IIM Sambalpur opens its gates for students adhering to Covid-19 norms

Sambalpur: IIM Sambalpur has also reopened its campus for students adhering to the Covid-19 guidelines.

The institute is also adopting a set of safety and hygiene guidelines which will be updated from time to time as issued by the government authorities.

Being a first-mover among IIMs, to conceive the concept of flipped classroom mode of learning, which enabled a smooth transition from offline to online classes including examinations and admission processes, IIM Sambalpur truly stands for holistic pedagogy.

The first year and second year students of MBA have started arriving at the campus in batches. Students who are facing internet and infrastructure issues at home are given priority to come to the campus.

The classes will, however, be held in online mode for the time being, said a statement.

Speaking on reopening the campus, Prof Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director, IIM Sambalpur, said, “We will be rebooting the campus in stages and students will be returning in a phased manner. A strict set of mandatory guidelines, as set by Government authorities has been issued to all students, faculty and staff. We will also be collecting the students’ travel/location details for 14 days before entering the campus. Students must produce a COVID 19 negative certificate which is not older than 3 days as on their date of arrival. They will also have to undergo tests at the end of their quarantine period which the institute will arrange with the help of the district administration.”

Wearing masks outside their hostel rooms, thermal scanning of body temperature upon entering the campus, maintaining social distancing in common spaces, sanitizing hands, and following all other basic norms is mandatory.

Students are not allowed to leave the hostel premises other than medical emergencies. Students who must leave campus will have to quarantine themselves again.

Although physically present at the campus, students will continue to attend classes in the online mode.

The institute will take the decision of resuming physical classes depending on the circumstances and government guidelines. IIM Sambalpur has been conducting online classes with the help of several digital tools and processes to facilitate effective learning for its students.

Taking forth the concept of Flipped classrooms, Learning Management Software like Moodle is being utilized, where students and faculty members interact regularly through Video Conferencing.

Furthermore, the institute has smart classrooms equipped with SMART Boards, where students can log-in and access notes, presentations, and curriculum schedules. All examinations of IIM Sambalpur are conducted using online proctoring systems for descriptive exams or using LMS for the quiz and multiple-choice exams.