DrSonamMansukhani'sAdvicetotheFuture

“My advice to the youth is that they are the future. The rawness can be moulded in a manner to bring out the best in them. They need to push their boundaries and be prepared to challenge themselves and debunk stereotypes, biases, and prejudices. Freedom of expression should be encouraged. However, not at the cost of the systems that surround us. Go beyond the expected, develop the art of questioning, and understand that there are systems and subsystems that we are a part of and that cannot be overlooked. However, you can be transformers through forging connections with each other and with a multiplicity of ideas. As liberal arts emphasises 'challenging what is stated/what is given, one needs to challenge oneself before challenging what is externally established."

Dr Sonam Mansukhani Associate Dean and Professor, USLM Karnavati University

ALeaderforGroomingFuture Leaders

DrSonamMansukhanijoinedUSLM recentlyinJune2022asAssociate DeanandProfessor;shebringsavast experienceof20yearswithher.Being bornaleaderwithapassionfor teachingstudents,shehaslaiddowna

Explainingtheintricaciesofthe institution,DrSonamMansukhani highlights, "While we have already commenced our journey towards evolving sound content-related and pedagogical practices, the future holds immense possibilities in giving shape and direction to the same. As we have faculty from diverse areas, channelling their skills, knowledge, and research, and integrating this with the existing structures will help USLM gain momentum and make a mark nationally and globally."

GlidingontheRevivalofLiberal Arts

Despitebeingoneoftheoldestfields ofstudiesandrespectedprofessionsin theworld,thefieldofliberalartswas side-linedbythepopularperception aboutfieldsrelatedtocommerceand science.However,withthe introductionoftheNEP2020,there hasbeenarevivalinliberalarts education,openingaplethoraof opportunitiesinthefield.

Elaboratingontherationalebehind this,DrSonamMansukhanisays, "Let me elaborate with reference to the futuristic pathways in terms of higher education, employment, and entrepreneurship. Today, the youth are all set to move out and push their boundaries by exploring the 'unexplored' territories. Earlier, one followed the policy of segregation or compartmentalisation. For example, in psychology, one pursued counselling, clinical, and child psychology. Today, the youth may pursue a program in a multidisciplinary area like dance and movement therapy. Moreover, the blend of knowledge, skills, and experience that liberal arts student acquires makes them well equipped to comprehend complex issues. This enables one to come up with policies that go beyond linear thinking."

"Also, the employment scenario reveals that organisations are desirous of recruiting candidates who transcend technical proficiency and are adept in articulation, critical thinking and so on. Entrepreneurship, too, involves similar skills. The challenges include the 'specialisation' mindset that colours the populace. For the people who wish to take up specialisations and employment in specific fields, the idea of multidisciplinary inquiry acts as an obstacle and, perhaps, leads them into a state of confusion. This has to sink in. I also have a concern which can be translated into a challenge –with the clamour for liberal arts, how many institutions have been able to absorb the ethos in the true sense of the term?" sheasks,explainingthe entirescenariooftherevivalofthe fieldofLiberalArts.

WellCuratedCurriculumfor HolisticDevelopment

DuringthegenesisoftheUSLM, qualityeducationwasput-forthasthe commonpointofcurationofa curriculum.Afteradetailedstudyof thefield,USLMhascuratedanideal curriculumwithablendofknowledge, skillsandexperience.

Emphasisingontheholisticcurriculum curatedbytheInstituteandwhatit offerstoitsstudents,DrSonam Mansukhanisays, "The curriculum offers opportunities to blend theory and practice and develop 4 Cs- critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication- skills that are vital to thriving in the 21st century. We also endeavour towards establishing collaborations with professional bodies (nationally and globally) to give students different kinds of exposure."

Mission

Ÿ To build individual as well as collective competencies in education and innovation.

Ÿ To adopt a multidisciplinary approach through media and emerging technologies, building humane professionals.

Ÿ To diversify and focus on exploration of behaviour and mind leading to an in-depth understanding of various psychological perspectives.

Ÿ To endow and empower the students with theoretical knowledge as well as practical skills to take on committed roles and responsibilities.

Ÿ To prepare future professionals to develop global skill competencies.

Vision

Unitedworld School of Liberal Arts and Mass Communication focuses on the idea of creating a future by blending various disciplines to build a sustainable society.

"Our experiential component is enveloped in striking a connection with our cultural roots and sensitivity to the communities around. Our pedagogy is grounded in the VARK (visual, auditory, reading/writing, kinesthetic) learning styles approach, wherein the classroom activities cater to the needs and requirements of students with the above learning styles. Lastly, we give them opportunities to assume leadership roles with hands-on experiences that involve teamwork, decision making, and conflict resolution," shefurtheradds.

StayingUpdatedwiththeWorld

WhenaskedabouthowtheInstituteis keepingitselfupdatedwiththelatest advancementsinthefieldofeducation withtheintroductionofEd-tech,Dr SonamMansukhanisays, "We encourage students to use the latest software and technology for content creation. The courses taught at USLM incorporate the latest technological developments. For example, we have a course on cyberpsychology that delves into the psychological factors associated with technology use (e.g., social networking sites such as Instagram). Lastly, we also encourage students to participate in relevant virtual labs."

CreatingLifelongLearners

Todrawanexpectedlearningoutcome arcforthestudents,theInstituteaims togroomstudentstobecomelifelong learners.ThefieldofLiberalArts hingesonmultidisciplinarylearning, andtheinstitutesinstillthequalities likecuriosityandopennessinlearning.

Sketchingthelearningarcofstudents throughwelldraftedandcurated curriculum,DrSonamMansukhani explains, "There are other factors as well for consideration such as critical thinking, learning agility, responding to situations and different learning tasks and a quest for 'digging deep' into different areas of knowledge. The need of the hour is the quest for probing and the ability to dissect and

CoreValues

Ÿ Accommodating diverse perspectives.

articulate problems/issues and come up with interventions. This implies learning that transcends classroom interaction. With well-designed admission tests, one can gauge these qualities."

NotableAchievements

AsaprominentinstituteofLiberal Arts,theInstitutehasaddedmany laurelstoitsnamesinceitsinception. Despitethat,theInstituteconsidersthe successofstudentsdefinesthesuccess storyoftheInstitute.Highlighting someofthestudents'recent achievements,DrSonamMansukhani says, "Our students excel academically and in other areas such as sports. Our Advanced Diploma (Psychology- Batch

Philosophy

Ÿ

2018) student, Neerja Vaishnav, has made USLM and Karnavati University immensely proud of her achievement. She bagged the bronze medal in the State level powerlifting championship. She had also bagged the gold in powerlifting at the district level. Another student Tanishq Agarwal (Batch 2021), participated in the recently held 'Enigma and Kridaangan' Tennis tournament at Nirma University, Ahmedabad and walked away with the singles title! We

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ are proud of the fact that our students are well grounded in every aspect of academic life."

RoadmapfortheFutureofthe Institute

EnvisioningthefutureoftheInstitute, DrSonamMansukhaniasserts, "I look forward to establishing a connection with different professional organizations and strategizing towards ensuring visibility on the national and the global map. This would entail strengthening the curriculum and working towards achieving the desired and expected outcomes. I also look forward to entrenching an inter and multidisciplinary research culture for students and faculty. Developing a strong entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial drive is something that our school will work towards. We will be endeavouring towards achieving excellence in global rankings in the near future."