Higher Education Digest – August 2020 – India Edition – Medical Colleges Special

INDIA EDITION MUST-WATCH MEDICAL COLLEGES IN INDIA

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FEATURING INSIDE

ADICHUNCHANAGIRI INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES

SEPTEMBER 2020

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Higher Education Digest September 2020

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Higher Education Digest September 2020

September 2020

Vol - 2 Issue - 12

Medical Colleges Special (India Edition) Editor in Chief

Dr. Manoj Varghese

Managing Editor Sarath Shyam

Consultant Editors

Dr. Johny Andrews Anjana K Anna Elza

Navya Venkatesh Stanly Lui Emma James

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Art and Design Ajay K Das

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Higher Education Digest September March 20192020

MANAGING EDITOR’S NOTE

India Needs to Address the Shortage of Healthcare Workers, Now!

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n the beginning, when COVID-19 was spreading like wildfire in the western countries, we thought that India did an excellent job in fighting the global pandemic. With the nationwide lockdowns and individual states working hardly on contact tracing, the spread of COVID-19 was slow in India compared to many other nations. A few months later, when we are going through the Unlock 4.0 phase, India is standing as the third worst-affected country by COVID-19. Where did we go wrong?

There could be multiple factors involved in the spike of COVI-19 cases in India. However, on the grassroots level, we can assume that the Indian healthcare system was not in a state to handle a global pandemic like COVID-19. The number of doctors available of 1.35 billion population itself is proof to validate that fact. As per the data available, only eleven among India’s 28 states meet the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation, which is a standard ratio of 1:1000 (doctor to population). Unfortunately, none in the public healthcare sector manage to make the cut.

In an event like COVID-19, meeting the required number of doctors may not be sufficient.

In many hospitals, doctors are working in shifts to avoid the risk of infection. We also have a situation where doctors are contracting the virus and being quarantined. Apparently, the pandemic has taught us a few important lessons. Unless we invest more in the development of skilled healthcare workers and quality infrastructure, the country will never be able to fight a pandemic like COVID-19 in the future.

In this issue, we have identified “25 Must-Watch Medical Colleges in India” that have been making the much-needed skilled manpower of India’s healthcare sector. In these challenging times, they have been successful in making many adaptations, such as effective online instruction, which are catalyzed by the urgency of the pandemic. On the cover, we feature, Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medical Sciences, one of the few institutes in the country providing health care and medical education of the highest standards to the rural population.

Enjoy Reading.

Sarath Shyam

Higher Education Digest September 2020

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ADVISORY BOARD Dr. Kuldeep Nagi, Ph.D, MBA, BSc. Program Director of Ph.D, Recipient of Fulbright Fellowship Award & Dan Evans Award for Excellence and Writer columnist.

Dr.Varughese K.John, PhD, MBA, MPhil, MCom, LLB. Program Director, MS in Management Program, GSATM - AU

Dr. Venus M. Alboruto, PhD, Master Teacher, Researcher, Innovator, Trainer.

6 Major General (Rtd.) Dr. Sunil Chandra, VSM (Vishishta Seva Medal), Ph.D, M. Phil, MA, M.Ed, PGBDA Ex-M D Army Welfare Education Society, ExCOO GEMS Education - India, Ex- Addl Dir Gen - Army Education, Mentor - Adventure-Pulse

Dr. Ajay Shukla, Ph.D, MBA, BE.

Mr. Sreedhar Bevara, MBA, B.Com

Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Higher Education UAE

Senior General Manager: Panasonic Middle East & Africa, Thought Leader, Speaker & Author of ‘Moment of Signal’ (Amazon’s International Bestseller)

Mr. Amulya Sah, PGD PM & IR, PG Diploma in PM&IR (XISS Ranchi)

Shanthi Rajan (MSHRM, FHEA, AMCILT) Director, Institution Development, University of Stirling, RAK Campus, UAE.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

Senior Director HR. Head HR group Samsung R&D Institute India,Transformative HR Leader, Change agent, Digitization facilitator, Engagement architect, Trainer and Diversity champion.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Suramya Mathai, Ph.D,M.Ed,MA,BA. Teachers Training Expert, Writer, Author, Speaker & Social Worker

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Higher Education Digest September 2020

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BHOJIA DENTAL COLLEGE & HOSPITAL

Offering an Advanced Clinical Experience

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DR. D.Y. PATIL MEDICAL COLLEGE, HOSPITAL & RESEARCH CENTRE

SHARAD PAWAR DENTAL COLLEGE AND HOSPITAL

Serving Humanity with Excellence in Medical Education

Creating Professional for the Future Through Excellent Education and Meaningful Research

20 Dr M. G. Shivaramu, Principal Paramapoojya Jagadguru Sri Sri Sri Dr Nirmalanandantha Mahaswamiji, Chancellor, Adichunchanagiri University

Higher Education Digest August 2020

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ACADEMIC VIEW

Emergency Remote Teaching - An academic’s perspective Dr Anju Kalluvelil Janardhanan, Lecturer, Crown Institute of Higher Education, Australia

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National Educational Policy: Transformational Step towards 5 Trillion Economy Sachin Gupta, Chancellor, Sanskriti University

Early Child Education Gets a Breather in New Education Policy After COVID-19 Setbacks Dr Reeta Sonawat, Director, Early Childhood Education, Ampersand

MENTOR’S MANTRA

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Building Digital Skills to Bridge the Gap Between Academics and Industry

Dr Minu Madlani, Principal, K.P.B Hinduja College of Commerce

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INDUSTRY

Importance of Choosing the Right Course and Training Institute to Enhance the Job Prospects Rameswar Mandali, Founder and CEO, SKILL MONKS

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The Future of Classrooms: How is Pro-AV Technology Shaping Education?

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Rishubh Nayar, Director, Christie Digital Systems (India) Private Limited

How EdTech Platforms Are Helping Schools Navigate an Uncertain Year Beas Dev Ralhan, Co-Founder and CEO, Next Education India Pvt Ltd

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Right Digital Infrastructure Will Decide Future of the Education Industry Ashwin Rao, Director, Limelight Networks

PERSPECTIVE

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The Importance of Speech and Debate in Education

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Rajiv Kacholia, Founder, Speech and Debate India

How Innovations in EdTech are Disrupting School Education in India Ashish Chaturvedi, Founder, School Diary

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Exam from Home is Here to Stay for a Long Time Srikanth Ganesan, Founder and CEO, Littlemore Innovation Labs

MENTOR’S MANTRA

Building Digital Skills to Bridge the Gap Between Academics and Industry Dr Minu Madlani, Principal, K.P.B Hinduja College of Commerce

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he coronavirus pandemic started to intensify in India around March 2020. Since then, businesses and professionals have been forced to adopt digitization in its real sense with finesse. With the virus bringing life to a standstill, it isn’t just the employers feeling the pressure to adapt to new innovative technologies for running ‘business as usual’, but also the workers who are being continuously pushed to the edge to learn and upskill. As per a report by the Harvard Business Review, the impact of COVID-19 has brought to light a rising digital divide between the company and different parts of their workforce. As the pandemic accelerates and telework surfaces as a new norm, the term ‘adapt or die’ feels more relevant today.

The global pandemic has accelerated the digital future and what we called the ‘Future of Work’ is now the present. Remote learning and working have forced individuals to interact virtually and learn new technologies to embrace digitization.

According to Gartner, ‘Digital Dexterity’ will continue to be a priority in the current environment. What it means is simple – the ability to make the best out of technology for better business outcomes.

While the world is grappling to cope with the negative impact of COVID-19, the pandemic has presented itself with opportunities to overcome India’s biggest challenges – access

Higher Education Digest September 2020

The global pandemic has accelerated the digital future and what we called the ‘Future of Work’ is now the present

13 Dr Minu Madlani

Dr Minu Madlani is the Principal of K.P.B Hinduja College and has held various senior positions in top colleges across Mumbai in a career spanning more than 3 decades. She holds a PhD (Commerce) in Rural Development with her subject being Marketing of Agricultural Products. Dr Madlani started her teaching career as a lecturer with Mithibai College, Mumbai. Over the years she has been a faculty member at Jai Hind College. She has held the position of a Principal of L.S Raheja College of Arts & Commerce for seven years before moving on to K.B.P. Hinduja College of Commerce in 2014. At the University of Mumbai, Dr Madlani has been an instrumental figure, especially in the Commerce stream.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

and employment. Advancements in digital technology have led to the creation of new job roles and new business opportunities, thus giving rise to employment in the country.

This calls for the need to bridge the industry-academia gap to make students future-ready in a post-COVID world. Higher educational institutions will have to step up and build digital and other skills to make students employable. While there would be certain technical requirements of a company when it comes to bringing new members of the team on board, certain skill sets are likely to be in demand across industries in a post-COVID world. Let us take a look.

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Digital Literacy The biggest challenge of adapting to remote working has been digital literacy. The lack of digital skills remains the top binding constraint for young employees with more than 84% of them citing it as a topmost constraint in a survey conducted by the Sea in collaboration with the World Economic Forum.

Higher Education Institutes need to provide relevant courses that will help bridge this gap.

Technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Robotics have always been in demand as they make businesses more immune to pandemics like the Covid-19. Teaching students skills like coding and programming will not only help students in being relevant and future-ready but also digitally competent.

Data Literacy With most of the work shifting to online platforms with the outbreak of COVID-19, organizations are having to maintain huge amounts of data on the cloud. Therefore, data and cloud security have become important skills for organizations across sectors. Data Literacy, analytics and data science have become crucial to an organization’s growth in these challenging times and therefore require skilled professionals.

Soft Skills If there is anything that this outbreak has taught us, it is the need to improve on our soft skills. The uncertainty imposed by the global pandemic has left many organizational heads

Higher Education Digest September 2020

looking for employees who are agile, high on communication skills and collaborative.

As remote learning takes precedence, organizations are looking at hiring employees that possess these soft skills to run ‘business as usual’ in tough situations like the world is facing right now. Educators should focus on developing these skills amongst students through various project-based assignments where they can inculcate skills like teamwork and crisis management and improve on other relevant soft skills.

Creativity and Innovation Digitization brings with itself an opportunity to create and innovate products and solutions for target customers in a new environment. In a post-COVID world, organizations will look to hire employees who can give unconventional solutions to drive growth in business during unprecedented times. Workshops on creativity and innovation that can stir the young minds can help build this extremely crucial skill. Sure, it won’t build overnight. These skills will have to be developed on the job. But with the right amount of training and exposure to creativity boosting sessions from higher educational institutions, it will instigate students on how to think creatively and become innovators in the future.

Leadership Lastly, a very important skill in the new normal would be ‘Leadership’. As employees will continue to work remotely, the young workforce will also be expected to be proactive, self-motivated and high on leadership skills to be equipped to manage remote working teams. Employees with such skills would be extremely appealing to hiring managers in a post-COVID-19 world. Therefore, giving access to such courses online which can help students build this skill would be a step forward in making students future-ready.

Providing industry-relevant technical skills and courses is just one way of bridging the gap between academics and industry. However, what educational institutions need to focus on is the importance of holistic development of students to make them successful leaders of tomorrow.

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Higher Education Digest September 2020

ACADEMIC VIEW

Emergency Remote Teaching - An academic’s perspective Dr Anju Kalluvelil Janardhanan, Lecturer, Crown Institute of Higher Education, Australia

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ll those who have been teaching in educational institutions would have never thought that a time would come when a ‘Virus’ will transform their teaching-learning experience to an extent beyond their imaginations. Yes! I am talking about the call for Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). Let us not get this mixed up with the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC). That is different from virtual teaching due to threat of COVID-19. There is so much to do in so less time. That is exactly what happens when we face a crisis. Isn’t it?

Each of us may have a way of dealing with it. But we should remember that our approach and perspective matters in this wobbly circumstance. It will leave a long-lasting impact on andragogical practices in the ‘Before Corona After Corona’ (BC - AC) era. A lot of discussions about reimagining lecture from social distancing - its success and failure are taking rounds as I write this. I have been doing ERT for a few months now. When I interacted with my peers working overseas, I could relate to the dilemma that they are currently going through before beginning their ERT journey. To reach out to the larger teaching fraternity, I am sharing what worked well with me.

Mindset is everything. I worked on it first. Then everything else got sorted.

Initially, I was ambiguous, and umpteen concerns popped up in my mind.

Where do I begin? How do I teach efficiently? Am I going to do it right?

I had a lot of questions, primarily because I teach quantitative courses for higher education. Then I changed the way I look at things. Trust me, it made a difference.

At this hour, my students need me to support them. I wore the mentor hat. I tried to set realistic goals in my virtual sessions because I was aware that what I could achieve in a face to face session cannot be accomplished in a remote learning environment. I stopped worrying about things which are not in my control. I approached each session with a clear, confident and positive mindset. Eventually, the student participation increased as they got used to my virtual delivery style and the online platform. They understood

Higher Education Digest September 2020

The paradigm shift from traditional teaching to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) is an area which has not been explored much

17 Dr Anju Kalluvelil Janardhanan

Dr Anju Kalluvelil Janardhanan, a doctorate and an experienced higher education academic, is currently working as a Lecturer with Crown Institute of Higher Education, North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Rendering her expertise in the field of commerce and finance, she has taught subjects including Accounting, Finance, Management, Statistics, Business, Research, Ethics and Corporate Governance achieving successful outcomes for talented young minds. She has successfully embedded activities, and resources into her professional practice both in India and Australia, which enhance the student learning experience. Her research articles have received numerous best paper awards and have been published in peer-reviewed journals of high repute.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

that I was trying to enhance their learning experience with my best efforts in delivering the content and put it across to them to achieve the learning outcomes of the unit successfully. So, only a teacher with a positive mindset can transmit the same to the students and set the stage ready for ERT.

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Re-design the sessions. Master the delivery tool. Life becomes a lot simpler.

The self-realisation that the curriculum was not designed for the online environment made a beneficial impact while I prepared the sessions. I stepped into the shoes of my students and re-framed the activities to suit their remote environment while retaining the same curriculum. The session plan was revised, keeping in mind that the attention span of students in a virtual space is different. Also, I cannot monitor them entirely as in a face to face lecture. Another challenge was with the usage of the video-conferencing tool. It was new to me.

I spent time studying and exploring it through tutorial videos so that I can use it to conduct my sessions effectively. I held trial meetings with my friends and family members to familiarise the features of the tool and make necessary modification in the settings before conducting my first online session. I aimed at preventing the risk of any untoward event during my virtual teaching, where a student takes control of the tool over me to interrupt my session. Moreover, awareness of features like breakout rooms, chat, raise a hand, screen sharing, video/audio settings etc. helps to design activities in a better way and thus enhance the student engagement.

Prepare for the class. But remember, participation is more important than presentation.

No one needs to tell a teacher how to prepare for a class. Right? They plan and prepare meticulously for days to take a lecture. They know how to dispense knowledge through concise and meaningful sessions for their students. The challenge in ERT is how to encourage class participation. In a virtual classroom, some students may feel left out.

Before beginning the session, I socialise with my students. I would like to know whether they are dealing well with this pandemic.

If any student was absent for the previous session, I enquire them the reason. This is practically not feasible when the class sizes are in hundreds, and you have a one-hour lecture. But it is always good to express our care and concern as it helps to develop a strong teacherstudent bond.

After socialising and taking attendance, the agenda of the session is shared. So, the students have a mind map of the topic, activities, and timings of the break. During my presentation, I ask them questions, encourage discussions, clear their doubts, appreciate their participation, and express my concern if they do not follow the class protocol. At the end of the session, I summarise the main points, remind them about upcoming assignments and announce the topic for the next session. I also found it a good practice to take feedback from my students before the session ends, so that I could work on improving the shortcomings in the next one.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

Dr Anju Kalluvelil Janardhanan

Discuss with colleagues. Invest time in professional development. It matters.

The paradigm shift from traditional teaching to ERT is an area which has not been explored much. Educators all over the world are deliberating on challenges of ERT and online assessment integrity due to novel coronavirus outbreak. I am not an online teaching expert. Hence, I am open to learning new techniques by attending webinars, participating in discussion forums, sharing my experience, and reading resources to improve my ERT practice.

One of the most rewarding aspects of my work has been the interaction with a superb group of colleagues and friends in the teaching fraternity. Often during our virtual discussions, I gain insights from their experience, which strengthen my thoughts, and creates a positive vibe. Remember, our work environment influences our work experience. Choose it wisely.

Emergency Remote Teaching may offer greater flexibility but venturing into academic cyberspace suddenly can be too demanding

Maintain a work-life balance. Unplug and show some self-care.

Work seems to be never-ending when working from home.

Do you think so? Then alert yourself. You are experiencing burnout. Teaching remotely is a new concept. Everyone needs some time to adjust and adapt. ERT may offer greater flexibility but venturing into academic cyberspace suddenly can be too demanding. Therefore, little planning comes handy to ensure work-life balance. Start planning from setting up an ergonomic workspace with fewer distractions, maintaining work timings, wearing formal attire and time away from household chores.

Reminders and planners are helpful aids so that you do not miss any work tasks. Do your research, plan your methods, and then take the leap. You have to create a work environment at home.

Else, teaching from home will become a nightmare. Though it is essential to communicate regularly with your colleagues and students in a remote environment, inform them the best way and time to contact you.

Working from home does not mean that you are available all the time. As individuals or parents, we have additional responsibilities and challenges too. Some of us have to support our children who are learning from home or keep them engaged as care facilities are not functioning or help our working from the home spouse or find time to complete the household chores or giving attention to a sick person. So, it is important to organise our day with sufficient breaks and activities that help us to relax and rejuvenate. Different people have different ways of caring for themselves, which is fine.

All we need to focus on is that our physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being is not compromised at any point.

We teach because we love to learn and share our knowledge.

We never gave up even when we faced challenges that seem impossible. We believe that our job is to help students prepare themselves for anything. So, let us sustain to enrich our ERT experiences to make these hard times more pleasant because together, we can!

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COVER STORY

ADICHUNCHANAGIRI INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES

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Paramapoojya Jagadguru Sri Sri Sri Dr Nirmalanandantha Mahaswamiji, Chancellor, Adichunchanagiri University

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By Sarath Shyam

Dr. M G Shivaramu, Principal & Dean

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OVID-19 presents unique challenges for medical institutions. “COVID-19 pandemic abruptly changed the organized way in which medical students were trained not just in Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medical Sciences, but, across the globe. The students were suddenly pulled out from classrooms, practical halls, hospitals and were confined to home. The faculty were forced to adapt to newer methods to engage students,� opines Dr. M G Shivaramu, Principal & Dean, Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS). Indeed, to embrace the safety and wellbeing of students in the context of providing patient-centred care, all in-person classes

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including case-based learning, lectures, discussion groups transitioned to remote teaching via an online platform, literally within a few days.

“There was extraordinarily little time available for a smooth transition to these newer teaching-learning and assessment methods. This has made a huge impact on medical education, which was entirely focused on training and assessment at the workplace in an orchestrated manner,” adds Dr Shivaramu.

The challenge for AIMS was to effectively deliver the curriculum and train more than 750 undergraduate students across the country and around 200 postgraduate students using newer and less explored teaching-learning and assessment methods. The institute started addressing the curriculum delivery with asynchronous teachinglearning sessions to allow the students to make a transition from face to face learning. Simultaneously, AIMS trained its faculty members in preparing quality educational resource materials for the students and in conducting live/synchronous teaching-learning sessions. “In the last six months, our faculty members have conducted close to 1300 online teaching sessions for

the undergraduate and the postgraduate students. We conducted around 51 webinars, including 6 international webinars, 24 workshops for the benefit of our faculty and students. These sessions have been challenging initially for both faculty and the students. But with time, both have mastered the process of effective online learning,” explains Dr Shivaramu.

One of the significant roadblocks for AIMS during the lockdown was to provide the practical and clinical training of the students. However, the faculty members of the institute responded with utmost dedication and innovation in creating various e-learning resources to facilitate learning. They extensively conducted live demonstrations of practical classes, clinical examination and case discussions, virtual slide discussions, dissection videos, image discussions using google meet platform. Besides, AIMS took an extra step for students with network issue by making a provision for sharing these as recorded sessions via google drive and youtube. The institute also used online student response system and google classroom effectively to conduct assessments online.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

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Dr. M G Shivaramu, Principal & Dean

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A Rural Establishment with Global Standards Located in Mandya District of Karnataka, AIMS is one of the few institutes in the country providing health care and medical education of the highest standards to the rural population. AIMS is now a 34-years-old and was started in the year 1986 under the stewardship of Paramapoojya Jagadguru Padmabhushana Sri Sri Sri Dr Balagangadharanatha Mahaswamiji. “Since the institution is run by a spiritual organization, thrust is also given at teaching human values and spiritual wellbeing of students and faculty. Our Hospital stands on the principles of delivering the best professional services to the needy and poor patients from nearby villages,” shares Dr Shivaramu. The institute intents to bestow the poor and needy patients with health care at a very affordable cost.

Dr Shivaramu adds, “We are glad to report that we have successfully given quality health care to more than 10 lakh men and women hailing from the surrounding villages and catering to the medical needs of the southern part of Karnataka.”

Higher Education Digest September 2020

Since its inception, AIMS has been imparting education in medical sciences, including MBBS, MD/MS, and Diploma course. The institute is recognized by the Medical Council of India, General Medical Council, London, UK and was earlier affiliated to the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka. Since January 2018, AIMS is a constituent college of Adichunchanagiri University. The University is currently guided by the honourable Chancellor Paramapoojya Jagadguru Sri Sri Sri Dr Nirmalanandantha Mahaswamiji. “The vision of the institution is to be a centre of excellence with an emphasis on socially meaningful medical education, research, and healthcare. Our mission has been to provide outstanding educational experiences to the students through competent facilitators and supportive infrastructure that transforms today’s students to tomorrow’s confident, socially responsible health care providers,” shares Dr Shivaramu.

AIMS strives to provide comprehensive, culturally sensitive, cost-effective, community-oriented quality

health care services to the society. The institute facilitates community-relevant quality research studies and research training programmes to the students and faculty by providing a stimulating environment that nurtures original thinking. “We inculcate value system and ethical principles of righteousness, honesty, integrity and dignity among students, staff and other stakeholders enabling them to serve with social justice and equity,” states Dr Shivaramu. At present, AIMS is ranked 12th by the Outlook magazine among India’s top Private Medical Colleges in 2020. The Ministry of Education, Government of India, has recognized the institute as a Swachhta Action Plan Institution. The Hospital also has NABH (entry-level) accreditation. “We are actively involved in the fight against the COVID. We have a state-of-the-art NABL approved RT-PCR lab for diagnosis of COVID-19 cases and have a dedicated COVID hospital involved in managing active COVID-19 cases,” shares Dr Shivaramu.

Making Global Partnerships Being in an obscure place has never hindered AIMS to seek international collaborations. Dr Shivaramu opines, “Global partnership provides great opportunities for students and faculty to form networking which is essential for career progression.

These can be research opportunities, cultural awareness, study abroad programme, student and staff exchange programmes and collaboration with other universities for awarding degrees.”

25 AIMS conducts regular workshops to improve the learning experience of its medical students and faculty members

Higher Education Digest September August 2020

AIMS has an association with Rotaplast International Inc., an organization which is committed to helping children and families worldwide by eliminating the burden of cleft lip and/or palate, burn scarring, and other deformities. In association with Rotaplast International, the institute organizes cleft lip and cleft palate surgery camp every year. Dr Shivaramu shares, “Hundreds of underprivileged from the rural community are benefited by this programme. A team of surgeons from the US visits our college every year to conduct these surgeries.

This provides a great opportunity for our students and faculty to interact and train with clinicians from abroad.�

AIMS is also associated with the Medical Students Association of India (MSAI) and the International Federation of Medical Students Association (IFMSA).

MSAI is an organization, which strives to provide its medical students with numerous opportunities to become global health leaders of today and tomorrow.

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The International Federation of Medical Students’Associations (IFMSA), founded in 1951, is one of the world’s oldest and largest student-run organizations. It represents, connects, and engages every day with medical students from 135 NMOs in 125 countries around the globe. Dr Shivaramu explains, “IFMSA offers a Professional Exchange program under the Standing Committee on Professional Exchange (SCOPE), which is a full educational program offering clerkships to medical students abroad.” AIMS is a SCOPE active institution in India. Besides, Adichunchanagiri Institute for Molecular Medicine (AIMM) functioning along with AIMS – Central Research Laboratory has collaboration with Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute, San Antanio, the USA to promote research. AIMS has also collaborated with CFTRI, Mysore for research programmes, with NIMHANS, KIDWAI Institute of Oncology, Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology, BGS Global Hospitals and HCG diagnostics for integrated PG teaching.

Fostering Medical Research AIMS has a well-defined research promotion policy and has fully active scientific and institutional ethics committee which monitor and guide the research activities. The institution has set aside an exclusive budget for encouraging research activities by faculty and students. “In the last five years, we have published more than 700 research papers in peer-reviewed national and international journals. We have also carried out 50 student research projects under the sponsorship of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR),” states Dr Shivaramu.

In the year 2019, four undergraduate students from AIMS were awarded research grants by the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, and eighteen undergraduate students were awarded research grants by the Adichunchanagiri University for carrying out short term research projects.

“We organize workshops on research methodology for our undergraduate, postgraduate students and faculty to encourage the research culture. We have an institutional scientific committee with trained and dedicated faculty who are involved in training and assisting the students and faculty in preparing quality research proposals and publications,” says Dr Shivaramu. AIMS offers incentives to faculty members for publishing articles in peer-reviewed, indexed journals. In addition to that, the institute publishes Journal of Medical Sciences and Health (JMSH), an indexed, peerreviewed International open access Journal with print and online version. The journal is into the 6th year of publication and provides a common forum where all aspects of Medical, Clinical and Health Sciences research can be published. The journal is indexed with DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals), Index Copernicus, Advance Sciences Index

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(ASI), Google Scholar, International scientific indexing, Index Medicus ( Global and SEAR database), Infobase Index, National Science Library and Open J Gate.

Adichunchanagiri University has established the Adichunchanagiri Institute for Molecular Medicine (AIMM), which is functioning along with AIMS – Central Research Laboratory. “The research program from 1998 till April 2017 has been mainly centred around dietary antioxidants in the prevention of oxidative stress, which is now recognized as a possible etiological factor for many diseases like cancer, arthritis, cataract, heart ailments, snakebite, malaria, bacterial, fungal infections,” shares Dr Shivaramu. It is a matter of pride that, AIMS has been funded by the National Cancer Institute of National Institute of Health towards developing the Turmeric peptide as a possible cancer preventive biomolecule under the RAPID program. The institute’s two publications have also been cited as the top entities as most read, downloaded, and cited among 2000 publications.

AIMS has been successful in bringing out impactful discoveries through its cutting-edge research activities. Dr Shivaramu claims, “We have discovered very potent antioxidant from Turmeric with a molecular weight of 8 kDa which we have named as “Arishinin”. This discovery is patented at the Chennai patent office for Indian patent and has been awarded US patent (US 8,389,677B2).” The institute was successful in identifying a death factor released by fuel, cigarette or organic smoke called as SCID (Smoke Condensate Induced Death factor). AIMS also reported death factors released from snake venom called as PID-15 (Phospholipase Induced Death factor -15). The above two factors appear to be a death signalling peptides. Besides, the institute has purified a 14 kDa protein from Turmeric and sequenced the above and registered in Swiss Uniprot (Uniprot P85278).

Now, AIMM is mainly focusing on synthesis and developing new chemical entities/ drug-like small molecules in the field of Cancer, Leishmaniasis and Diabetes. The drug discovery involves the identification of lead molecules, screening hits, and optimization of those hits to increase the affinity, selectivity, efficacy/ potency, metabolic stability, and bioavailability.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

“We are actively involved in synthesizing heterocyclic compounds to target proteins involved in DNA repair, cancer metastasis and many more. Apart from above said disease filed, we are also in a thrust of identifying small molecules and biomarkers for the cardiovascular diseases and diabetes,” shares Dr Shivaramu.

A Team of Dedicated and Highly Experienced Faculty Members The teaching faculty at AIMS is a unique blend of youth and the experienced. “As on today we have a workforce of around 180 teaching faculty who are involved in providing health care to patients and medical education of global standards to the undergraduate and postgraduate students,” pinpoints Dr Shivaramu. To provide training for the faculty members in medical education technologies, AIMS has a wellestablished Medical Education Unit (MEU) within the campus. More than one-third of faculty members are trained in Medical Council of India recognized, Revised Basic Medical Education Technology Programme and Curriculum Implementation Support Programme, which has facilitated effective planning, design, and delivery of the curriculum. Dr Shivaramu adds, “We conduct regular faculty development programs for training the faculty to keep them updated with latest in the field of medical education and to help them in the process of effective curriculum design and implementation.”

Faculty members of AIMS consistently use newer, technology-enabled, student-centric, teaching-learning and assessments methods to provide an enriched learning experience. They are also involved in a unique student mentoring program, which provides student support and facilitates student progression, including career planning. “Faculty members are not only involved in academic work but also play an important role in the administration. They are an integral part of the Internal Quality Assurance Cell, NAAC/ NABH committee, NIRF committee and are responsible for preparing documents for the institutional accreditation process and for student career guidance,” explains Dr Shivaramu. AIMS faculty are also serving as members of the Senate, Board of Studies and Academic Councils of some of the reputed universities in the country.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

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With the help of such quality faculty members, Students of AIMS have always made the institution proud by achieving academic excellence. In the last 5 years, undergraduate students of AIMS have secured 15 ranks, and postgraduate students have secured 37 ranks under Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences. “Our students have also excelled in the field of research. Over the last 5 years, 50 research proposals have been accepted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) under the short-term studentship programme (ICMR-STS), 4 research proposal under student research grants of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences and 18 research projects under Adichunchanagiri University,” claims Dr Shivaramu.

Every year 30-40% of AIMS graduates secure the postgraduate seats in the best of the medical colleges in the country and abroad. Dr Shivaramu shares, “Our graduates are serving in the army, central and state government services, corporate hospitals, and various NGO’s. We feel proud to say that every year our own alumni join back to serve their alma matter.” Recently a batch of students from AIMS has been selected under the Standing Committee on Professional Exchange (SCOPE) under the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA). Besides, AIMS students have been outstanding even in extracurricular activities as well. They have brought laurels to the institution in sports and cultural activities at various University, State and National level.

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A Dream Campus for Every Medical Aspirant AIMS is housed in a unitary Wi-Fi enabled campus of about 56 acres of unpolluted and pristine surroundings near its teaching hospital with plenty of room for future expansion. All buildings are spacious from within while their exteriors are aesthetically designed. The College complex features large, digitally-enabled Theater Classrooms, Lecture Rooms, Laboratories, R & D Center, an Anatomy Museum, the Administration Block and an OpenAir Stage in its Central Courtyard. The campus also features an elegant Residency complex for students, a Food Court and ATM facilities.

The aesthetically built centrally air-conditioned Auditorium is AIMS’ pride-of-place with towering columns and majestic steps that lead into a hall of 2000 seating capacity complete with a professionally designed stage fitted with motorized screens and a

Higher Education Digest September 2020

sophisticated sound and light system. At the ground level of this magnificent edifice is a stateof-the-art, centrally air-conditioned Learning Resource Center featuring the latest volumes of medical literature, a Digital Classroom and vast study areas.

On the other side, Adichunchanagiri Hospital and Research Center (AHRC) was commissioned in 1990 to render affordable healthcare services to the poor and the needy.

“The programmes offered here include assessed clinical experiences, an essential component of academics, supported by purpose-built facilities and technology, designed to replicate real-life situations. Advanced coursework is informational and enriched by hands-on learning from mentors who push the boundaries of knowledge,” states Dr Shivaramu. Today, the Hospital provides priceless teaching and training ground for AIMS Undergraduates and Postgraduates who benefit from the experiences of renowned doctors. To study at AIMS, therefore, is a matter of active learning in an atmosphere of intense intellectual excitement.

The Hospital has 1120 beds under one roof with a built-up area of 50000 sq.mts, along with state-of-the-art infrastructure and the most advanced equipment. “It is a tertiary hospital and is dedicated to serving the poor and downtrodden with affordable and quality healthcare. The Hospital also offers round the clock diagnostic services in Virology, Hematology, Biochemistry, Clinical Pathology, Cytology & Histopathology, Microbiology & Serology, Radiodiagnosis & Imaging and Immunology,” shares Dr Shivaramu. All hospital clinical departments are supported by 24×7 services like in house Central Sterile and Supplies Department, in house Hospital Laundry, Drug Stores, Medical Gases, Security, Ambulance Services, Medical Record Department, Hospital Management Information System, Mortuary, Dietetics, Cafeteria, Public Relations & Telecommunications, MedicoSocial Welfare Department, Voluntary Services (Helping Hand) and Clinical Trial Management Services.

The Hospital is geared to provide excellent service in multi-disciplinary ICU, Surgical ICU, Isolation ICU, Pediatric ICU, Neonatal ICU, Cardiac ICU and others. These

specialized intensive care units are specially staffed and equipped to provide the highest level of intensive care to patients. “We are also providing super speciality services in the field of neurosurgery, plastic surgery, pediatric surgery, urology, cardiology, nephrology, medical gastroenterology, and medical oncology,” says Dr Shivaramu.

The Road Ahead Admission to MBBS and MD/MS programmes at AIMS is through merit-based National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (UG/PG) conducted by the Government of India. “Every aspirant who is willing to get admitted to AIMS should not only meet the eligibility requirements as set by the Government of India but is also expected to have qualities like discipline, compassion and empathy, responsibility, humility and should have a sense of duty, service and social responsibility,” states Dr Shivarau.

Today, during this time of the pandemic, immediate plans of the institution are to ensure the safety and safeguard the interest of the patients, students, community, and our workforce. AIMS has taken all measures to ensure best practices in online teaching, learning and assessment.

Besides, the COVID-19 RT PCR virology lab at AIMS will serve the community by providing timely diagnosis and management of COVID-19 cases. “Safety of our workforce will continue to be of paramount importance to us, and all measures will be taken to ensure the same,” says Dr Shivaramu.

At the same time, AIMS is also progressing rapidly towards getting NAAC accreditation and higher-level NABH accreditation for the Hospital. “We are working towards establishing fully equipped and an ultra-modern skills lab and high-fidelity simulation centre for facilitating the training of our undergraduate and postgraduate students,” shares Dr Shivaramu. AIMS is in the process of enhancing the undergraduate admissions to 250 and completing a new multisuper speciality hospital block, starting of new DM/MCH courses, enhancing existing MD/MS seats to 150. Undoubtedly, AIMS is striving towards becoming a centre of excellence with an emphasis on socially meaningful medical education, research, and healthcare.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

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INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

Importance of Choosing the Right Course and Training Institute to Enhance the Job Prospects Rameswar Mandali, Founder and CEO, SKILL MONKS

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Despite being a developing nation with a promising number of young talents, do we have appropriate skilling infrastructure in our country? Also, please elaborate on the employability status of young Indian students.

The existing skilling infrastructure is still not adequate/ up to the mark, which is clearly reflective of the concerns that recruiters have while hiring students from the college. They have to undertake significant investments in training fresh recruits so that they possess the necessary skills and are made aware of the functioning of essential systems to thrive in the workplace. This wouldn’t be the case if there was an appropriate skilling infrastructure present. The employability of young Indian students is not nearly as high as it should be because of the glaring gap between the skills and education imparted to them at educational institutions and the actual skills required to get absorbed into the market. There is a discernible mismatch. There is a strong need to bridge the gap between industry and academia to impart the right skills to improve student’s job prospects.

While we are churning out, a large number of engineers, the quality of these engineers is an issue. Companies have to invest a great deal in training to impart relevant skills before they become productive.

Constant upgrade in the curriculum, backed by skill-based and project-based learning, can address some of the industry-academia gaps. While private telecom players have brought in affordable rates for data, digital infrastructure in terms of capacity and connectivity is an area which needs improvement. India boasts of close to 1,50,000 training companies which are predominantly delivered classroombased training. Given the pandemic, there is a great need for these companies to embrace and adapt to the new ways of digital learning to manage change. Many of the training companies are shut down due to lack of inertia and resistance to change.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

Many of the training companies are shut down due to lack of inertia and resistance to change

33 Rameswar Mandali

Skill seekers who are considering training program to upskill themselves have a hard time in deciding the right course and course provider for them. “In a skill seekers’ journey, it is imperative to enable career discovery to help choose skill seekers the right course which could enhance their job prospects. Once you have chosen the right course, it is equally important to connect to the best training companies which offer quality,” says Rameswar Mandali Founder and CEO, SKILL MONKS, which is a one-stop solution for diverse skill training and exam preparation needs for customers through a common platform. In an interaction with Higher Education Digest, Rameswar Mandali talks about the employability status of young Indian students, expected changes in the future jobs, skills that today’s recruiters consider when hiring fresh graduates, and many more.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

More about

Rameswar Mandali Sachin Gupta was conferred Youngest Chancellor award by Her Excellency Smt. Pratibha Patil and Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji. The prominent amongst the awards conferred on him are Bharat Gaurav Samman, Bharat Vidya Shiromani, Young Edupreneur, Youngest Chancellor Award etc. Ensuring the holistic development of students to make them skilled is very close to his heart. A visionary and a selfless leader with exceptional interpersonal, social and administrative skills is an appropriate description of Sh. Sachin Gupta. He was aptly honoured with Bharat Gaurav Samman in the USA, besides a recognition award by Dr A. P.J. Abdul Kalam.

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As the country progresses into knowledge and digital economy, what are the major challenges for academicians in India?

Overcoming their reluctance to make the transition from offline methods of teaching to more accessible and comprehensive online methods of teaching. One of the bigger challenges lies in pedagogy which is in the approach to teaching. Academicians need to embrace the new ways of digital learning. New ways of learning are just not about online teaching, but it is more about the delivery of content.

The approach has to be focused on shorter duration and capsule-based learning for better impact. The focus has to be more enablement rather than lecturing. Online learning brings in its own set of challenges driven by limitations when it comes to experiential learning. Therefore, one needs to look at alternate options to bring in simulation to replicate learning’s which are lab-based.

Considering the plethora of information available on the internet, academicians should be willing to expose students to study material exclusive of the curriculum in addition to encouraging them to engage in more self-study

Higher Education Digest September 2020

to make the whole process of teaching and learning more holistic. The focus has to be on digital transition as a part of change management. They also need to bring relevant content and offerings in line with market requirements and industry trends.

Experts in the education and industry say that many of the present jobs and skillsets will soon become redundant. What are the major changes that we can expect in future jobs?

Although there are not going to be any changes in the immediate future, over the next couple of years; however, we can expect a lot of entry-level jobs across industries to undergo significant changes. Humans in such positions are most likely going to be replaced by machines which are facilitated by developments in the field of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The rate of change in terms of adoption to industry 4.0 will be much faster. One would see digitization as the key to managing customer relationships, partner engagements, brand building and customer acquisitions.

While core engineering jobs may not be impacted, machine learning, artificial intelligence and IoT will have a major impact on jobs across sectors which are process-oriented, customer interfacing, coding, and testing. To share an example, rapid adoption of AI tools in agriculture is redefining how some core jobs are transformed in this sector. In a nutshell, industry 4.0 will have an impact across sectors.

Therefore, people across sectors should be open to learning and acquiring new skills in the area of machine learning and artificial intelligence to stay relevant.

Since the demand for skill-based learning is growing, what Education 4.0 offers to fulfil the same?

Industry 4.0 is focused on cutting technologies like Machine learning, Artificial intelligence, IoT and Blockchain. The convergence of these technologies and use cases would drive adoption to bring in business and process automation to drive efficiency and bring in competitive advantage. The focus of skill seekers across segments of working professionals, Graduates and Students would be to acquire these skills through programs/certifications from basics to advanced learning to get industry ready and stay relevant through constant upskilling. Industry 4.0 is clearly emerging as sector agnostic, and it provides ample opportunity for professionals across sectors to acquire fresh skills and upskill themselves to stay relevant.

What impact will upskilling create on commerce graduates and working professionals?

Upskilling would not only improve their chances at employability but would also increase the scope/range of jobs they could apply for, thanks to the diverse skill set they would have acquired.

For example, in the case of commerce graduates, learning programming languages as a part of Data sciences offering like R, Python or even SQL for that matter could give them an edge over their peers. It will also make them viable prospects for hire in the fields of risk analysis, data analysis, etc.

Cybersecurity is another emerging area which is witnessing massive growth and recruiting. AWS, DevOps and digital marketing are some of the critical areas which are growing exponentially.

While we rely on technology to drive change and manage the transition, it is important to know that machines cannot fully replace the skills required in managing people and the associated emotional quotient. Therefore, the need for professionals across educational disciplines will continue to exist. However, one needs to be open to change in acquiring relevant skills on time to ensure the survival of the fittest.

Why short – term courses are helpful for professionals at any level?

It helps them acquire new skills and improve their technical proficiency which is of utmost importance to survive in a dynamic marketplace.

These courses also give professionals an edge from the perspective of career growth as it reflects an attitude of constantly wanting to learn and get better. One is witnessing a trend of combining soft skills with technical skills to bring in differentiation.

Is content important for skill creation?

In a skill seekers’ journey, it is very important to enable career discovery to help choose skill seekers the right course which could enhance their job prospects. Once you have chosen the right course, it is equally important to connect to the best training companies which offer quality.

When it comes to quality relevant content which offers a good blend between learning, internships, and use cases would bring a holistic perspective in bringing about industry readiness.

Content does play a vital role in skill creation as the right information must be appropriately conveyed to the users so that it achieves its practical purpose - be it learning a new language for a particular project or up-skilling for better job prospects and does not simply become a theoretical endeavour with no practical applications or no real use for that matter.

Do we have a demand-supply gap in Indian higher education? What are the loopholes in the Indian Education System?

We have a demand-supply gap in the Indian market. I would like to specifically dwell upon some important areas which are witnessing exponential demand like Data sciences, Cybersecurity, and Digital marketing. We

Higher Education Digest September 2020

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have a major supply mismatch in terms of quality of professionals who could take up such opportunities and make a meaningful contribution to the global demand.

The point of discussion is not about having adequate numbers, the larger issue is about relevant skilled professionals with the right blend of attitude, domain understanding and technical skills. Mushrooming of colleges without adequate infrastructure, lack of competent faculty and relevant curriculum is also leading to academia-industry gaps.

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Mushrooming of colleges without adequate infrastructure, lack of competent faculty and relevant curriculum is leading to academiaindustry gaps

What are the critical skills that today’s recruiters consider when hiring fresh graduates?

Aside from adequate technical knowledge and proficiency, recruiters also look for people with the ability to think on their feet. They are in search of people who can improvise quickly to present solutions to fit a variety of problem statements varying according to need; basically, people who can be employed in a dynamic, continuously changing work environment.

Recruiters also require people who are willing to work in a team and understand the importance of delegating work to others at times instead of suffering a burn-out by virtue of trying to become a one-man army.

In short, recruiters are looking for good soft skills, the right attitude, team play/ team management, relevant technical skills and an open mind for upskilling/ reskilling and learning at large. Of course, some of the managerial competencies like team management, coaching and mentoring, managing team dynamics, leadership skills, change management are key, but whoever they would vary depending on your role play in the organization.

What is your advice to the students?

My advice to the students would be to keep abreast with the latest trends and happenings in the industry: openness to change, willingness to unlearn and relearn to meet the ever-changing dynamics in the marketplace.

Look at skilling / higher learning as an investment and not a cost for your career progression. It is important to have the right blend of technical skills combined with soft skills and a good understanding of the business domain to be a successful professional. There are millions of graduates who are waiting to get employed.

While it is important to secure a job, it is even more important to acquire relevant knowledge and skills.

Internships provide a great opportunity to get job-ready.

One should, therefore, look at internship opportunities as a learning platform and use time productively.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

Want to find Investor for your Startup?

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Higher Education Digest September 2020

ACADEMIC VIEW

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National Educational Policy: Transformational Step towards 5 Trillion Economy Sachin Gupta, Chancellor, Sanskriti University

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he nation is in the process of transformation by launching the National Education Policy under the visionary leadership of our Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Honorable HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank. Education is one of the most important transformers of the economy, and the National Education Policy has made a sincere attempt to transform all the sectors and segments of the educational sector of the economy to ensure sustained supply of world-class manpower to make India one of the global superpowers. The New National Education Policy 2020 shall replace the National Educational Policy launched in 1986, which was launched after replacing the previous policy document of 1968.

The National Educational Policy is a transformational initiative to bring a paradigm shift in the domain of education in our country in both qualitative and quantitative dimensions. The focus is on universalization of Primary education by taking the GER in Primary Education to 100 per cent by 2030 and has envisioned a mission of achieving GER of 50 per cent in Higher Education.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

The New National Education Policy is more normative than prescriptive, and the states will also have a significant say in the process of implementation

39 Sachin Gupta

Sachin Gupta is one of the youngest first-generation Chancellors in India. It sets him apart and clearly shows his passion for education. His motto is providing holistic education to so that learners will have excellence in life. Sachin Gupta’s journey of two decades in the higher education sector has been unprecedented in terms of influencing the quality and system of higher education in the private sector. With the power of his vision, clarity of his mission and analytical ability, the university under his leadership is poised for achieving greater heights of excellence.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

More about

Sachin Gupta Sachin Gupta was conferred Youngest Chancellor award by Her Excellency Smt. Pratibha Patil and Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji. The prominent amongst the awards conferred on him are Bharat Gaurav Samman, Bharat

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Vidya Shiromani, Young Edupreneur, Youngest Chancellor Award etc. Ensuring the holistic development of students to make them skilled is very close to his heart. A visionary and a selfless leader with exceptional interpersonal, social and administrative skills is an appropriate description of Sh. Sachin Gupta. He was aptly honoured with Bharat Gaurav Samman in the USA, besides a recognition award by Dr A. P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Higher Education Digest September August 20202020

The new National Education Policy is based on the foundational dimensions of access, affordability, equity, quality, and accountability which has made it robust and comprehensive from multiple dimensions.

The New National Policy has emphasized more on curriculum reforms with an enhanced focus on outcome-based approach and to minimize the load of the bag of the youngsters by removing the redundant and less important content from the curriculum. NCERT shall be the key driving force behind curriculum reforms for Schools. The policy has envisioned setting up multiple bodies to achieve excellence in the three broad areas of teaching, learning, and assessment for inclusive growth and development.

The National Education Policy is a culmination of the comprehensive process of series of consultations, meetings, feedbacks, expert comments, citizens’ response and views, ideas, and suggestions taken from academicians, researchers, policymakers, parliamentarians, ministers, and other stakeholders of society.

The new National Educational Policy shall open new vistas of opportunities for students to study in foreign universities on Indian soil, thereby checking the outflow of precious foreign exchequer. The latest policy has recommended for replacement of 10+2 model with a new model of 5+3+3+4 model wherein the students will have a load of relevant, modern, and contemporary curriculum designed under the leadership of experts from NCERT. The NEP has focused on academic delivery in mother tongue or regional language till class V, which has done away with the compulsion of studying English from a tender age.

To give an exponential and catalytic boost to the rate of growth in the GER, all single-stream colleges, and universities have been suggested to become multi-disciplinary by 2040 and single-stream institutions/ universities should be phased out by 2040.

The implementation of the New National Educational Policy shall be done with a collaborative approach in consultation and cooperation of the states in the light of the fact that education is on concurrent list wherein both the central and state governments are empowered to enact laws.

The major focus of the governments shall be to garner optimal level and utilization of funds to fructify the envisioned dreams of the New National Educational Policy.

The multi-regulatory structure of the regulatory environment is likely to witness a thorough overhaul for streamlining the regulatory mechanism to make the new over-arching regulatory environment more enabling and facilitating to enable the stakeholders to focus more on quality-related dimensions oriented more towards self-disclosure.

The high-level implementation team shall evolve well-defined targets, and Key Performance Indicators for the various stakeholders and the team shall evaluate the performance of all the stakeholders against the welldefined targets in advance. The New National Education Policy is more normative than prescriptive, and the states will also have a significant say in the process of implementation.

To summarize, the new National Education Policy has ushered a new era of new hopes and new horizons to achieve new benchmarks of excellence to enable India to emerge as a 5 Trillion economy by a radical transformation of the educational sector of the economy.

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Higher Education Digest September 2020

Higher Education Digest August 20202020 September

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ndian healthcare sector employs over 5 million workers. However, the numbers do not meet the minimum threshold of 22.8 skilled workers per 10,000 population recommended by the World Health Organisation. For instance, the WHO recommends one doctor for every 1,000 people. To achieve this, India would 2.07 million doctors by 2030, as per the study published by Indian Journal of Public Health. The government spending on healthcare is also far less than the global average. While on average, when other nations spend around 6 per cent of their GDP on healthcare, the Indian government spares only 1.3 per cent. Shortage of doctors, coupled with inadequate investment on healthcare infrastructure means India is still underprepared to fight pandemics like COVID-19.

To bridge the demand-supply gap in the healthcare sector, India has 539 medical colleges, 279 in government colleges and 260 private colleges. Indeed, the country has been working hard to churn out more doctors. According the government reports, there has been a 47 per cent rise in government medical colleges during 2014-19, compared to a 33 per cent increase in the total number of medical colleges in the past five years, from 404 in 2014-15 to 539 in 2019. The number of undergraduate medical seats has also seen a jump of 48 per cent, from 54,348 in 2014-15 to 80,312 in the academic year 2019-20. Postgraduate seats have also increased by 18,704 (a 65 per cent jump) during the corresponding period.

Apparently, an increase in the number of medical workers is too little for India’s population that has been increasing by about 26 million each year. Besides, we have seen the Union Health Ministry barring several medical institutions from taking admission due to poor teaching infrastructure and lack of faculty members. In this issue, we have hand-picked ’25 Must-Watch Medical Colleges in India’ that have been performing well over the years and producing the much-need healthcare professionals for the country. They have overcome the challenges of COVID-19 and continued offering the services to both patients and students during these tough times. We sincerely hope that our efforts will help the medical aspirants in India to make informed decisions about their study destination.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

University Name Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medical Sciences

City

State

Mandya

Karnataka

Amrita School of Medicine

Kochi

Kerala

Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences and Research

Hyderabad

Telangana

Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University) Medical College

Pune

Maharashtra

Bhojia Dental College and Hospital

Baddi

Himachal Pradesh

Ludhiana

Punjab

Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital & Research Centre

Pune

Maharashtra

Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research

Delhi

Delhi

Heritage Institute of Medical Sciences

Bhadawar

Uttar Pradesh

J.J.M Medical College

Davangere

Karnataka

JSS Medical College

Mysore

Karnataka

K. J. Somaiya Medical College & Research Centre

Mumbai

Maharashtra

Bhubaneswar

Odisha

Dayanand Medical College

Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences

Higher Education Digest September 2020

University Name

City

State

Kasturba Medical College

Manipal

Karnataka

Katuri Medical College And Hospital

Guntur

Andhra Pradesh

Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences

Bengaluru

Karnataka

M.S. Ramaiah Medical College

Bengaluru

Karnataka

NRI Academy of Medical Sciences

Guntur

Andhra Pradesh

Peoples College of Paramedical Science & Research Center

Bhopal

Madhya Pradesh

R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital

Kolkata

West Bengal

Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital

Sawangi

Maharashtra

Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research

Chennai

Tamil Nadu

SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre

Kanchipuram

Tamil Nadu

St. John’s Medical College

Bengaluru

Karnataka

Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre

Bengaluru

Karnataka

Higher Education Digest September 2020

BHOJIA DENTAL COLLEGE & HOSPITAL

OFFERING AN ADVANCED CLINICAL EXPERIENCE 46

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tiny hill station in Himachal Pradesh, Kasauli is blessed with lush surroundings, and the pleasant weather makes it a destination that can be visited allyear round. Located on the foothills of Kasauli range, Bhojia Dental College & Hospital has a sprawling campus spreading over more than 8 acres of land in a village called Budh, near Baddi, one of the biggest Industrial towns of Himachal Pradesh. The lush-green campus of Bhojia Dental College and Hospital is well equipped with advanced teaching aids, wi-fi connectivity, and equipment needed to conduct cutting-edge dental studies. The college block consists of ultra-modern lecture theatres with audiovisual learning systems. “We are the first and only dental college to be accredited with NAAC in the state of Himachal Pradesh. This ensures quality in both education and

Higher Education Digest September 2020

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patient treatment,� says Vikram Bhojia, Secretary, Bhojia Dental College and Hospital. The college is duly approved and recognized by the Dental Council of India, New Delhi, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, New Delhi and affiliated to H.P. University, Shimla for its various courses. At present, Bhojia Dental College & Hospital offers Bachelor of Dental Surgery (B.D.S.), Master of Dental Surgery (M.D.S.) in Orthodontics, Prosthodontics, Conservative Dentistry & Endodontics, Pedodontics, Periodontics, Oral Pathology, and courses in Dental Hygienist and Dental Mechanics.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

Dr Tarun Kalra, Principal

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A Platform for Practical Learning The pandemic and the closure of educational institutions have affected the continuity of learning. However, Bhojia Dental College and Hospital has been quick to adopt the online mode of teaching to ensure that their students do not miss the much-needed lessons. “All the theory and practical demonstrations are being carried via online platforms by our expert and well-experienced faculty. In our hospital, we have been following all the guidelines issued by the Centre and State Government, which include the formulation of the triage area, use of P.P.E. kits, regular sanitization of all departments, emergency treatment of patients visiting the hospital and so on,” shares Dr Tarun Kalra, Principal, Bhojia Dental College and Hospital.

Bhojia Dental Hospital is an integral part of the college for clinical training of students. “At the hospital, we provide every type of dental treatment, including major surgeries, dentures, ceramic crowns, gum treatment, restorative treatment, O.P.G., and Orthodontics treatments.

Besides, the hospital section has a full-fledged community service department with a well-equipped Mobile Dental Van. So, we regularly organize camps at villages and schools covering remote areas,” explains Vikram Bhojia. Bhojia Dental College and Hospital is also empanelled with E.S.I. and H.P. Government, which allows an abundant inflow of patients. The college and hospital will soon be undergoing NABH accreditation as well to add another feather in its cap.

Making Future-Ready Dentists “Our institute is a post-graduate institution which includes research and innovations. As part of the post-graduate curriculum, all doctors

Higher Education Digest September 2020

Bhojia Dental College & Hospital is situated in the foothills of Kasauli range on a sprawling campus spreading over more than 8 acres of land at village Budh (Near Baddi), a biggest Industrial Town of Himachal

must complete a dissertation which mostly includes research,” Dr Tarun Kalra. Some of the ongoing research projects of Bhojia Dental College and Hospital are the study of the latest dental filling materials, assessment age estimation, assessment of materials used in the field of Prosthodontics for making complete dentures, FPD’s.

Dr Tarun Kalra adds, “We have also included students in very recent advances like Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (3-D CBCT) and Implants, which is considered to be the latest innovation of dentistry of all times.”

Bhojia Dental College and Hospital has collaboration with most of the finest manufacturing industries in the field of dental supplies.

Vikram Bhojia affirms, “Our partnerships with the dental equipment manufactures help us in getting the latest materials and instruments to teach the budding dentists. Thus, our students will be futureready with all the latest updates in the field of dentistry.” To keep the knowledge of the students updated, the institute has tied-up with foreign universities in Malaysia, Japan, Canada, and the U.S.A. A few selected students of Bhojia Dental College and Hospital will get a chance to visit universities from these countries as observers and get to learn dentistry that is happening world around.

Vikram Bhojia, Secretary

Fine-Tuning the Future Dental Professionals To stimulate students to work harder and focus on career, Bhojia Dental College and Hospital regularly conducts C.D.E. programs where a renowned speaker from across the country deliver lectures to students. Moreover, the college faculty members take counselling session and focus on the weakness of students. Dr Tarun Kalra shares, “The students are assigned mentors who focus on a group of students. They take care of the problems faced by the students and ensure all that every issue is resolved.” Although students with the problem can contact the mentors at any point of time, the institute conducts review meeting of students and staff every fortnight. “The doctors from each department focus on work of each student and ensure that they are given guidance in every possible way,” assures Vikram Bhojia.

Today, the majority of the students graduating from Bhojia Dental College and Hospital opt to open their own practice, mostly in their hometowns. While a few students pursue higher studies in India, some opt for higher education in foreign countries and some crack entrance test and get a government as a dental officer in civil hospital, army dental corps and so on. “We encourage and guide students to apply for higher studies in foreign universities. Now, some of our alumni members are working as faculties in foreign dental colleges, and some have secured government jobs,” says Dr Tarun Kalra.

Over the years, Bhojia Dental College and Hospital Our college has produced many meritorious students. Most of its students are university toppers. “We intend to undergo NABH inspection shortly, which would uplift the status of the college to new heights. Besides, we have plans to include more foreign universities from Australia, New Zealand and many other countries, as a part of our student exchange program,” concludes Vikram Bhojia.

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INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

The Future of Classrooms: How is Pro-AV Technology Shaping Education?

Rishubh Nayar, Director, Christie Digital Systems (India) Private Limited

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What are the most significant changes you have seen in educational technology in the recent past?

There have been significant steps made to modernize higher educational institutions in India. As the second-most populous country in the world, education is an important factor in the nation’s development.

Today, educational institutions are spread across many domains that are run by the private, government, and autonomous bodies. Not only has there been an increasing demand for educational technology, but pro-AV technology has also been widely adopted in recent years.

The deployment of Pro-AV technology is beginning to shape the way we teach, learn and inspire, for such solutions are designed to offer flexible, innovative techniques that improve both performance and learning outcomes, and can introduce exciting new revenue streams and opportunities for all. Pro-AV technology is now acknowledged as an integral part of the infrastructural requirements of educational institutions, and many of them are stepping up their game in this area.

What works well in educational technology? What can be improved upon?

From a Pro-AV perspective, visual technology is commonplace in current educational institutions and an essential tool for lesson delivery. From basic 3,000 lumen projectors and interactive boards in classrooms to high-brightness projectors or LED walls in auditoriums and video conferencing tools that foster greater collaboration among institutions, these technologies have certainly worked well. What can be improved upon is the quality of the displayed visuals and reliability of these technologies? With the introduction of laser projection and

Higher Education Digest September 2020

Laser projectors are here to stay, and the education market is certainly one area that will benefit from laser projection

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Rishubh Nayar

It might take some time for students to gather in a classroom like how it used to happen before, as the pandemic has brought many new norms to our life. Although none of us thinks that the lecture halls would vanish in the future, we expect tomorrow’s classrooms to be a bit different from today’s. “It is imperative that the educational institutions employ cutting-edge audio-visual technologies such as advanced visualization, stereoscopic imagery, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and higherresolution devices that will help them create a more stimulating learning environment in the long run,” says Rishubh Nayar, Director, Christie Digital Systems (India) Private Limited. A global audio-visual, content management, and image processing technologies company, Christie Digital offers a complete range of high-quality AV solutions for business, education, the entertainment industry. In an email interaction with Higher Education Digest, Rishubh Nayar talks about the wide adoption of pro-AV technology in recent years, critical trends of digital classrooms to follow in 2020-21, and many more.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

LEDs with smaller pixel pitches, these technological tools are getting better with time.

What would you like to see educators do differently when it comes to technology?

It varies between vertical markets, but I believe that medical institutions have the broadest scope for modernization. It is imperative that they employ cutting-edge audio-visual technologies such as advanced visualization, stereoscopic imagery, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and higherresolution devices that will help them create a more stimulating learning environment in the long run.

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about

Rishubh Nayar Rishubh Nayar is the Director for Christie Digital Systems (India) Private Limited. He has over 12 years of professional experience in the areas of account management, market and channel development, business analysis and sales. In December 2019, Rishubh was chosen for the inaugural “40 Under 40” listing by renowned ProAV trade publication InAVate APAC, which celebrates the contributions of committed and talented individuals from the AV industry who are aged below 40. Rishubh is a postgraduate in Management Studies from the Alliance Business School in Bangalore.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

What are some of the most innovative technologies in Ed-Tech right now? What are the key trends of Digital Classrooms to follow in 2020-21?

Laser projection is undoubtedly one of the most innovative technologies of our time, and it has become a gamechanger because it offers longer-lasting brightness, lower maintenance and improved colour and contrast over lamp-based models.

Laser projectors are here to stay, and the education market is certainly one area that will benefit from laser projection.

Unlike conventional displays that have a size limit (unless a large canvas is available), the switch to laser projection is a one-time investment which can help educational institutions achieve visuals that are many times bigger, sharper and brighter than conventional displays, and at affordable prices.

Post-COVID-19, what are the opportunities Christie Digital Systems India sees in the Indian education market?

Education is one market which remains unaffected by COVID-19. We have new IIT and IIMs that are getting inaugurated, and there are opportunities for Christie in these premier technical and management institutions, which we are actively pursuing. Our education solutions bring learning to life on campus – from the smallest classroom to the largest lecture hall and everywhere in between. With Christie’s wide range of visual display solutions, our customers from this market can find the right technology for their needs – no matter space.

What is your advice to the educational institutions who are looking for a technology partner?

Educational institutions need to work with an organization that is committed to collaborating with them and possesses the right tools and resources that are needed to achieve the intended goals. It is also essential for both parties to work towards having a feasible business framework that focuses on the educational institution’s short term and long-term needs.

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INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

How EdTech Platforms Are Helping Schools Navigate an Uncertain Year Beas Dev Ralhan, Co-Founder and CEO, Next Education India Pvt Ltd

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s learners and educators remain confined to their homes, schools have taken to digital tools and EdTech platforms to carry on the teaching-learning process. Undoubtedly, this move has been met with positive responses from both students and educators. To facilitate online education, various EdTech companies are offering a complete roadmap to schools to make a smooth transition to online learning. By leveraging advanced tools and technologies, EdTech companies are providing e-learning platforms and academic management systems comprising online classes, assessment tools and more.

The rapid adoption of EdTech platforms has also brought a significant change in the perception about online learning; it is now considered an essential tool which is a massive leap from its previous role as an alternative used in rare occasions.

Let us further dig into how EdTech platforms are revolutionising the education sector and helping schools to sail through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Digitisation of traditional learning tools: By leveraging the latest technology, EdTech platforms have transformed the face of education by reinventing the pedagogy and offering the best and most reliable online learning solutions.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

EdTech platforms not only focus on transforming and digitising classrooms but also help schools to carry out all academic and administrative operations online

55 Beas Dev Ralhan

Beas Dev Ralhan is the Chief Executive Officer of Next Education India Private Limited, a technology-driven education enterprise, headquartered in Hyderabad. Beas co-founded this educational organisation in 2007 along with Raveendranath Kamath, an IIT Kharagpur alumnus.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

56 More about

Beas Dev Ralhan Before Next Education, Beas worked as an entrepreneur, investment manager and consultant for around a decade in various firms. In recognition of his immense contribution to the K–12 education segment, CII (Southern Regional) bestowed upon him the ‘Emerging Entrepreneur’ award in 2015. He also received the Indian Education Leader award at the 7th World Education Summit, 2016. Under Beas’ leadership, Next Education has also begun to secure a foothold in the Middle East.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

Technology-based solutions like online classes, digital content and learning management systems help schools to bridge the gap between students and teachers, augment pedagogy and reap its many benefits

Technology-based solutions like online classes, digital content and learning management systems help schools to bridge the gap between students and teachers, augment pedagogy and reap its many benefits. The first and most important benefit is that online classes create a virtual classroom experience by connecting teachers and students in real-time and empower students to make the most of their virtual learning experience.

Secondly, digital content in the form of eBooks, PDFs and audiovisual content empowers students to choose from a plethora of online learning resources based on their learning needs and pace. This creates a personalised learning path and reduces the dependency on teachers and classroom learning.

Finally, learning management systems facilitate seamless teaching-learning by helping teachers to create and manage e-learning resources and carry out all academic operations.

Blended learning: Schools are working towards democratising education by leveraging technology in education. To make learning more engaging and collaborative, schools are following the blended learning approach through methods such as flipped classroom and project-based learning.

These practices encourage self-learning and ensure that students learn independently while still being supervised by teachers.

AI and ML-based personalised learning: Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) platforms create a personalised learning path for students by empowering teachers to get a better understanding of each student’s learning needs. Subsequently, teachers can tailor learning resources and assessments as per individual student’s abilities.

Digitisation of academic and administrative services: EdTech platforms not only focus on transforming and digitising classrooms but also help schools to carry out all academic and administrative operations online.

Various EdTech companies offer a comprehensive set of services to ease the burden of teachers and administrative staff. They provide a wide range of academic services such as online assessments, online classes and homework solutions along with real-time tracking, instant reports and more. They also have made administrative tasks much easier. Now, with the help of EdTech platforms, parents can deposit the school fees online, communicate with teachers and stay informed about their child’s progress.

The incorporation of technology in education is a significant development and will lead to an era where education is easily accessible to all students. By integrating cost-effective and user-friendly EdTech platforms into the teaching-learning process, schools can easily make a smooth transition from offline to online education. This will not only prove to be valuable and life-changing in unprecedented situations but will truly foster the idea of ‘anywhere, anytime learning’.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

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DR. D.Y. PATIL MEDICAL COLLEGE, HOSPITAL & RESEARCH CENTRE

SERVING HUMANITY WITH EXCELLENCE IN MEDICAL 58

EDUCATION

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isrupted by the pandemic, medical education requires intense and prompt attention from the educators. “Educational institutions will have to ensure that they bring back their sheen. In the process of implementing academic endeavours, utmost care at every juncture will have to be enforced,� opines Dr. J. S. Bhawalkar, Dean, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre. One of the premier medical colleges in India, Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital & Research Centre has taken necessary preventive protocol to ensure the safety of all students, faculty, non-teaching, and administrative staff and all concerned.

The institute has started Fever/Flu Clinic at the Casualty. Besides, they have opened Hi-Tech Hospital (24x7) and formulated 20 teams comprising of one Doctor, one Nurse and one paramedical staff preferably one MSW for

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the IEC activities in and around the hospital area. Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre has also been earmarked for providing the facility for treating COVID-19 positive patients with 300 beds and 20 ICU beds. The COVID-19 Testing Laboratory is functional in the college with a capacity of 60 samples per day. Dr. Bhawalkar shares “We have prepared facilities for Isolation, quarantine and ICU care of COVID-19 patients in our college. A Committee has been formulated for clinical assessment and smooth management of COVID-19 facility at the college. Adequate PPE

Higher Education Digest September 2020

60 kits, face shields and hand sanitizers are made available to doctors and other paramedical staff to avoid exposure to the suspected COVID cases if any.”

On the other side, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre has ensured that the teachinglearning process at the institute does not come to a halt.

The teachers are conducting online lectures for students through various apps like Zoom, Google Classroom and Webex, as well as through digital platforms of MHRD and UGC. Students can also contact the teachers on mobile phones whenever required. “All students and teachers have free access to EBSCO e-library, through our ERP whereby accessing through EBSCO host they can avail the facility of e-journals, e-Books and also demonstration videos for different nursing procedures for bedside care,” pinpoints Dr. Bhawalkar.

However, practical training on patients which is the crux of medical education is only partially possible through these resources. Training of communication skills while dealing with patients, case taking, physical examination, diagnosis and pre-clinical and para-clinical courses practical demonstrations are possible by following

Higher Education Digest September 2020

online resources like OSCE/OSPE. “It is true that it cannot be possible for the fullest extent. However, looking at the situation, this can be considered as part of the training,” shares Dr. Bhawalkar.

A Medical Institution of Excellence Established in 1996, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre is one of most sought-after medical colleges in the country. For the past three consecutive years, the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) has ranked Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre within 20th position in all over India in the Medical Institutions category. The institute stood First among 653 private hospitals in the country in “Swaccha Bharat Initiative - Kayakalp” by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India in October 2019. The college scored 100/100 in the large-scale hospital category — besides, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre has also won a coveted position in the Guinness Book of World Records by screening the most number of individuals in one hour for hypertension on the eve of World Heart Day’ 2018.

61 An architectural masterpiece, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre is known for its state-of-the-art facilities that are in tune with the best in the world. The college has more than 2000 bedded well-equipped hospital, that is backed by the Research Centre. It has 175 Intensive Care beds, 30 modular Operating Theatres by Maquet and Dragger with advanced technology, 80 specialized outpatient consultation suites, 4th generation Da Vinci xi Robot for Robotic Surgery, Twin Cath Lab, 3 CT Scan machines (128 slice, 16 slice and dual slice), 3 MRI machines (0.2, 1.5Tesla and 3Tesla), Digital X-rays, Digital mammography, Ultra-Sonography, Colour Doppler, PACS, DSA system, DR System, sophisticated laboratories, multi-organ transplant unit, liver intensive care unit, sophisticated instruments for therapeutics management, and many more. “Dr. D. Y. Patil Hospital provides primary, secondary and tertiary care as well as special care for the critically ill patient. The Hospital has performed 75 renal transplants, 15 Liver Transplants and 17 Corneal Transplants till date,� says shares Dr. Bhawalkar. The

Dr. P. D. Patil, Chancellor, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune

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facilities for angiography, angioplasty, cardiovascular surgery and many more are available in the Department of Cardiology and Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery.

The Central Library of Medical College is aesthetically built with spacious reading rooms for students and faculty members. The library has 27865 books, 218 national and international journals, 2047 online journals, 1083 thesis and 1244 educational CDs. At present, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre has an annual intake of 250 for MBBS course, 218 for MD/MS courses and 22 for M. Ch. and D. M. Courses. The college also offers PhD, MSc, and Certificate Courses in various specialities. Institute is publishing a Peer-reviewed journal, namely Medical Journal of Dr. D. Y. Patil University [MJDRDYPU] with Print ISSN: 0975-2870; E-ISSN 2278-7118 which is indexed with DOAJ, Index Copernicus, Indian Science Abstracts. Recently this Journal has been included in the list of UGC approved journals for giving academic credits to faculty. Out of about 5000 journals evaluated by the UGC for quality, UGC selected about 800 journals for inclusion in the list of approved quality journals. “It was possible to gain this national status because of the Institute’s trained medical faculty, brand reputation in the medical profession and world-class infrastructure and for achieving academic excellence,” states Dr. Bhawalkar. Faculty members of Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre have published 1210 research papers in the last 3 years and undertaken 45 extramural research projects amounting to Rs.10,78,09,783.

Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre has always strived to recruit the competent and qualified personnel for all its teaching and support services. Keeping in the view of the need, demand and expectations of students and patients, the institute has always provided more than the required number of the teaching faculty over and above sanctioned strength by respective statutory councils. Dr. Bhawalkar claims that this proactive policy of planning and recruitment of qualified human resource will be continued considering a variety of skilled professionals required. He adds, “We further propose to lay stress on continuous faculty improvement strategies at regular intervals with a thrust on the enhancement of knowledge, skills and competence through Centre for Professional Education and Faculty Development. Several workshops and seminars have been conducted through this centre regularly for up-gradation of knowledge and skills. The incentives for highly meritorious competent and qualified faculty are given in the form of DPU awards on Teacher’s Day function.”

Higher Education Digest September 2020

At Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, students are also given the task of research activities from their very first year in the institution. The institute encourages interested students to take up projects under the guidance of faculty members, who instruct them regarding the basics of research till completion of their project. Due to the efforts to encourage research at the undergraduate level, a total of 58 STS research projects have been sanctioned by Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi (ICMR) in the last 5 years from 2018 to 2020.

On the other side, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre several international and national collaborations to augment the quality medical education that it has been offering. Johns Hopkins University (Maryland, Baltimore, USA), Thammasat University (Bangkok, Thailand), University of Skövde (Sweden), National AIDS Research Institute, National Institute of Virology, P National Chemical Laboratory are Agharkar Research Institute are few to mention among them. In fact, the Department of Global Health Education, Johns Hopkins University, USA, has been sending their students in batches to Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical and Nursing institutes, to provide them with global health training, by fostering a collaborative learning environment under their

Global Heath Leadership Programme. Dr. Bhawalkar shares, “We have also tied up with Harvard Medical School Centre for Global Health Delivery, Dubai for the inter-disciplinary collaborative research project titled ‘Assessing pathways to care among tuberculosis (TB) and drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) patients in Pune City, India: a biosocial inquiry.’” The institute also holds a collaboration with the University of Sydney, Australia for a collaborative research project titled “Efficacy in treating iron-deficiency anaemia of pregnancy with lactoferrin.”

Following the Best Practices in Medical Education At Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, every medical student will get a mentor who will help them to have a smooth transition from a protected environment into a highly competitive field. “On average, each mentor is allotted up to 11 students. This has resulted in improvement in the student’s academic performance and interpersonal relationships,” says Dr. Bhawalkar.

The college also adopts measurable criteria to identify the learning levels of students who are enrolled in all programmes. The learning needs of students are determined based on the performance in formative and summative assessments and during interactions in classrooms and practical’s /clinical rounds.

Besides regular lectures and practicals, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre gives importance to research

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“We organize special programmes for low performers like extra classes, remedial coaching, and tutorial sessions.

Individual attention and counselling sessions are also part of the efforts to improve academic performance. Continuous monitoring of their academic progress is done through written and oral examinations,” explains Dr. Bhawalkar.

The institute organizes special English language and communication skills classes for students who come from a vernacular background and local language classes for students who are from other states of the country for helping them to assimilate with local students and society.

On the other side, the advanced learners at Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre will get skill sharpening sessions along with motivation and training for participation in research activities. The college encourages advanced learners to participate and present their research work in oral and poster presentation format at National and International Conferences, Seminars and Quiz to update their knowledge and skills globally. PG students and seniors are made to act as students’ peers for group learning. “We encourage advanced learners to take up short term research projects and publish their research work. Teaching staff plays an important role in mentoring these students,” states Dr. Bhawalkar. Institute encourages students to go for summer training by obtaining fellowships from the Indian Academy of Science and by applying for the fellowship programs of the IISERs, CSIR, ICMR and DBT funded institutes.

Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre also ensures that the students get muchneeded financial help from the all the available sources to continue their education. On average, 5.20 per cent of students benefited by scholarships/free ships/fee waivers

by Government /Non-Governmental agencies/Institution during the last five years. Overall, 1,188 Students of DPU were received scholarship/free-ship/fee- waivers from Government and non-government agencies. Out of which 1143 students received Government scholarships and 41 students received Non-government scholarships.

“We have been offering financial aid to meritorious and deserving as well as economically backward students in the form of waiver of tuition fees. During the last five years, DPU has waived off the fee of 59 students at various colleges under its ambit,” shares Dr. Bhawalkar. However, in the year 2018-2019 only 27 students had received Government scholarships as per DMER (Directorate of Medical Education and Research) new rules. Dr. Bhawalkar adds, “Regulations has stopped minority scholarships to the Deemed University students from the academic year 2018-2019.”

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Higher Education Digest September 2020

The efforts put in by the faculty, availability of world-class facilities, infrastructure like spacious A/c lecture theatres, well-equipped museums, practical laboratories, and well-stocked library has set Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre apart from others

Making a Bight Career After the medical graduation, most of the students of Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre are preparing for various medical entrance examination for post-graduation. However, the college has maintained 30 to 40 per cent percentage of placement of undergraduate during last five years, of which few are entrepreneurs and having their own institutions either private clinics or medical teaching institutes. Post graduate student graduating from Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre have positioned 50 per cent as Senior residency in respective departments as per the requirements, 20 per cent students are qualifying for superspeciality and 30 per cent student opted for private practice in own clinics. The institute has 100 per cent placement in passed out super-speciality students.

“Overall, 70 per cent of our graduates get admission for post-graduation through NEET examination in various well recognized medical teaching colleges in India while few of them clears USMLE, PLAB and recognized International university examinations,” says Dr. Bhawalkar. After post-graduation, 20 per cent student of Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre opt for a super-speciality course like nephrology, urology, neurology, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, paediatric surgery. At the same time, 20 per cent of students enrolled for various fellowship national and

international recognized universities. “The UG students at Medical Colleges usually opt for postgraduate studies, senior residency or fellowship programmes, and the rest opt for private practice. The postgraduate students have a wide choice of super speciality hospitals for entering service,” pinpoints Dr. Bhawalkar. However, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre provides guidance for students appearing for competitive examinations such as USMLE, PLAB. “There is a positive response to the extent of 50 per cent attendance for the sessions, out of which around 60 per cent of students are able to succeed in the USMLE exam at the first attempt,” adds Dr. Bhawalkar.

Today, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre has many plans to uplift its medical education further. The institute would be starting superspeciality Courses including D. M. (Gastroenterology), D. M. (Neonatology), D. M. (Endocrinology), D. M. (Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology), M. Ch. (Gastroenterology), D. M. (Reproductive Medicine), D. M. (Hepatology), M. Ch. (Vascular Surgery) and M. Ch. (Hand Surgery). “We are also planning to start Oncology facility including PET Scan, Linear Acceleration and Radiotherapy Department, apart from Robotic Surgery unit for Orthopaedics, Trauma Unit, IVF Centre, Modular supplement thallium scan and a Skill Lab,” concludes Dr. Bhawalkar.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

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INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

Right Digital Infrastructure Will Decide Future of the Education Industry Ashwin Rao, Director, Limelight Networks

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nline learning, which has already replaced much of traditional classroom learning, is considered as the future of education by many. It is not hard to see why. Online learning offers a wide selection of courses, flexibility, accessibility, customized learning experience and most importantly, inclusivity, allowing students to pursue their academic interests anywhere and anytime. With technology becoming more widely available, the traffic on online education platforms is now more than ever before. However, to fulfil its revolutionary potential, online learning needs the right support – in the form of digital infrastructure.

Importance of the Right Digital Infrastructure Although online learning is preferred for several reasons, as stated earlier, it comes with its own issues. A major one is to provide an enjoyable and hassle-free learning experience to all users. Besides other factors, the quality of online education depends on the user experience on e-learning websites and apps. However, students live in various locations, and they access online education platforms on different devices and under different network conditions. While providing smooth user experiences to all users is challenging, the e-learning platforms must overcome it. Frustrations happen quickly in the online world, especially while accessing content on mobile devices. According to a study by the Aberdeen Group, a second-long delay results in a 16% drop in user satisfaction. This was back in 2008, but if anything, expectations of an internet user more now. To ensure good user experience at all times, online education platforms need effective network infrastructure. This is when Content Delivery Networks (CDN) enter the picture

Higher Education Digest September 2020

To ensure good user experience at all times, online education platforms need effective network infrastructure

67 Ashwin Rao

Ashwani is the Managing Director for RICS School of Built Environment, India’s first and only school that is offering internationally accredited Postgraduate and Under-Graduate degrees in Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, Real Estate & Urban Infrastructure and Facilities Management. As the MD of the School, Ashwani is responsible for the overall direction, strategy, and growth of RICS School of Built Environment in India.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

Ashwin Rao

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What are CDNs? Content Delivery Networks are geographically distributed platform of servers, which are in charge of delivering web content to end-users. It minimizes the time between the user’s request to load a webpage and appearance of the page’s content on the screen. This gap is called website latency, which mostly depends on the distance between the website’s hosting servers and the end-user. With a CDN, the journey for content is speeded up significantly. The Limelight CDN, for instance, bypasses the internet, using its private fibre backbone, turning it into a more direct journey. Content is cached on edge servers located closer to where the user is located. So when a user heads to a website, for example, the edge server closest to him or her is the one that delivers the content. This allows the data to travel the shortest distance possible, reducing latency (delays) and speeding up page-load times.

Besides improving the website’s speed and performance, CDN handles large surges in traffic, reduces bandwidth consumption, the loads’ balance between multiple servers. It also secures websites and applications, blocking data scrappers and other forms or spammers.

CDNs are essential to any businesses delivering large scale websites to a geographically dispersed audience.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

Besides improving the website’s speed and performance, CDN handles large surges in traffic, reduces bandwidth consumption, the loads’ balance between multiple servers

How Can CDNs Aid Online Learning?

Online education platforms cater to users living in various locations, using different devices and accessing web content under different networks conditions. Moreover, they serve rich-media content in the form of live classes, video/audio lectures and various other resources to students. CDNs help platforms provide excellent user experience, enabling them to deliver rich-media content to users even under poor network conditions. Through repackaging media files into different delivery formats, they also ensure media playability on devices with limited capabilities.

With online learning on the rise, e-learning platforms continue to grow in popularity. A growing number of teachers and students are signing up every day to teach and learn at their convenience. To compete for attention and eventually for survival and growth, the e-learning platforms are striving to serve real-time, interactive and engaging content and ensure enjoyable learning experiences. This is why more and more platforms are turning to a CDN to deliver faster websites, more responsive applications, and satisfy a geographically dispersed user base. Now, online learning can truly be about accessibility and inclusivity – the way learning is supposed to be.

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INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

The Importance of Speech and Debate in Education 70

Rajiv Kacholia, Founder, Speech and Debate India

What are the biggest problems with traditional professional development practices, and how can they be fixed?

Traditional approaches to professional development have faced many challenges that have been studied in recent years.

First, most public speaking courses are short courses, taking a surface-level approach with mechanical “tips” designed to impress in a large public setting. But that is not where most of us are communicating day to day. We need to develop our own natural intellectual style, not just adopt a formulaic approach meant for stage presentations.

Second, these courses tend to skew towards extroverts, while often harming introverts further. About half of us are introverts and prefer a more gradual and deep learning experience with time to reflect, practice, and improve.

Third, we wait too long to work on life skills. For example, let us review findings on creativity. In a study by NASA Scientists, 98% of 5-year-olds scored as “creative geniuses” – compared to only 2% of adults who passed the same bar. Life skills are key determinants of leadership and success – but needs to be nurtured in the early years.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

Life skills are key determinants of leadership and success – but needs to be nurtured in the early years

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Rajiv Kacholia

A Debate Champion in the State of Illinois, the USA in the late 1980s, and the Founder of Speech and Debate India, Rajiv Kacholia, says, “Debate supports intellectual growth while helping to shape the personality of children by polishing both their interpersonal and intrapersonal skills. Debaters collaborate on teams, think creatively about real-world questions, and learn to effectively present their points backed by extensive research, understanding, and logic.

It is an incredible experience for students to engage in!� In an interaction with Higher Education Digest, Rajiv Kacholia, who is also an alumnus of Stanford University and Goldman Sachs, talks about how debate shapes personality and polish inter and intrapersonal skills, and where can students find events to engage themselves.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

About

Rajiv Kacholia Rajiv

Kacholia

is

the

founder

of

Speech and Debate India. Elegant debate,

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encouraging

collaboration

&

balanced

perspectives for gifted 1st-12th graders, launched in India January 2020, by Mr Kacholia who is also a Stanford University alumnus & US State Debate Champion.

Kacholia brings 25 years of global experience

in

entrepreneurship,

investments, and research & development.

He started his career in corporate finance at the San Francisco office of Goldman Sachs and later in mergers and acquisitions in New York City at Goldman Sachs and at Lazard Freres. He has led the formation and structuring of numerous alliances, joint ventures,

restructurings,

capital

raises,

collaborations, and acquisitions. It is worthy to note that Mr Kacholia has completed over US $22 Billion of transactions across 5 continents single-handedly.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

What are the shortcomings of the Indian education system right now? Going forward, what are the changes that you wish to see?

You have been a Debate Champion in the State of Illinois, the USA in the late 1980s. In your opinion, how debate shapes personality and polish inter and intrapersonal skills?

The traditional Indian Education system has focused far too long on academic test-taking, rote learning, and factual understanding. Students who focus on the “What” are likely to be automated, whereas those asking “Why” and learning how to fail and adapt will emerge as future entrepreneurs and leaders in the next generation. India’s recent NEP (National Education Policy) is a major shift in the right direction to bring focus to skills development and raise academics to global standards like US Common Core.

I found debate in the US to be exhilarating and highly empowering. US Debate is rigorous while supporting the 21st-century skills that employers view as the widest gaps, such as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, confidence, and persuasive communication. Debate supports intellectual growth while helping to shape the personality of children by polishing both their interpersonal and intrapersonal skills. Debaters collaborate on teams, think creatively about real-world questions, and learn to effectively present their points backed by extensive research, understanding, and logic. It’s an incredible experience for students to engage in!

Tell us a bit about Speech and Debate India and the Launch of the Debate Academy.

Speech and Debate India offers students in Grades 1-12 a modern US Debate pedagogy that has been augmented to provide one of the most challenging and rigorous formats of debate globally while making it fun and thrilling for kids. We incorporate student-centred discussions, interactive games, and intellectual drills to reinforce concepts and drive deep analysis. Courses are taught live online exclusively by US instructors.

It takes just a few minutes to signup on our website, SpeechDebateIndia.com/academy for any of our courses. For the 2020-21 academic year, we are offering 7 debate courses in the first quarter starting August 17th. Each course is designed to integrate new students quickly – new kids will start debating by the end of the first session!

Kids enjoy our discussion-based format and practice debates. Courses meet twice a week for 1.5 hours each. We maintain the size of small groups based on academic research to optimize the balance of interaction with a diversity of opinion so that students are actively engaged and learn from alternative perspectives and evidence. We provide an important foundation for success in school and the real world.

During this pandemic, when students are still away from their campuses, what is the need for extra-curricular activities? What is your advice to the students during this time of lockdowns?

Strengthening academic and life skills is an ongoing process and a critical determinant of performance near-term in school and college, and longer-term in organizations. US Debate provides a needed intellectual and social outlet as an activity that tends to pay back not only in near-term academic and soft skill gains but also in enhancing our productivity.

Researchers have found that US Debate helps improve our reading comprehension speed and level, outlining and writing productivity, data analysis, evidence-based reasoning, and attentiveness, all of which can pay back by making debaters more efficient in the long-run. Moreover, debaters often come to find school much easier and tend to rise to the top 10% of their class. So don’t just focus on academic subjects – debate can broaden your skill set while making academics much easier.

Where can they find events to engage themselves?

Speech and Debate India students, depending on their performance in classes, will be eligible to qualify for our Regionals A Tournament in the winter. Students receive points throughout the academic year for their performance in classes, special tournament prep courses, and in Regionals A and B to accumulate total points to qualify for the 2021 National Tournament.

We are also exclusively a part of the largest global speech and debate competition, so a few exceptional students in the Middle School and High School divisions will have an opportunity to represent India in these global rounds next year as well. Debate Tournaments are highly thrilling events where kids bond, meet other students from across India and put their hard work and intellect to the ultimate test!

Higher Education Digest September 2020

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INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

How Innovations in Ed-Tech are Disrupting School Education in India Ashish Chaturvedi, Founder - School Diary

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d-Tech or education technology has seen rapid growth and adoption across the Indian education spectrum. From higher learning and specialised online vocational courses, robotics and multimedia modes of interactive teaching to assisted learning and special app-based tutorials, etc., the past decade has seen multiple innovations. And the pandemic has further enhanced the spread and accelerated wider adoption of technology for education, across the spectrum! Extended lockdowns and fear of crowded classrooms have pushed parents and schools to look for online education. At the same time, there has also been a surge in people taking online vocational or hobby classes online.

As per a report by RedSeer and Omidyar Network India report, the EdTech market in India has grown tremendously, almost doubling in size, from 45 million in 2019 to 90 million users in 2020. Further, supported by 2019 NEP that encouraged technology-empowered learning to explore beyond ‘chalk and talk’ methods, the K-12 EdTech market is registered to grow to 6 folds, from being a USD 265 MN market size in 2019 to be an estimated USD 1.7 BN by 2022. Additionally, the report also predicts that while strong growth in the K-12 segment is anticipated, the segment for grades 1 – 5 is set to witness the fastest growth. Factors like increased broadband penetration, the rise in regional language internet and the high consumption of smartphones, are also key factors driving this growth.

While the above highlights the growth potential of the segment in terms of market value, the sector as a whole is set to also see a massive surge in disruptive innovations that will eventually contribute to the increased market value. In terms of the current and emerging roles, these functions can be largely bifurcated into: 1. Competence Building: From leveraging modern tools like robotics and coding, etc., several schools are embarking on core competence building exercises to drive building core competencies in children. Attributes like critical thinking, emotional intelligence, creative learning and applying theoretical knowledge into practice by building practical applications, are all examples of successful EdTech application. Through robotics and free coding based toys,

Higher Education Digest September 2020

Online skill development and coaching for specific subjects can often not be completed only through classroom training

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Ashish Chaturvedi

An IIM-Kolkata alumnus, Ashish founded uFony, the parent company for School Dairy, in Pune. uFony, meant to rhyme with “euphony� - meaning a pleasing sound, created its first product, the School Diary App, in 2012, as a specifically designed technology solution for the education sector, aimed to simplify and streamline the parent-teacher communication.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

More about

Ashish Chaturvedi Before uFony, Ashish spent 19 years in a corporate role, working across technology, business development, and planning across sectors, including the IT services and CPG industry. He was a part of the Global Program Management team, where he managed a 50+ MUSD transformational program comprising of 400+ resources distributed

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across Europe, US, India and China for P&G. Having worked with some of the leading Indian and International brands, including Infosys, AT&T, P&G and Veizon (USA), Ashish gained immense insights in working with multicultural teams and acquiring handson expertise, across business domains. All these learnings he carefully imbibed so as to eventually implement some of the world’s best practices, in his own business venture.

His goal had always been to start his own venture one day and enable the creation of at least 10,000 jobs – a milestone he is very close to achieving!

Higher Education Digest September 2020

children and young adults are not only able to expand their boundaries of thinking and practically applying them to create solutions, but are also increasingly aware of modern infrastructure, energy and environment challenges, and are already well equipped to at least, in ideas, generate solutions.

2. Assisted Digital Learning: Online skill development and coaching for specific subjects can often not be completed only through classroom training. The traditional tuitions or coaching classes are thus now being replaced with assisted learning tools, by both schools as well as private tutors and parents seeking to enhance their child’s performance in a particular subject. These include third-party apps that provide in-depth and interactive online training sessions to the use of Multimedia tools, practical experimentation, projects and extra-curricular group activities to encourage understanding based learning, versus superficial, theoretical learning. In the times of a lockdown like these, several schools have also turned to assisted learning tools like ‘virtual classrooms’ for online learning for children. While generic apps for video conferencing etc., were initially used, several EdTech companies have stepped up in the past few months to create customised video solutions to meet the needs of teachers that are taking of the pandemic.

3. Enhanced Parent Engagement: The multifaceted learning and the vast spectrum of activities designed for children to succeed in the 21st century, have, however, added to the woes of parents and teachers who have become aware of the need to address the overall wellbeing of students.

To counter the increasing competitive pressure, especially in the K-12 segment, an increasing number of schools are proactively turning to third-party EdTech service facilitators to drive ease of parent-teacher communications, transparency, student safety, and keeping track of mental and emotional wellness of children, through a strong virtual support community. Although emerging, this segment of EdTech service providers, are also helping drive efficiency of K-12 educators, enabling them to effortlessly manage, supervise and tend to the learning needs of individual students. For parents, these provide a reliable and transparent platform to remain abreast of the child’s learning progress and overall wellbeing.

In the light of the recently announced NEP 2020, the reforms and the initiatives announced by the government further point towards its ambitious focus on enhanced learning and holistic development of children. Powered by initiatives like digital India, skill India and the goal to become a successful international economy, EdTech is certainly going to play a crucial role in shaping the future citizens, scientists, engineers, doctors, artists and entrepreneurs of the 21st Century India.

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Higher Education Digest September 2020

SHARAD PAWAR DENTAL COLLEGE AND HOSPITAL

CREATING PROFESSIONAL FOR THE FUTURE THROUGH EXCELLENT 78

EDUCATION AND MEANINGFUL RESEARCH

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s per the reports from the United Nations, the COVID-19 pandemic has created the largest disruption of education systems in history, affecting nearly 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries and all continents. Closures of schools and other learning spaces have impacted 94 per cent of the world’s student population, up to 99 per cent in low and lower-middleincome countries. However, Dr Sudhindra Baliga, Dean and Professor in the Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry at Sharad Pawar Dental College, believes that the crisis has helped to stimulate innovation within the education sector.Dr Sudhindra Baliga opines, “The COVID-19 pandemic has led us to introspect on the traditional teaching modalities and envisions a holistic learning experience for the students. While it presents its challenges, it is also a massive opportunity to break out of old habits and

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create new; impactful and relevant modes of learning that take advantage of the technology at this moment.”

Located in Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital was quick to adapt to online teaching and learning via video conferencing platforms and learning management systems during the COVID19 pandemic.The institute’s shift from classroom teaching to online teaching for the delivery of knowledge has been seamless and remarkable. “This brewing pandemic has given us many troubling situations, but with every challenge comes an opportunity. Our faculty members, apart from teaching students online

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and taking their assessments and presentations, are also upgrading their skills by taking part in various virtual development programs, digital workshops, online certifications courses and many more. They also access several open courses from the best institutions,” shares Dr Baliga.

Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital have also tied up with Coursera- a global online learning platform that offers massive open online courses, specializations, degrees, professional and master track courses. Coursera provides the college with free of cost access to its course catalogue through the Coursera for Campus platform. Dr Baliga adds, “Grabbing this opportunity, we have enrolled all our faculty and students for various courses related to academics and co-curricular fields. Ourstudents, both undergraduate and postgraduates, and the faculty members are getting an enriching experience, certification and upgradation.”

Dr Baliga foresees that the higher education will become significantly more accessible as college thinks about how to move all their programming online, including teaching, assessment, counselling, student life, and so on. He predicts, “There will be more and more emphasis on a gradual transition into an online mode where teaching, learning, assessment and interactive counselling can be conducted at a distance.” Once the government gives permission to reopen education institutions, classrooms in the college will also have to adhere to the norms of social distancing.

“Students and faculty will have to ensure that the guidelines given by the competent authorities are implemented and duly followed. Extensive sanitization of classrooms and common areas will be the new normal in our institute,” affirms Dr Baliga.

Besides conducting regular online learning activities, Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital has been actively taking part in the community’s fight against the COVID-19. The institute employed all postgraduate students at Acharya Vinoba Bhave Rural Hospital (AVBRH)1525 bedded fully equipped teaching hospital attached to the Dental College with state-of-the-art facilities - for the screening of COVID-19 patients.Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital has also created institutional isolation clinics and prepared detailed SOPs for screening, infection control and biomedical waste management. In addition to these,

Higher Education Digest September 2020

Recognized by the Dental Council of India, Sharad Pawar Dental College has an intake capacity of 100 students annually at the undergraduate level along with specialty courses in 8 subjects

the institute has been proactive on social media platforms to create awareness regarding the Coronavirus, symptoms of COVID and its prevention.

Dr. Sudhindra Baliga, Dean Professor Dr Sudhindra Baliga is working as the Dean and Professor in the Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry at Sharad Pawar Dental College. He graduated from A. B. Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Mangalore in 1999 and went on to complete his Masters in Pedodontics from Yenepoya Dental College; Mangalore in 2002. He began his career in Pedodontics in prestigious Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal. He has completed his PhD in the field of Pedodontics, the focus of his research is on sickle cell anaemia in tribal children. He is a Member of the prestigious Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. He has completed his fellowship in Dental Education.

To add to his accolades, he also holds the office of the Journal of Indian Society of Pedodontics, a PubMed indexed journal, as the Editor-In-Chief. To date, he has published over 75 peer-reviewed scientific papers and research abstracts in the scientific dental literature. He has delivered guest lecturers in several national and international conferences and contributed as an author in speciality textbooks. His clinical interests are Phytodentistry and Minimal Intervention Dentistry.

An Institute that Stands for a Change Established in 1991, Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital is recognized among the best private dental colleges in the country. The institute has been ranked 14thin Dental Category of 2020 National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) by Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). With an intake capacity of 100 students annually at the undergraduate level, Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital offers speciality courses in eight subjects. The college is recognized by the Dental Council of India.

Dr Baliga shares, “We have all facilities which are at par with the best in the world. To cater to the student needs, we are equipped with more than 300 dental chairs, well-developed museums, departmental libraries, highly qualified & experienced faculty.�Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital is a constituent unit of Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences (Deemed to be University) that has been granted Autonomy for maintaining high academic standards and are included under Category I of the Ministry of HRD, Government of India.

The University has been re-accredited with grade A+ by NAAC with cumulative grade score of 3.53.

Unlike many dental institutions in India, research is one of the significant concerns of Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital. The institute has 18 undergraduate research projects that have been approved, completed and sanctioned

by Indian Council of Medical Research Short Term Studentship projects and 6 more projects are currently ongoing. In addition to that, five Postgraduate students have received financial assistance for thesis by the Indian Council of Medical Research. “Students from our college have

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participated and presented paper/poster in International and National Conferences and have received more than 200 awards. We also encourage our students to publish the research work carried out by them, and we have more than 300 student Publications published in various National and International Journals,” proudly claims Dr Sudhindra Baliga. Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital students have bagged academic excellence awards from various associations like Pierre Fauchard Academy, Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Indian Society of Periodontology and Indian Dental Association.

To augment the research abilities and creativity, Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital has established an Institutional innovation council (IIC) recognized

by Innovation cell, HMRD, Govt. of India. Under the supervision of IIC, the institute conducts various innovation and entrepreneurship-related activities prescribed by Central MIC in a time-bound fashion.

“The IIC organizes periodic workshops, seminars, and interactions with entrepreneurs, investors, professionals and create a mentor pool for student innovators. We also identify and reward innovations and share success stories,” explains Dr Sudhindra Baliga.

Combining Professionalism, Care and Ethics Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital instils specific qualities in its students before they graduate from the institute. “The Graduate attributes have been classified under three domains which include professionalism, patient care and dental profession,”says Dr Sudhindra Baliga. The graduates of Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospitalexhibit empathy, compassion, honesty, integrity and can demonstrate them and recognize its importance in dental health care. They have self-awareness of when clinical problems exceed their knowledge and skill, and a willingness to seek help and/or to refer the patient. Dr Sudhindra Baliga adds, “Our students can negotiate, give and receive constructively to criticism, appraisal, performance review or assessment. They also recognize their own personal, cultural or religious beliefs and are aware that these beliefs must not prevent the provision of

Higher Education Digest September 2020

adequate and appropriate care to the patient.” The students also have a thorough understanding of the ethical principles and legal responsibilities involved in the provision of dental care to individual patients.

When it comes to patient care, the institute empowers the graduates to communicate with patients from diverse backgrounds including the ability to listen to, respond to, and provide appropriate information to patients and respect patients’ values and their expressed needs. “Our students perform appropriate dental procedures effectively and safely, with due regard for the patient’s comfort, including during emergency procedures. They predict, prevent and correct deficiencies in patients’ oral hygiene regimens and provide patients with strategies to control undesirable habits affecting the maintenance of oral and general health,” affirms Dr Sudhindra Baliga.

Every student graduating from Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital understands the continuum of dental training and the various roles and expertise of different dental and oral health practitioners and their interaction.

They can provide useful peer review to assist colleagues in improving their performance and are matured and responsible for maintaining standards of dental practice at the highest level throughout a professional career. Dr Sudhindra Baliga pinpoints, “We try to inculcate the philosophy of lifelong learning and accept that continuing professional development in our students for their professional growth.”

Today, with cutting-edge infrastructure facilities and highly experienced faculty members, Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital is planning for the inclusion of research culture in the undergraduate students. While enabling real-life experience on advanced mannequins, the institute would be developing an integrated multidisciplinary competency-based curriculum imparting advanced training for achieving the competencies of the decade. “In the coming years, we would be providing holistic learning to the students with the help of technology.

We also have plans to collaborate with renowned international universities for research, student exchange and faculty exchange,” concludes Dr Sudhindra Baliga.

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Higher Education Digest September 2020

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

Exam from Home is Here to Stay for a Long Time Srikanth Ganesan, Founder and CEO of Littlemore Innovation Labs

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School and colleges closures have brought online learning providers into the spotlight. In this scenario, what are the benefits of administering exams at student homes? How can it augment the efficiency of online learning programs?

Exams are important to measure learning outcomes. We are still at a very nascent stage of the outcome-based education curve. Exam intelligence plays a critical role in helping the students understand the areas of learning they are good in and where they need to improve. Exams from home are as important as learning from home.

The efficacy of online education from home can only be measured by exams.

Institutions were caught unaware when the pandemic hit us.

Unlike enterprises, very few Institutions have a business continuity plan. We still have a long way to go in leveraging technology for institutional learning/teaching, but there is some headway which has been achieved in the last 3 months in adapting to the new normal. We do hear many students and parents complaining about the efficacy of online learning/teaching methods. Without assessments and exams, it will be impossible to have a check on the qualitative aspects of learning from home.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

The critical path to a glitch-free online exam is reliable connectivity and server-side design to handle large concurrency

Srikanth Ganesan

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The online exam was an untapped area until the pandemic. Now, many educational institutions are exploring the possibilities of exams from home. Srikanth Ganesan, Founder and CEO of Littlemore Innovation Labs, says, “Online exams are not rocket science. The software functionality itself is quite simple. The critical path to a glitch free online exam is reliable connectivity and server-side design to handle large concurrency.” Littlemore Innovation Labs is one of India’s leading Ed-Tech company which is focused on transforming the examinations process by enabling end-to-end digital examinations. In an email interaction with Higher Education Digest, Srikanth Ganesan talks about the benefits of administering exams at home, how has it evolved in India and many more.

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How has Computer-Based Testing evolved in India over the last few years? A pioneer in paperless digital exams, what would be the role of Littlemore Innovation Labs in the same?

Computer-based testing as a technology has been around in India for more than 15 years. The initial adaptation was in the public exams space like recruitment and entrance exams.

A few Universities have also pioneered as early adopters.

Online exams are not rocket science. The software functionality itself is quite simple. The critical path to a glitch-free online exam is reliable connectivity and serverside design to handle large concurrency. Unfortunately, online exams have not changed much technologically.

At Littlemore Innovation Labs, we look at exams from a digital perspective and avoid jargons like “online” etc. Our solution is asynchronous. Exams can happen in a disconnected mode. We have delivered exams in the remotest parts of India with limited or no connectivity. We have disrupted traditional paper exams in a way no one has ever done before. 2.5MM paperless digital exams and 55MM pages written on our solution with zero loss of data.

That is our pedigree.

We are an exam solutions company. We are not a single point solution company. We have 3 product lines which would address all the needs of customers globally, onpremise, exam from home and BYOD. Our suite of products covers all possible scenarios, including force mejeure events like the current pandemic. We are currently doing multiple pilots with many customers for exams from home.

Once our customers are satisfied, we will be rolling out at scale across India and at price points which are affordable by any college/school/University.

Cheating can occur in several ways, both before and during an exam. How can “exam -from - home” service control examination fraud?

Let me put it this way. Not all students cheat. But some do. Within that some, few do it out of curiosity to beat the system, few out of habit and peer pressure. Although Live remote proctoring is the buzzword now, we need to be sensitive to the privacy concerns of students while writing exams from home. Live remote proctoring is a lot of effort and stress on both the students and faculty with very little value in curbing malpractices. With low-resolution cameras in most student laptops, it is impossible for AI algorithms to support the claims of remote proctoring products.

We do offer the remote proctoring feature, but we encourage our customers to use our powerful digital exam forensic analysis features post-exam, to detect suspected malpractices on an exception basis. Our solution is elegant,

Higher Education Digest September 2020

About

Srikanth Ganesan With a career spanning over 20 years, Srikanth has worked in Technology & Education sectors in some of the leading organizations in India. He has extensive experience as an entrepreneur and building large

scalable

solutions.

Srikanth

has

been actively championing innovation in educational experience and outcomes over the last decade.

powerful and reduces the stress on the faculty and genuine students substantially.

The policymakers and Institution management should align on a technology roadmap for education holistically and not look at technology adaptation only for exams in isolation

How will the PEXA platform boost Digital India and Skill India? How will it help India to attract international interest and investment?

To the best of our knowledge, we are the first company to eliminate paper from University exam with a writing device. Many other countries have shown interest in using our solution and evinced interest in JV’s and R&D partnerships. In our own small way, we have been able to showcase early Indian adaptation to futuristic technologies which even developed countries have not adapted yet.

The pandemic has exposed the deep digital divide in the education space. India has the potential of a billion education devices in the next 5 to 7 years. We are working with some of the largest global technology leaders to manufacture devices out of India. This will be key to the Digital India initiative. This would create huge opportunities for R&D and manufacturing skills. Along with it, there is a huge opportunity for exam operations/tech support jobs across the nook and corner of India.

Is Computer-Based Testing set to revamp the overall Higher Education Sector? What should be the focus of Indian education institutions in terms of Computer-Based Testing?

The pandemic has shaken the core of the traditional education system. We need to be careful about overengineering solutions to a sector which is at its nascent state of technology adoption. The policymakers and Institution management should align on a technology roadmap for education holistically and not look at technology adaptation only for exams in isolation. Institutions and private sector players should be incentivized to adopt technology faster in Institutions. The ultimate objective should be to create affordable technology for all children. Subsidies, CSR programs, private equity participation should help technology-based education reach underprivileged children on a sustainable basis. Else the digital divide will become a huge challenge in the future.

As organizations are ready to invest in the workforce to make them skilled through convenient Computer-Based Testing, what is your advice to the people who are still sceptical on “exam -from - home” services?

Exam from home is here to stay for a long time. It should be a business continuity plan for all Institutions, even post-pandemic.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

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ACADEMIC VIEW

Early Child Education Gets a Breather in New Education Policy After COVID-19 Setbacks Dr Reeta Sonawat, Director - Early Childhood Education, Ampersand

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he COVID-19 pandemic has led to learning disruptions for 472 million school-going children in India, among them, 40 million belong to extremely poor families.

The new National Education Policy (NEP) has come at an opportune time with proposals in it that would go a long way in strengthening India’s education system, which has suffered serious setbacks due to the crisis. Among the most important components in the NEP is the commitment towards the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) for very young children, who are at greater risk due to the pandemic.

Disruptions in early learning a serious threat Over 85% of a child’s cumulative brain development occurs prior to the age of 6, indicating the critical importance of appropriate care and stimulation of the brain in the early years to ensure healthy brain development and growth.

Ensuring high quality and continued early education is also extremely critical for children between the ages of 0 to 8 years for the development of their physical and motor skills, cognitive, socioemotional-ethical, cultural/artistic growth and the development of communication and early language, literacy, and numeracy.

Children in this age-group, particularly those coming from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, have witnessed the worst impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Not only there have been disruptions in their learning, but the pandemic has also hampered the nutritional, healthcare and socio-emotional support which they have been getting from their schools and the early learning centres, including the government-run Anganwadis and Balwadis. These early learning

Higher Education Digest September 2020

The new education policy is a great vision to change the educational landscape in this country, and it vitalises education by ensuring that ECE becomes the starting point of education for all children

Dr Reeta Sonawat

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Dr Reeta Sonawat is an internationally acclaimed, National Award-winning educator, especially renowned as one of the world’s top experts in the field of Early Childhood Education (ECE). Dr Sonawat has a PhD in Home Science and Child Development from Jabalpur University, besides several specialisations in ECE and childcare from international and national institutes of repute. As part of her postdoctoral research, she has worked on the project “Integrated Education in Kinder Gardens and Primary Schools” at Bremen University, Germany. She underwent a training program on Early Childhood Education with Reading Difficulties at Golda Meir Mount Carmel institute and Training Center, Haifa, Israel.

Higher Education Digest September 2020

centres have been providing Mid-Day meals and vaccinations and also monitoring the growth milestones of very young children from socio-economically weaker backgrounds.

Following the pandemic, the inability of poor parents to support the education of their children through alternate mediums and meet their nutritional, healthcare needs, these young children from poor backgrounds are now at a greater risk. Further, the current ECE framework was also not adequate or modern enough to support learning and other activities. Lack of Immediate policy intervention was thus necessary not only to ensure the learning gap doesn’t widen for these children from weaker sections of the society and for preventing future dropout rates in school.

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For attaining the goal of foundational literacy and numeracy for all children will come by 2025, the government is likely to announce various measures and increase investments to strengthen early learning

Higher Education Digest September 2020

NEP’s proposal for strengthening ECE The new education policy is a great vision to change the educational landscape in this country, and it vitalises education by ensuring that ECE becomes the starting point of education for all children. The new education policy proposes a new education structure of 5+3+3+4, brings early education within the ambit of formal education.

As special attention and priority would be given to districts and locations that are particularly socioeconomically disadvantaged, learning gaps due to the pandemic can be breached with timely interventions.

The NEP has also proposed strengthening of the Anganwadis and other early learning centres to deliver ECCE at the grassroots level. This, along with the goal of a national curriculum framework for ECCE, would provide every child with the opportunity of uniform and high standards of early education in every state.

Another welcome initiative is the National Foundation of Literacy and Numeracy Mission. For attaining the goal of foundational literacy and numeracy for all children will come by 2025, the government is likely to announce various measures and increase investments to strengthen early learning.

Conclusion: The provisions in NEP will make early education more robust, inclusive and resilient against crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

The vision for ECE for all by 2030 is not only praiseworthy but also an achievable goal with ample cooperation from the state governments, with publicprivate participation models for greater capital inflows and creating a technology framework at the last mile to support the initiatives of NEP.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC #CROCODILEINSIDE

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Higher Education Digest September 2020