To discuss the future of India’s education and skills ecosystem, the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) organized the ICC Innovation Conclave in Kolkata. This high-level forum brought together national innovation champions, academic leaders, and government officials.

The event saw the presence of eminent speakers like Mr. Binod Kumar, Principal Secretary, School Education and Higher Education Department, Government of West Bengal, Mr. Satyam Roychowdhury, Chairman, ICC National Expert Committee on Higher Education & Training and Chancellor, Sister Nivedita University, Mr. Deepak Bagla, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission, Prof. Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, President, West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education and Vice Chancellor, Jadavpur University, and Prof. (Dr.) Anupam Basu, Raja Ramanna Chair Professor, Jadavpur University.

The Conclave underscored the pressing need for an integrated, future-ready approach to education by highlighting how India’s learning landscape is changing due to fast technological disruption, growing innovation ecosystems, and new skill imperatives.

While the two are fundamentally interdependent, innovation is mistakenly perceived as being in opposition to traditional schooling. Knowledge, competence, and a solid cognitive foundation are necessary for innovation, and education must foster critical thinking, problem-solving, analysis, and observation.

Because innovation advances through repeated efforts and refining, institutions must establish supportive environments, such as tinkering laboratories, transdisciplinary spaces, experimental initiatives, and iterative pedagogies. Innovation is fueled by cognitive empowerment, which is enhanced by education.

The speakers stressed that to make innovation a natural, rather than forced, result of education, India must create systems that strike a balance between knowledge, talent, and creativity.

Priyanka Dutta