Bharathidasan University has decided to incorporate soft skills development in the fifth semester of undergraduate programmes.
The decision taken at the meeting of the Standing Committee on Academic Affairs followed a resolution moved by S. Sekar, Principal, Urumu Dhanalakshmi College, with the objective of infusing confidence in students to face job interviews.
Even students performing well academically get hesitant to express themselves well at times of interviews, Dr. Sekar said.
Ideally, soft skills should be integrated into the curriculum from the first semester onwards progressively, N. Rajendran, Head, Department of History, Bharathidasan University, said while supporting the resolution.
Bridging the gap
Vice Chancellor K. Meena quoted a McKinsey report on the dismal state of employability to drive home the importance of soft skills for bridging the gap between academia and industry.
Dr. Sekar’s similar suggestion of integration of a component on managerial skills for postgraduate students was accepted for MCA and MBA programmes.
Based on the impact, the component would be incorporated into the syllabi of other PG programmes, Ms. Meena said.
The proposal for admitting students of CA and ICWA into regular B.Com programmes by exempting them from repetitive papers was discussed.
The Vice-Chancellor said a decision would be taken after a detailed study by the Board of Studies.
The same would be the case with the proposal for exempting regular candidates of M.Com programmes with different specialisations who pursue MBA concurrent course from some repetitive papers.
To generate demand for Bioinformatics programme, the university decided to permit nine affiliated colleges that offer two-year M.Sc. in Bioinformatics to convert the programme into a five-year integrated M.Sc. programme.
