Anurag University, HOD English: Dr. G. V. S. Ananta Lakshmi Interview

Dr. G. V. S. Ananta Lakshmi is the HOD of English at Anurag University. She did her PhD in American literature in 2005 and has over 19 years of experience teaching engineering students. She has presented 26 papers at various national and international conferences and 18 papers published in reputed international and national journals. Dr. Lakshmi is a member of the Katherine Anne Porter Society, Maryland, U.S.A., IATEFL, and the ELTAI. She has received the prestigious Dewang Mehta National Education Awards’ Women in Education Award at the Institute of Public Enterprises in Hyderabad. As the Chairman of the Board of Studies, English at Anurag University, she has designed many courses and was instrumental in initiating new labs. She is a BOS member at many other institutes, like Srinivasa Ramanujan Institute of Technology (SRIT), Anantapur, A.P., Vignan Jyothi Institute of Technology, and Lords Institute of Technology and Sciences.

What is the latest program that you are offering in your institute/dept. which will help students outperform and stand apart from the crowd?

The latest programme we have is a PhD degree in Language and Literature in the English department. We have 16 scholars at present who are also working simultaneously with us. There have been four batches in total in the programme since 2020. Recently, we started another batch in the PhD Language degree who will go on to work as Language teachers.

What are the factors that make this program the best for the students to opt?

The factor that makes this programme the best for students to opt for is that it is the perfect degree for students who aspire to venture into research. The exclusive teaching practice used at Anurag University. We teach classes in a specific subject, and generic subject areas and teach research paper writing. Students get all the skills they need to work as research scholars and write papers for journals. Our students write papers out of which the Departmental Research Committee selects eight papers that are presented in seminars. They learn how to study subjects critically and understand how to draft a paper, an abstract, conclusions, a bibliography, and a literature survey. Students are also the ethics of researching and writing a plagiarism-free paper with the right tools. All of these together make our programme the best for research students.

What will you say the “best practices” in the course you’re offering?

Anurag University follows a set of best practices that are aimed at enhancing the student’s communication and language skills. We follow these practices from the time they come to college till they graduate. Most students lack a strong foundation in language due to their background. We try to address this by teaching the basics, like phonetics, during the first year. The second year shifts to soft skill development through different activities that force students to use these skills. By the third year, the students adopt a choice-based credit system where they can choose their own electives. These electives range from technical writing to completing internships. We also get our final-year students to mark the papers of third-year students to teach them how to give feedback and evaluate properly. Our students also complete over 2000 projects that can give them exposure to the industry.

What are some valuable insights of the program that you are offering at your institute/dept.?

We place a lot of emphasis on enhancing the employability skills of our students. Rather than just teaching theoretical classes, we also provide mock interviews. These interviews are judged by a panel of judges with students in their final year. In the final-year students get to conduct interviews and in turn, understand what not to do and say during interviews. Our students who have gone through this process have given us feedback on how it has benefitted them. Students with below average academic records stand to gain a lot by polishing their communication skills. It gives them an edge over the competition when going for interviews.

How does the program ensure that students are being prepared for the future?

We try to inculcate practical learning in our subjects. We make use of case studies and projects for the students to practice their learning and come up with real-world solutions. We have also adopted a task-based learning system where students complete certain tasks along the curriculum. We also a lot of attention to developing our students speaking and writing skills before they graduate. Interpersonal and communication skills are transferrable skills that will fit into any industry. The students also give presentations which gives them the carry on to their work lives as well.

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How did you train yourself/faculty to deliver this program to the students?

To train the faculty members, we have open forums where teachers can interact with each other, learn about new teaching methods and networks. They also attend courses at NTPEL and undergo faculty development programs occasionally. Several of our teachers are also involved in research and are gaining expertise in their subjects. They also attend conferences and workshops towards the same goal.

How do you tend to build an industry connect with this program? 

In our board of studies, we have an industry member who brings their expertise and knowledge to let us know what subjects to include in our curriculum. They also let us know which skills students need to possess to secure the right jobs. Our students complete mandatory internships to practice their classroom knowledge and to know how the industry works. This also counts towards the student’s credits for graduation. We also stay connected with our alumni members who also help us design our curriculum. Another way these industry connections help is by coming up with a proper teaching pedagogy.

What were the challenges that you faced while inculcating this program in your curriculum?

The biggest challenge we faced when designing this programme was the mixed abilities of the students. We had students from out of state and from economically weaker backgrounds who struggled when they joined our college. There is a barrier between the students, which we had to work towards removing. We had to bring all the students on par at the same level. To do that we provided English classes and extra guidance to students who were struggling. We try to give our students the confidence to speak on their own and attain high marks in the examinations.

What are the types of projects that the students are working on through this program?

We have various kinds of projects our students are working on, such as survey projects. Students go to organisations and people nearby and conduct surveys on a given topic. Based on the information collected, they prepare a report and a final project. Another project our students work on is our class magazine. Students learn to work in groups and also polish their communication skills. Some work as editors, while others can develop their writing skills. All aspects of the magazine from collecting the articles, pictures and more are all handled by the students.

What are the benefits and career options after pursuing this course?

We have seen students become reporters and editors on the student stage itself. One of our students was a reporter at Hans India. Even though she is a computer science student, she took a course in journalism and became Hans India's permanent reporter. Apart from that, there is another career option for students, becoming content developers. One would be working as a content writer or as an author. One of our students recently released their own book and he took our language course. If writing is the career goal, students will benefit from language courses as it will help them gain a command over the language.