IITB professor to receive National award for higher education

National award for higher education: Raghavan Sunoj, a ‘night teacher’ at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, will accept the National Award to Teachers 2023 for Higher Education in Mumbai. He is known on campus as a professor who does not wait for students to approach him with questions. Instead, he visits hostels, strides into the mess hall, and spends a number of nights solving doubts before exams.

Intriguingly, precisely 23 years before his mother and greatest inspiration, K Vasantha Kumari, was awarded the National Award to Teachers for her extraordinary dedication to primary school education in Kerala, she received the National Award to Teachers.

Sunoj, who received his master’s degree from the University of Kerala, realised he wanted to be a teacher when he assisted his classmates during his MSc studies. “When I began instructing my own classmates in the second year of my master’s programme, I received positive feedback from them. That was the first time I realised there is delight in persuading someone of your position. When ideas are registered, it is enjoyable to observe the facial reaction. I became more enthusiastic when they posed questions,” Professor Sunoj told TOI.

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IITB professor to receive National award for higher education

Since he was impassioned about both teaching and research, he needed to find a balance, and IITB’s system allowed him to pursue both. “Here, I’ve had the privilege of instructing some of the brightest students, including JEE top scorers and Olympiad champions. I encourage discussion and debate. I regard them with respect and as co-learners. Amazingly, their intellectual energy is of unfathomable proportions. I choose significantly more difficult queries than the course requires. However, they consume it, bite it, and return with an answer.

This is the delight of intellectual fulfilment. In addition, I have instructed students who struggle with the subject. I instruct the class and am aware of their needs. I detect it through eye contact and adjust the pace and examples,” he said.

Zero on social media and unconnected on WhatsApp, Professor Sunoj asserts that students are always reachable on campus.

“Students approach instructors with questions. However, I go to their hostel and inquire, “Hey, do you have any questions?” I’ve been doing this for years. As a compassionate listener, I also serve as a guide for them during difficult periods. I devote a great deal of time away from the classroom. My students should not be afraid to pose questions, I tell them. I encourage open communication.”

Yash Sanghvi, an alumnus of IITB, stated, “Professor Sunoj was one of the professors who taught our CH105 introductory chemistry course for first-year students. The night before our CH105 midsemester, I vividly recall the commotion in the hostel. It transpired that Professor Sunoj had stopped by to address the apprehensive freshmen’s questions prior to the exam. This is one of the many reasons why his selection for this award is not surprising.”