Are faculty development sessions crucial to create an impact in the global education scenario?

Apeejay Stya University (ASU), Gurugram recently organised an online five days Faculty Development Programme (FDP) on “Educational leadership & effective decision making” under Gyanodaya: FDP Series in collaboration with AIU- AADC and ASU, started with the inaugural session in which a total of 175 participants joined the session. The chief guest for the session was Ms. Ruchira Kamboj, Former IFS Officer and Guest of Honour was Ms. Ranjana Parihar, Joint Secretary, AIU, who were joined by Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, Prof. Vijay Vir Singh, ASU.

The Vice Chancellor  of ASU Prof. (Dr). Vijay Vir Singh addressed the inaugural session. The chief guest for the event was Ms. Ruchira Kamboj, Former IFS Officer and Guest of Honour was Ms. Ranjana Parihar, Joint Secretary, AIU along with a total 170 presented participants for the five day FDP. He further highlighted the importance of conducting such a program at the university level in collaboration with AIU- AADC.

The Chief guest emphasised on the upgradation of the faculties and how it can impact the global education scenario and set the tone for FDP. The Guest of honour Ms. Ranjana Parihar suggested the impact of AIU- AADC.

Next session of the morning started by welcoming Prof. Sheila Rai, Former member ICSSR. She made a preposition on the concept of feminism in educational leadership and shared various real time examples to elaborate the different aspects of leadership.

The  evening session of the day started by Prof. Sandeep Sancheti, Vice President of Elsevier, India, provided an insightful session on “Building Collaborative Culture” as part of a one-week Faculty Development Program organised by Apeejay Stya University. He emphasised the importance of open house sessions that facilitate active engagement among faculty, students, and higher management. Prof. Sancheti shared key principles that have proven effective over time, urging educators to “reform, perform, and transform” to foster an evolving educational environment. Prof. Sancheti highlighted new approaches to learning, including blended teaching methods and a shift toward multidisciplinary studies, which are central to fostering a well-rounded education.

Day two of FDP was facilitated by Prof. (Fr.) S. Xavier, SJ, Principal, St. Xavier’s College, Jaipur an expert in the field of organisational behaviour and leadership, who brought valuable insights on the importance of fostering collaboration within educational institutions and beyond. Prof. Xavier emphasised on collaboration The session also covered practical strategies to foster collaboration by encouraging both formal and informal communication between colleagues. He suggested that institutes/ universities should create recognition systems that incentivise teamwork and collective achievements. The second session was conducted by Dr. Sanjay Kumar, an Adjunct Faculty at Duke University. Dr. Kumar’s extensive experience across government, private sector, academia, and international organisations positioned him as an invaluable resource for attendees seeking to enhance their decision-making skills in educational contexts. Dr. Kumar provided a comprehensive overview of various decision-making models, emphasising the importance of a structured approach. A significant portion of the session was dedicated to discussing the implications of the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 for educational institutions. Dr. Kumar elaborated on how NEP 2020 aims to transform the educational landscape in India, focusing on holistic and multidisciplinary approaches. Dr. Kumar stressed the significance of considering multiple perspectives when making decisions. The session also explored the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in research and decision-making processes.

Day 3 started with Ms. Rekha Bharadwaj, an ACC-certified coach by the International Coaching Federation and is a professional member of the Indian Society of Behavioural Sciences and the Indian Society for Training and Development. One of the session’s key elements was a group task where participants were assigned a case study requiring a decision. The group members had to select a leader or moderator from amongst themselves to guide the decision-making process

The evening session was led by the esteemed Prof. Poonam Batra, Professor of Education. Prof. Batra guided the participants through a nuanced exploration of educational leadership philosophies and highlighted various approaches that have evolved over time. Prof. Batra discussed multiple paradigms of leadership, emphasising a shift from traditional leadership approaches toward shared and distributed leadership. Prof. Batra also explored the key challenges facing educational leadership. She emphasised the importance of moving the development focus from individual achievement to collective responsibility, urging leaders to foster an environment that upholds both self-regulation and a respect for others’ academic freedoms.

In the first session of Day 4, Prof. Saklani. presented an engaging and thought-provoking session that drew from real-life leadership examples across business, economic, political, and spiritual arenas. The Evening session of Day 4 was started by Prof. Bajpai. He emphasised the significance of adapting educational approaches to cater to diverse learners, particularly highlighting distinct strategies for slow learners and fast learners. Recognising the importance of representation, with the story of Rani Durgawati. Prof. Bajpai also advocated for syllabus reform, encouraging the inclusion of indigenous knowledge and ancient texts to enrich the curriculum. His perspective underlined a balanced approach to modern education that respects traditional knowledge systems, aiming to cultivate a more inclusive and culturally aware educational framework. Day 5 of FDP Dr. Prabhat every simply yet powerfully explained the role of brain parts like amygdala and neurons in the experience of happiness. He shared that due to cognitive basis of mind we focus on 80% of negative thoughts and only 20% of positive thoughts. Mind plays a vital role in experiencing happiness.  He used every impactful video to make this concept clear to the audience.

Before the valedictory session, a feedback session from participants was conducted where participants shared their feedback that the FDP was very well curated and all sessions were amazing. This was followed by the overall FDP feedback by Dr. Shatakshi Srivastava. The valedictory address was given by Prof. (Dr). Vijay Vir Singh, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, ASU and Prof. Sasi Gopal Menon, Dean, School of Design & Visual Arts who shared their viewpoints about educational leadership and how the participants should share the learnings with others as well so that the concept can percolate through the faculties of HEI’s.