Practice School

The Practice School (PS) programme can best be described as an attempt to institutionalize the efforts to bridge the gap between world of work and academia. Practice School is a vehicle through which an attempt is made to bridge the gap between theory and practice by involving the student, like a medical intern, to actively participate in the on-going developmental activities of a professional organization during the degree programme, under the direct supervision of faculty member from K L E F and professional experts from the host organization. The entire effort in PS education is in terms of extending the programmes of education and evaluation outside the classroom of a KLEF.

The Practice School method of education, a controlled simulation of real life, adopted at the Campus creates the circumstance whereby the KLEF is linked with the world of work. The curriculum through PS finds a formal method of bringing the reality of the world of work into the educational process. In short, it is a part of the total programme and takes the classroom for a period of one full semester to a professional location where the students and the faculty get involved in finding solutions to real-life problems. Thus the PS institutionalizes efforts to establish a bond between the professional world and the educational world thereby enabling the much-needed KLEF-industry linkage. The programme requires that the students undergo the rigor of the professional world in form as well as in substance, providing them an opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge to live situations.

Practice School and Project with two courses are alternate options available to the students of first-degree programmes.

Benefits to the students

Students entering into professional world should complement their academic preparation with a range of other experiences, such as undergraduate research experiences, participation in sports and other extracurricular activities, membership of professional organizations, community service, and hands-on experience in the industries. Practice School programme offers the chance to a student with an opportunity to work on live projects, under the supervision of faculty member from the institution and professional expert from host organization without the responsibilities of being a permanent employee. It allows them to develop life-long learning skills, understand workplace culture and focus on their career goals. Practice School experience helps students to avoid that common dilemma that many students face after graduation who do not have exposure to industrial environment. Summarized below are few advantages to the students of PS programme:

Enables students to have smooth transition from academics to professional life
Enhances interpersonal skills, leadership qualities etc.
Provides an opportunity to apply some of the ideas/skill sets that students learnt during academic programme
Increases the confidence level of students
Enables students to have awareness of personal strengths and limitations as a professional
Increases marketability of students after graduation
Provides link with potential future employers

Benefits to the Organizations

Although the supervision of Practice School programme requires the time and skill of employees in an organization, there are advantages that outweigh the costs. Practice School programme running in an organization can:

Bring a fresh approach to organizational setting. Students bring enthusiasm and a fresh point of view. They come equipped with the latest academic thinking, innovation and a high level of skill to add value to the workplace.
Provide the opportunity for organizational staff to gain supervisory experience.
Having linkage with internationally reputed KLEF like BITS, Pilani will increase reputation of the organization.
Allow organizational authorities to assess the capacities of a potential employee.
Facilitate links between organization and the Institute for possible Research, teaching and recruitment.

Benefits to the Institute

The KLEF-industry linkage accrued through the PS programme benefits Institute as well:

enriches the educational program that results from a strong PS program,
helps to bridge the gap between industry and academia, so that on-campus courses can be designed to meet the requirements of the industry,
aids the Institute in getting consultancy projects from the PS stations because of industrial linkage,
enables the Institute to identify need-based executive training programmes linked with consultancy assignment,
facilitates the Institute in setting-up center for excellence/labs for conducting research in the contemporary areas.

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