The Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC), together with the National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTR)-Bhopal, India have recently implemented the In-Country Program for India on Innovative Teaching Methods, held at NITTTR-Bhopal campus, India from October 30 to November 3, 2023. A total of 26 in-service Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), practitioners, department heads, and officials from the Ministry of Education-India participated in the five-day program.
The program was designed to discuss trends and challenges of Industry Revolution (IR) 4.0 and incorporate digital learning in transforming the TVET education system in India. This was employed through a consultative manner of workshops and presentations to share expertise and best practices in digital learning in TVET.
Program management and implementation were under the helm of Program Supervisors, CPSC Director General, Prof. G.L.D. Wickramasinghe, and NITTTR-Bhopal Director, Prof. Chandra Charu Tripathi; Program Coordinator, Dr. Kesavan Ulaganathen; and Local Program Coordinators and Resource Persons, Dr. Sandip S. Kedar, Prof. Chanchal Mehra, and Prof. Asmita Khajanchee. The lectures and workshops were primarily managed by the following Resource Persons: Prof. Rajesh P. Khambayat, Head of Department of Technical and Vocational Education and Research (DTVER), Prof. K James Mathai, former professor, Department of Media Research & Development Education (DMRDE); Mr. Brad Ker, General Manager of Labtech Academy; and Dr. Ajay Bhushan, Vice Chancellor of Scope Global Skills University.
The inaugural ceremony was led by Dr. Kesavan and Prof. Tripathi. The program was also joined by Prof. Sandip S. Kedar, Prof. Chanchal Mehra, Prof. Asmita Khajanchee, and Prof. K. James Mathai of DMRDE, as well as Prof. Rajesh P. Khambayat of DTVER, as key speakers.
During the five-day training, Dr. Kesavan together with Prof. Khambayat, Mr. Ker, Prof. Kedar, Prof. Mehra, and Prof. Mathai presented theme papers on topics related to TVET in the age of digitalization. Likewise, Dr. Kesavan discussed in one of his lectures the difference between digitization and digitalization, conforming to the transformation of TVET in digital learning. Dr. Kesavan also facilitated workshops along with Local Program Coordinator, Prof. Khajanchee and Resource Person, Prof. Mathai which made the sessions interactive and participative.
In addition, a National Seminar on “Virtual TVET Globalization in the Digital Era” was conducted on November 2, with sessions about the following topics: Virtual TVET and the 21st-Century Classroom; Global Digital Trends in Teacher Education and Training; TVET Digitalization and Industrial Linkages; and Smart Industry Readiness Index which was then followed by a question-and-answer session. A study visit to the Global Skills Park, Bhopal was also facilitated right after the National Seminar.
On the last day of the training program, the participants as groups presented their outputs and action plans as facilitated by Dr. Kesavan. The five-day training program concluded with the closing remarks of Dr. Kesavan and Prof. Tripathi which was followed by the awarding of certificates for the participants.
