Best practices

Best Practices

Best Practice – I

Title of the Practice:

Industry- Institute Interaction for Academic enrichment

 Objective of the Practice:

St.Joseph’s college, being an ‘Autonomous Institution’ has engaged itself in the process of curriculum enrichment and enhancement. The College maintains robust industry academia linkages along with MoUs and collaborations with agencies, organizations, Institutions and eminent people to give a boost to the employability quotient of the student and to provide wider options for students to pursue higher studies research and Value Added Courses.

          • To bridge the gap between Academia and Industry
          • To promote hands on learning
          • To provide diversification of courses
          • To make the students corporate ready

The Context:

Education, in the context of global employability and wholesome living, is defined as imbibing the right knowledge,skills and values among students.  It has created a need for the students to be pragmatic, where theoretical knowledge is crucial, only when combined with the practical’ know how’ and the skills to address the real issues outside the classroom. The challenge lay in identifying skill sets required for various disciplines & areas of study.

A Multi- disciplinary approach widens the student’s perspectives in the domain area. Interdisciplinary and skill enhancement papers have been introduced with a view to enhance the employability, provide wider options for students to pursue higher studies and research and also help them in clearing competitive examinations.

The college has maintained a robust industry- academia interface to bridge the gap between the two to make the curriculum industry relevant.  The internship opportunities also help students to get an experiential learning opportunity before they make a permanent choice of a career. It gives them hands on experience and thereby provides more scope for employment.

Training programmes,workshops ,seminars  & lectures organised by invitees from the corporate sector & other institutions offering employment help the students bridge the gap.

The Practice:

Joint Academic – Industry Partnership

MOU’s  and Collaborations with Academic Institutions and Industries have helped in curriculum development, projects, internships and on the job trainings.

      • Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) a global professional accounting body and International Skill Development Corporation ( ISDC) for integrating ACCA Curriculum in B.Com (International Finance & Accounting) empowering the students to conveniently adapt to an ever changing and dynamic business environment.
      • Berkadia Services India Private Limited for Industry ready BCRE training program and placements.
      • A Memorandum of Understanding with International Business Machines (IBM) to design the course BBA (Business Analytics) keeping in view the industry requirements.
      • Collaboration with TASK (Telangana Academy of Skill and Knowledge) for Seminars and workshops.
      • Institute Initiatives:
      • Today’s market needs are widely diversified, a well designed course structure only will fill the gaps between traits which markets expect and knowledge provided in curriculum, to bridge this gap college also offers various mandatory Value added courses along with their curriculum to enhance employability of Josephites.
      • The Institute conducts rigorous Pre-Placement Training Programmes for the Under graduate and Post graduate students to make them industry ready throughout the academic year (2021-22) the Institute has tied up with Shining Techno & Career Conduit, Hyderabad and Create U Training Institute to improve the students communication and soft skills and train the students in Aptitude, Critical Reasoning, Spoken English, Group Discussions, Technical and HR Interview skills and tie up with Aspiring minds to conduct AMCAT Test to make students Industry Ready.
      • In order to enhance discipline specific skills individual departments organise a number of guest lectures and activities. These are usually conducted for students of the second & final year in order to orient them with the latest trends in the field and also provide a glimpse into the work culture at various organizations. A number of field visits are organised to institutions, agencies & companies of repute to provide a visual and practical understanding of the work environment.

Evidence of Success:

      • Conducted Tutorial classes with ACCA and ISDC for B.Com IFA Students and 1 club event was organised .  orientation on Projects was organised   in Collaboration with IBM for BBA (Business Analytics) students. Organised workshops and seminars with TASK .
      • Networking with Academia/ Industry and Research Organisations.
      • The scope of the curriculum in the UG & PG level is extended through various Value added Courses that integrate with the existing academic programs .A total of 27 certificate courses are offered by various departments. It is mandatory for the student to complete at least two certificate courses. A total of 1049 students benefited from these courses.
      • Career Development Center: The Career Development Center based on feedback received from various Recruiters, developed a plan of action to train students through the following initiatives:
      • CRT Program: Career Development Center of St.Joseph’s Degree & PG College planned and organized Campus recruitment training programme for 517 registered final year students of all streams. The college has tied up with the most reputed “Create U Training Institute” and Shining Techno & Career Conduit. The Programme covered two areas Aptitude (Quant and Reasoning) and Attitude (Soft Skills). Students’ feedback was very positive and said that the training programme helped them to face interviews with confidence.
      • Pre Placement Talk: Pre placement sessions are regularly held by Guest Faculty from reputed companies, research institutions to orient the students about the workplace culture and provide insights into recent trends in specific areas of study. The Departments & the Career Development Cell collaborate to identify accomplished experts in various fields.
      • Internships: Invited speakers from various organisations who gave opportunity to our students for Internships and students are also given Internship opportunities by Internshala
      • Feed Back: 75% of registered students seeking employment are recruited at the first stage of placement activity. As evidenced by feedback received from recruiting companies, students of the college have been greatly appreciated for their competence, employment readiness and communication skills. This feedback motivates the faculty and management alike to initiate similar programmes in the future as well.

Problems Encountered:

      • Need based specialized course is expensive
      • Regular update of courses as per need and demand is not easy.
      • New faculty to be trained
      • Commitment and focus of students.
      • Need to take steps for enhancing skill set among students.
      • Providing Internships opportunity to Under Graduate students.

Value Added Courses Details for Academic Year 2021-2022

Value Added Courses MOU’s

 

 

             Best Practice-II

Title of the Practice:

Centre for Social Transformation

 Objectives of the practice:

      • To inculcate Social awareness, gender equity, universal values of love and brotherhood and environmentally responsible behaviour amongst students.
      • To nurture and sensitize students on their citizenship roles so as to involve them in social service and nation building.
      • To involve the students in awareness programmes for grooming them as agents of social transformation.

The Context:

Despite rapid advances in science and technology, the reality of India is fraught with problems such as poverty, rising consumerism, declining values, social exclusion, inequality, injustice, illiteracy and environmental degradation.

In this context, higher education in India will no longer hold any value unless community engagement is made an integral part of the educational process to achieve a more just and sustainable world.

St.Joseph’s College is a Catholic and Christian minority Educational institution founded in 1997 with the motto “Love, Knowledge, Service” for the holistic Development of its students. Driven by the goals of higher education in India, the college is committed to empower the students by engaging them in socially responsible activities that pave way for the integrated development to students, society, nation and the world as a whole and Promote ethical, national, social and environmental awareness.

The Practice

Centre for Social Transformation is an integral part of the College vision “To create Distinctive environment of educational excellence with humane values and social commitment”.

Extension activities and outreach programmes at St. Joseph’s are streamlined through centre called “The Centre for Social transformation”, which has a three pronged focus on Joseph’s Social Responsibility (JSR), Women Empowerment Cell(WEC) and Joseph’s Green Group (JGG) to foster Social responsibility, Gender parity and Environmental consciousness among the students, faculty and society at large. Each of these cells are well structured and headed by a convenor with faculty and students as committee members.  The committee meets regularly to plan its annual activities in line with its vision and mission. Apart from the planned activities the committee responds promptly to any emerging social and environmental issues. They also celebrate special days like The Ozone Day, International Women’s Day, International Day of Girl Child, AIDS awareness Day, International Plantation Day, National Pollution Control Day, etc.

The College has a special tradition of observing Joseph’s Social Responsibility (JSR) day every year in the month of February where all the students and  faculty of the college  are engaged in community service by visiting the needy in orphanages, old age homes, home for the mentally and physically challenged etc.  The students plan variety of activities ranging from games to health camps, medical camps, awareness programmes in slums about Hygiene, sanitation, etc. Awareness Programmes and rallies like AIDs awareness and cyber safety campaigns are organised in collaboration with NGOs, Telangana Cyber Police etc. The joy of giving week is also celebrated as part of Christmas celebrations. LAND TO LAB programmes are also organised for knowledge dissemination to the underprivileged children.

The Women Empowerment Cell of the College, envisioned to empower women for a life of equality, empowerment, personal enhancement and professional success, conducts various awareness health camps, legal, entrepreneurship, defence techniques, etc., Committed to sensitize people towards gender discrimination and elimination of gender-based violence, the cell organizes street plays, flash mobs, runs, etc in collaboration with She teams, Telangana Cyber  police, etc

JGG creates awareness among the students and society about various environmental issues and eco-friendly practices for sustainable environment. The  environment promotion programmes conducted in collaboration with GHMC, twin cities pollution board committee etc. include Haritha Haram, Guest Lecture on plastic free campus, competition in making Eco-Friendly Ganesha , Seminar on “ Climate Change – Science , impact and solutions”, Active farming, Free Pollution Check etc.

Evidence of Success

The evidence of success is seen in a perceptible internalization of values and character building as result of their continuous participation in civic engagement activities. It is observed that 98% of students participate every year in outreach programmes.

Students as a part of JSR DAY, visited nearly 50 orphanages/old age homes/schools etc. and contributed to a tune of 15 lakhs. Student interface with the needy on JSR day marks a life transforming experience as recorded by most students who are visibly moved to tears at the end of the day spent with inmates of old age homes, destitute, physically and mentally disabled. The lasting impact of this experience is seen, as most of them make it a practice to go back to them for celebrating their birthdays etc.

The evidence of success of 7 gender sensitization programmes on legal, medical awareness, entrepreneurship, Psychological well being, self-defence, self-esteem etc. have a  decisive impact on the girls students, making them confident and competitive to emerge successful in facing the challenges in career and life.

The 8 environment promotion activities including awareness programmes have created a successful impact in adopting certain practices like avoiding plastic cups, disposable bottles, eco-friendly Ganeshas, giving sampling as Mementos, paper bags for prospectus etc.

Problems Encountered and Resources Required

      • There are often limitations faced in generating the required resources to operate the various outreach programmes.
      • Persuading the parents for the implementation of outreach prorgrammes outside the college schedule was difficult.
      • To augment the alternate energy sources across the campus buildings requires large expenditures, which is difficult to rise, being self financed institution.
      • Implementation of absolute paperless office is challenging.
      • Continuous engagement with the marginalised is essential for a long time and sustainable impact of social service but due to tight academic schedules it is difficult.
      • It is difficult to motivate the academically inclined students & faculty for non-academic assignments.
      • Coordination and timely permission with concerned authorities is difficult.

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES FOR ACADEMIC YEAR 2021-2022