Day 1: Monday, 19 Oct 2020
Session 1: Inauguration
The inauguration of the bridge course for PG students started with a prayer by Integrated Masters (Music) student Tanishq Arora. Dean Prof. Gauri Mahulikar, Vice Chancellor Prof. Nagaraj Neerchal and Trustee Swami Advayananda addressed the students.
Dr. Mahulikar spoke about the four pillars of the University i.e. purity, spirituality, practicality, and innovation. She also spoke briefly on Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth’s offering of a blend of IKS (Indic Knowledge Systems) and CKS (Contemporary Knowledge System).
Prof. Neerchal elaborated on the use of IKS. He encouraged the students to know the meaning and importance of what we do. He also gave an assignment to the students, to understand the meaning of the prayer that was chanted at the beginning.
Swami Advayananda said knowledge is ever-growing and no one person can provide all the knowledge. So, the institutions provide knowledge with the help of specialists. He also mentioned many purposes of knowledge, one of them being refinement.
The session was concluded by Shri Swapnil Chaphekar (Assistant Professor and Head, School of Kalayoga) with a Vote of Thanks and a prayer.
Session 2: Ice-breaking
The ice-breaking session was conducted by Smt. Neethu S. Kumar. The students were asked to share three things about themselves, of which one was false. The rest of the students had to guess the lie. Everyone participated enthusiastically and got to know many things about each other. It was obvious that each one was good at some extra-curricular activity. The ice-breaking session helped the students to open up to the faculty as well as to their batchmates.
Session 3: Meet the Vice Chancellor
The Vice Chancellor Prof. Nagaraj Neerchal had a dialogue with the students about combining IKS and CKS. He explained how CKS has its roots in IKS, how to trace the links and how to apply the links in the contemporary world. He gave a lot of examples to explain the topic. The session was interesting, and the students actively participated by asking a lot of questions.
Day 2: Tuesday, 20 October 2020
Session 1: Academic and Administrative Session
This session was conducted by the Registrar I/C Dr. Soumya S. It started with the understanding of where Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth (CVV) stands among universities across India and gave a foundation to the idea of being ‘de novo’. It was an interactive session where students asked many queries, and they were addressed by Dr. Soumya.
Session 2: Library Resources
This session was an introduction to the libraries and resources available at both the CVV campuses, Chinmaya Eswar Gurukula (CEG) campus in Kochi, and the Chinmaya Naada Bindu Gurukula Campus (CNBG), in Pune. Dr. Manoharan Pillai, the librarian from the CEG campus led the session and covered the major part. Smt. Sheetal Tare, the librarian at the CNBG campus apprised the students about the resources and activities at the CNBG campus. The major focus of this session was the online resources available, which students appreciated a lot since they were clueless for the reference material in the online education scenario due to COVID situation.
Session 3: Music and I
This was an interactive, fun-filled, musical session by Smt. Pramodini Rao, Director of CNBG. She introduced the students to various aspects of music, giving insights as to why a particular composition is composed the way it is.
She also sang and the students too joined in. The second half of the session was an introduction to CNBG as a campus and the various music promotion, teaching-learning and CSR activities that take place there.
Day 3: Wednesday, 21 October 2020
Session 1: Examination Cell Orientation
The session was presented by Shri Krishnakumar Thampi, Controller of Examinations. He explained the method of assessment, the eligibility criteria for attending examinations, the minimum percentage of attendance required for appearing for internal and external examinations, the medium of writing examination. The option of taking up inter-university courses was also discussed. Towards the end of the session, the timetable and calendar were presented. The nuances of online assessment during this pandemic was explained.
Session 2: Learning Management System
Director IT, Shri K. R. Lal spoke on LMS—Learning Management System, which is useful for tracking, reporting, and delivering educational and training programmes. There was a discussion on Moodle which is an open-source software and the importance of e-learning. The session also covered how course material, books and PDF files can be accessed and the submission of assignments through online text and file uploading.
Session 3: Online Etiquettes
Dr. Vanisree Ramanathan Discussed the benefits of online learning and shared guidelines for the best online learning experience. She also touched upon safety measures for online safety and prevention of cyber-crimes. During the Q&A session, dress code, acceptable behaviour and other such topics were discussed.
Day 4: Thursday, 22 October 2020
Session 1: Research Potential in IKS
Prof. Dr. Gauri Mahulikar explained how Indian Knowledge Traditions are at the root of different types of research subjects. Every contemporary research can be related to IKS. Her presentation provided much food for thought explaining the various aspects related to research. Research means the re-search to finds new things from what is already existing. It is a systematic investigation into a study of materials and sources to establish facts and reach new conclusions. The researcher checks the reliability of sources and acknowledges those. There are various types such as fundamental research, applied research, literary research etc. She introduced them to ‘Tantrayukti’, the Indian methodology of research.
Session 2: Academic Stress
Dr. Sreevalsa Kumar explained how we make wrong interpretations in many situations and expounded on the causes and solutions of academic stress. He suggested ways to deal with academic stress such as taking breaks to breathe deep, eating healthy, sleeping well, enjoying exercise, taking days to relax etc. The session helped provide a positive approach to deal with academic stress which they could face in the course of their studies.
Session 3: Sports Activity
The session was facilitated by Shri Anish P. S.. He beautifully explained the importance of physical fitness in our day to day life. He suggested a minimum 30-minute workout per day. He also familiarised the students with the annual sports event Kurukshetra and other sporting activities organised at CVV. He also demonstrated exercises, which the students had to follow.
Day 5: Friday, 23 October 2020
Session 1: Online Tools Presentation
Dr Vishakha Venkat familiarised the students with the various online tools such as flow charts, lucid charts, Google charts etc. which are useful for presentations. She explained how to establish effective contact with the audience through online mode by using different tools. Various data collection tools such as Google forms, lime survey and type form were also presented. The session was very useful for students, especially in the time of online classes, to understand the importance of presentation skills and to know the many tools available for making the best presentations.
Session 2: Mitra Session
Dr. Sandhya Shankar, Mitra Coordinator, explained the concept of Mitra—a friend, philosopher and guide for the students, who will resolve the issues of the students. She explained how a Mitra works as a safety-net for the students and as a bridge between students and faculty and administration. The responsibilities of a Mitra and the hierarchy of coordination was also explained.
Day 6: Tuesday, 27 October 2020
Session 1: How to Read Academic texts.
This session by Assistant Professors Ms. Neethu Kumar and Dr. Saurabh Singnapalli was useful for choosing books and to learn how to involve in text. When one thinks of reading something, questions come to the mind—what to read, why, how etc. We read academic books to gain knowledge about a subject. ‘Selecting a book is very important to get reliable information. Whatever information we get, we translate into what we understand. That understanding is wisdom. The source is important in academic texts. We have to study the source and choose books wisely.
Session 2: Orientation on the Anti-ragging and Anti-Sexual Harassment Cell
Vanisree Ramanathan defined ragging as violation of the dignity of a student for sadistic pleasure. She elaborately discussed types of ragging such as verbal abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, academic abuse, emphasis of a specific dress code, etc. The anti-ragging squad was discussed and she explained the punishment and penalty for such actions. Apart from ragging, sexual harassment was also discussed. She explained how sexual harassment curbs the productivity of an organisation. This was followed by a discussion on gender equality.
The various preventive measures for all these were also discussed. Dr.Vanisree explained the ‘SHE Box’ (Sexual Harassment Electronic box). She concluded her session by stating that sustainable development is possible in society only when women are empowered and there is gender equality.
Session 3: Sports and Cultural Clubs Orientation
Deekshita M., B.A. Sanskrit final year student at CVV, provided an overview of the various students’ clubs and extracurricular activities at CVV such as the Bharata Society, the Creative and Debating Society (CADS), the Grantha Cluband so on, as well as events such as Lakshya, Jabagadadash, Kurukshetra etc.
Day 7: Wednesday, 28 October 2020
Session 1: Campus Tour
In this session a video was played in which Asst. Professor Ms. Neethu S. Kumar provides a campus tour. The Virtual tour was presented so beautifully that viewers felt like they were physically present at the campus.
The video provided a glimpse of all the facilities such as the academic block, the dining hall etc. All doubts were clarified and details provided during the Q&A session in the end.
Session 2: Research and Publication at PG level
Dr. Ajaykumar K. gave a presentation on the what, why and how of research. He explained in detail how research needs to be carried out; the scope and preparation for research and publication at the PG level. The various steps involved in research such as review of literature, formulation of hypotheses, data collection, data analysis, interpretation and report writing were explained in detail followed by a brief on Research Methodology. He stressed on the importance of attending seminars, webinars, conferences, and workshops. The importance of publications for the research and the various modes of accessing the publication were also explained.
Day 10: Saturday, 31 October 2020
Valedictory Session
The session started with a prayer by Roshni Sarodi a student from the School of Kalayoga. Thereafter, videos of PG students performing a variety of activities were shared. Songs were sung, stories were told, poems recited. One of the students played the flute. There was another who rode a unicycle!
After the various performances, Dean of Faculty Prof. Gauri Mahulikar addressed the gathering, highlighting the importance of extracurricular activities. Hon’ble Vice Chancellor Prof. Nagaraj Neerchal in his address, spoke about Indic Knowledge Systems.
The Chief Guest for the session, Swami Mitrananda from Chinmaya Mission Chennai, gave the valedictory address. It being the auspicious day of Valmiki Jayanti, Sharada Poornima and he jayanti of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Swamiji shared how Ratnakar the bandit transformed into Sage Valmiki, going on to write the epic Ramayana. He extolled how every individual should have high ideals and convert his or her potential into performance.
The session ended with a Vote of Thanks Shri Swapnil Chaphekar, Head, School of Kalayoga.
