In episode 5 of Ei Dialogues, Alejandro Caballero and Pranav Kothari discuss the growing power of digitisation, especially in higher education across the globe. Mr. Caballero speaks in depth about IFC's D4TEP initiative, which supports universities as they adapt to an increasingly online education ecosystem. 

In this conversation, Rebecca Winthrop and Pranav Kothari discuss the need to build a trusting relationship between families, teachers and schools to improve learning outcomes among students. Dr. Winthrop also discusses the potential of harnessing innovation to rapidly accelerate educational progress.

In this conversation, Pranav Kothari and Dr. Mahnaz R Charania discuss the idea of social capital and its impact on student learning and well being. They also speak about bottom-up paths to scaling interventions, and how best to evaluate the impact of educational interventions as they grow.

In this conversation, Pranav Kothari and Mark Sparvell think through the role of technology in education as systems emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting key advances that will shape learning moving forward. They also discuss the challenges of identifying and scaling impactful interventions, and how educators and parents can choose effective solutions to help students learn.

In this conversation, Dr Langworthy discusses the power of deep learning in affecting change in the real world and the need to prioritise student well being to create an enabling environment for children to learn. She also discusses her thoughts on the future of learning and how data sourced through Edtech software can be leveraged to bring in systemic reform.

In this conversation, Pranav and Emma speak about the drivers of success in education, and learnings from high-performing education systems that can be scaled. They discuss the need for cultivating student mindsets, teacher directed learning, and implementing EdTech with high-fidelity to improve educational outcomes.

In this conversation, Pranav and Emma speak about the drivers of success in education, and learnings from high-performing education systems that can be scaled. They discuss the need for cultivating student student mindsets, teacher directed learning, and implementing EdTech with high-fidelity to improve educational outcomes.

In this episode, we speak to Abhijeet Singh. Abhijeet is an Associate Professor at the Stockholm School  of Economics. He is also a Principal Investigator on the RISE Programme's India Team and is affiliated with the Abdul Lateef Jamal Poverty Action Lab. His research focuses on topics in development and labour economics, especially relating to education, child nutrition and public service delivery in developing countries.

Pranav speaks to Abhijeet about his and Professor Karthik Muralidharan's evaluation of Ei's Mindspark, and what their findings mean for EdTech in India. Abhijeet also talks about the gap between evidence and policy-making in education, how it differs from fields like medicine, and the challenges of scaling interventions with governments. Discussing the urgent need for high-quality learning assessments in India, Abhijeet highlights how technology can enable this reliably, cost-effectively, and at scale.

In this episode, Sridhar Rajagopalan speaks to Andreas Schleicher. Andreas is the Director for Education and Skills, and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. Andreas spearheaded the Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA, in this role. He has also written the book World Class: How to build a 21st Century Education System, which we highly recommend you read. It's freely available on the OECD's website (https://bit.ly/3yWa17B).

Sridhar and Andreas discuss PISA and the role it plays in education and policy making. Andreas highlights how developing nations have improved greatly without excessive financial investment, and how equity and excellence in education are two sides of the same coin. Sridhar and Andreas also speak about the need for a 'Science of Learning' to help educators diagnose and address students challenges, just as doctors use the science of medicine to treat patients. Looking forward, Andreas charts a path for schools, parents and policy-makers to strengthen education systems, taking lessons from their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this episode, Pranav Kothari is in conversation with Seema Bansal, Partner and Director at Boston Consulting Group. Seema leads BCG's Social Impact practice in Asia Pacific and is a member of the firm's People & Organization and Public Sector Practices.

In the conversation, Seema and Pranav talk about the role of consultants in India's development journey. Using the example of school mergers in multiple states, Seema highlights the challenges of implementing large-scale education reforms with governments. She and Pranav also discuss the need for clarity in desired educational outcomes for successful reform and the importance of consensus-building and advocacy among stakeholders.