Dr. Suresh Chandra Padhy is presently serving as Vice Chancellor at Poornima University, Jaipur. Bringing with him a rich blend of academics, professional integrity and administrative competence, he has been one of the key contributors of building a group of B-Schools from inception to one of the well-known groups in India. Before joining the Academics, he served in the prestigious Indian Army for 7 years, afterwards serving at many institutions and corporate Businesses. He has many journal papers to his credit published globally, and has contributed to several seminars, conferences and training sessions as well. 

Poornima University

What latest program are you offering that helps students outperform?

“Several short term and skill enriched courses”

Apart from the regular programs, we have included various courses which will help the students outperform others. These courses are Personality Development & Employability Enhancement Program, Professional Certificate Courses (PCC), Open-Electives and Campus Recruitment Training. Also, certain in-house projects, social outreach programs and compulsory industry projects are a part of the curriculum. 

What are the challenges of online learning amid the pandemic?

“Operational and personal challenges especially in students’ front”

The Coronavirus pandemic has forced many colleges and students to move to virtual learning, an adjustment for many who are accustomed to in-person classes. This crisis has transformed many aspects of life, especially higher education. The major challenges of online learning faced by the institutions as well as the students are:

  • Technical issues which are bound to happen in an online-learning environment. Students residing in interior areas suffer the most due to network issues, unavailability of laptops, costly data recharge etc.
  • Distractions and time management as while studying from home students may find it difficult to concentrate and get distracted easily.
  • Staying motivated and accepting your home as a space of work is quite difficult for the students because they nurture new hopes and dreams related to the university campus.
  • Understanding course expectations as a sudden switch to online classes has confused the students about the requirement of the assigned courses, especially practical ones.
  • Learning gaps between students as in classroom teaching, teachers can monitor the students and make adjustments with their pace as per their needs.
  • Assessment & Evaluation of students has disturbed the real learning mechanism. In online learning, students are provided with MCQs which is still feasible but not actually effective.
  • Uncertainty about the future, as this sudden change has brought a havoc in everyone’s life, has caused anxiety and students have started worrying about their academic future concerning the fulfilment of job requirements, improvement of employability skills, interpersonal skills, subject knowledge acquisition etc.

How do you ensure the quality of education in online mediums?

“Supporting and training faculty with best possible technical skills”

We have accepted the challenges so far and are prepared mentally ready to overcome the operational challenges. We are conducting regular classes and examinations through an online platform and our Microsoft Team. Similarly regular meetings are conducted through online mode for effective workflow without any gaps. Students and teachers have adapted themselves in this new online learning system, as more responsibilities lie on the shoulders of the teachers and they need to come up with innovative techniques to engage their students during online classes. For this, we ensure proper and effective training of the teachers before the commencement of classes so that they can equip themselves with sound technical information. We organize Faculty Development Programs (FDPs) related to Online teaching, Need-specific teaching tools, Designing of online activities, Projects, Demo-Classes etc. It is very well said that “the most successful learning environments seem to find the balance between technical innovation and personal support.”

What will be the impact of COVID on the industry 5 years down the line?

“Flexibility of online working and possibility of online learning”

COVID and its effect will certainly impact the industry for a long time from now. It has forced everybody to work from home and this will become the new normal. Technology will play a major role in helping people work from home, have meetings around the clock. Through this more and more knowledge workers will come to the workforce very soon as they may get the opportunity to work from home. At this point of time, metro cities are overcrowded. As people may get the opportunity to work from anywhere, the compulsion to live in metro cities will not be there. More and more online, digital education scenarios will prevail over the physical infrastructure based education. 

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How does the University ensure that students are being prepared for the future?

“Attention on workplace abilities, entrepreneurial and problem solving skills”

We focus on incorporating activities that focus on active learning like group discussions, seminars, projects, training by working in a team and preparing the students for the workplace and its different scenarios. Our programs embed communication, problem-solving, team-work and leadership before they step into the modern workplace. Also, we enable the students to think like entrepreneurs and incorporate essential skills to become successful inventors and business owners. Required digital techniques are also inculcated to maintain social media presence for the growth of their services. Developing critical thinking to find alternate solutions and ways of doing things better is also one of the key concerns of our program, and we develop the perspective of lifelong learning and necessary adaptation in students to obtain knowledge outside the formal education system as well. With our designed courses, we try to enhance the ability of students to share ideas and thoughts to achieve an objective or to come up with a solution to create a product. Such practices develop mutual understanding, friendship based on trust and accountability.

How does the curriculum of Poornima University ensure the best practice of industry?

“Integrating various industrial learning attributes”

The curriculum of each course in Poornima University has been framed by considering valuable inputs from renowned industry experts and academicians taking the latest industry demands and all-round development of students in account. Our curriculum is enriched with different courses to ensure the gain of employability skills and make them work-ready before leaving the institute. Most of our courses are inclined towards the efficient learning of teamwork, organizational, communication and personal attributes such as self-confidence, resilience, discipline which are pertinent to employment and industry demands. The objective of the curriculum is to prepare the students to connect knowledge of core and interdisciplinary domains for problem solving using suitable skills in Central and State Governments, public sector, private sector, corporate sector and also in the international landscape. To undertake their progressive career in an advanced research field, regular feedback is taken from alumni and industry experts for updating the obsolete topics with latest topics adopted by the industry. 

Any insights of a new programme you have introduced in your curriculum?

“A handful of environment and life skill courses”

As an integrated part of society, it is our responsibility to take care of the Environment as well, which is possible by having a deep knowledge of some specific areas. On account of this, some courses related to Environment and Professional Ethics are involved into the curriculum in order to give the students an overall holistic approach towards society and the environment. A few courses are also relevant to Professional Communication, Holistic Wellness and Life Skills that help the student to develop responsible members of society with inherent ethical and moral values, who contribute in prevalence of knowledge and skills at global level.

How do you bring in a practical approach towards the subjects?

“Developing an approach to enhancing employability within specific courses”

The curriculum is designed to suit the needs of the various stakeholders. The focus of the curriculum is on employability in Central and State Governments, public sector, private sector, corporate sector, major agro-based industries and its related agencies in the national sphere. Employment at international level is also a key focus area. Syllabuses are revised based on recent advances in technology and are included in the curriculum. The obsolete topics are updated with latest topics which include recent techniques developed through research and adopted by the industry. Practical training for skill acquisition and sound theoretical knowledge serves to equip the students to face real-time situations and societal needs. Certain teaching strategies lend themselves to the development of particular employability skills.

How do you strategize the curriculum to make it befitting?

“Forming a team and designing the syllabus for best outcomes”

The curriculum development process is reviewed and monitored by the curriculum development committee for the whole university. Every department has a curriculum development cell (CDC), in which Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors (SG) are members. New syllabus are formed by respective subject professors and discussed in CDC. The design and development of curriculum and syllabus are done through CDC as well. Every department has its own Board of Studies (BoS) which is a statutory body. There are external members in every BoS - the first member is from Industry, the second member is a reputed academician and the third member is an Alumni. The Proposed design is to improve the employability and learning ability of students. 

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Any suggestions you would like to give to the current youth?

“Skills and knowledge are important assets to be acquired”

Our dynamic youngsters have the ability to embrace changes at every step. They are expected to look around and observe how modern the facilities have become and it’s the time for zestful living and wonderful learning. Youth should ensure that they are trying to be the best and stand out by acquiring and sharpening your skills as these come under skills-based education which is as important as concept-based education. Have self-faith and strengthen your self-esteem as these attributes will help you to inculcate leadership qualities in yourself and you can inspire so many people to follow your footsteps.