AUGUST 13, 2020 (THURSDAY)
A panel discussion on NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY 2020: PERSPECTIVES AND OPPORTUNITIES was organized by Human Resource Development Center, Lovely Professional University. The event got an overwhelming response of 130 participants from various educational institutions including international delegates joined the platform. The spectrum of learned experts from different verticals discussed the diverse aspects, perspectives and opportunities reflected in the new policy.
The context was set by Dr. Dharam Buddhi, Executive Dean (Research & Innovation), Lovely Professional University who remarked that the new policy was released 34 years after the earlier one and the thrust is on holistic development and sustainability. The panel consisted of eminent personalities namely Prof. Lalit Kumar Awasthi, Director, Dr B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Mr. Aman Mittal, Additional Director and Head Division of International Affairs- Lovely Professional University, Dr. Maurits van Rooijen : CEO (Academic) Global University Systems, CEO LSBF UK , Dr K.P. Kylasanatha Pillay, Sr Advocate of Supreme Court of India & Director NTPC, Mr. Rahul Ahuja, Chairman Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Punjab Chapter and a renowned industrialist and H.E. Sir Manuel Freire-Garabal y Núñez, Chairman Al-Khalifa Business School.
The event was anchored and moderated collectively by Ms. Kamaldeep , a globally acclaimed expert in International Business and media anchor, Founder & CEO, Globalz House of Skills, Dr. Sunaina Ahuja, Prof. & Associate Dean and Head, Human Resource Development Center along with Mr. Sarabjit Singh Kwatra, Deputy Dean, Human Resource Development Center, Lovely Professional University.
Each panelist expressed views on different segments of the policy pertaining to higher education. Prof. Lalit Kumar Awasthi, talked about the thrust towards a more holistic and multidisciplinary education. Internationalization of higher education and technology perspectives in Online Education was dwelled by Mr. Aman Mittal. Dr. Maurits van Rooijen shared practical insights on making Indian Universities attractive to international students. Dr K.P. Kylasanatha Pillay, threw light on transforming the Regulatory System of Higher Education and legislative framework. The industry perspective on higher education was highlighted by Mr. Rahul Ahuja. He talked about re-imagining vocational education from the industry perspective. Ways to Digitization of Professional Education and recommendations to GOI for effective implementation of National Education Policy-2020 were discussed by a global expert H.E. Sir Manuel Freire-Garabal y Núñez.
According to Dr. Amit Srivastava, Head School of Civil Engineering, Lovely Professional University, “Though I have been a part of many panel discussions globally, I found this one unique in terms of interactivity with participants through poll questions and acknowledging them with digital credits.” In the words of Prof. Bhupender Verma, Head, School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, “The topic is well chosen by LPU-HRDC and at the most opportune time, right after the release of the notification.”
The discussion was rounded off very effectively with a very comprehensive summary of each panellist’s views given by Dr. Sunaina Ahuja. She acknowledged the inputs of the esteemed panellists’ resulting in key actionables in terms:
- Return On Investment in education should be recovered through quality research and consultancy; focus should be on holistic development and judicious usage of technology;
- creating a holistic mix technical competencies, liberal arts and soft skills;
- a proper ecosystem with an umbrella of facilities to be in place for internationalization of Indian higher education institutions; autonomy to the educational institutions. The spirit of internationalism should be visible in all strata: campus infra, faculty, student engagement, curriculum. After all opportunity comes in work clothes.
- Increasing international visibility through innovative pedagogy, experiential learning, fun learning and involving students in consultancy projects. Virtual consultancy to be adopted for expanding reach. Association of cooperative learning to be set up
- In the regulatory aspect policy implementation requires a well-defined program and process backed by a robust law. A dispute settlement mechanism is required for Higher Education Institutions.
- Employability can be increased through practical application of knowledge and hands on training in the industry evaluated by industry experts.
- Boosting online education using augmented reality, gamification and flipped learning model
The HRDC coordinating team’s role was applauded and recognized for putting in all out efforts to make the discussion meaningful and worthwhile with practical take-aways for all the participants. The participants were kept engaged with poll questions and allocation of Credely badges based on the active participation. The discussion was also live streamed on the LPU Facebook page.
