eBOOK BW EDUCATION MAY 2022

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“If the intent of the NEP is
to build skills for the

future, what is important
from a higher education

standpoint is first, to
understand what are the
skills of the future. The
second element of this is

how do we genuinely
provide high-quality
education to a large

population.”
— Raghav Gupta, MD
India & APAC, Coursera

manpower in all spheres. make any sense,” commented Krish Nangegadda,
Anand A Samuel, Vice-Chancellor, Vellore In- Chief Innovation Officer, GITAM.

stitute of Technology (VIT) identified about 10 items On how employability, skills development and
in NEP, that according to him should be taken in the technology are brought together by the NEP, Pratham
right spirit if we want to make everyone employable Mittal, Head of New Initiatives, LPU, said, “Some-
– 1. importance of technology; 2. inter-disciplinary thing I wasn’t expecting from NEP is the focus on
and multi-disciplinary focus; 3. holistic education; bringing in practitioners into the classroom. There is a
4. three-plus-one-year format; 5. foreign university certain clause that suggests, around 15-20 per cent of
entry; 6. importance to industry interaction; 7. on- all faculty doesn’t have to abide by all the UGC norm.
line education; 8. employability skills 9. autonomy to They can be people from industry who might not be
institutions; 10. internships. PhD but have worked in the industry for a very long
period of time. They can come into the classroom as
“NEP 2020 is quite inspirational and ambitious. visiting practising professors and actually teach. This
The success will depend to a large degree on the ex- is incredibly transformative.”
ecution part of it. Strategy without execution doesn’t
On what is being done to stay relevant to the digi-
BW EBDWUCEADTUICOANTIMOANY 2M0a2rc2h1- A5pr2il 2022 152 tal landscape that the NEP encourages, S Samanta,
Pro-Vice-Chancellor, KIIT-Kalinga Institute of
Industrial Technology said, “Since last decade, the
whole education scenario is changing. All academic
institutions were going online slowly but after the
outbreak of this pandemic, we were forced to go
online, taking all the faculties together and all the
students together.”

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IN CONVERSATION Dharam Paul Goyal

BW Education engaged efforts. As of now, we are
delivering sessions re-
‘ONLINE SIMULATIONSinanexclusiveinter- motely for all programmes.
action with Dharam Though the richness of a
Paul Goyal, Director, B-school education comes
from peer learning in class-
CREATE MORE ENERGY THANIndianInstituteof rooms, we have learned
that it is essential to have
Management Shil- a backup online learning
system. Being prepared
TRADITIONAL LECTURES’long,tounderstandthe can also help in adjusting
impact of COVID-19 on faster to such eventualities.
the teaching-learning By Upasana
process and the ways in What are you doing to
which the B-school is
dealing with the same. stay ahead and re-vi-
Excerpts from the inter-
view: sualise your institute?
The mission of our insti-
How has the business pletely new approach to In your opinion, will tute is to “generate and
strategy and revamp their disseminate knowledge in
environment changed IT infrastructure. The there be an impact on all aspects of management
same applies to educa- education for sustainable
in the last few months? tional institutions as well. campus education due development and to devel-
op innovative leaders with
What parts are per- What are the strate- to the changed sce- strong ethical values”. We
strongly believe that our
manently changed and gic drivers for business nario? emphasis on innovation,
Yes, it would. However, sustainability and ethical
warrant new orienta- now? management institutes leaders will keep us differ-
Sustainable growth has will have to reinvent them- entiated and ahead.
tion? to be one of the drivers. selves to ensure that edu-
The business environment Nowadays, an increasing cation and peer-learning How do educators
has changed substantially number of firms are using are not adversely affected.
during the pandemic, sustainability practices to The online mode of learn- need to prepare, reori-
with specific sectors feel- optimise their operations ing also has its advantages.
ing the stress more than and decrease costs. In- It could be used to promote ent themselves for this
others. The economic dis- vestors are willing to lend cross-programme learn-
ruption has affected both capital to firms which have ing by combining cohorts. change?
supply and demand. Sec- better ESG ratings. Con- The shift to online teach-
tors such as manufactur- sumers are also showing a How is your institution ing creates new challenges,
ing and services seem to preference for sustainable but also offers new oppor-
be constrained by supply firms and products. Apart coping with and rising tunities. Educators should
shocks. On the demand from it, firms with better learn to leverage technol-
side, industries which re- risk mitigation strategies to this challenge? How is ogy to improve delivery,
lied on customer mobility would find themselves in student participation and
are facing a shrinkage in a better position to han- your institution poised assessment. In the past few
demand. Sectors such as dle supply and demand months, we have been us-
entertainment, transpor- shocks. to thrive in this new nor- ing more of online business
tation and tourism face co- simulations to provide an
lossal supply and demand mal? experiential learning ex-
shocks. Now that a large We have learned that we perience for students, and
part of adult population need to have nimble reac- we have found that they
is double vaccinated, I be- tions to emerging situa- generate much more en-
lieve the worst is behind us tions by adapting to new ergy among them than
and we can look forward to technologies and other traditional lectures or case
a robust economic recov- discussions.
ery in the coming months.
Though the swift transi-
tion from offline to online
was a forced one, I believe
it is here to stay. Businesses
now need to have a com-

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ARCI&NHEMSTSIETTUEICKTLAHAUTRRNITCCEOAUHLOULO&TFNGUILEYVREN:EAAGRLRISNNHIETIUNEYBGROINFG

Giving equal emphasis to research, innovation and a range of skill-set and giving
hands-on industry exposure, the Punjab-based institute is transforming the lives of
thousands of students

Covid-19 and lockdown world returns to a semblance of nor- strong skill-set among students,
have impacted the whole malcy. Also, the demand for trained, and setting an example the fellow
world and this crisis has well-equipped and dynamic engi- engineering colleges is Chitkara
resulted in profound eco- neers will be at an all-time high, re- University Institute of Engineering
nomic consequences. Even though quiring individuals who bring both & Technology (CUIET).
the field of engineering is used to expertise and soft skills to the table.
cyclical downturns, Covid-19 has Thus, the challenge of converting The institute is perhaps an epito-
especially posed a major threat to shy, timid students into confident me of excellence by not only ensur-
engineering. The job fallouts are engineers and leaders of tomorrow ing great learning opportunities to
huge, but the effects could be tem- lies in the hands of various engineer- budding Engineering students but
porary. More engineers might be ing colleges of our country. One such also encouraging them to partici-
needed than ever before when the institute which excels in building a pate in activities of research and in-
novation.

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Engineering as a tradition thermore, fulfilling the sole purpose  MADHU CHITKARA
of being a complete engineering Pro-Chancellor
True to its logo -- ‘soaring heights, institute, CUIET promotes entre-
promising progress’, Chitkara -- the preneurship and excels at providing Chitkara University
institute interlinks the key stake- excellent placements. Outshining as
holders in their quest for excellence a place of inclusive and safe learning, tions, the institute delivers academic
and success. The key stakeholders the institute is also ranked as one of programmes, through the alliances
being the students, parents, the fac- the cleanest universities of India, ac- made. It ensures that all the courses
ulty, alumni, industry and society, cording to the ‘Swachhta Ranking’, and skills training offered and the
the Chitkara Group motivates each given by the Government of India. academic practices followed on cam-
one of them, helping them explore pus are relevant, practical, allowing
their inner potentials. Not only is the “We believe that every student all the future engineers to enter
institute rated the best engineering should benefit from being taught the world of work with confidence
college in Punjab, its engineering by experts active in research and and ease.
programmes have consistently made practice,” stated Madhu Chitkara,
it to the best courses list across the the Pro-Chancellor of the university, Outperforming itself in the field
nation. The range of programmes during a brief discussion about the of providing exceptional courses
offered by the institute is endless, ethos of the institute. She added, to the masses, CUIET has started
from BE in conventional streams like “Latest ideas are discussed, research unique courses such as Specialisa-
Mechanical and Computer Science discoveries are made and new tech- tion for All Engineering Graduates
to Doctoral Programmes in Applied nologies are preached at Chitkara”. in Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
Sciences, the wide array of courses The academic staff present at the This course is a special treat to all
offered, catering to every dedicated institute are a bunch of acclaimed the budding engineers to boost their
individual willing to be a future en- academicians actively involved in confidence towards becoming future
gineer and leader. internationally recognised scien- entrepreneurs. This course gives
tific research. The faculty nurtures a students great exposure to the right
The Institute of Engineering & strong sense of research among the skills and knowledge they need to be
Technology acts as a launchpad to students, thus motivating them to the most successful entrepreneurs
the thousands of aspirants, who are excel as innovators and creators. of tomorrow.
ready to let Chitkara guide them
through their career successfully. A pioneer of excellence Taking it up a notch, they also
Keeping research as a prime point of have a course into Event Manage-
focus, the institute preaches practi- Recognised by the Government of ment — a highly practical course
cal engineering learning across all Punjab, Chitkara University Insti- with a perfect blend of core man-
their programmes. Being one of the tute of Engineering & Technology is agement and special event manage-
few academic campuses in India a multi-disciplinary student-centric ment knowledge at your fingertips.
to have around 650 patents, 1,500 campus of excellence. Located ide- By offering such student-centric
Scopus-indexed research papers and ally amid serene surroundings, the courses, the engineering school
over 100 incubated startups, the in- institute is about 30 km from Chan- aims at converting education into,
stitution gives a boost to the students digarh, on the Chandigarh-Patiala not only “State-of-the-art” but truly
to outdo themselves in every endeav- National Highway. Maintaining “State-of-the-heart”. Students count
our they pursue at the institute and close links with leading blue-chip on such opportunities for gaining a
even beyond their college lives. Fur- companies and professional associa- real-world industry insight into ‘how
to become successful in the indus-
“Being one of the few academic try’. A special ‘Industry Experience
campuses in India to have around Portfolio (IEP) ‘can be custom-built
650 patents, 1,500 Scopus-indexed by students, based on the way they
perform in the course.
research papers and over 100
incubated startups, the institution

gives a boost to the students to
outdo themselves in every
endeavour”

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FRIDAY FOCUS Digital Resilience

“Covid Wasn’t a Real Talking about the
ways in which their or-
ganisation is becoming

digitally resilient and

Shock But a Little Shake” future-readyinterms
of changing the face of
higher education, Muth-
amizchelavan, said, “We
have been collaborating

with industry to offer

Educationists discuss Digital Resilience in Higher ‘one credit course’. As
Education at BW Education ‘Focus Friday’, hosted in part of this credit course,
we will arrange lectures
association with BW BusinessWorld on a recent technology

There has By Upasana Giving his opening or a niche topic, where
been a remarks on the subject, the students have to be
discourse Technology, Kattanku- Rao stated, “Education, exposed. We may not
revolving lathur, Tamil Nadu; which is basically teach- have enough resources
around Sudhir Gavhane, Vice ing-learning process, to teach the course as
Chancellor, MGM Uni- required by the industry.
versity, Aurangabad; So, we will invite faculty
from the industry. They

the evolu- R Janardhan, Pro Vice has to be resilient for will come to the institu-

tion of digital learning in Chancellor, Dayanand anything that happens tion, offering the course

universities which have Sagar University and Sr around us and that is for the interested stu-

been beset with the ongo- Executive Vice Presi- what has happened dur- dents. Once the students

ing Covid-19 pandemic. dent, Dayanand Sagar ing the pandemic. Real- interact with the industry

To understand how e- Institutions, Bengaluru; ising this need, we were experts, they will under-

learning assisted colleges Manjunatha, Principal, thinking about solutions stand what the industry

to continue their opera- New Horizon College of since last five years or so. requirements is. This will

tions and even to improve Engineering, Bengaluru; Today it is Covid, tomor- open opportunities for

learning and teaching as and Raghav Gupta, Man- row it could be something them to go for internships

they grappled with this aging Director - APAC else, day after tomorrow and if they do well, they

long period of crisis and & India, Coursera. The it could be a change of may also get absorbed in

how can learning tech- panel was moderated by government. Anything the same company.”

nologies be used to as- Annurag Batra, Chair- c a n happen, but ou r Manjunatha of New

sist academic institutes man & Editor-in-Chief, teaching-learning meth- Horizon College of Engi-

in the face of such crises, BW Businessworld & ex- odology must be resilient neering explained, “We

BW Education hosted a change4media Group. to all these things.” made our entire campus

panel discussion with

some eminent academi- “Education, which is basically teaching-
cians.
learning process, has to be resilient for
The session titled

‘Digital Resilience in anything that happens around us.... Realising
Higher Education’ en- this need, we were thinking about solutions
gaged industry stalwarts:

DN Rao, President, Vig- since last five years or so. Today it is Covid,
nanajyothi Education tomorrow it could be something else”
Society, Hyderabad;
— DN Rao, President, Vignanajyothi
C Muthamizchelavan,

Vice Chancellor, SRM Education Society, Hyderabad
Institute of Science and

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digitally stable. We gave professionals from these With Covid, there MGM University assert-
importance to digital businesses who come to was a remarkable shift. ed, “It is due to Covid-19
infrastructure. Immedi- learn on Coursera. I was The skill most learnt on that all of a sudden, all
ately, we started taking looking at the top 10 skills the Coursera platform the institutes of higher
the videos experiments that a working profes- was ‘Writing’; whereas learning which hitherto
in our labs. Because it’s sional learned on Cours- ‘Python’ went down considered digital educa-
engineering education, era Pre-Covid in 2019 from 1st to 3rd number. tion – Open & Distance
practical exposure be- and then, during Covid, In the 4th place was Learning (ODL) – as sec-
comes very important. in 2020. In 2019, the skill ‘Mindfulness’, in the 5th ondary, have now been
We told all our faculty learned by maximum was ‘Meditation’, in 6th, forced to opt it as pri-
members to make the number of professionals ‘Gratitude’, in 7th, ‘Kind- mary.
videos along with simu- on Coursera was ‘Python ness’, in 8th, ‘Listening’,
lation techniques. This Programming’, the skill in 9th,‘Algorithms’ and “New concepts
made the teaching- that came 2nd was ‘Neu- in 10th, ‘Learning’. So that have emerged like
learning process more ral Networks’, which was this period of crisis has ‘Learn From Home’,
effective.” followed by ‘Algorithms shown us is that along ‘Teach From Home’ and
and Regression’. ‘Writ- with functional skills, ‘Work From Home’ have
Throwing light on ing’ came 7th in the list human skills, have be- changed the mindset of
some interesting in- of skills learned, Supply come equally important.” teaching and learning
dustry insights, Raghav Chain was 8th in the list, methodology,” added Dr
Gupta of Coursera in- and Cloud Computing oc- Discussing a few ad- Gavhane.
formed, “Today, there are cupied the 9th slot. These vantages of the Covid-19
about 3,000 businesses were all hard skills. pandemic for the educa- Speaking about edu-
and millions of working tion sector, Gavhane of cational institutes stay-
ing relevant and embrac-
Photographs by VISUALGENERATION ing the technology with
an ease, Janardhan of
Dayanand Sagar Univer-
sity stressed, “For many
of the educational insti-
tutions, especially who
were offering Technol-
ogy, Management and
Sciences, for them the
Covid wasn’t a real shock
– it was a little shake.
The first few days was a
little disturbing but then
institutes that were al-
ready teaching technol-
ogy and engineering pro-
grammes bounced back
using technology and
minimised the inconve-
nience caused in the de-
livery of education. The
transition was without
any hitch. We were able
to embrace technology
and if somebody has not
done it, I don’t think they
should be in the business
of education.”

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SPOTLIGHT / NEP 2020

“SUCCESS LIES IN
IMPLEMENTATION”

The National Education Policy (NEP 2020) has the potential to transform the Indian higher edu-
cation space. Some institutes brought in changes even before the policy came, but for the major-

ity, much work in teacher training and learning outcome remains to be done

by Upasana

T heUnionCab- a revolution instead. Mak- ment. Unfortunately, the tation. That can be a real
inet approved ing a choice to grow even in two policies of 1986 and challenge and that’s what
the National the time of the pandemic, 1992 which provided for probably people will be
Education education institutes took partial modification, did working for, in the future.”
Policy (NEP) 2020 to on the task to rapidly digi- not produce the desired Mantha further adds that
bring in major reforms in tise and collaborate with results. We hope that the proper implementation in
higher education, includ- industry and ed-tech plat- new policy will be imple- the initial stage will allow
ing a target of 50 per cent forms to quickly fill in the mented in its true letter for the long-term goals to
Gross Enrollment Ratio education gap. and spirit.” be met.
(GER) by 2035 and provi-
sion for multiple entry and Implementation is key S S Mantha, Former NEP preserves univer-
exit points. But Covid-19 Experts agree that the Chairman, All India
crisis and the ensuing education policy drafted Council For Technical Ed- sity autonomy
lockdown has disrupted in 2020 has the potential ucation (AICTE) further is For the success of any
various industries and to transform the education in consonance. He states, policy, implementation is
shaken them in the roots. landscape; the key to this “Our Prime Minister said important. In the case of
It has also affected edu- lies in the implementa- that the NEP aims to NEP 2020, while the out-
cation. The initial shut- tion. Om Pathak, Chair- transform the intent and come of the policy has been
down of universities and man, DPSG Society, says, the content of the educa- stressed, there is no meth-
stranding of had lasting “What is important is, how tion sector. Now, this is a od or parameters provided
impact. Much of this was is this policy rolled on to very profound statement. for education institutes to
combated when the in- the ground and what is the There is nothing wrong follow. Many experts see
dustry decided to initiate implementation commit- with the content. How- this as a positive, espe-
ever, it needs implemen- cially in higher education,
as this roadmap preserves
“Universities don’t have to look towards the the autonomy of the in-
government for implementing those stitute and respects their
judgment.
recommendations. They can themselves
implement the recommendations at their Pankaj Mittal, Secre-
own level through their own board of studies” tary-General of The As-
sociation of Indian Uni-
— Pankaj Mittal, Secretary-General, versities (AIU) asserts,
Association of Indian Universities “Universities don’t have to
look towards the govern-
ment for implementing
those recommendations.

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6th

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Photographs by CRSPHOTOS of the teacher, no system
can improve.” Therefore,
even the smallest change
in education ultimately re-
quires educators to adapt
and skill themselves.
Teachers are at the foun-
dation of education and
they, too, require proper
support, guidance and
training.

They can themselves im- isn’t only an Engineering NEP certainly puts a lot Digitisation was
plement the recommen- institution.” He further of responsibilities on the
dations at their own level adds that curriculum de- teachers to innovate and inevitable
through their own board sign is in the hands of the focus on the outcomes of The ongoing pandemic
of studies.” faculty and NEP 2020 al- the learning process it- had the industry initiate a
lows the faculty to remain self. It is the first time ever revolution and a switch to
Every education insti- empowered. that an education policy is the virtual mode. Howev-
tute grows at a different talking about outcomes. er, this change was inevi-
pace. For TG Sitharam, Onus on educators Teachers now have to fo- table for most higher edu-
Director, IIT Guwahati, The policy allows insti- cus not just on the inputs cation institutes. Suresh
most of the recommen- tutes the liberty to imple- but on the outcomes that Mony, Director, NMIMS
dations had already been ment on their own terms what it is that the gradu- (Banga lore Campus),
implemented at the In- and does not require too ates are going to be doing. comments, “Hybrid learn-
dian Institute of Technol- much government inter- And if we are able to define ing is there to stay. Even if
ogy (IIT) two years before vention. This can be a boon that, it’s much easier to there was no Covid, most
the policy. He states, “The for many institutions, but measure it.” B-Schools and universi-
NEP talks about multi- it can also make it difficult ties would have adopted
disciplinary education and to assess how the policy is Without a clear un- hybrid learning. We have
for several years, we at IITs adopted at a national level. derstanding and the abil- to ramp up the techno-
have Humanities Depart- This puts much stress on ity to predict the outcome, logical infrastructure of
ment, Design Department the educator. it can be difficult to make the country. So, univer-
and Science Department. major changes in an insti- sities and faculty have to
In addition to that, we Rajan Saxena, Former tute. Gurdial Saroop Saini, embrace technology, em-
have Centre for Energy, Vice-Chancellor, SVKM’s, Education Officer (Retd), brace technology. And the
Centre for Environment Narsee Monjee Institute Kendriya Vidyalaya San- government has to really
and Centre for Nano-Sci- of Management Stud- gathan (KVS) points out, put up infrastructure that
ence & technology. So it ies (NMIMS), says, “The “Unless we improve the lot is from the university point
of view.”
“The NEP talks about multi-disciplinary
education and for several years, we at IITs Digitisation and hy-
brid learning was already
have Humanities Department, Design being utilised by some
Department and Science Department. In institutes; the NEP docu-
addition to that, we have Centre for Energy, ment brings this transfor-
Centre for Environment and Centre for mation to a national level.
Furthermore, the onus no
Nano-Science & technology” longer lies solely with the
— TG Sitharam, Director, IIT Guwahati institute, but also with the
government to improve
the quality, accessibil-
ity and affordability of
education.

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WEBINAR Nitin Jain

4400 “STAYINGUNDER
AWAY FOR A
WHILE IS
GOOD”

NitinJain,Co-founder,OnCourse
Vantage,engagedinaconversationwith

AnnuragBatra,Chairman&Editor-in-
Chief,BWBusinessworldandFounder,

exchange4media

by Upasana

B W Education hosted a discussion on Jain said, “To say the least, it took everyone by sur-
the theme ‘The Gig Economy & New prise and we did get impacted. But contrary to what
Age Career’ with Nitin Jain, Co-found- everyone feels, I haven’t repented this period. I think
er, OnCourse Vantage. Jain engaged it’s been really interesting. I have read more and
spent more time with my family. I have actually
in a conversation with Annurag Batra Chairman & researched more. So personally, I have enjoyed this
period. I feel when you are a little bit away from the
Editor-in-Chief BW Businessworld and Founder, mainstream for a while, it just gives you a better
perspective to come up with some more innovative
exchange4media. work.” So, we have improvised a lot and that comes
through, even on the professional front, he added.
Talking about the experiences During Covid,
Jain explained, “We have not been impacted the
“I haven’t repented this way a lot of my friends and other industries have
period. I think it’s been been. We have actually done fairly well. There has
really interesting. I have been a far better involvement and work. The in-
read more and spent teraction has been a lot more. Of course, we need
more time with my family. to do a lot more value addition also for students
and parents.”
I have actually
researched more” Jain advises professionals, parents and students
about learning, up-skilling and re-skilling by sug-
gesting them to treat higher-education not as an
end objective. “Try and establish higher education
as a means to an end and use that, especially the
undergrad experience, as more of an empowering,
enriching bit. So, therefore the focus is more cross-
disciplinary,” he asserted.

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WEBINAR Om Pathak

“NEED TO ROLL
OUT NEP IN ITS
TRUE LETTER
AND SPIRIT”

OmPathak,Chairman,DPSG
Society,addressingBW
Education’sDialogueonEducation
ByUpasana

T o understand the “Initially, there a period of time, not just to meet this
present scenario of was a problem emergency. We evaluated systems and
teaching-learning regarding how finally latched on to Microsoft Teams
process amid Cov- to reach across as we found it extremely useful. But
id-19 and the New to students. So then there were other technological
we quickly put issues to be tackled – the devices, the
Education Policy together some bandwidth and so on and so forth. But
it was very heartening to see that the
& its implementation, BW Education of our best families and the teachers very quickly
teachers who came to the grips of the problem and
hosted BW Dialogue on Education then evaluated they upgraded their IT infrastructure.”
every single
with Om Pathak, Chairman, DPSG platform that is Commenting on the National Edu-
cation Policy (NEP) 2020, Pathak said,
Society. He engaged in an insightful available” “I welcome the New Education Policy.
The components of the NEP have been
conversation with DrAnnuragBatra, discussed and debated in the country
for a long time. What is important is
Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, BW how is this policy is rolled on to the
ground and what is the implementa-
Businessworld, & Founder, exchange- tion commitment. Unfortunately, the
two policies of 1986 and 1992, which
4media Group. entailed partial modification, did not
produce the desired results. We hope
Talking about DPSG’s efforts in that the new policy will be implement-
ed in its true letter and spirit”.
making sure that the learning never

stopped and all the three stakehold-

ers, felt comfortable, Om Pathak,

Chairman of DPSG Society, asserted,

“Initially, there was a problem regard-

ing how to reach across to students.

This was a challenge of technology. So

we quickly put together some of our

best teachers who then evaluated ev-

ery single platform that is available,

in terms of its ability to sustain over

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Column RAKESHKHARWAL

“TIME TO AUGMENT
CYBERSECURITY STACK”

Cybersecurityisbestlearnedin only natural that hackers and cybercriminals are grow-
ing more adroit in terms of utilising digital tools, new-age
areal-timeexperientialsetting resources and innovation. A strong and holistic cyberse-
curity policy, that can extend necessary skill and tech-
whereprofessionalscanobserve expertise to professionals towards developing a fortified
defensive stack, is critical.
thevariousintricaciesofcyber
As the dynamic fundamentals of cybersecurity sciences
defenseinatruecorporateclimate cannot be imbibed in traditional classroom environments,
the government and associated stakeholders should over-
T he year 2020 had proven to be tough for busi- see the establishment of tech academies and skilling facili-
nesses globally. Companies around the world were ties. Cybersecurity is best learned in a real-time experien-
forced to realign their operations to adapt with the tial setting where professionals can observe the various
unprecedented times. Due to the numerous restrictions intricacies of cyber defense in a true corporate climate.
and lockdowns imposed, the entire world has been in the
process of shifting towards a new normal. By utilising actual commercially available tools
Under such challenging times, the in- and cutting-edge simulations in a real-world set-
dustry has transitioned towards remote ting, techies can grasp true essence of optimum cy-
working. With most companies enabling bersecurity and defensive solutions such as SIEMs,
a digital work-from-home policy, the risk advanced firewalls etc. Through first-hand experi-
of cyberattacks and security breaches ence in the vast surfeit of cyberattacks that strike
have also multiplied considerably. corporate industries on a daily basis, cybersecurity
professionals can equip themselves with the exper-
India Inc. suffers from an inadequate tise for neutralising such threats.
cyber solutions framework due to various
shortcomings in the overall tech land- Studies reveal that phishing e-mails and cyberse-
scape. It is said the country would curity breaches in the corporate ecosystem
need around a million cyber have surged by a staggering 260 per cent
professionals, as opposed to the since the onset of coronavirus disrup-
current depleted workforce of tion. The remote-working environ-
100,000. With such a deficit ment has provided cyber master-
in existing cybersecurity infrastructure and human re-
sources, Indian companies are under increasing danger of minds with surplus incentives in breaching corporate
losing millions of dollars’ worth of essential data assets due defenses. The transformations in the Indian business vista
to their underwhelming cyber defenses. A Xpheno survey are being massively leveraged by hackers and cyber fiends.
revealed that though India has about 67,000 job openings
in the cybersecurity field, a severe shortage of adept cyber Spear phishing, website impersonations, ransomware
professionals and proper cyber training methodologies and malware attacks, malicious bots, network and web
has left a gaping hole in the system. attacks, crypto miners, data breaches, online fraud dona-
tion portals have significantly jumped. So much so, that
Cyberattack threats have increased due to the low levels India has emerged as the third most vulnerable country to
of cybersecurity tools deployed in remote working envi- cyberattacks after US and China. The pandemic has been
ronments. Employees working from homes generally have an eye-opener in illustrating the various limitations of the
an insufficient firewall and anti-virus capacities that can existent cybersecurity infrastructure. It is imperative that
be exploited by cyber miscreants. The country is in dire companies invest sufficiently in augmenting cyber defen-
need of an immediate government-driven cyber-security sive frameworks by adding extra layers of security. Only
empowerment initiative, at a pan-industry scale to safe- an experience-based hands-on training methodology that
guard its businesses. optimises real-world simulations can develop an effective
cybersecurity architecture stack in the country.
The pandemic has left businesses vulnerable. With
phenomenal advancements in the field of technology, it is The author is the Managing Director for India at Cyberbit

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Column RUSTOMKERAWALLA

“6% OF GDP AS ED
BUDGET? TOO

LITTLE, TOO LATE”

Theeducationsectorneedshigherspending,
andnottheproposed6percentofGDP,asproposedunderthe

2020NationalEducationPolicy(NEP)

T HENationalEducationPolicy(NEP)
has spurred much debate and discus-
sions since its announcement in July
2020. The policy comes after three
decades – the first one was in 1986,
which was modified in 1992 – this ex-
plains the greater interest and expectations around it.

The NEP 2020 does have some path-breaking pro-
posals for transforming the Indian education system,
but it also falls short on a few aspects. One of the most
important misses in the policy is a concrete roadmap for
implementation of the proposals, especially regarding
funding to the sector.

Education Remains Poorly Funded tries have invested a lot more in their education sys-
The new policy has come up with proposals that make tems over the past 15 years, it is not enough to narrow
Indian education a highly regulated but poorly funded gaps in education quality and attainment.
sector.
In a country like India which has seen a severe
The NEP proposes doubling public investment in setback in education due to the coronavirus pan-
education to 20 per cent of its public expenditure or 6 demic, there is a far greater and immediate need for
per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). This is a investments to improve the education system to cope
welcome step considering that we are currently spend- with the disruptions.
ing a little over 4.5 per cent of the GDP on education.
However, the 10-year timeline for implementation of
higher funding makes it too little, too late an incentive,
considering most of the developed countries are already
spending up to 20 per cent of their GDP on education.

A World Bank publication points out that on an aver-
age, high-income countries were spending 43 times as
much on the education of their primary school children
as low-income countries. And while developing coun-

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Infrastructure Development a Pressing Need education development need to be raised substantially
The lockdown imposed due to the pandemic ne- and with immediate urgency.
cessitated all education institutions to switch to
remote learning, which will now also become the Since the government will now have limited fiscal
New Normal for education of the future. This tran- space to increase its spending on education given the
sition however requires massive improvements in massive decline in the economy, attracting private
technology infrastructure, connectivity, improving funding will enable faster achievement of the goals for
teachers’ skills in digital and new technologies, and education reforms.
many other related investments. In Conclusion
The government’s vision for education sector reforms,
A World Bank report also says that to ensure
systems are better prepared which entail increasing enrolments and literacy levels,
to continue learning during faster digital integration, and creating a high-quali-
school closures and can accel- ty and equitable public education system needs to be
erate learning during the new backed by adequate fund allocation. The NEP urges
normal, it will require even the Centre and the States to work together to reach the
greater levels of investment. target of 6 per cent of GDP funding to education at the
Hence, it’s a pressing need earliest for meeting these goals.
for India to find ways to fund
education and continue the Ironically, while NEP notes the criticality of enhanc-
learning process. ing public funding, it doesn’t provide a roadmap for
achieving this target, especially in the backdrop of the
Way forward current economic slowdown.
Recognising inadequate
public funding as one of the During the implementation phase of NEP, the state
biggest constraints for the governments and union territories will need to empha-
education sector, the govern- sise on public-private partnerships for fund infusion
ment think-tank Niti Aayog and also for developing the technology infrastructure
in a report in 2018 had urged for overall improvement in India’s education system.
India to increase its education
expenditure to nearly 6 per The author is the Chairman of Ampersand Group
cent of GDP by 2022.
WWWW.WBWWE.BDWUCEADTUICOANT.CIOONM.COM
However, the share of
union budget’s allocation to-
wards education has been declining over the years
-- from FY15 to FY20, this percentage has dropped
from 4.14 per cent to 3.4 per cent. India currently
ranks third in education spending amongst BRICS
nations.

Considering that by 2030, India will have the
largest number of young people in the globe, a popu-
lation of this size can be a boon only if the young
people are educated and skilled enough to join the
workforce. Hence, the task of preparing this work-
force for the future needs to begin right now and
online education will be the way to democratise
quality education and bring the underprivileged
under its fold.

Considering these ground realities and require-
ments of today’s times, especially at a time when
the integration of technology and digitisation has
become a necessity, funding and investments on

Photographs by SHUT TERSTOCK

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Column VINAYSHARMA

“COVID, NEP &
THE CHANGING
ED LANDSCAPE”

Post-Covidtrendshavedemocratisededucation,
makingitavailableandaffordabletomassesacrosseconomic

andgeographicsegments

T HERE are decades where nothing As most of the schools, colleges, teachers and stu-
happens, and there are weeks where dents plunge into the online mediums, many things
decades happen” – One sector which are essential to make this transition. These comprise
certainly defines Lenin’s quote more new teaching and learning approaches that use tech-
than others is the education sector. nology effectively combined with adequate support
One may even dare to replace de- and training for teachers. Moreover, there is a huge
cades with centuries here. Since the times of the Gu- demand for affordable solutions which can work on
rukul tradition, students have always assembled at a
place or in a classroom along with the guru or teacher,
who imparts lessons to the students.

Despite significant changes in the work environment
and the need for different skills, knowledge and attri-
butes from our students in the 21st century, our educa-
tion system has remained more or less insulated and
stuck in traditional ways. The last decade has seen at-
tempts been made to make learning more widespread
and make it learner-centric, using technology, thanks
to the availability of affordable devices and internet
connectivity becoming better and cheaper. Still, it had
been a slow and limited process.

However, Covid has shaken up the system from its
slumber, and disrupted the traditional process com-
pletely. This has forced the education sector to embrace
digital medium in a big way to ensure that the process
of teaching and learning continues, despite closure
of most institutions during the pandemic. Remote
education has become a necessity or rather the ‘only
option’ for now.

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lower bandwidths and use basic level devices. These and literacy skills is a big
parameters are essential if online learning has to really step towards plugging
penetrate and impact vast number of students in Tier the learning gaps shown
II/III/IV towns. in National Achievement
Surveys.
Hybrid Ed Models
This trend will continue even post Covid, democratis- Curriculum is to be ra-
ing education and making it available and affordable tionalised to allow for crit-
to masses across economic and geographic segments. ical thinking, discussion
Moving forward, we shall see education, becoming and analysis based learn-
a hybrid of offline and online medium with combi- ing. Students be given more
nation varying as per the user maturity and type of options to choose subjects
intervention. of study, including voca-
tional subjects. Similarly,
In fact, this breakdown of the existing mindset and board exam is restructured
inertia has provided a very conducive environment for to bring about a more holis-
introducing path breaking reforms envisioned in the tic assessment.
New Education Policy (NEP) for reimagining an India
of the 21st century. It proposes an education system In Higher education,
which is learner centric, aligned with the future expec- it aims to make Indian
tations and is for holistic development. education at par with the
best by proposing multi-
Some of the key recommendations in this disciplinary curricula to
direction are: integrate humanities and
ECCE (Early Childhood care and education) for chil- arts with science, technology, engineering and math-
dren in the age group of 3-6 years to be regularised and ematics. The undergraduate degree will be made more
be made a part of the school structure by following the flexible with multiple exit options with appropriate
5+3+3+4 design of school curriculum. This makes the certification. The aim to double the Gross Enrollment
curriculum aligned with the learner’s growth stages. Ratio (GER) to 50 per cent by 2035 opens up a huge
opportunity for online learning providers to bridge the
Focus on the primacy of foundational numeracy gap of availability of faculty and physical infrastruc-
ture to reach this goal.

The Covid-Led Mindset Shift
On an overall basis, it outlines the critical role to be
played by technology through online classes; digital
repository of coursework, learning games, virtual labs
and simulations; mass channels such as television,
radio; coding curriculum from Class Six onwards, and
revamped teacher course curriculum.

The new mindset shift created by Covid combined
with the progressive initiatives outlined by NEP 2020
can create a new education landscape aligned with 21st
century requirements which has the flexibility to ad-
dress varying needs of learners and is more democratic
across economic and social metrics. However, the key
to converting this aspirational vision into a desired
reality would need detailed planning, public private
partnership, technology adoption, and resource mo-
bilisation at a large scale.

The author is the Digital Head of Learnflix, a part
of S. Chand Group

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Column VINESHMENON

INNOVATION IN we see replicable measures. We certainly
EDUCATION IS did not see the kind on investments that
IN SAFE HANDS was required to take education to the
masses and children in the hinterland
of India. The NEP coincidently surfaced
during this period after three decades,
and some of the most significant changes
or reforms captured have been in the ar-

Twogamechangerswouldredefine eas that cannot be implemented without
educationdeliveryinIndia–theCovid-19 technology support.

With the above two game changing mo-

pandemicandtheNationalEducation ments as a backdrop, the jury, led by Dr
Policy2020 Prof Anil Sahashrabudhe evaluated what I
considered as one of the most intellectually

M Y last article on savvy and future thinking set of
expectations from young entrepreneurs in our last
a young entrepre- round before the final 40 was
chosen. I enjoyed the conversa-

neur was published over two tions as one of the jurors with

years ago. I was inspired to the finalists and was amazed

write that after my experience by their thought process, their

as a jury member in BW Disrupt achievements to date, their

40 Under 40. Interactions with grand plan for education in the

the young nominee entrepre- coming half a decade and the

neurs and leaders, representing confidence they brought to their

diverse industries, then gave me conviction.

an intellectual high and made A New Breed of Bright Minds

me realise how fortunate we are Who would have imagined

as a country in producing young that India would produce

talented value creators and en- youngsters who have plans to

hancers in the Indian business create a curriculum in garden-

landscape. ing, young minds who have de-

Cut to Year 2020: I had the veloped practices to drive better

privilege to be part of a pedigree outcomes amongst the children

jury panel for another evaluation process of BW 40 under of the tribal belt, ed-techpreneurs who have enabled scal-

40, except this time it was in the field of education and able processes to offer quality career guidance en masse,

educationtechnology.ThetimingforBWBusinessworld’s digital platforms to impart more interesting learning

BW-Education’s hunt for 40 young edu-preneurs and ed- pedagogy, designed methodologies to simply bring back

techpreneurscouldnothavebeenbetter.Twogamechang- the habits of reading amongst children, disruptors who

ers, in my opinion, would redefine education delivery in haveshownyoungstersthepathtoalternativeoffthebeat-

India had surfaced – (1) the Pandemic caused by Covid 19 en path careers with value and so many more innovative

and (2) the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020). ideas that have been executed and are set to drive scale

Covid-19 simply ensured that the education sector and access to children across the length and breadth of

walks the talk in the areas of how technology and digital the country.

support would enhance the delivery of education. Many With the opportunity to learn so much during this exer-

debatesanddiscussionshadhappenedintheearlierdays. cise,IcanconfidentlysaythatinnovationinIndia’seduca-

They mostly remained confined to audience applauses tion is in safe hands, or rather in sharp minds of dynamic

and a few good examplesofEdTechandacademiajoining youngsters who have made it a mission to change the In-

hands to drive better efficiencies in education. dian education landscape for the better.

The Game Changers The author is the CEO, Education, Skilling &
On execution however, neither did we see scale, nor did Consulting at VIBGYOR group

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BW EDUCATION MAY 2022 169 WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM

BW WEBINAR

“TEACHERS ARE
REALISING THE
ADVANTAGE OF

TECH TOOLS”

DivyaGokulnath,Co-Founder&Director,Byju’satBWDialogueon
Leadership,reportedbyUpasana

E d-tech Industry In India is the on our app came together for these classes. And they
second-largest in the world after are loving it for the engagement on the app, which has
the US. Between 2014 and 2019, gone up to about 100 minutes in each session; most
at least 4,450 such startups were importantly students are returning to the app every
launched in the country. They day. So overall we are able to find out the right balance
between profitability, engagement and effectiveness,
provide tutoring for all kinds of which is very important,” she further said.

streams and segments, including K-12 (kindergarten Speaking about the struggle in the last six
months, she said, “Initially there were challenges
to 12th grade), undergraduate courses, competitive as the entire team worked from home for the first
time. It took us two weeks to figure out things, but
exams and vocational training. the team is so efficient that even though we were in
the different parts of the country, we were still able
To have an understandingoftheed-techindustry to drive what we want to. The entire team worked
fabulously. We fast tracked a lot of launches and
and its growth in the present times, BW Business- came up with our offering much before time as we
have planned it.”
world hosted BW Dialogue with Divya Gokulnath,
Talking about the ways in which she figures out
Co-Founder & Director, Byju’s. the dynamics of business as a Co-founder of Byju’s,
Gokulnath said, “Having like-minded people in
Addressing the growth of ed-tech in last few your team as well as in your life is a big asset. I think
we are driven by the same passion to impact the lives
months, Gokulnath said, “I can put that in numbers, of the students who are learning around the world.
So even on the personal level our interest levels are
as we at Byju’s love numbers. So in the first four years very alike, and we have lot of respect which is a key
for any relationship, be it personal or professional.
we got 40 million students on our learning app, but When we are not working, we love to travel together
and priorities are much aligned.”
just in the last four months, we got 20 million more

which is 50 per cent of the first four years. We are con-

ducting meetings and events online, which is making

us realise how productive we can be.”

“The pandemic has changes a lot of things for

education, when lockdown started. A Unesco report

suggested 1.3 billion children are out of school due to

the crisis and at that point, we opened up our app for

free and announced free scheduled live classes from

our teachers to ensure that students do not miss out

on learning that schools used to provide. So teachers

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“We opened up Expressing her views on entrepreneurship for
our app for free women and young girls, she asserted, “I think there
and announced two things which help a woman to enter the corporate
free scheduled live world and then to stay on. At around my age maxi-
classes from our mum number of women leave the workforce because
teachers to ensure of family matters and also because of the notion that
that students do men are supposed to take charge while women are to
not miss out on take care. But all of this is slowly changing because
diversity is no more a feminist notion and is also a
learning that corporate agenda. From a corporate point of view, if
schools used to a company has a good representation of women, the
balance would be in place without putting much of the
provide” efforts. If we go by numbers, a quarter of businesses
around the globe do not see women in any senior man-
BWBWEDEUDCUACTAITOINONMaMrcAhY-2A0p2r2il 2107221171 agement role. At Byju’s we have 33 per cent women
representation on board, 50 per cent representation
in top management, 40 per cent representation across
all level. So we dispel all the common notions.”

Commenting on New Education Policy and how
is Byju’s positioned well in this way forward, she said,
“NEP focusses on providing flexibility to students
and it helps to further digital education. If technology
industry can do things right in the education sector,
it can make a child a self- learner. NEP also focusses
on creativity and critical thinking which will help
students for unseen jobs for the future.”

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Column ANANDMAHESHWARI

“COMPONENTS OF
EFFECTIVE ONLINE

EDUCATION”

Successfule-learningshouldprovideflexibility,constantlyupdated
coursecontentthatgoesbeyondproblem-basedlearningand
researchthatincludescollaborativelearning

T he Covid-19 pandemic has seen the
onset of technological interventions
and also jargons like never before. It
has resulted in changing the teach-
ing patterns across the world. Living

in the era of metaverse and NFTs, it

is highly unlikely for businesses and educational institu-

tions to not demonstrate the necessity for online learning.

How we experience, test, record, and understand our

responses to the Coronavirus pandemic will now deter-

mine whether and how online education develops as an

opportunity for the future.

Online learning now provides a more three-dimen-

sional learning experience for staff and students rather

than forcing learners to travel long distances. It enables

students to learn new skills and access educational re-

sources from any part of the world. With e-learning, stu-

dents can immerse themselves in educational content

through smartphone apps and online hubs that can be

accessed anytime, anywhere. Whether it is the use of video

conferencing tools, language apps, virtual tutoring, or

online learning software, there has been a significant

surge in usage since Covid-19.

As per the Global e-Learning Market Research con- Successful e-learning includes a positive blend of
teaching and learning. Online learning should be able
ducted by Technavio (a leading market research and ad- to offer the students more than what traditional learning
does. It should provide flexibility, constantly updated
visory company), the size of the e-learning market will course content that goes beyond problem-based learning
and research that includes collaborative learning and peer
increase by US$ 147.7 billion between the years 2021 to teaching-learning. Teachers and educators need to under-
stand the components that make a successful online class
2025. This might accelerate at a CAGR of 16 per cent or hybrid class and learn how to use the emerging tech-

during the time of the forecast period. This exponential

growth can be attributed to the fact that online learning

is becoming an integral part of learning at both the cor-

porate and academic levels.

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Photographs by FLYINGFIFE

nology landscape accordingly. The future of e-learning given the additional pressure they face due to shorter
lies in the evolving roles of online educators, students’ learning times and physical separation from their peers.
expectations & needs related to online learning, peda- To increase student retention and engagement, schools
gogical innovations, and the perceived use of technology implement an intuitive learning environment and provide
in online learning. Teachers have a greater responsibil- flexible online technical support. In such cases, students
ity to supervise students at an early stage to prevent and might feel a little overwhelmed and stressed.
remove potential barriers to successful online learning.
Before one implements the latest technologies and
The challenges of online learning software to e-learning, educators and learners must be
taught the ability to navigate technology, interact mean-
As much as we talk about the benefits of online learn- ingfully with the learning environment, and to self-reg-
ing, it’s also good to be aware of the inappropriate effects ulate learning. The lack of physical infrastructure and
e-learning has on the minds of educators and learners. opportunities for face-to-face interaction puts a lot of
Aligning pedagogy, subject matter, assessment and ac- emphasis on finding alternative forms of learning that
cess, software, and strategies is an ongoing challenge are both effective and sustainable. It is also important to
in online teaching and learning. More research needs recognise that online and distance learning covers a very
to be organised to understand the high levels of distress wide range of courses, ranging from university online
among students involved in intensive online learning, courses and shorter skill-based informal learning to open
online courses.
“More research needs to be
organised to understand Online classrooms provide educators with full control
the high levels of distress over content delivery using audio, video/, reading and
writing tools; the pace of learning, i.e. flexibility to move
among students involved in faster or slower depending on the real-time assessment
intensive online learning, of thequantityandquality of informationlearnedbystu-
given the additional dents; and level of student educators who are aware of the
pressure they face due to nuances in the field and have the urge to constantly learn.
shorter learning times and What is clear is that the big change in how we teach high
physical separation from school students is due and it can be credited to the sudden
their peers” immersion of many into online learning in the wake of
Covid-19 and new technologies that increase flexibility
and access to secondary education. While there are some
cons to online learning, on a larger note, e-learning is the
future of education. As they say, change is inevitable and
if there are alternative better solutions, then learners and
educators must not compromise on implementing newer
ways of pedagogy.

Anand Maheshwari is Managing Director
Allen Digital Private Ltd.

BWBWEDEUDCUACTAITOINONMaMrcAhY-2A0p2r2il 2107223173 WWWW.WBWWE.BDWUCEADTUICOANT.CIOONM.COM

Last Word RISHIKESHATKRISHNAN

BUSINESS doing things,” says Krish-
EDUCATION IN nan.
POST-COVID
PHASE Entrepreneurial

Rishikesha T Krish- future-ready for the post- and match different kinds Motivation
nan, Director, IIM- pandemic era. of pedagogy and delivery to Many students from busi-
Bangalore, shares improve effectiveness. ness and management
the need to make Upskilling and institutes often go into
B-schools future- Apart from pedagogy businesses where they
ready for the post Reskilling and delivery, the faculty are expected to display
pandemic era, with Krishnan feels that there should also constantly entrepreneurial capabili-
focus on upskilling, are certain skills and ca- focus on upskilling and ties. IIM-B introduced a
reskilling and entre- pabilities that a leader reskilling. One of the ways compulsory course on en-
preneurial mindset needs, which were ampli- in which they can do it is trepreneurial motivation
fied during the pandemic. by reaching out to the in- in the MBA programme,
by Upasana He says that we need to im- dustry. “Through these which focuses on a good
prove our decision-making interactions with the in- entrepreneur’s skills and
I n the past two skills and be more aware of dustry and CEOs, you get abilities. Secondly, it also
years, technol- psychological biases. Also, to understand their per- focuses on strengthening
ogy has helped us future leaders will need spective on how things are the link between students
reimagine sectors to understand the im- changing. These interac- and startups. “Students
like education and health- portance of deciphering tions help you synchronise can now do projects with
care. Many new ideas have weak signals. “In today’s what you are teaching with startups and get credit. We
emerged, some old ideas volatile world, we can see those perspectives,” says are trying to bring these
have got acceleration, the daily events impacting Krishnan. startups into our project
way business and busi- businesses. So, we need to course and provide a struc-
ness processes are done see how we are sensitive to Then there is the im- tured framework for stu-
has changed. These dy- these signals and events portance of learning from dents to learn from these
namics have led business and manage risks aris- international experience. startup interactions,” says
schools to change their ing from them more ef- IIM-B is part of the Global Krishnan.
way of teaching. Rishike- fectively,” says Krishnan. Alliance for Management,
sha T Krishnan, Director, He also stresses the need which has partner schools Focus in Post-
Indian Institute of Man- for collaboration between from the best institutions
agement-Bangalore (IIM- organisations. To achieve worldwide. “Every time we Pandemic Era
B), shares the need of the this, he suggests that in- interact with these partner For Krishnan, one signifi-
hour to make the B-schools stitutions will have to mix schools, we get a lot of new cant learning during Co-
ideas about how they are vid has been that students
should be given the right
conditions and incentives
to thrive. He stresses the
need for external projects
and contests as students
get to work on real-life
problems and many out-
of-the-box ideas emerge.
“We should make the cur-
riculum a little more prac-
tice-oriented and link up
the learning process more
to the kind of problems our
businesses face,” he says.

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