Nauni varsity signs MoU with UK based platform for faculty training

Nauni (Himachal Pradesh): Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry (UHF), Nauni signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with United Kingdom-based ‘Qedex’ for training faculty for improving the quality of teaching especially through the online mode. The MoU has been signed under the Institutional Development Plan (IDP) of ICAR’s National Agricultural Higher Education Project currently being implemented at the university. The MoU was signed at a virtual ceremony held at the university. 
 
Dr. Ravinder Sharma, Director Research of the university signed the agreement on behalf of the university while Stuart Blacklock, CEO of QASPIR represented Qedex. The company has also tied up with the Association of Indian Universities to provide virtual training to faculty in higher education institutions for enhancing their competencies in teaching.
 
While welcoming the participants Dr. KK Raina, Principal Investigator of IDP informed that the purpose of the memorandum is to provide a virtual framework for faculty training. He said QEDEX will include virtual training to faculty members on topics of importance leading to delivery of quality education to students. Under the agreement, which has been signed for one year, 200 faculty of the university will be eligible to undergo a minimum of five courses each out of 300 courses offered on the platform. The faculty can do more than five courses also. The courses cover a wide array of topics ranging from online teaching, managing meetings, course planning, learning outcome, presentation skills, etc.  
 
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Ravinder Sharma said that the pandemic has reshaped education worldwide and it has become very important that the skillset of the faculty is improved and they are equipped with the latest knowledge in modern teaching methodologies. He said that the agreement will immensely benefit the university in improving the quality of teaching and ensure its proper dissemination.
 
Stuart Blacklock said that the partnership will help to implement the New Education Policy 2020, which covers Continuous Professional Development (CPD) of teachers. He said Qedex through its various courses, will systematically cover the latest pedagogies regarding foundational literacy and numeracy, formative and adaptive assessment of learning outcomes, competency-based learning, and related pedagogies, such as experiential learning, arts-integrated, sports-integrated, and storytelling-based approaches, etc. Blacklock added that they will create a private micro-community for the university which will have access to courses, during a period of the agreement.
 
Dr. Divender Gupta, Director Extension Education, Deans Dr. Anju K Dhiman, Dr. DD Sharma, Dr. Kamal Sharma, SWO Dr. JK Dubey, Librarian Dr. HR Sharma, OSD to Vice-Chancellor Dr. MK Brahmi, Co-PI (IDP) Dr. Manish Sharma, Dr. Nivedita Sharma along with the faculty from different colleges attended the meeting.