Higher Education and Employability
A new paradigm, a new challenge
Day 1: Thursday9 January
08.30 – 09.30 / Pre function Area-Ballroom
Registration and Tea/Coffee
09.30 – 09.45 / Presidential Ballroom 1 & 2
Welcome Address:Rob Lynes,Director India, British Council
Keynote: Manish Sabharwal, CEO TeamLease, Member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Skill Development
09.45 – 11.00 / Presidential Ballroom 1 & 2
The South Asia Paradox: High University Enrolment, Low Graduate Employment; British Council/EIU research paper
Presenter:Peter Upton, Director Pakistan, British Council
Panel discussion on the key findings of the British Council research
Panellists:
•VarunAggarwal, Co-Founder, AspiringMinds India
•AbhinayMuthoo, Head (Chair) Department of Economics, The University of Warwick, UK
•WasifRizvi, President, Habib University and CEO, Habib University Foundation
Chair: Michelle Potts, Regional Director Education, South Asia, British Council
11.00– 11.30 / Pre function Area
Tea/Coffee and networking
11.30 – 12.30 / Are our universities adequately preparing people for jobs in an increasingly competitive global market?
To achieve global success every nation has to find ways to make strategic use of its higher education sector to build and develop workforce capability. Advanced skills and enhanced employability will be essential to mobility and growth. Employability is now a key benchmark of success for Higher Education Institutions and a component of international league tables. How can our governments and universities rise to this challenge in South Asia?
Speakers will present case studies of how universities can add value to the employability of its graduates and enhance interaction with industry, followed by work group discussion to develop action plans on specific challenges.
Presidential Ballroom 1 & 2
Case Study:
LJMU World of Work Programme
How Liverpool John Moores University has developed closer ties with industry in order to enhance the employability of their graduates, as well as provide commercial and research benefits to the university
Nigel Weatherill, Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive, Liverpool John Moores University
Building upon the case study, the delegates will undertake group work on specific discussion points
(45 minutes)
Facilitator: Richard Everitt, Director Education India, British Council / Ballroom 3
Case Study:
Joined-up business engagement – delivering innovation and skills across traditional boundaries in an international context
How University of Nottingham has embedded employability in the student experience, their business engagement and seeding innovation across cultures and national jurisdictions
Chris Rudd, Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Nottingham
Building upon the case study, the delegates will undertake group work on specific discussion points
(45 minutes)
Facilitator: Ismail Badat, Regional Manager HE, South Asia, British Council
12.30 - 13.00 / Case Study Outcomes - Presidential Ballroom 1 & 2
Work Groups reports back to plenary on action plans to address the challenges facing institutions in developing skilled graduates for the global economy.
Facilitator: Michelle Potts, Regional Director Education South Asia, British Council
13.00 – 14.00 / Lunch and networking
14.00 – 15.30 / Minding The Gap: Who is responsible for bridging the skills gap and who picks up the tab – industry or institutions?Presidential Ballroom 1 & 2
Panel Debate
The challenge is obvious – employers need academic institutions to provide graduates who can step into the work environment with business ready knowledge and skills. Industry argues that graduates do not have the right preparation for the world of work and too few are of the right calibre. Is it so simple? Should institutions be more focused on employer demands to provide graduates with skills specifically ready made for industry? Or is it the role of academic institutions to create well rounded individuals with academic knowledge and transferable skills, which industry can then train into being specialists in their chosen field? With the challenges on financing education, who should pay the bill – industry, institutions, students or the state?
Panellists:
Industry:
•Khubaib Ahmed, Head HR, Descon International Pakistan
•Santanu Paul, CEO & MD, TalentSprint
•Hemanta Kumar Dabadi, Director General, Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries
Institutions:
•Karuna Jain, Director, NITIE, Mumbai
•Aminullah Amin, Associate Professor, Kabul University
•Pradipta Banerji, Director, IIT Roorkee
Chair: Rob Lynes, Director India British Council
15.30– 16.00 / Pre function Area-Ballroom
Tea/ Coffee and networking
16.00– 17.30 / Rethinking approaches….
The time is ripe for a new way of building Higher Education to meet the needs of the 21st century. Do issues of scale, sustainability, capacity and relevance bring the opportunity to engage a new way of thinking about Higher Education provision? Or will the mismatch between degree programmes and industry needs lead to a pool of unemployed and unemployable graduates?
The parallel sessions will look in depth at areas of opportunity to challenge current thinking in search of innovative and relevant solutions.
Presidential Ballroom 1 & 2
Creating opportunities through widening access - strategies for inclusivity and diversity
Chair:
Dr Ahmed Al-Kabir, Chairman, Rupali Bank, Bangladesh / Ballroom 3
Can Entrepreneurship be taught and what is the value?
Chair:
Paul D Hannon, Director of Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership, University of Swansea / Assembly
Work-based learning: rethinking internships and apprenticeships
Chair:
John Clarke, Director of Student Services, University of the West of England Bristol
Groups will report back to plenary on outcomes and actions of each of the parallel sessions.
Closing Summary of Day 1 - Presidential Ballroom 1 & 2
Michelle Potts, Regional Director Education, South Asia, British Council
19.30 - 21.00 / Networking event – Reception and dinner at the Rendevouz, TajMahal
Day 2: Friday 10January
08.30 – 09.00 / Tea/Coffee
09.00 – 09.15 / Presidential Ballroom 1 & 2
Welcome to Day 2 and reflections on Day 1
Richard Everitt, Director Education India, British Council
09.15–11.30
09.15 – 10.00
10.00 – 10.45
10.45 – 11.30 / Presidential Ballroom 1 & 2
Embedding employability across HE - What needs to be done?
Creating Higher Education and Employability Frameworks
  • Chris Taylor, Engagement Manager, The Quality Assurance Agency, for Higher Education, UK
  • N V Varghese, Director, Centre for Policy Research in Higher Education, NUEPA

Embedding employability engagement into the curriculum
  • Jan McArthur, Lecturer Education, Community and Society, Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh
  • AsokeRamanayake, Senior Lecturer, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • Ram HariLamichhame, Member Secretary, Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training Nepal
Group Discussion and Q&A
Chair: Ismail Badat,Regional Manager HE, South Asia, British Council
11.30 – 12.00 / Tea/Coffee and networking
12.00 – 13.00 Critical Thinking: Mapping the Way Forward for South Asia
Summarising the key action points
Chair: Michelle Potts, Regional Director Education, South Asia, British Council
12:50 – 13.00 / Presidential Ballroom 1 & 2
Closing remarks
Peter Upton, Country Director, British Council Pakistan
13.00 onwards / Lunch

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