EEI, Hyderabad Organised Webinar on “Professional Competence of Rural Development Advisors” on 20th May 2022 by Em. Prof. Dr. Martin Mulder, Netherlands.

EEI, Hyderabad as a part of Society of Extension Professionals (SEP) Webinar series organized 5thwebinar on “Professional Competence of Rural Development Advisors” on 20th May 2022 from 3.00 to 5.30pm. The webinar was delivered by Em. Prof. Dr. Martin Mulder, Chair, Academic Board of Salta Higher Education, the Netherlands Emeritus Professor and Head of the Dept. of Education and Competence Studies, Wageningen University, the Netherlands Past Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, Owner-Director of MM Consultancy for Education and Training. Dr. V. Sudharani, Director of Extension, PJTSAU, Dr S. M. Khalekar, Joint Director (Training), DoE, DoAC & FW, MoA & FW GOI, Dr Vijayaraghavan, Former Joint Director and Head of the Extension division, IARI, Dr. K. Ponnusamy, Head division of Extension, NDRI, Karnal, Dr. Mahesh Chander, Professor and Head, IVRI, New Delhi other scientists from ICAR, EEI faculty, academicians, students from different Universities and retired stalwarts took part in the webinar. 62 participants took part in the webinar actively. Dr. R. Vasantha, Professor, EEI and member, SEP invited all the delegates to the webinar by extending a warm welcome to the august gathering. Dr. M. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Director, EEI, Hyderabad and General Secretary, SEP in his introductory remarks enlightened the participants on activities and importance of SEP in building the capacities of extension functionaries. Dr.V.Ravinder Naik, Assoc. Professor, Dept. of Agril. Extension Education, College of Agriculture, R’nagar, Hyderabad introduced the speaker and appraised the august gathering about the arduous efforts made by the emeritus professor on application of the concept of competence in the fields of vocational education, training and entrepreneurship education in a small business context, professional competencies in open innovation teams etc which helped in elevating the Extension subject. Addressing the distinguished gathering, Prof. Dr. Martin Mulder, speaker portrayed key lessons learnt over 30 years of his experience in academia on publishing research in scholarly journals and assessment of research output. He also explained important aspects in the field of competence such as 5 Component Future Competence model (5CFC), theories which are relevant for Rural Advisory Professionals, competencies needed for life, VUCA world and CSR, Global challenges and transformation of the agrifood complex, transformation of Agriculture in Netherlands, Multifunctional farming and use of space, Nitrogen emission reduction policy, Thomas Lans – Farming – Entrepreneurship, Eghe Osagie – CSR Competence etc. Dr Martin finally concluded the webinar by suggesting several research areas for student research. He resolved all the queries raised by audience seeking clarifications on competency based trainings, Privatization of extension work in various countries, quantification of competency frameworks, Appreciative inquiry on the performance improvement etc. Webinar was organized under the supervision of Dr. M. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Director, EEI, Hyderabad and General Secretary, SEP and moderated by Dr. R. Vasantha, Professor, EEI and member, SEP. The webinar came to an end with the vote of thanks proposed by Dr.V.Ravinder Naik, Assoc. Professor. and member, SEP..T