New Delhi [India], September 29: The Association for Reinventing School Education (ARISE), India’s apex body for private school reform in collaboration with Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), hosted ISRO Astronaut, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as part of its 8th Annual Education Conference held in New Delhi on 12–13 September 2025 to deliver the valedictory address to educators, policymakers, thought leaders, and innovators who converged at the conference to discuss debate and deliberate on the future of India’s K–12 education system
The highlight of the evening was an interactive Q&A session with school students representing member schools of ARISE where students quizzed Grp Captain Shukla on diverse topics ranging from his experience in Space to the process of overcoming fear and nervousness to the future of India in the International Space arena to how they can prepare to become an astronaut the astronaut. Grp Captain Shukla responded to each query with patience and even took photographs with all the students who had attended the valedictory address function.
Said Grp Captain Shukla on being asked on his expectations from the ARISE School education conference “In India, the number of school-going children is around 248 million, higher than the combined population of Australia, Canada, France & United Kingdom and nearly 80% of the population of the United States. This is a unique situation and these demographics of India necessitates a mammoth responsibility that goes beyond passion and intent and touches upon the need to build a solid framework backed by streamlined policies that can be practically implemented to manage the sheer scale of our education system. As an industry body focussed on the school education sector, ARISE does show promise to be the platform through which an outreach can be made to reform with scale”
The valedictory address also touched upon his own experience as a child and how the interest in studying started when the learning process became experiential post his joining the Indian Air Force.
Said Praveen Raju, President ARISE & co founder, Suchitra Academy “It was an absolute privilege and honour to host at the ARISE School Education Conference an Indian who after a 4 decade gap has travelled to space and taken the Indian Flag to the global space program. Grp Captain Shukla’s commitment to education was a delight to watch and the selfless time he gave to each student who asked him a question reflected his deep passion for India’s children and their future. His clinical breakdown of positioning study as one of connecting with nature where study of living organisms that stem from Biology eventually get broken down to elements taught by chemistry and further broken to sub atomic levels taught by physics before finally tracing the origin of the particles of organisms to space caught my attention and as an educator and promoter of a school, I totally resonate with this theory”
Observed Vinesh Menon, Director General & CEO, ARISE “The reaction and the response to the Grp Captain’s Shubhanshu Shukla’s speech by the entire audience was a testimony to the fact that India is truly at an inflection point in School education. The quality of questions asked by the children and the honest and motivating responses reflect the deep mutual admiration between the National Hero and the children. His comparison of Education policies as the launch pad of the education system and drawing an analogy of a sound rocket to the dreams of 260 million Indian children and how the mission can fail or get aborted if the launch pad is weak resonated deeply with ARISE’s core purpose to collaborate closely with Industry, academia and government to bring in strategic reforms to the school education regulatory framework. More outreach programs to reach out to students across schools in India in close coordination with India’s space hero are being conceptualised in the months ahead“
The conference was inaugurated by Shri Ashish Sood, Hon’ble Minister of Education, National Capital Territory of Delhi who gave the inaugural address and featured special address by Shri Sandeep Singh, Hon’ble Minister of Basic Education, Uttar Pradesh. Themed “The New Balance: Tradition & Technology, Empowered by Empathy” the conference featured immersive school tours, topically relevant masterclasses, thought provoking keynote sessions, education centred public policy dialogues, and subject matter related discussions addressing the evolving role of education in a world shaped by artificial intelligence, empathy, and innovation.
About ARISE
Founded and Incubated in Year 2016 under the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), ARISE is a not-for-profit, independent industry Chamber body focused on advancing K-12 education in India through research backed strategic interventions in policy & regulatory framework. The body also serves as a platform for school founders and educators to share best practices, record learnings, build sustainable knowledge ecosystems and come together to drive a common purpose for Nation building through school education.
About Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)
Established in 1927, FICCI is the largest and oldest Apex business organisation in India. Its history is closely interwoven with India’s struggle for independence, its industrialization, and its emergence as one of the most rapidly growing global economies. A non-government, not-for- profit organisation, FICCI is the voice of India’s business and industry. It serves its members from the Indian private and public corporate sectors and multinational companies, drawing its strength from diverse regional chambers of commerce and industry across states, reaching out to over 2,50,000 companies.
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