Sri Sri University and NIEPA Organize FDP in E-Content Development
Cuttack: The Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies (FCMS) of Sri Sri University in collaboration with National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India has launched a unique three days (14-16 December 2018) Faculty Development Programme (FDP) followed by a Six-Months period of support, guidance and mentoring by NIEPA. The 26 weeks of support will be through extensive online engagement and mentoring that is provided to participants in order to help them develop online content for their own university and/or for the Government of India’s MOOC platform SWAYAM.
The FDP was inaugurated by Prof. K Srinivas, the Chief Guest from NIEPA, Guest of Honour Prof V. R. Pedireddi from Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, Commodore Ghanashyam Ojha, the Executive Registrar of Sri Sri University and Prof Srinivas Subbarao, the Dean of FCMS and the Chairperson of the FDP Committee.
Prof Subbarao, who designed the programme in collaboration with NIEPA, delivered the welcome speech and touched upon the Sri Sri University’s partnership with NIEPA to work together in technology integration in academic capacity development. He highlighted the need of the SSU and NIEPA partnership in capacity development. Prof Subbarao connected Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s vision to make global university with NIEPA’s focus on creating 21st Century Professors for the digital age students. Commodore Ghanashyam Ojha, the Executive Registrar of Sri Sri University offered a brief background of the university and its objectives in combining western technology with eastern science.
Prof Peddireddi shared his experience in Germany on how age is no more a barrier to learning and people in mid-fifties and after retirement are also coming back to universities to pursue Masters or PhD level studies. He talked about National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) and Study Webs of Active –Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM) and how these platforms are revolutionizing the learning landscape. He, however, emphasized on the important role of a faculty despite this e-spaces and e-content.
Building on Prof Peddiredi’s assertion on the importance of a teacher in higher education, Prof Srinivas of NIEPA, a renowned academic and ICT Master Trainer, who is also the Key Resource Person of this FDP, highlighted the need of updated and technology-enabled training to create empowered teachers for the empowerment of the next generation of students. He argued that in higher education the technology is an enabler but the human being is irreplaceable and supreme because the technology in itself does not have the capacity to enable anything in anyone without skilled human intervention.
The first day saw Prof Srinivas (NIEPA) touching upon Government of India’s policies, the MOOCs revolution around the world, how to register in SWAYAM, Swayam Prabha and National Digital Library and how to develop appropriate and quality content for the learners.
Several faculty members from Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have joined this national level training camp. Dr. Suresh Kumar Sahoo, Associate Prof of Finance at FCMS introduced the guests and Dr. Bhagirathi Nayak, Associate Prof of IT offered the vote of thanks.