Quality Education
Inclusive, equitable learning that equips young people to navigate a complex world, the foundation every other goal rests on.
UNESCO 2021 Framework27 – 28 October 2026 · Panaji, Goa
Transdisciplinary Pathways to PeaceLinking Secondary and Higher Education
A two-day national conference for Principals and Educational Leaders of IB World Schools in India, linking secondary and higher education through transdisciplinary pathways to peace and sustainable futures. Hosted by WPU GŌA.
- Dates
- 27 – 28 October 2026
- Venue
- Taj Vivanta, Panaji, Goa
- Host
- WPU GŌA
- For
- IB World Schools
02Days in Goa
270+IB World Schools in India
03UN Goals in Focus
The Idea
Where school and university learning finally meet.
There is a strange handoff in Indian education. Schools spend years teaching students to think across subjects, question assumptions and connect ideas to the world. Then those same students enter universities where departments rarely talk to each other as much as their old classrooms did.
This conference brings the people who run IB schools into the same room as university leaders to close that gap. Nearly 270 IB World Schools operate across India, united by a belief that education should produce inquiring, globally aware young people invested in a more peaceful world.
Over two days in Goa, principals and university faculty work through one question together: how can the integrative, transdisciplinary habits that IB schools build survive and grow at the university level?
- 1
The problem: the cross-disciplinary way of thinking students build at school often has nowhere to go once they reach university.
- 2
A UNESCO idea: the 2021 report Reimagining Our Futures Together argues education must move beyond facts, toward navigating complexity, difference and disruption.
- 3
WPU GŌA's stake: India's first fully residential transdisciplinary university, with peace and sustainability written into its mission.
Anchored in Global Goals
Three goals. One shared future.
The conference draws on a 2021 UNESCO report and three UN Sustainable Development Goals as the throughline connecting school-level IB philosophy to university practice.
Peace and Strong Institutions
Peaceful, just societies and the accountable institutions that sustain them, treated as an outcome education can actively shape.
UNESCO 2021 FrameworkPartnerships for the Goals
School and university, secondary and higher education, working as genuine partners rather than separate, disconnected stages.
UNESCO 2021 FrameworkGuiding Visionaries
Eminent Visionaries Guiding WPU GŌA
Prof. Satish K. Tripathi
Honorary Chancellor, Governing Board WPU GŌA; President Emeritus, University at Buffalo, USA
Mr. D. Shivkumar
President, Industry Advisory Board, WPU GŌA; Former CEO, PEPSICO, India
Prof. Dr. Suresh Garimella
Chairman, Global Advisory Board, WPU GŌA; President, University of Arizona, USA
Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar
Padma Vibhushan; Chancellor, ICT; Former Director General, CSIR
Prof. Ram Charan
Indian-American business consultant; World-Renowned Business Advisor, Author and Speaker
Prof. Anil Kumar Gupta
Padma Shri; Founder, Honey Bee Network; Founder and Former Executive Vice-Chair, NIF
Shri. Rajeev Sethi
Padma Bhushan; Noted Indian Designer, Scenographer and Art Curator; Chairperson, Asian Heritage Foundation
Prof. Kavil Ramachandran
Former Professor and Senior Advisor, ISB
Prof. Praveen Nahar
Professor of Design, IIT Gandhinagar; Former Director, NID Ahmedabad
Prof. Walter Leal
Vice Chancellor, WPU GŌA
Prof. Pankaj Chandra
Advisor, WPU GŌA; Vice Chancellor, Ahmedabad University
Prof. Jayathi Murthy
Advisor, WPU GŌA; President, Oregon State University
Prof. Vinita S. Sahay
Director, IIM Bodh Gaya
Dr. Vijay P. Bhatkar
Padma Bhushan; Former Chancellor, Nalanda University
Dr. Nishith Desai
Founder, Nishith Desai Associates
Prof. Rishikesha Krishnan
Vice-Chancellor, Ashoka University; Former Director, IIM Bangalore
Dr. Pramath Raj Sinha
Founder and Trustee, Ashoka University; Founding Dean, ISB
Dr. Ashok Joshi
President, Higher Education Foundation, USA; Founder, Microlin LLC, USA
Adv. Dr. Lalit Bhasin
President, Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF); Managing Partner, Bhasin and Co.
Prof. G. Raghuram
Former Director, IIM Bangalore; Former Dean, IIM Ahmedabad
Dr. Milind Pralhad Kamble
Founder and Chairman, DICCI
Prof. Varun Sahni
Professor, Ashoka University; Former Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu; Former Vice-Chancellor, Goa University
Prof. Himanshu Rai
Director, IIM Indore
Prof. Uday B. Desai
Founding Director, IIT Hyderabad
Dr. Srikant Datar
Arthur Lowes Dickinson Professor of Business Administration and Senior Associate Dean for University Affairs, Harvard Business School
Dr. Ashish Garg
Professor and Head of the Department, Department of Sustainable Energy Engineering, IIT Kanpur
Prof. Chintan Vaishnav
Non-Resident Fellow, Niti Aayog and Academic Director, Tata Center for Technology and Design, MIT
Prof. Dr. Sudhir Krishnaswamy
Vice Chancellor and Director, Department of Professional and Continuing Education, National Law School of India University, Bengaluru
Prof. Yajulu Medury
Vice-Chancellor, Mahindra University
Prof. Dr. Bhushan Patwardhan
Chancellor, Deccan College PGRI Deemed to be University, Pune
Prof. Arvind Sahay
Director, MDI Gurgaon
Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao
Senior Professor and Vice Chancellor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, BITS-Pilani, Pilani Campus
Programme Schedule
Two days in Goa
Venue and final logistics are shared directly with confirmed participants.
Tuesday, 27 October 2026
Arrival and Check-In
Lunch Break
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Dr Ashish Bharadwaj, Pro VC, MIT WPU GŌA
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Dr Rahul V. Karad, Executive President, MIT World Peace University
Context-Setting
Professor Walter Leal, Vice-Chancellor, WPU GŌA
Keynote Address I
Transdisciplinary Pathways to Peace: From the IB Vision to Higher Education
Lead Address
Education for Transformation. Professor Priyankar Upadhyaya, UNESCO Chair for Peace and Intercultural Understanding, BHU
Panel Discussion
Beyond Disciplinary Silos: What Can Universities Learn from IB Education?
Tea Break
World Café
Building the Bridge: From Secondary to Higher Education
Closing Plenary
Networking Dinner
Wednesday, 28 October 2026
Breakfast
Keynote Address II
Reimagining Higher Education and Sustainable Future. Professor Walter Leal, Vice-Chancellor, WPU GŌA
Action Workshop
Designing Transdisciplinary School and University Partnerships
From Dialogue to Action
Towards the Goa Statement
Closing Remarks
WPU GŌA Leadership and IB / AHIWS Representative. Presentation of Certificates.
Tea and Departure
Who should attend
For IB World Schools across India.
The conference is designed for principals and senior leaders of IB World Schools, alongside invited university leaders, scholars and practitioners.
Two days of working sessions02
days of dialogue, keynotes and workshops
06
World Café themes explored together
Venue
Taj Vivanta, Panaji, Goa
Dates
27 – 28 October 2026
Join the Conversation
Be part of the dialogue.
For details, or to register your school’s interest in Transdisciplinary Pathways to Peace, reach out to our team.