The UGC-Human Resource Development Centre, JU, formerly known as UGC-Academic Staff College, is performing its responsibility for quality enhancement and faculty development of existing teachers and librarians from all over the country through successful organization of Orientation Programmes, Refresher Courses, Winter/Summer Schools and Short Term Courses following the guidelines of the University Grants Commission. Its success in disbursing such responsibilities rests not only on the quality of lectures and other components of the courses, but also on the sincerity, dedication, efficiency and helping attitude of all the staff of the UGC-HRDC, JU. Continuous support from the university administration has made our endeavour all the more easy.
Orientation Programmes organized by us during 2017-18 have dimensions and characteristics that make these distinctively different from its predecessors as well as from similar programmes organized elsewhere. One such dimension is organizing study tours at places like Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) Kolkata, and Sea Explorer, Kolkata. In the former place, the participants of 65th OP had the opportunity to get first-hand experience in direction, sound, cinematography, editing and animation through a guided tour of different units of SRFTI. At Sea Explorer, on the other hand, participants of 66th and 67th OP got first-hand learning experience in disaster management and rescue operation. These study tours have been well received by participants and a great learning experience for the participants as revealed by them in their feedbacks.
Other dimension of the programme is survey-based project and/or group discussions for which the participants are divided into seven or eight groups and each group is given a particular topic to research and debate on. With group members being chosen from across different disciplines, and with topics assigned being of general themes and inter-disciplinary in nature, this gives the participants a good opportunity to exchange ideas and work with participants from other disciplines.
The lecture sessions are usually arranged keeping in mind three criteria: topics of current affairs of national as well as international importance (such as demonetization, GST, BREXIT, environmental preservation); topics of general interest for moral, psychological and professional development (such as lectures on values and ethics, emotional intelligence, stress management, research methodology, CAS/service matters, IQAC); and topics of cross-discipline and multi-discipline in nature. On top of all these, in each OP, we usually organize at least two sessions on performing arts with live demonstration.
We at the UGC-HRDC, JU, put a lot of weight and importance to suggestions of the participants, particularly with regard to improvement in course design and infrastructure. Some of the suggestions in the recent past have been extremely useful in providing us direction for future development of the UGC-HRDC, JU, and for disbursing its moral responsibilities more efficiently and effectively according to the needs of the stakeholders. I hope that the UGC-HRDC, JU, would continue to receive the support, encouragement and suggestions from all stakeholders in future years as well that it has received in the recent past to achieve new heights of excellence.