“Any education system is as good as its teachers”, and therefore the new National Education Policy (NEP 2020) has identified having motivated, energised, and capable faculty as one of the main pillars for building a world-class education system.
Keeping this vision in mind, the Directorate of Higher Education (DHE) trained 433 faculty from the entire State of Goa on enhancing their research and engaging students through their research projects at Under-graduate (UG) level.
The Faculty Development Programme (FDP) on ‘Enhancing Final Year Student Projects’ was recently organised by DHE in association with Goa State Higher Education Council (GSHEC), Goa State Research Foundation and Goa University. The FDP focused on training non-PhD regular faculty from the entire State.
“This is the first of its kind faculty research training happening in the State where 433 faculty from 34 higher educational institutions (HEIs) in 34 diverse disciplines, ranging from music, drama to law and education, are trained for performing research at Under-graduate (UG) level. We are setting the stage for developing world-class researchers in the State of Goa” said Prof. M. K. Janarthanam, Chairman of the recently established Goa State Research Foundation.
At the heart of this intensive training programme were three clear goals: identifying research problems that are local but with global relevance, embracing cutting-edge tools for data analysis that are used around the world, and fostering collaborative research while working in large teams.
The FDP had a host of eminent experts from prestigious institutions including experts from IIT-Goa, BITS-Goa, Delhi University, Goa University, Goa State Higher Education Council and Goa State Research Foundation.
Among the experts were Prof. Sharad Sinha, Prof. K.A. Geetha, Prof. A.K. Mishra, Prof. Reena Cheruyvalath, Prof. Pooja Goel, Dr Avelyno D’Costa, Dr. Narayan Parab, Dr. Aparna Lolayekar, Prof. Vithal Tilvi, Prof. Niyan Marchon, Dr. Mahesh Majik, and Prof. M. K. Janarthanam.
The hands-on training programme focused on crafting innovative UG research projects, comprehensive literature review, critical thinking required for frontier research, embracing the most advanced methods and tools, and above all preparing UG students for world-class research, fulfilling the vision of NEP 2020.
“Such training programmes will develop a conducive environment for research in the State. Based on strong positive feedbacks from participants, this FDP has laid a strong foundation to make Goa a Knowledge-Hub”, said Dr. Vithal Tilvi, professor at the Centre for Research, Development & Innovation at Goa State Higher Education Council.
Prof. Niyan Marchon of GSHEC chaired the hands-on sessions. Future workshops will focus on discipline-specific training sessions to ensure a long-lasting impact of such unique initiative, said, Dr. Mahesh Majik, Co-ordinator of the event.
