Dean Speak: Interview with Dr. Devanath Tirupati of (AMSoM) Ahmedabad University’s Amrut Mody School of Management

1. How does your academic background and varied experience equip you to spearhead the innovative programs you have initiated?

My academic experience which spans over a period of 30 years across some of the most reputed business schools globally has obviously played a significant role in my administrative tenure. Having observed as well as initiated some of the best practices in business schools world over, the key challenge has been to pick up the right practices to be developed or applied given the local context of the b-school.

2. What opportunities are there for AMSoM to operate on the global stage?

We aspire to become one of the most reputed b-schools in the world. With emphasis on quality over quantity, our school size enables us to focus on certain niche areas of management such as Innovation and Entrepreneurship. We also believe that students should be provided with global exposure, which is also where we can differentiate from a lot of other b-schools. To achieve this, we have a two-fold strategy to associate with the global leaders both internally and institutionally. At the institutional level, we have actively focused on collaborations which help us achieve strategic synergy. We are already operating at a global stage in terms of affiliations with Olin School; Judge Business School – Cambridge University, UK; KEO University, Japan. Some of Ahmedabad University’s other programs and centers have also collaborated with reputed universities in the world. These include – Venture Studio’s collaboration with Stanford University and Heritage Management’s collaboration with University of Valladolid.

To ensure that the students in the class benefit from our global collaboration, some of the most globally reputed faculty members are on board with us in varying capacities, as adjunct faculty, guest faculty and visiting faculty handling classroom sessions, conducting workshops and giving talks. To name a few, we have had Prof. Ramakrishna Velamuri of China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) teaching Entrepreneurship and also in the capacity of being an Adjunct Professor, Dr. John Camillus of University of Pittsburgh teaching Strategic Management, Dr. Shailendra Vyakarnam, Cranfield School of Management and Dr. Chintan Vaishnav of MIT.

3. What are the qualities you look for in an applicant when shortlisting for your final selections?

At AMSoM, we look for students who exhibit skills of becoming adept managers and become responsible managers in a true sense. Other than the objective aspects of Academic Background and Aptitude, we ascertain candidate’s leadership skills, creativity skills and business acumen. The quality of management education can be leveraged with emphasis on academic excellence and rigor. Further, open-mindedness and keenness to learn are some of the other attributes which we look for in a candidate.

4. What are the top challenges that you are currently working to solve for your institute this year?

Having joined AMSoM recently as Dean, the main areas of focus for future are improving the overall quality of programs and activities beyond where we stand at present. This typically requires a fine balance between the demand and supply side of a management school, viz. recruiting faculty members who are highly reputed and possess expertise in teaching and research. Also, we would like to emphasize on quality of students over quantity by selecting students who possess the right attitude, skills and knowledge.