'Our Vision Is To Be Thought Leader In Industrial Engineering'

BW Businessworld's Brij Pahwa spoke to Prof Ashok K. Pundir, Dean (Student Affairs), National Institute of Industrial Engineering(NITIE).

NITIE is one of the oldest institutes in its field though it hasn’t still cracked the top ten B-Schools of India list. Where do you think is the gap and how can it be bridged?
NITIE not being able to crack the top 10 B school list is a misplaced notion as we have continuously been in the top 10 among B schools in most of the rankings published till 2013. Even in the BW rankings we were placed 5th in 2013.

We have not been aggressive in marketing ourselves and I believe that the rankings do not do justice to NITIE’s actual standing amongst peers. This fact is recognized by the industry which is why we have such stellar placements year after year. Recently, NITIE undertook an exercise to review its past, assess its current state and plan for its future. The institution has undergone a lot of transformation in terms of infrastructure, providing students with facilities at par with the top IIMs. Hence, we are sure that we will surely get back to top echelons where we belong.

Can today’s B School education in India challenge the disruption in the field?
If we look at the business scenario around us and compare it with how it used to be, say a decade earlier, we will see a vast difference. The disruption which we are facing is not limited to any single vertical, instead it has changed the entire dynamics of how our industries work. Our traditional structured learning needs to be replaced by approaches where we learn on the go. And in this, we believe our institution is heading towards the right direction.

We, at NITIE also believe that entrepreneurial spirit will pave the way for disruptive growth and hence have introduced the policy of deferred placements and the results so far have been encouraging going by the number of startups NITIE students are opening.

How big is the 'dearth of faculty' problem in India and what do you think is the solution to the same?
Most of India's premium institutes now have vacancies of about 40%. At NITIE we have been successful in maintaining a good faculty to student ratio of 1:16. We have also recruited twenty distinguished faculties in the past three years who have completed their doctorate degrees from renowned institutes like IISc Bangalore and IITs.

Getting talented faculty is a difficult task due to the non-availability of quality PhDs and lower compensation packages in comparison to corporates. Improving the doctoral programs in the country and increasing pay packages for the faculty and hiring experienced people from the industry can bridge this gap. Also, providing opportunities for faculty to go on global exchange programs can incentivize them to join government-run institutes.

What are current B School placement trends and do you see any improvement in the future or are we heading towards saturation?
The macroeconomic situations do have some bearing on the placements but if you see the general trend in top B schools in India placements have not been a problem. Even during the 2008 economic crisis NITIE gave excellent placements across various sectors. As the country races forward into the next phase of growth, there is very high need of quality talent and NITIE is a surely a place where industry comes to find the future leaders. At NITIE, compared to the previous year there was an increase of 17% in our average salary with highest salaries increasing by as much as 50%. Also, our recently concluded summer placements saw a tremendous response from the industry.

Finally, where do you see NITIE in the next five years?
Our vision is to be the thought leader in Industrial Engineering education and research, and partner in the manufacturing renaissance of the nation. In conjunction with our goal of expanding and deepening our industry outreach and foreign immersion programs we have started signing MoUs with institutes abroad like Ecole de Centralle, Lille and many others like IITs in the country as well.

We are already ahead of others in our efforts to embrace e-governance and digital platforms to create a smart campus. We are working hard to integrate industrial consultancy and sponsored research outcomes with our curriculum. I also see NITIE developing into a hub for entrepreneurs and the signs are there with four startups coming out of the institute in the last year itself.