Shanti Jagannathan

Principal Education Specialist, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, ADB

Shanti Jagannathan has over 25 years of experience with reforms and transformation in school education, technical and vocational education and training and higher education in Asia. She has led policy research studies on skills for greening economies, Asia’s knowledge-based economies, and implications of industry 4.0 on education and training. Her recent work includes a guidance note on Education and COVID-19 in Asia and the Pacific, designing and judging hackathons for digital reskilling and upskilling for displaced workers and digital platforms for education and co-edited volume on powering a learning society during an age of disruption. She works on education sector policies and provides technical advice to ADB’s lending and knowledge partnerships for education. She has over a dozen publications from her work in ADB, including three books with Springer and special issues of the Journals ‘Prospects’ and ‘International Journal of Training Research.’ She is currently Principal Education Specialist at ADB.

Textbooks are still crucial to the education process in developing countries.

5 Ways to Make Textbooks Relevant in a Digital World

Even as developing countries catch up on digital learning, the good old physical textbook should have a key role.

Sungsup Ra, Shanti Jagannathan

Students attend an IT class in Bandung, Indonesia

APEC 2015: Tapping Into the Potential of High-Value Services

Analysts have long argued that the services will help take Asian emerging economies further up the value chain in global markets, but first we need an altogether different lens to look at the sector.

Shanti Jagannathan

In Southeast Asia, companies need to upgrade the skills of workers to survive the pandemic and build resilience to future shocks. Photo: ADB

For Southeast Asian Employers, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is a Chance to Create Jobs

Companies deploying Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, and investing in reskilling and upskilling for digital occupations, are likely to recover faster from the impact of the pandemic.

Shanti Jagannathan, Sameer Khatiwada

Incorporating climate change into primary and secondary curricula will give the next generation a head start in addressing the issue. Photo: ADB

Four Ways Education Can Fight Climate Change

Education is a fundamental tool for advancing action on climate change, yet it has not been adequately tapped for its potential.

Shanti Jagannathan, Arghya Sinha Roy

University students at Institut Teknologi Bandung learn advanced computer skills during IT class. Information technology is one of Indonesia's education priorities.

How Asia Can Become a Knowledge Economy

There are cost-effective approaches that developing countries can actively consider in traveling on the road to becoming advanced knowledge-based economies.

Shanti Jagannathan

International students have largely disappeared from campuses around the world during the pandemic. Photo: Inbal Marilli

How Post-Pandemic Education Systems Can Welcome Back International Students

Closed borders and health concerns halted international student mobility in 2020, but students are expected to return. Education policy makers need to be ready for a new type of international student that wants both physical and digital learning opportunities.

Shanti Jagannathan