46 Business Students Complete Enhancement Practical Training (EPT)
Forty-six (46) Business Studies students completed their Enhancement Practical Training (EPT) from 23 January to 10 March 2010. Fourteen of them specialized in Human Resource Management, twelve in E-Business, seventeen in Marketing, and three are in Certificate Level. The said students underwent I.T. Skills Training such as Basic Computer Operation, Microsoft Applications (Word, Excel and Power Point), Adobe Photoshop and Dream-Weaver especially for the E-Business Specialization students. The IT Skills Training was provided by the Educational Technologies Center (ETC).
Furthermore, the same students attended a series of seminars and workshops in Office Management Practices conducted by Mr. Radhakrishnan, Business Writing by Dr. Jacob George, and Know About Business (KAB) by Mr. Hernani, Ms. James, and Mrs. Vardhani. They also got practical exposure from various units in the College where they were assigned in the offices for one week. They were also trained in resume preparation and handling the job interview.
The main objective of EPT is to fill the gap in various skills in which the students are deficient or needing improvement. With the opportunity provided to 46 Business students this semester 2, 2009-2010, the training program of EPT has fulfilled the primary objectives for which it is designed./hmanalo
Business Department Conducts Staff Development Activities
The Business Department, headed by Dr. Imran Hameed has added another pillar of innovation in the College. Starting Semester 2, 2009-2010, a weekly series of staff development activities have been conducted. These activities are mostly presentations of various teaching-learning models, tools, and approaches by various staff in the department. These presentations enable the staff to learn some impetus in developing teaching-learning styles best suited to their class. Eventually, these activities will ensure quality development in the department.
So far, the following presentations have been conducted: Developing Course Content for JST by Hernani D. Manalo; Innovative Methods in Teaching by Dr. Noushad P. Mohamed; Experiential Learning by Dr. Imran Hameed; Student Differentiated Teaching by Mr. Mohamed Atif Khan; Team Play by Mrs. Vardhani Dasika; Cue Cards Method by Mr. Radhakrishanan Subramaniam. According to Ms. Rajani James, Coordinator of Staff Development Unit (SDU) in Business Studies, five presentations by various Business Studies staff are expected to be made in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the Staff Development Unit of Nizwa College of Technology utilized the expertise of two stalwarts in the College. Last 8 February 2010, Dr. Bader, Ahmed, Assistant Dean for Academics presented the ADRI model before the staff of NCT at the Multi-purpose Hall. Furthermore, Dr. Imran, HOD of Business Studies conducted a Health and Safety Training to some staff last 3 March 2010. His acumen in the field of medicine and healthcare, as well as his business expertise, was evident during the training-workshop./hmanalo
NCT SDU holds seminar on Innovative Methods of Teaching: Team Play
The NCT Staff Development Unit (SDU) conducted a workshop on Team Play last 22 February at the MPH. This is part of SDU’s series of seminar-workshops on Innovative Methods of Teaching, which is envisaged to assist college staff in being acquainted with various forms of teaching methodologies that they can practice in their classes. The said workshop was attended by staff from various academic departments, including some college officials. Ms. Vardhani Dasika, lecturer from Business Studies department, facilitated the event. She was assisted by Ms. Ramani James, SDU Coordinator and also a Business Studies lecturer. Dr. Imran Hameed, Business Studies department HoD, served as overall speaker for the event.
During the workshop, two game play activities were done by the participants. First, Ms. Vardhani introduced the game “Team Chain” to the workshop participants by describing them the mechanics of the game. Then, after the participants were grouped in two, they were asked to form a circular chain and were given a task to do without breaking the chain. After one group successfully did the task given, the facilitators discussed the roles played by members of the group in solving the task at hand, and how teamwork played an important part in it.
The second game involved dividing the participants into three groups, then selecting one member of each group to be blindfolded and then asking them to draw something. The facilitators gave the groups 10 minutes to do the task, explaining to the participants that other members of the group not assigned to give instructions to the “painter” on how to draw the required object, can “distract” the painter of the other groups. After the time elapsed, the facilitators scrutinized the work of the three groups and asked them how they attain the outputs.
Dr. Imran gave a short explanation on the implications of the roles played by the members of the group in coming up with an accurate drawing. He also delved on the methods and strategies employed by the groups to do the required task accurately. Furthermore, he provided links/relationships between the game played by the participants and the teaching they do in their classes.
Dr. Imran also encouraged the participants to share their ideas on the games played during the workshop as a form of summarization and generalizations of the lessons learned during the activity. He then thanked everyone who participated in the event, especially those who facilitated it. /junlontok