UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE

A report about the Skill-conference in India on the 24th and 25th of October in the German House in Delhi

The Center for Modern Indian Studies (CMIS) and the German Research Center for Comparative Vocational Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) under the direction of Prof. Dr. Matthias Pilz from the University of Cologne (UoC) were hosting a conference about vocational education and skill formation on the 24^th and 25^th of October in Delhi. The hosts were more than happy to welcome numerous highly-respected researchers from several Indian and German research facilities like Prof. Dr. Santosh Mehrotra (Jawaharlal Nehru University), Dr. Uma Gengaiah (Indira Gandhi National Open University), Prof. S. Nayana Tara (Indian Institute of Management Bangalore), Prof. Mona Khare (National University of Educational Planning and Administration), Dr. Usha Ajithkumar Malayankandy (Socio_economic Research Institute), Prof. Dr. Ganapathy Palanithurai (Gandhigram Rural Institute, Deemed University), Dr. Santosh Prusty (Indian Institute of Management Shillong), Prof. Dr. Regan Venkatram (Tamil Nadu Agricultural University), Prof. J.S. Sodhi (International Management Institute) and many others. The topic of the conference was the past and the future of research in the field of Vocational Education and Training. The researchers presented their various projects about Vocational Education and Skill Development. Those projects were arranged with the help of the CMIS and the German funding agency DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service). The projects had a wide range within the field of Vocational education like e.g. the quality of ITIs, informal learning in the informal sector as well as the demand-driven approaches in Skill Development. Due to the fact that the funding of the CMIS and the DAAD will expire in the end of 2017, the participants thought about the future of research in India in the second part of the conference. Not only funding was discussed during the workshops but also the direction and feasible topics for research in future. Subsequently the researchers signed the so-called Declaration of Delhi. The Declaration can be seen as the cornerstone for the future of research between Indian and German scientists in Vocational Education. It will strengthen the research infrastructure in India and will help to develop new fields of research with the focus on sustainable Skill Development of workers in India. The conference was a fruitful closure of the CMIS. Not only because of the Declaration of Delhi the participants felt positive and optimistic about the future of research of Vocational Education and Skill Development in India.

For more Details, see also:

Declaration on research between India and Germany in the field of skills development and vocational education and training

Press Article in Millenium Post about the Skill Confernce: Seriousness on the job front