Focused on the needs of students in Corona pandemic

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June 21, 2020

In our transition from offline to online, we continued to focus on the needs of the students and adapted towards innovative methods to engage students in the online sessions, says Dr Neha Patel, Director, Som-Lalit Education and Research Foundation, Ahmedabad, in a conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

Som-Lalit Insitute of Business Management Studies (SLIBM) is a name synonymous in the area of Management in Gujarat since more than 20 years. We, at Som-Lalit believe in an all-inclusive development of the students. In the two years that the students are with us, they undergo a metamorphosis in their thought process, goal formulation, approach towards life and society. One of the major reasons for our success is the relationship enjoyed between the faculty and the students and our strong alumni of more than 3000 students can assure that.

Management is a course which focuses on holistic learning of the student. In our transition from offline to online, we continued to focus on the needs of the students and adapted towards innovative methods to engage students in the online sessions. At SLIBM, we believe that being in the line of education is not merely a job but we are responsible for shaping these students to not just become successful professionals or leader but also better citizens. Since the college campus closed from the third week of March 2020; 1) our campus was given to volunteers who prepared food packets for distribution 2) Our students created positive videos to spread the message of being positive which we uploaded on social media. 3) Our senior students took it upon themselves to guide first year management students.

Also read: Harshpal Singh Khurana – Founder, Tabschool: Challenges in Conducting online classes in Coronavirus

On the academic front, a) the faculties provided the students with individual assignments related to their subjects. The assignments were practical in nature but involved the application of the concepts taught. The assignments were unique, interesting and individual in nature ensuring that each student worked to their best capacity b) There were also online test conducted periodically to ensure that the students keep themselves updated with the different courses taught in their semester. Depending on the nature of the course c) Few faculties video recorded their classes and sent it to the students and the conducted doubt solving sessions post that. These proved to be very effective for courses like Research Methodology and Production Operation Management. d ) Generic on line sessions were conducted with the students to address their concerns regularly. They were encouraged to hone other skill sets which were important from their future career prospects e) Aptitude as well as concept based test were conducted regularly with an eye kept on the performance of each student f) Summer Intern ships is mandatory for all students wherein they work under their mentors in the industry/corporate for six to eight weeks to gain practical exposure. The guidelines issued mandated that the students were not to venture out for their summer internships but the institutes were to give them projects. Our faculties discussed with students about their areas of interest and assigned projects to them wherein weekly reporting was mandated.

The institute has worked on the philosophy of being for the students, by the students and of the students and whether we are in the offline or online space, we have always strived to never leave our focus from the well being of our students.

Having the right infrastructure in Higher Education matters

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June 21, 2020

Infrastructure plays an important role in education sector. Classroom design, auditoriums, laboratories, campus area etc. are crucial elements of a learning environment.

Classroom and interior design of Higher Educational Institutions have a major impact on a student’s learning and thus the outcome. There is strong evidence that high-quality infrastructure facilitates better instruction, improves student outcomes, and reduces dropout rates, among other benefits..

With the COVID-19 taking a toll, institutions have started virtual classrooms, labs, high-speed internet provider as digital infrastructure is developed across the globe.

Poor building conditions especially in Higher Education Institutions such as dark classrooms with no proper ventilation, broken furniture, leaky washrooms, poorly maintained cafeterias and pantry areas, messed-up library arrangement creates a negative environment and this adversely affects student’s learning outcome.

Also read: Dr Ashwini Kumar Sharma, Pro Chancellor, Vijaybhoomi University: Digital India initiative and challenges in the age of a pandemic

Classroom environment is one of the most important predictors of a student’s achievement, where environment and design elements of the institution infrastructure have considerable impact on student’s academic progress.

Having realized the importance of infrastructure in educational institutions, many are giving importance to this aspect of the institutions as well.

Effective infrastructure planning for educational institutions is one factor that creates positive and conducive atmosphere for a student’s learning. Be it a theory or a practical class, it must encourage students to get actively involved.

Classrooms are the backbone of any education institution. Classrooms must also be well equipped with the latest technology like AV systems, projectors, and Wi-Fi hotspots. Classroom arrangements must encourage students to work individually and as a team as well. A flexible learning place is the new trend that enables all of these.

Seating and furniture must also be given equal importance while planning classroom design. Well designed seatings are comfortable and thus provide relaxed and convenient seating to the students. This in turn leads to better attention and concentration in the class.

Well-equipped labs encourage students to perform lab activities more effectively. It prompts students to translate their theory learning into practical results. Having a well- planned and designed lab can avoid clutter and provide space for students to store materials conveniently.

The library is a resource for any educational institution. It has an important role to play in both learning and teaching. Libraries must also be flexible to incorporate technologies like e-library, digital books, access to central library and libraries across the campus in various locations. With the onset of Coronavirus, e-library and digital books are the need of the hour. There should be designated spaces that allows for reading and discussions as this enhances collaborative efforts among students.

Infrastructure should not just focus on facilities for students, but also for teachers.

Institutions must consider recreational centers such as space for indoor activities, studios for musical performances, gym, etc. as an integral part of education infrastructure rather as an add-on. Recreational centers with the right kind of furniture that helps create conducive atmosphere for students to spend time inside the campus for longer duration.

The playground is another vital component of education infrastructure. It contributes to the physical and mental wellness of a student and creates a positive atmosphere in the campus. Playgrounds must be multi-functional, flexible and safe. It must also be spacious enough to support various sports at the same time.

Placement can be huge challenge for Higher Institutions

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June 21, 2020

COVID-19 is bringing about a whole set of new challenges in every possible realm; higher education being just one. Given the rapidly evolving situation around the pandemic, has this forced shift from offline to online mode of teaching-learning given us a peek into the reality ahead? How will COVID-19 transform the future of teaching-learning?

Technology-enabled teaching is definitely the future we are looking towards, but will it be easy to make this transition? How should different stakeholders contribute to ensure a smooth transition?

It is important to identify key challenges for students and teachers in the current scenario. Once identified, academic leadership and the government can address these through innovations in focus areas.

Some companies are rescinding job and internship offers after being negatively impacted by COVID-19. Junior students are finding it harder to find internships, especially foreign research opportunities, which play a key role in interdisciplinary research and exposure to global research facilities.

Also read: Technology to play important role in COVID-19 crisis

New project opportunities by universities and within government institutions should be floated and due recognition given. In the long run, leadership within universities and government institutions should push policies to motivate and support an entrepreneurial ecosystem within colleges by setting up more innovation and incubation centres, grants/ fellowships to pursue start-up ideas and flexible policies for deferred placement for start-up enthusiasts.

The private institutions are finding it difficult to provide placement assistants to students. Many firms have withdrawn or deferred their offers given to students. It’s been hard times for many institutions in this crisis.

In the case of technical courses as well as in commerce and management disciplines, students have to do internships with industry as part of course requirements. How would students be fruitfully able to undergo internship when academic institutions and industries are closed due to lockdown. Some industries may reopen in course of time, but would they be able to comply with internship requirements, concerned as they are with productivity and sales?

There have been no comparable breakthroughs from Indian universities, and to the extent that studies on India have been done, most have been carried out by scholars based in foreign universities rather than those working in Indian universities.

Coming days will be hard for many institutions and students as the economic slowdown looms over the globe.

COVID admissions in Higher Educational institutions

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June 21, 2020

The government of India announced lockdown across the country to curb the spread of Coronavirus. All the educational institutions were closed mid-March.

n a matter of no time, the corridors of W have fallen silent, canteens lie abandoned, and no more sounds of laughter emanate from the grounds. The Covid-19 pandemic has left the universities bereft of the presence of the students.

Even as the country battles the pandemic with a lockdown, educators have not forsaken their primary responsibility to the students which is a continuity in their education with the same exacting standards. Overnight, educators have had to change track and adopt steps to keep the ball rolling.

With the lockdown suspending classes, the annual academic calendar has been hit hard, especially as the March-April period signifies the crucial tail end of an academic session and this is also the time for roll outs for the new session.

Also read: Prof. (Dr.) Tabrez Ahmad, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean Law: Calls for individual responsibility and human rights in the Coronavirus pandemic

Due to COVID, the mobility of students will be immensely affected. The admissions will get affected as the many exams are postponed or cancelled. This is also a very crucial time for the admission processes for the next academic session. Some institutes have made their admission process 100% online. To ensure the safety of prospective students, parents and their staff, these institutes have adopted a range of online virtual methodologies to facilitate the entire admission process.

They have categorized various sub-processes of the admission procedure and are implementing online solutions for each of this sub process. Higher Education Institutions are using webinars for sharing information on programs, video calls for one-to-one interactions, and virtual campus tours to showcase the campus life and facilities available. Only e-applications are being accepted from candidates desirous of applying for these programs followed by virtual interviews. The results are declared online and the fees payment and other admission formalities are also completed online.

With campus shutdowns putting both summer and fall admissions for the upcoming academic year into limbo, international universities have also replaced their classroom programmes with online versions until January A large chunk of India’s admission system is fractured and most of the students in India rely on the offline process for admissions. It is a known fact that most people in the country do not have access to high-speed WiFi and most of the students in small cities/towns/ villages prefer the offline admission process. Convincing migrating students to stay with domestic options post-Covid though, will require sweeping reforms in the education system. Over the last two decades, Indian students’ access to tertiary education has improved greatly through private sector presence, with the number of colleges and universities rising fourfold.

Focus to make students industry ready

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June 21, 2020

At SSBF, we have robust curriculum which caters to the requirements of the industry. During the journey of MBA program, students imbibe qualities like patience and perseverance, says Dr Manisha Ketkar, Professor and Director, Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance in a conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

Having worked in the pharmaceutical companies for the 16 years, what inspired you to join Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance?

I am a Cost Accountant and worked with an European multinational pharmaceutical company in Mumbai for about 11 years. I had earlier worked with a private pharmaceutical company for about 5 years. My experience included supply chain management and product costing. I was always interested in teaching and, as part of my job, had imparted small and big trainings to juniors, and made a numerous presentation to seniors from various parts of the world. I had attended a few training courses myself in India and abroad where I got insights into training methodologies, and the dos and don’ts. While considering our family’s move to Pune, I had decided to pursue a career in educational field, particularly in supply chain / material management and costing.

Symbiosis is a reputed institution in India and has a strong base in Pune. I joined them in 2006 in Symbiosis Institute of International Business (‘SIIB”) as a lecturer for the subjects in supply chain / material management and costing. I grew to become its Deputy Director and then the Officiating Director. I then got the opportunity to work with Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance (“SSBF”) as its Director from 2015. While in academics, I soon learnt that having a doctoral degree was a must. I therefore received my Masters in Business Sciences from the Pune University and received my Ph.D. in 2015 from Symbiosis International University.

While there are perceptible differences between industry employment and a teaching career, I found a few similarities too. High ethical values are the first one. I had worked in organisations with highest value system, and the same is applicable here with Symbiosis. Second, the basic managerial qualities required for efficiently running a division of a pharma company and a management institute are considerably similar. In short, my employment experience greatly helped my career in academics in multiple ways and I am thoroughly enjoying my stint here where I get to do what I love to do.

What makes your Institution different from other competitors offering similar programs?

Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance (SSBF), is a constituent of Symbiosis International (Deemed University) (SIU). SSBF offers a full time, two year residential MBA program in Banking and Finance. The focus of study is to prepare the students as industry ready professionals to pursue career in Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector. SSBF has always kept itself abreast of the latest changes in the industry. In order to cater to the requirements of the dynamic finance sector, SSBF tunes its curriculum by soliciting inputs from the Industry stalwarts. Hence, it is not surprising that SSBF has eminent and experienced people from the industry on the advisory board and alumni who provide inputs to keep our curriculum relevant and updated as per the demands of the industry.

Also read: The New Emerging Perspectives Post COVID-19 says Arti Chopra, Principal, Amity International School, Sector 46, Gurgaon

At SSBF, we have robust curriculum which caters to the requirements of the industry. During the journey of MBA program, students imbibe qualities like patience and perseverance. They develop analytical mindset through various exercises and activities. Students are introduced to various technological tools and platforms like Bloomberg, Capitaline, R programming, SQL, Advance Excel etc. which help them familiarize with technological advancements. Through experiential learning, students learn problem solving and decision making skills and broaden their outlook. As per the feedback received from companies, our students are productive in the first month because of their efforts and qualities imbibed at SSBF. Because of the diverse culture on the campus, students learn to respect diversity and empathy towards each other. Through various events and activities students learn to be a team player and lead the team, if needed.

SSBF has patterned with EduCBA (Online training provider) to provide 700+ online modules in the finance domain to the students to have an edge over other MBA students. It ensures to gain additional knowledge on various aspects of Finance domain. It gives our students an edge over other MBA graduates.

We encourage students to appear for industry relevant certifications such as CCRA certification, Bloomberg certification, NISM certifications etc. Students get firsthand industry experience during Internship. Dissertation is a mandatory part of the curriculum where students get to research on chosen topic. Guest lectures by international faculty are also arranged to broaden the outlook of the students.

SSBF updates the curriculum every year to meet the requirements. SSBF have eminent and experienced people from the industry on the advisory board and alumni who provide inputs to keep our curriculum relevant.

What are the career opportunities for students offered at SSBF?

SSBF students excel in career in the field of Banking, Finance and Insurance. Having core in depth domain knowledge our students thrives in their work. Our students works in the profiles like Credit Management, Financial Risk Management, Project Finance, Micro Finance, Product managers in Banks, Life and General Insurance companies, Relationship Management, Business Analyst etc.

Every year, you have outstanding placement records for the students who pursue different courses from your institution. Give us an insight about the courses and their benefits to the students.

Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance (SSBF) is a reputed business school which exclusively caters to the needs of Banking, Finance and Insurance sector and hence, encourages candidates to join the Institute who aspire to make career in this domain. As SSBF caters to the specially designed course in Banking and Finance, students looking for a career in this sector are benefited from it. Students from PAN India aspiring to build a career in BFSI sector enrolls with our institute.

Apart from regular subjects of Banking, Finance and Insurance, subjects like Corporate Governance and Ethics, Legal Aspects of Business, Advance Excel, Business Analytics, Digital Marketing, Financial Product Design etc. enrich students’ knowledge and increase the probability of getting placed. Various activities are conducted by faculty with the help of students such as financial literacy workshops for undergraduate students of other institutes, live projects, simulations, problem solving exercises, participate in competitions, field visits, research paper discussions, article / report writing, financial and statistical lab activities.

The institute has robust placement committee which work to place all eligible* students. For last three years SSBF could achieve 100% placement of eligible students. (*Eligibility based on attendance, no backlog etc.)

What are your global objectives? Tell us about your collaborations with international institutions.

Internationalization of education and co-curricular activities is one of the central values at Symbiosis International (Deemed University) and thus at SSBF. We have created a community of students, staff, and faculty in which cross-cultural and international knowledge, attitudes, experiences, and action are part of the present and heritage for the future. Our mission is to help students develop a world view, see and analyze issues from various perspectives, understand the broad range of human experience and celebrate the diversity of the human spirit.

The faculty at our schools is chosen based on their positive attitude towards education. Our faculty members also need to be technology friendly and experts in their specific subject areas.

Collaborations:

• Macquarie University, Australia – M.Sc. Banking and Finance – Semester Exchange program

• Nuremberg Tech University, Germany – Faculty exchange, joint research opportunities

• University of PompeauFabra, Spain – Study India Program – Microfinance

• BSEL, Berlin – Winter School

• University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada – Summer School.

Amidst Covid-19: Responding to the new normal

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June 20, 2020

The new normal brought several new yet in-depth exercises such as curriculum revision with reference to Industry 4.0, course outcome and program outcome mapping says Dr. S. Sundar Manoharan, Director General, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat in a conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

The coronavirus crisis has posed a unique challenge to the education sector in Gujarat, a state riding high on its entrepreneurial zeal and aspirational dreams. The “Vibrant Gujarat” drive which witnessed several MoUs between academia, industrialists and the government is threatened by the pandemic in curtailing several visionary initiatives launched in the recent past. One of the “not so familiar methodology” which surfaced during the pandemic is the reality of our online teaching-learning process & Evaluation. The Ministry of Education, GoG has been quick to get this lacuna addressed by bringing several measures including policy measures to engage with the stakeholders through online teaching, learning and evaluation methodology. The teaching fraternity has risen to the occasion to fill this gap in the best possible way in such a short span of time. This remediation effort has built an inclusive system of governance, highly complementary and truly rewarding exercise as far as HEIs are concerned.

PDPU emerged with a new teaching-learning methodology through Google classroom, Zoom and CISCO based webex interactions to cover the curriculum through online lectures, and continuous assessment modes through assignments, case studies and Group discussions. The only module that suffered is laboratory exercises. The new normal brought several new yet in-depth exercises such as curriculum revision with reference to Industry 4.0, course outcome and program outcome mapping, incorporating mandatory experiential learning into the new curriculum, appropriating 5 to 10% of credits through online modules (Swayam platform), new initiatives in the cyber-physical system including augmented and virtual reality lab exercises, 3D printing for prototype development etc.

Also read: Impact of COVID 19 on Education

Other major initiatives involve training the trainers’ program for automotive manufacturing, automotive electronics through our Maruti Suzuki-GoG-PDPU International center of excellence in Automobile Engineering, a 75 Crore newly launched initiative. PDPU also engaged along with the ministry of education, GoG in actively organizing Webinars on IPR, and on thrust areas of research in Energy, communications, IT, Industrial IoT, Biomedical health care, Modern methods of instrumentation, AI, Block Chain, Geothermal and in Petroleum Engineering.

Further in order to augment the mandatory industrial training program for students, PDPU endorsed Innovation and Incubation cell (IIC) to replace the industry training with HACKATHON for all the engineering disciplines. Over 350 student groups participated to solve problems posed by over 10 leading companies, otherwise our potential recruiters.

The new normal has brought a sense of togetherness in all aspects of teaching learning methodology. We greatly value the input and leadership provided by all the Stakeholders of Gujarat Government and the Ministers of Higher education in particular and the principal Secy. of Higher education for shouldering the new initiatives.

Andhra Pradesh govt promotes Class 10 students

Schools News

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June 20, 2020

In the wake of Coronavirus epidemic, the Andhra Pradesh Government decided to cancel the AP SSC Class 10 examinations. The govt has decided to promote the students.

State education minister A Suresh said the government took the decision to safeguard the students’ health in view of the rapid spread of coronavirus.

The examinations were originally scheduled on July 10 but were first put off due to the impending elections to local bodies and subsequently due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

As the lockdown restrictions were gradually relaxed, the government announced that the public exams will be conducted from July 10, by curtailing the number of papers from 11 to six.

Also read: AP SSC exam to be conducted after lockdown lifted

“We have accordingly started making arrangements but after a review of the situation, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy suggested that we cancel the examinations and promote all the students,” the Education Minister said.

He said the advanced supplementary and improvement examinations for Intermediate (Class 11 and 12) students, slated from July 11, were also being cancelled.

Covid-19 Impact on Higher Education

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June 20, 2020

The delivery would be far superior than almost any online learning systems offered by other universities. We call it Premium Learning Online or PLO says Mr Nitish Jain, President, S P Jain School of Global Management in a conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

There is no doubt that COVID-19 has caused a great deal of uncertainty in higher education. Students don’t know if campuses would open or if they would need to continue studying online. If online, then what would the experience be like? If they had to return to campus, then how would social distancing mar their experience? Would they be at risk of catching the virus? The list of questions and concerns goes on.

Sadly, there are more questions than answers at this point. Universities – right from those in the US to Australia – are grappling to find solutions. However, unless one can predict how the virus would continue to spread in the coming days or months, it is not possible to give accurate replies.

Also read: Prof. (Dr.) Tabrez Ahmad, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean Law: Calls for individual responsibility and human rights in the Coronavirus pandemic

What have we done at SP Jain? We have addressed uncertainty with flexibility. Consider that for a four-year undergraduate program, students have the choice of studying the first 2 years in Singapore, Mumbai, Dubai or Online. 4 options! I am not aware of any school in the whole world that is giving so many options to its students. Students from Southeast Asia who don’t want to travel outside the region could study in Singapore. Indians would prefer to study in Mumbai. And, those from Dubai would naturally prefer Dubai. In addition, there are many who would prefer to avoid going to a campus for the next year or so. For such students, there is an online option! They also have the option to switch from online to on-campus or move from one campus to another when the time is right. Giving so much flexibility gives them comfort and peace of mind.

Speaking of online – SP Jain’s online learning system is not something ordinary. The delivery would be far superior than almost any online learning system offered by other universities. We call it Premium Learning Online or PLO. This has been designed by SP Jain to surpass face-to-face learning in very clever ways. To popularise this, the School offers several short courses. These are mostly 3-week course that leads to the development of in-demand skills, and are taught live by an expert.

Many new models would emerge and it is safe to say the education would never be the same again!.

Virtual the new normal: Preparing the future institutions

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digitalLEARNING Network

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June 20, 2020

The Virtual new normal has revolutionized teaching and learning process and have become popular due to its agile characteristics that accelerates the channels of communication among the masses located at remote places of the globe says Dr Niranjan Hiranandani, Provost, HSNC University, Mumbai in a conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

Despite the world’s renowned doctors and leading research institutions’ day and night efforts, we have not been able to decode the New COVID 19 virus and its ability to spread. With the rising level of infection among masses, it has disrupted primary and secondary sectors of the economy, which has ultimately stemmed up hardship of a common& poor man, a labourer, a daily wage earner belonging to the marginalized and economic poor background and an average Indian.

This has created a turbulent effect and disputed the economies of the world. Contrary to this, it could not shackle the world of education. In fact, due to advancement in the information & communication technologies, professionals, who had underestimated the power of technologies, got in action, grabbed the opportunities, made the enormous use of virtual new normal and reached to the unreached and impossible remotest areas across the world.

Also read: Elets Exclusive | Sectors must rework on marketing strategies to recover from crisis

The Virtual new normal has revolutionized teaching and learning process and have become popular due to its agile characteristics that accelerates the channels of communication among the masses located at remote places of the globe.

Virtual new normal is the future. It is going to boom educational discourses, as these mind-blowing and going to be convenient today, tomorrow and for forever. It also has the potential to revolutionize knowledge transfer beyond our imagination. Virtual New normal is driven by a mouse click away, we need to embrace and nurture it and make it a habit and culture of learning in our entire educational set up.

To upgrade the quality of education, its scale, speed and scope, we have to construct the organizational structure of Virtual New Normal, Supply Online Resources, Integrated Devices and Hardware Resources to facilitate the comprehensive & complete online educational systems.

India can do it, contemporary leading universities and educational institutions governed by government and non-governmental agencies, if engaged in true partnerships, through joint ventures and collaborations can do the impossible as I am possible, the only need is to have a proactive invisible leadership directed by the principles of mission accomplishment towards the vision, “Education for All”.

“Education for All”, Vision of national education commission 1992 is still a distant dream for all Indians, we can achieve this by introducing the this virtual new normal, each teacher can play a significant role as an institution itself with the help of this new normal, the need is to prepare an action plan a strategic plan, free from biases, bureaucracy, political obstacles, hindrances, complex government compliances, profiteering by corporates in their educational setups, commercialization of education, exploitation of students by charging high fees for their core educational needs.

Instead, we need social organizations civil society volunteers, dedicated to working for the cause of human welfare and intention to serve humanity, an army of social soldiers to work within the society’s set up and upgrade the quality of education with the virtual new normal a weapon or tool to achieve each Indian’s vision, “Education for All”.

Changing academic delivery in times of corona

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digitalLEARNING Network

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June 20, 2020

We do not want to hamper students’ careers and thus want to effectively engage them further in teaching-learning the entire new semester has been planned effectively for conducting online sessions for all the theory classes says Bharat Agarwal, President, Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, Pune in a conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

VIT Pune has been on the forefront of digitization of its activities and its operations for almost three years now. We have successfully developed and implemented an ERP system to manage All our establishment and faculty work successfully.

Also, a lot of time has been spent and a lot of efforts have been taken to train our faculty members to use digital tools as well as a lot of social media tools so as to engage students better in the teaching-learning process. We were working earlier on the Google Classroom platform as a learning management system for our students, but later on, moved on to a platform called VOLP and have been using it for almost a year before Covid-19 happened. The students were very, very enthused with the implementation of digital technologies because their grasp and the adaptation to anything that is digital was very, very natural and easy for them. Faculty members had to be trained, and I’m very happy that most of our people adapted to it, in fact, improvised on a lot of initiatives that we had undertaken. With the crisis coming, the education institutes were being the first one to be closed. Subsequent to that, everything in our environment shifted online that too very smoothly. This was because of the already established processes and learnings of the digitization tools that we had established. VOLP integrated Zoom in its activities and thus all our lectures were conducted on Zoom App.

Also read: KIET Students knockdown the lockdown by earning the placement offers of Rs 27.40LPA & winning Rs 3L in Hackathon

After about 15 days of the lockdown, we took the feedback from the students, more than 75% of students felt their feedback that the engagement on VOLP platform was good. The Zoom lectures that were happening were useful. They were able to understand most of the concepts. In fact, faculty was more personal to them than ever before. We also conducted assessments on the VOLP platform in the form of multiple-choice, match the following type of questions and fill in the blank type of questions. And also, a few online Viva verse was done on Zoom. Obviously, one important part of on-campus education is the students learn from each other, which we call peer learning that I believe was missed in the entire process. Because college life is not only about what we learn in class, but it’s also from what we learn from each other and apart from only learning, we also have fun in college. I’m sure the students miss the fun portion, miss the entertainment portion, miss the social activities, miss the Cultural & sports activities.

Whilst this is going on, we do not want to hamper students’ careers and thus want to effectively engage them further in teaching-learning the entire new semester has been planned effectively for conducting online sessions for all the theory classes. Most of the practicals are simulated and the programming labs are already linked to the VOLP platform through simulation tools and compilers and only for on-field practicals, some remedial teaching and some group work the students would be required to come to college. That might be only one day in a week or so. We also are now pushing VOLP team to better have collaboration opportunities for students because we want to collaborate online and do a lot of group study online. That would be group-based assignments and there would be group assessments. Thus, we believe by doing so, we will be able to make the students talk to each other meet each other and also have fun with each other.

Collaboration with the Nanyang Technology University wherein we believe we will develop a few courses with collaboration with their faculty, and offer them as extra credits to our students. We are already into an association with Harvard Business School Online, wherein courses from Harvard Business School online will be delivered to our students for extra credits. We thus look forward that although the crisis that has hit us, we should not and would not allow the crisis to hit the students studying for the long term. We believe that the cooperation of the students and parents and the efforts of our teachers, we will be able to shape up the careers of our students in the same manner as we would have done otherwise on the campus.

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