500 Schools, 1000+ educators, 100+ Education Startups came under one roof at International School Awards

International School Awards (ISA - India), a two-day event hosted by Chitkara University, on May 24-25, 2019 saw over 500 schools, 1000+ educators and 100+ Education Startups across the globe come together, under one roof. The goal was to open a dialogue with the international education community, as well as celebrate and reward their contributions. The event was presented by Robogenie, powered by Robochamps and Chhapai.com, and supported by Chitkara University.

The theme of this year’s event was ‘Building for the Future’ with a vision to revolutionize the education system. Chitkara University believes that our future students have to run parallel with the advancing technological aspects. Thus, with this in mind, International School Awards & Conference was designed to provide a platform where all the great contributors come together under one roof to resolve the present day needs of the students. For Awards, the event received a total of 9673 nominations of Educators from 43 countries.

Hon'ble Dr. Niyati Chitkara, Principal, Chitkara International School declared the International School Awards & Conference open in the presence of Dr. Jawahar Surisetti, Adviser to Government, TED Speaker, Author; Mr. Akshay Ahuja, Founder, Robochamps; Mr. Rajesh Batra, Founder, Chappai.com; and Col. Rakesh Sharma, Associate Director, Chitkara University Affairs. Dignitaries and delegates from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore, UAE, and South Africa, were in attendance to open a dialogue with the international education community, as well as celebrate and reward their contributions.

To bring about the change and inculcate innovations in student’s life, ISA created three sub-themes to further segregate the pathway for a ‘Better Future’. Global Megatrends, Entrepreneurship Skills, Technological Learning, Brand Building, among others, were a part of the Conference. Experts acknowledged how Artificial Intelligence, Teachers, Schools, and Education play a vital role in a student’s life. A knowledge Village - an exhibition platform with more than 10+ stalls, was also set up at the Chitkara campus to showcase and promote ‘educational’ tools, products and services, to the attendees of ISA.

Day-1, Keynote Sessions and Panel Discussions motivated experts to find a balance between the technologies and educative learning. With great topics aligned, the event had on board the best of the speakers sharing their mastery and inspiring everyone during the morning session where - Author & TED Speaker Dr. Jawahar Surisetti spoke about the 'Power of Counselling'; Awecademy Founder & CEO Ms. Riya Bidshahri told us how 'Artificial Intelligence is the Future'; Teacher Tech Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Co-Founder & CEO Mr. Praveen Wadalkar gave everyone 'Lessons in the Brand Building: How to build an educational brand'; and finally the famous 'human calculator' & Founder of Exploring Infinities Mr. Bhanu Prakash; showed the audience how he is 'Quicker than a Calculator'! The afternoon session saw a constructive Panel Discussion on 'Emerging Technologies’, where experts asked and discussed how smart technology will shape our future. Panelists - Mrs. Taruna Vashisht, Founder Principal, Manav Rachna International School, Mohali; Ms. Ritika Subhash, Director of Schools, Indian Subcontinent, Mangahigh.com; Mr. Abhiraj Malhotra, Founder, School Pad; and Mr. Akshay Ahuja, Founder, Robochamps; presented their views and shared examples & possibilities on the subject, while Mr. Mario Fishery, Director of Technology Support at American School of Bombay; moderated the discussion to a meaningful consensus giving the educators a blueprint to building the classroom of the future.

Day-2, the first half of the session saw Dr. Attaullah Wahidyar, Senior Advisor to the Education Minister of Afghanistan, shedding light upon – ‘Peace, Justice and Strong Institution’. Other speakers who offered insider insights with inspiring keynote addresses, included - Dr. Deepak Vohra, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of Lesotho and Guinea-Bissau, shared his insights on 'Global Megatrends'; and Hon'ble Dr. Niyati Chitkara, Principal, Chitkara International School, spoke about 'Teachers and School Education'. The resounding message - all came in an alliance towards one goal of building a brighter future and rooted for bringing change in the student’s education with digital techniques to ease up the learning. Next, insightful Panel Discussions on ‘Entrepreneurship in Schools’ was held during the afternoon session. Experts deliberated on 'Entrepreneurship in School' while discussing the importance of entrepreneur skills in the changing economy, and introducing these to students using case studies, field work, thinking tools, interactive games and moderated discussions. Panelist included - Mr. Ayush Gupta, Former Secretary, E-cell, IIT Roorkee; Mr. Siddharth Bansal, Founding CEO, Bansal EnviroTech ‘A Green Company’; Mr. Mani Ramalingam, CEO & Founder, Techoptions Infosolutions Pvt. Ltd.; and Mr. Sameer Sharma, Founder, Shoutlo. The discussion was moderated by Mr. Rahul Naverker, Founder & CEO, IndiaNetworks.

International School Awards & Conference concluded on a high note with an Awards Ceremony. Hon’ble Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Vice-Chancellor, Chitkara University; gave away the prestigious Awards to winners in a glittering function attended by over 200 delegates from over 12 countries across the globe. The awards recognize excellence in education and outstanding contribution in innovation & Leadership, of School Heads, School Entrepreneurs and Teachers from across the globe.

Speaking about the mega event, Hon’ble Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Vice-Chancellor, Chitkara University, said, “Traditional lecture halls cannot equip every student for whatever their unique future holds, whether they move on to study further or enter the job market. With International School Awards & Conference, Chitkara University aimed to open a dialogue with the international education community by not only unlocking the potential of flexible, challenging educational innovations that focus on student needs, but also predicting what the future of learning should look like while taking cue from others who are taking bold steps into the future using groundbreaking methods. This remarkable event redefined education, gave us all boundless resources and helped us envision a future that promotes diversity, creativity and collaboration.”