Drass, September 10, 2025: The Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) and the Himalayan Biodiversity and Citizen Science Centre (HBCSC) of Government Degree College Drass today launched an ambitious initiative — Biodiversity Mapping of the GDC Drass Campus. The programme marks a significant step towards integrating experiential learning with classroom teaching to enrich the overall academic environment of the college.
Under this initiative, students of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th semesters from the departments of Zoology, Botany, and Environmental Science will actively participate as field researchers. The students will conduct systematic surveys, documentation, and mapping of the rich biodiversity within the vast college campus. The project is designed to provide hands-on training in biodiversity field techniques, including the use of survey equipment, specimen documentation, and data recording, thereby enhancing their practical learning experience.
Launching the initiative, Nasir Shabani, Principal of GDC Drass, appreciated the collaborative effort of IQAC and HBCSC. He added that project-based learning of this nature not only enhances academic development but also nurtures critical skills for lifelong growth.
Dr. Javed M. Iqbal, Coordinator of IQAC and HBCSC, described the initiative as a novel model of holistic development of students. He emphasized that the objective of the programme is to create a scientific database of the campus biodiversity and to empower students to emerge as trained researchers and even published authors by the time they graduate.
Dr. Dechen Angmo, Co-Investigator, elaborated on the methodology of the field survey and explained systematic data collection of biodiversity.
The initiative will be supervised by the team of Co-Principal Investigators including Dr. Javed M. Iqbal, Dr. Khadim Hussain, Dr. Talib Hussain and Dr. Dechen Angmo.
With this initiative, GDC Drass has set a benchmark in promoting experiential and research-based learning, aligning with the vision of NEP 2020.
