HEARTH ADVISORS and IMPERIAL COLLEGE (London) present … 22 May 2025 (Thursday), 4:30pm BD Somani International School, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai “In Search of Martian Life: Adventures of the Perseverance and Curiosity Rovers” We send robots to Mars to search for evidence of extraterrestrial life, particularly ancient life. This is no easy task. Success hinges on…
17 February 2025 (Monday), 2:45pm White Owl Literature Festival, Dimapur, Nagaland “The Morality Maze: When and How Does Moral Responsibility Begin?” At a certain age, whether in the eyes of the law or society, a child transitions from being dependent, impressionable, and vulnerable to becoming a moral agent—someone responsible for their actions and capable of…
23 October 2024 (Wednesday), 7pm Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi “Art in the Age of AI – Creativity or Code?” For decades, we’ve wondered if machines could ever truly replace humans. But one question gets to the heart of this more than any other: Can machines be creative? Creativity isn’t just another skill;…
26 September 2024 (Thursday), 7pm Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi “Global Campus Chronicles: India’s Transnational Education Revolution” In this session, our panellists will explore whether it is worthwhile for India to pursue world-class but below the absolute top foreign higher education institutions (FHEIs). With absolute enrollment numbers reaching approximately 43.3 million —a significant…
27 August 2024 (Tuesday), 7pm Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi “The Coaching Conundrum: India’s Tutoring Industry” In India’s sprawling education landscape, the ubiquitous coaching centres represent hope and despair. These institutions have cropped up to plug holes in an education system where school-leaving is increasingly disconnected from college entry and where university degrees…
21 June 2024 (Friday), 7pm Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi “Shifting Goalposts: The Ephemeral Criteria for College Admissions” The school-leaving board examinations have been the goal of academic transactions over 14 years of education. These examinations have reigned supreme, casting their shadow of all-pervasiveness over countless students, as the results are the gateway…
21 May 2024 (Tuesday), 7pm Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi “Rethinking Academia: Higher Education and Research” India is the world’s third-largest producer of research. Yet, we have not fully embraced a research-oriented ethos in public life, public understanding or public policy. Statistics indicate that a third of research papers from India face retractions…
19 March 2024 (Tuesday), 7pm Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi “Living Heritage: A Balancing Act Between Preservation and Progress” There are three distinct approaches to heritage conservation. The classical stance champions the preservation of physical fabric in its pristine state. The second approach involves engaging with communities intertwined with heritage, though it risks…
20 February 2024 (Tuesday), 7pm Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi “Fashion’s Metamorphosis: From Fast to Ethical” Within the fashion industry, the concept of sustainability has become contentious, so much so that a few brands have decided to eschew the term from their vocabulary altogether. Moreover, studies have shown that even our genuine efforts…
16 January 2024 (Tuesday), 7pm Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi “Innovation Partnerships: Can existing business models keep pace with innovation?” Business leaders have a growing split on appropriate partnership models for innovation. There are two schools of thought. One is open to experimenting with dynamic business engagement centred on trust. This is based…
21 November 2023 (Tuesday), 7pm Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi “Diversifying Paths to Financial Inclusion: Rethinking Finance for All” Diversifying Paths to Financial Inclusion: Rethinking Finance for All unravels the pathways towards economic empowerment. Rather than focus on a single point of intervention, the discussion will explore the intricate mechanisms that must harmonise…
31 October 2023 (Tuesday), 7pm Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi “The Blind Side of Science: The Challenges and Journeys of Women in Academia and Scientific Inquiry” For ages, women have faced systematic exclusion from scientific inquiry, often overlooked as both participants and subjects. Professor Anna Philpott will take us through her remarkable journey…
26 September 2023 (Tuesday), 7pm Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi “Ed-Tech: The Revolution That Is Always Arriving Yet Never Arrives” Ignoring the growing number of ed-tech start-ups that have faltered is nearly impossible. India is ed-tech’s second-largest market globally, and the middle class is drawn in by the allure of a new, technologically-driven…
Natural Partners: Building a Comprehensive UK-India Knowledge PartnershipJo Johnson, Shashank Vira, Janet Ilieva, Jonathan Adams, Jonathan Grant The Policy Institute, King’s College London & Harvard Kennedy School (December 2021) A study led by Jo Johnson and Shashank Vira for the Harvard Kennedy School and the Policy Institute at King’s College London suggests that the UK…
The Digital Education Futures Initiative, Cambridge (DEFI) and the Cambridge Partnership for Education joined to present digital literacy research. As education systems and ministries worldwide continue to adapt to the pandemic and its aftermath, it’s clear that digital educational technology (EdTech) is now embedded in mainstream education. This highlights the need for teachers to…
The pandemic has caused significant disruption to life as we know it. However, it has also presented us with a unique opportunity to reset global education engagement. An expert panel led a lively discussion on 6th October 2021 on the following topics: Has the pandemic impacted universities’ education provision and the way they engage…
Occasional Paper: Women and Climate Change Sanah Dewan and Shashank Vira (Hearth Advisors) In the most impoverished villages around the world, people are looking for solutions that include but are not limited to pollution, poverty, access to clean water and gender inequality. One predominating solution seems to have been disregarded within the climate change…
There is much interest (and some confusion!) in a modern liberal arts curriculum at education institutions. At its core, a liberal arts education aims to develop well-rounded individuals with knowledge of a wide range of subjects, and with an understanding of a range of transferable skills. The interconnected world and the need for lifelong learning…
Being victimised by school bullies is a frightening experience for any child at any age, and frustrating for any parent. Ignoring a bully is never the answer: the faster one acts, the better the chances of controlling the bully’s behaviour. Bullying in schools is a worldwide problem that can have negative consequences for the general…
To Live As Many Childhoods As Possible Contemporary English-language picturebooks in India India has the one of the highest reading rates of the world [1], one of the largest young populations, one of the fastest growing publishing industries [2], and one of the strongest linguistic bases in terms of English and local languages [3]. Yet…
The core of being a reflective teacher means gathering data about your teaching activity, analysing this, and reflecting upon it in a critical manner to improve your own practice. Reflective teachers, who are committed to the learning of students and have a deep understanding of the dynamic nature of knowledge. “An empowered teacher is a…
If you thought sending your child to school in an air-conditioned bus to shield him from pollution and giving him packaged water and food will keep him in good health, think again. Your child is exposed to far greater dangers from the time heʼs born. While ISO and other standards are routinely spoken about for…
Introduction As a working definition, we are going to consider Open Learning an organised educational activity based on the use of teaching materials in which constraints on study are minimised in terms of access, time and place, pace, method of study, or any combination of these. Across the world, the open learning system is well…
Curriculum planning has always had a role for the art and craft curriculum. The justification has been mainly on psychological and on individualistic grounds. Creating or making something is of great educational significance. It gives students pride and confidence in their own achievement; it develops gross and fine motor skills; and it develops imagination and…
