KIIT School of Mechanical Engineering (SME) organized an online Faculty Development Programme 2021 in the niche area “Advances in Manufacturing Technology: Industry 4.0” from 21st to 26th June 2021 under the theme, “Exploring Self: A New Paradigm in Education”. As many as 15 sessions were conducted with an aim to contribute to improving the teaching and research skills of the participants. Eminent speakers from both academic and industrial backgrounds shared their knowledge to the 76 participants from KIIT School of Mechanical Engineering and the 22 participants from the Institutions across the nation.
Prof. Bharat Chandra Routara, Dean, School of Mechanical Engineering, welcomed all the internal and external participants to the school-level FDP. Speaking at the session, Dr. Vijay Kumar Manupati from NIT Warangal, an eminent soft computing expert, highlighted the important aspects of “On-line Training of soft computing techniques”. He along with his students gave virtual training on Artificial Neural Network using MATLAB in three discrete sessions.
In the 2nd session, Dr. Sushil S Ramdasi from ARAI Pune delivered an intriguing lecture on Fuel Cell and Electric Vehicle. Last session of the day on ‘E-content development’ by Prof. Tanmay Mohanty, Director e-learning, was fascinating. The session was very informative, interactive and comprehensive covering almost every aspect of on-line Education in the post COVID era.
In the fifth session, Dr. Jonathan Joshi, CEO of Eduvance took the participants to the world of augmented reality and virtual reality, a topic related to making online education more attractive. It was followed by a session on ‘Attainment of Learning Outcome’ by Prof. Arindam Deb, Deputy Director, Quality Assurance Cell, KIIT-DU. The Q&A session was very interactive where many faculties shared their genuine concerns in online evaluation of courses.
Third day’s session began with an overview of modern Welding technology, benefits and common challenges pertaining to Electric Vehicle Technology. Dr. Mantraprasad Satpathy, KIIT SME was the speaker. This was followed by a session on Heat Transfer in Material Technology by Mr. Shambhunath Sen from GE India. Last session of the day was by Prof. Keshavamurthy from DSCE Bengaluru who spoke on Nano composite material and 3D printing.
Fourth days’ sessions were even more informative as Dr. Purna Chandra Mishra, Dean Research, KIIT SME spoke elaborately on various aspects of project proposal writing and assured ways of getting a grant. In the next session, Dr. Ashis Vashistaha from IT-Carlow, Ireland spoke on hypersonic aerodynamics and carbon neutral energy for the future.
Fifth day session started with Dr. Radhakant Satpathy from DIAT-Pune a pioneer in flight instrumentation. He spoke on various critical aspects of civil and defence aviation. Dr. Diptikanta Das, Program Head (Mechanical Engg), SME followed him by engaging in the next session. Prof. Das deliberated on preparation and approaches for online teaching and basic learning modalities of online engineering education. However, the last session by Prof. Manoj Dora from Brunel University, London was icing on the cake. He spoke on Supply Chain Management for a sustainable future with his own experience travelling through the world. “You can think of me as a member of the KIIT family working from London” was his assuring words on future collaboration.
Dr. Sudesna Roy, KIIT SME being the coordinator of the FDP 2021 welcomed all the participants to the valedictory session on 26th June 2021. In this session all coordinating team members along with the faculties of the school, faculties from different Universities and Institutions also joined the session and the feedback was taken from all to improve the future programmes of the school. “We all return a bit wiser” said Prof. Roy while closing the program.