Cambridge English hosted a summit on the theme 'Building Partnerships for the Future'. The summit provided a platform for the exchange of international and regional experience in transforming education, bringing together key decision makers in the fields of education, academia, government and industry, from both India and the UK. Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge inaugurated the summit, and invited guests from the Government of India, education and industry to add their perspectives. The opening session, saw the Indian perspective shared by Mr AshokThakur, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Government of India, Mr TV Mohandas Pai, presented the Education Industry perspective and the School perspective was given by Fr C M Jose Aikara, Chairman, Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination.The Focus group discussion on "Improving access to education by leveraging
the
power of technology" was co-chaired by Mr Michael Carrier, Cambridge English and Mr Praveen Kanipakam, President and Chairman of the Board, Sharp Software Development India, Pvt. Ltd. The focus group discussion 2 was on "Measuring the success of educational projects" and was co-chaired by Dr Hanan Khalifa, Cambridge English and Prof R Natarajan, Former Director, Indian Institute of Technology and former Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education. The third focus group discussion on "The role of assessment in raising standards" was co-chaired by Dr Nick Saville, Cambridge English. The closing plenary on "Forging the partnerships" was by Dr Karthick Sridhar, Vice Chairman, Indian Centre for Assessment & Accreditation, Mr B Wijayaratne, Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development, Government of Sri Lanka, Prof Dr M Muhibur Rahman, Member, University Grants Commission, Bangladesh and Saul Nassé,
Chief
Executive, Cambridge English. Saul Nassé, Chief Executive of Cambridge English, said, "I am delighted that this summit has brought together key decision makers in the fields of academia and industry. It was a fascinating day of focused dialogue and I expect to see some exciting new partnerships emerge that will address language learning in India." The summit was able to create a beneficial platform for partnership between India and Cambridge. The representatives from Cambridge English were able to share success models in India and South Asia. Another important announcement was the launch of a teacher framework, which will help in teacher development. The plenary session was chaired by Ms Angella Ffrench, Director Operations, South and South East Asia and Dr Nick Saville from Cambridge English. Six MOU's were also signed Hindustan University (Tamil Nadu), Vignan University (Andhra Pradesh), CHSIBER (Maharashtra), BS ABDUR RAHMAN (Tamil Nadu)
RMK
Group (Tamil Nadu), ICAA (Indian Council for Assessment and Accreditation), ICCA- building language standards, University's - Building employability skills using the BEC from Cambridge. This conference will go to South Asia next year- invitations have come from the Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to work together with India and Cambridge to resolve similar issues. They were also able to share the success story of Cambridge English in India, as it has over 500 schools and 300 colleges working with it, in the country. The long term focus of Cambridge English on the employability sector (where it offers the BEC Business English Certificates), Study overseas sector (where it is offering Cambridge English Advanced), schools sector (where it offers the Cambridge Young Learners English Tests) and teachers sector (where it offers the Teaching Knowledge Test) was also shared. One of the key outcomes of the summit is action plans serving as the basis for a continuous dialogue with rele
vant
stakeholders to initiate implementation.Notes to EditorAbout the University of Cambridge The mission of the University of Cambridge is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. To date, 90 affiliates of the University have won the Nobel Prize. Founded in 1209, the University comprises 31 autonomous Colleges which admit undergraduates and provide small-group tuition, and 150 departments, faculties and institutions. Cambridge is a global university. Its 19,000 student body includes 3,700 international students from 120 countries. Cambridge researchers collaborate with colleagues worldwide, and the University has established larger-scale partnerships in Asia, Africa and America. The University's reputation for outstanding academic achievement is known worldwide and reflects the intellectual achievement of its students, as well as the world
-class
original research carried out by the staff of the University and the Colleges. Cambridge is consistently ranked among the top five universities in the world. Website: www.cam.ac.uk About Cambridge English Language Assessment Cambridge English Language Assessment is a not-for-profit department of the University of Cambridge. It is a world leader in language assessment and has been providing high-quality English language exams since 1913, backed by one of the largest dedicated language research teams in the world. Over the last 100 years, Cambridge English has developed cutting edge language assessments and has provided opportunities for English language / communication skill development. Over 4 million candidates take Cambridge English exams every year. The organisation has a global network of 3,500 test centres in over 130 countries and Cambridge English exams are recognised and used by
15,000
organisations globally. In India, Cambridge English supports both educational institutions and corporates in developing and assessing the language proficiency levels of students and employees. Cambridge English also works in partnership with governments in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Mizoram, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh towards developing the English language skills of students. www.cambridgeenglish.org . Website: www.cambridgeenglish.orgRead more on IndiaPRwire.com