Leapfrogging Education for Leveraging India’s Demographic Dividend and Meeting Industry 4.0 Needs

Abstract

Education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution is a challenging process which will increase in complexity phenomenally, particularly due to increased longevity, the relentless pace of change, the overwhelming use of digital technology and the changing pedagogy of education. Contemporary education must be redesigned to support Industry 4.0 which, while creating new jobs will eliminate some of the existing jobs thus making it imperative for education to prepare students for a future that doesn’t yet exist. Focusing on critical and creative thinking, communication and collaborative skills, cognitive flexibility to deal with complexity all centered around compassion to produce meaningful results, while embracing technology, will be the real challenge for Education 4.0. This paper attempts to emphasize the need for India to leverage its demographic dividend for economic growth through the acquisition of newer skill sets to meet the changing needs of the industry using the new equation to lifelong learning: 5c+2m+1r >3r