Takshashila Academic Conference - October 2022
The Takshashila Institution conducted a two-day online Academic Conference for its current and 33rd cohort of Graduate Certificate in Public Policy (GCPP) students on the 8th and 9th of October 2022. The Conference had a total of 20 expert speakers from various domains of public policy and saw attendance by around 200 students (including the current PGP cohort) and staff of Takshashila.
Takshashila’s Virtual Campus
A part of the conference was held on Takshashila’s Virtual Campus, hosted on the futuristic proximity A/V platform: Gather Town. This is the 5th edition of the event conducted on this digital space, with the intention to recreate a real ‘conference’ like setup, where sessions ran in parallel and students (in their customised Avatars), could choose to walk in or out of rooms to listen to topics of their interest.
Takshashila’s Virtual Campus on Gather Town
The campus was tastefully decorated, and had its own lobby, helpdesk, lounge, faculty spaces, breakouts and a large auditorium. Students could meet and hang out with each other, making ‘virtual’ meetings, human, fun and interactive!
The Academic Conference was divided into keynote, breakout and spontaneous order sessions. The keynote addresses delivered by the 8 keynote speakers pertained to broad areas of public policy and were open to all students to attend. The multiple breakout sessions on specific topics in particular domains of public policy were conducted in parallel on the Virtual Campus and the students were free to pick which ones to attend by simply walking into different halls. The conference also had spontaneous order sessions where the GCPP students had to suggest, vote on and discuss topics they found of interest.
Keynote Sessions
The keynote speakers were Jayraj Pandya, Amb. P.S. Raghavan, Lt. Gen. Prakash Menon, Rahul Matthan, Dr. Gagandeep Kang, Dr. Kajari Kamal, Prof. Johanna Weaver, and Nitin Pai. The topics of keynote sessions ranged from the functioning of parliamentary democracy, foreign policy, national security decision-making, data and cyberspace governance, lessons for public health from Covid-19 to Arthashastra and ethical reasoning in public policy.
![Jayraj Pandya](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665466278607-WQ80X9WNS0ZUB7UYRQLA/FehrCmdakAArLH8.jpeg)
![Ambassador P S Raghavan](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665466316625-IRFBC5YO4D691SFM139S/Feh6KMeaEAA-ckE.jpeg)
![Lt. Gen. Prakash Menon](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665471880033-QPJ7K2Z1ERBTMAJEXDWS/Fei-cJIaYAEmzHS-3.jpeg)
![Rahul Matthan](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665466342952-4IQVF1S5I57FHS2JZH4W/FejFrgFaYAAtKWE.jpeg)
![Prof. Gagandeep Kang](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665484524013-PO4GBN847CMZ6AFOXF2S/Screenshot+2022-10-11+at+4.04.43+PM.png)
![Dr. Kajari Kamal](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665471897729-8HGROOUDKUBHD6JDFEXI/FenLErbaUAEKc0V-2.jpeg)
![Prof. Johanna Weaver](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665466386336-26W8I2ARXMLMLTVGW4S9/Fen6cJFagAEajeK.jpeg)
![Nitin Pai](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665466396045-ESXADSK56JWWQITX7ZS6/FeoQ8ECakAAt3jW.jpeg)
Breakout Sessions
The breakout sessions were addressed by Krishna Hegde, Prof. Sabyasachi Kar, Kadambari Shah, Yashraj Bhardwaj, Mihir Mahajan, and Prof. Ashish Kulkarni. Sachin Kalbag, Pranay Kotasthane, Sarthak Pradhan, Dr. Shambhavi Naik, Dr. Harshit Kukreja, and Aditya Ramanathan from Takshashila also conducted breakout sessions. Issues in public policy such as crypto regulation, central bank digital currencies, bioweapons, nudging, semiconductor geopolitics, newsroom economics & free media, and foreign policy were discussed in the breakout sessions.
![Krishna Hegde](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665472205762-A2P3UD5S97KUYJBDPMBF/FejG1maaEAEcuLX-2.jpeg)
![Sabyasachi Kar](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665472210828-ZZMXGO0EM5FA2U48K2UM/FejHhchaEAAQ8xs-2.jpeg)
![Sarthak Pradhan](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665472226639-2CORC08KMN07K33TEVCT/FejY6C0aMAApQcO-2.png)
![Sachin Kalbag](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665472228763-3B148ATAUSY14JA1ZDFJ/FejKuftaMAAGXSn-2.jpeg)
![Dr. Shambhavi Naik](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665472257459-AUQ3USV9NBYVY6X33DHF/FekeCGUaAAArach-2.jpeg)
![Kadambari Shah](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665472271962-XN3BEDAR4NUUFG0S7933/FejXM3hakAInuYt-2.jpeg)
![Mihir Mahajan](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665472291692-EHZJD38MFSIH64WLAHS1/Fen2ewiagAcZcet-2.jpeg)
![Yashraj Bhardwaj](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665472298001-PLH1B6UBLIE2GL6ZJFL0/FeoDvHoakAEyb0I-2.jpeg)
![Pranay Kotasthane](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665472308386-LJIB9O63LPMAAF8NW0U0/FeoQDZxaEAAR91x-2.jpeg)
![Prof. Ashish Kulkarni](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665472328239-SY2KVAS9FS7K4JYIHCZ6/FeoEzNmakAMN2ZN-2.jpeg)
![Dr. Harshit Kukreja](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665472345579-NAV9L9XJ4HSRSV8JF8HD/Fen73j7aEAEF_Rg-2.jpeg)
![Aditya Ramanathan](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618a55c4cb03246776b68559/1665472373065-7CT5ICV9SV5UKX1CNVG7/FeoFtqqaYAE_FU_-2.jpeg)
Spontaneous Order Sessions
The ‘spontaneous order’ sessions were student-led with minimal moderation. The topics were based on open polling by the students. There were a total of 5 spontaneous order sessions.
During the sessions, the students engaged in stimulating discussions on topics like whether UPI should be free, internet shutdown as a law & order measure, reparations to colonies by former colonial powers, consequences of raising women’s marriage age and feasibility of social and cultural reform through legislation.
The Takshashila Institution is a pioneer in public policy education. To prepare our students to tackle the complex policy challenges, we bring together academic experts and policy practitioners from across the world. Takshashila’s unique pedagogy allows individuals to study from anywhere and while pursuing their current occupations.
For more details, check out our 12-week Graduate Certificate in Public Policy (GCPP), year-long Post Graduate Programme (PGP) and short-term Special Credit Courses (SCC).