“AI is not here to replace us, but to enhance our capabilities, and act as a companion for our next generations to widen their visions for creativity”, said Simon O’Grady, the Founding Headmaster of Haileybury Bhaluka, as he collaborated with esteemed educationalists at the Pearson Education Annual Summit on November 11, 2023. Organised by Pearson Edexcel at The Westin, Dhaka, the event witnessed a purposeful assembly of Principals and Heads of all Pearson schools in Dhaka to navigate the future routes of the education sector.
Following the agenda of “Innovating education for a changing world”, the industry specialists at the summit shared their views on the transforming scenario of education, the impacts of digitization on education, ideal practices at schools across the world amid the growing use of technology and predicted what the future holds for the children ahead of the altering tides. Premila Paulraj, Director of Employability & Qualification, Pearson and Maxim Raimann, Country Exams Director of British Council Bangladesh were present among other distinguished guests and provided speeches.
“Conventional learning methods mostly work on a broader scale and help grow common skills. But with time, we are realizing that our children deserve more personalized evaluation, and should be subject to more precisely tailored training and development plans”, Simon O’Grady further elaborated at the panel discussion. He explained AI and its effect upon jobs, education and democracy using Thomas Kuhn’s classic analysis – The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. “AI is a paradigm shift as it changes the way we interact with machines, as agents in learning, employment, and political systems. AI offers us that potential avenue to understand the genuine passions of our children, learn who they truly are at their hearts very early, and feed that source of inspiration and creativity with utmost delicacy, so our children succeed in their pursuit of excellence”, he said.
David Albon, Director of Pearson School Qualifications, Pearson UK, graced the Pearson Education Annual Summit as the Chief Guest. He echoed the opinion on the prospects of digitization in education, saying – “Adaptive learning systems facilitated by digital technology can indeed help students reach their optimum skill-levels, but there also remains high chances of misusing the automations, especially in regions where the educators and trainers themselves are yet to be fully equipped with apt digital skills. Corporations across the world have demanded regulatory supervision to filter out the misuses, and the education sector must also be very careful while incorporating AI-based tools to avoid unprecedented consequences”.
Discussions at the event ultimately shed light on the need for improved network and digital infrastructure to help institutes align with future trends, preparation at the top levels including need for enhanced training of the educators, means to filter out abusive intents, and how schools can effectively utilize AI and other tools of digital technology to develop future-focused skills such as creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration among the future leaders. Participants thanked Pearson Edexcel for coming up with such a timely initiative, and appreciated the contribution of Haileybury Bhaluka and other similarly future-oriented schools who are actively accelerating the drive for future-fitness.