Dr Chandran Devanesen Centre For Human Resource Development

About the Centre

Established in 2004, the Dr. Chandran Devanesen Centre for Human Resource Development (Dr. CDCHRD) embodies the founding mission of Madras Christian College to foster the all-round development of young men and women—equipping them with knowledge and humanistic values to make a meaningful difference in the wider world.

In alignment with MCC’s vision of nurturing integrated personhood, the Centre was created to implement the Personality Development (PD) programme as a core component of the UG curriculum. Since its inception, the PD course has been offered to both Aided and Self-Financed Stream students across two semesters, benefitting over 2200 students annually. The Centre also provides a Soft Skill (Personality Enrichment & Coping Skills – Language and Career) programme for over 500 postgraduate students, aiming to enhance their professional readiness and interpersonal competence as they transition into advanced careers or research pursuits.

The Centre comprises over 50 trained faculty facilitators who bring academic insight and professional expertise to deliver the programme in an interactive, student-friendly, and experiential format. The curriculum focuses on enhancing self-confidence, self-awareness, communication, leadership, and other essential human and social skills. The positive impact of the programme is reflected in the consistent rise in campus placements over recent years and encouraging feedback from student participants.

As a result of years of thoughtful practice, the Centre has also developed a facilitator’s course guide. This publication supports facilitators with structured content on personal effectiveness and self-development. This guide serves as a flexible manual to assist in customising sessions to meet student needs. The Centre organises an annual training, FDP/Workshop, equipping both new and experienced facilitators with updated methodologies for achieving effective teaching outcomes. The Centre also engages in consultancy and outreach, conducting Personality Development programmes for other institutions, schools, colleges, and corporate organisations. 

The Dr. CDCHRD continues to play a vital role in shaping the personal and professional readiness of students, contributing meaningfully to the holistic educational experience that MCC stands for.

Dr. Anulin Christudhas, Convener, Aided Stream, Dr. CDCHRD

Dr.A. Sylvia Daisy, Convener, SFS Stream, Dr. CDCHRD

 

Objectives

  • Introduce the students to the concept of ‘Human Development’ (Personal and interpersonal) with emphasis on the latent resources that every human being possesses.
  • Fulfill the need and importance of creating an awareness of these resources and to maximize the same to enable the students to meet the challenges of the modern world.
  • Provide students with experiential learning besides theoretical treatment of the various topics that fall under Personality Development

Methodology & Assessment

The course is offered under Part IV a- Non-Major electives, during the III and IV semesters of the UG Programme, for 3 credits. The classes are held during the IV and V Hours of Day Order I for the Day Stream students and during the I and II Hours of Day Order V for the SFS Stream of students.

Students of various Departments are regrouped into groups of 40 each comprising students of different disciplines for greater effectiveness.

Convener (For Aided Stream)

Dr Anulin Christudhas

hrd@mcc.edu.in

Convener (For Self-Financed Stream)

Dr A. Sylvia Daisy

hrd@mcc.edu.in

Assessment

Students are assessed only by the course teacher by way of Continuous Assessment for a maximum 40 as shown below:

  • Maximum marks for Attendance 5
  • Total marks of CA = 25 in each semester
  • There is no minimum attendance for the course
  • Examination is conducted in the end of the IV semester in April/May comprising of written tests and Practical Testing covering the whole program.
  • The maximum marks awarded will be 100.

Syllabus for UG- The syllabus for the II year undergraduate students.

Personality Development-1
Semester III
30 hours

Unit 1: Self Exploration- Introduction to Human Development and Resource Development- course objective and expected outcome- self-discovery, self-acceptance, self-esteem, self-confidence, physical and cultural aspects of personality- Indian cultural sensitivity leading to self-identity.

Unit 2: Character building- Ethics, Morality and Values: An understanding – Need for values, Kinds of Values, Value conflicts, Value clarification and Value acceptance.

Unit 3: Interpersonal relationship: Importance of Interpersonal relationships in the present context- kinds of relationships, overcoming prejudices, basic principle of building and sustaining relationships, personal vs. professional conflict, submissive, assertive, and aggressive relationships.

Unit 4: Time and Stress Management: Importance of time – Managing time -the art of prioritizing and scheduling, stress, and source of stress, recognizing emotions and value of regulating emotions.

Unit 5: Vision and goal setting- personal goal, career goal clarification, understanding organizational goals, congruence of goals, positioning oneself in the context of organization / society, expectation management – critical nature of reaching targets.

Personality Development
Semester IV
30 Hours

Unit 1: Communication skills- Tools of communication (Oral, written, one way, two way, vertical and horizontal and lateral), Business communication, Body language, Listening skills, Assertive communication, Etiquette (Personal, social, telephone, email and global), Frequently asked questions (FAQS).

Unit II: Problem solving and resolution- Mind skills, out of box thinking, creative thinking, analytical and synthesizing reasoning, intuition and extra sensory perception, conflicts within and among groups, conflicts in social organizations, resolution of conflicts, dealing with and managing conflicts, De Bono 6 thinking hats.

Unit III: team building – formation of team, Phases of group growth process (Forming, norming, storming, performing and adjourning and reviewing), skill development to be a team player / team leader, influencing process, Leadership, win-win situation, proactive skills, synergy.

Unit IV: integrated personal excellence, motivation, positive and negative; Internal and external, motivated performance, Personal grooming, attitudes, confidence building, reinforcement, potential and competence management, creative performance, geared to integrated personal excellence.

Unit V: Placement preparation: resume writing, group discussion, role play, interview, Mock interview, emotional intelligence, Introduction-Broad organizational cultural sensitivity.

Soft skill programme for the postgraduate students:

Consequent on the intimation from the University of Madras which envisages the introduction of soft skills at the PG level in non-autonomous Colleges, Madras Christian College has taken the initiative of offering soft skill at the postgraduate level from the academic year 2007-08. Soft skill programme is mandatory for postgraduate students and they undergo training during the II and III semesters for two hours in each cycle.

As the very term explains, Soft skills are those skills that can be developed without much effort on the part of the learner. The term accommodates several areas under its repertoire under the soft skills we have included three broad areas. They are:

  • GROUP A- Personality Enrichment (4 credits, 30 hours)
  • GROUP B- Communication Skill (2 credits, 15 hours. Student chooses on language: English/German/French)
  • GROUP C- Career Coping Skill (2 credits 15 hours student chooses on skill: computer Training/Public Relations / Quantitative Aptitude)

Group A- Personality Enrichment:
The objective is to enable students to assess their potentials and meet with challenges in career and life that will boost their employability and effectiveness.

  • Unit 1- Developing Mind skills, quizzes, General Knowledge, Puzzles, you ought to know, guess right, who is who? An ongoing task for the student during the semester.
  • Unit 2- Emotional Intelligence, coping with emotions, Interpersonal conflicts, Emotional & rational balance.
  • Unit 3- Leadership, Assessing Leadership Qualities, Experiential learning of leadership skills exercise in teamwork.
  • Unit 4- Developing lateral thinking, Problem-solving skills, Purpose-driven decisions.
  • Unit 5- Change, Coping skills, Critical and Adaptive Mindsets, Changes in career/life / people.
  • Unit 6- Etiquette, Social etiquette, Business etiquette, Civic sense, Social norms.

Faculty:
Trained Facilitators of Dr. Devanesen Center for Human Resource Development

Communication skills:

  • English- Department of English
  • French – Department of Languages
  • German- Department of languages

Career Coping skill:

  • Computer skill- Department of MCA
  • Public Relations- Department of Communication and Public Administration
  • Quantitative Aptitude- Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

Assessment:
There is only Continuous Assessment. It may consist of Tests / Assignments/projects/ case study, class participation or any other Practical, Aggregate marks =100.

Consultancy:
The centre also offers by way of consultancy to outside institutions, schools, and colleges on request Personality Development Programs. We have trained several men and women since 2004. Institutions as Ethiraj College, SDNB Vaishnava College, MCC Higher Secondary School, Christ King Higher Secondary School, and employees of Universal Moulds, Madipakkam, SNR Motors, Guindy and NGOs have been beneficiaries our programme.