From Chalk to Code: Kashmir College Embraces AI, Nano, and More

As Kashmir gears up for a research-intensive fourth year under the new education policy, a week-long development program at GCW M.A. Road brings together faculty, policymakers, and innovation in science.

- KO Web Desk

Inside the sunlit auditorium of Government College for Women, M.A. Road, Srinagar, more than a hundred faculty members gathered Tuesday morning for the launch of a week-long Faculty Development Programme (FDP) that aims to steer science education in Kashmir toward research, relevance, and reform.

The initiative, titled “Emerging Research Trends in Science,” comes at a turning point for higher education in the region.

Beginning this academic session, colleges across Jammu and Kashmir will implement the fourth year of undergraduate studies under India's National Education Policy (NEP-2020).

The New Year brings a research vertical, an unfamiliar terrain for many faculty members and institutions.

“This is not just about extra credits,” said Prof. (Dr.) Sheikh Ajaz Bashir, Director Colleges, addressing the gathering as chief guest. “It’s about reshaping how we engage with our students. The job isn’t to mark attendance and leave. The job is to mentor, to help them ask questions that matter.”

For decades, science education in Kashmir colleges has relied on traditional lecture models. Now, with interdisciplinary research fields like artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and sustainability moving fast, the gap between classrooms and scientific relevance is widening.