Encouraging students to design sustainable masks & spread awareness about Covid-19, says JD Institute Management Trustee

Education is among the few sectors that have emerged successfully out of the challenging times that all of us are facing today. Although the transition to the online curriculum was not easy, it did open up many avenues. One of the institutes across the country that made a successful transition was JD Insitute of Fashion Technology. In a conversation with Shiksha.com, Management Trustee of JD Institute of Fashion Technology Nealesh Dalal talks in detail about the challenges faced during the pandemic and how is the institute overcoming those challenges. Nealesh has been associated with JD institute since 2002 as the Management Trustee.

Here is the edited excerpt of the conversation:

Q: How has todays scenario of lockdown and global pandemic impacted your education system?

A: The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted education systems around the world, resulting in near-total closures of schools, institutes, colleges, and universities. The aspect of personalised learning has been completely taken out of every educational unit. Despite these adverse impacts, educational systems are ensuring that the process of learning does not stop. As a premier institute for art, design and management, the JD Institute of Fashion Technology has adopted an effective delivery system of knowledge through secured digital mediums and tools. The global pandemic and lockdown have certainly impacted the educational system, but it has not been able to completely uproot the noble art of teaching.

Q: What are some of the interesting initiatives your institute has taken to make it easy for your students and also contribute to eradication of this pandemic?

A: JD Institute of Fashion Technology has adopted a three-fold initiative for learning based on the elements of engagement, encouragement, and empowerment. We have taken appropriate measure to keep a student's thirst for knowledge engaged by online learning sessions. Our faculty members are constantly engaging students in the process of learning through Online formative assessments and self-assessment activities. Through this process, both, the students and the faculty members are able to keep a track of assignments and projects. We are encouraging our students to be more interactive during these troubled times to accumulate as much knowledge possible through the limited source of learning available. We are also empowering our students by providing them with easy access to various webinars and learning platforms due to our institutional partnership with IIID, ADI, creative partnership with Adobe, and association with software providers, such as Autodesk and Mendini. With these three initiatives, JD is ensuring that there is a sense of social awareness propagated to students, enhancing the way they view the process of learning, and eventually propelling them to implement the learnings to create innovative art and designs.

Q: How is the institute planning to conduct exams, evaluate and declare result online?

A: JD Institute of Fashion Technology is affiliated with Bangalore University and Goa University. For the month of May, the process of conducting examination, evaluation and assessments for all the degree programmes offered by JD Institutes is taken care by these respected universities. For the diploma courses offered by JD Institute, we are conducting examination, Viva, Jury, evaluation and assessments through secured online platforms.

Q: How are students responding to new initiatives?

A: Our students have to be commended immensely for their perseverance and dedication towards learning and education during such debilitating times. We at JD are proud to say that our students have adapted to this challenging scenario and proven that the passion for learning can overcome any obstacles. The attendance for online learning sessions conducted by our faculty has been really satisfactory. In conclusion, our students have responded to our initiatives in the most positive way possible.

Q: What impact will it have on students' interpersonal, team management skills?

A: Being a citizen of imagination, our students are exposed to the importance of developing interpersonal and team management skills during every phase of their academic journey. JD Institute has always given utmost priority towards shaping interpersonal, team management skills while constructing our rounded learning curriculum. Hence, even after being hindered by the current lockdown situation, our students are practicing and honing these skills on the confined realms of online learning methods. Though it seems like a daunting task to develop and maintain interpersonal, team management skills at a time like this, our students have risen to the challenge, and they are being overwhelmingly resolute in progressing in their career goals.

Q: What are the best practices that the college is adopting to ensure seamless online learning?

A: There are multiple practices adopted by JD Institute to provide a seamless online learning experience to our students. We have now adopted a multimodal combination of learning that includes live classes, recorded lectures, formative online assessments and questionnaires. One of the practices that JD Institute follows is to ensure that the primary objective of a virtual learning process is not only used to accomplish the curriculum, but also to exhibit care and develop a nurturing relationship with our students. Additionally, JD Institute has adopted the practise of encouraging our students to come up with designs that will contribute in providing tangible solutions to mitigate the adverse effects of Coronavirus, such as creating sustainable masks, designs that spread awareness about the effects of Covid-19, so on and so forth.

Q: How will today's situation revolutionize online learning in India and abroad?

A: Coronavirus has impaired the traditional educational system for the anticipated future. This has given the online learning approach an opportunity to serve this generation of students. The move towards online learning structure has been laboured, brusque and uneasy to be honest. But, it also provides an impetus for educational institutes to explore new avenues of learning and innovate the teaching process. Piloting innovative approaches and building on work-proven strategies will help to bring about positive and sustainable change. Thus, we believe that this situation will revolutionise the experimental methods of online learning across our nation and the world.