IIMB & IIT Bombay to host Second Annual Future of Learning Conference 4.0

IIMBx, the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) initiative of IIM Bangalore, in association with IIT Bombay, will host the Second Annual Future of Learning Conference titled: 'Learning 4.0: Connecting the Dots and Reaching the Unreached', on January 4 and 5 (Friday and Saturday), 2019.

The Future of Learning Conference 2019 aims to highlight innovation and foster dialogue between the major actors shaping the 21st-century learning models, namely, academics, entrepreneurs, regulators and technologists.

The 2019 conference will address significant issues such as: how should the learning model 4.0 be in line with the principles of industry 4.0; how to bring in the vast majorities of underserved/unserved learners into the emerging learning networks; the barriers to transformation that exist and how to overcome them; the business or financial models that are likely to be successful, and the ecosystem elements that need to evolve and policy interventions needed.

The conference will feature talks by Professor P D Jose, FoL Conference Co-Chair and Chair of IIMB Digital Learning, Professor Sridhar Iyer, Conference Co-Chair, and faculty, IIT Bombay, Professor Deepak B Phatak, Conference Co-Chair, and faculty, IIT Bombay, Professor G Raghuram, Director, IIM Bangalore, Professor Das Narayandas, Senior Associate Dean, External Relations and HBSP,  Harvard Business School, Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, Chairman and Executive Director, Narayana Health, Anant Agarwal, Founder and CEO of edX, R Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, MHRD, GoI, etc.

The educational sector is set for a major and likely disruptive makeover. A decade ago the possibility of unlimited and unfettered access to education appeared far-fetched. Driven by the forces of globalization, advances in information and communication technologies, and the next generation of tech-savvy learners, education is fast evolving.

The enticing promise of digitization in transforming the educational sector is now uncontested by both educationists and policymakers. Despite occasional successes, the impact of digital technologies in transforming education have been constrained due to a variety of reasons.

India is a good case in point. Despite the emphasis on a digital transformation of the economy, the rural-urban divide is huge, with the internet penetration in urban and rural areas pegged at 65% and 20% respectively leaving over 50% of India's population unserved or underserved with regards to educational services. The situation in much of South Asia is similar with 65% of the population with limited or no access to the internet.

The conference will discuss factors that account for these gaps in technology, policy and practice, and how advances in technology can be leveraged to make high-quality education affordable, accessible and empowering.