Part of RRSPBL 2026
PBL in School Education
19 November 2026 | 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Venue: IISER, Pune
Hosted by
Part of RRSPBL 2026
19 November 2026 | 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Venue: IISER, Pune
Hosted by
PBL is transforming school education by moving learning beyond passive knowledge acquisition towards active inquiry, exploration, and real-world problem-solving. It enables students to develop critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, and problem-solving skills that are essential for the 21st century.
Aligned with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023, the event will bring together educators, school leaders, researchers, policymakers, industry experts, and sustainability advocates to exchange ideas, showcase innovative practices, and build meaningful collaborations that advance learner-centred, competency-based, and experiential education in India and beyond.
Recognising the growing importance of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in school education, a one-day event dedicated to advancing PBL in school education will be held on 19 November 2026 at IISER, Pune. The event is hosted by MIT Vishwaprayag University, Solapur, India , in collaboration with the Aalborg Centre for Problem-Based Learning in Engineering Science and Sustainability, Aalborg University, Denmark , MIT Vishwashanti Gurukul School, Solapur, India and in partnership with the Agastya International Foundation.
The event is organised as part of the Fourth Regional Research Symposium on Problem-Based Learning (RRSPBL 2026), bringing together educators and practitioners to share innovative practices and experiences in PBL for school education.
The event seeks to serve as a catalyst for innovation in school education by encouraging the meaningful integration of PBL into curricula, classroom practices, and teaching approaches. It aims to empower educators and other school education stakeholders to create interdisciplinary and authentic learning experiences that strengthen students' problem-solving, critical-thinking, creativity, and innovation skills, while supporting a smoother transition from school education to higher education.
The event brings together India's rich educational heritage and global best practices to explore new possibilities for the future of school education.
Meet the confirmed speakers for PBL in School Education. Select a speaker to view their details.
Associate Professor, UCPBL
Aalborg University, Denmark
Expertise: Digital and Cultural Transformation of Higher Education
Founder and CEO, Sifiso Learning Group
Future Nation Schools
South
Africa
Expertise: PBL, Leadership, Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Dr. Sizwe Errol Nxasana is a renowned South African business leader, social entrepreneur, and education innovator with a distinguished career spanning corporate leadership, entrepreneurship, and social impact.
He earned his PhD in Education from the UNESCO PBL Centre at Aalborg University, Denmark, in May 2025. He founded Sizwe & Co, the first black-owned audit practice in KwaZulu-Natal, and later co-founded Nkonki Sizwe Ntsaluba, now SizweNtsalubaGobodo (SNG Grant Thornton).
He subsequently served as CEO of Telkom SA and later as CEO of FirstRand Banking Group before retiring from corporate life in 2015.
He is the founder of the Sifiso Learning Group, an integrated education ecosystem focused on reimagining African education, with project-based learning at its core.
College of Education for the Future
Beijing Normal University
(Zhuhai), China
Expertise: Comparative Education, PBL Theory and Teaching, PBL Training
Director and Professor, UCPBL
Aalborg University, Denmark
Expertise: Institutional Transformation via PBL
Executive Director, Operations
Agastya International Foundation, Bangalore
Expertise: Education, Operations, Strategy and Planning, Self-Learning
Sai Chandrasekhar is Executive Director, Operations at Agastya International Foundation, Bangalore, a non-profit which runs the world’s largest hands-on science education program serving the education needs of economically backward school children in 23 states across India. He is a member of the senior management of Agastya and is actively involved in Strategy and Planning as well as Operations.
Sai has spent over 14 years at Agastya and has seen it grow manifold over this period. He is very passionate about education and strongly believes in the concept of self-learning.
Prior to this, Sai spent over two decades in the IT hardware and services industry. His previous role was with Hewlett Packard, Asia Pacific & Japan, where he managed businesses worth a few hundred million dollars with full P&L responsibility. He has worked across multiple functions including Sales & Marketing, Supply Chain, Strategy and Planning at Hewlett Packard.
He is an Electrical Engineer and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. He also attended a program on Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management at the Harvard Business School.
Co-Founder, Biomimicry India
Biomimicry Educator, Innovation Consultant and Architect
Prashant Dhawan is a biomimicry educator, innovation consultant, architect and Co-founder of Biomimicry India, the country's pioneering organisation dedicated to biomimicry education, research and innovation.
He is the first Indian—and among the first 18 professionals globally—to earn a Master of Science in Biomimicry from Arizona State University, USA, and the first Indian to be recognised as a Biomimicry Professional by the Biomimicry Institute, USA. He also holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business and a Bachelor of Architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.
Since co-founding Biomimicry India in 2012, he has delivered more than 250 lectures, workshops, keynote talks and university courses, reaching over 25,000 students, researchers, educators, designers, engineers, architects, entrepreneurs and industry professionals at institutions including IITs, IISER, NID, CEPT University, VIT, ISB, NCBS and international organisations such as INCOSE.
His work spans education, research, consulting and innovation, helping organisations apply nature's 3.8 billion years of evolutionary intelligence to develop resilient technologies, sustainable products, regenerative systems and interdisciplinary innovation frameworks. His mission is to help researchers, innovators, educators and decision-makers learn from nature to create sustainable, resilient and future-ready solutions.
PBL in School Education — 19 November 2026
Topic and speaker to be announced.
Dr. Niels Erik Ruan Lyngdorf — Associate Professor, UCPBL, Aalborg University, Denmark
Dr. Sizwe Errol Nxasana — Future Nation Schools, South Africa
Dr. Zhiying Nian — College of Education for the Future, Beijing Normal University (Zhuhai), China
Mr. Sai Chandrasekhar — Executive Director, Operations, Agastya International Foundation, Bangalore, India
Participant model-making experience inspired by bird flight and biomimicry — Dr. Prashant Dhawan.
Moderator and panelists to be announced.
Themes for Poster Presentation Session:
Teaching Sustainability through Science: Project-Based Learning / Problem-Based Learning Approaches
Classroom to Community: Connecting Learning with Real-World Challenges
Redesigning Curriculum for AI-Enhanced PBL
Integrating IKS with Project-Based Learning in School Education (Role of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) in Advancing Project-Based Learning in School Education)
| Sl.No | Milestone | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Call for Abstracts Submission | 7 Sep 2026 |
| 2 | Abstract Submission Closes | 25 Oct 2026 |
| 3 | Acceptance Notification | 20 Oct 2026 |
| 4 | Final Poster Submission Deadline | 30 Oct 2026 |
| 5 | Posters Ready for Printing | 15 Nov 2026 |
| 6 | Conference Date | 19 Nov 2026 |
The last date for abstract submission has been extended to October 25, 2026.
Abstract submissions will open on 7 September 2026 and close on 25 October 2026.
| Sl.No | Category | Description |
Early Bird Registration Fee
Until 18 October 2026 |
Regular Registration Fee
19 October – 13 November 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | School Registration | Group of 3 members from the same school | INR 1,500 + GST | INR 2,000 + GST |
| 2 | Individual Registration (India) | Individual participant | INR 750 + GST | INR 1,000 + GST |