Practice No. 1 Title: Student Leadership Development Programme

Objective: To build up the leadership potential in youth by ensuring their participation in Leadership Development Camp and also by providing a platform Tourizmo Trigarth Carnival where plethora of opportunities are provided to develop creative thinking and problem solving skills, organizing skills, adaptability, among others. To hone the leadership skills of the youth, competitions in this carnival are organized and managed exclusively by the students. They are provided ample opportunities to interact and learn from the experiences of many eminent speakers. This practice is initiated with a vision to motivate the students to develop a confident voice to serve the nation regardless of the career they choose. The Context: Student leadership Development Programme is organized keeping in view the holistic development of the students. Ample opportunities are provided to the students to showcase their skills. The programme immensely helps in sharpening the Event Management skills, Organizing Skills, Social Networking, Adaptability and Hospitality among others skills. Keeping in mind the different facets of the personality of the individual, the students are provided a chance to participate in miscellaneous activities catering to their taste and talent. It helps them in overcoming certain inhibitions and instills confidence. To identify the students suitable for a particular event/ competition, screening is conducted prior to the event by the screening committee constituted of the senior students. These opportunities prepare the students to meet the challenges of the future.

The Practice: Student Leadership Development Programme is practised through the programmes like Tourizmo Trigarth Carnival,Leadership Development Camp, and other Social Service Units like NSS , NCC and Rovers and Rangers etc. In Tourizmo Trigarth Carnival, many competitions are organized and managed by the students on their own. In this mega event which has the tag line “It Starts with Us” not less than twenty competitions are organized. A large number of students participated assiduously in a series of development activities which include Declamation, Debate ( Intra college and Online National level) Photography, Balanced and Technical Ride Traditional Dress and Fashion Competition Painting, Rangoli, Mehandi, Card Making, Poster Making, Caption Making, Slogan-Writing, Extempore Speech Competition, Singing (Folk, Solo and Group), Dance( Duet, Solo and Folk), Tourizmo Trigarth Award for the stakeholders of the society. Apart from these, webinar series in which eminent speakers led in depth discussions advocating the importance of leadership, Self-discipline, Career options and Stress Management etc. An online debate competition was organized at the national level. During Pandemics when everything came to a standstill, students continued participating virtually in the carnival. Many unique online competitions like Himachal Cuisine competition, Video Making competitions on Herbal plants and their benefits etc.were the special features. The Social Service Units like NSS, NCC, and Rovers and Rangers conduct activities aim at creating an organized, trained and motivated youth with leadership qualities in all walks of life.

Evidence of success: The success of the carnival can be evaluated by the massive participation of the students who got registered with the quick and the efficient registration process. The number of participants and events kept on increasing since its beginning, thus proving its success*. The challenge of financial constraints was overcome by the sponsors who continued coming ahead for help so that the event could proceed successfully. This event also ignited the spark in the students to seek career opportunities in the field of Tourism.

As Tourizmo Trigarth Carnival lasts for a long duration, to successfully organize the carnival was one of the biggest challenges that the institution faced. Since the institution has its own financial constraints, paucity of resources was another challenge. To arrange traditional costumes for the students participating in different cultural programmes was also an issue. As the institution has the students from remote and distant places, so to set coordination among different mental levels of students and also to utilize their full potential was the major concern. Setting of such a schedule which ensures a healthy entertainment, is a source of rich information and keeps the audience captivated for long duration without being monotonous was yet another challenging task. There were technical faults like power failure. Safety and security of the girls’ students during Student Leadership Development Camp was another issue that was taken into consideration.

Practice No. 2 Title: Cultivating a Compassionate Heart

Objective: In this ultra modern age of cut throat competitions to achieve success, cultivating a compassionate heart is the need of the hour. The institution has a firm faith in the vital role of human values in the development of society. Value Education to students in higher education is fundamental for transformative learning. Seeds of care, compassion and empathy can be sown during these college years. Getting students engaged in community services helps them to grow more sensitive to the need of compassion and also increases their awareness and understanding of social issues.

The Context: Cultivating a Compassionate Heart is initiated keeping in mind the impact of materialism, selfish attitude on the modern society. To preserve the age old traditional values is the feature of this practice as this will help in building a strong and progressive nation. The practice emphasizes on the need to preserve the rich traditional heritage of ancient Indian Education system that urged on the importance of moral values in personality development. With this motive, the students are encouraged and motivated for community service. The faculty members frequently engage them in various extension activities to make them strong, to shoulder social responsibilities and emerge as good human beings. Focusing on younger generation is essential because the complex challenges of the globalized future rests in their hands.

The Practice: Cultivating a Compassionate Heart is practiced through motivating the youth for selfless social service. The faculty members render relentless support and guidance to the students for this. They try to cultivate compassion and empathy among students by accompanying them on visits to places like school for specially challenged students, old age homes, slum areas and even shelter for stray cattle and dogs. They are taught that even the small gestures like feeding the stray animals with edible kitchen waste, attending to the wounded or injured animals and birds, making judicious use of water, keeping water bowls and seeds for birds etc. can go a long way in transforming their own individual personality and can prove to be a strong foundation for a value based society. NSS Units of the college remain active in community service with the motto ‘Not Me But You’ and have been the pioneers in the commendable task of restoring and rejuvenating dried up water bodies in and around village Khaniyara. This initiative is highly acclaimed by the government authorities as well. During Pandemic social service units of the college rendered assistance to the administration as ‘Corona Warriors’. They also made masks at their homes to be distributed in the slum areas. Another step in this direction has been addressing the need for emotional and physical support for traumatized students. The faculty of Psychology provides counselling services and hold interactive sessions for such students suffering mental health distress.

Evidence of success: The evidence of success can be seen in the change in the attitude of the students towards stakeholders in the society. Students of the Department of Psychology conducted case studies and held counseling sessions with the individuals facing mental health issues, substance abusers ( in Prayas Bhawan with the help of Red Cross Society) and the forsaken old people in the old age home, located at Dari. The sudden increase in the old age homes is stigma on the so called modern progressive society. To empathize and provide emotional support to such old people who have been neglected and deserted by their members of the family in the last stage of their life. The students also visit Locomotor Disability Children’s Home at Dari in order to teach specially abled children. Problems Encountered and Resources Required: Some students show unwillingness to assimilate the culture that stands different to their own and to eradicate such deeply rooted prejudices by counseling was a complex task to handle. Some show reluctance to visit the places outside the college campus like slums and old age homes. It was also difficult to manage time after the college hours as some of the students come from distant places. Setting the schedule with the timings of their bus is also one of the considerations.