Concluding Report
The short term course was attended by 70 participants from academia and industry. From the experience of the contributors as well as from the general feedback of the participants, it can be safely concluded that the course was a great success. In spite of some feelings of incompleteness here and there, lack of time, perception differences regarding inclusion and exclusion of topics etc (which are mostly part and parcel of a short term courses), the combination of the course and the new textbook was generally accepted as an effective launching pad for future endeavours in pedagogy and research.
Though thinly contested, the oral quiz programme at the end of the course was found quite effective in revising the entire course content with a lot of fun. It bears special relevance for the participants from the teaching community, who were shown the feasibility, efficacy and enjoyment of such an oral quiz at the end of a course. Many of them expressed interest in executing similar programmes in their own courses, drawing from the quiz rules and logistics used here.
Last but not the least, the bonhomie of the relationship developed among the participants and contributors during the two weeks of the course perhaps hold the potential for a hundred academic and human bonds in future. I wholeheartedly thank all concerned for their excellent barrier-free involvement in the course.
- Bhaskar Dasgupta
15 July 2006