Good day, Dr. Aleena Achamma Paul. I'm Arjun. I've had a look through your background and your professional record. I'm interested in hearing more about your work and how you see yourself fitting in here with our faculty. Ready to start?

Please start by introducing your professional journey in academia.

OK.

OK, for some time, for this opportunity, the network might be a little bit hard. I apologize for that in advance. So right after my PhD, which I completed from IIT Rooper in July 2025, I joined MIT Arts Design and Technology University in Pune. Right after my defense starts in July itself. And during my first semester there, I taught business communication.

Students, I also taught English communication skills to design and engineering students. And then in this current semester, I have been promoted to the promoted as the program coordinator for School of Humanities. So there has been an internal transfer. And in the semester, in addition to the coordinatorship, I'm also taking classes for bachelor students and masters students. Who are specializing in English literature.

Thank you for sharing that, Professor. Could you elaborate on how your experience teaching English communication to design and engineering students has influenced your approach to teaching literature or coordinating programs for humanities students?

OK so literature and language learning are both related. I have my background is in literature so I have used various text from literature. Maybe it's films, sometimes it is actual novels are shot.

Stories that I've used incorporated into my classes when it came to design and engineering students because unlike humanity students, while some of them are interested in reading these books, most of them prefer watching movies and I realize that this is one of the ways where I could encourage them to expand their vocabulary and also horizons also.

The movies or movie clips are used to incorporate movie clips in classrooms to show various aspects of communication.

Such as listening skills, why is it important? Uh, observing body language, uh, other than verbal communication, nonverbal communication, how is it useful? So these are the things that I incorporated in my non humanities classes. As for humanities classes, I've just started teaching them, uh, for them, uh, since I handed very large classes when it came to BBAB, COM and engineering students. Humanities, humanities, we have very small batches, so it's much more easier for me to handle.

And since because of my experience in teaching other students English communication, this was much more easier and sense literature is my domain again, it gave me upper hand when it came to activities, assigning activities and also interacting with the text.

Interesting, Professor. How do you adapt your teaching strategies when transitioning from large, diverse classes focused on English communication to smaller, more specialized humanities batches working on literature? Could you provide a specific example of an activity or method that worked well in both contexts, shaped by your expertise?

Could you please repeat your question?

Of course, Professor. How do you adapt your teaching strategies when moving from teaching large, diverse classes focused on English communication to smaller, more specialized humanities batches focused on literature? Could you share a specific example of an activity or method that has been effective in both contexts, influenced by your expertise?

OK, thank you for that question. So something that, as I mentioned earlier, what I've used is incorporated film clips or aspects of the movie into classroom teaching for my English communication classes. The clips that I used were used to talk about, you know, body language, use of vocabulary, use of idioms, things like that, aspects of, I would say, speaking and listening. Whereas when it came to humanities classes, I have a.

A class on poetry. So while talking about poetry and the importance of literature, why is it important to lead literature and what is he. What distinguishes poetry from prose? I used same movie clips and songs from movies as the entry point and this was something that students were able to relate to, especially poetry. There are various differences between poetry and prose, but one defining character is the rhythmic. Character of poetry.

Additionally, the use of imaginative language. So I believe in both classes the use of film or a movie clips or movie songs were quite effective. So this is a technique that has worked in both batches, but for different, I would say different to for different purposes. In design or engineering or business communication classes it was about a basics of communication, whereas in humanities it was about the deeper discussion about literature.

Importance and how can we distinguish different kinds of literature?

Thank you, Professor. It’s insightful to hear how you’ve adapted a consistent method—leveraging film clips and songs—tailored for distinct objectives across diverse student groups. How do you measure the effectiveness of these methods, particularly in terms of student engagement and learning outcomes in each setting?

OK, so after I show these clips and things like that from my English communication classes, what I made them do were different sorts of assignments. So I believe in a lot of practical ways to learning because there is something that you can teach, but unless and until we incorporate practical classes into it, it is, I believe it's incomplete. So for my English communication classes, what I did was I gave them various activity. One activity was to shoot.

A short video format which is similar to a Instagram reading. So this is something I believe that the young kids could relate to and the content of the reel would be idioms which are presented in a humorous manner. For instance, spill the beam. So the disconnect between a person who understands what idioms are someone who doesn't. So this allows students to. Incorporate whatever material that they learned in class and to present it in a interesting.

Thing in humorous manner not only are they learning but also having fun and when it came to my literature students what I did is once I introduced poetry the aspects of poetry, I actually made them watch Dead Poets Society, the eighteen 1980s movie I don't remember the exact date so this movie was introduced to the students and I asked my students to compose a poem based on anyone aspect from the.

Deeply related with and they came out with excellent responses. So again, depending upon the difficulty and levels of the students, I have given them different assignments and these assignments were graded. Some of them were ungraded because it was more about participation bringing them out of their shell, but some of them were about presentation for the. The engineering and the business communication students in addition to the real It was just a primary fun exercise.

To them, additionally, they were made to give class presentation based on any issue that they observed on campus, suggesting solutions for them. So it was about team activity, giving presentations, incorporating everything that they've learned, verbal and nonverbal communication into that.

Presentation.

So usually when I give an assignment, I give them, uh, various options to choose from. That instance for the humanities class, I suggested that, uh, the composer poem. But there was also an opportunity, uh, alternate assignment they could pick from, which was the right thing. Writing an essay on what moved you the most about the film 1 character or one aspect of it that they could relate to. So I believe that giving options to children is important. Secondly, what I do is as I mentioned earlier, I smart.

Thank you for elaborating, Professor. It’s clear that you prioritize practical, hands-on learning to reinforce key concepts. How do you ensure your assignments and activities foster inclusivity, addressing varied student learning styles and cultural backgrounds, especially in these diverse academic settings?

I start small, so that's how they are able to get comfortable with small interaction, slowly build up their confidence and then move on to bigger presentations. So the class presentation is the final activity they have to do. But initially I initially actually in my class I started with small games which would.

Help them better understand the aspects, basic aspects of communication skills. For instance, there's something called Broken Phone Call, in which it was basically the game of Chinese whisper. So this was used to talk about the importance of feedback. What are the different barriers to effective listening? So when engaging in such small activities, students actually come out of their shell and they interact more. So as the class progresses, I slowly up the stakes.

So that finally, when we reach the final presentation, they are confident speakers.

As for the humanities class, since these are students that already interact a lot with literature, I had to switch it up a little bit with them. For instance, I since these are youngsters, I always try to incorporate cultural phenomena into them. The things that they are interested in, For instance, they are very interested in anime, they're interested in Kpop, they're also interested in politics. So these are the things that I have tried to bring into. My humanities classroom.

So that they are able to interact very well. Again, even there I have different levels of activities also to gauge the levels of the students. That is also my primary objective to understand what level each student is at, what are they comfortable with. And slowly I build up the what do you see the difficulty of the assignment. As for language backgrounds, there are students from different language backgrounds. Humanities it does not an issue. All of them are from English background, so.

They are able to effectively communicate whereas when it came to my engineering and business graduates, they were struggling. They were from Marathi background or Hindi speaking background. Again, what I did was born activities where they would speak in English, introductions, song lyrics, reading out the subtitles, filling the blanks. I would show a movie clip and ask them it is muted and asked them to. Guess the sentences. What is the probable dialogue? So these are small activities that are incorporated.

To make sure that they're comfortable and overtime I build it up and.

When I used to assign group activities, I would always mix it up so that students who found it challenging to speak and students who were natural leaders would come together so that they could help each other.

So exam results are not always the right parameters. For instance, I have seen students grow out of their shell as I mentioned numerous time in this call, numerous times in this call. So there are students who are very hesitant to speak. So what I do is I'm actually a Malayali and if they're comfortable speaking in Hindi, I try to communicate a little bit in Hindi. And my Hindi is not perfect and I use that as a gateway, so.

Thank you, Professor. Your approach clearly demonstrates a deep understanding of diverse student needs and a thoughtful progression to build their confidence and skills. How do you evaluate their growth—beyond grades—especially for students transitioning from lower proficiency levels or hesitant communicators?

I show students how I am comfortable. I'm confident in speaking in a language which is not my mother tongue or even my second language. That usually brings children some comfort and they are also much more comfortable conversing with me. So I allow them to initially switch between Hindi and English or use a mix of both and eventually with the writing practices, I always give them assignments, different levels of assignments, Assignments shape, so I give them.

Still, feedbacks on things that they can work on and activities they can follow through to improve their because in a class, it's a diverse class, some of them are at a much higher level and some need some focused help. So those students who require focused attention, I give them additional enjoyable work. For instance, I asked him to use Duolingo. If you complete a certain number of exercises, I give them extra internal marks for it and. Video diary is another assignment that I've given there.

They just have to record themselves speaking in a particular language. If they read an article, uh, in English, again, they get a different, uh, grade for that. So these are small rewarding activities that I've used and, uh, I would say, umm, apart from school, uh, let's the examinations, it's the interactions in the class and outside the class when they engage in activities beyond the classroom that where I've seen them shine when it comes to practical classes, lab performance, or.

Events in the school, I've seen these students confidently speak in English. Maybe it's not perfect, but still much better than they did in the beginning. So that is something that I see as a visible change.

Understood, Professor. It's impressive how you create such a supportive, incremental environment for student growth. Let me pivot slightly—how do you feel your role as a program coordinator for the School of Humanities has enhanced your approach to teaching and managing diverse student groups?

The program coordinator puts me at.

Well, I am basically in between the students and the administration. So in addition to studying students, whatever concerns they have may be relating to our studies or their teachers or their coursework, they come to me and I feel like they have the I have created a space for them to interact with me freely and talk about what are the challenges that they face and this also. Actually helps me in my class finally. Or even if I do not teach them, I believe it helps.

Them to have that space to talk to me and I believe that has helped me improve as a teacher. It's just the question that you asked me. Or do you need more clarification?

OK, so being the coordinator, I actually oversee the creation of timetables and also the syllabus because I'm part of the code of studies. So what I've seen is that as a literary student myself, some of the syllabus really repeats itself. But over the years we have to adjust a lot because the world has evolved rapidly and adaptability is one of the key features that we have to follow through if we have to state relevant and important. So that is. The same when it comes to syllabus as well.

Thank you, Professor. Your response was clear and insightful. To sharpen this further—has your role as program coordinator provided any specific administrative insight or strategies that have directly influenced how you design your courses or engage with students in your teaching?

So when it comes to students, we have introduced courses that they would be much more interested in and would benefit from that instance. Starting literature is true, but there are all of these new jobs that come comes up other than research and teaching. For instance, public relations, proofreading, social media, content writer or creator. So these are different avenues that we have to prepare them for. So this position.

Program coordinator gives me this unique perspective to see it from both sides and also aligning with MEP goals, allowing the students to pick interdisciplinary courses. So this has been incorporated into our SLIM because for instance, we have a course called Introduction to MOOC, which we started from this semester. So this is for master students. So what are Moocs? How can we design them? So again, the purpose is not just for them to understand what it is. What we aim at is to make students.

Capable to do these things themselves. So designing MOOC is a course that we are very proud of. Nexus Film and Literature. It's about again, they study the basics of film and literature and then they can analyze these in real time. So this would help them if they're interested in a career in journalism or even as a film critic, these are things that could help them. So as a program coordinator, I would say again that I'm in a unique position where I can.

The perspective of the students and also the teacher and I have some power to design a system that benefits both.

So I have been blessed to work with coworkers who wants what's best for the students. Other strategies, what I employ is that I actually practice active listening. I follow what I preach. That is effectively actively listening to what my colleagues have to offer. Savatharma much more senior than me, so they have a wealth of experience. So based on their understanding of the students and also talking to the students, that is how we reach.

Thank you, Professor. It’s evident that your dual perspective—as both a coordinator and an educator—is shaping a forward-looking curriculum tailored to students' evolving interests and career pathways. How do you ensure faculty collaboration and alignment when implementing such interdisciplinary and modernized courses?

And the teachers, they're very welcoming and they are very, what do you say, dedicated educators who want what's best for the students. So I ensure that by in the beginning of the semester, we are all on the same page. I always offer them all support that I can and I always work with them and that I believe that has worked in my favor when it comes to the smooth functioning of our school.

As a conclusion, when it comes to each decision that we have to take.

Understood, Professor. It’s commendable how you foster collaboration and leverage both faculty experience and student feedback to shape cohesive and meaningful academic initiatives. Let’s explore another facet—how do you balance research and publications alongside your teaching and administrative responsibilities?

Sorry to interrupt, we're down to the last 5 minutes.

OK, so this is actually quite challenging and that is something that I'm struggling with currently because I have roughly 22 hours of teaching load in a week and I have as a program coordinate a lot of admin duties, which takes roughly 10 to 12 hours a week. So it is actually a very grueling process. However, research is something that I really enjoy and as I mentioned earlier, I maintain relationships with my colleagues based in this university.

About the ones that I studied with or I interacted with or met during conferences. So during the weekends of my time off, we actively engage in discussions surrounding research. So we always write papers, send proposal to various conferences, apply for research grants. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But since I have a natural law for research, I always find time for it. And again, I'm fortunate to have a.

Of people that I'm that with whom I can collaborate. So while it is challenging, I always find time for it, usually during the weekend.

Thank you, Professor. Despite the significant demands on your time, it’s clear that your passion for research keeps you actively engaged in academic discourse. One final question before we conclude—how do you see your role evolving in the next few years, both in teaching and administration, given the trends in higher education?

So I can see that I'm actually quite good at both teaching and at admin work. My student feedback speaks for itself when it comes to my teaching. My students were unhappy when I switched schools because they wanted me in the semester as well. But so teaching wise, I'm quite confident in my skills. Admin duty is something that I'm slowly and steadily learning, but it is something that I have always engaged in in.

Some capacity or the other. During my schooling, I was a house captain and a our house one of the best house during my graduation. I mean undergraduate degree. I used to be the department secretary during Masters, I was part of the Kerala Association during PhD, I played a significant role in organizing various conferences at seminars in my university. So I have always excelled in this role as you know.

Coordinator or in a managerial position. So moving forward, that is a role that I think I would excel at, not just in the natural progression of my.

Do you see journey career as a assistant associate and professor? But additionally, I would even look up to the other admin side effect as in the vice chancellor, pro vice chancellor, Provost maybe. So those are the positions also that I eventually believe I could reach provided I have the right.

As for research, I want to I don't have a research project yet, so that is something that I'm working hard towards. And secondly, I would like to publish books. I have already published research articles and book chapters. Now what I want to do is publish a book. Let's start with one but eventually build on it. So I want to create my research profile simultaneously. I want to be known both for my admin work and also my research and teaching. I know.

For institutional support for it.

There's a little bit, uh, ambitious of me, but I believe we have to aim for the sun or the moon so that we at least that reach somewhere close to where what we aspire or want to.

OK, when can I know about the next talk of the interview or what is the next step?

Thank you, Professor. Your ambition and dedication to excelling in teaching, research, and administration reflect a clear vision for your career trajectory. It has been a pleasure discussing your experiences and aspirations. Do you have any final questions or anything else you'd like to add before we conclude?

Can I know about my how my performance was in this interview so that you know I can use it use the feedback for further interviews?

Thank you for asking, Professor. The next steps and updates regarding your interview process will be communicated to you by the relevant team. Is there anything else you’d like to address before we wrap up?

I understand your request, Professor. However, feedback on performance is typically provided after the entire evaluation process is completed. At this point, I cannot give immediate feedback. The team handling the selection process may share insights later, depending on the standard procedure. Do you have any other questions or would you like to conclude the session?

Our scheduled time for the interview is now up. Before we conclude, do you have any questions related to the role or the company?

Yes. What are the various expectations from this role?

The role of an English Professor at this institution includes teaching, mentoring, and guiding students in English and related emerging technology specializations. Core responsibilities involve: - Conducting classroom and laboratory sessions. - Supporting curriculum delivery and evaluating students. - Guiding student projects and research activities. - Contributing to research development, publications, and consultancy services. - Playing an active role in promoting industry-institution interactions and R&D initiatives. Additionally, the position emphasizes academic excellence, student mentorship, and advancing research activities. Would you like further clarification on any of these aspects?

Convert desperately clear. Thank you.

You're most welcome, Professor. It was a pleasure speaking with you. If there’s nothing else, would you like me to conclude the interview?

Yes, please do.

Thank you.