Starex University Professor and Dean of School of Life Science in Zoology: Dr. Shalini Jauhari Jain Interview

Dr. Shalini Jauhari Jain is the Professor of Zoology, at Starex University, Gurgaon, Haryana. She is a learned, experienced and enthusiastic academician with wide exposure to academics related to teaching, management, admissions and development of organizational communication strategies. She has completed her Ph.D. in this field. With her extensive fourteen years of experience teaching various classes, she is dedicated to teaching. Research is her passion and she aspires to foster an interest in science in students, especially in Zoology. 

What are your responsibilities towards the students? 

“Counsel and inspire them to be a better human and be a role model”

The responsibility of the faculty is immense. A few of them are to teach the designated subject and career counsel them. Developing future leaders is rather a matter of actions than words. Faculty are directly responsible for the subject's approaches and advancement. It is also necessary to update oneself through refresher courses or faculty development programs. Developing positive relationships with students is another responsibility of the faculty. 

How do you tend to establish healthy relations with the students and fellow faculty?

“Understanding student concerns and motivating faculty for research”

Relations with students and fellow faculty are two different aspects. A faculty with students is always in a position to put the student first. Talking to students and helping them with small tasks is essential. The student has to grow in his field and build a career. The relationship with students can be compared with that of a guide or guru where students are the assets and the beneficiary. There is a friendship between faculty members, where both sides gain and achieve. We respect each other by just not shadowing their task, giving due recognition is also a must point. 

How do you try to bring in a practical approach towards subjects?

“With the help of industry visits, projects and Incubation cell”

In the current era, almost all the courses are now industry oriented. The UGC’s CBCS (credit-based) system has a course known as the Skill Enhancement Course. This enables the orientation of students towards industrial aspects. A short interesting course for faculty and students is essential for this purpose. Other than this normal visit to industry, projects, and the incubator cell, all of our work together on this.

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What are the best practices offered by the department to the students?

“We focus on developing the scientific thought process towards research”

Life sciences are dedicated to generating ease in the normal life processes with science. We develop a scientific approach in the minds of the students. Small project with the facilitation of the department is the key. We encourage students to understand the basics. We deal with almost all aspects of a career with a student-centric approach. We provide career options through webinars and seminars from time to time. Additionally, organize conferences and seminars. 

How do you strategize the curriculum and how often it gets updated?

“The “UGC CBCS system has been adapted to offer students an array of options”

Our curriculum is closely inspected every year. We have adopted the CBCS system of UGC which gives immense options to students. The strategy is to develop the curriculum of each subject and then fitting it into the industry requirement sets. By the time a student goes through the curriculum he/she learns and develops the scientific approach of thinking, working, projecting, presenting and publishing. 

How do you help your student thrive in the academic world?

“Inculcating the values of confidence and self-belief is essential”

In order to make a student shine, we work to enhance his quality. To succeed in a competition, we must believe it is possible. This belief is generated by us. Through our rich library, we provide the basics such as books, e-books and many journals. 

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What are the challenges you faced while uplifting the quality of education of your department?

“Expression in the English language has been a hurdle in the academic process”

One of the biggest challenges is language. Many students are not able to comprehend English, which leads to a delayed understanding of the subject. We are making several efforts to help our students in this domain.