A Professor’s Journey to Building a Successful Student-Mentor Relationship

Professors often get asked how is it that they decided to enter into teaching profession, and Asst. Prof. Saurabh Rajvanshi of Dev Bhoomi Group of Institutions (DBGI), Dehradun, is no exception.

His journey into the teaching career began right after he completed his studies in Engineering and advanced in two different areas at the same time over the years – Electrical and Electronics. What started as a temporary job later turned into something he really loved and did not wish to leave behind. Transitioning from a professor to a full-time mentor, researcher, and change-maker took years of hard-work, dedication, and willingness to move out of the basic pre-stated norms.

It wasn’t until early 2000s that Asst. Prof. Rajvanshi’s perception as a professor began to shift. He started to see himself as a mediator of change in education and was inspired to bring research back into the classroom. For Asst. Prof. Rajvanshi, studying the basics of electric engineering and reading technology books opened up his world, offering new meanings and methods for teaching.

Since his arrival at DBGI, he has assisted in the personal and academic development of students by adopting a modern approach to teaching and warmly embracing student-generated content. These two devices have opened many doors for Asst. Prof. Rajvanshi, to an extent that he’s able to further develop professionally and contribute his experiences to the DBGI community. Becoming a connected mentor, through face to face interactions and classroom engaging activities, has enabled him to become more involved with giving electrical & electronics engineering lessons and education in general.

“To say that I have had a single memorable moment during this journey would be unfair, but I do recall feeling extremely special when some of the alumni’s wrote appreciation posts for me. After all the hard work, getting an appreciation from the students and chairman of the institute is a reward to preserve,” said Saurabh Rajvanshi, Professor, Dev Bhoomi Group of Institutions.

Asst. Prof. Rajvanshi has transformed the notoriously competitive and difficult course into one of the most collaborative, interactive, and friendly classes. He inspires students to want to help each other and witness each other succeed. Among faculty members, Asst. Prof. Rajvanshi is known for his problem-solving teaching techniques that involve connecting engineering principles to something students can witness in their daily lives by using classroom demonstrations.

He also adds, “Teaching has a vast number of facets that are totally worth exploring. If I could sum it up in few words, these would be – sharing, learning, connecting, and exploring.”