.