HIGHER EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE 2015

With the aim to connect the early adopters of technology and 21st century education initiatives to experienced leaders and practitioners, Higher Education Technology Conference 2015 was organized by EdTech Review at The Leela, Gurgaon on 28th February 2015. Three Faculty, Mr. Amar Saraswat from Computer Science & Engineering Department, Mrs. Dimple Saproo from Electronics & Communication Engineering Department and Mr. Vinod Kumar from Information Technology Department, Dronacharya College of Engineering, Gurgaon attended the Conference.

The event started with the keynote by Prof. M. M. Pant, Founder LMP Education Trust, in which he discussed about the current challenges related to Higher education. He emphasised on the fact that mobiles and hand handled devices are becoming ubiquitous and emergence of the wearable devices in on boom. Prof. Pant also talked about the awareness of the changing educational landscape, which includes societal shifts in technology use, advances in educational technology, and a new type of learner. He also talked about 21st century skills sets for students, which include creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, problem-solving, technology proficiency, and global awareness.

The next session was taken by Mr. Jawahar Surisetti, Education Advisor to 3 state governments and Central Government, on “Promoting Anytime, Anywhere Access and BYOD”.He said that the students are keener to use the technology in every possible way. He also talked about the industry- academia relationships. Then, Mr. Utkarsh Lokesh, CEO, EdTech Review, discussed about role of communication & collaboration, and professional development. During his session, he said that Technology can nurture artistic expression and create opportunities for students to do meaningful work.

The eminent speaker of the panel discussion included Mr. Shekhar Sanyal, Country Head, India Institution of Engineering and Technology and Dr. Kamal Kishore Sharma, Former Vice Chancellor, Ansal University, Gurgaon. The panel discussion was moderated by Mr. Utkarsh Lokesh. During the discussion, Dr. Sharma said that the key to 21st century success is training and professional development. He also talked about the role of simulations, which create a virtual environment to learn. Mr. Shekhar Sanyal talked about Technology revolution in Higher education, reduced number of conventional jobs due to automation. He said that online learning is necessary to fuel demand for growing number of students and working professionals. Mr. Sanyal also explained the advantages of MOOCs. He said consistent innovation, effective integration of technology, meaningful professional development, connecting beyond the wall of a brick-and-mortar building, and an open mind are all mandatory duties of a leader in the digital age.

The other sessions included a talk by Mr. Ankur Gupta, Joint Director at the Model Institute of Engineering and Technology, Jammu, India. Mr. Gupta explained about specific software helpful for analytics. Then, Mr. Navin Pathak, VP Business Development with Progia LLC, gave a very interactive lecture on creating courses using open educational resources. After that, second panel discussion on Incorporating Technology: Enhanced Pedagogies was conducted by Mr. Viplav Baxi, Education Consultant, Researcher and Founder of Learn OS, Mr. Navin Pathak and Dr. Ramesh Sharma, Director of the Commonwealth Educational Media Center for Asia (CEMCA), New Delhi, in which they talked about use of technology for improving the education. The panel discussion was followed by question and answer round. In the end, Mr. Utkarsh Lokesh delivered the vote of thanks.

Some Glimpses: