Sugata Mitra

Global Authority on Education

Sugata Mitra

Global Authority on Education

Sugata Mitra is among the most awarded educationists in the world. He is Professor Emeritus at NIIT University Rajasthan India. A Ph.D. in theoretical physics and retired in 2019 as Professor of Educational Technology at Newcastle University, UK. The Times newspaper described him as a "Global Education Superstar". Sugata Mitra conducted the Hole in the Wall (HIW) experiment, where in the year 1999 a computer was embedded within a wall in an Indian slum at Kalkaji, Delhi and children were allowed to freely use it. The experiment aimed at proving that kids could be taught computers very easily without any formal training. Sugata termed this as Minimally Invasive Education (MIE). The experiment has since been repeated at many places. In England, he developed his ideas into Self Organised Learning Environments (SOLE) and finally into Schools in the Cloud. All in all he is credited with more than 25 inventions in the area of cognitive science and educational technology. Sugata's work inspired the book ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ that went on to become the Oscar winning film of 2009. The global consequences of Sugata's discovery for closing the digital educational divide have resulted in him receiving many international awards and honorary doctorates from India, the UK, USA and many other countries in the world – among them the Dewang Mehta award for innovations in IT from the Government of India (2003), the million-dollar TED award (2013) and the Brock Prize for Education Innovation (2022) from the USA. Sugata works in the areas of children’s education, remote presence, self-organising systems, cognitive systems, physics and consciousness. Sugata has been working in these areas as well as in Physics and Energy for more than 30 years and he effects of his work on the lives of people and the economy of countries can only be guessed at.

About Sugata Mitra

Sugata Mitra is among the most awarded educationists in the world. He is Professor Emeritus at NIIT University Rajasthan India. A Ph.D. in theoretical physics and retired in 2019 as Professor of Educational Technology at Newcastle University, UK. The Times newspaper described him as a "Global Education Superstar".

Sugata Mitra conducted the Hole in the Wall (HIW) experiment, where in the year 1999 a computer was embedded within a wall in an Indian slum at Kalkaji, Delhi and children were allowed to freely use it. The experiment aimed at proving that kids could be taught computers very easily without any formal training. Sugata termed this as Minimally Invasive Education (MIE). The experiment has since been repeated at many places. In England, he developed his ideas into Self Organised Learning Environments (SOLE) and finally into Schools in the Cloud. All in all he is credited with more than 25 inventions in the area of cognitive science and educational technology.

Sugata's work inspired the book ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ that went on to become the Oscar winning film of 2009. The global consequences of Sugata's discovery for closing the digital educational divide have resulted in him receiving many international awards and honorary doctorates from India, the UK, USA and many other countries in the world – among them the Dewang Mehta award for innovations in IT from the Government of India (2003), the million-dollar TED award (2013) and the Brock Prize for Education Innovation (2022) from the USA.

Sugata works in the areas of children’s education, remote presence, self-organising systems, cognitive systems, physics and consciousness. Sugata has been working in these areas as well as in Physics and Energy for more than 30 years and he effects of his work on the lives of people and the economy of countries can only be guessed at.

Topics

  • Role of Technology and Education in a Sustainable Society
  • Future of Education
  • Cognitive Science
  • Self Organised Learning Environments
  • Sustainable Learning
  • Youth, Education and Social Transformation