Best Practice

Best Practice 1

Faculty development as the integral part of quality enhancement in academics.

Objectives of the Practice

  1. To train Faculty Members, in the higher learning institutions across the country, by conducting quality academic and capacity building programmes. 
  2. To create an opportunity for Faculty Members to learn and interact with eminent scholars and academicians.
  3. To extend formal training to the newly inducted Faculty Members to prepare for future professional engagements.
  4. To acquaint Faculty Members with modern pedagogical methods,
  5. To prepare Faculty Members for the futuristic blended learning mode of teaching-learning.
  6. To equip Faculty Members to make the latest research-based knowledge relevant in the classroom.

The Practice

  • NSHM offers Faculty Orientation Programmes (FOPs) for newly recruited faculty and discipline specific and interdisciplinary Faculty Development Programs (FDPs)/Refresher Courses, Conferences and Workshops.
  • The FOP content broadly includes innovative teaching-learning pedagogies, research methodologies, ICT-enabled curriculum and e-content development, interpersonal skills and institutional values.
  • Interactive Conferences/Seminars and brainstorming Programmes are held on varied topics to cultivate creative ideas for meaningful research projects.
  • The FDP content is usually based on in-depth subject knowledge, quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, and on an interdisciplinary approach as is envisaged in the National Education Policy(NEP), 2020.
  • Distinguished and internationally acclaimed resource persons deliver lectures and conduct sessions on wide ranging disciplines/topics of relevance in the contemporary and ever evolving global scenario to benefit the teaching fraternity, corporates and researchers.
  • During Covid-19, all programmes were conducted online, adhering to the UGC and University Guidelines.
  • During Covid-19 four Quadrant Approach was flowed (e – tutorial, e – content, Self – Assessment and Web Resources).
  • In order to cater to a large number of online participants, an in-house Learning Management System
  • (LMS) named as CollPoll was developed, hosted on CLOUD with high scalability and reliability. The LMS is predominantly participant-friendly and incorporates evaluation methods and comprehensive feedback systems to judge learning outcomes.
  • There was regular follow-up with the participants, during each programme, through Google Classroom/Telegram/Discussion Forum.
  • During Covid-19 outbreak NSHM had developed programmes to equip the Faculty Members with various tools and applications for online teaching and develop Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). A number of FDPs/FIPs were launched in webinar format and all faculty members had been successfully trained.
  • In order to organise mutually beneficial teacher training programmes, the Institute has entered into number of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with institutions and organisations pan India and International.

Evidence of Success

  • Successfully conducted more than 85 programmes since 2017. These programmes have witnessed overwhelming response and there has been consistent demand for more programmes.
  • A repository of research and academic knowledge (video lectures, e-content, MOOCs) for ready reference has been developed.
  • Many Institutes and universities from across the country as well as International Universities have signed MoUs, for faculty exchange and training programs.

Best Practice 2

TRANSFORMING NSHM KNOWLEDGE CAMPUS INTO A DIGITALLY EMPOWERED INSTITUTION AND KNOWLEDGE CENTRE

Objectives of the Practice

  1. There has been a consistent emphasis on capacity building which is supported by the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) application in various aspects of the Institute’s corporate life.
  2. To enable the blended learning approach to education for anywhere, anytime teaching learning.
  3. To use ICT to enrich the teaching-learning practices in the institution.
  4. To use ICT for increasing work efficiency, save time and avoid duplication of work.
  5. To use ICT for cost-effective, systematic, paperless documentation and record-keeping.
  6. To bring the institution at par with international ICT standards.
  7. To acquire and introduce the latest technology and upgrade existing ICT infrastructure.
  8. To have ICT systems in place for easy and fast communication networks, nationally and internationally.
  9. To upgrade the Media Lab with advanced technology for high quality electronic media production. The Media Lab will serve as a resource centre which will be open for use by the other institutions in West Bengal and also provide consultancy.
  10. To reach a larger audience for training and other programmes offered by the Institute.

The Practice

  1. In the last five years, consistent efforts and financial investments have been made to augment the existing ICT infrastructure. The entire Institute fraternity has acquainted themselves and embraced the digitalisation process enthusiastically.
  2. All the classrooms, the conference room and the seminar rooms are ICT-enabled, with projectors and screens.
  3. The Institute Library has been fully automated, with a free and open-source library management system, KOHA. The library provides e-reader KINDLE to the students to access thousands of e-books.
  4. The Institute has customised a user-friendly Enterprise Resource Planning solution (CollPoll) to manage students’ attendance.
  5. The faculty and staff have been provided with laptops. The Students are also encouraged to use laptops.
  6. Besides the general training programmes, special ICT training is provided to the teaching and non-teaching staff. The Students are upskilled in specialised software and newly acquired equipment.

Evidence of Success

  1. 100% teaching and non-teaching staff of the Institute have been trained in the use of ICT application.
  2. All the Faculty Members use laptops, with pre-installed Enterprise Resource Planning (CollPoll), for attendance.
  3. The Administration, Accounts and Library are fully automated, equipped with the necessary infrastructure and software.
  4. All financial transactions and tendering processes have become faster and easier with the use of digital signature.
  5. Procurement, accession and issue/return of books from the Library has become easier and faster.
  6. All official communications and notices are sent via e-mail and other online platforms.
  7. The Faculty Members use the Media Lab to record lectures. TLC has been extensively using the Media Lab for conducting online teacher training programmes.
  8. The Media Lab has extended consultancy services to other Institutes and institutions across the country. It is also responsible for storing all the audio-visual digital data.
  9. The two International and one national journal namely NSHM Journal Of Management Research and Application (ISSN 0975-2501), NSHM Journal of Pharmacy & Healthcare Management (ISSN 2230-7249) AND NSHM Journal of Language, Literature & Communication (ISBN 978-93-87855-88-5).
  10. In the Covid-19 induced transition to online teaching-learning, the Institute has adopted a uniform platform, Microsoft Teams, for the daily classes and other related works.