International Forum for Teachers (IFT) 2017

Pearson Edexcel, University of Nottingham and Gateway Graduate School in partnership with the British Council and Microsoft hosted the ‘International Forum for Teachers ( IFT)’ on the 15th of September in Hulhumale, Maldives and the 16th of September at BMICH, Colombo, Sri Lanka. This teacher conference, the first of its kind, is held annually and is open to all teachers. The Secretary Education, Mr. Sunil Hettiarachchi not only graced the occasion in Sri Lanka as the Chief Guest but was present for the entire day and actively participated in the conference which was attended by 400 local and international teachers. The packed audience was very appreciative of the high standard of the event.

The day’s proceedings began with the welcome address by Dr. Harsha Alles, the Chairman of the Gateway Group of Schools. The opening speaker Prof. Dr. Ganakumaran Subramaniam, the Head of School and Professor of the School of Education, University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus spoke on ‘ Creatively transforming the Learning Experience’. He was followed by Professor David Shaw, Visiting Professor at the Aberdeen Business School who addressed the need for expanding pupils’ educational targets. The post lunch session came alive with Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala’s session on climbing your own Everest. Jayanthi is the first Sri Lankan, and first Sri Lankan woman to summit Mount Everest. Professor Mark Carroll, Associate Dean (International & Engagement) of the Faculty of Arts, University of Adelaide, the final speaker for the day, discussed how schools and teachers can use music to enhance the learning experience of students.

The final segment of the conference was the panel discussion themed Transforming Learning Experiences: Placing Learners First. The discussion that was moderated by Prof. Dr. Ganakumaran Subramaniam included educators of the caliber of Professor Andrew Walker, the Pro ViceChancellor of Monash University Malaysia, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cynthia Yolanda Doss, the Director of the Post Graduate Certificate of Higher Education Program at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Nirmali Wickramasinghe, former Principal of Ladies College and Consultant to the Gateway Group of Schools and Felicia Brown, the Asia Pacific Senior Teacher Engagement Manager of Microsoft. The event ended with the vote of thanks that was delivered by Premila Paulraj, Regional Director Asia, Pearson PLC.