Background

Change and adaptation are the key mantras that define our 21st century world. The pandemic has transformed life and living in important ways. It has compelled everyone to reflect on our collective preparedness to adapt to the needs of the changing times. Education is at the cusp of change in terms of the content and delivery. In this new millennium, the learning process needs to reflect the aspirations of the new generation as well as the expectations of society. The education system and its processes need to prepare the young learners for the challenges of the future and also address the anxieties caused by contemporary developments.

In this context, the Jagran Lakecity University, Bhopal, Ignited Intellectual & X Billion Labs are jointly hosting a one-day seminar on “21st Century Skills for Human Excellence: Strategizing a Paradigm Shift in School Education”. This event will provide a platform for a dialogue among different stakeholders in education. The focus of the discussion will be on strategies to weave in 21st century skills for growth and excellence in the learning process.

The seminar would brainstorm on how best to equip the young learners with the intellectual, emotional and moral capabilities to succeed in this 21st century world. It would also focus on assessing the inculcation of these capacities during the learning process. Thus, the central goal of the seminar is to provide a context for discussing the packaging of futuristic skills with school education.

Objective

• To outline the 21st century skills for young learners that are essential for successful living in this millennium.
• Conceptualizing lifelong learning as the fundamental 21st century skill.
• To comprehend the innovative strategies and approaches in embedding new literacies into the curriculum.
• To evaluate teacher readiness to contribute to this journey.

Inaugural Function (30 minutes)

Session Details

Session 1: Skilling Gen Z for Lifelong Learning (50 minutes)

It is often said that for a successful life in the millennium, being ready for ‘Lifelong Learning’ is the key. It is defined as being “on-going, voluntary and self-motivated” in the pursuit of knowledge for personal or professional reasons. The four pillars of ‘Lifelong Learning’ are

• Learning to know,
• Learning to do,
• Learning to live together and
• Learning to be

How do we infuse among our students the DNA of being lifelong learners?

Structure of the Session

The session would begin with a keynote address of 20 minutes. This would be followed by a brief presentation by two discussants (10 minute each). Discussants extract key points from the keynote and provide deeper insight in 10 minutes each. This provides greater clarity to the audience and thereby enhances the scope /preparedness for the Q&A session Finally, the session would be opened to the audience through a Q&A format-10 minutes.

Session 2: Panel Discussion – New Literacies: What, Why & How? (50 minutes)

Literacy today is not limited to merely the ability to read and write. The demands of the current scenario have unfolded the need for new forms of literacies- health literacy, digital and media literacy, environmental literacy, financial literacy and inter-cultural literacy. Fostering the new literacies would empower the learners to be ready for the challenges in future. The current session brings in brings in an inter disciplinary perspective for skilling young learners.

Structure of the Session

The moderator will introduce the three panellists and set out the rules. Each panellist would then speak for 8 minutes each and provide their opening remarks. The moderator would then ask questions to the panellists for the next 10 minutes. The session would open to audience for the next 12 minutes to raise questions. This would be followed by concluding remarks by the moderator.

Session 3: Skill Transfer: Determining our readiness quotient (50 minutes)

The greatest challenge being faced by the educators is synchronising the ‘teaching’ tools with the ‘learning’ capacities of the Gen Z learner. The new learning styles adopted by the learners, both in the classrooms and beyond, puzzles and also fascinates the educators. This session offers an opportunity to reflect on our preparedness to adjust to the new demands and expectations. The bottom line is – How will the role of educators change with the rise of new
literacies?

Structure of the Session

The session would begin with a keynote address of 20 minutes. This would be followed by a brief presentation by two discussants (10 minute each). Discussants extract key points from the keynote and provide deeper insight in 10 minutes each. This provides greater clarity to the audience and thereby enhances the scope /preparedness for the Q&A session Finally, the session would be opened to the audience through a Q&A format-(10 minutes)

Session 4: Preparing school students for the new world of work (50 minutes)

As automation and innovative business models transform the economy – there is a growing need for “smart generalists” to lead the new world of work – as CEOs and Entrepreneurs. Skills  such as emotional intelligence, creative thinking, problem solving, negotiation, collaboration, storytelling, critical thinking and entrepreneurship will be in prime importance. Institutions like the World Economic Forum name these as amongst the top 10 job skills of the future. In-fact Recognizing their how critical they are in building a future ready workforce – the government
of India has laid special emphasis on training students in these skills in the new National Education Policy. This session will discuss how to lay the foundation for these skills for students at a young age.

Structure of the Session

The session would begin with a keynote address of 20 minutes. This would be followed by a brief presentation by two discussants (10 minute each). Discussants extract key points from the keynote and provide deeper insight in 10 minutes each. This provides greater clarity to the audience and thereby enhances the scope /preparedness for the Q&A session Finally, the session would be opened to the audience through a Q&A format-(10 minutes). There would be a moderator for this session who enable the smooth conduction of the presentations.

Chief Guest

Ms. Rashmi Arun Shami

Principal Secretary, School Education, Govt of M.P.

Speakers

Dr. Sandeep Shastri

Vice – Chancellor, Jagran Lakecity University, Bhopal

Mr. Samyak Chakrabarty

Founder and Managing Director, X Billion Labs

Mr. Ishaan Bhargava

Head – Operations & Communications, Ignited Intellectual

Dr. Sudhakar V

Professor, EFLU, Hyderabad

Dr. Padma Sarangapani

Professor, TISS Mumbai /Chairperson Centre of Excellence in
Teacher Education

Ms. Ashwini N. V.

Director, Mukta Foundation

Ms. Rekha Mishra

Deputy Head, Mount View International Primary School,
Malawi

Ms. Nayantara Kurpad

Doctoral Scholar, University of Massachusetts, Lowell

Dr. Shailaja Shastri

Dean, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Humanities. JLU

Dr. Rajdeep Manwani

Motivational Speaker & Presidential Awardee

Mrs. Vinita Malik

Principal, DPS Bhopal

Dr. Chathurika Kannagara

Assistant Professor in Psychology, University of Bolton, UK

Mr. Viiveck Verma

Global Co-chair & TIE University & Senior Advisor
Telangana State Innovation Centre

Ms. Anushka Ashok

Behavioural Scientist, Final Mile