- The South Asia Cambridge Schools Conference gathered 400 educators from across South Asia to discuss the future of education and Cambridge's commitment to teacher development, including new professional programs and AI-driven learning initiatives.
- Cambridge highlighted its dedication to upskilling teachers through new courses and online exams, aiming to address the global need for 44 million new teachers by 2030, and focusing on programs like Climate Quest and Young Pioneers for developing essential skills.
- The conference featured key speakers, including Google for Education's Sanjay Jain and University of Cambridge's Mark Winterbottom, and discussed innovative topics like AI in education, redesigning college-readiness, and improving access to quality education.
The Cambridge University Press and Assessment's International Education team hosted its second annual South Asia Cambridge Schools Conference, hosting 400 teachers, school and thought leaders from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and the Maldives.
With increasing demand for Cambridge qualifications throughout the region, the conference highlighted Cambridge's dedication to helping schools, teachers and learners successfully navigate the fast-changing education environment.
The conference comes against the background of a worldwide requirement for 44 million new teachers by the year 2030. In answer to this requirement, Cambridge emphasized its dedication to enabling the region's teachers through new professional development programs and qualifications, upskilling courses, pre-service teacher training, and short-term e-learning modules to develop the region's teaching capacity.
Cambridge University Press and Assessment Group Managing Director International Education Rod Smith commended regional school leaders for collaborating with Cambridge to develop curricula and resources, and launching fresh innovative programs that equip learners to be world-ready. He stated "At Cambridge, we are dedicated to preparing learners for a rapidly changing world". To do this, we're investing in professional development for teachers, we're introducing online exams to drive forward assessment, and we're bringing in AI to augment learning. South Asia is turning into an education hub of excellence, and we're honored to work with schools to develop new programmes like Cambridge Early Years and Climate Quest that will define the future of education here and beyond".
Senior Vice President International Education, South Asia Vinay Sharma stated "Our commitment to ensuring international education is available yet of the highest quality is unshakeable. We give our schools the freedom to establish a robust center around learning, teaching and assessment". By means of this conference, what we hope to do is challenge ourselves to identify new means through which we might collectively prepare learners not simply to adapt but to thrive in an age characterized by tremendous technological, societal, and economic change.
Cambridge's other major initiatives for students in India are Climate Quest for the development of climate resilience, Cambridge Connect, a scheme to address the needs of national high-stakes tests, the March exam series to serve local admission requirements, Integrated Learning and Assessment for building English as a skill, and Young Pioneers to build an entrepreneurial spirit.
Panel sessions had renowned speakers such as University of Cambridge Professor of Education Mark Winterbottom, Cambridge International Education Head of Research Sarah Hughes, Sanjay Jain, Head of Google for Education, India, International Education Director of Digital Products and Services Lindsay Nadin, University of Cambridge Faculty of Education Dr. Sue Brindley, Cambridge 3-19 Curriculum Director Abigail Barnett, CUPA Senior Impact Evaluator Aynur Ismayilli Karakoc, University Pathways and Progression, International Education Director Kevin Ebenezer to mention but a few. Other significant initiatives such as Climate Quest, Cambridge Connect for national high-stake tests, March exam series, Integrated Learning and Assessment for building English as skill, Young Pioneers for entrepreneurial mindset of the region were put into spotlight.
The sessions focused on the application of AI in schools, online high-stakes tests and future career paths. Topics also discussed at length were molding mindfulness in schools, redesigning college-readiness in light of changing career paths, and access to quality education with equity. A number of schools were awarded for their academic achievements through the Cambridge School Recognition Awards presented during the conference.
