Located in the commercial hub of the city — T Nagar — Shri Shankarlal Sundarbai Shasun Jain College for Women boasts of activity and hustle bustle both on- and off-campus. This eight-year-old college has in a short time span created an enriching environment for young women to study arts, science and commerce. NAAC accredited with ‘A’ grade, the college has also been ISO 9001:2008 certified.
B Poorna, principal of Shasun Jain College remarks, “We are young, but we have a very systematic and serious approach to academics and life. We try to inculcate a good mix of learning and fun into the lives of our students. The NAAC accreditation is very telling of our efforts.” The college keeps its students active throughout the day with academics, which includes a compulsory foreign language, an exposure to art and craft, history and culture, etc. We also offer merit and means, and sports scholarships.”
Infrastructure
It has been built on 2.4 acres of land which accommodates the college block, and an additional building for the VisComm department. With over 3,00 students and 150 staff members (teaching and non-teaching), it is also building a block for the Liberal Education Programme. The campus is also Wi-Fi enabled. There are three computer labs with systems gifted by Sony Imageworks. Classrooms are all equipped with LCD projectors and screens. The VisComm space has a photography and TV production studios, video editing suite, audio and voice recording booth, audio mixture and a drawing studio.
Academic programmes
The college prides itself on its School of Commerce that offers BCom (general, honours, accounting and finance, corporate secretaryship, bank management, computer applications, information systems and management) and MCom in accounting and finance. The School of Management offers a BBA. School of Media Communication offers a BSc in visual communication. The School of Science offers a BSc in computer science, mathematics, psychology, BCA and MSc in computer science. An interesting faculty is the School of Religious Studies that offers a PG diploma in Jainology which will start in 2014, The School of Liberal Education will also offers a bachelor of arts programme in the next academic year. The annual fees is Rs 35,000 for science courses, Rs 32,000 for commerce and Rs 54,000 for VisComm.
More than academics
A lot of importance is given to the social connect and social work. It has set up an Exploration in Life Space, Life Roles and Identity lab to explore individual life experiences and help students relate to the world. It focuses on societal values and family socialisation. Their India Unbound programme gets students to do projects around the country. The aim is to help them learn more about the culture and heritage of our country.
The National Entrepreneurship Network encourages entrepreneurship and supports startups. In collaboration with ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu, and CII, the college attempts to make its students industry ready by imparting key skills. There are many initiatives to enable these young women to become independent and empowered like the Enactus enterprise and Toastmasters International. The NSS, Rotaract Club and Leo Club enable students to connect with and contribute to the society. The Shasun Shakti Cell is a centre for extracurricular activities and conducts 14 add-on courses apart from 15 sports activities. Students are required to pursue one from each department and these are affiliated to IGNOU. Counselling and placement sessions are held every year. Students have so far been placed in companies like HCL, TCS, ICICI, and Sony Imageworks.
Student experience
Preethi S, a third-year accounting and finance student, who is also the chairperson of the college union, says, “The atmosphere is friendly and interactive. The faculty members are very involved in our lives and give us good direction.” Sujatha S echoes the same sentiments. A second-year MCom student, she says, “I have grown a lot in this atmosphere. There are events to keep us busy round the clock – departmental and intercollegiate competitions, sports, drama, etc. The Shasun Bazaar is an entrepreneurship activity that we get to experience first-hand. Their approach is holistic.”
Poorna tells us of their plans for the future. “We would like to gain autonomous status and at some point create hostels for our students. Our focus is to bring up this vibrant bunch of women in the right way — to become more receptive students, better human beings and add value to the society they live in.”
— preethi@newindianexpress.com
