Dr. Sumita Shekhawat is a committed and competent Research Scientist working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at Kanoria PG Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Jaipur. She is keen to carve a niche in the area of Microwave Electronics, being her research area. She has been awarded her doctorate from the Department of Physics, University of Rajasthan under DST sponsored project entitled “Development of plasma chamber set-up for re-entry condition”. She has also been granted with DST WOS-A fellowship for her Post-Doctoral work in the area of biomedical for early detection of breast cancer in Women by the Department of Science and Technology, India. Highly experienced and comprehensive exposure of 8+ years in the use of technically sophisticated analytical instruments in research along with 11+ years of enriched teaching experience at UG and PG. Published more than thirty papers in journals and conferences of international repute.

Kanoria PG Mahila Mahavidyalaya Jaipur

What are your roles and responsibilities?

A teacher is a nurturer and his proper guidance and mentoring shape the future of students. Early learners and young students usually observe the behavior and approach of their teachers. So, being a teacher my first and foremost responsibility is to develop the skills and strategies in young minds, necessary to provide the best learning experience. As, every child is unique in itself, so if you don’t identify and explore a student’s unique talent and learning abilities, you may be unable to teach them properly. Being a teacher, I try to ensure that each student gets the attention they need and also impart knowledge, good values, traditions, modern-day challenges, and ways to resolve them within students. 

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

Your workplace is your second family so keeping healthy relations with students and fellow faculty creates a positive environment. A healthy relationship with your students helps them to achieve, solve classroom management issues, and create a healthy classroom environment. Teachers should not bind themselves to teaching only. They should make students comfortable, show interest in their interests, have a sense of humor, and share their stories. This builds strong relationships with students; and can help them to develop not only academically but socially also.

A fundamental step in building strong relationships with fellow faculty is showing your colleagues that they can trust you. When you interact with a colleague, be yourself, and be honest. Actively listen to colleagues, encourage feedback, and create opportunities for dialogue. Provoke them to improve their teaching skills, develop research ideas, and help them whenever required. As you build strong relationships with colleagues, you'll find that your job becomes more enjoyable.

How do you try to make subjects industry-oriented?

The main aim of education is to make your students skilled so that they can get job security in the future. It is the teacher’s foremost duty to prepare students for future challenges. To make subjects industry oriented it is necessary to aware students of the role of the subject with the industry and involving the industry. To fulfill this aim, we will include a more practical approach to teaching methodology.

We conduct industrial visits to update students with the latest trends, advancements, and practices of the subject 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 encourage students to participate in industrial hands-on training workshops and develop minor projects related to industrial use that will impart practical knowledge to students and help them get employment after completion of their degree.

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

Our college is affiliated with the University of Rajasthan, and the curriculum designed and prescribed by them is followed by us. Keeping a view of recent educational trends, emerging research areas, and major job practices in our subject area we send recommendations to the University of Rajasthan for updating curriculum.

How does the institution ensure effective curriculum delivery?

Curriculum delivery is a strategy by which a curriculum enables students to achieve their learning goals. The processes involved in curriculum delivery are teaching, learning support, advice, guidance, interaction, mentorship, participative and collaborative learning. 

At the beginning of each academic year, the academic calendar is prepared at the college level incorporating curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular events in alignment with the University academic calendar. Courses are allocated to the faculty members based on their expertise & and subject preferences by the Head of the Department (HOD). The library is informed of required textbooks, reference books, and e-journals for the forthcoming semester/academic year. Class-wise timetables also include time slots for projects, industrial training presentations, seminars, counseling sessions, and the library. 

Individual faculty timetables are prepared to reflect her complete workload. New and innovative teaching techniques, in addition to the traditional lecture method, are adopted to deliver the content. Learner-centric techniques such as peer learning, collaborative learning, group discussion, video lectures, quizzes, etc., are employed to encourage students’ active participation. A periodic review of the coverage of the syllabus and regularity of the students is taken by the HOD. Suggestions are invited for the improvement of the teaching-learning process through regular meetings.

What are your views on placements and higher education?

Placement is an integral part of any educational program as it provides students with hands-on experience in a real work environment, allowing them to apply theoretical knowledge and develop practical skills. 

Our center for career guidance, training, and placement at the institution helps our students get placements in reputed organizations. Entrepreneurship promotion and development programs are being organized regularly to nurture the talent of students by enlightening them on various aspects of industrial/business activities. To promote entrepreneurial initiatives, the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development has successfully established an Incubation Center, ‘NARIKA' which encourages students to set up their self-employment venture. This type of initiative motivates them towards self-employment.

Higher education is a rich cultural and scientific asset that promotes the exchange of knowledge, research, and innovation and equips students with the skills needed to meet ever-changing labor markets. In the above aspect, the college has been selected for funding under the DST scheme “Consolidation of University Research for Innovation and Excellence in Women Universities (CURIE)” to support women in improving research development which will inspire students to undergo higher studies in the research field. 

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

We not only encourage our students to compete but also teach them how to deal with competition which helps students to grow in any type of competitive environment. We guide our student to focus on their strengths, interests, and values and also help them to explore areas where they can excel and make a difference. We also organize soft skill training programs, workshops, conferences, and extension lectures for them.

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

Extracurricular activities can help students to develop skills that are valuable for facing real-world challenges. With this point in mind, we organize a variety of extracurricular and co-curricular activities in our college through our various clubs, subject associations, skill enhancement courses, and NSS and NCC units are there for the overall development of students. These activities teach them about diverse environments and challenges, allowing them to understand real-world issues, develop problem-solving skills, and contribute positively to society.