SECOND EDITION of Research Symposium jointly organised by FLAME University & Leadership For Equity (LFE)

Background

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims to bring comprehensive systemic school education reforms. Its vision includes integrating early childhood education with the broader school system and introducing a new pedagogical and curricular structure. The policy focuses on enhancing the quality of teaching and ensuring the achievement of learning outcomes, particularly in Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN). Additionally, NEP 2020 seeks to incorporate 21st-century skills and vocational education into the curriculum, restructuring teaching practices and assessments at all levels.

A key aspect of NEP 2020 is its emphasis on the principles of liberal education at the school level. This includes eliminating the rigid separation between Arts and Sciences, curricular- extracurricular activities, and mainstream-vocational courses. The policy aims to offer multiple pathways for learning, integrating both formal and non-formal modes of education. By doing so, NEP 2020 strives to create a more flexible, inclusive, and holistic education system that prepares students for the challenges of the modern world.
The Indian education landscape is dominated by projects and activities to achieve short- term goals. While these initiatives may positively impact, they are narrow in scope and scale. Even though they are designed to bring about significant change, they are difficult to scale and do not show sustained impact as their focus is not system-wide. The effects fade away soon after the initiatives conclude. It is time to move beyond this “project mentality” and focus on holistic, system-wide approaches to change. Policy, practice, and research in education will benefit greatly from insights and action steps in this direction.

About the Symposium

In keeping with this belief, Leadership For Equity (LFE) and FLAME University are jointly conducting a second edition of research symposium on September 27th and 28th to explore the use of systems change to transform Indian education so that learners acquire the knowledge, skills, and ability to navigate the ever-evolving work and life environment in the 21st Century. The research symposium aims to bring together students, researchers, and practitioners from the field of education to facilitate knowledge sharing regarding theories, best practices, and future steps using a systems approach lens. The symposium will bring diverse stakeholders in education reforms to deliberate on the systemic reforms and program of action needed to realise the NEP-2020 vision.

The LFE-FLAME collaboration through the proposed research symposium will act as a catalyst for co-creating a space for educational system change. The research symposium will also bring ideas on NEP implementation in school education.

Leadership for Equity (LFE)

Leadership For Equity (LFE) was founded in 2017, in Pune, India as a non-profit Non Governmental Organization (NGO). LFE was born with the conviction that a problem of such magnitude requires a solution designed at scale from the outset in order to benefit millions. LFE's purpose is building leadership capacity across hierarchies within government systems, along with policy advisory, as a pathway to sustainably improve service quality of education delivered by public systems, thus improving educational and social equity.
LFE works closely with government system leaders in the field of education across the rural, urban and tribal communities and schools across six states in India. In Maharashtra LFE has presence across 7 districts, 4 tribal areas and 2 municipal bodies, with relationships at block, district and state level academic bodies. In Andhra Pradesh, our presence is across all the 26 districts of the State. Over the last 7 years, LFE has built the capacity of 1290+ system leaders, and 33,200+ teachers to impact 1.4 million students in Maharashtra.

FLAME University

FLAME University has been established as a state-private university under the FLAME University Act 2014. FLAME University, a pioneer in liberal education in India, promotes a diversity of viewpoints and emphasizes the unity of all knowledge through an interdisciplinary approach. It blends traditional liberal arts education with business, communication management, computing, data science, and design. This progressive methodology encourages multi-dimensional thinking, self-reflection, and experiential learning. Benchmarked against the best global institutions yet deeply rooted in the Indian context, FLAME aims to create leaders with maximum social impact, offering a compelling alternative to leading universities abroad.

The NEP-2020’s vision of transforming India’s higher education into a liberal education model has been integral to FLAME from its inception. FLAME faculty and students have been deeply involved in school and higher education research and outreach activities. As a hub of scholarship, FLAME University brings together renowned policymakers, bureaucrats, industry professionals, and academicians to foster inspired teaching and research. With over 10 Centres of Excellence, a 70-acre campus, and state-of-the-art facilities, FLAME is a center for excellence where ideas flourish, curiosity is kindled, and minds are molded. It offers a rich academic environment with 350+ major-minor combinations, 425 unique courses, and an 11:1 student-faculty ratio. The university is dedicated to continuing its ambitious path of being a world-class center for learning, committed to building a dynamic India for the 21st century.

First edition LFE-FLAME Research Symposium on System Change in Education 2023

The first symposium was held on the 5th & 6th of July 2023 and the theme was “Rethinking Educational Transformation: Systems Change for a Better Future. The symposium convened a diverse group of researchers, practitioners, and thought leaders to develop a shared vision of education system transformation and discuss strategies to improve the Indian public education system further. Insights were shared on various topics, including principles of systems change, leveraging data and technology in education, and aligning teacher professional development with foundational literacy initiatives.

The first symposium had 20 speakers and around 120 attendees from 53 organisations from various parts of India. We had eminent keynote speakers like Prof. Karthik Muralidharan (UCSD, San Diago), Prof. Padma Sarangpani (TISS), Dr. Ghulam Omar Qargha (Fellow – Global Economy and Development, Center for Universal Education, Brookings). The symposium provided a platform for critical dialogue and strategic planning, with participants exchanging ideas on driving a lasting change in education. These rich discussions culminated into a series of four reflection papers which effectively distilled the key learnings and recommendations. LFE has curated videos of all the talks and plenary sessions that can be accessed via YouTube and widely disseminated through social media.

This year we are expanding and expecting around 180 participants. In addition, we plan to have abstract submissions from students & researchers from academia, NGOs, think tanks.

Objectives of the Symposium

The symposium aims to bring together students, researchers and practitioners from the field of education to facilitate knowledge sharing regarding theories, best practices, and future steps using a systems approach lens. The objectives of the symposium are as follows:

1. To share evidence-based practices and innovative case studies in line with NEP- 2020 for systems change in school education
2. To deliberate on methods of measuring the impact of systems change efforts at scale.
3. To explore research and ideate on the future of education systems in the 21st Century with the advent of artificial intelligence and advancements in technology.
4. To provide a platform for research students (UG, PG, and doctoral) and non-profit organisations and think tanks engaged in relevant topics to present their work.

Session Themes

1. Foundational Level Learning: Evidence-Based Learnings From Academia And Educational NGOs, Think Tanks And Government Initiatives Across India.
2. Enhancing 21st Century Skills (Including Socio-Emotional Learning) Across Learners’ Life Cycle.
3. Enhancing Bureaucratic Capacity And Governance For Effective Education Administration In India For Effective Implementation Of The Goals Of National Education Policy (NEP)-2020
4. Strengthening Teacher Education and Public Institutions Like SCERT and DIET

Expected Attendees

We expect approximately 220+ participants on Day 1 and 140+ on Day 2, including:

1. Academicians from reputed universities
2. Founders, CXOs, Vertical heads and senior leaders of reputed non-profit and research organisations, Philanthropists and CSR professionals.
3. Researchers, students, and practitioners in the field of education and impact measurement
4. Government education officials from Maharashtra, Andhra & Haryana

On day 2, we plan to have approximately 20-25 participants’ paper presentations in two parallel tracks. The symposium will serve as a platform for meaningful dialogue and collaboration, leading to actionable insights and policy recommendations for the effective transformation of the Indian education system.
We look forward to your contributions to this significant event and the opportunity to work together towards transforming education for equitable access to modern 21st-century skills.

Call for abstracts

• Abstract length should be a maximum of 400 words, the abstract should be in English and should clearly outline the research question, methodology, key findings, and its relevance to one of the symposium themes.
• Please submit your abstract here: https://forms.gle/CHn5rmnc93i7weoM7
• Please register for your participation here: https://forms.gle/BtFyo3nqzKnyUffi9

Important dates: 

• Abstract submission deadline: 24th  August, 2024
• Acceptance notification: 10th September, 2024
• Extended abstract submission: 23rd September, 2024
• Symposium date: 27-28th September, 2024

Symposium Organizers

• Dr. Shivakumar Jolad (Assoc. Prof. of Public Policy)
• Dr. Shalaka Shah (Asst. Prof. of Psychology)
• Madhukar Banuri (Founder & Director - LFE)
• Siddesh Sarma (Founder & Director - LFE)

Contact Information

For more information about the symposium and submission guidelines, please visit our website [https://www.leadershipforequity.org/].

For any queries, please email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Join us to co-create a transformative impact on the education system in India!