The faculty of the department are oriented towards implementing an Outcome Based Education (OBE) by engaging the traditional, digital and innovative approaches in the teaching-learning process. As students today are more comfortable in the digital platform, we have begun to focus on this as a means of actively connecting with the student. While the traditional lecture and activity-based pedagogical methods continue to be actively practiced, further innovative teaching methods comprising of interactive platforms supplement the creative thinking of students. These methods actively engage the students and introduce the concept of learn, unlearn and relearn which has been found to be effective in imparting knowledge. A selective list of approaches used in the department is given below. All methods are shared for peer review for future use and improvement by other faculty members. The goals and objectives of each work, methods used and significant results are described in the table. All the methods are available on the website (website link: https://www.sahrdaya.ac.in/bte/ ).
| Methods /Tool used | Description |
| YouTube Channel | Video lectures conducted by the faculty members as part of the regular curriculum are available on the institute website (http://sahrdaya.ac.in). Other supplementary video lectures delivered by the faculty are uploaded on the YouTube public domain for the students to augment their understanding of the subject. A few lectures done by the faculty are given below: a) Course Code & Course Name: BT208: Principles of Biochemistry Faculty: Dr. Ambili Mechoor Dr. Ambili 1 https://youtu.be/arfbfc3Tga0 Dr. Ambili 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGkcoH9xK48 Dr. Ambili 3 https://youtu.be/HlJu7udKU3c b) Course Code & Course Name: BT202: Bioprocess Heat Transfer Faculty: Dr.Uma Krishnakumar https://youtu.be/dGH9aRc4PhA |
| Audio Lectures | The faculty members have also created audio lectures supporting the powerpoint presentation which are shared with the students. This will help the students to access and understand the concepts more clearly as well as assist students who have been unable to attend classes. A few lectures done are given below. a) Course Code & Course Name: BT402: Bioprocess Plant Design and Safety Faculty: Ms. Salini .P.J https://drive.google.com/file/d/14ydtRwTrw6Lo082wtGD-jW1PGeExY9SH/view b) Course Code & Course Name: BT304: Downstream Processing Faculty: Ms. Smeera Thomas https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1U1tpgiRXoaDLrjUJPGXzgfCkYxVB2LuT |
| Methods /Tool used | Description |
| Content Delivery | Every classroom in the Department is provided with an LCD projector, a computer with LAN and high-speed internet access that allows for multimedia presentation. The faculty member can alternate between using the black board and the LCD projector judiciously allowing for a more efficient lecture delivery. Faculty and students can also access the e-resources from the classroom through high speed wireless internet. The students can further access the server of the digital library from the comfort of their home with the help of the URL link provided in the college website and their personal login. |
| Student Seminars | The college has introduced seminars to be taken by the students from the first semester onwards as a component of the courses being taught in that specific program. This encourages the student to explore innovations and technological advances in the field of Biotechnology and related areas beyond what the syllabus covers. More importantly, it improves their technical communication and presentation skills and significantly boosts the student’s confidence to debate and discuss scientific topics within the class room and in open forums. |
| Methods /Tool used | Description |
| NPTEL | All the faculty members are encouraged to take up National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) courses and other Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Importance is given to AICTE mandated courses that can be considered as short-term Faculty Development Programmes with relevance to what the faculty specializes in. NPTEL Local Chapter Our college has a NPTEL Local Chapter. This is a partnership between the college and NPTEL and was initiated because of the large number of students and faculty that have been enrolling over the last few years for these courses. http://nptel.ac.in/LocalChapter NPTEL Courses attended by Faculty members Following are some of the courses completed by our department faculty: Academic Year 2021-22 ● Dr. Leon Ittiachen: Accreditation and Outcome based Learning ● Dr. Leon Ittiachen: Teaching and Learning in General Programs ● Dr. Leon Ittiachen: Introduction on Intellectual Property to Engineers and Technologists ● Dr. Leon Ittiachen: Designing Learner- Centric MOOCs ● Dr. Uma Krishnakumar: Fluid Flow Operations Academic Year 2020-21 ● Dr. Amitha Joy: Introduction to Biostatistics ● Dr. Leon Ittiachen: Patent drafting for beginners ● Dr. Leon Ittiachen: Effective Engineering Teaching in Practice ● Dr. Leon Ittiachen: Ethics in Engineering Practice ● Dr. Leon Ittiachen: Innovation by Design ● Dr. Leon Ittiachen: Introduction to Professional Scientific Communication ● Dr. Leon Ittiachen: Patent Law for Engineers and Scientists Academic Year 2019-20 ● Dr. Ambili Mechoor: Biochemistry ● Dr. Amitha Joy: Computational Aided Drug Design ● Dr. Uma Krishnakumar: Fundamentals of Particle and Fluid Solid Processing ● Dr. P. Praveena: Cell Culture Technologies Academic Year 2018-19 ● Dr. Ambili Mechoor: Dairy and Food Process and Products Technology ● Dr. Dhanya Gangadharan: Biomedical Nanotechnology ● Dr. Ambili Mechoor: Environmental Microbiology ● Dr. P.Praveena : Dairy and Food Process and Products Technology ● Dr. Uma Krishnakumar: Industrial Biotechnology Domain Certificate in NPTEL Dr. Leon Ittiachen has received Domain Certification in “Patents and Intellectual Property Rights” in October 2021. Mentorship of NPTEL Courses When relevant NPTEL courses are available in a semester complementary to the course being taught, faculty members encourage students to register for these courses and mentor the students to complete the course successfully and earn a certificate for the same from the National Institute of repute conducting the course. The students are helped by the faculty member in completing the assignments as well. Such courses include a good number of topics which are beyond the syllabus and yet useful for understanding the course better. Many times such online courses play a significant role in filling the curriculum gaps as well. Additionally, this exercise helps the students in preparing for competitive exams like GATE, CSIR-JRF, GRE etc. The following faculty member has served as a mentor for a NPTEL course: Academic Year 2019-20 Course Name: Biochemistry Faculty Member: Dr. Ambili Mechoor Batch: 2018-22 No of students enrolled: 47 No. of students certified: 39 |
| Coursera | Several faculty members and students in the department have completed online courses based upon their area of interest. Around ninety of courses were completed by the students and faculty members during 2019-20. Following are some of the courses completed by the department faculty: a) Ms. Ranimol G: Drug Discovery (University of California, USA) b) Ms. Smeera Thomas: Biology of Cancer (John Hopkins University, USA) |
| Methods /Tool used | Description |
| Spider-like maps, Mind mapping and Flowchart | In this teaching-learning approach, the students are encouraged to organize and inter-relate the knowledge acquired in a domain. A visual organization and representation of knowledge is focussed in this activity. This approach helps to bring in a learning support system which would eventually help the students to recall the concepts learned in a class/module. It is created by writing key words enclosed in shapes such as circles, boxes, triangles etc. and then drawing arrows between the ideas that are related. Faculty: Dr. Ambili Mechoor Course: BT208: Principles of Biochemistry Batch: 2018-22 |
| Learning Management System | Digital Platform | Learning Management System Linways is an innovative learning management system of our institution which provides centralized and automated administration. This platform supports collaborative learning, effective tracking of student and faculty submissions, generating reports, student notifications etc. The portal is accessible from the institutional website; https://sahrdaya.linways.com/staff/ Academic submissions: Faculty members of the department upload academically relevant documents on the Linways portal. Time-bound assignments can be given to students and all the submissions can be managed digitally. The completed courses are archived as records for future references. A student will be assigned a topic which he/she would be presenting as a video lecture through the Linways portal. The same will be available for other students to access and learn. Course code & Course Name: BT407: Bioenergy Engineering Faculty: Dr. Uma Krishnakumar https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_FzPn7_6qrG1aROOf6J0PJxHYLfJ mQGx/view? usp=sharing |
| Google class rooms | Google Classroom; the free web service has helped to simplify create, distribute, and grading assignments. Students are invited to join a class through a private code, or automatically imported from the college domain. This platform has eased the process of content sharing between the students and the faculty members. A few faculty members have enabled Google classrooms for the purpose. This platform enables the students to ease their process of attending online class, nurture them to meet deadlines for assignment submissions etc. This also enables to schedule classes, assignments and exams by the teachers using Google forms directly from the classrooms. Faculty members can monitor the progress of each student by reviewing revision history of a document, and after being graded, teachers can return work along with comments. a) Course Code & Course Name: BT409 Environmental Biotechnology Faculty Member: Dr. P. Praveena (https://classroom.google.com/c/NDA0MjQ4NjQ5MDcz) b) Course Code & Course Name: BT208 Principles of Biochemistry Faculty Member: Dr.Ambili Mechoor (https://classroom.google.com/c/OTkzMjI0NDU3OTJa) | |
| Virtual Platform | Virtual Laboratory | Virtual digital platform helps the student to learn advanced concepts through remote experimentation under the guidance of a faculty. This practice provides the students with various tools for learning; including additional web-resources, video-lectures, animated demonstrations and self-evaluation. Our institution has been selected for VALUE (Virtual Amrita Laboratories Universalizing Education) Virtual Lab under MHRD nodal centre program. The students and faculty utilize this facility to improve their knowledge and familiarize themselves with the new experiments. A few courses which utilizes this platform are given below: a) Course Code & Course Name: BT 234: Instrumental Methods of Analysis Lab Faculty: Dr. Dhanya Gangadharan Batch:2018-22 (S4 BTE) b) Course Code & Course Name: BT 232: Biochemistry Lab Faculty: Ms.P. Praveena Batch:2018-22 (S4 BTE) |
| Online classes | Online class mode of content delivery using online platforms is an effective way of reaching the students even at the time of any distress situations like floods, pandemic etc, when classes cannot be conducted on campus. The faculty members organize online classes of their respective courses using platforms such as Google meet, WebEx Meet, Zoom etc. These online classes are recorded for future reference. A few of the courses delivered by online mode by our faculty members have been mentioned below: a) Course Code & Course Name: BT368: Genetic Engineering Faculty Member: Dr. Dhanya Gangadharan Batch : 2017-21 (S6 BT) b) Course Code & Course Name: HUN102: Professional Communication Faculty Member: Ms. P. Praveena Batch : 2019-23 (S2 BT) c) Course Code & Course Name: BT401: Process Dynamics & Communication Faculty Member: Mr. Francis John V Batch : 2017-21 (S7 BT) |
| In this blended-teaching approach, the students will be instructed to familiarize/ refer/ learn a given topic from home with the help of teaching materials given/ uploaded in the campus LMS/ G drive by the faculty. A face-to-face discussion will be conducted in the classroom which will eventually help the students in extended learning/ relearn the concepts more precisely. Course: BT301: Mass Transfer Operations Faculty Member: Dr. Uma Krishnakumar Batch : 2018 – 22 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cgIeBZvdcwRT3E_m7VmZk46ZBrmsmhW8/view?usp=sharing |
| Methods /Tool used | Description |
| Workshop | To enhance the skills of the students on usage of modern tools, our faculty members are proficient to conduct workshops for higher semester students. Academic Year 2021-22 a) Course Code & Course Name: BT403: Bioinformatics Faculty Member: Dr.Amitha Joy Title: Tools in Bioinformatics Batch :2018-22 https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nW3xp_ogbPb6I4sNjzUzxzk SBYbe6V7C Academic Year 2018-19 a) Course Code & Course Name: BT403: Bioinformatics Faculty Member: Dr.Amitha Joy Title: Modern Tools in Bioinformatics Batch :2015-19 |
| Methods /Tool used | Description |
| Project work and Report writing | The department has made it a mandatory requirement for every student to design and conduct a project, right from the first semester onwards which beyond the regular curriculum for the semester. This helps the student to have a hands-on approach to the engineering design process and utilize the theoretical aspects they have learnt to develop prototypes and design experiments on what they have learnt. During the third semester, the students conduct a mini-project that focuses on the fundamental aspects of Biotechnology Engineering. A project group consisting of maximum of four members under the guidance of a faculty member explores a scientific principle related to their area of interest. The learning process is given more weightage during the assessment and not the results obtained. Students in their fourth semester are encouraged to do a project which will help them to learn new technical skills with guidance from an allotted faculty member. They are encouraged to explore a problem and develop a simple prototype or working model that can solve it. This introduces them to the concept of the Engineering design process method. The group of students is also mentored by their allotted guides in preparing a well-structured report. To assist this process, the institution has published a scientific format in which each project group is required to submit the report. This practice helps the students to understand and improve their scientific writing skills. The prepared report is archived in both soft and hard copy and is made available in the department library for peer reference. At the end of each semester, the project work done by all the student groups is exhibited in the department. The students and faculty members from other departments also visit these exhibitions. Students explain their work to the visitors and prizes are awarded based on an evaluation done by a committee that is appointed by the Principal. |
| Methods /Tool used | Description |
| Workshop | Students in the sixth semester are given a session/workshop on technical writing skills by the faculty of the department. The aim of such an initiative is to make the students develop technical writing skills, develop project plans for submitting project proposals to various funding agencies, and draft papers for quality research publications. a) Faculty Members: Dr. P. Praveena & Ms. Smeera Thomas Batch: 2018-22 https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KNps6HfHLrSVaDOxOkBvymJwZ6JpM_Mc b) Faculty Members: Dr. Dhanya Gangadharan & Dr. Amitha Joy Batch: 2015-19 The department has also conducted the workshop in collaboration with an eminent Scientist from NIIST. c) Faculty Member: Dr. Dhanya Gangadharan & Dr C.S. Bhat Batch: 2016-20 After conducting such sessions, the students are instructed to draft and submit technical paper of the design project that they had done during the fifth semester. |
| Methods /Tool used | Description |
| Model Based Teaching | Faculty members use model-based teaching wherever required to explain the concepts more in detail. With this concept, faculty encourages the students to make models/prototypes for their design engineering lab works, all projects in various semesters and in design project. Theoretical concepts are explained with the help of charts, paper works and other readily available materials. Course: MCN 201: Sustainable Engineering Faculty Member: Dr.Amitha Joy Batch : 2020 – 24 |
| Technical Quiz | Faculty members conduct technical quiz on the topics pertaining to their course as this helps in creating interest in the students by breaking monotony of regular classes while enhancing the learning experience and also retains the concepts learned in the class. a) Course Code & Course Name: BT368: Genetic Engineering Faculty Member: Dr.Dhanya Gangadharan Batch: 2017-21 b) Course Code & Course Name: BTT203: Microbiology Faculty Member: Dr.Dhanya Gangadharan Batch: 2019-23 c) Course Code & Course Name: BT403: Bioinformatics Faculty Member: Dr.Amitha Joy Batch: 2019-23 https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1uBfAbOkEp3FWfQ0n_a Mne9OQWQegruLO?usp=sharing d)Course Code & Course Name: BTT305: Molecular Biology Faculty Member: Dr. Dhanya Gangadharan Batch: 2019-23 https://docs.google.com/document/d/11O-iOEjNzIomMBYpIPUHiFSlmgwp89ar/edit?usp=share_link&ouid=117153128667887320942&rtpof=true&sd=true |
| Brainstorming | In this group problem-solving technique, the faculty member will present a problem to the students. The students will be divided into groups to discuss and come up with an effective solution. This platform provides a free environment where all the students will be able to put in their views and ideas. After the allotted time, each group will present their solution to the audience / class. Course: BT409: Environmental Biotechnology Faculty Member: Dr.P.Praveena Batch : 2018 – 22 Course: EST 200: Design Engineering Faculty Member: Ms. Marria. C. Cyriac Batch : 2020 – 24 & 2021-25 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qPgBMYqnbB1s0Eb489avojIAdX0RF9OR/view?usp=share_link |
| Roleplay and Scenario Analysis | Roleplay and Scenario analysis helps the students to develop their knowledge in a very specific topic and understand it more clearly when role-playing is effected. This practical approach of the teaching-learning process is very effective where students act out the roles of the researchers and the projects and is a fun way for them to understand the problems faced. In the below example students were asked to make videos on case studies pertaining to relevant Biotechnology IPR cases such as Arogya pacha, turmeric, and basmati. a) Course code & Course Name: BT 14 804: Intellectual Property Rights Faculty: Dr. Leon Ittiachen Batch: 2014-18 https://drive.google.com/file/d/168ki4WhcjTFOPTnGxUjgwybhqEOgnIhD/view?usp=drivesdk |
| Study group activity | The institution has an innovative method to enhance the communication and aptitude skills of the students. Study group activity is conducted every Friday from 12.00 pm to 1.00 pm in all the classes under the supervision of respective advisors. This weekly exercise allows small student groups of 8 or 10 to interact with the guidance of a faculty to discuss various topics in the news or specific innovation in their field. The whole class is split up into smaller groups of 8-10 members at the beginning of the semester for this purpose and each group is named as a study group. There would be a maximum of six study groups in a class at any time. Topics are given in advance for students to prepare for the activity. The activities include debates, quizzes, role plays, product marketing, group discussions, etc. Students are encouraged to debate, question, and reinforce their views moderated by the advisors and class teacher-in-charge. This exercise greatly develops their confidence and ability to scientifically discuss and communicate. |