The Inauguration of the International Baccalaureate Educator Certificate programme and the three-day National Seminar on Education: System, Practices, and Research was held in Christ (Deemed to be University), Bangalore. The program was hosted by the School of Education in collaboration with the Centre for Education Beyond Curriculum at Fourth Block KE auditorium on the 22 August 2019.

 Dr. Jose Cherian, Head of Department , School of Education , CHRIST (Deemed to be University), delivered the welcome address to the gathering followed by Dr. Fr. Abraham V M, the Vice-Chancellor, CHRIST (Deemed to be University) who delivered the Inaugural speech on the benefits of becoming an IB educator and the importance of having international-mindedness in the current age.
The department was overwhelmed to have Ms. Seetha Murthy, President, Association of Heads of IB World School India as the Chief Guest for the programme. She addressed the gathering on the ‘Evolution of Education Systems and Practices in Schools’.

 Ms. Murthy took the audience through the role of schools and teachers through different ages in history. She also elaborated on the different school models available in India including the exam-centric model, the facilities and academics model, and the literacy model. Ms. Seetha Murthy, at the end of her interaction with the audience left with a strong rather an inspiring thought, that instilled in the audience the will to seek for change and to be better educator- “A ship in harbour is safe but that’s not what ships are meant for.”

A remarkable Panel Discussion on ‘Emerging trends in the school system: IB perspective’ kept the audience engaged post the inaugural ceremony. The panellists included Mr. Rohan Agarwal, Director,
Redbridge International Academy who spoke on ‘The Core Elements of IBDP Curriculum’; Ms. Sailaja Vittaldev, Principal, Silver Oaks School addressed the topic on ‘Pedagogy in IB Schools; Ms. Sarojini Rao, Principal of Indus International School spoke on ‘Assessment Practices in IB School’ and the moderator of the discussion was Dr. Moses Satralkar , Head of Business Development and Academic Placements ,Redbridge International Academy and Associate Director,Global Challenges Forum , Switzerland . The panellists broadly addressed various aspects of the scope, growth, and philosophies of the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) and inspired the students to strive to make a better world.

A keynote address by Dr. Anita Kurup, Professor and Dean of School of Social Sciences, National Institute of Advanced Studies, on the pressing issues of the changing education landscapes in the school system, teacher education and research. She stressed that there is a need of forums to be created, where students and teachers can present their papers and create awareness of research to solve many problems in Education.
Dr Satralkar delivered another keynote address on Applications of Neuroscience in Education to conclude the day.

Day 2, began with an interesting keynote address on ‘The Challenges in Educational Research’, mainly on the practices and issues by a very eminent speaker, Dr. A. Jahita Begum from Gandhigram Rural University. The department invited Dr,Senthilnathan , Director, UGC Human Resource Development Centre  who spoke widely on the topic ‘ Digital Learning: Techno-pedagogical Prospects and Learning ‘ and how pedagogical practises are accompanied by technology and the  instructional practice are made effective  with the use of technology. Post-lunch, there was a panel discussion mainly to inform the participants on the various ‘School Systems’ by prominent members from the three different boards. ‘CBSE system’ was presented by Dr Sarada Chandrashekaran , Academic Director and Head of Institution , Whitefield Global School & Secretary, Bangalore Sahodaya CBSE Cluster ; Dr Gayatri Devi , Principal , Little Flower Public School , Standing Committee Member CISCE Board and Principal Coordinator CISCE Sports & Games spoke on the CISCE system. The IGCSE system was presented by Mr Venkat Suresh Lolla , Principal , Global City International School , Bangalore and was moderated by Dr. Senthil Kumaran, Chief Confluencer, The Learners Confluence, Bangalore.

The final day, began with another informative keynote address by Dr. Romate John, Professor and Head, Department of Psychology, Dean, School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Director of IQAC, Central University of Karnataka, Gulbarga, mainly on ‘Using Non- Violent Communication skills in educational counselling’. Dr.Romate John spoke strongly on the ‘Art of helping model’ which is one of the models of counselling. He also insisted on the fact that teachers cannot demand from students but must make them feel safe for a better learning and communication to happen. After this address, Dr.Haseen Taj, Professor, and Dean, Faculty of education, Bangalore University spoke on the new idea of ‘The four-year Integrated B.A B.Ed, B.Sc. B.Ed Teacher Education Programme. She widely discussed the opportunities, issues, challenges.

The formal sessions of the three-day seminar ended with a discussion on ‘Multicultural Classrooms’ and the acceptance of transgender students. Dr. M Manjula and Ms. Ananya Sinha, both Professors ,Department of Psychology, Christ (Deemed to be University) discussed the literary status of transgenders in the city and an equity literacy framework that can be done at the institutional level for them. The session was moderated by Dr.Anita Rao Mysore, Assistant Professor, School of Education, Christ (Deemed to be University)

Over 70 papers from different corners of the country were presented on the topic ‘Education System, Practice and Research’ by different research scholars, who added great value to the seminar. The valedictory ceremony was graced by Dr. Fr Jose C C , Pro  Vice Chancellor , Christ (Deemed to be University) who concluded the session by appreciating both the departments on the successful completion of the seminar.