Vishnu - Empowering Faculty Collaboration and Growth: A Journey with CN ePortfolio & LMS

Organization: Sri Vishnu Educational Society (Vishnu)

Product Used: CN LMS Suite

User Size: 1200

About Vishnu

Sri Vishnu Educational Society (SVES, short name “Vishnu”) is an educational trust founded by visionary Dr. B. V. Raju in India in 1992. Inspired by the vision of providing quality education in tier 2 towns, Dr. Raju established a women’s engineering college in Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh. His dedication earned him prestigious awards, including the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan. Today, under the leadership of Chairman Shri K. V. Vishnu Raju, SVES operates four campuses across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, comprising nine constituent colleges with over 20,000 students. These institutions offer diverse programs in Engineering, Dental, Pharmacy, BSc, MCA, Polytechnic, and K-12 education. With a focus on bridging educational gaps in rural and urban areas, SVES emphasizes engaging learning experiences. The society's commitment to quality education is evident through its faculty of 1,700 members and collaborations with industry bodies.

Notably, SVES stands out for its women’s engineering colleges, robust campus placements, and industry-relevant workshops, making it a leader in engineering education and a valuable asset to recruiting organizations.

Using CN ePortfolio and LMS for Faculty Professional Development

Vishnu’s dedication to quality education has made faculty development a priority of the institution. While looking for innovative technologies to deliver faculty training and enhance communication across campuses and disciplines, Prof. Sivakumar Krishnan, Director of Learning and Innovation, laid eyes on CourseNetworking. He used CyberLab’s previous invention, Oncourse (Indiana University branded Sakai LMS), when he was an engineering faculty at IUPUI. Appreciating the customization capabilities of the CN ePortfolio, comprehensive LMS functionalities, and the overall academic networking nature of the platform, he described the adoption of the CN at Vishnu for faculty development as “an obvious choice”.

Vishnu launched the CN platform in the summer of 2020. Leaders of various programs and campuses enthusiastically participated in the training to learn about the capabilities of the technology and implementation ideas. Prof. Sivakumar Krishnan and his team at the Vishnu Educational Development and Innovation Center (VEDIC) consulted the CN technical team on the best possible approach for user labeling, ePortfolio customization, and network setup. The team’s careful planning and systematic execution of the launch laid a solid foundation for the growth of their faculty PD and networking systems.

Outcomes

As of today, over 1,000 faculty members have built their ePortfolios on CN; nearly 100 hundred courses and Networks on various topics have been created. The VEDIC team has continued to explore innovative and effective ways to use the platform, for instance, they featured 2021 Online Interactive Colloquium through an ePortfolio.

Integrating CN ePortfolio and LMS into Vishnu’'s faculty development initiatives yielded multifaceted benefits, fostering a culture of collaboration and skill enhancement. By leveraging CN's customizable features, faculty members seamlessly communicated across campuses and disciplines, transcending geographical barriers. The ability to tailor ePortfolios to individual needs empowered educators to showcase their unique competencies and experiences in teaching and research, facilitating meaningful connections within the academic community.

Through utilizing key functionalities such as Skills, Courses, and Badges, Vishnu witnessed a transformative impact on learning and development initiatives. The Skills section in the CN ePortfolio provided a comprehensive framework for identifying and honing essential competencies, enabling faculty and administrators to align professional growth with institutional goals. Not only the ePortfolio but also the CN LMS facilitated flexible learning opportunities, fostering continuous professional development courses among educators. The issuance of badges for course completion incentivized participation and served as a visible acknowledgment of achievement, fostering a culture of recognition within the academic network.

The CN platform has catalyzed collaboration and knowledge exchange. By providing a centralized platform for faculty engagement, Vishnu experienced heightened connectivity among educators, leading to enriched discussions, collaborative research endeavors, and innovative pedagogical practices. This newfound synergy transcended traditional boundaries, culminating in a vibrant ecosystem where ideas flourished, and new opportunities emerged. As shared by Prof. Sivakumar Krishnan, “CN helps faculty share their portfolio with funding agencies and industry partners. It also helps faculty identify collaborators”.

From Outstanding CN Services to R&D Collaboration

Vishnu gave CN a stellar 5-star rating for its overall performance and reliability. Notably, they were thoroughly impressed by the exceptional responsiveness, professionalism, and expertise demonstrated by the CN team. "The CN team has been instrumental in comprehending our requirements and delivering sound solutions," remarked Prof. Sivakumar Krishnan.

Evidence of the CN team's responsiveness in assisting Vishnu was their action in integrating the ePortfolio with prominent research portals. Upon Vishnu's faculty expressing the necessity to import publication data from external scholar sites, the CN team promptly recognized the significance of this functionality and completed the integration with Google Scholars and ORCID. As a result, every CN user can effortlessly import their publications into their ePortfolio within seconds.

Even more exciting is the evolution of Vishnu and CN's relationship from a client-vendor dynamic to that of true partners. Since 2022, Vishnu's faculty and students have forged a collaboration with CN's R&D lab, CyberLab, focusing on applied research. Together, they explore avenues to augment CN through cutting-edge AI and machine-learning technology. This fruitful collaboration has resulted in a publication on using Name Entity Recognition algorithms to automatically generate skill tags from Showcases.

The CN team has been instrumental in comprehending our requirements and delivering sound solutions

Sivakumar Krishnan

Director of Innovation, Sri Vishnu Educational Society

Conclusion

The implementation of CN ePortfolio and LMS has not only enriched individual professional development. Still, it has also fostered a vibrant ecosystem of collaboration, empowerment, and continuous learning within Vishnu. As faculty members continue to embrace the platform's capabilities, they contribute to the collective advancement of the institution, embodying a commitment to excellence and lifelong learning. Through the CN platform, Vishnu embarks on a journey of transformative growth, where collaboration, innovation, and educational excellence converge to shape the future of academia.

As a trusted partner in educational innovation, CN continues to commit to supporting the success of its clients and partners, empowering institutions like Vishnu to achieve their goals and aspirations in the realm of talent development and beyond.

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