Mr. Dr. M. Raja has been working as an Assistant Professor and Head of Science and Humanities Department at Tagore Engineering College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He obtained his PhD Degree in Mathematics from Bharathidasan University and Master of Philosophy from Alagappa University. He has published 5 research papers in reputed international journals and has also written 2 books. His areas of research interest are Topology, Graph Theory and Functional Analysis.

Tagore Engineering College

Being a Faculty of the Science and Humanities Department, what are your responsibilities towards the students?

"Educating them and resolving their doubts on time are my main responsibility"

Being an Assistant Professor and Head of Department at TEC, my main responsibility is to nurture my students with good care and to educate them about the fundamentals of the basic Engineering courses. Apart from this, enhancing their skills, making them more confident to compete in the outside world, and creating a curious and innovative attitude in them, and providing them relevant learning opportunities as per their interests and passion are also some of my daily basis responsibilities. 

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

"By analyzing their family background, academic and non-academic issues and resolving them on time"

When I interact with my students, I try my best to understand their family background, expectations and utilize my knowledge and experience in the best possible way to fix their academic and non-academic issues and queries. And with the faculty members, I always provide them an open and trustworthy communication environment while they connect with me. Lastly, when it comes to teaching, I allow my students to be more independent to explore things on their own and provide them my support and guidance whenever required. 

How do you bring in a practical and industry oriented approach towards subjects?

"By conducting industry interaction sessions and workshops in collaboration with experts"

For the purpose of inculcating industry driven and practical approach towards subjects, we invite esteemed industry experts to interact with our students and educate them about their own experiences and expectations from students. And we motivate them to do the modules for all the subjects just by kindling their sense of knowledge.

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

"We strive to strengthen the basic subjects knowledge of students"

We believe in strengthening the fundamental knowledge and subjects concepts of students for basic Science and Technology. Hence we keep them updated with the latest happenings related to subjects like Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. And ample opportunities are offered to them for language learning and enhancing their communication skills.

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

"The curriculum is designed by the expert panel of University hence have best practices in it"

We follow the curriculum designed by the University to which we are affiliated to, and this curriculum has ample scope to provide quality knowledge, industrial experience of students and also to enhance their potential. In addition to this, co-curricular clubs of our college organize diverse activities for students' skills developments and have specific syllabus framed by the department so that the students can learn beyond the syllabus and stay updated.

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How does your department prepare students for higher education and placement?

"We prepare them through counseling sessions and placement oriented trainings"

We guide our students about the competitive exams like GATE, IELTS and about the BEC exam through counseling and guidance sessions which we organize in collaboration with experts and trainers. We also motivate our students to stay in touch with our Alumni to know a broader sense of placement opportunities and additional skills to be acquired to get placed in reputed companies. 

How do you prepare your students to deal with the outside competitive world?

"By motivating them to have faith in themselves and upgrade their skills"

In order to prepare our students for the outside world and corporate sector, we regularly motivate them to believe in their skills and not to compare their individuality with anyone, practice collaborative and self learning with other students. 

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

"Various technical events, yoga and sports activities are regularly conducted by us"

Our college has established various houses and clubs to organize co-curricular activities in college for the students overall growth and development, because only excelling in studies will not help them much. We organize yoga, sports activities, and various technical and non-technical competitions in college on a regular basis. 

What challenges are you facing to uplift the education quality of your department?

"Adjusting our teaching pedagogies as per diversity of our students becomes a roadblock sometimes"

We do have students from different boards of education, mediums, diverse social backgrounds and different levels of learning and understanding capacity, which sometimes becomes a hurdle for us, as we have to struggle a lot to incorporate our teaching practices which can accommodate everyone's needs and interests. are the challenges we face. 

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

"Transforming our students into best professionals and leaders was my objective"

When I joined this college, my aim was to teach the importance of aesthetic learning to students. And I am determined enough to transform our students into the best Design Professionals who can constantly innovate solutions for real world problems and serve the society and nation in the best possible way. 

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

"It include best programs, educational practices, practical exposure and trainings"

Our curriculum comprises practices which focus more on enhancing practical and industrial exposure of students through a wide variety of value added courses, training, industry interaction sessions, research activities and events. 

How does your department upgrade the skills of faculty and prepare them as per industry standards?

"They are trained through FDPs, conferences, workshops and skill development programs"

To update the technical competence of teachers, our college regularly motivates them to participate in summer/winter school programs, research and consultancy opportunities, conferences and workshops etc. and some incentives are also provided to them for the same. Apart from this, they attend Faculty Development Programs and Skill Development Courses which are generally sponsored by the government, other Universities and Institutions. 

What approaches do you bring in apart from curriculum to teach the students?

"I promote the collaborative and peer learning environment during my classes"

The major approaches which I have included in my teaching methodologies to educate students beyond curriculum includes one to one interaction sessions, group based learning activities and discussions, peer tutoring where we encourage students to teach each other and lastly by self-regulatory and collaborative teaching. 

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What are the greatest strengths of your department and how can it be enhanced?

"The freedom we have given to our faculty members and students to conduct experiment makes us strong"

The greatest strength of our department is the kind of independent environment we have provided to our faculty and students to experiment with their ideas and explore their hidden skills. Also we regularly appreciate their achievements with certificates, momento and cash prizes no matter if the achievement is small or big.

Any valuable advice which you would like to share with the students for a prosperous career ahead?

"Keep exploring things around you, respect your elders, work with patience and perseverance"

I would advise my students to enhance their skills and experience to be the best version of themselves. Also be spontaneous and never hesitate to ask questions or explore things around you. Learn from every incident of life and work with patience. Create an identity for yourself, love your parents and be a part of uplifting the nation.