Galgotias University ups its virtual education game amid COVID-19

The Coronavirus outbreak is changing the educational landscape across the globe by transforming the traditional chalk-talk teaching method to tech-driven learning. The educators are harnessing and utilizing the bevy of available technological tools to create content for remote learning of the students. This has opened up new possibilities to do things differently, with greater flexibility leading to potential benefits of easily accessible education for students while also maintaining social distancing to curb the spread.

One of Delhi NCR’s leading educators, with a 100% placement record over the last four years, Galgotias University, located in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh is turning this adversity into opportunity. Since day one of the lockdown, the university has ensured no stumbling block affects the learning curve.

Equipped with its e-learning tools

Its e-learning tools have heralded a key to tide over students’ concerns over learning and keeping them academically occupied during the lockdown. Galgotias University is continuously exploring opportunities to innovate and fuel the growth of its students. The batch of 2020 has already been offered jobs with reputed companies at handsome packages.

Regular online classes, assessments, and seminars for its students have helped continue the learning process, using platforms such as Zoom, Moodle, Google Classrooms, Google Hangouts, Skype, Webex, and Virtual Labs. Students, across courses, are also attending e-sessions by industry experts—all from the comfort of their homes. Faculty members are available 24*7 through phone calls and WhatsApp guiding pupils at every step.

Now students can take their pick from 15,000+ online lectures, 9,000+ e-learning resources, 3,000+ virtual classroom instances, 4,000+ online assignments, 1,000+ virtual videos, and 500+ virtual programming labs. They also have access to over 4,000 courses on industry-ready skills on multiple MOOC platforms (for credit transfer). E-resources such as NPTEL, SWAYAM, Udemy, Coursera, and MIT OpenCourseWare links are shared with all the students to enhance their learning curve.

The University’s app allows students to plan their lectures, and keep abreast of seminars, activities, and events. It also keeps them informed about their attendance status, results, and course handouts provided by the faculty.

Embracing technology and learning

“Galgotias University has been embracing technology and providing a parallel learning environment to its students for over a decade now. Our students have always been ahead in terms of learning and adapting to Industry 4.0 technologies. Consequentially, we have an outstanding placement record year after year. Even in these challenging times, the batch of 2020 has already been offered jobs by leading companies at attractive salary packages,” says Dhruv Galgotia, CEO, Galgotias University.

They are organising internships and placement interviews online. Even the faculty meetings are being held virtually. Faculty development programmes on outcome-based education, teaching-learning pedagogy, and new quality benchmarks are being discussed and implemented. The National Board of Accreditation (NBA) recently accredited three of the programmes offered by Galgotias University. These include Computer Science Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Electronics and Communication. Galgotias University is now one of the youngest, as well as one of the very few private universities in the country, to have received such accreditation.

Suneel Galgotia, Chancellor, Galgotias University, believes that accreditation plays a vital role in facilitating the improvement of higher learning, recognising the innovations and achievements of the university, as well as its strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. This will also demonstrate accountability to the public and indicate the university’s commitment to excellence and will give it a new sense of direction and identity. Not only has this, leading global universities admitted students only from NBA-accredited universities and colleges.

“This will now open the doors for us to 20+ countries under the Washington Accord, where accreditation such as NBA is acknowledged,” says Dr.Preeti Bajaj, VC, Galgotias University. About the allocation of funds to the education sector in the Union Budget, Dr. Bajaj says, “The government has introduced a lot of schemes and programs on skill development, which is appreciable.”

A noble gesture to contain the pandemic

To mitigate the after-effects and contain the spread of the pandemic, Galgotias has provided the Uttar Pradesh government with 2,200 beds for doctors. The university, which believes in giving back to society, has also helped create a quarantine centre in a short time. Over 6,000 meals are provided to the needy and 2,000 sanitizers have been arranged to ensure proper hygiene. Further, the university has announced Rs. 21 lakhs towards the Chief Minister’s Covid-19 relief fund.

While maintaining its reputation of being a premium centre of knowledge generation and dissemination, such philanthropic acts will take Galgotias even further in their quest to achieve overall excellence.

Disclaimer: This content is distributed by Digpu News Network. No HT journalist is involved in creation of this content