“Education is a self-organizing system, where learning is an emergent phenomenon.” Sugata Mitra

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A key strand of the Centre’s research is directed by Professor Sugata Mitra and is focused on his ground breaking research into the potential of self organised learning in different communities around the world.  His earlier work through the Hole in the Wall experiments, showed that groups of children with access to shared digital resources can learn to use computers and the internet and go on to learn much more than previously thought possible on their own without adult supervision.

Future research includes the following:

  • developing a Self-Organized Assessment Method (SOAM) by which children can assess their learning accurately
  • developing a curriculum that is driven by questions not answers
  • designing computing environments for children that are powered by free energy and bandwidth
  • developing the concept of schools in clouds, integrated with the fabric of information space and time….

This research also raises many important questions for national governments and international agencies.  For example, if education is a self organising system that emerges over time, what does this mean for the role of government and the way in which they intervene?  Is it possible to centrally plan a spontaneous and self organising system or do they depend on decentralised decision making?

For further information on Sugata’s current research please visit the SOLES and SOMES wikiwebsite.  Further information on his Hole in the Wall experiments can also be found at Hole in the Wall Education Ltd.  Professor Mitra has previously delivered two TED talks and published a TED book and his TED profile can be viewed here.

Awards

Sugata Mitra, TED Prize

“My wish is to help design the future of learning by supporting children all over the world to tap into their innate sense of wonder and work together. Help me build the School in the Cloud, a learning lab in India, where children can embark on intellectual adventures by engaging and connecting with information and mentoring online. I also invite you, wherever you are, to create your own miniature child-driven learning environments and share your discoveries.”

Sugata Mitra, Leonardo Crossing Borders Award 2012

“Mitra has inspired education experts around the world to re-think learning methods and to develop a new learning design for talent management – in school education as well as corporate learning.”

Sugata Mitra, AdvancED Global Educator Award 2012

The AdvancED Global Educator Award is presented to individuals who have demonstrated unparalleled leadership in promoting and advancing excellence in global and international education.  The 2012 AdvancED Global Educator Award winner is: Dr Sugata Mitra.

Sugata Mitra, Klingenstein Leadership Award 2011

Publications

Recent Articles

Press Articles

Related Blogs

Videos

Recent Talks

  • Sugata Mitra, TED 2013 invited talk, Long Beach, CA, USA, 3 Mar 2013
  • Sugata Mitra, Jnana Probodhini conference, closing keynote, Pune, India, 9 Feb 2013
  • Sugata Mitra, UCAS, Keynote, Nottingham, UK, 5 Feb 2013
  • Sugata Mitra, Dutch Teachers Conference, Keynote, London, UK, 29 Jan 2013
  • Sugata Mitra, TedX talk, Kharagpur, India, 19 Jan 2013
  • Sugata Mitra, International School, keynote, Geneva, Switzerland, 12 Jan 2013
  • Sugata Mitra, Guardian Activate, keynote Delhi, India, 21 Dec 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, University keynote Antwerp, Belgium, 13 Dec 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Autodesk University event, keynote Las Vegas, USA, 27 Nov 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote Rio, Brazil, 24 Nov 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, INSIGHTS Public Lecture – The Future of Learning, 15th Nov 2013
  • Sugata Mitra, The Sackler Lecture: The Future of Learning, 6 Nov 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, V&A event, London, UK, 6 Nov 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote at STEM Learning Conference, San Diego, USA, 15 Oct 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote at Pearson Event, Colonia, Uruguay, 7 Oct 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote at EAIE 2012, Dublin, Ireland, 13 Sep 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote Address, EAIE Conference 2012, Dublin, September 11th 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote, Rivers School, Cambridge, MA, USA, 6 Sep 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote at Leslie University, Cambridge, MA, USA, 5 Sep 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote at Berwick Academy, Dover, Maine, USA, 29 Aug 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote at Guidford, CT, USA, 27 Aug 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Consultation Billund, Denmark, 9 Aug 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Invited talk, Haystack Deer Isle, Maine, USA, 12 Jul 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote Washington DC, USA, 26 June 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynotes and school visits in several cities, Argentina, 14 Jun 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote at Gateshead event, Gateshead, UK, 28 May 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote at E Learning Africa, Benin, 25 May 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote at Baltimore, USA, 10 May 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote at Bratislava, Slovenia, 22 April 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote at LEGO conference Billund, Denmark, 17 April 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Invited lecture at UNESCO Conference, Barcelona, Spain, 15 Mar 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Invited lecture at Litfest, Bath, UK, 11 Mar 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote at 21st Century Education Conference, Hong Kong, China, 21 Feb 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote at Teachers Conference, Sao Paolo, Brazil, 11 Feb 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote at London International Schools Association, London, UK, 20 Jan 2012
  • Sugata Mitra, Keynote at British Council event Bombay and Vadodara, India, 8 Jan 2012

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