Our students are developing specialised masks, thermal handkerchiefs to fight Covid-19, says NHCE Dean

Many businesses have felt the heat of the lockdown implemented due to the outbreak of Coronavirus. However, these challenging times have also given birth to new conventions and ways to operate a business to stay in the game. Some of the new conventions are being set in the Education sector as well. Many colleges, such as New Horizon College of Engineering, have adopted e-learning as the new mode of disseminating education. Dean of NHCE Bangalore - New Horizon College of Engineering Dr Prashanth CSR shares his views on how the global pandemic has brought about a revolutionary change to their teaching methods and how students are responding to them.

Here is an edited excerpt of the conversation:

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

A: The Covid-19 is an unprecedented crisis which has been ominously disruptive in multiple spheres of our lives. Covid-19 has had a detrimental effect on educational systems not only in India but across the entire world at large. Across India, the majority of the educational institutions have been in lockdown since March 23, 2020. Many institutions across the country are coping with the lockdown by conducting classes in online mode. At NHCE, we were extremely swift in incorporating the online mode of classes and learning at the very outset.  Online classes were conducted as per the time-table the very next day the lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was also very encouraging and heartening to note that both the faculty and the student communities adapted rapidly and seamlessly to the online teaching and learning environment. Even though this has certainly been a very challenging situation for all the stakeholders, the overall adaptation has been quite remarkable at NHCE.

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: Majority of students very quickly adapted to the online mode of learning. However, there were also a few students who were quite stressed with the overall situation and also due to the fact that they were to attend online classes as per the time-table in the confines of their residences. Fortunately, NHCE has a very good team of student counsellors who are available literally round the clock during the lockdown period. Many of these students who were experiencing stress were referred to the counsellors by their student-mentors, and then there have also been many walk-ins. The counselling sessions are conducted through Webex and have positively helped the students in coping with stress. Additionally, students are constantly in touch with their faculty members, class teachers, project guides, head of departments, etc., through the numerous WhatsApp groups, and this forms a very good support-system.

There have also been a good number of innovations on which students have been working to deal with Covid-19. Students have been working on specialised masks, thermal handkerchiefs, etc., to deal with Covid-19. Most of these ideas have also been submitted for patent.

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

A: The current situation is very unpredictable. We will be following the UGC and VTU norms very carefully as and when they are announced. As on today, the plan is to conduct exams and declare results by the end of July. However, this is subject to change as per the future guidelines and the circumstances.

Q: How are students responding to new initiatives?

A: Fortunately, majority of the current generation students are quite competent digitally, and in many cases are cyber and tech-savvy.  The overall response of students to online learning at NHCE has been very heartening and positive. Students have seamlessly and effectively adopted virtual classroom technologies. We have had absolutely no problems in shifting our classes and labs to the online mode in a very short period of time.

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

A: Online education can be a boon as well as a bane. When it comes to interpersonal skills and team management skills, it can be both positive and negative in its impact. On one hand, the lack of actual human interaction and contact can definitely impact interpersonal skills in some cases, on the other hand, implementation of online team projects can certainly foster team management and professional communication skills. Online management and coordination of teams also help enhance time management skills. Students have to take cognizance of these pros and cons and make the best use of the online facilities.

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

A: The Covid-19 situation has demonstrated very clearly that simulated classroom environments can be as effective as real classrooms. Across the world, billions of students are now attending classes through virtual platforms. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the timing of Covid-19 has been perfect when it comes to online learning and classes. Had it been 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago, it would have been virtually impossible to create seamlessly the online learning environment what we have in place today. Covid-19 can certainly revolutionise online learning in India. Many students in India do not have access to good educational facilities and infrastructure, and the overall learning is therefore jeopardised. With Covid-19, majority of students at all the levels in India have realized first-hand that real-time online learning is very much possible and is a reasonably good alternative to classroom learning. Many faculty members across the spectrum who had hitherto not conducted an online class, now have the confidence of conducting all of their classes online. The very fact that both students and faculty members have adjusted quite effortlessly to the online mode of teaching indicates that online teaching will play a cardinal role in future of education in India. In addition to this, students in remote areas will stand to benefit immensely.

With respect to online learning in foreign countries, it is already well known that it plays a very important role in the overall education system of developed countries. However, with the kind of acceptance and deployment online learning continues to experience during COVID-19 in foreign countries, there would certainly be a tectonic shift in the way educational programs would be designed and offered in the future.