The Digital Transformation in Education and Skill Training

In Education, there is no sphere of our lives that is not touched by the Digital Revolution happening around us. Rapidly evolving technology is transforming the way that knowledge is imparted and absorbed today. The internet now plays a crucial role in the digital educational ecosystem.

Right from K-12 schooling to Higher Education programs, every level of our education system is affected by technology. With increased connectivity, speed and cloud-based storage capabilities, schools and colleges have an enhanced communication network that makes way for improved knowledge sharing.

Taking the topic of digitization further, session moderator Aditya Malik started the panel discussion on Digitisation in Education. As per panelist Mr. Sreenivasm Ramakrishnan, Co Founder, CL Educate (Career Launcher), “From the learning perspective, we human beings are not in that space to understand other fellow humans. Today, especially children, have devoted their maximum time in mobile phones, tablets, absorbing in a virtual world. It is indeed questionable that, from all the values that we learn, how much we apply in our day to day lives.”

Moving forward, Mr. Gopal Devanahalli, Senior VP, Manipal Global Education started the discussion by giving an insight of his Institution’s learning process. He said, “For me, it is extremely important for a working professional to be a continuous learner. Like the World Economic Forum has said, in the next 5 years, 5 million jobs are going to get disappeared and 2 million jobs are going to get recreated in different areas.”

He further added, “People are focusing on their needs to up skill themselves. Our Learning Management system, however, in the last couple of years have uplifted the use of Technology. They make it very easy for us to give them Short Byte Content or what we call The Micro Learning process.”

“We also have one Management System known as the EduNext, which we believe is very critical in changing the way we teach people. And the interesting thing is, some of these learning are getting applied in the Physical Universities. So our physical Universities are taking some of this learning’s and incorporating it in the blended learning in their classes.”

The third panelist Prof. Dr. Dwarika Uniyal, Assistant Dean-Executive Education, IIM Kashipur shared, “In today’s world, we come across people engrossed with the machines on their hands. It’s not about adapting digital technology. I think that most of the higher education including the IIM’s is, how to remain relevant in the lives and space of Education.”

He also added, “Talking about Technology, we are left with no choice but to adapt to it. We have focused our aim on Executive Education. These are time pressed Executive, where we realise that we are not only recreating classroom learning environment, but it’s too much of a cost that everybody is concerned in terms of time, effort and money an adapting a lot more to that. At the same time, we are partnering with a lot of platforms and to a lot of technology platforms to reach out to a large pool of students who would want to get very good Education.”

N K Mohapatra, Chief Executive Officer, Electronics Sector Skills Council of Indiastarted the discussion by giving his inputs on the growing skill sector.

He expressed, “Yes, I do see that when we want to execute and implement certain factors on ground, we feel the teachers and the faculty members come under a huge limitation in taking programs or plans to come. We certainly look at Technology Investment for improvement of these weaknesses in the system. It’s not easy to develop the faculty in such programs, it requires innovation, building of the curriculum in a minimum of 6 months and delivering the content on the ground. We are trying to inculcate more of practical learning than theoretical one. Technology and Digitisation can get into formal education to scale up the industry.