Amritsar to host the 2nd G20 EdWG Meeting

 Seminar on ‘Strengthening Research, Promoting Innovation through richer Collaboration’ to be organised

Amritsar, March 14 (Punjab Post Bureau) – The Ministry of Education is all set to host the 2nd Education Working Group (EdWG) in Amritsar, Punjab. 28 G20 member countries, guest countries & invited organizations (OECD, UNESCO & UNICEF) will be participating in the 3 day event consisting of seminar/exhibition and working group meetings.

The seminar on ‘Strengthening Research and Promoting Innovation through richer Collaboration’ will be organised at Khalsa College by IIT Ropar with collaborative inputs from prominent Higher Education Institutions such as IISc Bengaluru, IIM Amritsar and TISS Mumbai. The Seminar on 15th March will begin with a presentation from Prof. Govindan Rangarajan Director IISc Bengaluru on ‘Research Initiatives in G20 countries’ with inputs provided by G20 members and invitee countries in the seminar. The seminar will also include two Panel Discussions, one on ‘Research in Emerging and Disruptive Technologies, Industry – 4.0’ to be chaired by Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar and second one on, ‘Research in Sustainable Development Goals’ to be chaired by Dr. Shalini Bharat Director TISS Mumbai. The panel discussion will see participation from France, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Oman, South Africa, UNICEF, China and UAE,

A multimedia exhibition will also be organised on the side-lines of the seminar which will provide a physical format to the participating countries along with industry, academia to present the best practices in research, innovation, collaboration and partnership. There will be 90+ stalls at the exhibition with key participation from UAE, China and Saudi Arabia, NSDC, NCERT, National Book Trust, Indian Knowledge Systems Division (IKS)  and several start-up initiatives. The exhibition will also be open to local institutions, students, academicians and researchers from 16th-17th March, 2023

The two-day meeting on the 16th – 17th March will provide a platform to deliberate  on the four priority areas. They are:

• Ensuring Foundational Literacy and Numeracy especially in context of blended learning
• Making Tech-enabled learning more inclusive, qualitative and collaborative at every level
• Building Capacities, promoting Life-long Learning in the context of Future of Work
• Strengthening Research, promoting Innovation through richer collaboration and partnerships

The meetings will be chaired by Secy DoHE, Sh. K. Sanjay Murthy with Secy DoSEL, Sh. Sanjay Kumar and Secy MSDE, Sh. Atul Kumar Tiwari as Alternate Chairs. More than 55 delegates from 28 countries are expected to attend the meeting and seminar, where they will share their best practises for strengthening research and innovation. The outcomes of the 4 EdWG meetings will be essential to draft the final declaration document to be shared at the concluding Ministerial Meeting. The document will serve as a guideline for the development of numerous educational and employment opportunities. The EdWG meetings will also give participating countries and organisations the opportunity to  strengthen educational cooperation and discuss new collaboration opportunities.

Delegates will be taken to Golden Temple on the 17th March as part of excursion component of the EdWG meetings. On the side-lines of the G20 meetings cultural events are also planned to highlight Punjab’s vibrant culture.