Hub expects US$700 million investments
In a landmark win for innovation in education, the Andhra Pradesh government has budgeted Rs.66 crore this year to set up The Global Intelligent Hub for Digital Pedagogies (IGHD), which is expected to attract US$700 million investments.
It is a collaborative venture between the State Government and UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peaceful and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) as a knowledge partner.
The idea of IGHD was seeded during UNESCO MGIEP’s inaugural TECH (transforming education for humanity conference) conference held in Visakhapatnam in 2017, IGHD is a one-of-its-kind center of excellence designed to promote the science of learning and social and emotional learning.
It serves as a school for different learners (catering to people suffering from dyslexia, dyscalculia and other learning disabilities), as well as a certification bureau of global standards and a teacher training academy, Dr. Anantha Duraiappah, Director, UNESCO MGIEP said on 19 July 2019.
Commenting on the hub, Dr Duraiappah said: “The vision of the hub stemmed from implementing transformative pedagogies for building 21st century skills through education. It’s a simple way for teachers and students to use digital tools as pedagogy and not only a delivery tool. This initial allocation of funds sets us on course to deliver a first one it’s kind world-class EdTech ecosystem, with an approach rooted in the hard science of learning for better outcomes.”
IGHD, which was allocated 50 acres land near Bheemili in 2018, appeals not only to India but also to the global audience because it provides access to certified-quality digital pedagogical resources for both educators and students.
Owing to innovative digital pedagogies that are make learning more engaging, fun and relevant and focus on building not only intellectual but also emotional intelligence, it is expected that learners with higher emotional resilience would be less likely to drop out of school.
The IGHD program aims to achieve 50,000 skilled future-ready workers, nurturing global research, industries and investment in the region. It would also create a line of ed-tech entrepreneurs and in turn, spur job creation. The goal is to capture 30% of the ed-tech market in India and 10% in Asia Pacific.
Expected to bring in investment worth US$700 million, the IGHD will have:
Research Centre on the Science of Learning with Global Certification Bureau for Digital Pedagogies;
Design University for Digital Product Design;
4D School for difference learning, addressing the four types of Learning differences – Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia;
Incubator for Gaming Companies – To setup gaming studios, and digital learning companies;
Digital Technology Companies;
Teacher’s Training Academy that offers Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) courses as well refresher courses for existing teachers to lead the transformation;
Skill Development Institute.
The global education market is valued at US$5 trillion, yet only 2% is digitized. Global gaming industry is US$138 billion and India’s gaming market is poised to reach US$1.1 billion by 2021.
UNESCO brings a unique approach to transform education using digital pedagogies to develop 21st century skills. The UNESCO MGIEP focuses on developing intellectual and emotional intelligence, using the whole brain approach to learning, as well as innovative pedagogies derived from research in the sciences of learning. IGHD is set to facilitate access to 180+ Member States for wider adoption.
The IGHDP aims to strengthen the momentum of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Global Citizenship Education (GCED) by demonstrating how emotional intelligence – built by Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) aimed at building skills and competencies such as attention control, emotional regulation, perspective taking, empathy, compassion, critical inquiry and systems thinking among others – are key for sustained success in achieving SDG 4.7 through digital pedagogies.
The UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) is UNESCO’s category 1 Research Institute that focuses on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.7 towards education for building peaceful and sustainable societies across the world.
In line with its vision of ‘Transforming Education for Humanity’, the institute’s programs are designed to mainstream Social and Emotional Learning in education systems, innovate digital pedagogies and to put youth as global citizens at the center of the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development. fiinews.com
