The ‘Karnataka NEP Conclave 2021’ is an initiative of Government of Karnataka in association with ISDC
- The full-day event themed “Strategising the Future of Higher Education” witnessed over 200 participants including government officials, educationists, representatives of leading universities, industry experts and corporates
- The event also witnessed 5 unique panels with 25 panellists discussing the future of the NEP and strategies provisions to enable internationalization in the education & jobs sectors
Bengaluru, 13th November 2021: The Higher Education Council, Government of Karnataka in collaboration with International Skill Development Corporation (ISDC), the UK headquartered skill development and education company to organisations worldwide, successfully organised Karnataka’s first NEP conclave today in Bengaluru. The Karnataka NEP Conclave 2021, themed ‘Strategising the Future of Higher Education’, was inaugurated by Dr. Ashwath Narayan CN, Hon’ble Minister of Higher Education, IT and BT, Science and Tech and Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka.
The event witnessed over 200 participants including government officials, educationists, representatives of leading universities, industry experts and corporates. Notably, around 5 unique panel discussions were curated with 25 panellists discussing international opportunities for the NEP and developing schemes for effective implementation of the Policy in the State of Karnataka by adopting the best of global practices, identifying skill gaps, catering to industry and skill centric awareness and creating job opportunities both nationally and internationally.
Eminent dignitaries included Prof. Gopalkrishna Joshi, Executive Director, Karnataka State Higher Education Council; Mr. Pradeep P IAS, Commissioner, Dept. of Collegiate Education & Technical Education, Government of Karnataka; Ms. Teresa Jacobs, Executive Director – Learning, International Skill Development Corporation; Dr. Venugopal K R, Vice Chancellor, Bangalore University; Dr. Raj Singh, Vice Chancellor, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), Bengaluru; Dr. Y. S. R. Murthy, Vice Chancellor, RV University, Bengaluru; Mr. Jayaprakash Reddy, Chief Business Officer, JAIN Online, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University); Dr. Anuradha Varma, Global Learning Business Partner, EY GDS and Mr. Rangarajan Subramanian, Senior Associate Director, KPMG, to name a few.
Delivering his inaugural address at the conclave, Hon’ble Minister Dr. Ashwath Narayan CN, said, “As education providers, we have so much responsibility bestowed upon us. We need to fulfil it with the right set of knowledge and holistic approach. NEP is a positive approach and is addressing all the challenges the education sector is facing in today’s scenario. With the successful implementation of NEP, Karnataka will become the top-notch education destination in the next 20 years for India as well as for the globe. Education is the only source of sustainable and quality lives. The state government is open for any opportunities to advance and revamp the education system for betterment of our students and provide an educational environment of informed education, encouragement and enlightenment. NEP is absolutely in sync with the govt policies as it promises internationalization, skilling, and digitalization of the education system to create young minds. We are glad to be the first state to be implementing the NEP and be a model for the country to follow. Our motto is to provide the right quality and holistic education for which we look forward to having the highest level of dedication from all the stakeholders – students, teachers, institutions and government.”
He further added, “NEP will be supporting the government institutions which will directly benefit 95% of the students belonging to the socially and economically disadvantaged class of Karnataka.”
Prof. Gopalkrishna Joshi, Executive Director, Karnataka State Higher Education Council, chairing the panel titled “NEP & Rationale of Internationalisation” said, “The accelerated execution of NEP in the country will aid in internationalisation of Indian higher education system which will not only help our student to get access to global education platforms but also widened the path for outside students to study in India.”
Mr. Pradeep P IAS, Commissioner, Department of Collegiate Education &Technical Education, Government of Karnataka emphasised that NEP will help in identifying the skills gaps, developing those gaps and upscaling job opportunities in the state. In a nutshell, it is an enabler to equip the Next Gen with future-ready skills for a better tomorrow”
Speaking at the conclave, Mr. Tom M Joseph – Executive Director, Strategy & Development, ISDC, UK, said, “India is a budding and dynamic country and so it is highly imperative to focus on transforming the education sector as it is one of the means to build the socio-economic condition of the nation. Over the years, the Indian education system has undergone positive changes. The absorption of technology by the sector has made learning accessible to every student in the country. In the run, the recommended National Education Policy 2020 will certainly empower education and skill infrastructure base in the country, eventually expand our reach to global education platforms. It outlines the direction for implementing the truly global standards, thereby, internationalising the higher education system in India. Through The Karnataka NEP conclave 2021, we are happy to bring the experts and like-minded personalities across the table to discuss the steps needed to fasten the NEP in order to achieve goals, propel the role of digital and identifying possible collaboration towards the process of Internationalising Indian Higher Education.”
Prof. Lingaraja Gandhi, Vice Chancellor, Bengaluru City University said, “NEP-2020 which is being implemented in the Universities and colleges across Karnataka is a holistic, ‘multidisciplinary’ system which transforms educational landscape which is best suited for the 21st century. Student/ learner centric education system aspires to bring seminal changes in curriculum, pedagogy and assessment patterns. Embedded into the curriculum, the courses in skill development, ability enhancement and social and moral values. Learning across disciplines, freedom to choose and change the areas of interest with multi-options to enter and exit with adequate skill, knowledge and values at each stage, the NEP offers opportunity for lifelong learning. Central to NEP is the technology aided blended mode of teaching learning, and the option to earn 40% of course credits through approved online platforms.
NEP-2020 focuses on experiential learning- hands on learning, leering through projects, internships which calls for the collaboration between industry- academia. NEP-2020 is the bright hope for 21 century learners. I am happy, the Govt of Karnataka and ISDC have organised this important conclave to explore the avenues of collaboration to promote and realise the fundamental aspirations of NEP-2020.”
Mr. Jayaprakash Reddy, Chief Business Officer, JAIN Online, an e-learning arm of JAIN (Deemed-to-be University) said, “Technology use and its integration in higher education can play a vital role in achieving the objectives of NEP. Educational institutions and universities offering higher education need to adopt latest technologies in program designing, delivery and student engagement. Use of emerging technologies like AI, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing and so on can enhance students’ capacity, thereby, increasing gross enrolment ratio.”
Other eminent personalities at the conclave included: Dr. Dhimant Ganatra, Deputy Director – JAIN Online, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University); Mr. R S Rajan, Co-Founder & Director, Livpure; Mr. Milind B Date, Director – Learning & Development, International Skill Development Corporation (ISDC); Dr. Anand K Joshi, Country Policy Advisor, International Skill Development Corporation (ISDC); Dr. KK Ramachandran, Director, GRD Group of Institutions, Coimbatore; Dr. Daniel Fernandes SJ, Principal
St. Joseph’s College, Hassan; Mr. Deepak Khurana, Director – Sustainable Finance, Refinitiv (London Stock Exchange Group); and Dr. M Ramachandra Gowda, Vice Chancellor, Rani Channamma University, Belagavi.
