Best Practices

BEST PRACTICE- I

SPORTS AND WELL-BEING

‘Hand that Rocks the Cradle Rules the World’

  

OBJECTIVES

Our Best Practice Sports and Well-Being works towards strengthening the Hand that Rocks the Cradle. It aims to

  1. Empower Women
  2. Promote gender equality 
  3. Bring in self-sufficiency: eradicate poverty and violence
  4. Foster self-esteem
  5. Inculcate positive and healthy decision-making ability, team work, strong work ethics 

UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES

  1. The underlying principle for first two objectives has been the United Nations Goal 5 of SDGs that aims to ensure gender equality and women empowerment globally.
  2. Sports improve woman’s leadership potential and overall economic growth much in line with Agenda 2030 of reducing violence and poverty.
  3. Funding opportunities for women in sports as we have students who are achievers but come from economically weak background. 

THE CONTEXT

Sports has the potential to leave social and economic legacies. They contribute to universal values of equality and non-discrimination, empower people and challenge long-seated stereotypes. We at Guru Gobind Singh College have directed our efforts towards developing empowered women and also promoting their well-being by adopting ‘Sports’ as one of our Best Practice.

Challenging issues that needed to be addressed while designing and implementing the practice were:

  1. Financial Constraint imposed a major challenge as we have sports person who come mostly from economically weaker sections of society. 
  2. It was quite a task to convince the parents to send their children out of their home state.
  3. Skill enhancement is the next challenge that is faced. To raise them to the levels of being achievers calls in for a lot of hard work and motivation. 

THE PRACTICE

Women athletes in India are now getting their share of fame and appreciation that they deserved much earlier. In alignment with Agenda 2030 of Reducing Violence and Poverty, promoting UN’S Goal 5 of SDGs of ensuring women empowerment and gender equality and Centre’s policy of promoting women-athletes, our college a seat of higher education has adopted promotion of well-being of women through sports as one of its best practices.

Several scholarships and special arrangements are made for sports achievers. Financial and other support to student-athletes of college is meant to help them focus on sports and encourage them to participate in National-International events, representing the College at University, State, India and International levels. Aligned with Centre’s policy of promoting women-athletes, our college supports women-athletes by providing scholarships, concession in tuition fees, match fees, free accommodation at hostel, free special diet, proper infrastructure, coaching facility, kits and equipment.

Our management is quite proactive in promoting sports. For promotion of hockey game, keeping in mind the outstanding performance of hockey players in SES institutions, SGGS Hockey Club has been constituted. Our students get an opportunity to play the game through the club in various tournaments other than inter-college. Deserving students are also honoured by the club and college at different occasions.

Number of Beneficiaries and Amount of Scholarship-for period 2018-19 to 2022-23.

Number of Beneficiaries: More than 3000

Total amount of Scholarships: More than 2 crores

Our efforts have always been directed towards skill enhancement of our students. Concerted efforts go into making them achievers. No stone is left unturned in providing them training with best available coaches. Efforts are made to enable them to play in different tournaments such as junior level, senior level, invitational to give them maximum exposure and to enhance their skills.

EVIDENCE OF SUCCESS

Our institution has constantly endeavoured to get various positions at the university and state levels. We have tried to be amongst the best five colleges out of 202 colleges of the Panjab University in sports. Our students have won various laurels at the University, State, National, and international levels over the years and have made our institution and country proud. We have to our credit the following university positions:

  1. Overall 2nd position in 2018-19
  2. Overall 2nd in 2019-20
  3. No event happened due to COVID-2020-2021
  4. Overall 4th in 2021-22
  5. Overall 4thin 2022-23

Besides Panjab University we have to our credit various other achievements like Junior-Nationals, Senior Nationals, Khelo India Youth Games, Khelo India University Games and various other international tournaments that have made us proud during last five years. Recently, our student Kashvee Gautam, a Cricketer became the most expensive Indian player at Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction 2024. She fetched a whopping INR Two Crores, at the auction.

Our institution even before adopting it as our best practice had been working towards creating empowered women through sports. It is quite reflected in the fact that many of our sportswomen have carved a niche for themselves in society, and are contributing towards the development of  society in various fields-police personnel, teaching in various colleges and universities and much more. 

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED AND RESOURCES REQUIRED

  1. Socio-cultural Barrier: Dealing with mindset of parents of varied socio-cultural background and convincing them about significance of adopting game as career.
  2. Knowledge Barriers: Correlation between higher educational achievement and higher levels of physical activity deters many sports students, from giving their best.
  3. Practical Barrier: For providing training facilities for a wider range of games large amount of funds are required.
  4. Resource Constraint: We do not have major funding coming from any NGO, private institution or any other sources.

NOTES

The institution is proud of its sportswomen and has always been working towards strengthening its best practice. There has been no dearth of hard work being put in and also our achievers have made us proud. In furtherance of interest of essence of title of our practice ‘Sports and Well-Being’ the college has entered into an MOU with The Rekhi Foundation for establishing ‘Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness’.

The GGSCW Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness, in collaboration with Rekhi Foundation aims to develop an eco-system of happy and successful people, empower our young sportswomen, by helping them grow and maximise their potential. Aim is to provide them positive culture, required resources and to carry on positive work in this direction, thereby promoting the well-being of our students, especially sportswomen.

BEST PRACTICE - II

PROMOTING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

“EARN WHILE YOU LEARN”

 

OBJECTIVES

Entrepreneurship has emerged as key driver of growth in rapidly evolving economic landscape. Our Best Practice Promoting Women Entrepreneurship, through various learning activities and ‘Club Saksham’ our entrepreneurial venture aimed to help students

  1. Understand concept of entrepreneurship.
  2. Showcase skill; inculcate value of hard work and dignity of labour.
  3. Learn basics of management.
  4. Create profits on small scale.

UNDERLYING CONCEPT

  1. Facilitate concept of earning while learning.
  2. Generate feeling of confidence, ability to think creatively, critically, take   calculated risks and solve problems.
  3. Develop range of skills, competencies valuable in personal- professional life.
  4. Resilient and adaptable.
  5. Develop much-needed expertise to start their business.

THE CONTEXT

Contextual features that needed to be addressed while adopting Promoting Women Entrepreneurship as the best practice were:

  1. Providing a suitable platform to make students self-reliant than be job seekers, for we have students coming from economically weaker strata.
  2. Enable students to learn to be creative, multi-disciplinary and skill-oriented.
  3. Provide them mentorship through various value-added courses and workshops to impart technical education, soft skill development and legal awareness helping them transform their ideas into successful business later.
  4. Resource mobilization, and time posed a challenge.

 THE PRACTICE

Our college a seat of higher learning has always promoted activities for endorsing ‘Women Entrepreneurship’ under ‘Earn While You Learn’. However, in 2019-20 on the recommendation of the previous NAAC Peer Team, ‘Club Saksham’, college's entrepreneurial venture, was founded (an initiative under "Earn While You Learn”), to carry out activities that promoted earning along with learning.

Since then, dedicated initiatives have cultivated an entrepreneurial mindset in students, with a platform for skill development aligned with NEP 2020. Diverse activities provide practical exposure, creating avenues for learning and earning. This has transformed educational landscape into a dynamic space, allowing students to reframe perspectives and actively pursue knowledge and entrepreneurship through:

  1. Various skill enhancements workshops
  2. Value-added courses
  3. Expert talks
  4. Webinars
  5. Interactive sessions
  6. MOUs
  7. Club Saksham-Promotes earning along with learning by setting up stalls for sale of food, art and craft items, stalls of mehndi and tattoo application in various festivals, functions and other occasions both within and outside the campus.

Thrust areas for learning have been training in technology trends, soft skills essential for effective communication, leadership, team work, customer relations, workshops on intellectual property rights, financial literacy, an understanding of Goods and Services Tax (GST) regulations, specialized training in foods and crafts-baking, tie and die, pottery, clay and ceramic work, fabric painting, mask making and painting for which various MOUs have been entered into.

EVIDENCE OF SUCCESS

Measuring rod of success for Promoting Women Entrepreneurship under ‘Earn while Learn’- Is Twofold i.e. Learning and Earning.

  1. Inculcated a spirit of financial independence.
  2. Taught teamwork, leadership, planning, management skills, ensuring profit.
  3. Provided a platform to showcase their talent and an opportunity for better understanding of how to deal with ideas of organising exhibitions and stalls.
  4. Fostered entrepreneurial skills to enable them to venture into creating their own small-scale setups of solo shows, group exhibitions.
  5. Teachers and students of the college have always exhibited keen interest in the exhibitions and bought items to encourage and support students.

Learning and Earning

Total Number of Learning Activities:      58

Total Number of Earning Activities:        41

Revenue Generated:                                  1,08,085

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED AND RESOURCES REQUIRED

  1. Time Management: Managing time was a hurdle since the conduct of these activities and regular teaching had to be carried out simultaneously.
  2. Pandemic Period: Lack of personal touch with the students during COVID was much felt. During lockdown limited activity was possible and later also the blended style of teaching made it difficult to correctly manage time of stalls, and low student turnout made it even more difficult.
  3. Inadequate Funds: Regular Workshops/Resource Person required for providing technical knowledge, managerial skills and successful entrepreneurship launches, could not be arranged due to paucity of funds.
  4. Problems related to art works: Huge funds, long preparation time, substantial changes in art works before re-exhibiting them in different exhibitions.

NOTES

  1. College signed many MOUs promoting women entrepreneurs to ensure the growth and development of the women entrepreneurs.
  2. Four of our Staff members are WICCI members who engage in collaborative activities from time to time. Club Saksham set up stall at WICCI Conclave 9.23 (Shivalik View) 09/09/23
  3. To strengthen our Best Practice of ‘Promoting Women Entrepreneurship’- ‘Earn While You Learn’, a proposal for Establishing an Incubation Centre at Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Chandigarh to Foster Women Entrepreneurship and Support Startups in collaboration with WICCI has been sent under PM USHA Scheme.
  4. Theatre students performed Skit- ‘Maapayaan da Pyaar’ promoting inter-generational connections, Mimicry (Art Gallery, Chandigarh) for Senior-Citizen’s Association, 11/11/23 (earned 1500/-).
  5. Kashvee Gautam, most expensive (2cr) Indian player at (WPL) auction 2024.