Sikhia – redefining Sikh Education

S. Sarbpreet Singh

Abstract

There is a revolution under way in the world of education. Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen predicts that online education will gain increasing acceptance in the next few years, supplanting more traditional ways of learning. Organizations like Khan Academy, Udacity, EdX , Coursera are at the forefront of online education today as more and more students sign up for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). There are 30 Million Sikhs in the world today who yearn for a deep and personal connection with their faith. Anyone who has been engaged in Sikh education is painfully aware of the challenges we face, both in terms of access to high quality educational content and qualified teachers to deliver this content in a scalable manner. At Sikhia, we are building a Khan Academy for the Sikh community. Sikhia will be a world-class resource for anywhere, anytime learning consisting of high quality courses taught by the best teachers in the world and short videos on a wide array of topics. It will be a comprehensive repository of knowledge encompassing multiple specializations, such as Gurbani, Gurmukhi, History, Gurmat Sangit, and Contemporary Issues. The learning experience on Sikhia will be personalized and encouraging as each student will become part of a large online learning community. Sikhia is the realization of a bold vision that seeks to redefine Sikh education.

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About the Author

Sarbpreet Singh is a playwright commentator and poet, who has been writing while pursuing a career in technology for several years. His commentary has appeared on NPR’s Morning Edition, The Boston Herald, The Providence Journal, The Milwaukee Journal and several other newspapers and magazines. He writes a weekly column for the popular culture magazine, Sikhchic.com. He is the founder and director of the Gurmat Sangeet Project, a non-profit dedicated to the preservation of traditional Sikh music and serves on the boards of various non-profits focused on service and social justice. He is very active in Boston Interfaith circles and was recognized for his interfaith work by the Boston Globe. He is the co-author and co-director of the play Kultar’s Mime, which is currently touring globally and has reignited the conversation about the 1984 Delhi massacre. He is responsible for developing Creative Programming for the Sikh Research Institute. Passionate about mentoring young Sikhs, he has been teaching Gurmat Sangit and Sikh History for twenty-five years and leads the Sikhia project.