CMR University Bengaluru, staying true to its motto of “Nurturing creative thinkers to drive positive global change,” imparts academics and mentors students through a unique Experiential Learning pedagogy. These modules are directly integrated within the academic curriculum which means that students studying the curriculum are automatically trained with Experiential Learning modules; thereby ensuring all-round learning.
Now, Experiential Learning is not restricted to being a mere theoretical concept/proposition, at CMR University, the technique is actually practiced in the real-world to mentor students to become professionals when they graduate from the campus. In this regard, Dr Sugant – Dean at the School of Economics and Commerce, and School of Management – CMR University decodes Experiential Learning for the benefit of students – to help drive optimal all-round learning:
Experiential Learning = 360-degree learning
Dr Sugant states that students can look forward to a beyond the classroom experience through Experiential Learning. To enable this experience, CMR University’s School of Management has set up 6 specialized centres of excellence in the areas of Marketing Insights, HR Excellence, Logistics & SCM, Business Analytics, and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
A key feature of these centres of excellence is that these are mentored by industry professionals. Through these centres of excellence, students are given access to industry practice labs. Here, students can delve deep into various trending areas of Management and can explore practical aspects that can be implemented in the real-world to solve problems; and thereby develop research projects for the industry. These live project opportunities enable visibility on larger scales.
The centres of excellence also drive industry-engagement.
Dr Sugant also adds that with the University conducting regular events/conferences, students get to rub shoulders with the who’s who of the industry such as Heads of various top organizations.
These aspects contribute to Experiential Learning, outside of the centres of excellence.
Experiential Learning enabled through association with industry bodies
Dr Sugant also throws light on CMR University’s association with various industry bodies such as the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Bangalore Chamber of Industry & Commerce, and the National HRD Network. Through these associations, students could gain internship opportunities or even full-time placements to build fledging careers.
Experiential Learning and Design Thinking
With Design Thinking being at the core of CMR University’s teaching pedagogies, Dr Sugant states that it is only natural for the School of Management to develop Experiential Learning modules to ensure that both the pedagogies go hand in hand. With Design Thinking being a collaborative way of problem solving, this contributes to the Experiential Learning mindset amongst students.
Hence, students (and parents) have plenty to look forward to, at CMR University, as far as overall growth and development is concerned.
