The School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada (SPAV), has launched several initiatives to align its educational practices with the transformative vision underlined in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
At a press conference on Thursday, the institute Director Ramesh Srikonda said introduction of interdisciplinary education, allowing exit and re-entry, starting credit transfer and credit exchange courses and digital enablement were some of the key steps initiated in the recent times.
Elaborating further, he said SPA encouraged applicants from different educational backgrounds and as part of its interdisciplinary approach, students were allowed to take up electives from other departments within the campus and beyond.
Explaining about credit exchange and transfers, he said it facilitated seamless transition and academic progression. “Under this, students, with the guidance of the faculty, can choose courses from other universities or NPTEL, MOOCS or any other platform of repute based on their interest and aspiration,” he said, informing that SPAV had established credit exchange programme in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Tirupati, Boston College of Architecture, University of Lille France and many other universities of repute, facilitating exchange of undergraduate and postgraduate students for specific courses and contact hours, based on mutual interest.
If a postgraduate student discontinues studies after one year, he is eligible for a PG Diploma certificate. Similarly, diploma certificates would also be given to undergraduate students who make an exit three years in Bachelors of Architecture or two years in Bachelors of Planning. “This gives value to the time spent on the campus and will make them industry-ready. Such diploma-holders can re-enter and complete their degrees in due course of time,” he said.
Collaborative research
Mr. Srikonda also spoke elaborately about the collaborative research work taken up by the institute through Memoranda of Understanding signed with Indian and foreign universities.
As part of industry-academia interface, the SPA has initiated an industry-integrated project that allows students to learn from live projects underway on the campus, he said .
Under digital enablement, he said the institute had embraced technology as a catalyst to promote innovation and enhanced learning. Use of smart classrooms, IoT, GIS and remote sensing, LIDAR, GPS and use of advanced scientific tools in traffic and transport, air and water quality modelling and heat stress monitoring had enabled students to initiate some advanced assignments related to climate change and sustainability in the domain of city planning and architecture, he said.
