India can learn from China, Turkey how to infuse technology in education: Intel

With emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data Analytics knocking at India's doors, the country needs to sow the learning seeds early — in the classroom — and China and Turkey can show the way, top global Intel executives have said.

The world has realised what is coming its way in the next 10-20 years and has already begun modernising classrooms at schools to prepare a technology-ready workforce. Joe D. Jensen, Vice President, Internet of Things (IoT) Group, and General Manager, Retail Solutions Division at Intel, told IANS,

The Chinese and Turkish authorities have given kids IoT-enabled devices in millions of schools. Every student has a device connected to an intelligent whiteboard at the front of the classroom. There are teacher-controlled devices too. The curriculum is designed for that kind of environment. This is the future of education.

"Intel has installed 400,000 IoT-enabled connected devices for schools in Turkey, a million-and-a half in Chinese schools and another million to go in China in the next two years," Jensen informed.

Technology can do wonders in providing a great educational experience and create a pool of talent for these disrupting technologies.

"In China, the newest innovation is that there are eight video cameras and a series of microphones in a classroom at certain private schools and colleges. The videos of the classroom activities are recorded daily. Parents can later log on and see the student-teacher interaction," Jensen told IANS.

For Lisa Davis, Vice President and General Manager, IT Transformation for Enterprise and Government at Intel, while India is at the cusp of dramatic changes in delivering next-generation education, it is also set to learn new ways to infuse technology in many other sectors.

"Not just education, we are looking at the financial services, transportation, retail and health-care sectors too in India. The next big wave is coming in video surveillance and the security sector, and our teams are engaged with the stakeholders in the country," Davis told IANS.

Intel has also pushed the envelope towards creating a modern workforce in India. In April this year, Intel made a commitment to democratise AI in the country by training 15,000 developers and engage with not just businesses but also the government and academia to enable the adoption of AI.

Intel India has trained 9,500 developers, students and professors in the past six months.

The chip giant has collaborated with 40 academic institutions that are using the technology for scientific research and 50 public and private organisations across e-commerce, health-care, technology, defence, and banking and financial services.

Intel India has also launched an initiative to strengthen the use of technology in the country's education ecosystem. It is collaborating with leading device manufacturers, education digital content publishers and education solution providers to build end-to-end solutions that promote the use of technology.

The company will then help deploy management solutions for schools, classrooms, content and learning, and also manage student information systems.

There is an Intel India Maker Lab in Bengaluru to drive the innovation ecosystem in the country. The lab offers access to startups of hardware and software development kits, reference boards, design collaterals, test and debugging equipment. It provides technical support for design, development and testing products.

"India is at the cusp of a technology boom, but needs training and teaching right from the beginning to prepare a future digital workforce," Davis stressed.