PANEL DISCUSSION

On the occasion of NITTTR, Chandigarh Golden Jubilee, Department of Education and Education Management, NITTTR Chandigarh conducted the Panel Discussion on 15th, 16th, 17th 18th & 21st November 2016. The objective of the discussions was to understand the ways to improve employability, quality of instruction, evaluation process etc. and to gauge the quality of education in our country. The Panel Discussion was attended by Faculty members and students of DGI, Greater Noida.

Day 1: November 15, 2016

Title: Strategies to Enhance Employability of Graduates from Technical Institutions Panellists:

1. Dr. M P Poonia (Director, NITTTR, Chandigarh)

2. Dr. P K Tulsi (Professor & Head, EMGT Department, NITTTR, Chandigarh)

3. Mr. Arvind Dixit (CEO, Advanced Tech Ind Pvt Ltd, Chandigarh)

4. Mr. Pramod Mishra (HR Head,Simplex Infrastructure Ltd.)

5. Dr. Varinder S Kanwar (Registrar, Chitkara University)

6. Mr. Harjinder Singh (Executive Board Member, Chandigarh Group of Colleges)

7. Ms. Prachi Agarwal (DGI Presenter)

Dr. P K Tulsi explained the objectives of the panel discussions and gave an overview on Strategies to Enhance Employability in Graduates from Technical Institutions. She talked about a survey which was conducted by NITTTR, Chandigarh. The survey included 1400 students . Major findings of the survey included:

1. Majority of the students emphasized on the importance of interaction of the students with the industry personnel.

2. Orientation regarding companies and corporate environment is required to improve the employability rate.

3. Suggestions to increase employability of the graduates were also taken from the students.

The notable suggestions included:

1. Training in logical ability

2. Emphasis on practical work

3. Mock interviews and Personality Development Programmes.

Mr. Pramod Mishra shared his views on the strategies to increase employability in students. Mr. Mishra talked about the industry preferences and expectations. He differentiated between the smart students and the over-smart students. He discussed the traits which are desired in a student by industry such as subject knowledge, communication skills, practical knowledge and observation skills. He also highlighted skill set required by employer, i.e. academic degree, soft skills, aptitude, work experience, certified training, etc.

Mr. Harjinder Singh talked about the role of technical institutions in the employment of the graduates. He discussed various improvements that are required to be made in the current education system in order to increase the employability rate of the technical students.

Later Mr. Arvind Dixit talked about expected contribution of the industry and the challenges faced by them.

Dr. Varinder S Kanwar discussed the issues in the employability of the graduates. He talked about the importance of soft skills, team work and problem based learning. He highlighted the need of industry and institutional collaborations to make students employable across borders.

Mr. GVG Yugandhar made a presentation on employability skills of engineering graduates.

The next part of the session included presentations from the participating institutions. Dronacharya Group of Institutions, Greater Noida, Ms. Prachi Agarwal, made a presentation on Strategies to enhance employability of the students.

Session for the day ended with the address by Dr. M P Poonia. He talked about the stress put on the student by parents, teachers and society. He also discussed the need to harvest innovativeness in students and thanked all the panellists and participants.

Day 2: November 16, 2016

Title: Quality of Instruction

Panellists:

1. Dr. P K Tulsi (Professor & Head, EMGT Department, NITTTR, Chandigarh)

2. Brig. Dr. R S Garewal (Vice Chancellor, Chitkara University)

3. Dr. S K Bhattacharya (Director, Shri Udham Singh Engineering College, Mohali)

4. Dr. K Mallikharjuna Babu (Principal, BMSCE College of Engineering, Bangalore, Member of UGC, NBA)

5. Dr. Rajneesh Arora (Former Vice Chancellor, Punjab Technical University)

6. Prof. D V Bhise (DGI Presenter)

Dr. P. K. Tulsi gave an overview of the topic of the discussion “Quality of Instruction”. She talked about the relevance of quality instruction in the education system and compared the old and the new paradigm of delivery of instruction. She quoted “Scientists explore experiment and discover. Engineers create, design and build” - Johnson & Johnson. She discussed the cognitive, psychomotor and affective domain of learning, instructional strategies and media like demonstrations, expert lectures and integration of technology etc. She narrated the curriculum and modes of offering, relevance of student involvement in classes. She stated that the teachers need to first listen to the problem and then give suggestions.

Dr. Rajneesh Arora presented his views on quality of instruction. He gave suggestions for improving the quality of classroom training.

Dr. (Brig.) R S Garewal initiated his presentation with the discussion on the existing milieu in the academia. He stated that there is a low level of industry-academia interaction due to which the industries are unable to articulate their requirements and academia lacks ability to foresee and translate the imperatives to pedagogical practices and outcomes.

Dr. K Mallikharjuna Babu made a presentation on Instructional Design for Student-Centered Learning. He emphasized the ability and level of understanding of the concepts by the students. He discussed the importance of relevant curriculum design. He then talked about the three types of courses: Regular or Normal Course, Integrated Course and Comprehensive Course.

A presentation on Self Development was made by Dr. S K Bhattacharya. He talked about the relevance of practical work. He stated that the practical skills of the students need to be evaluated fairly. He emphasized on the importance of industrial trainings.

Prof. DV Bhise made his presentation on Quality of Instruction.

The session concluded with Q&A round.

Day 3: November 17, 2016

Title: Student Evaluation

Panellists:

1. Dr. P K Tulsi (Professor & Head, EMGT Department, NITTTR, Chandigarh)

2. Dr. S P Bedi (Professor, NITTTR, Chandigarh)

3. Dr. Sunil Dutt (Faculty In charge Academic Cell, NITTTR Chandigarh)

4. Ms. Shalini Sharma (DGI Presenter)

Dr. P K Tulsi initiated the session with a discussion on the issues faced while evaluating students’ performance. She discussed about the steps for improving the quality of tests the objective of assessment of student’s performance and suggested measures to curb malpractices in examinations can be cured.

Dr. S P Bedi stressed upon Formative Evaluation which occurs moment-to-moment as part of instruction i. e. quizzes, assignments and informal questions during the lectures. She stated that the formative evaluations helps in understanding fundamentals of a subject. She also discussed Summative Evaluation. The purpose of this type of evaluation is to assign grades and certify mastery of intended learning outcomes. She advocated relevance of Open and Closed Book Tests.

Dr. Sunil Dutt highlighted various parameters on which students’ performance need to be evaluated. He discussed about the evaluation of practical work, which according to him provides opportunities for direct experience that facilitates development of intellectual as well as motor skills. He discussed the criteria for judging the quality of product.

The next part of the session involved presentation by the participants. Ms. Shalini Sharma discussed the hierarchy of cognitive level and talked about the methodologies adopted by Dronacharya Group of Institutions, Greater Noida for the evaluation of practical work like oral assessment and observation technique.

Day 4: November 18, 2016

Title: Research in Engineering & Technology and Technical Education

Panellists:

1. Dr. P K Tulsi (Professor & Head, EMGT Department, NITTTR, Chandigarh)

2. Dr. Sanjeev (President, Panipat University, Jaipur)

3. Dr. D S Khatri (Research Assistant)

4. Dr. Aditi Paul (DGI Presenter)

Dr. P K Tulsi initiated the session by giving an overview of the status of research and development in our country and talked about the trademark applications used in 2015. She discussed the patent share in 2012 and 2013 and the 12th Five Year Plan. Later Dr. Tulsi gave a presentation on Students Perception of Research in Engineering and Technology. She suggested few measures for students to stress upon instructional activities research like practical work, organizing workshops on advanced technologies, seminars on R&D. She discussed the facilities and resources which are required to be provided to the students like research centres, access to labs, library facility, etc. She stated that the programme for research methodology should be mandated in the curriculum of the universities.

Dr. Sanjeev discussed the basic objectives and principles of research activities. He shared the success stories of various renowned scientists like Sir Thomas Elva Edison. He stated that teaching and research go hand-in-hand.

Dr. D S Khatri gave a presentation on Research in Engineering and Technology. He discussed the need of research and talked about the challenges faced while performing research. He stated that during technology transfer basic know-how is not transferred. He also said that sometimes the technology developed overseas are not perfectly suitable to Indian driving and environmental condition. He discussed the process of research which includes: Basic Aspects Understating, Need Identification, Idea Generation, Idea Screening, Feasibility, Deep Analysis, and Implementation.

Dr. Aditi Paul made her presentation on Research in Engineering & Technology and Technical Education and suggested research initiatives that can be taken up by the teachers so that they can guide the students in their project work. Ms. Akanksha Garg (DGI student) asked how research activities and project activities are related.

At the end of the session the participants from the institutes gave their views on how research activities can be conducted for students. Active learning needs to be promoted amongst students. Through research-based learning students can develop the intellectual skills of critical analysis and also valuable transferable skills such as group work, time and resource-management and data handling.

Day 5: November 21, 2016

Title: Teacher as a Counsellor

Panellists:

1. Dr. M P Poonia (Director, NITTTR, Chandigarh)

2. Dr. P K Tulsi (Professor & Head, EMGT Department, NITTTR, Chandigarh)

3. Dr. Vidhu Mohan (Professor of Psychology, Punjab University, Chandigarh)

4. Dr. Rajkumari Gupta (Professor, Dept of Education, Punjab University, Chandigarh)

5. Prof. Vinod Kumar (DGI Presenter)

Dr. P K Tulsi initiated the session with a talk on the transition of students from school to college and various issues that a student faces during his early days in the college. She talked about the stress faced by a student in class, hostel and in curriculum and discussed the lack of self-confidence or low self-esteem in students. She highlighted the hindrances faced in teacher- student interaction and stated that the teachers need to recognize that students have different development needs. She said that a teacher needs to have a belief in capabilities of the students. Dr Tulsi concluded her presentation with a discussion on the aims of counselling.

Dr. M P Poonia gave a presentation on Role of Teacher and Learner. He discussed the history and evolution of the education system in India. He stated various reasons why teaching is a great profession. He described the three stages of teaching: Achieving Excellence, Sustaining Excellence and Sharing Excellence. He discussed the evolution of the education system from conventional to the current broader and bolder system.

Dr. Vidhu Mohan gave a presentation on Problems faced by adolescent and need for Counselling. She talked about the different changes in the life of an adolescent and highlighted few problems that are faced during growing years and discussed the psycho-social development of a child. She also talked about the learning skills needed for counselling.

Dr. Raj Kumari Gupta gave a presentation on Teacher as a Counsellor. She stated the roles of a career educator. After the presentation by Dr. Gupta, participants from the various remote centres were invited to give their views on the topic.

Dr. P K Tulsi shared her views regarding the current teaching system. She talked about the changes that have occurred in the teaching methodology and discussed the challenges that the teachers are facing these days. She stated that the teachers are not being provided with enough freedom to counsel the students. She said that in many institutions the teachers are forced to teach the subjects they have no interest in. She stated that the teachers are not being provided a conducive environment for teaching.

The session ended with a Vote of Thanks by Dr. P K Tulsi. All the discussions had been very informative. Students and Faculty had a privilege to interact with highly experienced professionals with a broad spectrum of knowledge.