India’s High Commissioner to Canada, His Excellency Vikas Swarup, met with staff at the Commonwealth of Learning’s Canadian branch on January 16, 2018 to familiarise himself with their work
India’s High Commissioner to Canada, His Excellency Vikas Swarup, met with staff at the Commonwealth of Learning’s Canadian branch on January 16, 2018 to familiarise himself with their work.
President and CEO Professor Asha Kanwar informed the High Commissioner on the work of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) in member states, particularly in India.
She emphasised COL’s principle that learning leads to economic growth, environmental conservation and social inclusion.
COL supports governments, organisations and institutions to develop the scale, quality and efficiency of learning practices and environments by stimulating open, distance and technology-based approaches.
COL Vice President Dr Balasubramanian said that COL’s work was vital in assisting member countries to improve educational capability.
He highlighted the point that women in India had received millions of dollars in credits, enabling them to support their businesses and make future decisions, as a result of COL’s presence in the country.
High Commissioner Swarup, who was accompanied by the Consul-General of India in Vancouver, Abhilahsa Joshi, showed his appreciation of COL’s work in supporting skills development in India, in particular among women and girls.
He praised the impact of the institution’s massive open online courses (MOOCs) on development, which have increased access to learning and have the capacity to provide Indians with the required skills for employability, as well as other citizens of the Commonwealth.
COL collaborated with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) to develop the MOOCs, which combined the institutions’ expertise in agriculture, sustainable development and computer engineering.
The courses provide training and skills development so participants can apply knowledge to solve pressing issues in a sustainable and efficient way.
Swarup said: “The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) meets a very important lacuna in India and its work impacts people on the ground.”
