Short Courses

Foundations of Effective Communication I

Instructors: Ms. Rashmi Shaju, Ms. Shruti Shukla, Ms. Nupur Jindal

Foundations of Effective Communication I is a 1-credit course that supports students in improving their English proficiency, especially targeting students transitioning to an English-medium education. Focusing on writing and speech, the course helps students:

• Strengthen basics of language through grammar
• Improve writing skills, both creative & academic form
• Gain confidence in written and verbal communication

While doing so, the course encourages collaborative learning, enabling students to provide constructive feedback. Emphasizing cultural understanding, the course equips students with essential language skills for academic and professional success. Throughout 2 multimodal modules titled Basic Grammar and Applications, students will track their English communication proficiency for academic and professional success 

Academic and Research Writing Foundations

The “Academic and Research Writing Foundations” course equips postgraduate and doctoral students with essential skills for thesis writing and research paper development. Over 10 hours, this intensive course will cover the foundational aspects of academic writing, including structuring research papers, developing clear arguments, conducting literature reviews, and mastering citation and referencing techniques. The course emphasizes practical strategies for organizing research, enhancing writing clarity, and adhering to academic standards. Through lectures, discussions, and hands-on activities, participants will gain the confidence and proficiency to communicate their research findings effectively. By the end of the course, students will be well-prepared to tackle their thesis or dissertation projects, as well as contribute to academic journals and conferences with polished and impactful research papers. The Dissertation Writing Boot Camp, an ongoing initiative by the Writing Studio, will follow the course. In the Boot Camp, students will avail one-on-one or group mentoring sessions with the Writing Studio team.

Writing for Engineering

SC 295 – NIVID Desai

This short course covers the essentials of general writing skills that professional avenues in engineering and technology require. Participants learn writing techniques such as clarity, brevity and descriptive precision. The instructor discusses these skills within the context of writing technical descriptions, product descriptions, professional reports and creating a narrative for products. This course fuses the expressive power of writing with the innovative power of engineering.

Scientific Writing

SC 287, SC 273, SC 270, SC 262, SC 259 – Dr Monal Desai

This course is an introduction to the theory and practice of scientific writing. The participants of this course construct a scientific document, which is an essential skill to succeed in academics. They learn the unwritten rules which eventually help their chances of publishing in good quality journals. Topics include academic writing, grammar, developing a paragraph, sections of research paper, academic integrity, plagiarism and scientific poster making. The course comprises carefully designed assignments and exercises to test the level of understanding. The students can interact with the instructors by scheduling one-on-one online sessions.

Spoken Word Poetry

SC 269 – Nivid Desai

Through this short course, the participants get a holistic understanding of the art form from the perspectives of writing and performance. Divided evenly to focus on both the elements in detail, the workshop provides background on the writing techniques used in the form, directions about stage performance, thought-provoking prompts and personalised critical review and guidance on each participant’s poetry and performance.