Hi,

I hope you have read my previous post. I am leaving tomorrow, 2nd October, 2010 for Brighton, UK. During the period of my sabbatical leave Dr. N.N. Sawant will be the Acting Principal of the College.

Visit To The University Of Sussex,Falmer,Brighton,UK

Hi,

I would like to share my pre visit experience with all of you .

I am on sabbatical leave for six months from 1st October 2010 to 31st March 2011. During this period I will be in the University of Sussex at Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom as visiting fellow.

The main purpose of my visit to the University of Sussex is to acquire knowledge with regards to various aspects of teaching, learning and assessment as adopted by the University in U.K. This visit would help to understand  the teaching skills,  best practices in teaching methodologies and curriculum development followed by the University of Sussex. I would like to also learn and understand the  system of administration and use of technology in the teaching learning process and administration.

Thus the knowledge and related skills gained during the period of my visit will be used in the improvement and up gradation of  the various processes in our college, including teaching, learning and assessment.

The idea of visiting the University of Sussex came from Mr.Umaji Chowgule, trustee of our College. In fact his idea was to spend an entire academic year in reputed institutions like University of Sussex so that I can acquaint myself with the process of teaching, learning and also experience the campus life.

The University of Sussex was the first of the new wave of universities founded in the 1960s, receiving its Royal Charter in August 1961. Nearly 50 years on, the University has become a leading teaching and research institution. In the 2010 Times Higher Education Magazine’s World University Rankings, Sussex is ranked 8th in the UK, 16th in Europe and 79th in the world, setting them alongside some of the world’s most prestigious institutions.

To put this idea into practice I first started thinking of getting the leave sanctioned. After getting the sabbatical leave sanctioned, I sent my resume and the purpose of  visit to the University of Sussex through Mr. Parimal Patel, Senior Research Fellow in SPRU. (Science and Technology Policy Research Unit).

The Head of School of Business Management and Economics Prof.Ian Davidson and the Director of SPRU Prof. Gordon Mackerron agreed to award me the title of Visiting Fellow in SPRU- in the School of Business Management and Economics.

After getting the  invitation to visit the University of Sussex the next question was of accommodation at the University of Sussex. Neha Rai working as Research Fellow in SPRU, University of Sussex helped me in getting accommodation.

The next stage was applying for Visa and producing the required documents to the UK, VFS-GLOBAL center Mumbai. Although the processing of application for visa took less time, the delivery of visa through courier service ‘Blue Dart’ took five days. I was able to book my ticket just three days before my departure.

Please do visit my blog regularly to know my further experiences and post your comments.