FROM CHEMBUR TO CAMBRIDGE… With each passing year, our Economics festival Arth-Manthan has been gathering more popularity and recognition from students and teachers alike. This year Arth-Manthan took a huge leap when the festival was presented at an international platform! Arth-Manthan 2007 was presented at the Developments for Economic Education (DEE) Conference at Cambridge, UK. This conference was organised by The Economics Network of The Higher Education Academy, which is an apex body of all universities in UK. DEE is considered to be among the top annual conferences in developments in teaching and learning of economics. The Conference was held at The Moller Centre - one of the world’s best conference venues on 6th and 7th September 2007.
Keynote speakers at the Conference included Tim Harford, author of the famous book, ‘Undercover Economist’ and presenter of the BBC's "Trust Me, I'm an Economist", Prof. David F. Hendry, eminent econometrician and Chairman of the Department of Economics, Oxford University and Andy Ross, Director, Government Economic Service and HM Treasury. They spoke on topics ranging from training economists for the government to teaching of econometrics to grabbing attention of students in a classroom.
Top academicians from UK, US, Singapore and many other European countries presented papers on various subjects like application of economics, preparation of case studies, improving teaching and learning of economics through use of technology and interactive techniques.
We displayed two large posters at the Poster Session of the Conference. The colourful posters showed pictures capturing the essence of the Economics festival. The pictures showcased various events and depicted the spirit and enthusiasm of students and teachers alike! Besides this, the Co-ordinator of the festival distributed the brochures of the festival to many academicians.
Many representatives of different British Universities showed keen interest in the students’ participation and organisation of the festival. The concept of a festival as a tool for learning and enhancing students understanding of economics was new to many from Europe and was highly appreciated by all. Quite a few seriously considered launching similar festivals in their universities!
Besides, as it was the only entry from India, our festival definitely generated a lot of curiosity and interest among those present! The website of the Conference www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/dee2007 has many photographs of our Exhibition at Moller Centre and the full report on The Economics Festival of Mumbai. This gave our initiative worldwide coverage!
Apart from showcasing our college as a pioneer in organising an Economics festival in India, the International Conference was an excellent opportunity to meet eminent authors in Economics, professors from different universities. It also gave us an insight into teaching patterns and new techniques used in teaching and learning of Economics.
Almost all British and American universities use information technology on a large scale to make teaching an interactive and hence effective process. There were a number of presentations on the use of blogs and other social software for education. Indian universities must take urgent steps to use IT as an integral part of classroom teaching.
What added to the experience was the location of the conference! Moller Centre is located in Cambridge which is known for its historic colleges and is a thriving centre of arts, culture, nature, science and technology. The conference dinner took place at the majestic Peterhouse College which was founded way back in 1284 and is the oldest college in Cambridge!
Participating in this Conference has indeed been a rare opportunity and invaluable learning experience!
- G. S. Panikar |
