Higher Education Minister M.C. Sudhakar has called for adoption of hi-tech tools in education, especially in the higher education sector.
“We are witnessing a trend where higher education is undergoing great transformation with the use of various technological tools in the teaching-learning process and research and extension,” he said during the inauguration of the South Zone Vice-Chancellors Meet organised by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) at the Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) here on Thursday.
“Technology is used in unbelievable, unprecedented ways. Doctors who sit thousands of kilometres away can now operate on patients using robot support. We have a trend where highly skilled workers also work from home. ATMs that were used only for disbursing cash are now-a-days repurposed for health check-ups and on demand delivery of packaged food and medicine,” he said.
“Virtual technology that was only used for delivering talks and webinars or hold meetings is now being used for complex tasks such as synchronising traffic and management of companies and factories,” Dr. Sudhakar added.
“There are disruptive technologies and innovations in every sector. The post-pandemic period has changed the landscape of several sectors and industries due to the use of high-end technologies,” he said.
He urged all education institutions, teachers and researchers to utilise appropriate tools in the teaching-learning process and also research. “We must aim at being globally competitive and ensure that we figure in the top 100 universities of the world,” he said.
“We are virtually surrounded by things like Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics, Chat GPT and others that did not exist a decade ago. Companies and individuals that do not learn and use these will become extinct. Faculty members need to update themselves to imbibe new technologies, delivery patterns and use technology in their pedagogies. The frequency of updating and changing the syllabi of institutions also needs to change so that they can stay contemporary,” the Minister said.
“Today’s student community is well informed and vigilant. They are tech savvy and creative. Competition is based on skills and attitude and knowledge of emerging technology,” he said.
The theme of the meeting was Digital Transformation In Higher Education. And, resource persons spoke on various sub-themes such as Future of Credentialing, Digital Badges, Micro Credentialing and Online Degrees.
Over 80 vice-chancellors of different universities and nearly 100 professors and representatives of industries participated.
AIU president J.D. Sharma said that India is a country with a high scope for technology penetration and exchange. Students today have a great opportunity for innovations in technology to make the country self-reliant.
AIU secretary S.R. Niranjan and Pankaja Mittal spoke. Guests released a souvenir. VTU Vice-Chancellor Vidyashankar S., Registrar B.E. Rangaswamy and others were present.
