IIT tie-up with US varsity to train schoolteachers

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, September 15, 2007
IIT Kharagpur has agreed to a tie-up with University of California, Berkeley (UCB) in the US, to start a teachers’ training academy exclusively for schoolteachers. The focus would be on improving and updating teaching methods for science subjects in the secondary and higher secondary levels.
“The idea was mooted by Nobel laureate professor George F Smoot of UCB, who is currently visiting the institute, and we thought we should take up the proposal,” said Damodar Acharya, director of IIT-KGP, after the institute’s 53rd convocation.
The joint programme will focus in developing curriculum, course materials to be used and course content to train teachers. Emphasis will be on teaching of science subjects and ways of making it interesting and acceptable to pupils. Modern teaching techniques and aids along with an updated knowledge of science is what the programme is aiming to do.
Apart from the regular science subjects such as, physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology, teachers will be given exposure to other subjects like cosmology, environmental science, climate change and energy.
Talking about the collaboration, Smoot said, “UCB already has one such programme, but we are going global with the project, and would be including India also.” The project has gained popularity in the US and the varsity has tie-ups in Kenya, Japan and China. “We are starting off in Indian with IIT Kharagpur, but slowly we would like to be associated with other IITs to get maximum reach,” the Nobel laureate added.
Commenting on the new initiative, the chairman of the board of governors at IIT-KGP Sanjiv Goenka, said: “The dialogue with UCB has already begun. There is a shortage of well-trained teachers in our schools and IIT Khargapur wants to do its part to improve the situation. In the past we had undertaken faculty development programmes for teachers of engineering colleges across the country and now we want to do it for schoolteachers. Our prior experience will surely help us.”
Course material for the undertaking will be conceptualised by December this year. While some teachers will be trained on IIT KGP campus, who will become master trainers, training will also be available online.
The IIT is also going on a massive infrastructure development drive. The institution has been sanctioned Rs 300 crore for developing its infrastructure, which would include construction of 100 class rooms, 200 tutorial rooms and six laboratories. The institute also inaugurated a women’s hostel accommodating 250 on Saturday. The institution is also setting up a tea research centre for Rs 16 crore, a coffee research centre for Rs 3 crore, a telecom research centre for Rs 12 crore and a steel research centre for Rs 20 crore. The institute will spend another Rs 50 crore to develop a research facility on fabrication of semi conductors.
“We are coming up with an energy park, an IT park and a medical biotechnology park. Many Indian and foreign institutions and companies have expressed their desire to use these facilities. Damodar Valley Corporation has offered to invest Rs 100 crore on our energy park project,” said Acharya.
Mou.Chakraborty@hindustantimes.com