Making of ACAS 11: Interdisciplinary Insights

While going through the entry level requirements for a summer school programme offered by an International University, it was found that they ask about the publications of the applicant. Discussing the same, one aspirant asked me, how it was possible for an undergraduate student to have publications. Weren't publications meant for postgrads and research scholars?, she, a UG student, asked. I said then that at the college where I worked, there were students who walked out with Publication at the end of their graduation. When I said so, I was referring to the Interdisciplinary Insights project which we successfully launched at ACAS. 

The seriousness with which ACAS approached the student projects had resulted in a number of outcomes. As I have commented in a couple of my previous posts, it is often the realisation of certain targets which made us raise the bar and dream bigger. Since we established a Project Quality Cell (PQC), there was increased awareness among the faculty members and the students regarding the UG Projects and its importance. Project Prize campaign added to it. And then there was the 'afterwards' e-journal which started publishing students' works. The presence of all these succeeded in establishing an ecosystem at the college which is supportive of spotting, nurturing and recognising student efforts in this direction. We thought that we can cash in on this situation and help some of our students leave the college with a published work in a book with ISBN. 

The Plan

'Interdisciplinary insights' is an anthology of articles, curated from the projects students have done as part of their UG course work. A similar idea I had put to work earlier at MES Mampad College and I was certain that this can work out here, especially as it is a small, new college. (Being new and small certainly offers opportunities, but there is an equal challenge too!) More importantly it can be integrated as part of the system and it can stay there for long. The plan was broached to the Heads of departments and as always it was left a while in the air to sink in. The work picked up momentum soon through a series of meetings. The overall coordination was in the hands of Ms. Saritha (English), with Mr. Rohith (Commerce), Mr. Mohammed Noufal (Economics) and Mr. Midhulaj (English) as editors. The first stage was to spot promising projects being done by the students in different departments even while their works were in progress. These will be mentored as potential contributors to the promised edition of Interdisciplinary Insights. The fact that their works could become part of book will surely enthuse them and many, if not all, will make it to the final edition. Each department was directed to identify such talents and follow them up. The progress of each dept in this direction is reported in the meetings of Publication Wing or meetings specifically convened to record the status of Interdisciplinary Insights. 

The Challenges

Writing is hard and making others write could be harder. When the others are the undergraduate students who haven't received good training in academic writing and research writing, this could be still harder. To make the gains more prominent, we decided that the teacher who supervised the project of the student will be the co-author of the article as she/he is involved in the efforts rights through. Moreover, for publishing in the Interdisciplinary Insights, what we do is to turn one chapter or part of a chapter of the project into an article. This calls for edits and customisation. The supervising faculty had a significant role to play here. Still, the job of pushing the author and co-author to meet the deadlines turned out to be the hardest task. There were roadblocks related to the layout and design part too but with the concerted efforts of the team in charge, it was sorted out.

The Takeaways

What we achieved with the publication of Interdisciplinary Insights was a re-emphasis of what we believed we were capable of. When the work could fit into the wheel of nascent research and publication wheel of the institution by being another significant cog, it was indeed empowering for all, a feather in everybody's cap. One difficulty we encountered was a situations in which more than one student supervised by a faculty member made it to the list of potential contributors. In such a situation we redistributed the quality student works among the other faculty members and made them mentor and co-author such works. 

What is key is the collective pride my colleagues could take home in making the interdisciplinary Insights happen. This was the first edition and it was bound to inspire the work to come in the years to come. The students too were excited when 'Interdisciplinary Insights: A Compilation of Undergraduate Student Projects (2022- '23)’, an e-book with ISBN (978-93-5916-865-4) containing parts of selected UG projects of Commerce, Economics and Functional English students (Batch 2020- '23) was released by Dr. Nasser. M, Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Calicut, on 6 July '23. That was also the day on which the Undergraduate Research Cell (URC) of the college was launched. 

The Wayforward 

It needs no emphasis that a publication which honours the best work done by the students in terms of thier undergraduate research is appreciable work. The wayforward for the HEI is to ensure that the momentum is maintained as programmes multiply. If the initiative is to be preserved, the ownership must be passionately kept by the faculty. Simultaneously there should be attention on increasing the quality of published works and the PQC can play a role here. As these articles are co-authored, it is important that the faculty concerned pay more attention to the level of analysis and writing they carry. The Publication Wing of the college can offer training to its faculty in editing. The slot, getting space for their works in the Interdisciplinary Insights, must be cherished by the students and this is possible only if the HEI roots for the idea and it's quality in a sustained manner. 

Babu. P. K., Ph D.