We have learnt the need to put technology to use and help students learn ‘Anytime-Anywhere’, says Dean of Academics

The sudden lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted into total closure of institutions, affecting teaching methodology, placements and internships. Most of these institutes and universities are trying to adapt to the digital platform for delivering the classes. Among these is the Mumbai-based VESIM - Vivekanand Education Society Institute of Management Studies and Research. Understanding the situation, the institute has put students under the guidance of faculty mentors for internships. Students are made to work on live projects and are exposed to the practical environment. Though they may be loosing out on team management skills or inter-personal skills but they are getting prepared to face unforeseen situations like today. In a conversation with Shiksha.com, Dean of Academics at VESIM Dr Sandeep Bhardwaj talks in detail about their viewpoint of looking at the challenges from an opportunities point of view. Dr Bhardwaj has over 25 years of rich academic and corporate experience.

Read the edited excerpt of the conversation below

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

A: The Pandemic and the consequent lockdown has impacted every sector of the economy and the education sector is no different. The education sector is very vulnerable as the basic teaching methodology involves getting the students together in a classroom. Very rightly, the sector was closed as part of the lockdown. Fortunately, this happened at the fag end of the academic year for us. Almost 75-80 per cent of the academic part had been covered. The bigger impact was on Summer Internship Program for the first-year students. Since companies were not open to their own employees, it was not possible to accommodate interns during this period.

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: Like everyone else, we quickly adapted to digital online platforms. Faculties completed their balance classes through video conferencing. We also conducted planning meetings in the same fashion. For Student Internships, we requested the companies to give our students a chance to work from home. Those students who could not get such an opportunity were asked to do their internship under the guidance of a faculty. The student will work on the project from home and report to the faculty on the digital platform.

In terms of the specific contribution of the students to fight the pandemic, our students made a wonderful video on the Do’s and Don’ts during these times. This video got high attention on Youtube and other social media channels.

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

A: Conducting the exams is the prerogative of the statutory authorities like the University and the AICTE. We have to follow the directions given by them from time to time. As a matter of fact, there is still no resolution within the government agencies about how and when to conduct the final year examinations.

Q: How are students responding to new initiatives?

A: Students have been very enthusiastic about these initiatives. They were in any case far ahead in the use of digital media. I suspect, they welcomed it much more heartily than we could imagine. The biggest surprise was that the attendance percentage improved after we went online. This brings in a very important aspect of students becoming self-driven to learn. With this experience, they are learning individual responsibility.

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

A: Less physical contact means less opportunity to learn the essential soft skills required of a management graduate. Students will miss out on peer learning and the fun of being in the presence of their friends. They may lose out on interpersonal and team management skills but are gaining on other useful skills required in the future.

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

A: Due to the suddenness of the situation we were all caught off-guard. Hence we relied on publicly available resources to conduct online teaching. But we are looking in to having our own systems so that we can offer blended learning in the future. Teachers are being trained to use digital platforms and studios to record lectures. We plan to use technology so that students can learn ‘Anytime-Anywhere’.

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

A: If you look around you then every activity has gone digital, be it retailing or travel agency or entertainment or anything else that you can think. How could Education be left behind?  Well, this was a change waiting to happen. The pandemic has only given it an additional boost. We are now entering an age where there would be Universities without classrooms and skill acquisition without degree certificates. Coursera is a case in point. Today’s situation has just fast-forwarded the process where Industry, Academia, Parents and Students are going to rethink on the existing teaching-learning models which have been practised from time immemorial.