The Office of the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Tech. Schools) and the Presidency School of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Computing (PSAIAC) successfully concluded the Faculty Development Initiative (FDI) – Teaching Innovation Competition 2026 with a vibrant Final Showcase and Awards Ceremony held on 29 August 2026 at the University campus.

 

Organised by the Office of the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Tech. Schools) in association with PSAIAC, the initiative celebrated innovative, student-centred teaching practices adopted by faculty members across the Tech. Schools during the academic years 2024–25 and 2025–26.

 

Celebrating Innovation in Teaching

 

The FDI Teaching Innovation Competition was envisioned not merely as a competition, but as a platform to share best practices, promote peer learning and foster a culture of innovation in teaching and learning across the University.

 

Faculty members were encouraged to showcase innovative approaches, including:

• Active Learning

• Experiential Learning

• Project-Based Learning

• Technology-Enabled Learning

• Innovative Assessment Practices

The initiative received an impressive 84 nominations from across the participating schools. Following a rigorous screening process, 78 entries were shortlisted across four major innovation categories: Project-Based Learning, Active Learning, Experiential Learning and Technology-Enabled Learning.

 

The Final Showcase featured 52 innovative teaching-practice posters, providing faculty members with an opportunity to demonstrate their practices, interact with the jury and exchange ideas with fellow educators.

 

A Showcase of Teaching Innovations

 

The Final Showcase brought together faculty innovators, students, University leadership and jury members in an engaging environment of knowledge sharing and academic interaction.

Each showcased innovation was evaluated using a structured 100-mark evaluation framework, covering innovation and originality, quality of implementation, reflection on student learning, scalability and sustainability, student participation, video presentation, and presentation and Q&A.

 

Faculty members presented their innovations through posters and live interactions, while participating students shared first-hand experiences of how the innovative teaching approaches influenced their learning. University leadership also visited the showcase and interacted with participating faculty members.

 

Valedictory Ceremony and Awards

 

The Final Showcase culminated in a Valedictory Ceremony attended by University leadership, faculty members, jury members and participants.

 

The ceremony featured addresses by University leaders, feedback from participants and jury members, prize distribution, and the launch of Innovations in Teaching & Learning – A Compendium of Ideas, Practices & Impact from the FDI 2025–26.

 

The compendium documents the innovative practices showcased through the initiative and serves as a resource for wider reference and adoption across the University.

 

The top three faculty innovators were recognised for their contributions:

 

First Prize – Dr Aniloy Augustine Frank
Professor, Presidency School of Engineering, Department of ECE

 

Second Prize – Dr Sandhya Dass
Associate Professor & Coordinator – Academics, Presidency School of Engineering, Department of ECE

 

Third Prize – Ms Prachi Amol Gadhikar
Assistant Professor, Presidency School of Computer Science and Engineering

 

In addition to the top three prizes, 10 consolation prizes were awarded. Certificates of Appreciation were also presented to the jury members in recognition of their valuable time and expertise.

 

From Competition to Community

 

One of the significant outcomes of the FDI initiative is its vision to extend teaching innovation beyond the event itself. Following the showcase, the initiative began shaping a continuing Faculty Champions Community, encouraging participating faculty members to share their experiences, mentor peers and support the adoption of innovative teaching practices across the University.

 

As part of this continuing effort, regular 45-minute faculty sharing sessions are planned, where Faculty Champions will present their teaching innovations, experiences and learnings to a wider faculty audience.

 

A Celebration of Teaching Excellence

 

The FDI Teaching Innovation Competition 2026 stands as a testament to Presidency University's commitment to academic excellence, innovation in teaching and student-centred learning.

 

With 84 nominations, 78 shortlisted innovations and 52 teaching practices showcased, the initiative created a meaningful platform for faculty members to experiment, reflect, share and inspire one another. The documented practices will continue to contribute to a culture where innovative ideas move from inpidual classrooms to the wider academic community.

 

The initiative concluded with a powerful message:

 

“Let today's ideas become tomorrow's classroom practices.
Let today's experiments become tomorrow's innovations.”