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We would like to know more about your schools in terms of capacity, student strength, and the new initiatives under your leadership. At present, we are a group of two schools. One school, The Down Town School, was started in 2022 in Guwahati. The Down Town Gurukul, which is our first school, was started in 2019 in Moranhat in Upper Assam. The entire purpose of entering school education was to look into the learning needs of students so that they become future-ready when they move on to higher education. Along with academics, what role does skilling play, and where is digital education heading in your institution? I’m very happy to say that in both schools, from pre-primary up to the secondary level, we are totally digitalised in terms of the teaching-learning process. However, as we all know, too much screen time is not good and is currently becoming a public health concern. So, we also try to keep our learning organic through a lot of hands-on activities — in areas such as financial management, sustainability, and community management — through student-led conferences and projects in both our schools. What role does sports play in your institutions? Is participation based on student preference, or is it also compulsory? I am very happy to say that for The Down Town Group of Schools, sports is an integral part of our curriculum. We have fixed hours for activities such as swimming, taekwondo, basketball, and football. These are scheduled for all students. From Grade 3 onwards, students get the option to choose their preferred sport. In fact, next month, one of our students from The Down Town School will be part of the national roller skating team. That’s wonderful to know. How are extracurricular activities integrated into the institution? What we have tried to do is maintain a perfect balance between academics, sports, and extracurricular activities in the daily timetable. For example, if there are two hours of academics, it is followed by a sports class, then maybe a music class or club activities. Because of this balance, during holidays we often receive calls from parents saying that their children want to come to school because they would rather be at school than at home. We try to keep the learning experience exciting and not just emphasise academics alone. Are there any specific initiatives in teaching-learning processes and teacher training? Teacher training is an important part of our institutional culture. Every March and July, we conduct continuous upgradation programmes for our teachers. As we discussed in the panel about lifelong learning and digital learning, our teachers also take up many online courses as part of their appraisal process. They earn certifications for these courses, and this is a mandatory part of our system.  

We would like to understand more about the initiatives taken under your leadership at your institute, sir. I joined ICFAI University, Mizoram, on 1st August 2025. My background is from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi — Class of 1984. I spent more than 14 years in the corporate world, and overall about 25 years in Mumbai. My last assignment was as Vice President for a group of investment companies. Initially, I joined as a direct recruit officer with The New India Assurance Company back in 1990. So my approach is not purely as an academician or educationist. I use more of a corporate model — results first, need-based planning. One of the first things I did was start the PhD programme. There are many faculty members working as Assistant Professors in Mizoram and Manipur who, despite working in colleges and universities, do not have a PhD. So this initiative was propelled by that need. The response has been good. For the first batch, we made the written examination and interview very tough. After filtering, seven candidates were selected. They have completed their coursework and have been certified. For the second batch, we received 62 applications, mostly from Mizoram and Manipur. Thankfully, we are covering two states. You will also be surprised to know that, unlike many other private universities, we have 30 foreign students this year. That number is likely to increase to 60+, as we have strong connections with Myanmar, particularly the Chinland region. Our philosophy is simple — if we touch lives, let us touch them meaningfully. We strive to be very strong on the curriculum side. Anyone who enrols with us, we aim for them to pass with distinction — 80% plus — and at least a first division of 75% plus. At the same time, we are equally strong in co-curricular activities. Mizoram has a very strong cultural background, especially in music. Our students participate in pop and music contests. In fact, some celebrities are products of our university, and two of our newly registered PhD scholars are celebrities in their own right. We also celebrate real achievers in society. For example, on 11th February, we are celebrating a lady who was imprisoned in Tezpur Jail from 1975 to 1981 during the Mizo National Front movement. She later married a returnee from the Mizo National Army. Cultural identity is a strong component of our institution. Recently, we have also started focusing on sports. We participated in the Association of Indian Universities tournament, where 41 teams competed. It was a knockout tournament, and we reached the fourth round in our very first attempt. Next year, we aim to go further. We are also planning to create a fund to support talented students in sports who are financially weak, giving them space to grow and excel. Another major reform I am planning is to change the placement model. There are over 10,000 Mizos working abroad. With their support, our placements will increasingly be international. For example, 22 young Mizos are currently serving in the British Army, and 24 footballers are playing in separate football leagues abroad. So the myth that Mizos are not keen to go outside is incorrect. Currently, six of our students from Hospitality and Tourism are interning at JW Marriott Goa. After their internships, we will encourage international placements — better money and greater exposure. I believe this is a very interesting model, and in a few years, many institutions may start copying it. In forums like this, where academicians, government representatives, EdTech corporates, and startups are present, how do such platforms help the larger community? I think this is a very good initiative and can be expanded. India has North, South, East, and West — you can rotate such forums regionally, like a football tournament or a zonal competition. We often talk about academia and corporate collaboration, but there is a third segment — the government. They must also be brought in meaningfully. You have started engaging bureaucrats, which is a good move. They have connections and influence — that should be tapped strategically. Another important point is that you have involved Vice Chancellors. If more VCs participate collectively, they can take decisions on the spot. Corporate representation will always be there. Strategically, I think this is a very strong move. ArdorComm Media has just completed its fourth year of existence. Any message or good wishes you would like to share? I believe that with more discipline and a more strategic approach, much more can be achieved. Rather than depending only on the government, you can also tap into corporates and the financial sector, especially through well-laid-out CSR processes. You have different segments — schools up to Class 10, colleges, and universities. Working across these three layers or degrees of operation can create a strong ecosystem. I believe you have already started that journey. Continue with discipline and strategic clarity, and you will grow further.  

We have a very senior academician and a defence personnel, Major General B. D. Wadhwa, AVSM, Pro-Chancellor (Emeritus), IILM University, Greater Noida. We welcome you to today’s event. Thank you so much. I’m happy to be here for two reasons. Firstly, because I have served here for long, long years, so I was looking forward to coming here. Secondly, from the academic point of view, Assam means a lot to us. And of course, your platforms have always been a source of learning. That’s why I thought I must attend this platform. A person of your stature — from defence to academia — what was the thought process behind this transition, and how has the journey been so far? You see, I was always bent more towards academics. I left home at the age of 15 years and 10 months when I had just passed Class 11. After four years of training, somehow I did well. Thanks to the Government of India and the people of India — I’ll put it that way — I did my B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering, my M.Tech in Mechanical Engineering, another M.Tech in Instrumentation Technology, and my Master’s in Management. I was also a faculty member for a good 11 years while serving in the Army. Therefore, I always wanted to come into the academic sector. If you ask me what the difference is — well, there is a lot of difference. The way we teach and the way we impart knowledge to our students differs. Outside, at least in the private sector of higher education in India, there is, in my thinking, some laxity. In my university, therefore, I have tried to remove that laxity. Everybody is talking about digitalisation and skilling. What initiatives is your institute taking under your leadership? That is moving towards Artificial Intelligence. You spoke about robotics. The days have come when, in my College of Engineering, we have removed the traditional streams of Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Automobile Engineering, and Electrical Engineering. There are hardly any students in those streams. If you have 1,000 admissions, out of those, 920 want to go into Computer Science alone. So that is the thought process in the environment, and we are tuning ourselves and changing ourselves by inducting more and more technology into our curriculum. Now, you asked me about skilling. Today, there is no other way. The way the Indian corporate sector has changed — until you are perfect in your soft skills, your hard skills, and your personality is above standard and above average — you are nowhere. Gone are those days when a CGPA of 9 or 90% marks could help you get a job. No. I may have 70%, but if my personality is better than yours, I could get a job and even a higher salary than you. I have seen these changes over the last 20 years. Accordingly, we have brought in a lot of training infrastructure focused on skills and personality building for our students. That is important. How is the participation in terms of admissions happening, sir? Is it from Central India, South India, or the Northeast? As far as Greater Noida is concerned, there are about six universities and around two dozen standalone institutions. Nobody comes from New Delhi to Greater Noida. Nobody comes from Mumbai, the South, or Ahmedabad. Why would they come to Greater Noida? So where are the crowds coming from? There are about 60,000 students in Greater Noida. The bulk — 90% to 95% — come from West Bengal, distant places of Uttar Pradesh, distant places of Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Assam. I have tried to go beyond Odisha and Assam. The efforts I have put in have brought some results, but we are still lacking a little. It will take time to bring about that kind of awakening — more so among the parents and faculty. The Northeast is going to take time to come up to the level of the corporate sector that we have elsewhere. So these are the places that are feeding students to Greater Noida. In forums like the ArdorComm Education Leadership Summit and Awards, where we see academicians, corporate leaders, and government representation — how does this help the larger community? It is very important for corporate people to tell the students and academicians what exactly they are looking for. This hasn’t yet been fully brought out. I’m sure in the subsequent panels it will be. It is equally important for academicians to understand what corporates are looking for, go back, and train their students accordingly. Like I said, those days of relying only on high percentages are over. What are your takeaways from today’s event since morning? So far, a lot has come out. I’m glad many people spoke to me during the tea break. They spoke to the other panellists and to you as well. I’m happy that some awakening has already begun. Now, they have to carry this awakening and the lessons from here back to their tribes, villages, and locations. Only then will there be real benefit from such hard work and from the kind of dedicated platforms you are providing.  

We would like to know more about your organisation. What are the different streams in your university, and how are students engaging with them? We are a university that is part of a larger group of institutions. The group has 11 universities across India, and The ICFAI University Meghalaya is one of them. Of course, we are based in Tura, with a constituent unit here in Shillong as well. At this point in time, as you know, ICFAI is well known for management. So, we offer management programmes in business as well as tourism. We also offer Computer Science and Humanities. These are mainly the streams we are offering as of now. From which parts of the country do you see admissions and traction for your institution? Mostly, we have students from our own state. However, in our Shillong unit, we do have students from outside the state — not only from other Northeastern sister states but also from other parts of the country. We also have some international students. For example, we have had quite a number from Myanmar. We have had graduating students from Thailand and Bangladesh as well. However, this year, students from Bangladesh who had shown interest could not join due to a hiccup in the paperwork. So yes, that is mainly the demographic of our students. We would like to know your key highlights or pointers on reimagining higher education in the digital era. If you talk about reimagining higher education in the digital era, it is a transformation — a transformation from the traditional model to a digital model. This transformation had already started even before we formally acknowledged it. It took place during the COVID period, when it was thrust upon us and everybody rushed to digitise course content. Some used WhatsApp, some used other platforms, because not everyone — particularly students in rural areas — was familiar with emails and other digital tools. Yes, economically we went through a very bad patch, but if you look at it educationally, we did make a leap. That was the time when we jumped from a purely offline mode of teaching to a blended mode of teaching. And we are now moving towards that digital era. When we imagine the digital era, what do we see? It may look as though the four walls of our classrooms will disappear. But I do not think they should. Today, we hear about robots as teachers. Yes, they will deliver what you feed them. But what about the academic connectivity between the teacher and the thought process? A robot may deliver content, but what about the human aspect — the analysis that a teacher brings? A teacher knows students inside and out, as we say. A teacher can understand the student. But will a robot or a humanoid be able to do that? It will only deliver what it is fed. So, what I feel is that AI tools and data should be used as tools — not as masters. I do not agree that they should become masters. They should remain tools. Otherwise, where do we go as human beings? If we move into a digital era in higher education, we must also talk about ethics. Robots cannot teach ethics — only human beings can. AI is important, but it should remain a tool. Higher education must not become merely a place for the consumption of knowledge. Universities now have to become places for the creation of knowledge. What are your takeaways from today’s event? We have been witnessing this event since morning. Please share your experience. The takeaway is that we learn from each other. Everyone has a different approach. We came to know what one university is doing and what another is not doing. Collaborations can happen — among universities as well as with other organisations present here. I had discussions with several of them. The takeaway is that we are moving into an era — in the near future — of collaboration and working together. This brings us together as human beings, irrespective of religion, caste, location, or place of stay. We come together as one united human mankind. That is my takeaway today.