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National Consultation on Advancing Lifelong Learning for Farmers Concludes with Vision for Technology-Driven Rural Transformation

Chennai, 11 October 2025

The two-day National Consultation on "Advancing Lifelong Learning for Farmers: Scaling up, scaling out and scaling deep" was held from 10-11 October 2025 at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), charting an ambitious roadmap to reimagine farmer education for the next decade through artificial intelligence, digital technologies, and personalised learning approaches.

The consultation, which brought together stakeholders from research institutions, cooperative banks, government departments, farmer organisations, and technology experts, focused on transforming the 20-year-old Lifelong Learning for Farmers (L3F) initiative into a cutting-edge, AI-enabled framework responsive to modern agricultural challenges.

In his valedictory address, Dr. B. Shadrach, Director, COL-CEMCA, outlined three critical shifts needed for L3F 2.0: moving from generalised information to precision and personalised intelligence; addressing the inadequate scale and speed for modern challenges; and creating a data-driven ecosystem that converts knowledge into real-time problem-solving.

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National Consultation on Advancing Lifelong Learning for Farmers Concludes with Vision for Technology-Driven Rural Transformation

Chennai, 11 October 2025

The two-day National Consultation on "Advancing Lifelong Learning for Farmers: Scaling up, scaling out and scaling deep" was held from 10-11 October 2025 at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), charting an ambitious roadmap to reimagine farmer education for the next decade through artificial intelligence, digital technologies, and personalised learning approaches.

The consultation, which brought together stakeholders from research institutions, cooperative banks, government departments, farmer organisations, and technology experts, focused on transforming the 20-year-old Lifelong Learning for Farmers (L3F) initiative into a cutting-edge, AI-enabled framework responsive to modern agricultural challenges.

In his valedictory address, Dr. B. Shadrach, Director, COL-CEMCA, outlined three critical shifts needed for L3F 2.0: moving from generalised information to precision and personalised intelligence; addressing the inadequate scale and speed for modern challenges; and creating a data-driven ecosystem that converts knowledge into real-time problem-solving.

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National Consultation on Advancing Lifelong Learning for Farmers Commences at MSSRF, Chennai

Chennai, 10 October 2025

The National Consultation on Advancing Lifelong Learning for Farmers (L3F) commenced on 10 October 2025 at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai. Jointly Organised by the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) and M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), the two-day event brings together policy-makers, researchers, and practitioners to chart the next phase of the globally acclaimed L3F initiative—Advancing L3F (2025–2035): “Scaling up, Scaling out, and Scaling deep."

Inaugural Session: Reflecting on Two Decades of L3F

The formal inaugural session began with a welcome address by Dr. R. Rengalakshmi, Executive Director (Area Operations), MSSRF, who highlighted the importance of revisiting two decades of L3F’s journey to inform future strategies.

Dr. B. Shadrach, Director, COL-CEMCA, in his opening remarks, set the tone for the consultation by emphasising L3F’s transformation from a small pilot to a global model of community-driven learning linked to financial inclusion and digital empowerment. He reiterated COL’s commitment to fostering partnerships that integrate AI, IoT, and agrifintech tools into farmer learning systems.

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Teacher in the Loop AI National Bootcamp: Teachers’ Lay Foundation for AI Integration in Indian Classrooms

New Delhi, 30 September 2025

The Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (COL-CEMCA), in collaboration with CBSE, CISCE and SCERT Haryana, organised the Teacher in the Loop AI National Bootcamp (Cohort 2.0) on 30 August 2025 at New Delhi. The one-day programme brought together over 130 secondary-level mathematics teachers from across the country.

The bootcamp served as a platform for inter-board collaboration, the exchange of classroom practices, and collective problem-solving. Guided by subject expert Dr. R. C. Srivastava, teachers engaged in group discussions and activities to identify challenging concepts in the Grade 10 Mathematics curriculum, analyse teaching–learning gaps, and highlight common student misconceptions. They further worked in teams to propose practical approaches, classroom strategies, and assessment methods to address these challenges.

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Commonwealth Asia TVET Delegates Visit NITTTR Chennai and NIMI Facilities, Experience Cutting-Edge Technical Education Infrastructure

Chennai, 8 October 2025

Participants of the three-day Consultative Meeting on Developing a Blended Learning Model for TVET concluded their intensive deliberations with an enriching exposure visit to two premier technical education institutions in Chennai.

The international delegation, comprising representatives from Bangladesh, Brunei, Maldives, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and India, visited both the National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTR) Chennai and the National Instructional Media Institute (NIMI) to gain firsthand insights into state-of-the-art instructional media development and technical education infrastructure.

At NITTTR Chennai, Prof. Usha Natesan, Director, welcomed the delegates and facilitated an extensive tour of advanced facilities including the Media Production Studio, 3D Printing Laboratory, Distance and Remote Education Development (DRED) Centre, Robotics Lab, AR/VR Technology Centre, and Electric Vehicle Technology facilities. Participants experienced hands-on demonstrations of how these technologies are being integrated into contemporary TVET pedagogy.

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