One Week VAC Workshop organised by UESDC, JU for Department of Political Science and Buddhist Studies

University Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Centre under the able guidance of Hon’ble Vice Chancellor Prof. Umesh Rai has started a series of five-day workshop modules of Value Added Courses. The second module “Soft Skills for WorkPlace” was organised for the students of Department of Political Science and Buddhist Studies from 16th January, 2023.

The week long programme included four sessions daily comprising of two morning sessions and two afternoon sessions. Total 20 sessions were conducted by various industry experts, leading academicians and motivational speakers within and outside the university.

The first session was conducted by Prof. Alka Sharma, Convenor UESDC and Sr. Professor at The Business School, JU. She enlightened the students about the importance of soft skill learning, discipline and gave her insights to the students through her interactive session. Dr. Garima Gupta, Associate Professor, Department of English and HoD, Department of Journalism and Media Studies also delivered a session and emphasized upon the need of self awareness in ones life in addition to the classroom learning. One of the sessions was also conducted by Ms. Geetika Kohli, Writer and Entrepreneur. She talked about values for personal effectiveness and skill set required for Group discussions and Brainstorming. The students also got a chance to interact with leading resource person Ms. Swati Basotra, founder of Talkeasytakeeasy, Training and Placement Consultant at leading institutes like IIT Jammu, Rai University and many more. While speaking on the occasion, she highlighted the core life skills needed in one’s life. She also spoke about the importance of Empathy and Behavioural intelligence in predict future behaviours, influence other people’s behaviours, and control your own behaviour.

One of the sessions was also given by Ms. Payal Jain, Brand Consultant and a Motivational Speaker. While addressing the students, she discussed the significance of Gratitude on physical and mental health. She talked about how expressing gratitude can improve one’s mood and social bond.

Students also had a chance to connect with Ms. Maansi Gupta, Executive Director, MG Design School, Jammu. She took a session on Communication and Interpersonal skills. She explained that communication is the only mean that allows one’s to understand and be understood by others. She also discussed the value of Interpersonal skills and non-verbal cues in communication. She gave practical tips of how students can improve their communication and interpersonal skills.

Another session was conducted by Dr. Neelika Arora from the Department of HRM & OB, Central University of Jammu. She delivered her session on importance of Team Management. She deliberated upon the key points of effective team management.  Dr. Pallavi Sachdeva from Department of Directorate of lifelong Learning, University of Jammu took a session on Anger Management and how to cope with Stress. She discussed with the students about stress and how it is a constant in contemporary life style. The resource person dealt with different ways that students can reduce the stress quotient and anger in their life.

 Dr Sarita Sood from Department of Psychology, University of Jammu was the resource person for one of the sessions. The speaker talked about Study skills and memory techniques. She highlighted the skills every student should master for studying and memorizing. Dr Farah Choudhary from The Business School, University of Jammu took a session on Presentation skills. She discussed how Presentation Skills have become an indispensible part of any professional activity. This session trained the students in handling a PowerPoint presentation. The session on Time Management was conducted by Prof. Vinay Chauhan, Dean Student Placement and Professor at The Business School, University of Jammu. While interacting with the students, he discussed the value of managing time effectively so that the right time is allocated to the right activity. He suggested ways and techniques to manage time effectively and efficiently.

Ms. Jasleen Kaur, Co-founder Branding Elves, Jammu delivered a session on interview Skills.  She trained the students on the Do’s and Don’ts of interview and how to be ready psychologically and emotionally for facing an interview. Dr. Anil Gupta, Associate Professor at SHTM, JU took a session on creative thinking. He spoke about igniting creativity and talked about sources of creativity. He also stressed about how students can be encouraged to think laterally as well as linearly and emphasised students to think out of the box to become successful in life.

A valedictory function was organized to conclude the module and Prof. Naresh Padha, Dean Academic Affairs, University of Jammu was the Chief Guest. The certificates were handed over to the concerned heads for the distribution to the students. Prof. Naresh Padha in his address expressed his satisfaction over the conduct of Life Skills Program and reiterated the need for such programs in University of Jammu. He also informed that as per the new University Calendar for the session 2022-23, all the departments shall have to allow their students to learn various skills outside classroom and trusted that UESDC will be able to add value to the students during their stay in the University.

During the program the students also shared their feedback and suggested that more such programs should be organized. The Head of Department of Political Science, Prof. Baljeet Singh while talking on the occasion gave special remarks about the workshop. He emphasized upon the need of such workshops for the University students that are under immense academic and competitive pressure.

Prof. Alka Sharma, Convener University Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Centre gave the welcome address. She spoke of the initiative to run these modules throughout the year to ensure that all the students of Jammu University are benefitted by these sessions. She appraised the gathering that such value added courses give an edge to the students in their employability profile. Dr. Garima Gupta, Department of English presented the vote of thanks. The event was coordinated by Dr. Farah Choudhary.