The bond between the teacher and the taught is a sacred one through which a student walks into the corridor of his career. Dr. A.G. Natraj, Professor in the Department of Civil engineering, Bangalore Institute of Technology, holds the same view. According to Nataraj, a teacher must make the right connection with his students in order to impart knowledge successfully. "We have to give personal attention to them, monitor them very closely, talk to them in a friendly way and try to address their problems if they have any," he says.
Providing Various Forms of Training
Education and teaching methods need to keep pace with the evolving technologies. There is a huge difference between theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge. To bridge the gap, the civil engineering Professor takes students for industrial visits to make them understand processes involved in the industry. Dr. Natraj staunchly believes that students should not just stick to classroom learning. Instead theoretical knowledge must be hand in glove with its industry implications. Moreover, he grooms his students to have a positive approach towards interviews. This method encourages his students to enhance their self-confidence. During such training sessions, the professor aims at the overall development of the students. He ensures that training sessions must help them in improving their body language, posture, eye contact, manner of speech and behavior. Dr. Natraj claims that upon graduating from his class, all his students will be "tailor-made to get into the industry."
"Today I enjoy what I am doing and it's my teachers who inspired me to become a professor," recounts Dr. Natraj. His inspiration has taught him to maintain a good bond with his students. He aspires to be source of inspiration for others. "Today many of my students are doing well in different parts of the world. It's my student's success that makes me feel proud and that I could play a vital role in having very good grounding in their academics," says Dr. Natraj.
Getting Down to the Ground Level of Problems
Dr. Natraj believes that a student needs to trust his teacher to know him better. He understands that the life of a young adult can be highly confusing and distractions can come in many forms. Therefore, he ensures that his students receive his personal attention and feel more at ease in his presence. He explains that his students open up to him unhindered during outings such as industrial visits and field trips.
The engineering professor also constantly updates himself and his students with the changes occurring in the technological world. He takes his students for workshops, symposiums, national and international seminars. "Wherever we go, we exchange ideas; we interact with the experts in the in the field, so that we can learn and be updated with the industry trends" Says Dr. Natraj
Dr. A.G. Natraj opines that the present scenario is very conducive to students. Using the power of internet, student has the opportunity to be better informed than their teachers. With his interactive methods of teaching Dr. A.G. Natraj knows the pulse of the students and motivates them.
Dr. Natraj advices his students to inculcate qualities like perseverance, humility, sincerity, commitment, hard work to be successful in life.
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