The coronavirus pandemic has created the most extensive disruption in the education systems. The closure of schools, colleges, and other learning platforms has substantially affected the global student population. However, looking on the brighter side of this detrimental situation, Dr Parsanjeet Kumar, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Noida International University (NIU), says, “The Covid-19 pandemic did affect the lives of millions of people but also gave us a chance to assess the pace of our technological advancement and a renewed focus on innovation and technology.”
In the wake of this pandemic, Parsanjeet and his management team quickly sensed the need of focusing on new and innovative teaching and learning methodologies with the help of advanced social interaction platforms such as Google Meet, MS Teams, etc. “We equipped our faculty members with the knowledge of operating the digital platforms effectively by providing proper workshops and training sessions.” Likewise, under Dr Parsanjeet’s leadership, NIU conducted over 50 national and international webinars. The university also set up virtual laboratories to complement lectures and tutorials for the students.
Formative Years filled with learning
Dr Parsanjeet was goal-driven, self-reliant, creative, and disciplined from an early age. He kept the company of people who had a positive impact on him. After all, the people closest to us can influence us in many ways. Dr Parsanjeet explains, “It’s important to be selective, especially at the important time in your life when you are building the foundation for your career and making other important life decisions.” When it came to selecting a career path for himself, Dr Parsanjeet chose to be an educationist and fulfil his mission to contribute to society in a meaningful way.
Offering a Great Academic Edge to Achieve Excellence
Noida International University (NIU) was established in 2010 to transform India’s educational landscape and focus on eradicating long-standing issues related to gender, race, culture, etc. Through its decade long journey and prowess in the education field, NIU has inscribed its name among universities offering world-class education to domestic and international students. Dr Parsanjeet shares, “Our vision is to be recognized as a global educational institution disseminating latest trends of knowledge through cutting-edge technologies and innovative methodologies, thereby producing excellent human resource and intellectually stimulating environment for young scholars and academicians.”
Presently, NIU offers over 150 programmes in streams, including Medical, Engineering & Technology, Sciences, Liberal Arts & Humanities, Law, Journalism & Mass Communication, Architecture, Nursing & Health Sciences, Fine Arts, Education and Business Management via 13 schools.
Encouraging Innovative & Creative Thinking
If students are encouraged to think outside the box and solve real-life challenges in a simplified manner from the beginning, it tends to sharpen their thinking, build confidence, enhances learning potential, and infuse creativity.
Working on similar grounds, Dr Parsanjeet and his team at NIU conduct multiple seminars and workshops to enhance students’ innovative and creative acumen and assist in understanding career-critical industrial concepts and methodologies. The university has also set up a Student Activity Centre called NUITIANS-The Tatva to bring the students under one roof to create a holistic environment for sharing innovative ideas. Its mission is to encourage students to develop soft skills such as positive attitude, relationship management, and team management.
Responsibilities as a Pro-Vice-Chancellor
As the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of NIU, Dr Parsanjeet’s role is to look after all the academic and education affairs, including administration, R&D, and student & staff affairs of the university. Moreover, he ensures that relevant and progressive education is offered to all pupils so that they can explore various job opportunities and build a bright future for themselves.
Dr Parsanjeet believes that a continuous change in the education system is the need of the hour. Hence, to prepare and meet the needs of future advancements, he has devised a few key strategies that will make NIU a world-class university. His plan is to focus on skills development, emphasize research innovations & incubation, devise a centre of excellence, provide world-class infrastructure & facilities, and encourage international collaborations among students.
Leadership Perspective
Considering integrity as an essential leadership trait for an individual and the organization, Dr Parsanjeet gives utmost importance to equality, self-awareness, and humility. His leadership style involves teamwork. He shares, “I always support my colleagues and subordinates to work self-sufficiently, which leads us to better decision-making.” For Dr Parsanjeet, his colleagues are his strength.
Actively establishing a daily schedule often helps leaders handle stress and remain calm even in times of crisis. Dr Parsanjeet draws a detailed plan to produce quality and efficient work for his daily work. This helps him to get ahead of stressful situations.
A forward-thinking leader such as Parsanjeet likes to stay updated with the current trends in the education system. National & International conferences, workshops, and seminars give him the platform to voice his insights and discuss issues with fellow peers and experts. He also devotes time to reading various educational blogs, influential magazines and journals. From time to time, Dr Parsanjeet likes to explore professional development programs.
A Need to Provide Comprehensive Training to Teachers
After working in the same industry for many years, Parsanjeet has gained valuable insights on the lacuna and potential of the education system. He feels that if education administrators focus on building teachers’ capacities to construct and adapt curricula to ‘students’ identified needs and interests, management can also grant teachers greater autonomy to make differentiated decisions that can individualize and personalize learning. “Allow teachers to make decisions that empower them and strengthen their relationships with students,” remarks Parsanjeet on wanting to change the current education system.
NIU’s Immediate Plans
NIU has been proactively working toward becoming a Centre of Excellence for global exposure for students by creating diverse curriculums and numerous schemes relevant to them financially and creatively. Hence the management of NIU is working on various support schemes that will benefit their students in a diversified manner.
“Our aim is to establish Noida International University as a pioneer host for all kinds of professional education which could imbibe and develop an individual’s capacities temporal with values and ethics to serve humankind,” concludes Parsanjeet.
For more information: http://niu.edu.in/