New Year Action Plans:

1: The Backdrop:

It is just about 16 days for the New Year to begin. In about 300 hours, ‘ at the stroke of the midnight hour’ a New Year (2019) will begin. It is the precursor to year 2020 which has been talked about by so many people for so long and it is eventually here. The World Economic Forum had several years back created a list of skills required in the year 2020 and compared it with the skills that were important in the year 2015. The list of top 10 skills for 2020 and beyond is : Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Creativity, People management, co-ordinating with others, emotional intelligence, judgement and decision making, Service Orientation, Negotiation skills and cognitive Flexibility.

There was a shift in the relative importance of some, and inclusion of something completely new such as “ Cognitive Flexibility”. 

The fourth industrial revolution, brought on by the advent of the Artificial Intelligence Age, demands that learners  embrace an education revolution too. Even if their Institutions lag behind. 

Sir Anthony Seldon in his recent book “ The fourth education revolution” refers to education as the Cinderella in the story of AI. 

Andrew Ng has famously said that “ AI is the new electricity”. 

And it is important that we are not electrocuted; also not receive a serious shock. The severity of the shock will depend on whether we are barefoot with wet feet or at least are protecting ourselves with rubber, wooden or other protective gear. 

Another metaphor divides us into digital natives and digital migrants. But there is a third category, that of ‘digital refugees’, who are being displaced in large numbers by the accelerating digital transformations. And they are not confined to a specific geography or region ( rural/urban). The phrase ‘urban naxalite’ may or may not be a myth, but the ‘urban digital refugee’ is very much a reality. 

It is now 3 years since Klaus Schwab drew attention to the arrival of the 4th Industrial Age, and the World Economic Forum had listed the most important skills needed in the year 2020 and beyond.

In the meantime, China ( https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/amp.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/2144396/china-looks-school-kids-win-global-ai-race )  has created a compulsory program on teaching AI to all its School Children. In Russia, Putin ( https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2017/9/4/16251226/russia-ai-putin-rule-the-world ) has exhorted it’s children that leadership in AI is critical to the future. 

Canada also has an online course ( https://blytheducation.com/blyth-academy-online/) which it’s School Children can pursue. 

Finland (  https://www.elementsofai.com)  has created an AI awareness course, accessible to anyone in the world. The USA has a “ AI in a box” solution ( https://www.readyai.org/readyai-you/ai-in-a-box/) for its School children. 

These and many other countries are on an aggressive overdrive to have a new generation of their youth well prepared for the future.

After exploring the field for more than 2 years and having experimented with several models of teaching with Whatsapp on mobile phones, a variety of topics to different target groups, we are offering from January 2019, we are now ready to offer a set of 42 courses, across 4 tracks, that will be available every month. 

The design is such that there is very little waiting before one can start pursuing a course of interest. There are 8 courses of 1 day each duration that can be done the very next day, 16 courses that can be done during the coming weekend, and 18 that can be done during the coming week. And there is no minimum group size for a course to be delivered. We have done so in the past, and will continue to do so in the future : to deliver a course, even if only one student is enrolled for a particular course. 

These courses are structured as 4 strands/ tracks, as follows:

A: The Technology Track

The focus here is on creating an awareness of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, but instead of focussing only on the prevalent methods of today, an attempt is made to create a strong foundation, appreciating the concepts and an appreciation of the allied and future developments. 

B: The lifelong learning Track:

The future is not so much about what you know as about what you can know, mostly as a self-directed learner seeking knowledge from resources, mentors and communities of practice. In this Strand we have a course on educational matters for parents and two courses for educators, one on using Whatsapp and the other about impact about impact of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in education.

C: The Entrepreneurial Track:

It is now well accepted that an Entrepreneurial disposition and spirit is desirable not only in the young but also the established who are likely to pursue multiple careers and different roles during their long lives. Lifelong learning will of course be essential.

D: The Humanics Track:

As Machines become more intelligent, our human abilities will become more important for us to live responsibly to protect the Planet earth as well as its inhabitants. Humans will have to play very important roles, and just because a certain technology has been developed or is feasible, would not automatically imply its unbridled use. 

A learner may choose a personalised track with a suitable mix of becoming a better learner, an entrepreneur and technology awareness courses that best suit the needs of the learner. 

2: The Technology Track:

To be  ready and prepared for the new opportunities ahead, there is  need for an early orientation and awareness, at all stages of life beginning from School and continuing to the post-retirement years. 

Whether one pursues BA, B.Sc, B.Com, Medicine, Law or Business Management an awareness and basic understanding of the field will be a competitive advantage.

We have developed a learning ecosystem for getting equipped for the AI age starting at the School level itself.

The first course in this trajectory is a one day course  on “ Why Learn AI?”. This is a course for everyone to get initiated to the field and have a better appreciation on the specific path that a learner would want to follow. This is the spirit of ‘ consensual learning’ where the learner has some idea of what is to be learnt?

This will get the learner interested in both the tracks of lifelong learning as well as knowledge and practice of Artificial Intelligence.

This can be followed up by a number of modules, from the following lists. 

Technology Strand:

1 day courses: any day

TS01: Why Learn AI?

TS02: How to learn AI/ML ( on your own)?

Weekend Courses:

TS03: Artificial Intelligence: it’s nature and future ( 1st weekend of every month)

TS04: Knowledge Representation ( 2nd weekend every month)

TS05: The Genes, DNA and why it matters ? (3rd weekend of every month)

TS06: Complexity: the challenge of the 21st Century (4th weekend of every month)

Weeklong Courses:

TS07: Making Sense of Artificial Intelligence (1st week of every month)

TS08:Computational Thinking (2nd week of every month)

TS09:Basics of Neuroscience ( 3rd week of every month)

TS10:Machine Learning ,Deep Learning and Artificial Neural Networks (4th week of every moth) 

TS11: Quantum Computing (also in the 4th week of the month)

3: The lifelong learning track:

To be successful in the future, one has to evolve to a lifelong self-directed learner. It has even been remarked “ that the future of work is learning”.  

1 day Courses : any day

LLL01: How to become a better learner?

LLL02: What is worth Learning?

Weekend Courses:

LLL03: Creative Thinking (1st weekend of every month)

LLL04: Cognitive Flexibility (2nd weekend of every month)

LLL05: Rational Thinking : Avoiding stupidity ( 3rd weekend of every month)

LLL06: Preparing for a 100 year life (4th weekend of every month)

Weeklong Courses :

LLL07: Becoming a Lifelong Learner ( 1st week of every month)

LLL08: Educating Parents about Education ( 2nd week of every mo th)

LLL09: Whatsapp for Educators ( 3rd week of every month)

LLL10: Critical Thinking (4th week of every month)

LLL11: AI & ML in education ( also in the 4th  week of the month)

4: The entrepreneurial track: 

1 day courses:

ES01: Why this is the best time to be an entrepreneur ? (Any day)

ES02: Awaken the Entrepreneur Within ( Any day)

Weekend Courses:

ES03: The Gig economy (1sr weekend of every month)

ES04: Elevator Pitches (2nd weekend of every month)

ES05: The Significance of Ethics ( 3rd weekend of every month )

ES06: Grit : Passion with Perseverance ( 4th weekend of every month)

Weeklong Courses:

ES07: Knowledge Entrepreneurship ( 1st week of every month)

ES08: Innovation (2nd week of every month) 

ES09: Financial Acumen ( 3rd week of every month)

ES10: Understanding Data Protection (4th week of every month)

5: The Humanics track:

In his book “Robot-proof : Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence”, Joseph Elie Aoun, the seventh president of Northeastern University lays out the framework for a new discipline, humanics, which builds on our innate strengths and prepares students to compete in a labor market in which smart machines work alongside human professionals. 

Humanics is the curriculum for a robot-proof education. It is based on the purposeful integration of technical literacies, such as coding and data analytics, with uniquely human literacies, such as creativity, entrepreneurship, ethics, cultural agility and the ability to work with others.

The key is integration. We need to break down the academic silos that separate historians from engineers.

One day courses: any day

HS01: Why Philosophy?

HS02: Understanding human emotions?

Weekend courses:

HS03: Design Thinking ( 1st weekend of every month)

HS04: Mathematical Thinking ( 2nd weekend of every month)

HS05: Why  poetry ? (3rd weekend of every month )

HS06: Evolution ( 4th weekend of every month)

Weeklong courses 

HS07: Health Literacy ( 1st week of every month)

HS08: The idea of Justice (2nd week of every month)

HS09: The pursuit of happiness ( 3rd week of every month)

HS10: The Big questions?(4th week of every month)

6: Fees:

Fee structure :

Fee for a weeklong program : Rs 2500+ GST Rs 450= Rs 2950

Fee for a weekend program   : Rs 1000+ GST Rs 180= Rs 1180

Fee for a 1 day ( any day ) program : Rs 500+ GST Rs 90= Rs 590

Fees can be easily paid by PayTM to mobile number :+919810073724

For those who would rather pay by Bank Transfer, here are the details:

For NEFT / RTGS

For International remittances

Fees can be easily paid through PayTM : pay to +919810073724.

For any further queries send an e-mail to mmpant@gmail.com

Or a Whatsapp message to Prof MM Pant at +919810073724

7: About Prof. MM Pant

Academic and Professional Profile :

Prof. M.M. Pant ( http://www.mmpant.net ) is a Ph.D. in Computational Physics ( IIT, Roorkee), with a Professional Law degree ( Kanpur University) and pursues pedagogy, technology, curricula and entrepreneurial models for disruptively transforming education to align it to the 4th Industrial Age.

He has been a Pro-Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), faculty at IIT Kanpur, MNNIT Allahabad and Visiting Faculty, University of Western Ontario, Canada, and a Visiting Scientist at research centres in Italy, England, Germany and Sweden.

He has been a member of the Board of Governors of IIT Delhi and on various committees of academic bodies such as CBSE, NIOS,NCERT, UGC, CEC, NUEPA, NCTE. He had been Chairman of AIMA Board of Studies.

Building on more than 5 decades of academic experience, he is now evangelising new learning approaches appropriate for lifelong learning for School, College and University students. He is hoping to inform parents about the new trends in education

and exhorting Teachers to transform to TeacherPreneurs.

He believes that the purpose of using technology in education is to go beyond the initial phase of being a ‘broadcast’ tool to a ‘ data driven learning model’ that helps every learner become a better self-directed autonomous learner, every teacher a transformational inspirational educator and every parent an informed enlightened parent who can mould the cognitive and emotional development of their children.

His current mission is to evangelise lifelong learning using Whatsapp on mobile, through which he runs weeklong, Weekend and one day programs on a variety of topics. His goal is promoting public understanding of emerging technologies and change.

Apart from being a sought after speaker in the national circuit, he has been invited to deliver keynotes at International events at Melbourne, Paris, Durban, Gaborene, Singapore, Tokyo, Penang amongst others.

Contact Information :

e-mail : mmpant@gmail.com

Whatsapp : +919810073724

Twitter : @mmpant

youtube : youtube.com/mmpant

More past Information : http://www.mmpant.net