“Although he may
seem very flexible, he is surprisingly strict during presentation!” laughed
21-years-old, Farrah Zenny Lyn Salehuddin, stating her views on her lecturer.
Educating and
mentoring the young has never been an easy mission for any university lecturer as
it is a job that comes with great responsibilities in shaping future leaders
and in spreading knowledge of the world through teaching.
As he has fairly
won the hearts of his American Degree Program (ADP) students by winning the
most number of votes for the best lecturer in the ADP faculty, Shankar has
cooperatively manage to share the tails of his trails as a university lecturer.
Born on January
8th, 1974 and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Shankar Thirucheltal was described by
many of his beloved students as one of the most laidback yet firm lecturers
that would infuse learning with a great sense of humor.
 |
| Shankar- best voted ADP lecturer. |
“What I like
most when it comes to his teaching method is that he would relate whatever he
is teaching to the examples that are based on our daily lives that are full of
individual issues, dilemmas and dramas as young adults and as students, which
helps us understand what he is teaching” said Zenny Lyn, recalling her favorite
part about being in Shankar’s classes.
Shankar reaches
out to his students quite well considering the fact that he balances learning
and having fun in order to connect well with his students.
“He gives great
ideas and advices which are always lenient but yet there is a sense of
strictness about it,” answered 24 years old, Zarra Hafiz when she were asked on
her views on Shankar.
“The way he
teaches is unconventional.”
“In order to
make sure we understand, he gave us examples that we can relate to and not be
too bookish about the topic he teaches,” explained Zarra with confidence.
“The most
difficult aspect when it comes to being a lecturer, in my opinion would be on
how you present the information and whether you are meeting the needs of the
students while also maintaining the subject matter requirements,” said Shankar.
As a psychology
lecturer for almost fourteen years now, this successful 39-years-old bachelor
races against time every day as his schedule is packed with appointments, classes,
deadlines, meetings and bookings as Shankar has a lot going for himself.
“The primary aim
that I would have when it comes to lecturing would be education.”
“I’m not talking
about the learning process because if it is in the sense where it is just about
dishing information, and there’s no growth-I don’t like that.”
“I would like it
to be critical, I’d like them to be involved, I need questions to be asked and
I need to know that they are thinking critically.”
“It is the idea
that when the students leave the classroom, they leave with different views or
different mindset that I manage to somehow change.”
“And to see
those changes, that would be my main focus,” said Shankar, as he stated his aim
when it comes to the students.
“I think the way
he explains is easily understood and when he asks his students to explain
something, he really wants them to elaborate and get back to the main point,
where I think most of other lecturers are satisfied as long as the students say
something,” said the sweet, 21-years-old, Gita Diani Astari.
Gita, whom has
had four to five classes with the fine lecturer, also included that, “Mr Shankar
makes sure that the students understand what he's talking about by asking them
to explain to the class.”
“He answers
every question that students had enquired, and he encourages students to ask if
they feel that they don't fully understand the topic.”
“Overall, his
classes are very enjoyable and educative,” concluded Gita.
It is safe to
say that he is quite a successful lecturer and whilst lecturing in SEGi
University, he also teaches the Psychology Program in UCSI University, teaching
courses such as cooperative psychology, counseling psychology and skills and
strategies.
At first, lecturing
may not be part of the plan for this particular lecturer as it was a decision that
he made based on the condition given at the time.
“I started
lecturing by default when I was finishing my bachelor’s degree in Iowa, where I
did part-time tutoring, so that came about naturally in a way,” said Shankar as
he begins to share the start of his journey.
“And then I
started training and did my training and development certification and
basically do cooperate training, so both of those works at the same time while
I was waiting to finish my Masters to start my clinic,” he added.
 |
| Shankar prepared to start a class. |
Other training
and courses for certification from various organizations and companies were
also taken into account to get to where he is now.
As he wanted to
gain more clinical experiences, he got more involved in training especially
training in conflict management, team building dynamics, and business
communication.
Right after he
was done with his Master’s degree, the ambitious young man focused his
attention in training where he earned the Pembanggunan Sumber Manusia Berhad (PSMB)
certification from the Ministry of Human Resource where he get to be a
certified trainer for governmental organizations.
On top of that,
he also went for training for the Cambridge International Diploma for teachers
and trainers which had taken him about 18 months.
Other than
lecturing and training, Shankar is also doing clinical therapy where he has his
ongoing clinic in Overseas Union Garden (OUG) or Taman Overseas Union.
“Usually during
the weekends and during post-work hours, around 7 to 9pm, I see my clients for
therapy,” as he explains his weekend itinerary.
He added, “I
also run a couple of workshops for the special needs, internationally in
Indonesia and some in Vietnam which takes a total of six to eight times a year
of weekend travels”
He continues and
solves the curiosity of what drives him to focus in this particular career as
he answered, “Other than passion, I just enjoy being in people related industries
where I get to deal with hands-on people.”
As he is a good
lecturer who knows how to connect with his students, a very deep man who has
passion for human beings and for many other reasons, it is sensible that he won
the vote.
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