Media Release
Mangaluru, Sep 17: Manipal College of Dental Sciences hosted an academic extravaganza, their 5th edition of Curriculum review titled Curriculum Conclave 5.0 on September 15 and 16 at their Light House Hill campus.
The program was conducted in a hybrid mode and included international speakers experienced in competency-based education delivery and assessment system in their Universities. This academic feast was to completely revamp the dental curriculum and align it with the vision of National Education Policy 2020.
The inaugural session commenced with a welcome by Dr Ashita Uppoor, dean, MCODS, Mangaluru. The chief guest, Lt General (Dr) MD Venkatesh, vice chancellor of Manipal Academy of Higher Education highlighted the need for curriculum change and how the revolution poses challenges. Dr Dilip G Naik, pro vice chancellor of MAHE, reiterated the role of MAHE in the conceptualization and implementation of Outcome Based Education by Choice for the dental colleges making us the pioneers.
Dr Junaid Ahmed, associate dean, MCODS, Mangaluru, gave a brief overview of the journey of MCODS, Mangaluru, through the series of 5 curriculum conclaves and the programme outline. The inaugural concluded with the vote of thanks delivered by Dr Premalatha K, associate dean, MCODS, Mangaluru.
The resource person were luminaries in the field of medical education across the globe. Dr Ciraj Ali Mohammed, director of FAIMER institute and Coordinator of CCEID, MAHE spoke on Competency-based dental education followed by Dr Pushpanjali, Professor and Head Department of Public Health Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Ramaiah University, who spoke on the topic Assessment in Clinical Dentistry. Dr Ajay Telang, dean, Penang International Dental College Malaysia, Dr Rashmi Kusurkar, Dr Anand R, Dr Gagan Bajaj, Dr Srikant N and Dr Lulu sheriff were the other resource person who conducted brainstorming sessions for 189 participants across the country.
The grand finale of the curriculum conclave 5.0 was the Panel Discussion. The panelists were Dr Pushpanjali, Dr Betsy Thomas, periodontist, Mahsa University, Malaysia, Dr Anand R, Dr Sharada Rai, Dr Monica Solomon, dean, MCODS, Manipal, and Dr Ashita Uppoor, dean MCODS, Mangaluru. Deliberation on the various regulatory and administrative barriers and probable solutions were discussed. The need for training of faculty, students, and members of regulatory bodies was discussed to implement the competency-based assessment system. The 2-day event was extremely successful and the suggestions and recommendations of the experts and the brainstorming among the panel members helped in framing a curriculum that will benefit the students of our fraternity and contribute towards the growth and development of our nation and the society as a whole.