Needs Assessment Study for a Distance Learning Certificate Programme in Geomicrobiology

सार

Geomicrobiology deals with the study of role of microorganisms in geological processes. They are interdisciplinary academic fields with potential applications and job prospects in waste cleaning and degradation; bioleaching; metal mobility; understanding climate change; monument restoration; energy security; cave studies and extraterrestrial life. The aim of the proposed geomicrobiology program is to develop specialized skills to improve the employability in industry, scientific and educational institutions. Blended approaches in programme development will help to achieve a specialized additional skilled scientific human resource through community education and learning. We can achieve this by relying on latest Information and communication Technologies (ICTs) available through Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL).  The principal objective of the present study was to understand the  need for introducing geomicrobiology program through ODeL for developing specialized additional employability skills. The study was undertaken using a structured questionnaire developed by the author, and validated by experts. The questionnaire was administered on a randomly selected sample of 100 scientists, researchers, teachers, and learners, and an interview was conducted by using a semi-structured questionnaire to get in-depth information from the participants, which was not possible through the questionnaire. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used for data analysis. The results of the study support the blended approach for capacity building in geomicrobiology. It is concluded that careers in geomicrobiology can be rewarding and range from human resourcedem and in medicine to biotechnology, industries, teaching and research positions in academic Institutions. The results of this study need to be reflected upon seriously by stakeholders, curriculum developers and teacher educators.