What are the top challenges that you want to solve today for your institution?
- To identify the sunrise and rapidly expanding sectors /Sub-sectors of the economy and industry and simultaneously evolve and deliver state of the art learning modules by updating critical hardware and software available in-house and through outsourced agencies for empowering students to meet the business challenges.
- To reach out to diverse, multi-disciplinary and cosmopolitan student community so as to handpick high quality students who possess the passion for excellence, have capacity to put in disciplined and sustained extended hours of work and academic rigour, so that such student community will uphold and enhance our premium brand of education.
- To identify, sustain and continuously develop premium faculty who possess the scholastic strength and keen eye for knowledge application and enhancement, balancing academic rigour with care, concern and compassion of the student community and society to achieve and sustain high level of performance in the market place.
Would you choose to be called an academic or an administrator? Why?
I believe the term ‘Director’ is appropriately chosen to cover the role of the head of an academic institution. It is for the ‘Director’ to strike a balance between academics and administration so as to evolve, build and sustain a platform and an environment where knowledge streams converge to deliver high quality learning systems so as to achieve a fusion of theories with application through participatory learning experiences, ensuring resolution of market challenges.
The principal task of the head of the academic institution is to build and sustain an ethos of excellence where scholastic innovation facilitates seamless delivery of learning modules which will empower the students to confidently face the business dynamics challenged by the VUCA syndrome (V = Volatility / U = Uncertainty / C = Complexity / A = Ambiguity),
It is a common knowledge that academicians often build theories and laws, while administrators apply them to a given situation.
How would you want to solve the problem of Quality Faculty in Management Education? Can we follow a framework for the same?
Quality according to Deming is defined by the satisfaction of the customers. It is multidimensional and dynamic, always seeking to deliver excellence in an ever changing market place. Invariably the faculty chosen by adhering AICTE/ Mumbai University standards, holds the foundations of the building blocks of management education. This needs to be supplemented, augmented, injected and facilitated by continuously exposing them to the demands of the market place on one hand and access to high quality knowledge hardware, software tools and systems, to supplement the academic rigour of the institution. This is possible through the learning environment offered by our institution and engaging the faculty and students to face the market challenges with courage and confidence.
Through a mix of classroom teaching and research along with sharing of knowledge through workshops and faculty development programmes, the faculty is motivated to achieve academic excellence for linking up the classroom learning with real life business situations. By rewarding teaching excellence, the management is able to raise the inspirational level of faculty and equal opportunity ensures the fair framework of excellence.
What’s your biggest achievement as a part of this Institution?
A thought that over 7500 MET management alumni are living up to the expectations of the market place from the windswept outpost of New Zealand, rubbing their shoulders with the hard-nosed professionals in Mumbai, Dubai, Antwerp, Moscow or New York across the time zones, gives us the biggest satisfaction in our journey of one and a half decades. Their continued interest in academics and placements at MET and their willingness to engage themselves with the activities at the institute is our biggest achievement.
The courage and the capacity of the students to face unique academic and life challenges continues to inspire me and at times even surprise me. The successful completion of, “Paperless Committee Project” followed by conferment of SPECIAL CONSULTATIVE STATUS by UNECOSOC (NYK) in 2003, students Tsunami Relief work in Kerala in 2004, Bihar Flood Relief operation by students in 2008 and the latest response to Uttaranchal Cloudburst tragedy (2013) and many more of the missions successfully completed by MET Schools of Management.
According to you, what’s the ideal profile of a candidate whom you would accept into your program?
While trying to match the DNA of MBA, we have hit upon the following star constellation – NAVARATNA MANAGER
Inherent capacity to put in hard work both in academics and field work helps shape the long distant player in management and barring surprises the Engineers/Pharma and other professional graduates, abound in these virtues and hence get themselves selected ahead of the other streams. Ultimately one who joins the programme does get group support and thus passes the mark of an ideal candidate.
The sophisticated EQ, IQ, SQ based tests available to us help in identifying the correct match and large number of applicants helps us to select the best. In any case every year, we undertake to fine tune the inputs and learning modules to suite rapid absorption and assimilation by the student community. Undoubtedly constant counselling and extensive lateral learning opportunities help in shaping the candidates but at the entrance itself care is taken to select those who come closest to the ideal profile of a MBA student with proficiency in IT/ e-learning tools tipping the scales in one’s favour.