Educationists come together at Suncity School to deliberate on current trends in education sector
Gurugram: Renowned educationists and selected government officials from the United States, China, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Europe, Middle East. And India came together to deliberate on crucial issues affecting the education sector at Pre-Conference Presidential Forum hosted by Suncity School, Gurugram.
The objective of the conference was to bring together stakeholders of education for a collaborative dialogue on issues that drive sustainable and inclusive counseling practices geared towards the success of students. The event witnessed discussion in areas such as changing field of careers in the 21st century, increased interest in the liberal style arts education, cross-border educational partnerships and the like.
Dr. Adam Weinberg, a renowned educationists and President, Denison University lead the US delegation at the Presidential Forum.
Approximately 12 senior global university leaders including Presidents, Chancellors, Vice Chancellors, 20-25 senior principals from schools such as La Martiniere, Shiv Nadar School, Mahatma Gandhi International School, TERI Prakrati School, senior government officials and trade organization leaders attended the conference. The session commenced with a welcome address by Mr. Arjun Puri, Director, and O.P. Jindal Global University. Thereafter, experts brainstormed on the topics like ‘Balancing liberal arts education and career readiness’ and ‘Changing field of careers in the 21st century and preparing students with global land community centric mindsets.
“It was an honor to host the presidential forum at our school in Gurugram. The event gave the opportunity to all stakeholders from the sector to discuss and deliberate on the recent trends in the education sector,” said Ms. Rupa Chakravarty, Principal Suncity School.
At a session on liberal arts education, Professor C Rajkumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, O P Jindal Global University said: “I would like to challenge the proposition of relation between liberal arts and career readiness. Liberal arts will empower children to pursue a bright career as well. Currently, mindset of student, parents and other relevant stakeholders is the biggest hurdle. In India, we are living in three centuries together, 19th, 20th and 21st century. There is a need to promote diversity and plural mindset. The framework of liberal art education is technology which has important role to play in improving the quality of life.”
Vineet Gupta, Pro Vice Chancellor, Ashoka University said: “The term liberal is itself misunderstood. In India, liberal art is equated with humanities and social science only ignoring law and technology. Liberal arts helps you to question stereotypes and develop the ability to communicate effectively. It also helps you know when is the right time to stop communicating and start listening instead. It also develops the ability in an individual to solve complex problems.”
The other attendees at the conference included Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia, Chairperson, Board of Governors, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), India, Dr. James Scott, Vice Provost, University of Missouri, U.S,Ms. Michelle Whittingham, Associate Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management, University of California, Santa Cruz, U.S. Professor Pankaj Chandra, Vice Chancellor, Ahmedabad University, India, Ms. Shobha Mishra Ghosh, Asst. Secretary General, FICCI, India, Darshan Singh, Chairman, Welham Boys’ School, Vishal Talwar, Dean, BM Munjal University.
The presidential forum hosted by Suncity School is a part of 3 day conference by IC3 (International Career and College Counselling Conference). The Conference seeks to make a major impact in enabling school leaders in India to set up infrastructure and policies to guide students to choose and succeed in careers that best fit their ambitions and interests. The conference is being led by a group of 27 high school counselors and principals from India and Southeast Asia, representing 17 cities from 5 countries.