P.G. Department of Physics, Kanya Maha Vidyalaya, Jalandhar and autonomous and heritage institution has always focussed on overall development of young minds by providing hands-on training. Learning by doing science through hands-on science activities and experiments lets students see what they’ve learned in action and develop a deeper understanding of the subject. At KMV, a proper focus is given on the regular practical training of students as well as teachers.

Recently, KMV Physics teachers underwent a six-day residential training by Prof. H. C. Verma in Kanpur. As a result, they gained valuable expertise and knowledge, which they gladly shared as mentors during the workshop. Their main focus was on promoting experiential teaching methodologies in classroom settings. Consequently, KMV Physics faculty members, Dr. Neetu Verma and Dr. Sangeeta Prasher, along with KMViets were honored to be invited by Padma Shri Prof. H. C. Verma, a distinguished physicist, to conduct a training program for Physics teachers from Navodaya Vidyalayas in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu Kashmir. The four-day workshop, titled “Learning Physics through Life,” took place at the Navodaya Leadership Institute in Amritsar, under the Ministry of Education, Government of India. This workshop, overseen by Padma Shri Prof. H. C. Verma, a former Professor at IIT Kanpur, aimed to create a platform for educators from the northern region of India to share knowledge, explore innovative teaching methodologies, and enhance their experimental skills.

Further to inculcate a similar culture of innovations among KMV students a proposal for the grant of Anveshika Center at KMV was submitted. Anveshika is an Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT) initiative to create centers across India where students and teachers can learn experiment-based physics and try out their own ideas. Anveshika centres are established at different places within the country under National Anveshika Network of India (NANI) initiative. Anveshika is essentially an open ended laboratory where uncommon experiments are set up without constraints of any board syllabus or examination. New experiments continuously evolve as and when any idea strikes the students or the teachers. Presently Padam Shri Prof. HC Verma, Physics Department, IIT Kanpur is the NANI Co-ordinator. It is a matter of great pride that KMV has been granted the first and only Anveshika centre in Punjab. Team KMV celebrated this achievement on Sept 1, 2023 in the auditorium, where Principal Prof. (Dr.) Atima Sharma Dwivedi congratulated and appreciated the efforts of the Physics department. “Students in a hands-on science program will remember the material better, feel a sense of accomplishment when the task is completed, and be able to transfer that experience easier to other learning situations.”  She added.