Encourage Innovations & Create Good Citizenships
Monica Khanna, Director, KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research, talks of the institute’s mission to encourage innovations and create good citizenships, in an interaction with BW Businessworld.
Edited excerpts:
How has the overall business landscape changed in the last few months?
The overall business landscape has changed owing to the emergence of new industry verticals and startups that are riding on the advances and applications of technology to traditional sectors, the rapid development of new business models based on human-computer interface, intense disruptions and competitions, integration of rural and urban markets owing to mobile and internet penetration, blurring of knowledge boundaries and the requirements of agility and adaptability along with emotional maturity as new business skill sets. Therefore, the major impact of the changed business landscape will be visible in the form of a paradigm shift in the manner in which business leaders have to approach their strategy formulations. Technology has become an important enabler for businesses and has redefined customer journeys while enhancing consumer expectations for personalisation and customisation of products and services. From touch and feel to high-end experiential marketing, to a complete online experience, customer experiences will have to be readdressed.
Has your institution been able to rise to the challenge these changes pose?
K J Somaiya Institute of Management, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, works with a mission to foster a spirit of inquiry, enable livelihoods, encourage innovations and create good citizenships.
The institute has evolved, offering core MBA, domain specific and multi-disciplinary MBA programmes in step with the requirements of the various sectors of the industry and growth opportunities in the economy. However, due to the rapid changes in the business landscape, the institute has carried out intense internal deliberations and discussions on the future of management education and how it should be delivered to incoming students.
As an outcome of this, the institute is recasting its current niche stand-alone MBA programmes under one umbrella to offer a unique MBA programme from AY 2022 that gives students an opportunity to carve their own professional and knowledge profiles through the selection of five major and 11 minor areas of study – selecting from a wide range of bouquet of subjects. The programme architecture from AY 2022 will comprise the two- year full-time MBA programme (with choice of major and minor areas of study) along with multi-disciplinary MBA Healthcare Management and MBA Sports Management as stand-alone programmes.
Are you implementing hybrid learning?
The institute took a call on switching to e-learning mode within a week of the start of the lockdown period. The syllabus, including internal assessments, was completed via online learning platforms like Zoom, Google Hangouts, Google Classroom, etc. group presentations were converted into practical work from home assignments. Pedagogy was modified so that students may understand the concepts without the physical presence of a faculty. Special doubt clearing sessions were arranged online. WhatsApp groups, Google Classrooms and emails were used for formal communications to send out notes, submissions and various other academic purposes. As the situations worsened, all the trimester exams were conducted online. We have fully adopted the online mode of teaching and various new technologies have been deployed by the institute which helped the students in many ways.
What steps are being taken to upgrade and reskill faculties?
The institute has a mechanism to continually explore new tools/ technologies for the online teaching-learning process. Faculty members are encouraged to experiment with these tools and share their experiences with all. The institute has a Faculty Development Programme (FDP) policy to support the training of faculty members on various online teaching-learning processes. Also, the institute regularly provides training for all faculty members on using various online teaching tools such as Zoom, MS teams, etc. To support the online teaching-learning process, the institute has made necessary arrangements to provide remote access to our digital library and information resources, including remote Bloomberg access for faculty and students. The institute is also in the process of upgrading its classrooms.
Do you have industry tie-ups for internships and placements for your students?
On a sustained basis, at K J Somaiya Institute of Management, we strive to align students’ focus to be in line with the demands of the dynamic corporate environment. The aim is to prepare them for participating in the placement processes and getting these opportunities converted into job offers. This helps the recruiting panel of companies to zoom in on candidates who are a near-perfect fit for the job profiles on offer. While the institute puts in a lot of emphasis on assignments, curriculum, pedagogy, we also encourage our students to develop and evolve their purpose and objective.
What role can EdTechs play in management education?
The landscape of industry needs has become dynamic and demands continuous acquisition and upgrading of skill sets by MBA graduates to become industry ready, survive and succeed. EdTech enables management institutes to cater for student requirements by complementing generic management education pedagogy with individual focused technology-enabled resources.
How have government initiatives and programmes impacted B-schools?
The New Education Policy encourages freedom of choice for students. Several government initiatives also enable funded research projects and knowledge enhancements and training of the faculty. These initiatives will go a long way to improve the quality of management education overall.
How could Indian institutions be on par with the education system of developed nations?
The educational institutes are knowledge repositories, consisting of highly qualified and experienced faculty. For the Indian education system to come on par with the educational system of developed nations, our educational institutions must convert into learning organisations. It is of utmost importance that faculty continuously upgrade and reskill themselves with the latest knowledge and technology-based pedagogical and research tools.
