The students and the faculty of SRMU are deeply embedded in the digital ecosystem. Prof. (Dr.) Vijay Tiwari, Vice Chancellor, Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University (SRMU), highlights that the digital drive is an integral part of everyone’s life in the university.
What are some of the salient digital initiatives at SRMU you would like to highlight?
We have taken industry partnership seriously and made it an essential part of the curriculum. Our university has collaborated with L&T, IBM, Tata Motors, and other industry partners to ensure that students are industry-ready, giving them a sense of the future. SRMU also provides online courses on space-related technology.
SRMU utilises the indigenous learning management system (My Guruji) for students and online academic engagements. ERP systems have been suitably modified to support administrative functions as well.
Students ofthe Computer Science Department have excelled in the National Level Hackathons and Robotics competitions. The AI Lab is one of the prime attractions of this Department.
From students to faculty to admins, how do you involve each constituency in this digital drive?
Look, the digital drive is an integral part of everyone’s life. The students and the faculty are deeply embedded in the digital ecosystem. So, it’s not something that is being introduced to students for the first time at the University.
We aim to expose the student to the vastness of the area, its long-lasting impact, and depth of penetration. We also train our students on firm guardrails that need to be applied to make sure that the negative impact of the digital ecosystem is kept within acceptable limits. We emphasise cybersecurity, forensics and other cyber hygiene methods.
Online admission portals assist in the seamless onboarding of new students. Almost all the teaching functions and related processes are online and verifiable.
What are the key features of the state-of-the-art digital campus at SRMU?
SRMU has always endeavoured to provide state-of-the-art facilities to our students and staff. SRMU is largely a digital campus. All our academic activities are supported through digital processes.
Students have access to their records from fees, academic engagements, grades, and other routine activities. SRMU has a potent online Student Grievance Redressal system which is
responsive, accountable, and transparent. State-of-the-art AI labs are open for the students to explore. We have invested in the software applications and made AI tools available to students.
What is the operating model of the Central Library automated with KOHA software?
Our University operates a Central Library automated with Koha and functions based on an Integrated Library System (ILS) framework. It is on a web-based, client-server architecture. Acquisition, cataloguing and circulation are all automated. We have a large bucket of subscriptions to online and print journals and books. The Online Public Access Interface provides the convenience of remote login. Digital Kiosks have been integrated with KOHA to facilitate browsing of the catalogue and checking of account status independently.
How do you ensure a more coordinated industry-academia collaboration?
As I have enumerated earlier, we have industry partners on Campus and they are embedded within our academic curricula. In addition, SRMU has a very efficient outreach team which moves through the industrial layers to get a sense of what the current industry requirement. We are conscious of the Skill development needs and work on that with our partners.
We facilitate industrial internships and bootcamps. We have encouraged our students to compete in hackathons, online competitions and subscribe to skill courses.
What are the digital initiatives undertaken in the admissions and assessment processes at SRMU?
The admissions and assessment process is all online. A multi-layer of digital checks and balances has been incorporated. We have extended a role-based access to various appointments. The system is responsive and accountable. There are provisions for manual override for any eventuality. Still, backups are taken to survive any digital collapse. We comply with the UGC and other regulatory guidelines. We comply with the Government’s instructions on admissions and assessment.
Admissions are done in the online mode. As any new student enters the system, s/he is matriculated and other related processes trigger automatically, whether it’s the ID card, Library entry, security pass, hostel eligibility or the Transport, etc. Parallel processing at different levels saves the precious academic time of the students.
