Best Practices 1:

Title: Experiential Learning

Objectives of the practice:

  1. To expand the students learning horizons beyond the curriculum through hands on experiences with the community at large.
  2. To help the students to understand cultural heritage and have a space to express their creativity and talents.
  3. To promote confidence building activities, socialization skills so that there is an interface between the institution and communities.
  4. To connect the students with other fellow students from the underprivileged communities in the society to inculcate the value of equality.
  5. To utilize community as a source of teaching & learning material for faculty and students.
  6. To inculcate the values based on mutual trust, cooperation and understanding with the society.

The Context:

  • The introduction of the NEP, pivoting around the aspect of inclusivity in learning boosted by involvement and equal opportunities.
  • The evolution in the education is about the usage of new technology to assist and supplement traditional teaching-learning methods.
  • The practice is exercised through extension and outreach programs of NSS, NCC, YRC and the like organizations.
  • The outcome based education connects interactive skill based learning with participative and experiential learning. Field trips, projects, industry internships lead to experiential & participative learning, which ensures effective operationalization of the curriculum.
  • The training and placement cell exposes students to employment opportunities by empowering them as job-ready-workforce. Students gain vast experience by the student’s council which imparts leadership & organizational skills as well as team spirit.
  • NSS extension & community services have helped to evolve the students into better citizens with heightened sense of social responsibility and creating awareness about cultural diversity. The Youth Red Cross along with other units has an annual schedule of activities, social ventures like blood donation camps, tree plantation, cleanliness drive, village adoption, swachhata pakwaad and other such community services.

The practice:

NSS activities impart knowledge about ground reality of life in the rural society and it help to develop empathy with the life of rural people. The village adoption deals with activity all the difficulties that are part and parcel of Indian rural life. It has given the students a feel of the problems faced by the people of remote area away from urban centres, without having basic civic amenities. The practice of continuous village stay makes students to have compassion for the difficulty faced by poor and oppressed classes in the society.

The community engagement is also focused through various other cells. Sports activities ensure the involvement in extension and outreach programs. The proficiency in soft and communication skills through digital language lab adds to this experiential learning.

Evidence of Success:

The success of the activities can be evaluated based on the feedback on the overall activities from students, parents, alumni and faculty. The NSS camps have been successfully organized among the communities in the villages of Vandur, Guddebal and Mugwa. The length of stay and the experiences it generated have had both visible and invisible influence in shaping the outlook, orientation and knowledge worlds of our graduates.

Problem encountered & resources required:

The active involvement of faculty in all the NSS activity provides moral support to the students. The meagre resources available for these camps at present cannot meet the requirements so there is a need to increase the budget allocation for the organization of these camps. 

Best Practices 2:

Title: Environmental Consciousness

Objectives of the practice:

  1. To arouse environmental consciousness within the college campus.
  2. To mobilize students towards scientific enquiry into the environmental problems.
  3. To involve them in efforts to preserve environment.
  4. To motivate students to imbibe lifestyle for minimum waste generation.
  5. To develop environmental ethics among the students community.

The Context:

Green audit is an initiative that contributes to protect the environment of a defined area. A clean environment supports effective learning and provides a inclusive learning environment. Green audit is a kind of professional care that forms the responsibility of each individual. The Bio-club is pioneering this activity work towards an eco-friendly environment in the college thereby contributing towards saving our planet. Our institution is situated on the latheritic plateau and it is equally a challenging task to develop habitat of biodiversity. Energy saving electrical appliances, reducing the solid wastes has been installed.

Practice:

  1. The college adopted Green Graduation, Swachhata Abhiyan, Maintaining greenery, Waste management, Sanitation, Hygiene, Planting the saplings by the involvement of the students. As a part of Green Graduation project, 2020-21 batch CBCS students with Chemistry, Botany, Zoology optionals took this initiative in the provided area. 40 saplings (medicinal and rare species of plants) were planted, protected, watered and nurtured. They studied the growth and taxonomy of the raised plants and documented. The same students will further continue the phyto-chemical study of different plant parts. At the end of the project those students submit the detailed project report and obtain Green Graduation Certificate.
  2. Organized lectures on environmental issues, harmful effects of plastics.
  3. Energy Conservation – use of solar panels in the hostel as a water heater, street lighting, shifting to LED lights and installation of proper taps to check the leakage and wastage of water are the sources of measure which are in place to conserve energy.
  4. Plantation – The importance of plants, plantation can never be under emphasized.
  5. E-waste & solid waste management – These wastes generated in the campus is collected and disposed to authorized agencies.
  6. Vermi-composting – this activity aid in soil aggregation which is necessary for retention and exchange of water & oxygen.
  7. Laboratory facilities are used for Experiential Learning.
  8. Student’s Fest facilitates understanding of the market environment.
  9. The ED cell provides the platform for creative thinkers to take forward their entrepreneurial ideas.
  10. Bridge courses, Field visits, PPT presentation, case studies etc. become students centric.

Evidence of Success:

  • Our campus uses solar energy light from 7.00pm to 6.00am.
  • R.O. water filter plant caters the needs of healthy drinking water for 1000 plus students on regular basis.
  • Green graduation is student driven project contributed a lot in maintaining the ‘Gift of Green’.
  • This project has been instrumental in adding feather the crown of the college as “District Green Champion” for Uttara Kannada District for the academic year 2021-22 by Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India on 12/03/2022.

Problems Encountered:

  • Maintaining solar power panels, inverters reduced the efficiency.
  • There is a need for massive awareness amongst students, who in turn can spread the message across all sections of the society.