Union Minister Calls For Robust Research Ecosystems At 3rd EdWG Meet In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar on Thursday called for a collaborative effort by G20 member countries to build robust research and innovation ecosystems to achieve societal benefits.

In his inaugural address at the 3rd Education Working Group Meeting (EdWG) under India’s G20 presidency in Bhubaneswar, the minister said highlighted that the EdWG is working collectively to underline the common realities and reiterate common commitments for joint action to improve the reach, quality and outcomes of education.

“Today’s world is witnessing megatrends such as Artificial Intelligence, Industry 4.0 and Web 3.0, which will significantly impact the workplace. To adapt to this emerging work ecosystem, our youth need to be equipped with necessary skills and attitudes,” he said.

He called upon everyone to collaborate to develop sustainable solutions to the shared problems. In order to achieve the social gains, he asked the member countries to harness collective expertise and build robust research and innovation ecosystems.

K Sanjay Murthy, secretary, Higher Education; Sanjay Kumar, secretary, School Education and Literacy and Atul Kumar Tiwari, secretary, Skill, Development and Entrepreneurship and senior officials of the ministries attended the meeting.

More than 60 delegates from 27 countries including G20 members, international organisations including United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) were present.

The meeting was preceded by a seminar on ‘Building Capacities, Promoting Life-Long Learning in the context of Future of Work’ held at Institute of Material and Mineral Technology (CSIR-IMMT) in collaboration with the Ministry of Skill, Development and Entrepreneurship.

Along with the seminar a week-long multimedia exhibition was also organised. The exhibition was inaugurated by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Earlier, a series of precursor events including seminars, panel discussion and workshops on the theme of life-long learning and future of work were organised. The seminar saw participation from academia, industry, government and Singapore High Commission.

To involve the youth, month-long ‘Jan Bhagidari’ events were organised starting from ‘Utakal Dibas’ or ‘Odisha Day’ on April 1. These events aimed at creating awareness about the 3rd EdWG meeting in Bhubaneswar.

Under the initiative, various competitions and activities involving the youth such as awareness rallies, marathon, essay writing,  rangoli making, yoga sessions, quiz, debate, elocution and Mock G20 were organised in all 30 districts of the state. The campaign witnessed around 1 lakh plus participation from 35 institutions across Odisha.