New education methodlogies – My experience

Let me reiterate my thought out of experience in past 40 yrs , the first bulk trial at Dewas [M.P] , with a textile giant then Mafatlal’s . I had no qualified textile technologist with me , except 3 freshers I got with me from V.J.T.Inst , Mumbai , when I was transferred from Mumbai unit , for expansion , massive work trusted at 6 yrs experience then. It was lateral &vertical expansion of capacity , modernisation of technology , creation of different product mix with added values , rationalization of labor force , adding all utilities needed for the ‘ new but mix of old & new ‘set up of technology and people of course . I needed technicians where no one was ready to come to Dewas !! What to do, easy job –blame the management for selecting such location! I came to Indore, selected 11 young, sportive, enthusiastic B.Sc boys got them to Dewas , there my school was born & boys gave birth to mentor in me .

Can learning for 60 boys be the same ? In the same way ? NO , our two kids refuse to , right under the nose .
So different ways of learning hence teaching or mentoring [ when it comes to professional courses ] .
As on today , my mind tells me —
1. class room , where we explain [ demonstrate in our lab , factory visit ] , the complete textile conglomerate . I expect this to finish right in first 2 semesters .
in these two semesters , the student must be relieved form , school ways of learning & teaching , notes etc . How to read books ; make notes , How to listen& make notes , how to recall it when at home or free class . Use of library , related web sites etc
Sir for higher classes , the class room is for — explain the syllabus the faculty wish to cover in specific periods , under the sub topic . Give the reference material ..books name with page number and so on . if any past project work contains the topic use it [ we have 2 projects per student per batch ] . With broad lines then batch is left for self study, books , lab , own or organized visits . Then we gather back after specific time for discuss the queries.
So we need subject coordinators, who has the grasp of subject decides what to address when , whom [ diploma , degree , master or research in total or part ]. Such faculties are to be created .
2. Laboratory – let the technology be old or new , so long it explains the process , added by factory visits . It is very expensive hence uneconomical to have up date lab at any point of time , [ just enquire , right on the spot , how many samples are produced on knitting machines bought year back and the pic will be clear, the answers vs proposal sir ] the is specifically for the technology not engineering . Understanding the basic concept , then explaining present status gives more allied information too , what drives towards development ? this should be say 12.5% of times , remaining 12.5 % factory visits . That completes practical demo.
Please give me 5 mins to explain factory visits —
First 2 to 3 semesters , to know complete textile process , so he knows the different avenues of Currier .
Next more objective visits , students are briefed in advance , may student form own batches to dwell more time and have interactions at class .
Next Minor/ major project / vacation training / study at industry while on college attendance . Factory study of faculty & lab man is equally important .
3. Library , web sites , visiting guest from industry on topics desired by subject coordinator , technology suppliers , presentations by student from self study – factory visits etc.
Now coming back to different ways of learning — few will have more inclination to any of above way more than other ! let us make use of then encourage peer education .. provide platform to develop allied soft skills .
Factory visits , for all student will be just up to 4 th sem. , by the time they would have decided their own choice , then it is will small team with faculty — economical , some places 10 seater tempo can also be used . They also can be shared by student, when they can have expensive handsets.
Why each faculty cannot develop/generate interest of 6/8 boys for his subject!! After 6 th sem .,keeping importance of other disciplines too.
Faculties needs big change in attitude, before altitude. Notes are not less than 5 to 12 yrs old , which can be up dated with factory visits , machines manufactures , different supplies to industry .

When we use the students capacity , our teaching needs will reduce and take different dimensions .

Developing the topic by faculty is one of the important area.

Papers published or any such efforts, in case also should be on record I feel.

Improving employability: an Indian Scenario

Abstract

From entry level to professional education candidates [students] are in totally different mental setup than needed for professional studies. Most parents expect sweet & rosy pictures about future; hence there are a few crucial factors we need to consider at education institutes and provide professional education. This will help student to select specialization and understand -then only they can give their full mind and strength. Industrial [work place visits, inviting industry people to address is definitely added help in the same direction , A mix of  at least 40 % practical [within institute & at industry]and 60% class room education , will help to improve employability.

Professional education like Engineering involves using complex math’s and science to understand and solve problems [statistics]

Couple of meeting, gathering of parents is very relevant, right from beginning and also time to time; in addition to progress reports.

• Institute wants the brightest fresher in mathematics, physics and chemistry classes.
• It is very important to explain the importance of every subject, topic, class room, different activities, and also to make them attractive as per students mind set.
• These students coming from controlled environment- spoon fed, guided at all stages and at this stage students are obedient, professional education is totally different way. Hence they need to be taught soft skills like listening and making own notes, use of library, developing a reading habit, working in team and developing adoption ability. These are additional requirements apart from technical subjects. Entry level is the phase to develop comfort and a taste for the branch selected.
• Engineers need to work in teams – so student can work together and work with each other’s strengths
• Engineers are leaders –Engineering deals with multi facet problems, leaders know how to solve many problems even without in-depth knowledge many times

Exposure to work place during education [Industrial Training]

During any education – basic graduation, technical graduation; medicine courses etc. a student aspires for potential job areas or business arenas. Hence, it is very relevant to provide him with the information but also exposure to few samples which helps him to picture out industry as whole and area of own interest. It is worth mentioning that the area of interest can click at any junction of life – not necessary at the entry level. This was, and is still a part of studies right from kindergarten levels, a visit to a garden, a museum which gives kid exposure to society.

At the level of professional studies it is very much followed at medical sciences studies – no medical education is permitted unless attached to hospital with certain number of beds , so much is the importance to work place to make one competent for the field .Such  exposure , training , live hands on project  helps  in many ways  –the prime is making the student work ready,  which is very important  when we  read  employability rate of our present graduates is 20 to 23 % , which is seriously sad.  This creates “frustrated society”.

It is worth presenting case to education ministry for small but working factory for the institute, which can be jointly shared by other industry too, with proper facility to accommodate outside students for training period.

What will student get out of engineering Industrial Training?

The main reason engineering students need to do Industrial Training is so that they are well prepared for a real job in their chosen specialty. It’s a chance to put what they’ve learned at university to work in the kind of real-life situations. Industrial training gives great experience during Bachelor of Engineering. Other pros can be summed as:

• First-hand experience working as an engineering professional,
• Apply technical knowledge and engineering methods to real-life situations.
• Work with other engineering professionals.
• Experience what it’s like to work in a professional organization.
• Increase technical, interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written.
• Observe interactions of engineers with other professional groups.
• Witness the functioning and organization of business and companies.
• Expose students to technologies which are not available to them in the institutions.
• To have industrial feel, identify and solve industrial problems. Some of which results into fourth year projects or staff research , some projects are repeating at different location by different groups of students and faculties too . This way a topic can be built which can be material for publication for institute.

Be attractive to Engineering employers

Many employers use industry work experience as a prerequisite for new graduates. Employers also use this period as a chance to assess new employees for future employment. If students can demonstrate the ability to take responsibility, make sound decisions and apply technical skills – they will stand out as someone that might be great for their organization.

In reverse, they will also have the opportunity to evaluate the company for themselves to see if it’s somewhere they might enjoy to work.

Organize suitable Industrial Training

 

I propose exposure to work place [industry] for students in present scenario [controlled environment education to free environment education], in 3 phases.

A] Exposure to potential job arena, in batches / groups, as mass visit may not lead to any gain.

At this stage the purpose is just to get idea, what will work place be like. Encourage them to make notes at spot, take pictures, at the end have the group addressed by industrial person. Student makes formal interaction in between groups, aided by faculty at institute. Visit should cover small, medium – ultra modern, fairly old technology. In short get maximum coverage of business.

B] This is more in depth study at work place , understanding the process; raw material to finished product , function at each process stage , do’s & don’ts  about raw material and finish product , technology -machinery used ; man power – contribution of man power at different levels in the organization, work practices . Give the student an understanding and the basic skills for every stage of the production chain, the operational function of the production processes, equipment and production management. This is again followed by presentation at institute.

C] In depth study of industry related problems. Duration, time frame, industry to visit, groups of students for the visit/project has to be decided by faculty.

It is up to each engineering student to organize their own employment for Industrial Training. It’s important to make an effort and give lots of thought to getting the most relevant and effective experience to your engineering degree that you can.

Don’t be surprised if you have to make more than 20 enquiries about engineering work experience before you find a suitable position. That’s completely normal! So don’t leave it too late.

It’s not always possible, but ideally your experience will let you get exposure to a range of engineering activities including:

• design
• analysis
• experimental and
• on-site activities

You should also make the most of your Industrial Training by asking your employer for varied and challenging projects. It’s your training, so take control of it as best you can. If you ask permission just to have first few days just to figure out what you can add to organization, it is worth.

Here the contribution by faculty is crucial.

Excellence award should be introduced at institute. Recognizing mentors from industry will go long run, invite them some time to address gathering of the students. Subject wise interaction of faculties and industry expert is very important, at least once in year, to revisit subject coverage, projects etc

Students/faculties becoming active member of various industrial associations and forums are very much useful.