Ei Dialogues

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.

In this episode, Pranav Kothari was in conversation with Vineet Nayar, Founder-Chairman of Sampark Foundation. Vineet is also the former CEO of HCL Technologies, and the author of the acclaimed management book Ëmployees First, Customers Second. Sampark Foundation hopes to catalyse innovation-led social change to impact the education of 20 million children by 2025. 

In this episode, Vineet and Pranav speak about how to design good EdTech, and Sampark's innovative ways to improve classroom engagement between teachers and students. They also discuss Sampark Foundation's self-imposed expiry date of 2025, and ways to catalyse change in education over a short time period of time, ensuring that costs remain low and that impact is sustainable.

In this episode, Pranav Kothari spoke to Rathish Balakrishnan, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Sattva Consulting. Sattva is a development consultancy firm motivated by the vision of ending poverty in our lifetime.

Rathish and Pranav talked about ways to strengthen India's social sector through innovative funding methods like Development Impact Bonds, value-based funding, the Social Stock Exchange and more. They also spoke about how civil society organisations can achieve greater freedom and agency in their work, and how and when to create meaningful collaborations for social impact. Finally, they discussed the role of government in scaling social impact, COVID's impact on learning, and ways to actively involve parents in their children's education.

In this episode of Ei Dialogues, we speak to Dr. Rukmini Banerji, CEO of Pratham Education Foundation. Pratham works to improve learning outcomes through high-quality, low-cost, and replicable interventions, and is world-renowned for its Annual Status of Education Report.

Dr. Banerji spoke about how Pratham helped children learn during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the growing importance of parents in ensuring high-quality education. She also talked about the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, and their importance in the context of the pandemic. Dr. Banerji sounded a note of optimism while positing a path forward for our education system, believing that with concerted efforts to help students catch-up our system can be stronger than ever in the years to come.