Vels Institute of Science Technology and Advanced Studies, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Assistant professor : Dr. S Shridevi Interview

Dr.S.Shri Devi is an Assistant Professor of the Vels Institute of Science Technology and Advanced Studies, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. She completed Bachelor's in Visual Communication,Auxilium College, Thiruvalluvar University and a Master in Mass Communication & Journalism at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University followed by Master of Philosophy in Mass Communication & Journalism at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University. She also completed Doctorate in Mass Communication & Journalism at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University. She is also an Academic Programs Coordinator for the National Level Virtual Workshop on Media Research organised by the school of Mass Communication. Dr.S.Shridevi has 3 years of teaching years at Vels University and also holds 7 years of experience in Media Research. Recent Projects completed by her is Doctoral Research on Cultural Transformation through Media: Reference to Nomadic Community in Tamil Nadu 2022. She also received the Academic Excellence award in B.sc Visual Communication in 2012 and Gold Medalist in M.A in Mass Communication and Journalism in the year 2014.

Being a Faculty of the Visual Communication Department, what are your roles and responsibilities towards the students?

“ To monitor individual student’s performance, and evaluate their development in all ways”

Being faculty in the department of visual communication, we are assigned to dynamic roles and responsibilities in relation to the student’s personal, and social Growth. We have many committees like mentor-mentee committee, cultural committee, sports committee, discipline committee, and Grievance committee. All these help to understand and monitor individual student’s performance. Our university is accredited with the best mentor-mentee system, where the faculties are assigned a specific number of students. They personally monitor, counsel, and evaluate the student’s development in all ways.

What kind of programs are conducted to draw the attention of the students in Vels Institute of Science Technology and Advanced Studies?

“Conduct activities and competitions like photography, sculpting, short film production, music album production, radio programs, etc for pupils”

In our department, we conduct programs that suit the students requirements and the media industry. We conduct activities and competitions like photography, sculpting, short film production, music album production, radio programs, public service announcements, documentaries, etc. Such programs help the students to express their hidden talents and socialize with all the students. Apart from these activities, we conduct workshops, seminars, and development programs through information communication technologies in association with industry experts for gaining industry-level expertise.

How do you tend to establish healthy relations with the students and fellow faculty?

“Maintain effective communications, Interpersonal and group interaction in class”

As a visual communication faculty, we develop cordial relationships with the students through Interpersonal and group interactions often in class. Our curriculum is made in such a way that the students gain knowledge through practical-oriented activities. Effective communication practices enable the students to gain confidence in public speaking skills, and present informative content in a persuasive way for the media and eliminate the barriers to their skills. We build healthy relationships in our department with faculties by exchanging our knowledge or empowering each other with theoretical and practical skills to all our staff members.

How do you strategize the curriculum and how often it gets updated to make it befitting for the students?

“Follow learning Outcome-based Curriculum Framework and modify syllabus as per industrial standards”

Our curriculum is updated once every three years. We follow the Learning Outcome-based Curriculum Framework (LOCF) method of the curriculum by the University Grants Commission. Also, modify the existing syllabus and include new subjects that match the industry requirements. It will help the students to update their knowledge and practical skills. So, they can easily get recruited by any reputed media organisation based on their interests.Based on the syllabus requirement, we have sufficient Multimedia lab, Animation lab, Photography studio, Editing suite, and preview theatre. We also introduced courses in our department like the PG diploma in screenwriting in the present academic year.

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What are your views upon the placements and higher education about the students from your department or How does your department prepare students for Higher education?

“Train students with practical knowledge through constant practice, and give ample placement opportunities from the reputed media industry”

Our curriculum is framed to give equal importance to practical and theory subjects. Both the theory and practical subjects handling staff are exceptionally talented in their respective areas. They train the students with practical knowledge through constant practice. Their developments in practical subjects are carefully monitored regularly and motivated by the faculties. Our department has an ample number of placement opportunities from the reputed media industry related to Graphic design, Direction, Animation, Content creation, and Journalism.

What are the challenges you faced/ are facing to uplift the quality of education of Vels Institute of Science Technology and Advanced Studies?

“To gain knowledge through multiple resources by students”

One of the major challenges that faculty face is that the students have multiple resources to gain knowledge. They are exposed to various media platforms to gain information easily and effectively. Sometimes, this acts as a boon and a bane. Presented with boundless information, they are very much distracted psychologically. As faculty, we have to understand this and prepare the students cognitively for a class initially. So, in order to eliminate this barrier, the staff are using captivating methods in their teaching. They use student-centric learning methods, do activities like group discussions, and debate with the students involved in this learning process.

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When you came to college, what was your vision and how are you trying to achieve the same?

“To fulfil individual students' requirements and inculcate the basic moral values”

When I came to this institution, I had only one ambition. My vision is for myself to be an effective teaching faculty that not only shows their expertise in teaching but understands the individual student’s requirements and fulfils them. I try to inculcate the basic moral values among the students which is a significant need in this society. In the present time, the crime rates among young adults are astounding and alarming. Mostly, the reason behind these is attention, love, financial issues, fitting in a group, lust, and an easy way to make money. According to released figures from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), almost 60% of crimes against minors are done by youngsters of age 16 and 18. In this digital world, 70% of cybercrimes are committed by youths. With this consideration, I personally believe in educating students with moral values and empowering them with digital literacy. We believe that such initiatives will transform the perception of today’s students’ fraternity to make them a more productive and responsible person in society.

What valuable advice would you like to the students for them to have a prosperous career ahead?

“Attain more skills, abilities with digital resources and gain advanced knowledge for you career”

The personal advice to the students is to attain more skills and abilities with digital resources. Only challenge faced by them is to make the resources more useful for their personal growth. The students can learn any skills like learning software, photography, designing, etc apart from the class. They should have an aim and be able to answer what he/she will do after completing their graduation or post-graduation. The constant effort from their side is needed. So, the staff members also help the students with advanced knowledge and skill set.