Focus on learner-centred education model: Ex-CSIR chief

VARANASI: : Drawing attention towards “major upheavals in technology-led job destruction and creation” expected in the future, eminent scientist Dr Raghunath A Mashelkar said that universities should focus on learner-centred education model where learning and work go hand in hand.

He was speaking at the 100th convocation function of BHU. Delivering the convocation address, Dr Mashelkar said, “Customised learning modules coupled with adaptive, dynamic and agile life-long learning should be the focus of universities to create workforce with long term sustainability.

“Today, we are living in a digitally disrupted world, where volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity are ruling the world. In this new world, not just the change but the rate of acceleration of change is just amazing. So, lifelong learning is not optional for you. It is a must, my friends, for both survival and continued success throughout your life,” he advised.

He explained the impact of digital disruption with an example. “The world’s largest taxi company owns no taxis. That is Uber. The world’s most valuable retailer has no inventory. That is Alibaba. This was unthinkable 10 years ago,” Dr Mashelkar said.

He drew attention towards the way the industry is getting digitally disrupted. The first industrial revolution was mechanisation of production using steam and the second one was mass production using electricity. The third used ‘simple’ digitisation.

“‘Complex’ digitisation gave birth to the terminology Industry 4.0. Here, cyber-physical systems are predicted to bring in dramatic shifts. Major upheavals in technology-led job destruction and creation are expected in Industry 4.0,” Dr Mashelkar said.

In this era of digital disruption, machines are increasingly performing tasks that are typically considered “human”— such as complex analyses, subtle judgments, and creative problem-solving. We will have to interact with a machine in a way that one would with a co-worker, he said.