A Faculty Development Programme (FDP) was organized at Amrita School of Pharmacy from June 5thto 8th June, 2024. The four-day event featured various sessions conducted by eminent educationists in the field of Pharmacy education. Dr. Bahubali G. Nagavi, Founder and CEO of HESDARC, Mysuru, led the FDP. Other prominent speakers included Dr. R. N. Saha, Chief Scientific Advisor at Biophore Group of Companies; Dr. P. Jayasekhar, President, Indian Pharmaceutical Association, Kerala State Branch; Mr. Kalpesh V. Mehta, Co-founder and Senior Consultant at HESDARC; and Dr. Satish B. Bhise, Former Principal of Government College of Pharmacy, Karad, Maharashtra. The event was packed with sessions and activity sheets, fostering an engaging and inspiring learning environment for all participants.

Day 1:

During the inaugural ceremony, the welcome address and introductory remarks were delivered by Dr.Sabitha M., Principal of Amrita School of Pharmacy. This was followed by the lighting of the inaugural lamp and the release of the FDP booklet by Prof. MVG Thampi, Additional Controller of Examinations ECD Unit II. He also delivered a keynote address. Dr. P. Jayasekhar provided insight into the workshop’s objectives, and Dr. Nagavi explained the importance of problem-based learning (PBL).

After a brief tea break, Dr. Nagavi conducted a session on “PBL: The Fundamentals and Learning Outcomes.” Dr. Jayasekhar followed with a session on “PBL: Process, Sessions, Dos and Don’ts.” In the afternoon, Dr. Nagavi led a session on “PBL: The Problem, Create and Generate LOs.” Participants were grouped into teams of six for activities based on problem creation and generation of learning outcomes (LOs). The day concluded with puzzles, a post-learning check, and a feedback survey.

Day 2:

Morning sessions on the PBL process and assessment were conducted by Dr.Nagavi, followed by a session on Open Book Assessment by Dr. R.N. Saha. After lunch, Dr.Nagavi led a session on “PBL Pre and Post Evaluation of Students,” followed by Mr. Kalpesh V. Mehta discussing “PBL – Student Copy and Facilitator’s Guide and Assessment.” The day ended with related activities, a post-learning check, and a feedback survey.

Day 3:

The programme began with a pre-learning check. Dr. Nagavi discussed details of PBL assessment in students, followed by a PBL demo for second-semester B.Pharm students. Dr.S.K.Kanthlal, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology; Dr. Lakshmi P.K., Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacognosy; Dr. Saiprabha V. N., Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Dr. Sreeja C. Nair talked on PBL process and assessment, fundamentals of PBL, PBL – group and role. Students were grouped into teams of six, each assigned with a facilitator and a problem(scenario) was given to students. Students discussed the problem, selected a leader and a scribe. The leader of each PBL group presented their learning outcomes. Meanwhile, Dr. Bhise gave an online session to students on the roles of the leader, scribe, participants, and facilitator.

Dr. R. N. Saha then gave a talk on industrial collaborations to the faculty members. The afternoon session covered topics such as processes, sessions, SCLOs, PBL, assessments, and grading.

Day 4:

The fourth day started with a test for all participants. Questions were distributed randomly. Participants prepared assignments, presentations and videos and submitted them to Google Classroom. The FDP concluded with a valedictory function, ending at 1:20 PM.