SIMATS NAAC SSR
Criteria 1 Criteria 2 Criteria 3 Criteria 4 Criteria 5 Criteria 6 Criteria 7
Criterion 1: Curricular Aspects
1.1 Key Indicator: Curriculum Design and Development
1.1.1 Curricula developed and implemented have relevance to the local,national, regional and global health care needs which are visible in Programme Outcomes (POs), and Course Outcomes (COs) offered by the University, as per the norms of the Regulatory Bodies.
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS) has always maintained high standards to contribute in national development. The Vision of our unique curricula is to create efficient and ethical professionals with an acute awareness on current local, regional, global and general social needs. Our Academic council constantly incorporates these learning objectives across multiple programs with periodic revision based the feedback from all the stakeholders.
SIMATS Academic Social Responsibility
Issues of Local Regional and Global Importance included in our curriculum
Local
SIMATS has identified 3 major challenges that plague the people of chennai namely water management, air pollution, and lifestyle diseases. Flooding and drought are perennial issues that have affected Chennai for the past 100 years. We have included water management as a program outcome in the B.E 2020 regulations. Similarly, our Architecture program has included water conservation methods during building construction added to their curriculum. Around 23 programs have PO’s related to water conservation and management. Pollution is another major risk factor in chennai that we focus on across many of our programs. Based on the ICMR’s National health report on Lifestyle diseases (2016), chennai is a hot pocket for lifestyle diseases related to pollution, our medical, nursing programs have included ‘lifestyle diseases and pollution’ as a program objective in the 2019 regulation. These efforts have translated into x publications related to y topic in the past 5 years.
National / Regional:
Skill deficit and unemployment are the core issues of national importance that we identified and included in our curriculum. To address these issues, all our constituted institutions have offered over 2000+ courses on innovation, skills and Entrepreneurship in the past 5 years. These courses have helped our students get better placements enriching themselves and also training others to uplift their families. SIMATS believes in intensive skill training in all our health care programs, the university invests ~20 crores every year on free sophisticaed treatments to improve students training. We have also enriched our courses with more than 21 advanced simulation training and workshops are targeted to provide unique skills that improve their employability, market demand.
Global:
Climate change and the CoVID -19 Pandemic are some of the core areas recently included in our curriculum design. For example, 40 programs, 59 Courses have included environmental sustainability in their Outcome. SIMATS is unique in being the one of the few institutions in India to offer BE in Environmental Engineering. Our institutions have a fantastic record of participating in environmentally friendly activities. SIMATS is ranked 393 (11 in India) in the Green metric global environmental ranking of universities. . We also have a Platinum LEED certified building. Our students have published over 200 articles on ‘affordable and clean energy’ category. SIMATS is ranked among top 150 Universities by the Times Higher Education UK. All our students have been trained with COVID- 19 safe protocols and our students have conducted research and published over 400 articles on Covid-19 last year. We are the second largest COVID - 19 hospital in TN after CMC vellore. This provided extensives training to our students during the pandemic.
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1.1.2 Percentage of Programmes where syllabus revision was carried out during the last five years
1.1.2.1: Number of Programmes offered by the Institution during the last five years : 177
1.1.2.2 : How many Programmes in which syllabi were revised out of the total number of Programmes offered during the last five years(Number of Programmes in which the syllabi was revised out of the total number of Programmes offered during the last five years): 177 (100%)
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1.1.3 Provide a description of courses with focus on competency/employability/ entrepreneurship/ skill-development offered either by the University or in collaboration with partner Institutions / Industries during the last five years
The Academic Council of SIMATS has included skill development and employability as a program outcome across multiple disciplines in accordance with the National Educational Policy. This regional issue is important for our university to prepare us for the upcoming wave of workforce migration from the farming sector to the industrial sector. Currently SIMATS offers over 1700 courses focussed on employability entrepreneurship and skill development.
Skill Development Programs
Our university is traditionally more skill oriented with a lot of emphasis on training our students with fine motor skills. We have sophisticated simulation labs, and India;s first VR simulation setups that provide an incomparable learning experience. Our Foreign language centre trains students of all disciplines with Spanish, French, Japanese and a plethora of linguistic skills. One of our robust training techniques is the use of technology to thoroughly integrate healthcare training to ensure graduation outcomes. We have a qualitative and quantitative system to ensure that students with poor motor skills need to repeat certain exercises to attain the graduation requirement.
Entrepreneurship Programs
Management courses are offered across multiple disciplines like engineering, law and medicine to improve the spirit of entrepreneurship. Our students are actively trained to invent, patent and commercialize their products. This empowers them to venture into new startups and projects. Our Management school is an active member of the National Entrepreneurship Network through which we have conducted numerous business expos where our students are engaged to develop, market and show results of a NEN venture.
Competency based curriculum
In compliance with the new NMC regulations, we have adopted the competency based curriculum with a few personalised modifications that can improve the personality and holistic development of an individual. Along with traditional competencies recommended by the NMC, we have included additional competencies like leadership, interpersonal skills. Students are also encouraged to indulge in self reflection exercises to enhance their problem solving and critical thinking skills a mechanism of SWOT analysis that can be of tremendous use for students interest in new ventures. We also have an advanced evaluation for clinical competency where in students present their graduate record book which includes all their practical client / patient work well documented and presented as a fantastic Curriculum Vitae. This book ensures employment to out graduate in a competitive job marked as the recorved speaks volumes of our skill training and the edge our students carry to the new world.
Collaborative Initiatives
Industry institute interaction is a core domain that is necessary for the success of our students. 98% of our students are engaged in field visits and internship or research projects that provide rigorous training to perform research and also engage in real world problems with innovative solutions. Over 2000 collaborative events have translate in to our excellent placement record of around 90%.
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1.2 Key Indicator: Academic Flexibility
1.2.1: Percentage of Programmes in which Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS)/Elective Course System has been implemented, wherever provision was made by the Regulatory Bodies (Data for the preceding academic year) Ans: 100%
1.2.1.1: Number of programmes in which CBCS/ Elective course system implemented. ANS: 115
1.2.1.2: Total number of Programmes where there is regulatory provision for CBCS / elective course system. ANS: 115
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1.2.2: Percentage of new degree programmes, fellowships and diplomas introduced by the university across all Faculties during the last five years (certificate programmes are not to be included)
1.2.2.1: Number of new Degree Programmes, Fellowships and Diplomas introduced by the University during the last five years: ANS 80
Number of all programs offered by the institution during the last five years : ANS 177
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1.2.3: Percentage of interdisciplinary courses under the programmes offered by the University during the last five years: Ans: 37.23 %
1.2.3.1: Number of interdisciplinary courses offered by institution during the last five years : ANS: 1425
1.2.3.2: Number of courses offered by the institution across all programs during the last five years: ANS: 3827
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Key Indicator 1.3: Curriculum Enrichment
1.3.1: Institution integrates cross cutting issues relevant to Gender, Environment and Sustainability, Human Values, Health Determinants, Right to Health Issues, Emerging demographic changes and Professional Ethics in the curricula
SIMATS ensures the integration of essential cross cutting issues in the formulated curriculum of all programmes offered at the institution and is an inseparable part of our curriculum. These courses are both mandatory and electives. ensuring choice-based credit systems with flexibility, the students can enroll themselves to these courses across departments and disciplines. Learning activities involving both peer and group and extra-curricular courses learning integrates crosscutting gender, nationality and age. Students are engaged in various expert lectures on human values, and professional ethics anchoring the institute's measure of incorporating these into the curriculum.
Gender Equality
SIMATS enriches the content related to Gender by organizing several activities on women empowerment and gender equality. Students’ participation in rallies, role plays, and cultural programmes address gender related issues. Courses on “feminist and therapeutic jurisprudence”, “gender justice and feminist jurisprudence”, “women and criminal law” and other courses are offered by school of law addressing gender related issues. The institution has a women grievance cell and a women empowerment cell to address the problems faced and provide counseling to students, promoting gender equity among students. Every year the institute celebrates international women’s day, and offers free screening for breast cancer around 200 people benefitted in this screening. Also in the oral cancer awareness Program around 1000 people benefitted , frequently every year on the International Women's day the Institution provides free dental checkup and free basic treatment for women. We also felicitate women achievers who created great societal impact and in scientific discipline. SU-SWAGAT.
Environment and Sustainability
Environmental Science courses are offered across all the disciplines at SIMATS. This course is essential for creating awareness and inculcating its importance. Across the institution 59 courses are offered on topics related to environment and sustainability. The institution has an integrated rainwater harvesting System and waste water treatment plant. The treated wastewater is reused for gardening and maintaining a green campus. The institute also celebrates environment day, ozone day and plastic free environment programmes are periodically organized. The institute also adheres to the use of alternative energy sources including solar and wind energies powering few of the buildings. In addition to this, SIMATS strictly follows a zero emission policy inside the campus to reduce carbon dioxide emission. To state, it uses battery operated cars and free shuttle services for the public inside the campus.
The academic curriculum at SIMATS is enriched with courses related to community settings, human values, health determinants, health issues, social issues and professional ethics. Students are exposed to a widespread cultural aspect by organising camps and internships in rural health care centres providing opportunities to develop communication skills and a holistic strategy to treat diseases. Embedded in the curriculum, the students actively involve themselves in NCC and NSS club activities. Courses on mediation, yoga, soft skill courses, personality management and workshops on stress management are also conducted. Overall, participation in these activities inculcates team work, leadership qualities, gender equity, strengthens self confidence in students and allows them to tailor to handle situations adequately in a holistic approach.
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1.3.2: Number of value-added courses offered during the last five years that impart transferable and life skills
1.3.2.1: Number of value-added courses are added within the last five years - 467
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1.3.3: Percentage of students successfully completed the value-added courses during the last five years
Percentage of students successfully completed the value-added courses during the last five years 75.2%
1.3.3.1: Number of students who successfully completed the value-added courses imparting transferable and life skills offered year-wise during the last five years
2020-21: 9737 2019-20: 8213 2018-19: 8579 2017-18: 2929 2016-17: 4873
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1.3.4: Students undertaking field visits / research projects / Industry internships/ visits/Community postings as a part of curriculum enrichment
At Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, we include field work / Industrial visits, Internship and research projects into the curriculum, in order to achieve a holistic training. True to our Mission statement, these internships, outreach programmes widens intellectual horizons, transforms the personality of the student; from a novice to an expert with out of box thinking. At the same time they also develop into an empathetic professional with responsibility towards society. 
Over 5000 Field visits/ Outreach / Industrial internships / Research projects, which would enrich the curriculum and enhance the learning experience were conducted from the year 2016 till 2021. A compulsory rotatory internship, with 2 months, is completely dedicated to postings in the rural centers, outreach programmes and target population oriented research projects. Students belonging to Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing and other allied health branches utilize these outreach activities to reach the population with high unmet needs and deliver their health care services.
By actively involving in a project pertaining to a target population, students not only understand the magnitude and nature of health problems, but also get trained to plan and conduct health care programs for the community in need.Saveetha Students Community Health Programme is an example of one such, well structured systematic training of students in community health right from the first year onwards till internship. As a part of it, there is a graded interaction of the students with the community through three community health postings.
Every student, be it an undergraduate or post graduate, is encouraged to take up research projects throughout their course of study. The institution encourages them by recognising their work with yearly awards and cash reimbursements. Students of this institution work under collaborative projects, multi centric trials with various universities abroad, renowned research labs and research pioneering in respective fields. This exposure decides their future career in research field.
Field visits not only helped to break the monotony of a classroom, but also, students participating in field visits, utilized the opportunities to build good relationships with industrialists and HR team, thereby increasing their chance for a good placement. Students of Engineering, Management studies and Law get sensitised as to how professionals of different sectors, such as engineers, HR team, and other workers, work in harmony to achieve a common goal and keep the system running smoothly.
The students got sensitized to how a real industry/ hospital or a firm operates and how it delivers its services. By this they could keep up with the latest trends and technologies in their field of expertise. With these field visits and structured internships, the students could actually bridge the gap between applied theoretical concepts and practical knowledge and benefitted from the real time working environment.
On a personal level, field trips helped students to enhance interpersonal, communication skills and teamwork abilities. These visits had time and again proved to be an excellent platform for character building and to improve networking skills ultimately leading to a slow and steady transformation from a student to a professional.
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Key Indicator 1.4: Feedback System
1.4.1: Mechanism is in place to obtain structured feedback on curricula/syllabi from various stakeholders.Structured feedback received from: Ans: All of the Above
Students
Teachers
Employers
Alumni
Professionals
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Any additional information
1.4.2: Feedback process of the Institution may be classified as:
E. Feedback not obtained/collected
D. Feedback collected
C. Feedback collected and analysed
B. Feedback collected, analysed and action has been taken
A. Feedback collected, analysed and action taken on feedback and relevant documents are made available on the institutional website
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