Independent Study Period

Students often have diverse passions but no means to explore them especially if it is not related to their specialisation. The Independent Study Period offers them a chance to explore their passion and go beyond the classroom, making their academic learning truly interdisciplinary and conceptual understanding more experiential. This is made possible through collaboration with peers in a project-based environment.

ISP courses have the following characteristics:

  • Help ignite a passion or interest in the students
  • Help them surpass disciplinary boundaries. The course shouldn't just appeal to one set of students since the university offers a variety of specializations in business, engineering and life sciences and all courses are open for students from all disciplines
  • Help them develop a better understanding of theory. ISP makes sure that learning is not trivialised and academic rigour remains uncompromised
  • Help promote learning-by-doing methodology. All courses follow a hands on approach and classroom teaching should be minimised
  • Help produce tangible physical outputs that can be showcased during the ISP exhibition. A public exhibition inviting parents, the Ahmedabad University community and people from the city at large will be organized at the end of the ISP to showcase the work done by our students and faculty during ISP. The outcome can be in the form of prototypes, films, coffee table books, products, models etc.


An example of one such ISP course offered during the last term is "Science of making Musical Instruments". It became a way for students to not just pursue their interest in music but also fabricating and handling of materials, develop a deeper understanding of concepts of Physics and the science behind sound and of course collaborative learning and organisational skills.

ISP courses are rooted in disciplines like Literature, Sociology, Design, Science, Technology, Heritage, Humanities and Languages, and more - but cut across areas and specialisations. Rather than following the regular curricular period format, these courses are offered in an 8-hour-a-day format enabling concentrated learning for students through block courses, studio-inspired experiential courses, perspective, skill building and field courses, innovative experiments in learning, and more.
 

Call for Proposals ISP 2022