Anant National University holds 3-day conference on future of learning

The forum was inaugurated by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in the presence of UGC chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, and 28 delegates from 5 continents.

Anant National University and the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education on Tuesday, March 28, jointly launched the Future of Learning collaborative at the University campus in Ahmedabad. The collaboration aims to address critical challenges faced by the education sector and devise plausible solutions to deliver high-quality education.

The conference comprised thought leaders, academics, policymakers, practitioners, innovators, investors, and entrepreneurs coming together to design better learning environments for future generations of learners. (Handout)

The forum was inaugurated by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in the presence of Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman of the University Grants Commission, and 28 delegates from five continents, including Europe, South America, North America, the Middle East, and Asia.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that the 21st century is the century of empowerment through knowledge. He emphasised that people-centric solutions are the core of education for a sustainable future, and holistic thinking is the pathway. He expressed his confidence that this discourse would suggest scalable ways to keep the public purposes of education at the center of learning and for economic empowerment.

The three-day conference (March 28-30) comprised thought leaders, academics, policymakers, practitioners, innovators, investors, and entrepreneurs coming together to design better learning environments for future generations of learners and provide them with accessible, affordable, and empowering education.

"Today's youth are aspirational. They are lifelong learners, creative, innovative, problem solvers and leaders. They are risk-takers who learn from their failures and essentially want to become a good human being. The National Education Policy is designed to fulfil these aspirations. I am positive that the deliberations from the Future of Learning conference will touch upon these points for holistic development", said UGC Chairperson Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar.

“The purpose of the collaborative is to explore the role, purpose, reach and dissemination of education and learning in the context of a world that is changing fast for reasons such as climate change, geo-political conflicts and technical disparities and to recommend steps and ensure that the future of learning is relevant, equitable and inclusive, solution-oriented and impactful across contexts”, said Anunaya Chaubey, Provost, Anant National University.

The collaboration will issue a white paper with a set of plausible solutions for the challenges discussed, and these solutions will be tried across the world, with outcomes evaluated in the next collaborative in 2024. The overarching premise of the forum is to design better learning environments for future generations of learners.

Gujarat CM Bhupendrabhai Patel presided over the closing ceremony of the Future of Learning Collaborative, an initiative of Anant National University and the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education, USA, held on March 30 at the varsity campus. The collaborative comprising 28 delegates from five continents. (Handout)

Bhupendrabhai Patel, Chief Minister, Gujarat, presided over the concluding ceremony of the Future of Learning Collaborative on March 30.