Conference Agenda

How can Duke prepare you for success in India? In this panel discussion, three Duke alumni from India share their unique journeys navigating life after Duke, their experiences, reflections, and advice on careers in India, and how current students and alumni can apply the skills and experiences gained through Duke as a springboard to different pathways in India and abroad. Join us as our panelists discuss what it means to be a Blue Devil from and in India.

India has a remarkable digital infrastructure, a burgeoning demographic dividend, a stable democracy, a high performing high-tech services sector, a learned and arguably well-meaning elite, and a phenomenally successful diaspora. There is also rising interest in the West to diversify economic supply chains. Many omens suggest it may just be India's time to break upwards from a low-middle-income country to the high-middle income category. Two key constraints may hold this march back. First, India's structural transformation has been unusual in having broadly skipped low skilled manufacturing as a dominant contributor to total output and employment. Will this be a feature or a bug in the coming decades? Second, India's state architecture continues to be stubbornly centralized at all the levels of funds, functions and functionaries. Will the ensuing compromise in public provision of basic health and education prove irreversible? In sum, can India overcome these challenges to become rich before it becomes old?

In recent years, India has made bold commitments to sustainability—pledging net-zero emissions by 2070, aiming for 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, and integrating environmental education into the national curriculum through the 2020 National Education Policy (Government of India, 2020; IEA, 2021). As of 2025, the country ranks 10th on the Global Climate Change Performance Index and is home to a booming ecosystem of cleantech start-ups, precision agriculture initiatives, smart city innovations, and expanding green mobility (CCPI, 2023; SVOD Advisory, 2024). At the same time, environmental education, though more visible in curricula, depends heavily on teacher training and systemic integration across subjects (NEP, 2020). As India charts its course toward a greener future, how can it overcome governance bottlenecks, mobilize financing, and ensure equitable access to sustainable technologies (ASPI, 2022; MGI, 2022)? Can education and innovation together build a climate-conscious generation and a resilient, low-carbon economy? Join us as our panelists explore what it means to take India toward a sustainable future.

In 2006, Prof. Indermit Singh Gill introduced the concept of the middle-income trap: a situation where countries stagnate after reaching a certain income level due to a failure to adapt their growth strategies in tandem with their evolving economies. The term quickly gained traction among policymakers and academics worldwide. Prof. Gill’s work since then has emphasized the importance of avoiding this trap through a “3i” strategy: investment, infusion, and innovation. This framework is particularly relevant for India in 2025, as the country faces a pivotal moment. Depending on how it approaches the middle-income trap, India’s significant demographic dividend could either drive economic growth or significantly strain its welfare system, economy, and public administration. This is no small challenge. As Prof. Gill highlighted in 2024, only 34 countries successfully made the leap from middle- to high-income status between 1990 and 2023. Given this international experience, India’s transition towards high-income status is far from guaranteed. Join us for this keynote address, where Prof. Gill —currently the World Bank’s Chief Economist and a former public policy professor at Duke (2016–2021) — explains the concept of the ‘middle income trap’ in more detail, unpacks the risk of India falling into this trap, and presents his views of the critical steps needed to implement the 3i strategy in India so that it moves closer to becoming a high-income country.

In 2020, India’s federal government set bold targets for its education system – a 100% school enrolment ratio by 2030 and a 50% higher education enrolment ratio by 2035. As of 2025, while primary education is nearing universal access at a 93% enrolment ratio, enrolment drops sharply at higher levels, with only 56% in high school and 28% in higher education. These numbers also do not tell the full story. In schools, students also have to grapple with infrastructure deficits, teacher shortages, outdated curricula and pedagogy, poor learning outcomes, disparities in access and quality, and growing mental health concerns. As we go up the pyramid, while India is known for having the highest number of universities globally, concerns remain about their quality, global competitiveness, and capacity to prepare students for research and employment. As one of the world’s youngest nations, how can India best employ its education system, across all levels, to ensure it can leverage its demographic dividend? What are the policy shifts and systemic reforms needed — across its vast network of schools, universities, and skilling institutes — to prepare the next generation for a rapidly changing world? What role can innovation and technology play in expanding access, improving outcomes, and elevating the quality of higher education? Join us as our panellists explore what it means for India to achieve meaningful universal education and reimagine the role of its universities in the 21st century.

In March 2024, the Indian government committed over $1.3 billion to the IndiaAI mission, aiming to build a strong AI ecosystem through public-private collaboration. The initiative includes national compute infrastructure, open datasets, indigenous foundation models, and AI talent development, supported by a pragmatic regulatory approach focused on technology over legislation. This signals an alignment with the global trend towards a pro-innovation approach to AI policy; an approach that has intuitive appeal, considering that, in theory, AI can play a major role in spurring innovation and entrepreneurship in India, particularly in sectors like agriculture, scientific research, healthcare, education, and manufacturing. However, the mission's success, and the realization of AI-driven entrepreneurship and growth, depends on addressing India's diverse regional, linguistic, and economic needs, ensuring equitable access to infrastructure, digital literacy, and resources, and having a realistic appreciation of AI’s benefits and risks in the specific context of India. Key questions arise: What does a society-centered AI approach look like for India? Can AI effectively tackle India’s unique challenges, considering its vast population and several regional, linguistic, and socio-economic disparities? Does the government’s current approach reflect a realistic assessment of India's infrastructural and social needs or an overreliance on techno-optimism? Join us as our panelists explore what it means to build AI in India, for India.