Home | Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan College of Engineering and Technology (DSCET)

Best Practices

Best Practice : 1
Best Practice : 2

Title of the Practice : Community Engagement

Objective

• Establish and maintain sustainable co-operative partnerships with community by adopting villages.
• Improve quality of life and empowerment of the community concerned.
• Develop a sense of civic and social responsibility.
• Enhance awareness about current social issues.
• Utilize their knowledge in finding practical solutions to community problems.
• Develop competence required for group-living and sharing of responsibilities.
• Help gain skills in mobilizing community participation.
• Strive to bring consistent changes in the lives of the underprivileged.
• Create awareness on environmental issues.

Context:

Engineering students have a duty to address societal issues and make a positive impact. To bridge the gap between technical expertise and community engagement, our NSS sections organize activities that instill social service values. By actively participating in community service, students develop empathy and a commitment to serving others throughout their careers. Our institution aims to produce socially conscious engineers who make a difference in people's lives. The main objective is to instill a sense of social service in the engineering students. By looking beyond technology and enabling the local community to provide their services, these programs assist them in understanding the difficulties that were faced by the society. The sense of empathy is also developed in the students so that they can continue this dedicated service throughout their career.

Practice:

Extension activities and outreach programs at our college are streamlined through National Service Scheme (NSS), Youth Red cross (YRC) and ROTARACT. Each of these units are well structured and headed by a convener with faculty and students as committee members. The committee meets regularly to plan its annual activities in line with its vision and mission. Apart from the planned activities the committee responds promptly to any emerging social and environmental issues.

NSS has been functioning as a regular feature in the realm of our university education. The overall objective of the scheme is educational and service to the community. It is a student–centered program in which projects are implemented by the NSS volunteers in close collaboration with the clientele community and scope for the students’ interaction with the people. It provides various opportunities to college students to develop their personality through community services. Community services rendered by Institution level students have covered several aspects like adoption of villages for intensive development work, mass tree plantation, rallies, cleaning camp, blood donation camp, NSS day celebration. Our NSS Unit consists of 100 volunteers from second year and 100 volunteers from third year. Every year we are conducting various awareness and personality development programs for all the students. Our college is giving extraordinary support to the NSS activities for the past years.

We proudly say that our college is selected under 8th list of Participating Institutes under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, a flagship program of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) Government of India through a challenge mode application. We are associated with a selected cluster of 5 villages under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) for the upliftment of the social community. We adopted five villages namely Perumalcherri, Karanai, Vadakadumbadi, Manamai and Vengambakkam. Continuously we are conducting NSS special camp in these adopted villages. Every year, we are organizing medical camp for the village people.

Evidence of Success:

The evidence of success is seen in a perceptible internalization of values and character building as a result of their continuous participation in civic engagement activities. Students as a part of NSS has adopted five villages and conducted several activities for the needy people.

• World tourism day Celebrated on 27.09.2019
• End Polio Now Awareness Program conducted on 30.09.2019
• Tree plantation activity in Sozhipoigai pool on 01.10.2019
• Pollution Free Environment Activity on 02.10.2019
• Flood relief campaign 06.12.2019 and 07.12.2019
• Cancer Awareness Program conducted on 26.12.2019
• Awareness Rally on violence on women held on 11.01.2020
• Awareness On Health and Hygiene for Women by our DSCET Girls- 20.01.2020
• Medical Camp activity conducted on 19.02.2020
• Covid Awareness Program Conducted on 16.02.2021
• Tree Plantation Program Conducted on 05.03.2021
• Vaccination Camp at DSCET Campus on 15.03.2021
• Swachh Bharat–Cleanliness Campaign Conducted on 06.04.2021
• Medical Camp Conducted on 04.05.2021
• Ration Donation During Covid Period on 09.06.2021
• Blood Donate Camp conducted on 28.06.2021
• Dental Camp organized on 27.07.2021
• Blood donation camp to villagers and students on 16.09.2021 at MANAMAI
• World Tourism Day Celebrated on 27.09.2021
• Medical Camp conducted on 20.10.2021
• Tree Plantation Event organized on11.03.2022
• National Deworming Week-14.03.2022 to 21.03.2022
• Plastic Free Ocean -A Carnival Event on 28.04.2022
• Beach Cleaning Program and plastic free awareness on11.06.2022

Student interface with the poor and needy people and had a life transforming experience as recorded by most students who are visibly moved to tears at the end of the day. The lasting impact of this experience is seen, as most of them make it a practice to go back to them for celebrating their birthdays etc.

Problems Encountered:

• There are often limitations faced in generating the required resources to operate the various outreach programs.
• Persuading the parents for the implementation of outreach programs outside the college schedule was difficult.
• Continuous engagement with the marginalized is essential for a long time and sustainable impact of social service but due to tight academic schedules it is difficult.
• It is challenging to continue the service during the pandemic situation.
• It is difficult to motivate the academically inclined students & faculty for non-academic assignments.
• Coordination and timely permission with concerned authorities is difficult.

Title of the Practice: Mentoring Program

Mentoring program provides personalized support to students and aids in professional socialization. It serves as the platform to be students-centric and ensure the development of holistic individuals. Mentoring program facilities; establishing the vibrant relationship with the student and teacher, installs the confidence in the student to seek advice, have informal discussions, discuss the problems and have a meaningful deliberation to attain the goal.

Objective

• To achieve the vision of the institution viz., to develop all round personality of the students on progressive lines.
• To provide a continuous learning process for both the mentor and the mentee.
• To establish the mentor as a role model and to support the mentee for personal and academic development.
• To establish a vibrant relationship between the teachers and the students that will ensure responsible behavior and discipline.

Context:

The nature of students ‘background i.e. catering to different socio-cultural and economic diversity necessitates mentoring being opted as one of the best practices by the institution. The absence of institutionalized system of having a mechanism of mentoring, guidance and counseling in the region along with the obvious fact that some of the students are from remote areas and first-generation learners makes it imperative on the part of the institution to provide mentoring i.e. guidance for all round development of the students on academic as well as aesthetic lines. Moreover, it is aimed to align with the institutional mission and vision statement aiming to develops students on progressive lines. Finally, it was decided to start a scheme with our own student i.e. mentoring program which imports more in direction with students to overcome their shyness, language, etiquettes, and confidence in study or in their personal life too.

Practice:

• Mentoring session is conducted weakly on a regular basis. This session is compulsory for every student to attend.
• In the mentorship scheme, a group of students from all the courses/semesters are allocated to each faculty (mentor).
• The mentoring parameters are based on four aspects i.e. academic, attendance, career and general.
• The mentors are provided with details of mentee’s performance in academic (weekly test, class test, mid- term and end- semester exam) and attendance records. The mentor also keeps track of the mentee’s personal development such as co-curricular activities, discipline and career related issues.
• The mode of communication between the mentor and mentee can be established through different modes namely-In-person, phone and E-mail.
• The practice of the mentoring system is evaluated by the principal and dean bi-monthly so as to ensure quality and efficiency in practice
• The grievances of the mentees are taken up by the mentor and if necessary, it is forwarded to the relevant authorities for necessary remedial actions.

Evidence of Success:

• There is an increment in the number of students participating in various events held within outside the college, since the implementation of mentorship system.
• Increase in student attendance and improvement in student’s academic performance.
• Improvement in sense of belongingness about the institution.
• Increased student satisfaction
Improvement in mentees discipline, interaction and communication skills.
• Establishment of a vibrant relationship between teachers and students which has provided a congenial atmosphere in the class room as well as campus.

Impact of mentoring program on the academic performance and placements of students over the last five years:

Academic Year	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021	2021-2022
No. of students appeared	584	486	336	440	272
No. of students cleared	420	324	324	436	236
No. of students Placed	381	368	249	358	237

Hence, this practice of the institute is a step to imbibe in the students a rational positive outlook towards life thereby making them responsible citizens.

Problems Encountered and Resources Required:

• Problems are encountered in regards to the diversity in students’ background and up bringing i.e. lack in the art of effective articulation, introversion and in different attitude etc.
• Students are shy to interact with low level of confidence and dialect too. Even they are unable to embark their problem to the mentor. It was just like to sketch something on plain canvas or plantation on bare lands in deserts. Such inhibition and lack of confidence prevents the students from actively utilizing the mentoring programme.