Bengaluru, 17th September 2020 : V. M. Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Education (VMSIIHE) has commenced its academic year with online classes this month. Students of the leading institute are now able to attend classes digitally from the safety of their homes through the online mode. In such challenging times, teachers and students of VMSIIHE are adapting to the new normal. Food Production Operations, taught by Chef Sujatha Madhavan required a little more challenge. While Chef Sujatha explained the details of the pre-sent regional recipes during the step-by-step cooking process, Chef Sebastian Breitinger, assisted her with the camera angles to give the best visuals for students. Q & A were taken up at the end of the session and during cooking time when the dishes were kept to simmer. As the Chef shared tips and substitute ingredient information, she also checked on students and their dishes through visuals, to ensure her instructions were being followed. Along with the online cases, a fun activity was initiated by the members of the Gavel’s club along with the teacher-in-charge, Nelissa Andrea Alcasoas, Assistant Professor of General Management, using Zoom meet as a platform for interaction. They organized a Gavel’s club virtual meeting along with the members of the Ana Fonte Toastmasters Club on Saturday, September 5, 2020. The activity included enthusiastic table topics session where each student had to speak for 1-2 minutes on the given table topic. Faculty members are curating classes from the institute’s spacious classrooms some of which have been temporarily converted into studios and equipped with the technology required to conduct online classes through Microsoft Teams platform. Faculty members have access to the studios as per their convenience. Course material, assignments and submissions are shared by faculty members and students alike, through the online medium. On the commencement of the online classes in the wake of the pandemic, Prof. Irfan Mirza, Director/Principal, VMSIIHE remarked “We are living in unusual times which calls for unusual measures. We have been gearing up for in the past few weeks conducting training sessions with faculty and adopting practices which allow us to adapt to this new normal in education. We look forward to resume classroom-based learning once the restrictions are lifted.”