Gagneet Pal Kaur
Assessing where one stands is of immense importance to move forward in life. Knowing what one knows is as crucial as to understand what one does not. In keeping up with one’s discipline and profession, introspection is a tool which is highly valued. It is this tool that Dr. Gagneet Pal Kaur learned to wield through her NPTEL journey; one which has given her a firm foothold on the ground where she stands today.
Currently an Assistant Professor at the Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women in Ludhiana, Dr. Kaur has been an educator herself for about fifteen years. An illustrious student during her college days, she was the gold medallist in her honours degree awarded by Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. Accomplishing her M.Phil from the same university, she has been shaping the minds of youngsters since 2005. Yet, her own mind remained ever curious, venturing out in search of the knowledge of the times; it was at this juncture she ran into NPTEL. A student and teacher of Literature, Dr. Kaur found books to be falling short of giving to her the vast world which went on all around. With NPTEL, she was able to clarify the insights which her books had previously only hinted at, thus broadening her horizons.
Starting out with ‘Postmodernism in Literature’ by Professor Merin Simi Raj of IIT Madras, Dr. Kaur has completed 5 courses so far, and wishes to keep returning to newer courses. She suggested more topics which could be inducted on the platform so as to keep up with the changes in university curricula brought about by the National Education Policy, 2020. Among these, she would love to see more courses delving into American Literature and Cultural Studies- burgeoning spheres in Literary Studies today. She believes that students need to familiarise themselves with such domains beyond the bird’s eye view that a regular lecture at college can provide. A formal education can help prepare students for exams and professional requirements only to a certain extent – it is greater engagement on their part through extra-institutional means that can help strengthen their positions within their spheres.
NPTEL, having provided her the means to grow beyond the pages of books, is what she recommends for both intellectual knowledge and psychological growth.
It is a place you can return to, again and again, till all doubts have been cleared and course material extensively comprehended. The platform also provides one a chance to compete with learners across boundaries; and in coping with such competition and demands made upon one’s learning capacities, one is able to develop capacities beyond one’s imagination.
Dr. Kaur suggests NPTEL as a great avenue for honing soft skills, too: one of the courses which impacted her greatly being ‘Communication Skills’ by Professor T. Ravichandran of IIT Kanpur. The platform offers a little something for everyone willing to come dive into it, absolutely engrossing learners into its content.
Dr. Kaur’s story would recommend NPTEL to anyone who wishes to fall into pace with the world around them, while simultaneously wishing to know their own standing in it.
She advises motivation and dedication in all learning endeavours, for there will always be someone to learn from at NPTEL, only if one keeps returning to it, again and again.
~written by Eshani Bhattacharjee
