Institutions must Instill Integrity in Students, says MIT Professor at B'luru's Principal’s Conclave

The next generation must prepare itself in a completely new manner if it wants to survive, thrive and find meaning in the emerging future. Mainstream higher education systems are falling short in preparing next generation for the 21st century. These changing times demand for changes in higher education. In order to bridge the gap between secondary and higher education, a Principal’s Conclave was hosted by Atria University at the Radisson Blu Atria, today. The event was attended by over 35 Principals from across India and Education leadership from across the world.

Dr. Babi Mitra, Executive Director NEET program at MIT delivering keynote at The Principal Conclave 2019

Dr. Babi Mitra, Executive Director, New Engineering Education Transformation program at MIT, during his keynote address, said, “One of the strongest qualities of great institutions is trust and Atria University is working towards building the trust in student and teaching community. We need to create visionaries and empower them to evolve as confident, curious and creative-solution drivers equipped to tackle challenges and convert them into opportunities, whatever and wherever their context.”

Principals from across India and Education leadership participated in The Principal Conclave

He said that it is important to consider six elements to it make more effective to make learning more engaging. Bold vision, stakeholder engagement, strong complementary team, pragmatism, piloting and thinking, and acting like a start-up can help create a committed pedagogy for the benefit of students, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sunder Raju, Founder and Trustee, Atria University, said, “There is a need to contemplate and engage with insightful discussions on designing student-centred learning experience. Through Principal Conclave, I wish we create a process that facilitates a learning design that leaves behind its footprint for how a new age child will be trained, developed, and evolved.”

“At Atria University, we want to help nurture the future citizen who can stand on their own feet in the real world. We are earnestly working to understand students better and recreate their personal learning journey. We are also creating individual customizable learning paths to encourage and foster their creative and critical thinking.” said Mr. Kaushik Raju, Trustee, Atria University.

Anuradha Anekal, Principal, Deccan International School, who participated in the conclave said, “Students and parents these days are exposed to diverse subject matters. With information at their fingertips, they are able to make a learned choice about the stream they can choose. The conclave has shown way to different methodologies and helps educators to engage actively with learning experience.”

Shaheem Rahiman, CEO, Atria University said “It is gratifying to hear large number of Principals and Academicians across the world endorse our idea of Higher Education. I am grateful to Principals for the significant contributions towards defining an exceptional learning experience for our students. The workshops topics were intensely discussed with animated participation, all aimed at creating a launch pad for our future, that are our students.”

Creating new pedagogy

Experts and educators such as Dr. Alana Sobelman, Lecturer of Comparative Literature and Psychoanalysis at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Be'er Sheva, Israel, Dr. Arjendu Pattanayak Former Associate Dean of Carleton College, USA, Dr. Nagaraj K. Arakere Professor, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida, and Dr. Sriram ‘Sri’ Kalyanaraman, Director, Media Effects and Tech Lab, University of Florida, participated in the conclave. More than 50 principals from across the country and academicians from across the globe attended the Conclave.

Atria University, through this day-long conclave, aims to create a new learning design that eases a student’s transition from secondary school learning to the higher education framework. The proposed suggestions on a new learning design would be produced as a working publication. This would be a compilation of the day’s recommendations from delegates with respect to transitional elements of higher education and a design outline for an innovative curriculum that reflects our ever-evolving global world.

Atria University is currently awaiting their State Private University status.