Authored by Pradeep Kumar Sinha, Vice Chancellor & Director, IIIT Naya Raipur
In an unprecedented move, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his government was enforcing a 21-day nation-wide lockdown to combat the outbreak of Coronavirus. He assured the public that both the union and state governments will ensure supply of essential goods and services so that people can easily stay put in their houses during the three-week lockdown.
Nonetheless, the shutting down of schools, offices and public transport has significantly disrupted the lives of common people including that of students. Students at different stages of their academic pursuits are finding it hard to keep up with their course developments even though teachers are offering online classes as well as other types of digital academic assistance. With examinations, entrance tests and interviews postponed indefinitely, there is a great amount of uncertainty among students. However, it is important that both students and faculty members utilize this time to brush up their skills, find new avenues of knowledge and keep themselves prepared for a different future that awaits us on the other side of this crisis.
In light of this Dr Pradeep Kumar Sinha, Director and Vice Chancellor IIT Naya Raipur urge students and faculty members to make good use of their time”. Furthermore, the Vice Chancellor shared guidelines for faculty members and students on how they can effectively use this lockdown time.
Guidelines for Students
- Research potential colleges/programs: While you are at home, you could do a deep study on colleges and programs you are considering. I suggest you scan through each university website and understand its requirements so that you know exactly what you need to do to get admission.
- Prepare for standardized tests: As you have ample time at home, you should prepare for the entrance exams. Prepare with the help of mock tests, or quiz templates to familiarize yourself with the test. Study the test pattern thoroughly, as these tests are unlike what you have encountered in your school or college education.
Also, watch YouTube videos and learn about more tips and strategies to ace your exam.
- Draft a winning resume: As you are at home, take the time out to prepare a crisp, error-free and coherently presented resume. While writing your resume, I suggest you don’t beat around the bush. Be specific and honest as that’s one thing admission officers appreciate. You can also use our resume builder tool to create a stellar resume.
- Streamline your social media presence: Social media can help you enhance your story and make your application credible. If you have not been diligent about what you post on social media, use this time to sweep clean of all the unwanted stories that can potentially damage your admission chances.
- Read! Read! Read: Reading is a good way to absorb. Don’t restrict your choice of genre or author. The more you open your mind to new books, the richer your experience will be. See the world through the eyes of eminent writers, and you will gain valuable lessons from them. Join a digital library or spend time at online book clubs to build your knowledge about books.
- Pursue new things: Students must pursue their hobbies or learn a new skill such as reading/writing novels, learning to play a musical instrument, cooking, learning a foreign language with online certification, watching good movies, developing models, making prototypes, apps, videos, paintings, etc. during lockdown.
Guidelines for faculty members
- The faculty members and students should make best use of online teaching/learning methods to cover the courses of this semester. Several members who need to improve their English language communication skills that include reading, writing, speaking skills should do so.
- Faculty members, students, research scholars as well as staff members must think of new solutions related to social Distancing or virus Spread as well as optimal/heuristic containment and write interesting papers for social benefits in such crisis situations which will be shared with students, faculty members and their families.
- Members wishing to improve their technical understanding of some subject may pick up a classic textbook on the subject and read it completely. For example, you can pick a book on computer networks, signals & systems, communication systems, computer architecture, robotics, internet of things, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cognitive systems, cyber security, operating systems, etc. Reading a textbook thoroughly even multiple times helps clear your concepts.
- Try doing things that will help in making this institute better and in improving the image of your institute. For example, you may write positive blogs about your institute in social media.
Finally he appealed once again to all the students and faculty members to stay inside and keep themselves busy by saying with this message “For your own sake and for the sake of your motherland, please do not waste your valuable time in indulging in non-fruitful activities. The nation needs your time for its progress and there are ample opportunities to spend your time fruitfully for nation building. One way to work towards nation building is to use your time to learn new things and sharpen your skills, so that tomorrow you can contribute effectively in your profession and prove to be an important agent of a far better India in the years to come. Please stay safe and keep yourself fully engaged in fruitful activities”.
