Digital Skillset Essential for Building a Nurturing Environment for Indian Students, Reveals Adobe Survey

NEW DELHI, June 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Adobe hosted the India chapter of its APAC Education Leaders Seminar 2016 in Colombo, and revealed the findings of its study Creative Classrooms Through Strong Digital Partnerships. The annual event attracted many of India's eminent thought leaders, industry professionals and education leaders, offering delegates an opportunity to connect as a community and share best practices on how India's institutions are catalyzing creativity and embracing digital transformation in the classroom. Thought leaders in education from UNESCO, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Jain Group of Institutions, Indian Institute of Technology (Madras), and Cognizant Interactive took to the stage to explain how the digital era is rapidly transforming the education sector.

"Digital natives in India are forcing educational institutions to offer amazing student experiences across a range of platforms and devices. This trend is accelerated by the government's focus on strengthening the nation's digital roadmap, driving a wave of transformation across India. As a result, leaders in education are focusing their efforts on addressing the classroom of the future by embracing digital technologies to modernise and stay relevant for students and teachers alike," said Mr. Kulmeet Bawa, Managing Director (Designate), South Asia, Adobe. "At Adobe, we are deeply involved in helping educational institutions offer enriching digital experiences to their students - on and off campus - while also helping them derive business benefits from data-driven insights."

The report, Creative Classrooms Through Strong Digital Partnerships, which surveyed more than 1,300 educators across Asia Pacific (APAC) including India, was designed to understand the digital transformation journey within academic institutions in the Asia-Pacific region; its link with creativity and successful educational outcomes.

With the arrival of the digital era, employees need a vastly different skillset than that of the generation preceding them. Educational institutions are being challenged to deliver success-oriented, digital skills building programs which provide rich learning experiences that equip graduates to cope with the changes brought about by technology advances such as multiscreen devices, and Internet of Things (IoT). To keep up with this digital transformation, preparing students with the digital skills needed for success was seen by 73% of Indian respondents as most critical.

Digital technology has revolutionized every sector, including making an enormous impact on Indian academia. To prepare students with skills that will equip them for success, Indian educators believe that it is imperative that academic institutions must provide a nurturing environment that embraces technology and provides a holistic link between education and technology (85%).  

Enabling success through enhanced digital experiences during the learning process is identified as a key driver by Indian educators (73%). The study also reveals that 85% of educators surveyed in India believe that providing a nurturing environment with a strong digital partner, is key to connecting with students and making learning more immersive and engaging. For this to happen, it is important to provide conducive training and updated technology resources. Another priority for educators in India is to create rich learning experiences that improve student outcomes with measurable metrics (85%).

The study highlighted that an area of concern is that Indian educators place less importance to developing blended programs for critical thinking and creative problem-solving. Only 69% say this is important, compared to the APAC average of 75%. Survey respondents from India are also less focused on the need for building engaging and interactive learning content (62%, as compared to the APAC average of 74%) - a clear indication that the decision makers in the Indian education system need to focus on blended learning programs and building rich and interactive content for the students.

"Digital literacy is indispensable in today's era, as it helps students communicate effectively, express and share creative ideas and build critical thinking skills. Extensive digital knowledge and skillsets are empowering students across the world to be more effective, to do their job well and to be better prepared for career success in the workplace. At Banasthali University, we use Adobe's creative platforms to empower faculty and students across our campus," said Dr. Aditya Shastri, Vice Chancellor, Banasthali University.

"With students increasingly relying on various digital sources for acquiring knowledge, we at SRM University believe that it is imperative for all educational institutions to focus their efforts on going digital. We have implemented Adobe Creative Cloud and are seeing a transformational impact on the quality of education we are able to deliver for our University students," said Dr. K Mohan, Director, ITKM, SRM University.

"The research respondents have a unique viewpoint and  believe that a clearly defined, well-integrated partnership between educators and their technology partners, can provide a strong platform from which to launch a new student generation of high-achieving, interested and engaged digital natives," said Mr Bawa. "The study reflects a collective opinion of respondents who are in a position to enable change and fuel progress."

The detailed survey report can be downloaded here.

About Adobe 

Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit http://www.adobe.com.  

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