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Vice Chancellors Lead the Way in AI-Ready Higher Education

In a landmark move towards building AI readiness in Indian universities, the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (COL-CEMCA), and the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), jointly organised an AI Masterclass for 60 Vice Chancellors (VCs) from Indian Universities on 11 June 2025 in New Delhi, India. The event aimed to foster a deeper understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its transformative potential across education, research, and administration.

The conference commenced with a welcome address by Dr Pankaj Mittal, Secretary General, AIU. In his address, Dr B. Shadrach, Director of COL-CEMCA, underscored the vision of equipping university leaders with the necessary knowledge to navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape, which translated into the AI Masterclass for VCs. “It is essential that our Vice Chancellors not only understand AI’s capabilities but also lead strategic integration of AI into institutional frameworks,” he stated.

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COL-CEMCA and IGNOU Lead National Effort to Enhance Graduate Employability

The Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), in collaboration with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), recently concluded a landmark three-day national Capacity Building Workshop on Implementing Graduate Employability and Understanding Skills Qualification Packs at IGNOU headquarters in New Delhi, India. Held from 4 to 6 June 2025, the workshop marked a significant milestone in advancing skill-based, inclusive, and outcome-oriented education across India’s open universities. It brought together Vice Chancellors and senior officials from 17 open universities across India, and provided them an opportunity to engage with NCVET officials, industry leaders, experts, and other stakeholders.

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Colloquium Explores AI's Transformative Role in Higher Education

The Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (COL-CEMCA), in collaboration with the Embassy of Israel, hosted a high-impact colloquium on Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education Institutions at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi. The event brought together vice chancellors, experts, and AI practitioners to examine the evolving role of AI in teaching, learning, and academic governance.

In his welcome address, Dr B. Shadrach, Director of COL-CEMCA, emphasised that AI is no longer a distant concept—it is shaping the future of education. While AI offers tools for lecture preparation, course design, and assessment, he urged educators to adopt it responsibly. He also introduced COL-CEMCA’s Academic and Career Skills (Self-Assessment) Instrument (ACSI), a tool developed in partnership with CBSE to guide students in making informed academic and career choices.

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Transforming STEM Education for Tomorrow: COL-CEMCA and BIG Launch National Maths Skill Training for Teachers

The Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (COL-CEMCA), in collaboration with Bharat Innovation Global (BIG), officially launched the 42-Hour Online Skill Training Programme for secondary-level mathematics teachers across India. The programme, designed to support innovative, technology-enabled, and student-centred teaching practices, has seen an overwhelming response with over 6,000 registrations from educators spanning various regions of the country.

This six-week training initiative aims to enhance teachers’ conceptual understanding, capacity to use digital tools, develop engaging classroom strategies, and make mathematics instruction more relevant and application-oriented. It combines live sessions with self-paced learning to ensure flexibility, depth, and sustained engagement.

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Empowering Educators through Open Educational Resources

In a significant collaboration aimed at transforming classroom teaching through accessible and innovative learning tools, the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (COL-CEMCA), the Central Institute of Educational Technology-National Council of Educational Research and Training (CIET-NCERT), and Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women are jointly conducting a five-day residential training programme on Open Educational Resources (OER): Innovating Education in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, from 2-6 June 2025.

Designed specifically for teaching faculty in the education sector across southern states, the programme brought together 50 participants representing State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), State Institutes of Education (SIEs), and Regional Institute of Education (RIE) from Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, and Andaman & Nicobar to explore the philosophy, application, and creation of OER. The training aimed to equip educators with practical knowledge to integrate OER into their teaching practices, enhancing both learning outcomes and educational inclusivity.

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