How Calcutta University’s Home Science Department kept itself relevant through the pandemic

Academic institutions were further challenged to maintain their instructional quality despite diminishing resources.

More than a year into the pandemic situation, it is interesting to study how the institutions coped with the challenges and made a comeback.

The Department of Home Science, University of Calcutta, which was founded in 1957 (when it was known as Viharilal College of Home and Social Science) is considered as one of the best institutions in the country for higher studies in Nutrition, Human Development and Home Science.

Initially thwarted by the unprecedented situation, the faculty and administration quickly re-organised with a crisis management system in place.

To ensure the safety of all staff and students, they moved all academic work online. It organised online classes, online examinations as per the curriculum and within the stipulated time period.

According to Soumam Dutta, MSc student pursuing Food & Nutrition studies, “The faculty members have always encouraged us to pursue research activities even in this pandemic situation. We are conducting many science experiments at home, attending departmental webinars, writing papers and projects to utilize our fullest capacity.”

The Department also devised other ways to ensure that the students keep on learning.

From 2019 onwards, the department had introduced a series of interdisciplinary lectures to motivate and broaden the outlook of their students. For example, eminent faculty members from other departments, such as the University’s own Department of Statistics and Department of Chemical Technology, were invited to deliver their discourses.

The Department was keen to continue with the interdisciplinary lecture series and moved it online.

Academicians from other institutions were invited to address the students through digital platforms.

Dr. Punarbasu Chaudhuri, Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Calcutta, and also a member of the Indian Scientific Expedition team to Antarctica, shared his 'Antarctic-experience' in one such online lecture.

Academicians from institutions such as Indian Veterinary Research Institute (Belgachhia, Kolkata), Haldia Institute of Technology, and Guru Nanak Institute of Technology were also invited to helm various sessions.

The Department even went beyond the interdisciplinary lecture series and organised international webinars.

During the National Nutrition Month (September 2020), an International Webinar Series was organised by the Department, where internationally acclaimed scientists and professors were invited to talk about their subjects and their areas of research, and interact with the participants.

Some of the key panellists at the webinar series were Prof. Rotimi Aluko, Prof. Philip Calder, Prof. Maria Gloria Dominguez Bello, Prof. Gerard Pujadas, and Prof. Mukund V Karwe.  

Registered participants from 39 countries joined the conference.

To ensure the students are ready to tackle the ‘new normal’ era and its demands, the Department also organised a seven-day workshop on Soft Skill Development where academicians from across the country joined.

The Department organised an online five-day workshop in bioinformatics.

The faculty members and students have joined hands to publish a monthly e-newsletter, 'Home Science Chronicles: Unlocking minds', to ensure information exchange, including promotion of inter-disciplinary research and learning.

Students and research scholars from not only this Department but various other institutions are encouraged to write scientific articles that could be published in the e-newsletter.

The sudden halt to academics has dealt a serious blow to the course work of Ph.D. research scholars.

The Department ensured such course work could be resumed and executed efficiently with assistance from the faculty members of the Department and other premier institutions from home and abroad, such as Statistical Department of the University of Calcutta, Burdwan University, Kalyani University, Viswa Bharati University, West Bengal State University, and the University of Alberta, Canada, to name a few.

Said Dutta, “The interdisciplinary curriculum and faculty profile give us the opportunity to study a wide variety of subjects ranging from Life Sciences to Social Sciences.”

Realising that the pandemic related lockdown and the overall depressing scenario were likely to affect the mental well-being of everyone, especially the young minds, the Department arranged for weekly music classes to help the students and to combat stress and depression.

In this pandemic situation, when every individual is dealing with constant fear, anxiety, uncertainty these therapeutic music sessions have helped greatly, by boosting the morale of the students and facilitating holistic wellbeing, agreed many of the participants.

Students were also encouraged to hold various cultural events such as Basanta-Utsab (Spring Festival), Rabindra-Jayanti (birthday of Rabindranath Tagore) on social media platforms.

During the second wave of the pandemic, the Department organised a music therapy class (optional) which was conducted by the department’s professor, Dr. Tapasi Ghosh, who is known for her prowess in Hindustani classical music and is a radio and television artist.

Despite the lockdown and the consequent closure of the Department, the security of the building could not be ignored.

The security guards were present all along to ensure that the Department of Home Science was secure through the period of closure.

The Department therefore felicitated these guards with honour worthy of the selfless COVID warriors.

According to Head of the Department, Prof. Pubali Dhar, "all this was possible only because of the constant support and encouragement on behalf of our Honourable Vice Chancellor, Professor Sonali Chakravarty Banerjee."

"Her constant support along with the guidance from our Pro VC (A) and Registrar made it easier for us to carry on like this," Prof. Dhar said.