Summary
The session was facilitated by experts from the EMRC (Educational Multimedia Research Centre), who were particular about answering each and every query that came up
An endeavour undertaken jointly by the CEC, UGC and MHRD has culminated in SWAYAM (Study Web of Active Learning by Young and Aspiring Minds), an online platform to deliver open courses to undergraduate and postgraduate students in the country
In an unprecedented move across government colleges in the city, The IQAC (Internal Quality Assurance Cell) at Lady Brabourne College, Kolkata, hosted a special faculty orientation programme on MOOCs or Massive Open Online Courses on 12 September 2023. Over 2 engaging hours, a group of faculty members, most of them preparing for their CAS, were given a walkthrough of what is a MOOC, how they benefit students and the education community, as well as how they could be beneficial for the teachers themselves. The session was facilitated by experts from the EMRC (Educational Multimedia Research Centre), who were particular about answering each and every query that came up.
MOOCs are in keeping with the central government’s efforts to promote a digital India. An endeavour undertaken jointly by the CEC, UGC and MHRD has culminated in SWAYAM (Study Web of Active Learning by Young and Aspiring Minds), an online platform to deliver open courses to undergraduate and postgraduate students in the country. On the one hand, with the help of technology, education can now reach a larger cross-section of the society. At the same time, these MOOCs are also immensely useful for students under the National Credit Framework (NCrF), developed by the UGC. MOOCs provide enrolled students opportunities to upskill, explore interdisciplinary courses and earn additional credits.
However, in addition to furthering the cause of higher education, MOOCs serve a more immediate purpose at the college level. Speaking to The Telegraph Online Edugraph, Dr Indrani Choudhury Dutt, IQAC Coordinator and Associate Professor of English at Lady Brabourne College said, “IQAC being the multiprompt quality watchdog, faculty development programmes should also be one of its key areas of attention. So, [for] the younger faculty, who are awaiting many more promotions, this is a very good way [forward] – [they] are not only concentrating on [their] own subject, but are also updating [themselves], so that they get a good API score… all-round academic development and it does not take [them] away from teaching.” This is also being seen as allowing relatively younger faculty to score on the API scale and upgrade themselves without putting the pressure on them to carry out research and publish papers on their own.
As a first in the city, this is a commendable effort on the part of the IQAC, Lady Brabourne College. With these efforts, they are creating opportunities to empower and support the younger faculty, helping them to progress in their careers more rapidly. Edugraph wishes the committee and the faculty members the best with these endeavours.
Last updated on 13 Sep 2023
