IIT-Bombay to switch to hybrid mode from January – Times of India

MUMBAI: After over 20 months of delivering lectures online, IIT Bombay will shift to the hybrid mode from January, but with a difference. So far, students on campus too were attending classes online.
In the new semester, starting January 3, the institute has asked faculty members to provide at least one hour of contact lecture a week for the students on campus. The recordings of these tutorials or lectures will be made available for students who are off campus. Lectures for smaller classes, where all students are available on campus, will be taken offline.
One of the professors said there are difficulties that schools are experiencing in taking classes only in the hybrid mode. “It is also a disadvantage for the students who are attending the classes online. Many are unable to hear or focus when the lectures are happening simultaneously in the online and offline modes. So, the institute has decided to give as much flexibility to the faculty members as possible,” said a professor.
Classrooms at the institute will be opened for lectures for the first time in the pandemic in the new semester. The institute has set up a ventilation committee to ensure there is a constant supply of fresh air in enclosed spaces. The administration is also arranging for sufficient exhaust fans and changing the fresh air intake on ducted ACs to improve ventilation, said S Sudarshan, deputy director (academic and infrastructural affairs). Additionally, the ventilation committee is also planning to monitor carbon dioxide levels using IoT (internet of things) based sensors in enclosed spaces to ensure sufficient fresh air supply, he said. So far, some of the classrooms were used for exams that were conducted in the hybrid mode in November.
In addition to the students who are already on campus, the ones who took admission to BTech courses at IIT-B last year, will be allowed to join for the first time from December 26.
As part of the campus reboot plan, the institute is all set to welcome these students, who are now in their second year. However, the decision to return to campus will remain voluntary, mentioned the institute’s director Subhasis Chaudhuri, during an interaction with students and parents.