The auspicious Vidyarambham ceremony was followed by the launch of the three-day Induction Programme for the UG batch of 2021-22.
Day 1 – 26 August 2021
After the auspicious beginning of their academic journey, the students were taken on a virtual tour of the Chinmaya Eswar Gurukula (CEG) campus, the main campus of CVV, in Veliyanad. This was made possible through a pre-recorded video produced by CVV’s Media team. They got a glimpse of the various facilities available at the campus like the academic block, administrative block, annakshetra, libraries, sports area, IT facility etc.
Currently, classes will be conducted online, but everyone at CVV is eagerly waiting to see the campus buzzing with students. In this direction, CVV provides students with an excellent opportunity to indulge in and develop their extra-curricular interests. The senior students introduced the freshers to the various extra-curricular clubs at CVV. All these clubs are student-driven with support from faculty coordinators. The students immediately expressed interest in joining some of the groups and were provided with the relevant contact details for the same.
Post lunch, the students were provided a thorough introduction to the IT services and the Student Management System (SMS) portal. Given that the semester will be conducted online, IT services are pre-eminently important. The IT team, headed by Mr. K. R. Lal and assisted by Mr. Ramesh Kumar introduced the students to services like e-mail, LMS, internet access, wifi facility and other relevant services. The SMS portal provides a one-stop window to the student to upload all their certificates, review their courses and also makes the administration tasks easier. The students were taken through the various fields of the SMS portal by Ms. V. Lakshmi from the Admissions team. This session was followed by an introduction to a very useful e-helpdesk for IT services and the SMS portal. The students resolved their difficulties related to their e-mail, LMS portal, doubts about some of the files to be uploaded on the SMS portal through this e-helpdesk session.
Day 2 – 27 August
The second day of the Induction programme, 27 August 2021, conducted by Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth (CVV) for the new batch of UG students continued where the first had left off, with several informative and engaging sessions. The first session was devoted to academics, as all the students were introduced to the different Schools of the University so that they would get a complete understanding of the various teaching and research activities.
The Heads Dr. Vinod R. R., Smt. Pramodini Rao, Dr. L Sampath Kumar, Dr. Sreevalsa Kumar and Dr. Vinayak Rajat Bhat presented the programmes and activities at their respective Schools: Contemporary Knowledge Systems (CKS)/Ethics, Governance, Cultural and Social Systems (EGCS); Kalayoga; Linguistics and Literary Studies (LLS); Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Heritage (PPSH) and Vedic Knowledge Systems (VKS) respectively, highlighting the focus of each and the uniqueness of their myriad offerings and specialisations.
The second session of the day was organised specifically to orient the students towards University education, and to facilitate the transition from studying at school to studying in a university. Dr. Sreevalsa Kumar, (Head, School of PPSH) and an accomplished psychologist as well as an educator with vast international experience, addressed the students. He highlighted the additional sense of responsibility that students need to bear as they enter into higher education, as they move away from dependence on others and take greater charge of their own learning and their own lives. He addressed the difficulties that they might face during this process and gave them extremely useful pointers for skills that would help them to deal with the attendant pressures and expectations. His talk was followed by an active question-and-answer session as the participants put forth several queries, each of which were clarified expertly by Dr. Sreevalsa Kumar.
The third session was one of the most delightful ones. Coordinated by two popular and energetic Assistant Professors from the School of LLS, Ms. Neethu S. Kumar and Dr. Vishaka Venkat, the session got the students to open up and have fun, as they got involved in several hilarious activities and word games, including I-spy, Taboo, and Pictionary, among others. Through all of these, the new students got to know each other a little better, learn some of their batchmates’ names, and were further re-energised for their upcoming journey at CVV.
The final pre-lunch session introduced the new students to key elements of campus infrastructure: the library facilities, and the hostel and Annakshetra (canteen) facilities. Library Assistant Ms. Savitha G. spoke about the numerous library resources available to the students (both physical as well as electronic), the subscribed databases and networks such as JSTOR and Delnet, and the method of accessing them. Taking the students to the CVV library website, she further demonstrated how students could make the best use of these to aid their studies and their pursuit of knowledge. Mr. Santhosh Parameswaran, Chief Warden of the CVV Hostels, spoke in detail about the hostel facilities, the equipment and conveniences available to make the students’ stay as comfortable as possible, various relevant rules and regulations, and the details of the various cuisines served at the Annakshetra. He also touched upon the numerous support facilities available for students to use in the surrounding areas of the campus.
After a couple of very packed days, it was now time for some celebration! The entire post-lunch session was in the form of an Onam celebration organised by the senior students of the Bharata Society. Titled ‘Santhoshich-O-nam 2k21’, this online extravaganza was filled with fun games, quizzes, and interactive activities. The audience was regaled with some truly mesmerising performances with a presentation of the plethora of songs, dances, and happy glimpses of CVV Onam celebrations in years gone by. The freshers were not to be left behind. They joined in the fun and showcased their talents too. The evening ended with everyone experiencing a lasting sense of gratitude for the wonderful celebration organised, and for the genuine sense of togetherness at CVV.
Day 3 – 28 August 2021
The third and final day began with an informative session on the various statutory bodies of the University and their functions, as well as the code of conduct expected from all at CVV. Mr. Arun Krishnadas (Manager, Academic Administration and Student Affairs), explained each of these in detail, even defining what makes a university different from a college, and with interesting activities along the way to keep the students attentive. The talk was followed by a lively discussion session, as the students came up with several questions regarding administration, hostels and even facilities, all of which were answered in turn.
The second session of the day was especially relevant for the current situation of learning during the pandemic. As the classes are expected to continue online until it is deemed safe for people to be back on campus, this session on online etiquette and related norms for attending online classes was much needed. Dr. Venkata Raghavan (Assistant Professor, School of PPSH), stressed the importance of clear communication when attending online classes, and presented students with a set of useful guidelines that would help them to attend online classes with minimum disruption to themselves or others. He further gave them some practical pointers on using LMS, note-taking, assignment submission, and avoiding plagiarism, among many others.
The third session introduced the students to the common elements of the UG programme structure at CVV. Dr. Saurabh Singanapalli (Assistant Professor, School of LLS), presented the various course categories of Foundation, Proficiency, Minors and Self-Immersion courses, and how these tie in with the Core and discipline-specific Elective courses to form a holistic curriculum for each programme. Using examples, specific focus was given to the flexibility and advantages of the Minor courses, including the possibility of an additional specialisation. Numerous questions about the course offering and types of courses followed.
Mr. Arun Krishnadas joined the students again in the final pre-lunch session to explain in detail the administrative systems at CVV. He started by showing the administrative structure and leadership of CVV, before moving on to describing the Student Management System (SMS) and its functions. He further explained rules pertaining to attendance and leave-taking (including Duty Leave), protocol for communicating with various officials, obtaining permissions for campus- or hostel-related items, programme withdrawal, and many other administrative processes.
Mr. K. K. Thampi (Controller of Examinations) took charge of the first post-lunch session to explain in detail all the assessment and examination processes at CVV, touching upon various aspects of Continuous Internal Assessment (CIA) as well as End-Semester Examination (ESE). He also described the processes related to exam registration, grade improvement, attendance and score requirements to be eligible for ESE, and requirements for completing a course and a programme successfully. Further, the grading system followed at CVV, including the various letter grades, was also explained in minute detail. The new students asked several questions to get their doubts about the examination processes clarified.
The final session featured an engaging talk by Dr. Sunitha Grandhee (Director, Centre of Excellence for Applied Indian Knowledge Systems) on the importance of Indian Knowledge Traditions (IKT) in contemporary academics. Dr. Grandhee began by encouraging the new students to give their own ideas about IKT and what it involves. She then presented a video on ancient Indian achievements and asked students to express their thoughts on how they felt these related to various contemporary disciplines, before showing them the integral connection IKT has with fields as diverse as literature, mathematics, management, temple architecture, philosophy, engineering and natural sciences. Through a series of relevant examples, she highlighted that IKT encompasses more than just religion; it is at the core of most spheres of learning, and indeed at the centre of all human activities and life itself.
