India : A national level Brainstorming ATAL Conclave, convened to enhance the quality of Faculty Development Programs (FDPs) for upgrading the skills of teaching staff in emerging areas in technology, concluded Wednesday. Organised by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the two-day conclave witnessed the sharing of good practices, valuable feedback and suggestions for future FDPs, by the participants. The conclave was attended by Head of Institutions, Vice Chancellors of various prestigious universities, Directors of premium institutions like IIT, IIIT, NIT, NITTTR, and other dignitaries.
Speaking about the conclave, AICTE Chairman Prof. Anil D. Sahasrabuddhe said, “Constant and life-long learning should be the motto of faculty members as well as students. AICTE bridges this gap by training faculty members who in turn will guide students in new emerging areas. As most of the faculty members graduated 15-20 years back, their knowledge needs to be updated as per the current times. In these testing times, AICTE provided impetus to conduct online ATAL FDPs so that no faculty members may lose out training due to the pandemic situation.” Prof Sahasrabuddhe added, “What students learn in four years may become outdated the moment they graduate from college. So, constant updating of curriculum is also required. In the year 2020-21, new thrust areas in the field of Engineering, Management, Life Skills, Design & Media have been incorporated too to make ATAL FDP a wholesome effort to train faculty members coming from every stream. Indian Knowledge System too has been incorporated by AICTE which will instil values among students about our ancient culture and tradition.”
“The quality of FDPs can only be improved by including practical hands-on component in a curriculum, which is a must for faculty members of today’s generation. In National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, very serious emphasis is given on practical exposure to faculty members,” said Prof M.P. Poonia, Vice Chairman, AICTE. Prof Poonia also stressed upon building confidence among teachers so that they are not left behind amid rapid adoption of new technology by the industry and students. According to him, teachers should have confidence in them and should gain practical exposure. Soft skills like managerial and communication skills which can be integrated with technical skills of faculty members and students, need a boost as that will help them be in sync with the needs of industry.
AICTE has taken various quality initiatives. Mammoth tasks of translation of SWAYAM Programmes are also being undertaken. Preparation of books of technical courses on regional languages are encouraged by Dr Rajive Kumar Member Secretary AICTE. He further added that all kinds of suggestions will be looked into, in order to improve the quality of FDP. He also added that some of the FDP may also be conducted in regional languages.
“These FDPs by AICTE are the need of the hour. With this, the teachers of higher educational institutions will educate the students according to the industry needs and equip them with varied kinds of skills. In the challenging times of Covid-19, these programs are being run online and resource persons across the globe are able to take sessions due to online nature of FDPs,” said Dr.Ravindra Kumar Soni, Director, ATAL Academies. He expressed hope that ATAL Academy will emerge as a national teacher training institute under NEP 2020.
More than 1000 people attended theATAL Brainstorming Conclave which includes Head of Institutions of various premier Institutions, Resource Persons, Coordinators, participants and AICTE officials.
