About Myself

I am Dr. V.S. Saravanan, a doctoral degree holder in the field of Agricultural Microbiology from Department of Microbiology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India and has one year of post-doctoral research experience in the field of Soil Microbiology from Fertilizers and Soil Microbiology Lab, Dept. of Environmental and Biological Chemistry, Chungbuk National University, Republic of Korea. I have more than 17 years of academic learning facilitation and research experience in the field of microbiology, previously worked as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in the School of Bioscience and Technology in Vellore Institute of Technology.  Currently, I am working in the Department of Microbiology, Indira Gandhi College of Arts and Science, Pondicherry, India. A small college offering non conventional under graduate Arts and Science programmes in Puducherry region, in the Southern part of India, this college is functioning under the aegis of PONSHE (Pondicherry Society for Higher Education), established by Directorate of Higher and Technical Education, Puducherry.  My primary job is to facilitate learning for undergraduates, I have passion in Modern learning techniques and E-content development, that fits best to the millennial learners (generation Y and Z) who possess characteristics of short attention span, technology-friendly, engaging in interactive and collaborative learning, multitasking, and being visual and auditory learners. I have rich experience in the design of web pages, E content development, Open Educational Resource (OER) creation for customized education purposes.  I am a Subject Matter Specialist – Learning Management System Developer (SMS-LMSD) for customized learning needs.  

From the year 2015, I was adopting web based facilitated learning activities for students. Over the period of 2 years (2018-2020), I was designing customised creative learning OER web pages inculcating the principles of four-quadrants, proposed by Ministry of Education (India) and adopted by UGC India for maximizing learning benefits.

I have succeeded in developing an elite system in 2018 with CC license as sole licensor (Courtesy: The blended and online courses of  IIT Bombay and NITTTR, Chennai). It has taken a final shape in 2020 during Covid19 educational institutions lockdown period (18th March 2020 – October 2020). Click HERE to find out how best I utilized the corona lockdown period.

This SARAN OER systems are globally unique state of art design facilitating customized learning experience to students and its created at no cost. 

To visit a SARAN learning OER created for students click HERE

If you are interested in getting a template of my learning facilitating OER, kindly fill the request form by clicking HERE

My research is mostly for fun (not of funding mandates or Masters & doctoral thesis outcome) and collaborative in nature focuses on bacterial taxonomy, genome based bacterial taxonomy, and Phylogenomics. In terms of productivity of research, among the College and University faculty, with less numbers of published papers, I hold a fair and comparatively best H index of 17 of our country as per Scopus metrics and Google Scholar Index of 21.

To have a look at my publications in PubMed, click HERE  

LEARNING-FACILITATING ACTIVITIES 

I m handling two courses in the Odd and Even semester for the B.Sc. Microbiology students of the Dept. of Microbiology. For the courses, I have created OERs under Creative Commons license. My OERs primarily cater to the customized learning needs of students and faculty, and my OER is titled SARAN Learning System – AN UNIQUE OER LEARNING PLATFORM FOR CUSTOMISED LEARNING – DESIGNED, OPERATING, AND SHAREABLE AT FREE OF COST, for more information, see below:

ODD Semester

  1. CELL BIOLOGY NEP 2020 syllabus adopted from 2023-24 onwards.  To directly reach this learning OER use following Keywords & Google it: Cell biology+Indira gandhi college of Arts and Science >>Click I link
  2. MOLECULAR BIOLOGY NEP 2020 syllabus adopted from 2023-24 onwards.  To directly reach this learning OER use following Keywords & Google it: Molecular biology+Indira gandhi college of Arts and Science >>Click I link
  3. MICROBIAL DIVERSITY AND BACTERIAL PHYLOGENY LOCF-CBCS syllabus 2021-22 onwards – under DHTE.  To directly reach this learning OER use following Keywords & Google it: Microbial diversity and Bacterial phylogeny+Indira gandhi college of Arts and Science
  4. UNDERSTANDING INDIA  syllabus adopted from 2023-24 (as per NEP 2020) a common value added course syllabus for BA and B.Sc. programmes of Arts and Science programmes affiliated colleges under Pondicherry University. 
  5. BASIC ZOOLOGY syllabus adopted from 2023-24 (as per NEP 2020) as a common multidisciplinary course syllabus for affiliated colleges under Pondicherry University. 

EVEN Semester 

  1. BACTERIAL PHYSIOLOGY AND METABOLISM NEP 2020 syllabus adopted from 2023-24 onwards  To directly reach this learning OER use following Keywords & Google it: Bacterial physiology and metabolism+Indira gandhi college of Arts and Science >>Click I link. 
  2. SOIL AND AGRICULTURAL MICROBIOLOGY LOCF-CBCS pattern 2021-22 onwards – under DHTE.  To directly reach this learning OER use following Keywords & Google it: Soil and Agricultural Microbiology+Indira gandhi college of Arts and Science >>Click I link
  3. FERMENTED FOODS AND DAIRY PRODUCTS syllabus adopted from 2023-24 (as per NEP 2020) for B.Sc. Microbiology programme offered in affiliated colleges under Pondicherry University. 
  4. DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES syllabus adopted from 2023-24 (as per NEP 2020) a common value added course syllabus for BA and B.Sc. programmes of Arts and Science programmes affiliated colleges under Pondicherry University. 

Pondicherry University Syllabus and Revisions 

  1. To download the copy of the NEP syllabus (2023-24) for the I year of B.Sc. Microbiology programme click HERE
  2. To download the copy of the LOCF syllabus (2021-22 onwards) for B.Sc. Microbiology programme, click HERE 
(NEP – National Education Policy 2020; LOCF– Learner Outcome based curriculum framework ; CBCS – choice based credit system ; DHTE – Department of Higher and Technical Education, Pondicherry) 

You can also have a look at the OER’s developed for subjects handled in colleges / Universities / Schools by clicking HERE 

COLLEGE DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITIES

Herewith I am providing a list of activities of mine that were associated with development of my college.

(i) NIRF Ranking 

In the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) a national level ranking exercise in India, our institutions was participating under college category from the year of NIRF inception (2016). Recently, our college (Indira Gandhi College of Arts and Science, Pondicherry) was ranked within 151-200th rank-band, in NIRF 2021 and NIRF 2020 ranking and within 100-150th rank-band during the NIRF 2019 and 2018 ranking exercise. 

NIRF 2020-21 updation

IGCAS is the ONLY Arts and Science College in Puducherry region under NIRF ranking for four consecutive years (2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021). The NIRF ranking of IGCAS was mentioned in the address by then honourable Lieutenant Governor to the Puducherry Legislative Assembly during the year 2019 and 2020.

In addition to the interesting fact of > 90 % faculty including those in contract cadre are doctoral degree holders and good results of students in the University examination, my research credentials shaped unique niche for the college to achieve this feet (details below), Next to the parameters like Teaching, Learning and Resources, and Graduation Outcome, Research and Professional Practise has an higher weightage in NIRF Ranking at the college level. Incidentally, from the year of inception of NIRF ranking, I am the Nodal Officer for the data submission.

Picture1

My research contribution to IGCAS that reflected in NIRF Rankings 

My research credentials greatly helped our college to secure NIRF rank within 150th (for year  2018 and 2019) and within 200th rank (for year 2020 and 2021). 

Among the published research papers under the affiliation of Indira Gandhi College of Arts and Science, more than 90 % of the IGCAS research citation scores are achieved ONLY THROUGH MY PUBLICATIONS, click HERE  for year wise details (Source: NIRF, India).

My research contribution to IGCAS in my individual capacity was specially mentioned in the 2016 NAAC Peer Team report on Insitutional Accreditation of IGCAS

(ii) Mentoring students for higher studies in abroad 

Recently, one of my students, Mr. Ram Pragash Ponnurangam (2018-21 batch) joined in the M.Sc. Molecular Biology and Biotechnology program at Queen’s University, Belfast, UK. 

With my mentoring potential in previous academic years I helped two students to join for their higher studies (Masters programme) in Germany. One is Ms. Nedounsejian Kiruba (2016-19 batch) who had completed a Masters degree in International Horticulture in Leibniz University Hannover, Germany. in distinction and she was the topper of her batch in Masters. She was associated with our studies on taxonomic research group, wherein she helped in analyzing the data and assigning heterotypic synonyms of Paraburkholderia, this study got published in Curr. Microbiol. Currently she is pursuing her doctoral programme on “chromatin-associated PWOs and their interacting molecules regulation of plant development.” under Prof. Sara Farrona in University of Galway, Ireland. 

Another is Mr. Selva Pravin Kumaran (2014-17 batch) who was quick learner, during his Undergraduate programme in Indira Gandhi College of Arts and Science, he was involved with me in collaborative studies on bacterial taxonomy, that lead to publication in Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. Further, he has taken up Masters programme in Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany, his hard work earned him a reputed publication in 3 Biotech,  that made his professor Dr. Dirk Tischler to provide a fellowship and currently he is pursuing Doctoral Programme and our mutual collaboration is continuing that was evident through a paper published in journal Genomics. 

(iii) Other contributions 

On my personal interest, I am maintaining a few websites that may help in taking the college to the next level of digital platform, a long term vision of mine, this could kindle facilitated-learning and help in developing interest among the students and will holistically improve the humanity. 

B.Sc. Microbiology Syllabus (2021-22 onwards) – CBCS-LOCF Syllabus
B.Sc. Applied Microbiology Syllabus (2017-18 onwards) – CBCS Syllabus 
Microbiology Masters Programme Entrance Examination Coaching 
Massive Data – Department of Microbiology, IGCAS Puducherry 
Students Extra Academic Training & Research
Pondicherry University Semester Question papers 

I m the inventor and developer of Saran Trading System, a novel method of time interval based volume surge translated into profitable trading patterns. 

The following is the website serving as database of our PGSCS-JAC Association activities 

Puducherry Government Society College Staff (Teaching and Non-Teaching) Joint Action Committee

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES 

Most of my seminal research contributions “are through my own sustained interest and efforts in subject what I learned through decades and NOT through any internal schemes or extra mural funding mandates or students’ masters or doctoral studies” my research is basically for fun and mostly collaborative in nature with research interests centres around:

  • Bacterial taxonomy – Genome based taxonomy
  • Bacterial phylogenomics 

Check below for family related papers published by our collaborative efforts

Five taxonomy papers published by collaborative efforts purely during covid19 lockdown period (18 March to 15 Oct 2020) but our bureaucrats reckoned this period as an unproductive period and some extremely felt government has wasted money in the form of salaries to faculty.

Screenshots of 5 publications

Originally tweeted by Saravanan V.S. (@SaravananVS2) on October 4, 2020.

You can check my little but valuable research contributions to Microbiology in PubMed. Check my simple resume at ORCiD and VIDWAN ID 172139.

You can also look at my research impact metrics at Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science ResearcherID and Exaly Author analysis

To know more about me…

To download a copy of my Resume click HERE