Online faculty development program on ‘effective communication in the digital era’ commences at Panjab University

Chandigarh: A seven- day online Faculty Development Program on the theme ‘Effective Communication in the Digital Era’ organized by Human Resource Development Center, Panjab University commenced today. The course has diverse audience from various disciplines and different states including Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chandigarh. The key note speaker for the inaugural session of the seven-day program was Prof. Hemant Joshi, senior media educator and former professor from IIMC. Prof Joshi spoke to the faculty about the skills required for effective digital communications. He pointed out the skills of Speech, Writing, Visual Literacy and Digital Literacy as a must for being an effective communicator on digital platforms. He also stressed upon the need to educate ourselves about the digital media. He also mentioned the significance of logicality, context and background to make the communication effective. 

Dr. Jayanti Dutta, Deputy Director, HRDC, Panjab University spoke to the audiences and informed about the various activities being conducted by the Center. Dr. Bhavneet Bhatti, Course Coordinator and Assistant Professor, School of Communication Studies, shared that, “Digital Platforms have become ubiquitous and especially during the Covid-19 pandemic and online working atmosphere it is significant to learn to communicate effectively on the digital platforms, thus the need was felt to have a training program on the theme of Digital Communications.” She added that, “Resource Persons from across the country and abroad from various fields will be delivering lectures on the topics like, Digital Communication and Fact Checking, Healthcare and Digital Platforms, Digital Media Literacy, Digital Storytelling, Ethical and Legal Dimensions of Digital Communications to name a few. 

Later in the day, Prof. Anubhuti Yadav, Head, Dept of New Media, IIMC delivered a lecture on ‘Fact Checking and Digital Communications. With a number of examples, Prof. Yadav was able to share a number of tools which can be used to verify the credibility of news and information shared online. In an enriching and interactive session, Prof. Yadav was able to train the faculty in using online tools for fact checking. 

The seven day program will see sessions on various aspects of Digital Communications.