Centre for Teaching and Learning hosts exposure visit for school principals in collaboration with CBSE on August 19-20
21 August 2024, Bengaluru: The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at IIM Bangalore hosted an exposure visit for school principals in collaboration with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on August 19 and 20, 2024. The visit was engineered in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020’s pioneering initiative to foster the synergies between schools and higher education institutions (HEIs). It aimed at providing the principals with an exposure to interactive learning, access to different environments, latest trends & practices at the workplace, and advanced processes & techniques used by HEIs across the country.
In all, 68 school principals from different parts of the country attended the programme. The attendees were selected from CBSE affiliated private and government schools from Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jammu, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
The programme was inaugurated by Prof. Sushanta K Mishra, Chairperson of CTL, and Mr. Sandeep Kumar Jain, Joint Secretary (Training), CBSE. Prof. Mishra delivered the introductory speech, where he welcomed participants and shared an overview of the various facets of IIMB. Mr. Jain addressed the principals, urging them to utilize the key learnings from the exposure visit to facilitate mentoring support for their teachers and educators.
The event was thoughtfully curated to give the participants a general idea of the work carried out by different departments at IIMB. There were 8 sessions led by functional heads of different centres and departments, which were as follows:
-
In the opening session, IIMB’s Chief Administrative Officer, (Retd.) Col. S D Aravendan, outlined the core aspects of the administration at the institute, including supervision of students, hostel and mess/canteen management, campus development activities, operational excellence, and process optimization.
-
Dr. Sudha Rao, Head of the Academic Programmes office, walked the principals through the different programmes and courses offered at the institute. She also presented a synopsis of the process of accreditation and shared a brief outline of the institutional rankings received by IIMB at national and international levels.
-
Lopamudra Dewan, Manager of the Centre for Teaching and Learning, elaborated on the primary functions of her centre, while highlighting the various teaching & learning-focused initiatives taken by the team. She also addressed several teaching-learning related concerns and queries raised by the principals during her session.
-
Anand Ganesh, the CEO of the N S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning, shared his insights on the various entrepreneurial ventures that were funded and supported by the centre. In his interaction with the principals, he shared his interest to find ways to collaborate with educators to bridge the gaps in the school education system.
-
Vijayalakshmi Subramanian from IIMBx, IIMB’s digital learning wing, conducted an interactive session by involving the principals in a few response-driven activities on digital platforms. She also talked in detail about the numerous online courses available on IIMBx that can be leveraged by young learners and educators alike.
-
Dr. Rama Patnaik, Librarian at IIMB, gave an overview of the resources housed in IIMB’s library and how they can be accessed. Drawing from her extensive research on digitalizing library operations, she threw light on the importance of libraries as an evolving space for learning.
-
Kavitha Kumar, the Head of Communications, discussed how to develop and implement communication strategies in alignment with organizational goals. She also touched upon the aspect of public relations and the role of a communications unit in managing crisis and maintaining public trust while handling media coverage of an organization.
-
Utanka Sharma, the Head of Alumni Relations, delivered an informative session on the numerous steps and initiatives taken by the institute’s alumni association to sustain mutual growth and create a social impact.
The sessions were followed by a brainstorming session, where Prof. Sushanta Mishra interacted with the principals to discuss key takeaways of the programme and possible ways in which IIMB can contribute to and collaborate with school ecosystems. Apart from the sessions, the programme also included a comprehensive campus tour for the participants.
As part of the valediction ceremony, Prof. Rishikesha Krishnan, Director of IIMB, also addressed the school principals, where he shared a quick glimpse into IIMB’s journey of becoming an institution of eminence. In his closing remarks, he shared his thoughts on the need for educators and academic institutions to keep evolving in an ever-changing educational landscape. In particular, Prof. Krishnan encouraged the principals to incorporate practical, hands-on experiments outside the classroom setup to enhance school students' research effectiveness.
Click here for photo gallery