Mr. Dilip Kumar Mandal has been working as the Professor at Vidyasagar College of Optometry and Vision Science, Kolkata, West Bengal. He has done B.Optom and M.Optom as part of his academics. And he has a rich and wonderful 21 years of teaching experience. Also, his areas of specialization are Optics, Clinical Refraction and Dispensing Optics.

VCOVS Kolkata

Being the Faculty at VCOVS, what are your roles and responsibilities towards the students?

"I am responsible to teach students, participate in curriculum development process and resolve students doubts"

As a faculty, I am responsible for delivering lectures in an effective way, addressing students' doubts and guiding and counseling them when they get stuck somewhere and participating in department meetings and events. In addition to this, I need to participate in the curriculum designing and development process so that I can put forward my inputs and suggestions to board members as per my knowledge. Last but not the least, assisting students for their projects, and driving initiatives for the complete personal and professional development and helping them during recruitment drives also comes under the scope of my responsibilities.

Any precious advice which you would like to give to the students for a prosperous career ahead? 

"Be a life-long learner and pursue courses as per your interest and passion"

I would like to give only one piece of advice to my dear students and that is never stop learning no matter what stage you are in your career. Also, discover your interests and strengths and work with full dedication and focus if you want a bright future for yourself. Lastly, pursue those courses which match your interest and can give you satisfaction at the end. 

What do you see as your department's greatest strengths and how it can be enhanced?

"Our people are our main source of strength"

The greatest strengths of our Zoology Department is our people and their expertise and our main objective is to ensure better practical learning experience for students. Apart from this, all members of our department are highly cooperative and disciplined in nature and their cooperative attitude helps us to initiate dynamic change processes. We in the zoology department focus on practical teaching. And this strength of our department can be enhanced if we will continue working with the same enthusiasm and motivation. 

What approaches do you bring in apart from curriculum to teach the students?

"Regular interaction with the students and development of specialized learning programs is part my unique strategy"

For the purpose of teaching students beyond curriculum, I use various techniques and methods and the very first one is that I interact with them on an individual and a regular basis so that I can thoroughly analyze their interests and difficulties they are facing in and outside classrooms. My next strategy then is to develop specialized learning programs for them as per their individual and personal requirements. Lastly, I also use various online teaching-learning methodologies and platforms to ensure that my students receive the finest quality knowledge which could be helpful for them in the long run. 

How does your department enhance the faculties skills and prepare them as per industry standards?

"Faculty members are upskilled through rigorous and customized training programs"

For the purpose of training our faculties and enhancing their skills, our college through assessment of their requirements and taking suggestions from them on a regular basis in order to provide them relevant opportunities. And then customized training programs along with national and international level events are organized to make Faculties aware about the latest happenings and trends of both educational and industrial world and college management also provides full support to them for research paper writing and publishing. 

Check Vidyasagar College of Optometry and Vision Science Courses & Fees

How does the curriculum of your college ensure the best practices of the industry?

"We design our curriculum in collaboration with industry experts and eminent academicians to ensure best practices in it"

We design and update the curriculum of our college after rigorously analyzing the latest industrial trends, practices, requirements and developments. And our faculties regularly update themselves with the latest happenings and economic conditions of the outside market so that any stone is not left unturned. In addition to this, corporate experts, prominent Academicians and education specialists are invited too to share their valuable inputs and suggestions as per current market development for curriculum improvement. This at last ensures that students remain at par to survive and grow in the competitive world.

When you joined this Institute, what was your vision for it and how are you trying to achieve the same?

"My vision was to work for the growth of our college and students"

My objective when I joined this amazing institute was to inculcate best technical and ethical skills in students and make them competent enough so that they can work effectively to fix real time issues using their knowledge and experiences. Apart from this, my aim was to take our college to new heights of success and improve the teaching-learning methodologies of college for the benefit of both students as well as teachers. 

What challenges are you facing in uplifting the education quality of your college?

"Teachers have been assigned numerous tasks and hence students sometimes don't get proper Lectures"

The faculty members of our college are involved in lot of works and they need to fulfill multiple responsibilities at the same time, so sometimes they lose focus, are unable to engage themselves in issues which students face and also their interaction time with the students is reduced , this I believe is one of the biggest issue we need to fix on earliest basis.

Which extracurricular activities are organized in your institution to enhance the skills of students?

"A lot of social and team building activities, sports events and Cultural fests are arranged by us"

As extracurricular programs teach students and young minds about tactics of working collaboratively in a team taking initiatives and sharing equal responsibility, building better focus and perseverance through competitions, and finally enhancing their attitude towards differences. Hence, our college organizes a wide range of group activities, competitions, sports events and cultural fests throughout the year. 

How do you prepare your students to deal confidently with the outside competitive world?

"By regularly exposing them to competitive environment and ensuring project-based learning for them"

In my opinion, a competitive learning environment is a must for young minds and aspiring students to gain substantial experience and also to learn how to deal with overwhelming emotions. Hence, we use the concept of learning by doing, deep breathing and turtle learning and also conduct training programs on a regular basis to enhance their communication skills. Because a confident communicator can easily face the outside world with a proper plan for himself and for his team members. 

How does your college prepare students for Higher education?

"We make them ready for higher education courses through events like seminars and workshops"

The students are pursuing different courses in our institute as per their interest and passion. And we believe to make them ready for higher education programs, they must be provided with the right platform at the right time. Therefore, we regularly conduct different kinds of workshops and seminars for the students and also take them for zoological and museum visits. Beside this, we keep upgrading our educational practices after a defined amount of time so that students don't lose interest in their studies and prepare themselves well for higher education institutions.

How do you strategize and update the curriculum to make it more beneficial for the students?

"A through research is conducted by us keeping in mind students needs and trends of industrial sector before designing it"

I firmly believe that updating curriculum is a gradual process which requires the inclusion of two basic strategies including empirical rationalization and coercion. And when we design and upgrade the curriculum of our college, we do rigourous research and analysis of the requirements of both the industrial and educational world and also include experts to make it more industry oriented. Apart from this, we encourage our students to design a thorough study plan for themselves and link it with the study materials that we offer to them so that they can clearly identify their areas of interest. Lastly, we emphasize on practical and project-based learning for which planning is done in advance by our teachers during the initial stages of curriculum development. 

Which best practices are offered by your department to the students to help them gain necessary skills?

"Customized training programs and learning sessions are arranged as per students individual requirements"

In order to help students gain necessary skills, we use a wide variety of teaching pedagogies. And in each semester, we regularly evaluate the understanding and learning level of each student and skills they are competent in so that we can modify our own Teaching techniques. In addition to this, I keep the classroom environment as light and participative as possible so that students don't feel bored while studying and assess by themselves where they stand with respect to others. 

Click Vidyasagar College of Optometry and Vision Science Placements

How do you bring in a practical and industry oriented approach towards subjects?

"By organizing team building activities and refining my teaching techniques as per latest industry developments"

For the purpose of educating students beyond books, I first explore their interests, passion and strengths so that I can provide them with appropriate learning opportunities. And after finding out their interests, I provide them full support and assistance to build new skills, strengthen the existing ones and set short and long term goals. Apart from all this, I regularly organize team building activities to inculcate social skills in them and strengthen their leadership and management skills. Also, in today's modern time, educators are demanding industry and job oriented courses, so we are also rigorously working toward it.

How do you establish healthy relations with the students of your college?

"I interact with them on a regular basis and keep classroom environment cheerful and positive"

I firmly believe that a positive and healthy relationship with anyone can start with a simple smile, hence I always keep a cheerful attitude while welcoming my students into the classroom and delivering lectures. And, a positive relationship further requires a transparent and respectful communication between teachers and their students so that students can feel safe and successful in the presence of their mentors. In addition to all this, I address and resolve students' queries on time because I believe the best teachers are those who know how to maximize the learning potential of each of their students through continuous interaction and by providing them with the finest quality education.