EMRC Kolkata : News and Views
EMRC team interacts with State University College staff and students
February 10, 2026 : An EMRC team, with producer cum Local Chapter coordinator, Dr Debasish Iyer, producer, Ms Indrani Chakraborty and research scholar, Dr Julian S Das, interacted with students and faculty members of Mrinalini Dutta Mahavidyapith in Birati on the northern fringe of the city limits.
The principal of the college under the State University, Dr Dipak Biswas shared with the team his interest to provide the facilities provided by SWAYAM MOOCs, for the students to complement to the classroom teaching.
After a practical presentation of how to register at SWAYAM portal and join courses, the team also clarified issues which were obstructing mechanism for credit transfer for those students who have successfully completed MOOCs under SWAYAM.
Loreto College students excel in SWAYAM registration
January 30, 2026 : When a three-member team of EMRC Kolkata, comprising of Indrani Chakraborty, producer, Dr Julian S Das, research scholar, and Arindam Konar, graphic artist, visited Loreto College, Kolkata to promote MOOC, they had a pleasant surprise. Most of the students of history and political science had already registered at SWAYAM portal and needed only to join the MOOCs.
The team visited the college to promote MOOCs, which are ongoing and to increase enrolment in the courses. The team members helped the students to join the MOOCs instantly and helped some of them who had technical difficulties. Over 50 students enrolled to history and political science MOOCs during the interactive session.
After the hour-long workshop with the students, the EMRC team met with the MOOC team of the college, including Ms Chandrani Sengupta, SPOC, SWAYAM and Dr Sushma Sahai, animator of MOOC, to discuss about the possibility of the college faculty in the participation of MOOCs.
EMRC Kolkata team interacts with college students
January 28, 2026 : An EMRC Kolkata team, comprising of two producers – Dr. Debasish Iyer and Indrani Chakraborty and a research scholar – Dr. Julian S Das, interacted with the students of St Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata – Raghabpur campus on January 28, 2026.
At the onset of the interaction, Dr Tinni Goswami, head of the department of history, in the college, introduced the EMRC team to the students of history and political science, and the purpose of the interaction.
The main purpose of the visit of the EMRC team was to introduce the MOOC offered on SWAYAM portal to the students and helping them to register themselves for the MOOCs. After presenting the promo videos of two of the MOOC, the team members guided the students, about 70 in number, through the process of registration in the SWAYAM portal.
Some of the faculty members of history and political science were also present during the interactive session. There were about 10 instant registrations, and due to network issues, many of the students could not register during the session, but promised to do it later in the day.
MOOC Induction Program for Course Coordinators
January 21, 2026 : EMRC Kolkata conducted a MOOC induction programme on 21 January 2026 in hybrid mode for MOOC Course Coordinators.
The program aimed to discuss and demonstrate effective MOOC delivery by monitoring course dashboard, student progress, and making key announcements to guide students.
The induction, led by the Director and Producers of EMRC Kolkata, focused on promotional activities, student enrolments, interactive sessions, discussion forums, weekly assessments, and final exam completion, ensuring a successful MOOC.
Hands-on SWAYAM MOOC training was provided, highlighting CEC’s MOOCs on the SWAYAM platform for the benefit of the academia at large. The course coordinators unanimously suggested that enrolment would increase easily if universities adopted these MOOCs into their education system.
It was also suggested that the course start date should be 25 days to 1 month after the commencement of the semester as semesters often start slightly late so that more students may be registered.
CEC New Director interacts with EMRC Kolkata team
January 8, 2026 : The newly appointed Director of Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC), Prof. (Dr). Parikshat Singh Manhas, interacted with Kolkata EMRC and its staff in an online meeting on 8.1.2026.
During the interaction, he shared his vision to unlock the full potential of CEC and its 20 media centres nationwide.
He emphasized on promoting Swayam MOOCs through National Coordinator CEC’s in the state of West Bengal to maximize student enrollment for their optimal academic benefits with quality education.
His objective is to leverage technology and innovation, aligning with India’s National Education Policy (NEP-2020) vision.
