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Home » Innovations in Education
IITGN aspires to be a leader and a trend-setter in education. In this endeavour, we enthusiastically encourage all novel educational initiatives consistent with the core values, mission and vision of the Institute. Some of our recent initiatives are:
Foundation Programme for Self Development: In the Fall semester of 2011, IITGN will be introducing a Foundation Programme that will require all new undergraduate students to undergo an intense five-week programme to develop their life-skills. The idea is to help the students make a smooth transition from the days of single-minded preparation for the JEE to a new phase in life that would ultimately shape them to be well-rounded human beings, outstanding engineers and responsible citizens. This programme will be a significant enhancement of a one-week orientation programme that the Institute has been conducting very effectively for the last two years, that consists of workshops on communication, theatre, appreciation of
architecture, and various games that seek to inculcate team spirit.
Curricular Initiatives: A brand new curriculum that is a significant departure from any other curriculum in the country is being introduced from July 2011. The new curriculum focuses on the overall development of the students and will prepare them for their last job, rather than focus on their first job. It will have a significant component of humanities and social science, compulsory coursework in life-sciences, significant exposure to design and creativity, and provide flexibility to the students.
International Faculty: The Institute is enthusiastic about bringing international faculty on board. A German colleague joined the Institute in December 2010 for a year and is currently teaching a course on American Literature. Two Swiss professors from EPFL have taught courses on Computer Science in the Spring semester of 2010-11. Further, a significant number of faculty members of Indian origin but holding citizenships of other countries have already joined the Institute.
Examinations without Invigilation: At IITGN, we place special emphasis on values. As a mark of the trust that the Institute has in its students and as a hallmark of their integrity, the Institute successfully conducted several examinations without invigilation in the Fall semester of 2010. The examinations included a carefully designed feedback system to assess the effectiveness of the experiment. The successful experiment is now being discussed internally to assess its efficacy and the prospect of expanding the initiative to all courses at IITGN.
Liberalization in Branch Change Policy: To provide an environment where students are free to develop their passions, IITGN follows the most liberal policy for branch changes after the first year. We also have a formal structure to convey the excitement, promise, and relevance of each branch of engineering to our students. The Institute has achieved the unique distinction of being able to accommodate all requests from our students for a change of branch last year. This is probably the first time in the history of the IIT system that such a policy has been successfully implemented.
Comprehensive Viva-Voce: The Institute has introduced a comprehensive viva-voce to identify talents and weaknesses of students early. The students are encouraged to pursue their talents vigourously and to address areas of concern without hesitation. This is a mandatory pass/ no-pass activity conducted every semester for all the undergraduate students by a panel of faculty. It enables the Institute to understand its student body better and to establish one-on-one connections by giving attention and feedback to each individual, and assess our teaching-learning ambience.
Emphasis on Physical Education: With firm belief in the truism that a healthy mind lives in a healthy body, the Institute has introduced a demanding physical education component in the curriculum. All undergraduate students must engage in formal sports activity at least five days a week during the first two semesters at the Institute. This programme has been very effective in rekindling the passion for sports and outdoor activities in the students. This is very important because, for several years before joining IIT, many students shun all forms of extra-curricular activities and confine themselves only to studies.
Short-Courses: IITGN has started a Short-Course Series for the well-rounded growth of the students. Each such Short-Course has a duration of 8-10 hours, and is conducted by a guest on a topic different from the subjects in the regular curriculum. Each course earns the students one credit (mentioned in the grade card) and is voluntary on part of the students. Some of our recent Short-Courses have been on Indian Democracy, Entrepreneurship, Energy Efficiency, Literature, and Cosmology. These courses are open to students and faculty of other colleges in the city so as to develop better academic links and contribute to the community.
Project-Based Learning: The Institute places great emphasis on students undertaking projects of interest to them outside the curriculum. It is heartening to see our students undertaking exciting projects in Fire Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and the like, under the mentorship of faculty from not only within the Institute but also from top institutions worldwide.
Earn-While-You-Learn Programme: The Institute conducts a programme where undergraduate students help in the library, computer centre, and in grading assignments. The programme provides financial help, instils the value of dignity of labour, and builds self-esteem of the participating students.
Forging Local Partnerships: The Institute wishes to develop strong links with other engineering colleges and to achieve this goal has developed two programmes. The Summer Research Fellowships are meant to enable faculty of other engineering colleges to spend their summer vacations at IITGN to develop research collaboration with our faculty. The Non-Degree Programme enables students of other colleges to credit courses at IITGN on a full-time basis for a semester, or on a part-time basis. The part-time Non-Degree programme is also open to industry personnel. Under this programme, an undergraduate student from another Indian institution spent the Fall 2010 semester at IITGN.
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