Technology is Destiny

THE UBIQUITOUS INFLU­ENCE of technology has made its way right into the curricula of even lower primary grades. Today, the “screen time” measure is much greater than any other index of time. With increased access to comput­ers and the internet, technology has pen­etrated into human lives and systems so much that it has become inseparable. This challenges educators to rework, rewire and rewrite the curricula and the pedagogy of computer science education. Fostering creativity and training in criti­cal thinking and problem-solving should convoy computer education. The Indian government on its part has emphasised the integration of technology in educa­tion through the National Educational Policy 2020. The Digital India campaign, the provision of high-speed internet, and the promotion of e-governance have fur­ther intensified the need to impart com­puter science education at all levels. Now, institutions and industries need to work hand-in-hand to ensure the right curric­ulum and right pedagogy are in place to shape India’s digital future workforce.

Most curricula followed by the uni­versities are updated and focused to skill the students for the job market but follow a more traditional approach to building knowledge. It paves the way for good theoretical knowledge but inadequate practical/problem-solving skills. The neo-curriculum should aim to quickly equip students in project development. This means it is required to re-prioritise and re-order the courses that are being taught. Courses such as web stack devel­opment and app development should be taught much earlier in a manner that stu­dents could take up real-time projects by at least the middle of the third semester. The greatest advantage for today’s stu­dents is that they already have experience and know how software work. They are able to evaluate and compare software even before they can have any formal education in computer science. The words “Google” and “YouTube” have be­come part of every man’s vocabulary and conversation. Therefore, with minimum basics, they will be able to learn software building. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, online learning through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) platforms has become common. Knowledge assimila­tion is no more only from the teacher, but also from online and peers. More often, educators need to wear only a robe of fa­cilitation. Time and environment are ripe to accommodate self-learning, blended learning, and flipped classroom pedago­gies. There is no growth without research in the departments. Research-inclusive curriculum should be introduced even at the undergraduate level. Students should be encouraged and platforms should be created for students to present and pub­lish their research work.

Much emphasis has been given in the past decades on “student-centric” pedago­gies. It is of paramount importance that our curriculum and pedagogies should be student-centric. However, if it is not “teacher-driven”, then the exercise is futile. It is essential that teachers need to conceive/identify ideas and work on the constraints and implementation details of the real world along with the students so that there is much better guidance and continuation in the proj­ects students develop. This also requires that teachers periodically update their knowledge through up-skilling and re-skilling. Many of the projects under­taken by the students do not address real-world concerns. And even if it is so, it lacks real-world constraints. Therefore, it is neither implementable nor anywhere close to solving an issue. Hence, they are good only for dissertation and thesis sub­mission. Institutions should encourage them while teachers should identify in-house projects that could be developed through students.

CHRIST (deemed to be university) realised the importance of imparting digital skills both at the elementary and advanced levels. Therefore, it created courses that would equip students across all disciplines with industry-ready digital skills

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The gap between institutions and industries is a major challenge. Today, many corporates have come forward to offer courses. While it is an appreciable initiative, the price tags attached to such courses become a challenge for many institutions and students. Collaborative initiatives, such as internships and in­dustry projects, would help the students greatly. It is understood that industries have their own constraints in terms of resources and maintaining confidenti­ality. However, it would benefit much if a conscious effort is made to help the institutions. These days, we see a lot of students who have acquired adequate knowledge in software development on their own utilising online materi­als, but institutions struggle to provide resources for such talented students and teachers to build over their knowledge. Industries could share access to resourc­es with necessary security measures in place. Through the availability of high-speed internet and other technologies, sharing access to such resources may be possible. The role of alumni is as great as the teacher. They become our imme­diate contact with the industry. They should be regularly invited to share their experience and learnings. It gives us important feedback for tuning the curricula. While every student should make efforts in keeping in touch with the alma mater, the departments also should ensure that they are recognised and well-utilised during their visits.

CHRIST (Deemed to be University) realised the importance of imparting digital skills both at the elementary and advanced levels. Therefore, it created courses that would equip students across all disciplines with industry-ready digital skills. Through these courses, students pursuing arts and humanities can also acquire fundamental programming skills. These skills include basic word processing to advanced spreadsheet automation. In an effort to become a pa­perless campus, the staff is introduced to digital tools, and periodic training is conducted to ensure that all staff utilise them effectively. The manifestation of generative artificial intelligence sparked debate and panic in the education world. However, when properly viewed, there are many benefits and innovations in teaching and assessment that could still be identified. The university has formed a committee with faculties from across the disciplines to study, innovate and rec­ommend practical usage of such tools in the classrooms.

The curriculum of the Bachelor of Computer Applications and Master of Computer Applications have been up­dated with 70 per cent practical, and 30 per cent theory courses. The students of the Computer Science department have developed several in-house projects and they are implemented on the campus. “Labyrinth”, a collection of seven clubs, provides the students with an opportu­nity to go beyond the curriculum, gain knowledge, explore software project development, and strengthen their extracurricular talent. Participating in hackathons conducted in-house, and by others, has helped students to work on their problem-solving and solution-delivery skills. From time to time, experts from industries are invited for talks un­der the banner of “Corporate Connect”. Having members from the industry on the board of study helps in strengthen­ing relationships and keeping the curri­cula updated. The alumni are invited to evaluate and guide projects, and also as members of the board of study.

About The Author

Ashok Immanuel V

Ashok Immanuel V is Professor and Head, Department of Computer Science, CHRIST (Deemed to be university)