P2P [Pedagogue to Pathfinder]

An ongoing P2P programme at Invertis University

It does not need to be proved that Universities and Institutions are awarding degrees and diplomas to students who complete the curriculum and successfully clear the final examinations. It becomes a matter of concern for every University or Institution to address the issues regarding their placements and the image they carry about their Institution to the outside world.

Everyone agrees that the prospective recruiters are looking for ready-made material for placements, but to our utter dismay we find that the selection ratio is abysmally low – primarily because they find that the candidates were still way below their expectations, of course with a few exceptions, which does not offer any solace either to the recruiter or to the institution. The candidate too is frustrated and therefore we are left with a ‘lose-lose’ situation.

In our frenzy to overcome the situation we deploy personality development courses or administer mock interviews just about three months before the students are required to find their placements. Does it help? Our experience makes it very clear that the answer to this question is a clear and big ‘NO’! You cannot transform human beings in three months’ time. They need to be continually injected with inputs and on a regular basis to make them employable. We are not suggesting an exclusive faculty who would undertake this responsibility throughout the curriculum. These inputs have to come from all the teachers and at all times.

Most of the faculty members have academic experience and very rarely have a corporate or industry exposure. They need to be equipped to handle the situation and undergo repeated programmes, preferably one in every quarter, if not more, to hone up their skills in this area. It was the prerogative and responsibility of every teacher to ensure that their students became employable, come whatever discipline they teach. Therefore, if for example a Finance teacher talks about how to handle a Chartered Accountant or what were the reasons for the prevailing bullish or bearish market, it would not be out of place.

Prescribed courses have to be completed as per syllabus but they need to be embedded with examples from real life situations. Therefore it is no more a 9am to 5pm job for a teacher/professor, particularly where you are teaching a professional course, as it used to be in Universities earlier, when core academics was the focus.

We are experts in behavioural and attitudinal transformation www.percontsi.com, having cumulatively more than 150 years of transformation in the corporate and industry as also academic institutions imparting professional education. We undertake Faculty Development Programmes to instil what has been said so far in this letter. Our credentials have been proven in Invertis University, Bareilly, Jamia Hamdard University, Delhi and Mewar University, Chittaurgarh.

We would be only too pleased to help you out in your endeavour to bring about an acceptable brand image for your University/Institution through our programmes and interventions, and also do justice to the cause of education simultaneously.

Dhruva Trivedy lighting the lamp before starting a P2P Programme at IITM