The CareerTrek Company at the 20th FICCI Higher Education Summit 2025
06th - 07th October 2025
The 20th FICCI Higher Education Summit 2025, held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, brought together policymakers, academics, industry leaders, and global education experts for two days of insightful discussions under the theme “Higher Education in a Transforming World – Bridging Borders, Building Futures.” The summit explored how higher education in India can evolve to meet global standards while staying relevant to local needs, emphasizing innovation, sustainability, and student-centric approaches.
Representing The CareerTrek Company, Shubhangi Bansal and Juhi Jahnavi attended the summit, gaining invaluable insights into how innovation, sustainability, and global collaboration are shaping India’s education landscape.
Day 1 | AI, Innovation & Global Collaboration
The summit opened with an inspiring Inaugural Address by Shri Nitin Gadkari, who urged institutions to ensure research and academic initiatives are aligned with local societal and regional needs. Highlighting the importance of “innovation with purpose,” he set a forward-looking tone for the summit.
The unveiling of the FICCI–EY Knowledge Report – Future-Ready Campuses: Unlocking the Power of AI in Higher Education emphasized that AI is not just a technology but a curriculum driver and assessment enabler, essential for shaping the next generation of learners.
In a session on AI & Technology for Higher Education, speakers like Dr Bharat Agarwal (Vishwakarma University) and Anand Sudarshan (Sylvant Advisors) emphasized that AI should be embraced as a mindset, not merely a tool. Panelists from OpenAI, Coursera, and EY highlighted the importance of integrating technology responsibly, ensuring ethics, accessibility, and innovation co-exist within future-ready campuses.
Discussions on the Internationalization of Higher Education featured voices like Dr Vidya Yeravdekar (Symbiosis University) and Prof Richard Wells (Coventry University), who called for authentic cross-cultural collaboration that goes beyond paperwork and regulations, advocating for true global academic partnerships.
The day concluded with a focus on faculty excellence and institutional resilience, stressing the significance of digital fluency, ethical governance, and data-driven risk management as essential pillars for sustainable growth in higher education.
Day 2 | Collaboration, Sustainability & Student Voice
The second day shifted from vision to actionable strategies. Dr Ramakrishna Raman (Symbiosis University) emphasized a redefined model of engagement: “Not campus to corporate, but campus as corporate.” Speakers including Hemant Sahal (Digii) and leaders from IIT Roorkee underlined the need for academia-industry co-creation, leveraging micro-credentials, applied research, and hands-on learning.
The Sustainability panel, led by Dr Pankaj Mittal (AIU), Dr Atish Chattopadhyay (IMT Ghaziabad), and Dr Bhavani Rao (Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham), explored how universities can integrate UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into teaching, research, and campus operations—from green infrastructure to community partnerships.
Sessions on Research & Innovation highlighted collaborations between global universities and Indian institutions, emphasizing AI-enabled research ecosystems as a key driver for international competitiveness.
The summit concluded with a powerful dialogue on Reshaping the University Through the Student Lens, reinforcing that students are co-creators in the future of education, advocating for student participation in shaping curricula, research priorities, and institutional strategies.
Key Takeaways
The 20th FICCI Higher Education Summit 2025 reaffirmed that the future of India’s higher education will be:
The CareerTrek Company, attending the summit, gained valuable insights into global and local trends in higher education. The discussions highlighted the importance of innovation, student-centered approaches, and technology-driven learning, aligning perfectly with our mission to empower future leaders and professionals through experiential and outcome-oriented education.
The summit showcased a vision where India’s higher-education ecosystem evolves into a global standard-bearer, combining academic excellence, industry relevance, sustainability, and student empowerment to build a thriving, future-ready workforce.
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