The Context
The expectations of stakeholders at large are diverse and demanding. The PES University strives to offer the best learning experience to the students through an updated & flexible curriculum supported by advanced laboratory infrastructure & learning resources, and multiple modes of learning opportunities delivered through committed & experienced faculty. Higher education is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary, experiential and highly competitive.
Objectives of the Practice
To turn out competent graduates with deep domain knowledge, technical and life-skills through enrichment of curriculum with emerging paradigms and enhancement of teaching-learning process Attainment of graduate attributes and inculcation of professionalism are essential requirements of Higher Education. Critical and creative thinking, problem solving, team-working, effective communication and empathy are necessary life-skills for success. To stay competent and relevant, attitude for lifelong learning and aptitude for knowledge upgradation and upskilling are required. PES University believes in providing an optimum mix of these factors through contemporary curriculum and effective pedagogy.
Evidence of Success
The performance of students in academics, technical contests, competitive examinations, progression to higher studies, and placements has been improving. This has made improvement in the academic reputation of PES University that is reflected in the higher cut-off marks for admissions to various programmes. The laudable performance of our students during their internships in premier institutions/ industry has resulted in many of them securing admissions to graduate programmes with financial support in top tier foreign institutions/ Universities. The student progression to higher studies/ placement has been steadily increasing with an increase in the median salary. In addition, PES University has been consistently ranked among the top 100 institutions in the country by NIRF.
The Practice
Curricular reforms: The curriculum of all programmes is periodically audited for its relevance, and updated considering the perspectives of various stakeholders. The main focus of the curriculum revamp has been student-centric to provide flexibility and experiential learning. The introduction of experiential learning components improved the student competency. To earn the required credits through multiple avenues such as mini project credits, Semester Abroad Programme, MOOCs, etc., facilitates the students to undergo a variety of learning experiences. Domain based electives are offered to facilitate specialization in specific streams, which help students choose different career options. Experiential learning is promoted through incorporation of design, mini and capstone projects in the curriculum with higher weightage. The students of PES University have an opportunity to visit industry or research institutes where they can interact, learn and expose themselves to the industry requirement as a part of the curriculum. In PES University, an experiential learning and hackathon is a part of curriculum and all students are exposed to various problems and problem solving methods used.
Infrastructure: PES University continuously augments the learning infrastructure both in classrooms and laboratories to complement the enriched curriculum and effective delivery. PES University established many centers with high end facilities to conduct research. Cybersecurity Laboratory, Data Analytics Laboratory, VLSI Design Laboratory, Instrumentation Facility, Electric Vehicle Engineering, Aerospace Engineering Laboratory, etc., are some examples of specialized state-of-the-art facilities used by students. All classrooms and labs are ICT-enabled to provide unlimited digital connection for learning.
Pedagogical interventions: Participative learning is promoted through various interventions such as activity-based learning and group discussions. Blended classroom pedagogy has been successfully adopted for self-learning and intellectual interactions. Disruptive learning methods are also practiced in the debates, trial-moots, etc. Effective use of recording studios for e-content creation empowers faculty to offer online courses. Challenging assignments are designed by faculty for project-based learning and assessment in many courses. This fosters problem solving, team working, peer learning and time management skills in the students.
Challenges
- Need for increased hands-on experience
- Accommodation of new courses within the permissible maximum credits of a programme
- Assessment of stated learning outcomes of courses involving programming
- Some courses cannot be appropriately assessed through conventional examination
- Not all faculty had prior experience in online teaching
- Need for access to learning-resources beyond working hours
Solutions
- Emphasis on introducing of lab and experiential learning component
- Increasing the number of elective courses offered by the PES University
- Problem solving skill are improved with the integration of lab to the theory
- Adopted alternative methods of assessment like project based, presentation based, etc.
- Training and Circulation of online teaching manual and online support from PES University IT Team
- Access to the laboratory and centers beyond normal working hours and enabling the remote access to the licensed softwares