Education plays a key role in preparing the students for this ever-changing technologically driven world. Globalization presents new opportunities but at the same time also poses several challenges compelling the citizens of tomorrow to acquire different sets of skill and knowledge. There has been a paradigm shift in the teaching-learning process these days. Besides fundamental academic skills the educational system aims to develop skill sets of the 21st century. The old-school model of passively learning facts and reciting them out of context is no longer sufficient to prepare students to survive in today's world. We at the school of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics strive hard to achieve a win-win situation wherein the students develop a strong foundation and also get adept with the latest trends and technologies through the following activities: -

Learning management system (LMS) - The School of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics has been actively using the Learning management system (LMS) platform since its inception in the University in the year 2015. Lecture material in the form of presentations, notes, videos, reference materials etc. and attendance are routinely uploaded on the LMS platform for its easy availability to the students. The last two years have seen a productive surge in the use of LMS platform as it emerged to be the savior in the times of COVID crisis. In this period the mode of lecturing was shifted to online mode, initially zoom and then Google meet. Vimeo was used as the platform for storing collective lecture recordings which are embedded in Vimeo and the link pasted on the LMS platform for its easy access to the students. Not only lecture material but the LMS served as a platform for conducting weekly assignments/quizzes and so also conduction of exams both theory and practical. All the features of LMS were explored and used to its optimal capacity to present with a world class learning experience to our students in these testing times, over and above the routine offline mode.

Virtual Labs – The school of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics is the regional center for the virtual labs initiative of the Ministry of HRD for the Navi Mumbai - Thane region. It is a platform of web-enabled experiments designed for remote operation and viewing. This can be accessed by the students through the use of internet and computer technology. With the help of the web-based software, resources and data, the learning experiences of the students can be enhanced.

Through the adoption of a prescribed protocol the school orients its students and faculty to the registration and utilization of the various virtual laboratory domains and disciplines. This facility enabled better conduction of online practical’s during the past two years of pandemic. As such it is mandatory for the students to register with the virtual labs to carry out a given set of experiments. Each laboratory session includes: Theory, Procedure, Self-evaluation, Animation, Simulator, Assignment, Reference and Feedback sections. The students submit a report describing their experience with respect to each experiment and a record of the solved self-evaluation section. The reports are evaluated along with the regular practical manual by the faculty.

SWAYAM - NPTEL - SWAYAM is a programme initiated by the Government of India and designed to achieve the three cardinal principles of Education policy. viz, access, equity and quality. The objective of this effort is to take the best teaching learning resources to all, including the most disadvantaged. NPTEL is a project of MHRD initiated by 7 IITs along with the IISc, Bangalore in 2003, to provide quality education to anyone interested in learning from the IITs. The school offers electives for semesters 4, 6 and 7 for undergraduate students and for semester 2 and 3 for post graduate students each worth 2 credits. The UG students have the liberty to pick any subject of their choice from the ongoing NPTEL courses for their electives. They get 6 credits for the same. The PG students are offered a list of electives by the school to pick from and they accrue 4 credits for the same.

Project based learning (PBL) – By bringing real-life context and technology to the curriculum through a PBL approach, students are encouraged to become independent workers, critical thinkers, and lifelong learners. In keeping with the fundamental principles of the National Education Policy 2020, the School of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics adopted the Hybrid Bottom-up model of Problem/project -based learning in its pedagogical practice.

The school of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics transacts the teaching learning process through PBL for certain subjects starting from semester 2. The PBL topics are aligned with the course outcomes and enable the student to explore and broaden their understanding of the topics through constructive and collaborative activities. The process is continuously monitored to get the best out of the students.

Internships - Industry academia meet - Taking a step further towards bringing instruction outside the bounds of the classroom and making it more relevant to the real world the School has adopted an insightful practice of organization of the annual Industry Academia meet (IAM). IAM bridges the gap between the curricular outcomes and current demands of the Industry and research organizations, fortifying the students with an educational experience beyond textbooks. As a testimony to the success of our Industry -Academia meet exercise, the students of programs like Food Science and Technology and Biomedical Engineering have secured internships at several renowned and reputed industries. As such an internship is a professional learning experience that offers meaningful, practical work experience related to the student's field of study or of specific career interest.

Research proposals and Projects – The D Y Patil Deemed to be University, Navi Mumbai bears a mission to provide research and development in emerging areas of Science and technology. The Universities have always been centers of research. Fundamental research in science and technology occurs in academic organizations rather than in research laboratories and institutes around the country. Research helps a teacher to improve education standards and the quality of teaching and hence plays a very important role in higher education. Recognizing the importance of research in academics the School of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics strives to promote research activities amongst its faculty and a research aptitude amongst the students.

Almost 60 % of the students at the School of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics opt for higher education post their graduation or post-graduation. In tune with the vision and mission of the University the School puts in extra efforts in preparing the students for research. Research preparedness of the students at the School is far superior to other similar institutes offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Science and Technology. The students are familiarized with research publications, journals and current advances in research right from the third semester through various assignments. The tasks are strategically designed to orient the students to basic research undertakings. The students from penultimate semesters of UG and PG programs are given the opportunity to present project proposals in prescribed format as part of their practical paper. This lays the foundation for the students to do literature review and formulate a project topic which they can work upon in the last semester.

Further down the students undertake various research or entrepreneurship ventures through the support of the Incubator cell of the School. The panel deliberates over the submitted blue-prints/drafts, and helps recognize promising enterprises, verifies feasibility, provides technical assistance and provides guidance to improving the applicability of the projects.

The final semester of UG and PG programmes comprises 6 months of project work. This gives the students the unique opportunity to venture into well- equipped labs and test various hypotheses of their interest as they work under the able guidance of experienced faculty of the school. Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, Food Science and Technology, each branch covers diverse topics under its umbrella for the students to work upon. This practical experience serves as an important milestone in shaping the career of these young millennials and enhances their employability.

Capability Enhancement Programs - The school offers life skill development programs such as Yoga and wellness, analytical skill development, human values and personal and professional development programs for students of all semesters through various workshops and certificate courses. For soft skill enhancement of final year students such as logical reasoning and personality development for better employability, capability enhancement programs are offered to them. With thrust on Language and communication skill development and Mock and behavioral interviews the school helps the students grab their dream jobs.

Remedial Teaching – In conformity with the UGC guidelines strategic pedagogical approaches are employed to facilitate students of different learning abilities to be equally engaged and benefited from the teaching learning process. Identification of slow learners from each course is done on a routine basis by reviewing marks obtained in each subject in the end semester examination. Conduction of quizzes for identification of slow and advanced learners in each subject has also been introduced to cater to differential requirements of students. Remedial classes are arranged for students who fall in the category of slow learners for the concerned subjects. Here the students get the opportunity to get their doubts solved from the faculty members and are also offered guidance on mode of preparation for the exams to help them cope with exam stress.

Seminars/ Workshops - The dynamic staff of the school of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics has been on the forefront in organizing seminars/conferences and workshops. Although this has been a regular feature of the school the last two years have seen a tremendous rise in the number of webinars/FDP’s rolled out due to the opening of new vistas on the virtual platforms. The online treat of webinars encompassed diverse and pertinent topics related to but not limited to the fields of Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, Food Science and Technology and Biomedical Engineering.

Two, 5 - day online faculty development programs were organized by the school in the last two years – one on Precision medicine and the other on Artificial Intelligence in Health Sciences.

The former focused on understanding the role of multi omics, AI, machine learning, immunotherapy and nanotechnology in Precision Medicine to make it a routine practice in clinical settings. The latter furthered not only the participants' understanding of AI and machine learning in Health Sciences but also presented a pristine opportunity to understand its applications in the fields of Biotechnology, Bioinformatics and in the food and agriculture industry.

Thus, the School of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics maintains its remarkable and distinctive status as a center of higher education that it has achieved over the years through its constant and emphatic efforts.