Neetu Khandelwal is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Commerce and Management at Apex University, Jaipur. As part of her academics, she has done B.Com, MBA, SET and PhD. She is a subject expert in areas like Financial Management, Financial Accounting, Banking and Finance.

Apex university

What are your roles and responsibilities towards the students?

"To educate and inspire them to become better human beings and citizens"

In my opinion, being a teacher is something much more than only giving away knowledge and attending back-to-back classes. A teacher is that person who makes a significant impact in their students’ lives by educating them, by inspiring them to be a better version of themselves and achieve something significant in life. Being a Commerce and Management Faculty firstly I usually promote the interest among my students. Apart from this, I am also responsible to provide the right guidance to them for their future growth and treat everyone equally.

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

"By promoting the ambiance of positivity, mutual respect, trust and flexibility"

I normally set up a positive environment and management protocols for my students as well as their parents to have a relationship of mutual respect with them. And I keep a positive, supportive and enthusiastic attitude while teaching them. Because what I believe is that we should avoid the use of threats and punishment in the classroom environment. 

Development of a positive and professional relationship with colleagues does not happen automatically, and is not always easy; it takes time and effort. Therefore, to develop a cordial relationship with my fellow faculty, I listen to them with full attention and create a positive environment by being flexible, adaptable, courteous and mindful. 

How do you introduce a practical and industry-oriented approach towards subjects?

"By teaching topics in an interesting way and correlating them with current trends"

To promote the practical and industry-oriented approach towards subjects, I use very simple yet effective techniques like introducing the topics in new and interesting ways and using practical applications as interesting examples. Also, I try to relate the subject matter with current events and students' interests or activities and ask them to present challenging and thought-provoking ideas by examining controversial issues.

Which best practices are offered by the department to students to help them gain necessary skills? 

"We use case studies and assign personal mentors to required students"

Our department does use a wide variety of practices to make our students ready for the future and industry. Like, we use the concept of functional learning, case analysis and problem-solving approach while teaching our students. We offer tutorials and mentors to them as per their needs. Lastly, we use various other learning resources like multimedia, the internet and the earn-while-learn-scheme to teach them the required skills.

How do you strategize and update the curriculum to make it befitting for the students? 

"First we define the objectives, then we include new programs and industry updates"

While drafting and updating our curriculum, first we outline the objective we plan to achieve for our students and us. Then we develop the introduction, plan specific learning activities. We define a realistic timeline to achieve the goals defined in our curriculum. And we regularly include the latest industrial happenings in line with AICTE and UGC guidelines. 

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How does your department prepare students for placements?

"We organize GD sessions and aptitude tests for them on a frequent basis"

To prepare our students for the placements, we regularly update them with tips, tricks and business etiquette to crack interviews, and conduct GD sessions, aptitude classes and tests. We make them socially responsible by indulging them in various kinds of learning activities and projects. 

How do you help your student to cope with this competitive world? 

"By teaching them time management, communication and technical skills"

To make our students ready for this competitive world so that they can tackle real-world issues by themselves, we teach them critical thinking skills, communication, leadership, time management, computer and technical, conflict resolution and organizational skills, and how to be patient via various kinds of activities and assigning them various duties.

Which extracurricular activities are organized in college to enhance the skills of students?

"Activities range from cultural to roleplay and leadership tasks"

Our college does organize various co-curricular activities to enhance the skills of our students and below are some of them.

  • Brainstorm Extracurricular Ideas
  • Clubs Activities
  • Artistic activities
  • Cultural and Language Skills
  • Leadership skills
  • Performance Art
  • Religious
  • Roleplaying/Fantasy

What are the challenges you faced while uplifting the quality of education of your department? 

"Lack of proper infra, technical support and controlling students behaviour"

There are actually different kinds of challenges that we faced while uplifting the education quality of our department. The dearth of qualified faculty, lack of infrastructure (smart classrooms), technical glitches, conducting tours and field visits, removing the concept of marks-oriented education and controlling students' attitudes and behaviours are the most important issues.

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

"To create a centre of excellence, creativity and innovation"

As a faculty of commerce and management, my vision is to create a dynamic centre of innovation and creativity dedicated to teaching, lifelong learning, professionalism, research, entrepreneurship, and partnership with local and global communities. I provide my students with the scientific methods, research and scholarly inquiry so that they can use their critical thinking skills and be change-makers after finishing their graduation and post-graduation. 

How does the curriculum of your college ensure the best practices of the industry?

"It promotes practical learning, innovation and reading"

The curriculum of our college is designed in a way that makes our students industry-ready. It promotes the culture of practical learning by encouraging our students to learn things by doing experiments. Book and newspaper reading is mandatory for every student. Inculcate the Habit of Innovation. Besides this, students are asked to pursue online courses to hone their skills such as LinkedIn certification, to work on their weak areas and to connect and network with people around them

How does your college enhance the skills of faculty and prepare them according to the industry standards?

"By giving them favorable working conditions and training programs"

We do develop the skills of our faculty as per industry standards by using different approaches such as: 

  • Intervention by professional consultants.
  • Workshops, seminars and courses.
  • Mentoring programs.
  • Action research.
  • Supportive Working Conditions.
  • Fosters critical thinking.
  • Encourages an open and trusting learning environment.
  • Self-development is an educational context.

Which approaches do you bring in apart from curriculum to teach your students?

"We include students in our college committees to improve their learning journey"

With this respect, I usually develop actionable plans to identify students' needs and then implement supportive programs that greatly improve their learning rates by including and integrating them as active and integral members of our campus communities. Also, we use the success of our alumni to encourage them on various occasions. Academic support services and continuous monitoring of the students are a few other activities.

What do you see as your college’s greatest strengths?

"Our faculty, students, learning environment and admission procedure"

Our well-trained, research-oriented, experienced, dedicated and energetic teaching faculty, good teaching and learning environment, simple and transparent admission procedure, and excellent student-teacher rapport with emphasis on mentoring and counseling are the unique qualities that make us strong and resilient.

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Any valuable advice would you like to give to the students to have a prosperous career ahead?

"Focus on things that really matter for your life"

I would like to advise my students to focus on things that are useful in real life such as public speaking, financial education, how to sell, how to talk, etc. Also, enhance your entrepreneurship skills so that you can provide jobs to others instead of being job seekers.