Vice-Chancellor of University of Kashmir Prof Talat Ahmad said on Saturday that academics and researchers need to keep themselves updated with the latest developments in their areas of specialisation to stay relevant in the new and emerging multi-disciplinary approach to education and research.
According to a varsity statement, addressing as chief guest the inaugural session of a two-week refresher course in science, organised by the varsity’s UGC-HRDC, Prof Talat said: “The overall scenario vis-à-vis academics and research is changing. Everything is merging. It’s the interdisciplinary and the multi-disciplinary approach at work now. So as teachers we may be specialised in one subject but we have to know many things from other areas as well,” he said, underscoring that while refresher courses are a requirement for teachers in their promotions, these are extremely significant to help them gain updated knowledge and information and pass that on to their students.
Prof Talat said the best teachers today, as well as tomorrow, are those who know everything about their own subjects while “knowing something about everything else also.”
He congratulated the UGC-HRDC for planning the refresher course in a professional manner and choosing the topics which are highly relevant to the teachers as well as the society at large.
KU Registrar Dr Nisar A Mir, who was a guest of honour, said the refresher and orientation courses help teachers in colleges and universities to learn from leading experts about new developments and trends in their areas of study and research.
“If a teacher is not updated today, it would be very difficult for him to stay relevant in the every-changing academic scenario,” he said.
Dr Mir said the KU’s UGC-HRDC was one of the best centers of excellence in the country and assured the varsity’s all-out support to its programmes concerning the benefit of teachers and students.
In-charge Director UGC-HRDC Prof Musthaq A Darzi said the refresher course aims to enable teachers to keep themselves abreast of latest developments in their fields of specialisation and to equip them with necessary functional skills.
“Such courses also motivate them to accept challenges in the way of ensuring quality teaching and research while updating themselves with the applicability of new knowledge in their disciplines,” he said, thanking the Vice-Chancellor and Registrar for their active support to the endeavors of the UGC-HRDC.
Coordinator UGC-HRDC Dr Geer Mohammad Ishaq said the refresher course schedule was framed in view of latest developments in areas of science and technology. “In universities and colleges, teachers need to gear up to achieve faster, sustainable and inclusive growth, and to ensure cultivation of scientific temper with special emphasis on innovation, which is an essential driver of socio-economic change,” he said.
Post-inaugural session, two lead lectures were delivered by Dr Parvaiz A Koul, HoD, Internal and Pulmonary Medicine, SKIMS Srinagar and Prof Shakil A Romshoo, Dean Research at KU, on ‘Covid-19 Vaccination’ and ‘Particulate Pollutants in Kashmir’, respectively.