The State government is contemplating establishing an ‘Intelligent Global Hub for Digital Pedagogies’ in Visakhapatnam to give a big boost to education technology (edutech) after declaring its resolve to make the city a destination for investments in financial technology (fintech).
The hub will consist of a centre of excellence (CoE) on science of learning, an incubation centre to train startups in building edutech products, a school for difference learners (children with dyslexia, dyscalculia), Global Standards Certification Bureau and teachers’ training academy, among other things.
Design university
“Proposals are also under consideration to establish a world-class design university here to teach digital product design and game design, a cross sectoral skilling platform, and create an innovative ecosystem to bring global players,” HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao told The Hindu on Thursday. The government has in principle decided to allot 50 acres for the facility.
The hub proposal will be discussed at the global conference on ‘Transforming education for humanity’ (TECH) being held here from November 15 to 17. Experts in edutech from all over the world will attend.
The conference is being organised by State Government in association with Unesco, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) and Ministry of Human Resources Development.
Besides Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar and State IT Minister N. Lokesh will attend.
The conference is supported by edutech players, including Microsoft, Samsung, Unity, Adobe, HP, 3DS, Veative Labs and Eon Reality.
Delegates from 22 countries will participate. The State government, in its Vision 2029, has stated that it is keen to transform Andhra Pradesh into a ‘globally competitive and happy society’ with focus on not just economic growth but also on happiness / wellbeing.
The ‘Vizag Declaration’ to be adopted at the conference will help transform the State into skill capital of India.
TECH-2018, an annual event, is expected to highlight the role of games and digital learning in enabling shift from transmissive pedagogies to creating peaceful and sustainable societies.
