NSOU Hosts Workshop on Blended Learning for Educational Institutions at Jalpaiguri RC in West Bengal

The Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), the regional centre of Commonwealth of Learning,in collaboration with Netaji Subhas Open University (NSOU), hosted a workshop focused on the implementation of Blended Learning in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across West Bengal. The workshop was conducted from May 23-25, 2024, at NSOU's Jalpaiguri Regional Centre (RC).

The workshop was part of CEMCA’s initiative to promote the integration of blended learning techniques in the teaching and learning process in HEIs. Its primary objective was to acquaint faculty members with blended teaching methods, and tools, and equip them to incorporate these approaches into their daily classroom practices. The expected outcome of the workshop is the creation ofa cadre of competent leaders and facilitators, who would lead improvements and development within their institutions through technology, in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

The event saw the participation of 51 educators, and commenced with a welcome address by Mr. Santanu Dam, Deputy Director, Jalpaiguri RC. This was followed by project overview and detailed outline of the workshop by Professor Anirban Ghosh, Project Director. He highlighted that under the current CEMCA-NSOU collaborative project (Phase 3), approximately 150 higher education teachers across West Bengal will be trained in blended learning methods. In the first two phases, over 360 HE teachers were trained and are now successfully implementing these approaches in their respective institutions. He expressed gratitude to Professor B. Shadrach, Director of CEMCA, for facilitating the capacity-building programme. Professor Ghosh also thanked Professor I. Lahiri, Vice-Chancellor of NSOU, for his continuous encouragement and support for such collaborative initiatives.

Dr Papiya Upadhyay, Project Coordinator, elaborated on the workshop's agenda, objectives, and expected outcomes. She emphasised that this initiative could serve as a pilot activity for integrating blended strategies and ICT in pedagogical practices, and formulating educational policies and/or capacity-building programmes. Mr Debraj Sarkar, System Analyst at Jalpaiguri RC, proposed a vote of thanks, concluding the inaugural session. The session was moderated by Mr. Soumitra Sengupta, Superintendent at Jalpaiguri RC. The Technical Sessions followed immediately after the inauguration, which weredeftly facilitated by Dr Papiya Upadhyay, Mr. Purandar Sengupta, Mr. Santanu Patra, and Professor Anirban Ghosh.