Attendees of the two-day Faculty Development Workshop on ‘AI Tools with Smart Teaching Practices’ held at St Joseph University (SJU), Chümoukedima from June 29-30. (Photo Courtesy: PRO SJU)
Chümoukedima, July 1 (MExN): St Joseph University (SJU), Chümoukedima, conducted a two-day Faculty Development Workshop (FDW) on "AI Tools with Smart Teaching Practices" on June 29 and 30, with the objective of equipping faculty members with practical skills to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into teaching, research and academic administration.
Organised by the university's Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), the workshop combined theoretical sessions with hands-on training on the use of AI tools for lesson planning, content creation, assessment, documentation and classroom engagement.
In his inaugural address, Chancellor Very Rev Fr Dr J E Arul Raj underscored the growing importance of generative AI in higher education, stating that language should no longer be a barrier to learning with the availability of tools such as Google Translate.
He encouraged educators to embrace emerging technologies, continually upgrade their skills and work towards creating inclusive learning environments. The Chancellor also shared his vision of transforming the university into a fully AI-enabled institution promoting innovation and academic excellence.
According to a press release issued by the university's Public Relations Officer, the first day's technical sessions were led by Dr Nagaraju Baydeti, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, National Institute of Technology (NIT) Nagaland.
He introduced the fundamentals of AI in higher education and highlighted its potential to enhance lesson planning, content development, student engagement and assessment while stressing the ethical use of AI and the importance of maintaining academic integrity.
Faculty members also received practical training in using AI tools, including ChatGPT and Gemini, to prepare instructional materials, presentations, assessment rubrics and improve workflow efficiency through prompt-based applications.
On the second day, resource person Dr Uzzal Sharma, Assistant Professor and Head, Department of Computer Science, Birangana Sati Sadhani Rajyik Vishwavidyalaya, Assam, demonstrated the use of AI platforms such as NotebookLM, Claude AI, Stitch and Gamma for generating presentations, summaries, infographics and institutional profiles, besides showcasing applications for automating tasks and improving productivity.
Dr Sharma emphasised that AI should complement rather than replace educators, encouraging its responsible use to strengthen teaching, learning and critical thinking.
The workshop concluded with Director, IQAC, Dr Kinitoli H Yeptho expressing gratitude to the resource persons, organisers and participants. She described the programme as highly interactive and practical, noting that it had equipped faculty members with skills to effectively adopt AI-enabled teaching practices.
The workshop reinforced the importance of technology-driven, learner-centred education while promoting the ethical use of artificial intelligence, the release added.
