Cambridge English South Asia Partnership Summit sets the scene for new partnerships in education

New Delhi: Cambridge English Language Assessment and Cambridge University Press, in partnership with FICCI, hosted the ‘Cambridge English South Asia Partnership Summit’ on 23^rdand 24^thFebruary 2016 in New Delhi.

Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Hon Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, T.V. Somanathan, Joint Secretary, Government of India, Professor Sir LeszekBorysiewicz, Vice Chancellor, University of Cambridge, Saul Nassé, CEO, Cambridge English Language Assessment,Ratnesh Kumar Jha, Managing Director, Cambridge University Press, South Asia and other dignitaries took part in the summit.

The summit focused on Transforming Language Education, providing an opportunity to debate and propose practical solutions to one of the most important issues facing young people in South Asia: how to gain the wide-ranging skills required for 21st-Century employment.

The first day of the summit witnessed an inaugural session based on Building Partnerships for the Future. The Cambridge perspective was presented by Saul Nassé, CEO, Cambridge English Language Assessment and Ratnesh Kumar Jha, MD, Cambridge University Press, South Asia. The Indian perspective was presented by T.V. Somanathan, Joint Secretary, Government of India, Mohandas Pai, Chairman, Manipal Global Education. The South Asia perspective was presented by Ahmed Shafeeu, Minister of State for Education, Government of Maldives and Professor GunapalaNanayakkara, Director General, National Institute of Education, Sri Lanka. The inauguration was followed by a talk by Professor Ted Briscoe, Professor of Computational Linguistics, University of Cambridge on ‘Using machine learning to transform the language learning landscape’.

The second day of the summit kicked off with a plenary session on ‘The ecology of Learning’ and an introduction to the themes by Dr Nick Saville, Director Research and Thought Leadership, Cambridge English Language Assessment.

The breakaway sessions, hosted by panels of experts, explored four key themes: Teacher Development, Digital Learning, Employability, and Research & Innovation.

The group discussion on ‘Teacher Development’ was led by Angela ffrench, Director of Operation South Asia, Cambridge English Language Assessment,DrLoveleenKakker, CEO, Tech Mahindra Foundation, Ben Knight, Director of Research and Consultancy, Cambridge University Press, and DrVandanaLulla, Director, Podar Group.

The group discussion on ‘Digital Learning’ was led by Professor Ted Briscoe, Professor of Computational Linguistics, University of Cambridge along with Rohit Kumar, Co-chair, FICCI Publishing Committee, Mark O’Neil, Executive Director, CUP, Australia and CEO of HOT Maths Pty Ltd., and HarirajVijaykumar, Global Head of Cognizant Academy, Cognizant Technology Solutions.

The ‘Employability’ session was hosted by DrHananKhalifa, Head of International Education, Cambridge English Language Assessment,AmitavaGhosh, Director, GEMS Skills, BijaySahoo President-HR, Reliance Industries, Sujata Stead, CEO, Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment, Australia, and Professor RajivaWijesinha, Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission, Sri Lanka.

The group discussion on ‘Research and Innovation’ was led by Dr Nick Saville, Cambridge English Language Assessment,Vikas Gupta, Managing Director, Wiley India, Professor MM Pant, Former Pro-VC, IGNOU, Professor, Indira Parikh, Co-Chair FICCI Higher Education Committee and Founder President, FLAME, and BS Satyanarayana, Pro Vice Chancellor, BML MunjalUniveristy.

The highlight of the Summit was the keynote address delivered by Professor Sir LeszekBorysiewicz, Vice Chancellor, University of Cambridge.

Sir Leszek also interacted with all the academics and other dignitaries present at the summit on the key issues.

The closing plenary of the summit summarised the discussions on ‘Forging Partnerships’ and was highlighted by the launch of www.campustowork.orgby Cambridge English. The portal aims to make the Campus recruitment process more efficient by bringing together corporate bodies and educational institutions to help match the right candidates with the right communication skills to the right job.

Talking about the Summit Saul Nassé, CEO, Cambridge English Language Assessment, “Three sorts of collaboration are key to a fully functioning education system - collaboration between students as peers, collaboration between students and teachers and collaboration between the experts who drive the direction of the whole system. Of course the golden thread that runs through all three forms of collaboration is language. Collaboration is based on communication – you can’t collaborate without speaking. You can’t collaborate without listening.”

Speaking at the Summit Ratnesh Kumar Jha, said:

“India is on a fast track to become the preferred knowledge economy in the world. There is clearly need for all of us from education, government and industry to come together and create an ecosystem that will accelerate the process and is empowering and impactful.

This summit in an enabling platform that captures diverse perspectives from leaders in the education world across India, facilitates new ideas and is the catalyst to stem new partnerships and forge new relationships. The focus group discussions are themed around the pressing challenges in the upliftment of education, inviting radical thinkers and thought leaders to share their perspectives on Skill Development for Employability, Digital Disruption with discussion on technology, Capacity Building in Teacher Development and Focus on increased and high quality Research and Innovation.

All of us collectively, with the right direction and effort, can create large value and have transformative effect on the education system in India, and contribute to the journey of building India into a sustainable knowledge economy.”

About the Partners

Cambridge English Language Assessment

Cambridge English Language Assessment is part of the University of Cambridge. A not-for-profit organisation, it develops and produces the most valuable range of qualifications for learners and teachers of English in the world. Over 5 million people in over 130 countries take Cambridge English exams every year. Around the world over 20,000 universities, employers, government ministries and other organisations rely on their exams and qualifications as proof of English language ability. Cambridge English exams are backed by the work of the largest dedicated research team of any English language test provider.

Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. The Press’s mission is to ‘Unlock people’s potential with the best learning and research solutions’. Cambridge University Press provides educational and academic materials to learners across India and South Asia. Cambridge University Press is committed to finding innovative ways to inculcate higher standards of English in their teaching, learning and assessment. They create curriculum-based content for teachers and learners, and host discussions that highlight the importance of English as a skill for teachers, learners and industry in India.

FICCI: Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry

Established in 1927, FICCI is the largest and oldest apex business organisation in India. Its history is closely interwoven with India's struggle for independence and its subsequent emergence as one of the most rapidly growing economies globally. FICCI plays a leading role in policy debates that are at the forefront of social, economic and political change. Through its 400 professionals, FICCI is active in 70 sectors of the economy. FICCI's stand on policy issues is sought out by think tanks, governments and academia. Its publications are widely read for their in-depth research and policy prescriptions. FICCI has joint business councils with 79 countries around the world. A non-government, not-for-profit organisation, FICCI is the voice of India's business and industry. FICCI has direct membership from the private as well as public sectors, including SMEs and MNCs, and an indirect membership of over 83,000 companies from regional chambers of commerce.

For more information please visit http://events.cambridgeenglish.org/south-asia-summit/.