British Council in association with NUEPA presents 'Global Education Dialogues 2016'

The British Council, as part of the Global Education Dialogue series in South Asia, and the Centre for Policy Research in Higher Education (CPRHE) of the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA), New Delhi are jointly organizing an International Seminar on Teaching-Learning and New Technologies in Higher Education from February 25 to 26, 2016 in New Delhi.

Prof Ved Prakash, Chairman UGC delivered the keynote address. The first issue of 'India Higher Education Report 2015', edited by N.V. Varghese and Garima Malik and published by Routledge was released during the inaugural session of the conference today.

The book IHER aims to focus on the current issues and challenges facing the higher education sector in India. IHER is envisaged as an annual publication and serve as a good reference document for researchers and policy- makers in India.

The first issue of the IHER report is comprehensive and has articles on major issues and challenges facing higher education in the country. The specific themes included in the IHER 2015are: i) The Higher Education Context i.e., Policies, Commission and Committees; ii) Equity in Higher Education; iii) Quality in Higher Education; iv) Diversification of the System, v) Employment of the Higher Education Graduates; vi) Financing of Higher Education; vii) Private Higher Education; viii) Governance and Management; and ix) Internationalization.

Over 100 delegates of which 41 are international, from 13 countries, are present for the seminar to share global trends in teaching and learning processes, impact of technology on teaching and learning and changing role of teachers and teacher development practices.

Rob Lynes, Country Director, British Council, India said "Improving quality of higher education is a priority for countries across the world. Teaching and learning practices play a critical role in achieving learner outcomes and directly impact on quality of education."

"Therefore understanding global trends and Innovations in teaching and learning practices and the

impact of technology in teaching and learning can only help better understand what interventions work. UK is a pioneer in use of technology in teaching and learning processes has a lot to contribute and share with the rest of the world."

N.V. Varghese (Director, CPRHE, NUEPA) said, the teaching-learning process remains central to enhancement of quality in higher education. Unfortunately, research and empirical evidence on teaching and learning in higher education is very limited in developing countries. This seminar will be an opportunity to discuss this issue and encourage the academic community to engage more actively in research to improve teaching learning practices in higher education institutions.