Kanoria PG Mahila Mahavidyalaya Jaipur, Associate Professor, Department of Zoology: Dr. Ranjana Agrawal Interview

Dr Ranjana Agarwal is an Associate Professor at Kanoria PG Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Jaipur. She has more than 27 years of experience teaching Zoology and Biotechnology. Dr. Agarwal has served as Head of the Department of Biotechnology for 13 years. she has also published several research papers in reputed national and international journals. Moreover, she has two textbooks and articles to her credit. She has also presented ten papers and five posters at conferences and seminars and is the recipient of the best presentation award. Presently, she is also the convenor of the Center of Career Guidance, Training, and Placement and an IQAC coordinator.

What are your roles and responsibilities?

The analogy of students as raw soil and teachers as the ones who polish and convert them into knowledgeable products can be seen as a metaphorical representation of the educational process. This emphasizes my transformative role as a teacher in shaping students' knowledge and skills.

As a teacher, my role is to facilitate learning and guide students toward knowledge acquisition. I need to provide instruction, support, and mentorship to help students develop their intellectual capabilities. So that instead of passive recipients of knowledge. The main focus is on the holistic development of students so that they can become responsible and better-informed graduates.

How do you tend to establish healthy relations with the students and fellow faculty?

Establishing healthy relationships with students and fellow faculty members is crucial for a positive and productive academic environment. To foster these relationships, communication, collaboration, respect, empathy, mentorship, recognition, and encouragement are very important. Open and effective communication is essential. Actively listen to students and colleagues, encourage feedback, and create opportunities for dialogue.

We regularly communicate about expectations, updates, and any relevant information to ensure that everyone is well-informed. To promote student cooperation, we encourage teamwork, group discussions, and projects. Among my colleagues, I encourage collaborative research or teaching initiatives and encourage sharing ideas and expertise. Treating students and fellow faculty members with respect and acknowledging their perspectives, opinions, and diversity are other important ways to improve the relationship so that everyone feels valued and supported.

How do you try to make subjects industry-oriented?

Making subjects industry-oriented involves aligning the curriculum, teaching methods, and learning outcomes with the needs and demands of the industry. In order to do that, we update our subjects with the latest trends, advancements, and practices in the industry. We also invite industry professionals to deliver guest lectures or participate in panel discussions to share their real-world experiences, challenges, and insights.

We also incorporate case studies and real-life examples from industry settings into our teaching. Practical assignments and projects are given to students to apply their knowledge and skills in industry-relevant scenarios. We also foster collaborations between our institution and industry partners through internships, industry visits, or joint research projects. Students also participate in workshops, training programs that are relevant to the industry to acquire additional skills and knowledge that make them more employable.

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How do you strategize and update the curriculum to make it befitting for the students?

Our course curriculum is prepared and updated as per university guidelines. As the college is affiliated with the University of Rajasthan, we follow the curriculum designed and prescribed by them. We keep ourselves informed about current educational trends, research, and best practices in our subject area and send recommendations to the University of Rajasthan for their consideration.

How the institution ensures effective curriculum delivery?

The institution ensures effective curriculum delivery through a participatory and experiential learning process. To provide students with experiential learning, the college organizes national and international conferences and workshops. Experts from academia and industry are invited for the deliberations. Industrial visits, educational tours, inter- and intra-collegiate activities are also organised to ensure adequate exposure for the students so as to keep them abreast of growing competition.

What are your views on placements and higher education?

Our centre for career guidance, training and placement at the institution acts as a bridge between the students and the industry and helps our students get placements in reputed organizations. To nurture the seeds of entrepreneurship and self-employment in the students, the Entrepreneurship Club and the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development were set up in 2017.

Under these banners, we have organized numerous workshops, business plan competitions, and interactive sessions with successful entrepreneurs from time to time. To promote entrepreneurial initiatives The Centre for Entrepreneurship Development has successfully established an Incubation Center, ‘NARIKA.’ Additionally, some students have also progressed in higher education from our campus.

How do you help a student to cope with outside competition?

We encourage students to develop a growth mindset through efforts and practice which are important to developing cognitive abilities and intelligence. We teach them to focus on their personal progress and improvement. We motivate them to upgrade their skills from time to time. We also organize soft skill trainings, workshops for them.

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What extracurricular activities raise the skills of students to face real-world challenges?

Engaging in extracurricular activities can help students develop skills that are valuable for facing real-world challenges. Keeping this in mind, we organize a variety of extracurricular and co-curricular activities in our college for the holistic development of students' through our extracurricular clubs, subject associations, skill enhancement courses, NSS, and NCC units. They act as a platform for creative expression and critical thinking.