Faculty Enrichment Program at Amity University Haryana Staff College inaugurated by Padma Vibhushan Dr RA Mashelkar

Gurugram: To encourage the teachers to become a change agent by adopting 21st-Century Knowledge and Character skills so that they should be at par with national and global standards and have the ability to think critically and creatively, to collaborate with others, communicate clearly and effectively with students and also empower them to lead a fulfilling and healthier lives, the  Amity Academics Staff Collage at Amity University Haryana organized a Six-Day Online Faculty Enrichment Program from 21st June to 26th June 2021.  The program was inaugurated today by Dr RA Mashelkar FRS, Founder Chairman National Innovation  Council and former Director General of CSIR in the august presence of Hon’ble Chancellor Dr Aseem Chauhan, Vice Chancellor Prof PB Sharma, Vice Chancellors of Amity Universities in India, Deans, Heads of Institutions, large number of faculty members and 180 registered participants from various universities and institutions from across the country, 

The University faculty need to continuously update their knowledge in their chosen field of expertise as well as keep themselves updated with the 21st-century skills and technologies to deliver not only up to date knowledge but also to participate in the creation of new knowledge through engagement in Research and Development as and cause innovations and new product development. 

The former Lead Technologist of NASA Johnson Space Centre Dr Kumar Krishen  had vividly enunciated the I3LP concept –i.e. Inspiration, Imagination, Inclusion, Leadership & Perspiration . Needless to say, his talk has been the most stimulating that has thrown up many interesting issues such as Purpose of life, Knowledge is Power, translation of knowledge into Wisdom, nurturing Leadership qualities, having compassion, Love  and truthfulness so much needed today in those empowered with knowledge and capabilities. Drawing upon his own experiences of preparing to meet the challenges of space explorations, Dr Kumar invited the teacher participants to walk into the exciting journey of exploration of education and research excellence during their stay in the universities.

Delivering the Inaugural Address by Padma Vibhushan Dr RA Mashelkar, Eminent Scientist & Former Director General, CSIRshared his insightful thoughts on “The Paradigm shift of Innovative Integration of Education, Research and Innovation” opined that, “Teachers are architects of the future of the country. Getting a degree is not the end of education. To remain relevant you have to learn, unlearn and re-learnthroughout your work life. Integrate the joy and excitement of research and innovations into teaching and excite the imagination and intuition of the students to prepare for the science and technologies of tomorrow. DrMashelkar further invited the participants not to satisfy with incremental improvements or even leap frogging but take courage to pole-vault to another level of excellence by their exciting and intuitive quest for excellence..He enunciated five new roles for the University Teachers to meet the challenges of new generation of students, viz. Mass Customization, from just Telling to actually Listening, To become domain content Delivery Expert, from Instructors to becoming the Conductors and from Collecting Dots to Connecting Dots. Dr Mashelkar reminded the Faculty members to always think that “Our Best is yet to Come”.  
 
In his words of wisdom Dr. Aseem Chauhan, Hon'ble Chancellor, Amity University Haryana said, “Teachers have to play a pivotal role   as leaders in their domain areas and should work as mentors. For this they need to regularly upgrade their knowledge base as well as technology Skills. Much of this upgradation should be self motivated. Teachers should have the capabilitiesto adopt advanced technologies and should have the willingness to experiment with innovative technologies to improve learning outcomes. National education policy has provided a great opportunity for globalization and growth and is important to be implemented. University rankings would greatly improve by maximizing the university outcome in respect of quality of education, research publications and a more effective translation of research into innovations and new product developments said Hon’ble Chancellor DrAseem Chauhan. 

Among those who addressed the FEP today, in the Plenary Session included Padma Shri Prof. Syed EhteshamHasnain, Honorary Professor, DBEB, IIT Delhi and National Science Chair of DBT in Biological Sciences and former Vice Chancellor of University of Hyderabad and Hamdard University. Prof Hasnain shared his life time experiences on accelerating Research & Innovations in the field of Science and Technology in Universities by a more enthusiastic engagement of faculty in funded research and by sustained focus on quality and integrity of research. The second Plenary Session post lunch was addressed by Dr. (Mrs.) Pankaj Mittal, Secretary-General, Association of Indian Universities, who talked about the importance of ABC concept of Life Long learning, Blended & Hybrid system of learning and also highlighted the benefits of the National Credit Bank idea proposed by the NEP- 2020.

Addressing the gathering Prof P B Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, Amity University Haryana said, “We need to understand the aspirations of the current and future generations of the new-age learners and redesign the higher education system accordingly. We need also to take full advantage of the digital transformation to radically reform the teaching learning environment.  Teachers and technology together shall create a bright future for humankind. He invited the teaching community to work with passion and pursue endless frontiers if research and innovations as also integrate the advances in research in their class room teaching.  Prof Sharma also reminded that education is both about managing today most effectively and to create a better tomorrow. To manage today most effectively the teachers must partner with the government on technology missions and also contribute to nationals missions and work closely with industry and society, said Professor Sharma.

While coordinating the event Dr. SanjnaVij, Program Director, Academic Staff College, AUH said, “Learning is a continuous and never-ending process. It doesn’t stop after earning a degree or at the starting or middle of a career. Through continuous learning, aspiring faculty can constantly improve and update themselves.”  Rear Admiral KK Pandey (Retd.), HR Director, AUH whilst delivering the Vote of Thanks, highlighted that in a rapidly changing world scenario, the role of Teachers assumes utmost importance. This Faculty Enrichment Programme is aimed to foster the Faculty’s knowledge, skills and professional competence.
 
Dr. W. Selvamurthy, President of Amity Science, Technology and Innovation Foundation, Dr. Ajit K. Nagpal, Chairman Amity PACIFIC Forum, Prof. Padmakali Banerjee, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Vikas Madhukar, Dy PVC, Prof Gunjan M Sanjeev, Director, International Affairs,  Prof. Rajendra Prasad, Director, AIB, Prof. I. S. Thakur, Dean Environment Sciences, ASEES were also present together-with 180 faculties and students who had registered for this maiden Faculty Enrichment Programme from very many universities and institutions from across India..  Excellent IT support for the program was provided by the Amity IT Team headed by Dr JS Sodhi.