Event Overview
The 17th edition of the Ed Leadership International Roundtable will convene from June 18 to June 20, 2026 at the World Unity Convention Centre of City Montessori School (CMS) in Lucknow. The three‑day forum carries the theme “Growing the Inner Life in the Age of AI” and is positioned as a counter‑cultural response to the rapid infusion of artificial intelligence into classrooms.
Pedagogy and Research
The centerpiece of the programme is the ALfA (Accelerating Learning for All) pedagogy, created by Dr. Sunita Gandhi. ALfA operates on the PATH framework—Purposeful, Active, Transformative and Holistic education. Approximately 500 teachers will present action‑research findings that document how PATH reshapes everyday classroom dynamics, with principals and teachers delivering the presentations themselves. A live, on‑stage classroom demonstration will feature children working in pairs, leading their own learning, and teaching one another while parents interact.
Scale and Adoption
ALfA is already deployed in about 20,000 schools—both government and private—across 14 Indian states. Internationally, the methodology has been adopted in classrooms in Ghana and Peru. The Roundtable emphasizes that the approach goes beyond literacy and numeracy, embedding 21st‑century skills—collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity—into the daily learning process rather than treating them as add‑on modules.
Participants and Organizers
The event is primarily aimed at private‑school leaders, including principals, founders, trustees, academic heads, teacher educators and curriculum designers. Registrations are open via the portal getilearn.org/edleader. The Roundtable is convened by Dr. Sunita Gandhi, a Cambridge‑trained former World Bank economist, who also serves as Chief Academic Advisor to CMS. Organizational support comes from the Global Education & Training Institute (GETI), which runs the International Roundtable series, and DEVI Sansthan—Dignity Education Vision International—a non‑profit founded by Dr. Gandhi that delivers ALfA across the 20,000‑school network and has received the World Bank’s Most Outstanding Contribution to Development Award.
Additional Highlights
Alongside the deliberations, India’s largest foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) and early childhood care and education (ECCE) fair will be held under one roof, showcasing resources, models and practitioners for early‑learning ecosystems. CMS, the host institution, holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest school and is a recipient of the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education. Since its inception in 2008, the Roundtable has anticipated key debates in education, previously covering topics such as Well‑being and Happiness in Education (2018) and Stress‑Free Education (2019).