Regularly adopting new technologies is pretty standard for today’s higher education institutions. Many institutes of higher learning have embraced advances as they’ve worked to build state-of-the-art campuses. But as COVID-19 forced everyone to adopt fully remote instruction, it quickly became apparent that those physical facilities provide far less value when everyone is offsite. The higher education sector is ready to accept the challenge of the pandemic and prepares itself towards blended learning, supported with the value-added programs in the domain of specialization. Thereby, operating as that go-to hub of commitment and sustainable development, BLDE (DU) comes as a welcome stepping stone towards providing a centre of excellence, which emphasises on multidisciplinary and translational research, adapting to the global concepts of education, making use of academic autonomy to identify dynamic educational programs.
Striving towards becoming a leader in providing only the best-quality education in the fields of medical and healthcare, BLDE (DU) aims at impacting the health and the quality of life of people in the Vijayapura region of Karnataka and the rest of India. Also, with its innovative curriculum that is globally recognised and relevant, the university hosts academic programs in Medical and Allied Health Sciences (AHS) disciplines, enhancing the already existing pedagogy, laying the right emphasis on patient-centric evidence-based medicine and community health.
Being a home to State-of-the-art infrastructure and learning resources (physical support, library, IT, campus, and maintenance), the university has well-furnished labs, museums, and state-of-the-art simulation labs. Facilitating easy learning curves for all, despite a global pandemic lurking on our doorsteps, the emphasis on ICT, digitalization in academics, administration, examination, e-TLE/e- governance only motivates everyone on campus to outperform on a daily basis. Additionally, the tertiary superspeciality hospital with latest biomedical instrumentation for diagnostics and therapeutics; rich clinical and diverse material for health profession education and research, built on safe and secure green camps with all basic amenities is just another endeavour of the university towards self-reliance and educational excellence.
Everyday a new discovery
A vital part of the Bijapur Lingayat District Educational Association (BLDEA), a not for profit organization catering to the educational needs of underprivileged children and widening educational opportunities, BLDE University with its rich history is dedicating itself towards multi-literary development through its wide educational and cultural institutions network. Moreover, hosting an impressive 1457 courses of 66 health science programs, of which nearly 80% are interdisciplinary with a focus on the development of professional skills, competences, research aptitude as well as ethics and communication, apart from professional knowledge, the university also offers 49 Value Added Courses. Furthermore, having an excellent profile of faculty members who are well-qualified and committed, and who have an average experience of 16 years are trained on CBME, ICT, e-content development and innovative TLE through recognized centres. Also, faculty members have published 120 articles out of which 37 are indexed in Scopus/PUBMED, 49 in google scholar and 34 in other indexing databases, along with being authors to 09 books and 73 book chapters.
“The University has clearly defined Programme Outcomes (PO) and Course Outcomes (CO) with due consideration of the guidelines by the statutory authority and also exerting the degree of Freedom it holds by virtue of being deemed to be University”, stated – Prof. Dr. R.S. Mudhol, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, explaining to us and our fellow readers what BLDE really stands for, and how well-equipped the university is in today’s changing times. Adding to his above statement, the VC stated – “Graduates at BLDE are groomed to play leadership roles in the community, health and social issues like gender equity, environmental protection, disaster management and sensitizing people at large on their right to health”. Through the conversation with the VC we also learnt that a system of summative assessment exists at BLDE, where comprehensive evaluation of learning outcomes is carried out at the end of the academic year, and the methods employed evaluate the must-know areas of the syllabi, making practical exams help to assess the cognitive/psychomotor skills as well as the communication skills of all the students.
All thanks to the world-class infrastructure of The university, BLDE proudly boasts world clan infrastructure & facilities for sports and cultural activities for students, teaching and nonteaching staff. The facilities provided on the campus include coach/ trainer, playground, gymnasium, indoor stadium, swimming pool, yoga Centre, recreation rooms and auditorium. Also, the on-campus gymnasium is equipped with a wide range of facilities to get the most out of every workout, with a separate Gymnasium for girls & boys with trainers, and Swimming pool facilities. Not only does BLDE let students excel at extracurriculars, the women empowerment cell regularly organizes workshops on women rights and awareness programs on women’s health. With a clear aim of converting students into all-rounders of tomorrow, programs on Life skills training and soft skills for non-teaching staff are conducted, The students regularly visit orphanages, for distribution of food. There is a proactive functional student council, where the students are represented in various academic and co-curricular committees (IQAC, cultural, sports, NSS, youth red cross, grievance Redressal, psychosocial counseling, literary, anti-ragging, research and institutional innovation council), encouraging students to take part in community out-reach activities through NSS, Red Cross Unit, Blood/Organ donation camps, Swachh-Bharat and Unnat Bharat Abhiyan internships, Pedagogical innovations, Guided seminars.
Finally, envisioning achieving a spot in top-50 ranks according to the NIRF ranking in next 10 years, BLDE (DU) with its strong industry-academia bonds – on rotation, lets its students visit various departments, OPDs, IPDs in batches, in turn, training everyone to gain immense practical experience and exposure. The students follow the observation, participatory & interactive methods, including Question & Answer Sessions, hands-on experience, treatment line, and follow-up, where they are also taught about the importance of adherence to biomedical ethics, namely patient autonomy, beneficence, no maleficence, patient rights, and medical communication. PGs too follow the OPD, IPD, Ward rounds, OT, and other super specialty services under the teachers’ guidance. The Hospital Management Software existing at BLDE facilitates a phase-wise training, which is conducted for all the end users. Lastly, with the university having all its key medical departments, a central library and residential quarters on a sprawling campus, BLDE (DU)’s aim is to get recognition as a reputed medical research university – in and outside the boundaries of our country, and by the look of it, that day isn’t far when BLDE realizes its goal, and still continues on this pursuit of achieving excellence, and giving back to society healthcare and medical professionals, the world needs and demands right now.
Prof. Dr. R.S. Mudhol – Vice-Chancellor
A doctor by profession, ENT Specialist & Ph.D. Guide, Prof. Mudhol has vast experience in capacity of HoD, Dean, Hospital Director credited to his KLE Academy of Higher Education & Research, Belagavi. Having 34+ years of experience in the field of medicine and academics, he operates as an honorary consultant at the Military Hospital, Belagavi. Now with heading the parade of BLDE as the current Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Mudhol promises all its students a rewarding experience, filled with quality education, development and advancement of mind.
