It is common in most colleges providing
higher education facility to organize workshops from time to time. Universities
have reserved funds for seminars and workshops and it is mandatory for all
affiliated colleges to utilize the funds in the stipulated period for
organizing workshops. In Engineering College in Pune, it has become a trend;
colleges make it a capital issue for attracting students. The question is,does
it bear any impact on students? What are the benefits of organizing workshops?
It is not simple to organize workshops. It is a kind of mega event that needs a
lot of preparation and ground work. Organizing workshops is also expensive. The
faculty members and non-teaching staff have to do extra work. The venue has to
be decided, arrangements have to be made for guest speakers, there is the sound
system, the seating arrangement, refreshments, LCD and so many minor details
that have to be attended to. The students also have to work as volunteers. In
spite of the additional workload, many educational institutions make it a point
to organize workshops. We find sometimes that a workshop proves to be a
complete failure. In such cases, it is a waste of time and money.
Workshops fail if they are not properly
planned. There are many factors that have to be taken into account before Engg Colleges in Pune organizes a workshop if you really want
workshops to make the desired impact on students.
Topic:
the topic for the workshop must be important
in current times. It should be related to current issues so that it has value
in terms of significance. It should enlighten participants, add to their
knowledge and motivate them.
Participants:
Who is going to participate? How many
participants can be accommodated? How much interest do they have in the topic?
How is the workshop going to benefit them? These questions must be considered
beforehand.
Venue: Is the venue at a convenient
location? Is it enough to accommodate the number of participants comfortably?
Is there a screen, a blackboard / whiteboard, LCD projector, table, chairs and
other necessary things?
Resource persons: This
is the most crucial factor while organizing a workshop. The resource persons
must be carefully selected. They must be experts in the subject. They must be
able to understand the exact needs of the students and present the topic
accordingly. Irrelevant discussions are not appreciated by students and it
affects the attendance during workshops.
Activities: In some workshops,
some activities are assigned to students. The materials for activities must be
sufficient and provided in time. There must be enough space and proper
arrangement otherwise the result is chaos and confusion. The situation becomes
unmanageable and the intention of the activities is not fulfilled. Volunteers
and staff members must provide help and support to the resource persons while
conducting activities.
Benefits
Organizing workshops have several benefits.
Students get acquainted with expert personnel from industry. They get more
knowledge from people outside the institution. It is a healthy change from the
academic routine. Workshops provide opportunity for practical work. Students
get various perspectives and are motivated to think from different angles. They
can interact with industry people.
If a
workshop is well-organized and if the objectives of the workshop are fulfilled,
it certain creates the desired impact on students.
