Research and Development Cell

Email: research@wcc.edu.in

Research is an integral part of any Higher Education Institution. The role of the Research and Development Cell is to establish a productive link between the IQAC and ongoing research activities in the Institution. The Research Deans on campus develop strategies to enhance the quality of research, and contribute to the holistic growth of the Institution.

Aims and Objectives of the Centre for Research and Development

To support, develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure that the research regulations abide by the guidelines of the University of Madras

To facilitate and enhance research and consultancy activities on campus

To provide guidance for submitting Research proposals to Government and non-Government agencies

To facilitate distribution of Seed Grant provided by the Institution for funding faculty and student research projects

To encourage faculty and students to publish their research findings in UGC approved national and international journals of repute, and in the in-house multidisciplinary journal “Eleanor”

To encourage faculty to become recognised guides for Doctoral programmes

To ensure that all research related activities on campus abide by the code of ethics, and are screened for plagiarism

To monitor and ensure that the departments abide by the stipulated rules and regulations for the conduct of seminars, conferences, symposiums and workshops.

To organise Faculty Development Programmes to emphasise the role of research in Higher Education Departments

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Centre for Women’s Studies (CWS)

The Centre for Women’s  Studies was formally inaugurated on August 11th, 2017.  

Aims and Objectives of the Centre

• To empower women and promote awareness
• To develop, promote and disseminate knowledge about women’s roles in society and about economic trends which affect women’s life and status
• To assist in training programmes for scholars, planners, administrators, members of women’s organisations, etc.
• To promote  collaboration with other departments in the Institution, grass-root level organisations and individuals engaged in allied activities
• To develop and promote collaboration with other agencies, educational training, and action programmes for women, especially underprivileged women
• To bring about attitudinal and other changes for effective participation of women in all aspects of society

• Events
• Webinars
• Guest Lectures
• Workshops

Choodamani

Date: 13th September, 2017

The Centre for Women’s Studies in Association with the Department of Communication organised a play “Choodamani” on 13th September, 2017, staged by the Madras Players and directed by Mr. P. C. Ramakrishna to sensitise students to women’s issues and the marginalisation of women in society.

She Asked for It: A Culture of Victim Shaming

A talk by Ms. Amrutha Karayil was organised by the PG Department of English in association with the Centre for Women’s Studies on 7th February, 2018.

National Seminar : Women In The Indian Armed Forces : Changing Contexts and Transformation

8th – 9th March, 2018
Sponsored by the Indian Council for Social Science Research, New Delhi & Southern Regional Centre – Hyderabad
The Centre for Women’s Studies and the Department of History in academic collaboration with The Peninsula Foundation proposed and organised a two-day National Seminar drawing speakers and 250 participants from 13 institutions from across the country to debate and discuss the issues of this theme based on four sub-themes. An Open House Session was held on

• The changing contexts and transformation of women’s empowerment in the Indian armed forces.
• The organisational, leadership and technological issues concerning women in the Indian armed forces.
• The policy perspective of the government of India on women in the armed forces.
• Gender sensitive issues and challenges of women combatants and officers in the Indian armed forces.

The inaugural address was delivered by Dr.C.Joshua Thomas Coordinator, ASEAN Studies Centre & Deputy Director ICSSR North Eastern Regional Centre, NEHU Campus, Shillong, Meghalaya.This was followed by the keynote address delivered by Air Marshall (Retd.) Dr. M. Matheswaran. He spoke on the life experiences of various pioneering women in the Indian Military.The special address was delivered by Lt.Gen(Retd.). Vinod.G.Khandare

• • National webinar on Gender Equality: From Transition to Transformation was organised on 10th August, 2020. Dr. Vijaya Head of the Department of History Quad-E-Millath College for Women was the Resource Person.
  • An awareness webinar was held on Women’s Safety in the Digital World. Dr. Varun Kapoor IPS ADGP Rustamji Armed Police training College, Indore, was the Resource Person. This was jointly organised with the Department of CST and IT on 26th August, 2020.
  • An international webinar, on Women’s Narratives : Facing the Blank Page was jointly organised with the  Information Resource Centre (IRC). The Resource Person was Cynthia Chirinda, an author from Zimbabwe. It was held on 8th March, 2020.
  • A debate on the topic “Is Liberation of Women Leading Them to Success  or Failure” was jointly organised with the Department of Tamil on 13th March, 2021. The Shift-I Anchor was Dr. Elizabeth Revathi, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Government Arts College for Men, Nandanam.
    The Shift-II Anchor was Dr. Lakshmi, Head, Department of Tamil, Sri Kanyaka Parameswari Arts and Science College for Women, Chennai.

Certificate Course on NGO Management

ABOUT THE COURSE:

The Certificate Course on NGO Management is designed and offered by the Centre for Women’s Studies in collaboration with the PG Department of Human Resource Management, Women’s Christian College Chennai. This course aims at providing knowledge and insight into the management of Non-Governmental Organisations. The course covers general understanding of NGOs, their establishment, legal procedures and their role in community development.  The importance of project development and the role of funding agencies will be taught with an eye for emerging needs. The course would provide hands on experience on the operation of NGOs through workshops and field visits. The course also aims to motivate students to be part of community building.

THIS COURSE IS OPEN TO ALL UG AND PG STUDENTS OF BOTH SHIFT I AND II

Mode: Offline and Online
Hours: 30 Hours
Course Fees: Rs.1000/- only

Contact:

Dr. Cynthia Jemima Swarnavalli. G
Dean for Centre for Women’s Studies
Phone number: 9444345049
Email id: cynthiajemima@wcc.edu.in

Dr. Subha Princila
Head, PG Department of Human Resource Management – Shift II
Phone Number: 9884145916
Email id: subhahenry@yahoo.com

Awareness Programmes

Awareness on Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Capacity Building Webinar series in collaboration with TTK Hospital counsellors from 21st October to 6th November, 2020.

The Centre for Research and Development in association with the Information Resource Centre of WCC organised a webinar on RESEARCH INDICATORS, PUBLISHING ETHICS AND PREDATORY JOURNALS on 16 September 2021. The Resource Person was Dr. J. Arumugam from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore.

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About CES

The Centre for Environmental Studies (CES), Women’s Christian College, was established in the year 2017.

Aims and Objectives of the Centre

• To promote environment related activities on campus.
• To disseminate knowledge on the sustainable use of resources.
• To promote green and waste management initiatives.
• To organise workshops, conferences, drives and competitions in order to create awareness and encourage student participation in environmental management and conservation.
• To create an attitudinal change in women in all aspects concerning the environment.

Webinars

• Conservation and Sustainable Management of Soil Biodiversity for Agricultural Productivity by Dr Kavitha Kumaresan, Assistant Professor, TNAU was conducted on 31st July, 2021.
• Invited talk in collaboration with Ayur Blends titled Current Issues on Natural Beauty Industry. Ms Aiswariya N, a successful woman entrepreneur gave this talk on 31st August, 2021.
• An International Webinar on Does the Helicoverpa Zea Microbiome Modulate Bt Resistance? by Dr P. Loganathan, Principal Research Scholar, North Carolina State University was conducted on 17th September, 2021.
• Effective Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity in Indian Medicinal Plants by Dr Vijayrani Rajpal, Professor, Department of Botany, Hansraj College, University of Delhi was conducted on 1st October, 2021.

Invited Talks

• Biological and Electrochemical Methods of Effluent Treatment – a talk given by Dr K Vijayaraghavan MS, Phd (IIT-M), IUSSTF Fellow, Environmental Consultant on 26th August, 2022. 163 participants were present.
• Urban greening – Challenges and Concepts – a talk given by Ms Shobha Menon, Founder, Nizhal on 8th March, The program was jointly conducted by CES and Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology. 120 participants participated.

Workshops

• A National level Online Workshop on Aromatherapy in collaboration with Allured by Nature was conducted on 8th July, 2021. The resource person, Ms Rhea Gwalani explained the benefits of Aromatherapy and the various types of essential and carrier oils.  She demonstrated how to make a bath bomb with coconut oil and lavender and showed the amount of effervescence it produced. She continued the demonstration by showing how to make oil blends in roller bottles, which can be applied to pulse points.
• A National level Online Workshop on Botanical Line Illustrations was conducted on 10th November, 2021. The resource person for the workshop was Meghana Pajjuri, Hyderabad. Students were taught how to draw botanical floral illustrations.
• A National level Online Workshop on Kokedama was conducted on 1st December, 2021. The resource person for the workshop was Beena Sambaragimath, Founder of the Midori, The Garden Studio. Students were taught how to make a kokedama.
• A Workshop on Solid Waste Management was conducted on 23rd February, 2022. The Resource Persons were Mr V R Hari Balaji, Head of Information, Education and Communication and Ms Ann Anra, Wasted 360 Solutions.
• A Workshop on Biodiversity and Climate Change was conducted on 28th April, The speaker for the workshop was Professor Nagendra, Director, CEPHA Network, who also works in the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT, Madras. He has 20 years of research experience in the field of air quality monitoring, modelling, management, control and policy. He has published more than 75 research publications in referred journals, one reference book and more than 100 papers. Prof. Nagendra spoke about the various types of pollution and the role that CEPHA Network and UKRI had to play in creating awareness in biodiversity and climate change. The second speaker was Dr R S Satyan, who has 18 years of research experience. He has published more than 15 research publications in referred journals and a few book chapters. He is presently working at AAKASH Institute, coaching students for NEET. Dr Satyan spoke on Biodiversity, while highlighting the different hotspots all over the world. He explained how several animals are endangered and extinct and how climate change is causing drastic changes in the world. Dr Satyan showed two videos to the students, one on the beauty of nature and the other on mass extinction.

• A Workshop on Herbal Skin Care Remedies was conducted on 1st August, 2022. The resource person for the workshop was Ms. Vasundhra Ravi, Beauty Therapist and Proprietor of Visible Difference, Hair and Beauty Salon. 220 students participated. Firstly, students understood the aim of herbal treatment to promote health and well-being. This is in the context that herbal cosmetics have gained popularity over the last decade as women prefer natural products over the use of chemicals as they have no side effects. Secondly, the workshop aimed to cultivate and provide an opportunity for women entrepreneurs. Thirdly, the Workshop enabled women to actively participate in the fastest growing segment of the beauty industry.

• A Workshop and Demonstration on Art Journaling was conducted on 23rd June, 2023. The resource person, Fazila Fahzath, Artist in Creative Journaling, demonstrated art journaling to 194 students.

Drives

• A Drive for collection of used clothes and e-waste was conducted from 1st March, 2022 to 7th March, 2022. Students, teaching and non-teaching staff were informed about the drive. Students and teachers enthusiastically donated their used clothes. A display of second-hand clothes and upcycled products were exhibited to generate awareness on the importance of recycling all types of products.
• A Notebook Collection Drive was conducted on 27th and 28th of October, 2022 at the entrance of Science block, WCC. Participants were from Shift I and Shift II of the College Community. The main aim was to ensure that all students understand the importance of sharing with the less fortunate.
• A Drive for collection of E-waste and plastics was conducted from 21th August, 2023 to 25th August, 2023 in collaboration with Wasted 360 Solutions. Students, teaching and non-teaching staff were informed about the drive for collection of e-waste, hard and soft plastics, medicine cases, X ray films, tablet strips, bags, belts, footwear torn and stained clothes and they happily donated the same.

Conferences

• An International Conference on Environmental Sustainability and Social Responsibility (ICESSR 2023) jointly organized by the Centre for Environmental Studies and the PG and Research Department of Biotechnology, WCC was held on the 10th and 11th of January, 2023. Talks were given by Ms. H.D. Varalaxmi, Regional Director, Central Pollution Control Board, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and Dr Sudha Nair, Former Senior Director of MSSRF and Former Founder member, Biotech Park for Women. Lead Lectures were delivered by Prof Wei Song Hung, Professor from the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Dr. Timothy McCormac, Head of Research at Dundalk Institute of Technology, Dr. Babitha Rani, Senior Scientist, ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Dr. Jennifer Clear from Liverpool Hope University and Dr. Mohammed Hatha Abdullah, Department of Marine Biology, Microbiology and Biotechnology, Cochin University of Sciences and Technology, Kochi. Paper and e-poster presentations were judged by Dr. Gayatri Venkataraman, Principal Scientist, M.S.S.R.F and Dr. Kumaran from DG Vaishnav. Mr. Sridar Ranganathan, CEO-HELYXON, Health Care Solutions gave a Career guidance talk where he motivated students to gear up and belong to the EXCITE group.  This was followed by the Valedictory where a talk was given by Dr. S Elumalai, Registrar, University of Madras. 279 participants registered for the International Conference and they came from 15 city colleges. There were participants from colleges such as Stella Maris College, Ethiraj College, DG Vaishnav College, Guru Nanak College, Pachaiyappa’s College, Queen Mary’s College, VISTAS, Kamaraj College, SRM IST, Thiru A Govindaswami College Govt Arts College, Govt Arts College for Men, MGR Educational research institute, University of Madras and Bishop Hebers College, Trichy. Many UG and PG students had registered from WCC. The sponsors of the two day International Conference namely Magesh Scientific Suppliers, Science City, TNSCST, Kajaria and Mahaveer, Ceramic World were acknowledged as well.

Competitions

• An Online essay writing competition was held in September 2021 for all the UG and PG students of the college. The students had to submit a 1000 word essay on their experiences in creating an eco-friendly space/ practice during the lockdown days. There were a few choices of titles that could be picked: “Green Spaces/ Lockdown Labour/ Rediscovering Nature/ The greener side of the Lockdown/ Impact of Lockdown on Nature’s Crown”. Prizes were given to the first three winners.
• Online competitions were held on 17th October, 2021 for all the UG and PG students of the college. The students had to submit an original work that was either an e-poster, a pamphlet or a 3 minute video on the topic of how to avoid single use plastics. The students had to discuss how to eliminate the use of single-use plastics such as plastic disposable cutlery, plastic flags, wrapping material, plastic banners, plastic bags, PET bottles and any other plastic material. This was part of an Awareness Programme as mandated by UGC and 75^th celebrations titled Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. The entries were uploaded on the University Activity Monitoring Portal. All participants received an e-certificate and three prizes were awarded at the end of the academic year.

• An Online Competition for Photography was conducted on 19th August, 2022. The theme was “Only One Earth”. It was open to the shift I and Shift II student community. Prizes were given to the first three winners.

• An Intercollegiate Competition for women in city and district colleges, namely EARTHWISE 2022 was conducted on 12th September, 2022. 80 female students from various city colleges participated in online and offline events.
• An Interdepartmental Terracotta plate painting Competition was conducted for WCC students on 13th December, 11 participants from Shift 1 and 2 had to paint a terracotta plate with the theme  “Paint me a Holly Jolly Christmas”.
• An Online Competition for an e-poster was held on 30th July, 2023. The theme was “Importance of Fuel Conservation during Idling at Traffic Junctions”. Prizes were given to the first three winners.
• An Intercollegiate Competition for women in city and district colleges, namely “EARTHWISE 2023” was conducted on 19th September, 2023. 60 female students from various city colleges participated in online and offline events.

FDP

• An Online FDP titled Integrating technology and Environmental Education was conducted on 11th and 12th October, 2021. The resource persons for the FDP were Dr Jeni Padua, Dean of Science, Holy Cross College, Nagercoil and Prof Jaganathan R G, Professor and Head who spoke on the topics “Environmental Research : Paving the way to Eco-entrepreneurship” and “Geospatial technology and EIA” respectively.
• An FDP on Environmental Education was conducted in collaboration with IQAC on 14th February, 2022. Dr T Augustine Arul Prasad, Assistant Professor, Dept of Chemistry, DG Vaishnav College and Dr Vidya Venugopal were the resource persons for the FDP. The titles of their topics were “ICT Tools for Teaching and Learning Pedagogy”. and “Climate Change and Health – The Need to Know” respectively. 40 faculty from Shift I and Shift II participated.

Awareness Programs

• An Awareness program on Waste Segregation was conducted on 17th December, 202 Dr Evangelin, Advanced Zoology and Biotechnology, WCC and Dr Anchana Devi, Biotechnology, WCC were the speakers. They interacted with the Gardeners and the Non-teaching staff.
• An Awareness program on Green Cleaning Practices was conducted on 7th November, 2022. The main aim was to create awareness on how to stay healthy by green cleaning practices. 55 participants which included the gardeners and housekeeping staff were present for the program. The resource speakers were Dr Nimita from the PG Department of Chemistry, WCC and Dr Lisa Sheba Rani J, the Librarian, WCC.

Centre for Institutional Advancement

The Centre for Institutional Advancement promotes a culture of philanthropy that attracts vital resources in support of the goals and objectives of Women’s Christian College and its core educational mission. This is accomplished by nurturing life-long relationships with and among alumnae, parents, friends, students, faculty, staff and other constituencies; and by communicating regularly with them through meaningful personal contacts.

The centre also promotes and creates awareness for all UGC, DST, etc. projects/funding, certificate and B.Voc  courses.

It also helps in organising government career opportunities for students.

Certificate Courses

Certificate Course on NGO Management

ABOUT THE COURSE:

The course aims to motivate students to be part of community building.
The Certificate Course on NGO Management is designed and offered by the Centre for
Women’s Studies in collaboration with the PG Department of Human Resource
Management, Women’s Christian College Chennai. This course aims at providing
knowledge and insight into the management of  Non-Governmental Organisations. The
course covers general understanding of NGOs, their establishment, legal procedures
and their role in community development.  The importance of project development
and the role of funding agencies will be taught with an eye for emerging needs. The
students will be provided hands on experience in NGO’s in Chennnai on the
various aspects of operation of NGOs
THIS COURSE IS OPEN TO ALL UG AND PG STUDENTS OF
BOTH SHIFT I AND II
Mode: Offline and Online
Hours: 30 Hours
Course Fees: Rs.1500/- only
Contact:
Dr. Cynthia Jemima Swarnavalli. G
Dean for Centre for Women’s Studies
Phone number: 9444345049
Email id: cynthiajemima@wcc.edu.in
Dr. Subha Princila
Head, PG Department of Human Resource Management – Shift II
Phone Number: 9884145916
Email id: subhahenry@yahoo.com

OPAC

Book Search (OPAC)

Autolib International Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC)

This will aid in retrieving a list of books available in our Library and also from selected open source publishers such as Google Books, DOAB, Open Library, Open Access, DOAJ, arXiv.org, Crossref, Gutendex, and Google Scholar using our own API and federated search technology by giving a Single Search String.

Android Library Mobile App:

Steps to Download Library Mobile App – Google Play Store -> Autolib App -> Women’s Christian College, Chennai (Institution’s name).

Contact Librarian or mail to irc@wcc.edu.in for Login credentials and further assistance.

New Arrivals

New Arrivals

WOMEN’S CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CELL

The Research and Development cell has constituted an Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) for the Ethical Approval of Projects concerned with Human Participants. The members of the IEC have been recruited based on the ICMR Guidelines, and the members will serve on this committee for a period of two years- Academic Years 2022-23, and 2023-24.

Minutes

MEMBERS OF INSTITUIONAL ETHICS COMMITTEE

ROLE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE INSTITUTIONAL ETHICS COMMITTEE

1. All research proposals on biomedical, social and behavioural science    research for health involving human participants, to be reviewed and approved for all ethical aspects of the project.

2. Provide advice to the researchers on safeguarding the dignity, rights, safety and well-being of all research participants.

3. Ensure that universal ethical values and international scientific standards are followed in terms of local community values and customs.

4. Ensure that all stakeholders involved in research are responsible for their actions. The professional, social and moral responsibilities are compliant with ethical guidelines, and related regulations are binding on all stakeholders directly or indirectly.

5. Ensure that due care is taken to design and conduct the research in such a way as to directly or indirectly maximize the benefits to the research participants and/or to the society.

6. Ensure protection of the environment and resources at all stages of the research, in compliance with existing guidelines and regulations.

7. Assist in the development and education of the research community in the given institute (including researchers, clinicians, students and others), responsive to local healthcare requirements.

8. Ensure that repetitive research (replicative) is not encouraged, and submission of same research to different funding agencies should not be accepted.

9. The IEC is responsible for declaration of conflicts of interest to the Chairperson, if any, at each meeting and ensuring these are recorded in the minutes.

10. The IEC should perform its function in an objective, timely and independent manner by attending meetings, participation in discussions and deliberations.

11. The IEC should ensure that privacy of the individual and confidentiality of data including the documents of IEC meetings is protected. Related records, data and notes should be retained for the required period for possible external scrutiny/ audit.

12. The Institution should provide support to the Member Secretary in documentation and filing procedures under confidentiality agreement.

13. The IEC should participate in continuing education activities in research ethics and get updated on relevant guidelines and regulations.

14.  The IEC should monitor safety and adverse events of interventional studies. The investigators should report the same to the members on a regular basis.

Activities of IRC

Information Resource Centre has organized various sessions on “Know Your Library Tour”in June 2019.

Information Resource Centre, in collaboration with the Research & Development Cell organized a workshop on ‘Bibliometrics, Ethics and Anti-plagiarism Tools in Research’on 09.09.2019. More than 300 research scholars and faculty members from 15 various city colleges and institutions have participated. 

WCC NDLI Club formation was initiated on 25.09.2019. WCC NDLI Club currently holds 16 faculty and 24 students as members.

Meet the Author Forum

Information Resource Centre has organized the virtual events ‘Meet the Author’ Series. The authors and the alumni of Women’s Christian College Ms. Anuja Chandramouli and Ms. Vibha Batra have been invited for these events.