THE BC-India Business Network (BC-IBN) organized its annual Education and Skills Summit on June 20 at SFU’s Segal Centre in Vancouver.

The event was emceed by Jatinder Dhir and Anna Mathews who started by acknowledging the unceded ancestral lands of the Coast Salish Peoples and welcoming education sector leaders, institutional heads, academics, students, government officials and others. The main theme this year was Reimagining the Future of Education.

Guests were officially welcomed by Dr. Vivek Savkur, Founder and President Emeritus of BC-IBN. He received a citation from Raj Chouhan, Speaker of the B.C. Legislative Assembly. The Consul General of India in Vancouver, Masakui Rungsung, made the opening remarks that were followed by a keynote by James Mandigo, President of the University of Fraser Valley.

A panel discussion on Reimagining the Future of Education moderated by Tina Balachandran included:

• Dr. Randall Martin

• Ajay Patel

• Dr. Philip Laird

• Supriya Devgan

The event also included a special address by Dr. Joy Johnson, Vice Chair of Universities Canada and President of SFU.

One of the highlights of the summit was a performance by an accomplished Harikatha and Indian classical Carnatic musician, Sharvari Somayaji. She was accompanied by Kiran Sunil, an international pianist. The closing keynote was by youth speaker Monisha Mothilal.

Vive Dhume in his vote of thanks, thanked all guests, speakers, sponsors, volunteers and performers for their excellent contributions and also acknowledged the Board of BC-IBN for their hard work.

“The annual Education and Skills Summit helps us get a pulse of the education sector and brings in experts who are passionate about education and want to reimagine it for society’s good. BC-IBN is grateful for their invaluable contributions,” said Savkur.