Anupama Raj, Assistant Professor at the School of Continuing Education, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, shares her insights about education policies and designing assessments. In this ’10 Women, 10 Questions’ interview, she highlights the necessity of rightful assessment techniques to be employed in our education system.

The third edition of Science Undergraduate Research Conference (SURC 2024) was held from 6-7 December 2024 at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. Science Undergraduate Research Conference is a unique conference highlighting what undergraduate science research looks like in India.

Traditional teaching methods emphasise rote learning over engagement and exploration. This article explores the transformative potential of innovative teaching approaches in STEM education that the Lodha Genius Programme (LGP) inculcates. This highlights the need for inquiry-based education in shaping the future of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning through a hands-on, computational thinking approach that empowers students to investigate scientific concepts.

Educators are reimagining assessments to prioritise learning over rote memorisation, with efforts focused on integrating formative methods and reducing exam-related stress. Shilpi Banerjee's work at Azim Premji University exemplifies this shift, blending policy reforms with practical teacher training to foster competency-based education.

In India, the loss of learning from the pandemic-induced closure of schools was particularly severe for children from rural and tribal areas, who had little to no access to online learning. Anandi, a newsletter in Marathi, published by HBCSE, Mumbai, hopes to reduce their learning gaps via the print medium. Rohini Karandikar, a former visiting scholar at HBCSE writes about the newsletter and what makes it special.