Commonwealth of Learning (COL) President and CEO, Professor Asha Kanwar, delivered a keynote address as part of the Awards Ceremony for COL Skills for Work (SfW) to recognise the outstanding achievements of Special Education Needs Authority (SENA) Educators and to “underscore the profound significance of Special Education Needs in Mauritius’ educational landscape.” The President was joined on the panel by the Honourable Mrs​ Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, who she personally expressed gratitude for taking the time from her busy duties and demanding schedule to encourage both the graduands and COL.

Under the theme ‘Towards Innovation in Higher Education,’ the President detailed how educators “need to proactively nurture a culture of innovation to refresh, rethink and redesign policies and processes for transforming higher education.” She outlined a three-point plan that includes context, innovation in education and how to refresh, rethink and redesign educational platforms. The President remarked:

“We live in a disruptive age, where change is happening faster than ever before and in more unpredictable ways than we can imagine. Three years ago, no one could have predicted the pandemic or foreseen its magnitude. The world is learning to cope with phenomenal developments in technology. The jobs that exist today were unheard of ten years ago, and the jobs of the future will need to be aligned to the green and blue economies. Life expectancy has gone up and those born after 1997 could live to be a hundred.”

Professor Kanwar also highlighted the role artificial intelligence plays in revolutionising learning systems across the globe:

“In the last few months, we have seen an explosion of innovations in generative AI. We need to look at generative AI from the perspective of the teacher, the learner, the institution. How do we ensure that our teachers can harness the potential of ChatGPT which can become a powerful personal assistant?” she posited.

Professor Romeela Mohee, Mauritius Commissioner of Higher Education, also took to the podium to deliver a speech to the assembled guests and graduands. She spoke about the special role COL’s SfW program has played in improving opportunities for Mauritian students.

Skills training online for special needs educators is a collaborative initiative undertaken by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Mauritius in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, and Scientific Research and supported by the Commonwealth of Learning. Over the last two years, over 3,000 students received COL scholarships to study over 10,000 courses online. This time special needs educators were in the focus.