Lockdown has enhanced students’ adaptability skills, says Principal of HKBK College of Engineering

Lockdown in the country due to the spread of Coronavirus has had an adverse impact on the economy. All the sectors, including Education sector, are bearing the brunt. However, unlike other sectors, Education industry has found a dwelling space for itself in the virtual world. With almost all the universities and institutes adopting the virtual classroom methodology, learning for students has not stopped. Rather, students have learnt how virtual classrooms can also help enhance their skills. In a conversation with Shiksha.com, Principal of HKBK College of Engineering Dr M S Bhagyashekar talks in detail about their situation and how they are fighting against the pandemic through various initiatives.

Here is the edited excerpt of the conversation:

Q: How has today’s scenario of lockdown and global pandemic impacted your education system?

A: Today’s lockdown scenario and the global pandemic has impacted our students, teachers, and their families in terms of social and economic status,  food insecurity, and homelessness to a certain extent for few. Though a lot of institutes and universities have adopted digital teaching methods but network connectivity remains a big concern for many of us. The impact on examination and admissions are too of major concern.

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

A: The most interesting and important initiative was to ensure the continuity of the academic curriculum. To make this happen, all faculty members were pre-informed to initiate the online classes through various tools such as Learning Management System (LMS), Moodle, Google Classroom, Zoom and Quizzi. The team of over 170 faculty members conducts over 150 courses every day and deliver it to more than 2,540 students.

Also, the institute is organising regular counselling sessions for students and faculty members facilitated by expert counsellors and mentors to create awareness about the situation and also help them stay positive and calm.

CSE students have developed E-Lab which is a competitive programming portal aiming at providing a platform for students to practice, hone their programming skills through online practice and coding contests.

Apart from this, as a part of Corporate Social Responsibility HKBKCE is distributing free food to needy people two-times a day.

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

A: We are continuously monitoring students' performance through the regular quiz, puzzle competition, assignments and open book test at the end of every module. Also, the students are asked to share the scanned copies of their hand-written answers and test papers with faculty members for evaluation.

Q: How are students responding to new initiatives?

A: After having spent significant time on online classes, the students have now become comfortable and responsive. They show interest in sessions, ask questions and also complete the assigned tasks on time. The level of student-faculty interaction has gone up and has also boosted the confidence of students.

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

A: Online learning may create a mental, physical, and emotional vacuum in the students while improving their interpersonal skills, communication skills, team and time management skills, life skills and imparting lifelong learning abilities i.e., Adaptability. 

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

A: To ensure seamless online learning:

• We are conducting online classes, following regular time table, lesson plan, and calendar of events of the current academic year.
• The faculty shares the study materials in advance.   
• Technology-enabled teaching practices such as the use of videos, animations, quiz, role-plays and presentations.
• Student-driven seminars on the related subject topic

Q: How will today’s situation revolutionise online learning in India and abroad?

A: The revolution has already started. It is the right time to reframe the Indian education system by exploiting the technological advancements by foreseeing. It is time for EDUPRENEURS to collaborate with academicians, social scientists, technocrats, policymakers, investors and psychologists to bring in a revolutionary uninterrupted e-learning competency as a norm in the progressive world.