“Success is possible only when you give your best try and forget the fear of failure”, opines Dr. Pradeep B. Mane

Interview by Yash Panchal

Dr. Pradeep B. Mane is currently working as the Principal of A.I.S.S.M.S. Institute of Information Technology, Pune. He holds his Bachelor’s & Master’s degree from Pune University and a doctorate degree from Bharati Vidyapeeth University. His bibliographical profile has been added in the 2010 Edition of Marquis Who’s Who in the World.

Dr. Mane’s teaching interests lie in Analog Communication, Digital Communication, Computer Networks, Mobile Communication, Wireless Network and Television Engineering. He has taught students at the graduate and postgraduate level. His research interests lie in Wireless Communication and Computer Network. He has authored and co-authored some books based on his fields of interests. He has been actively participating in seminars and workshops.

Dr. Mane has been honoured with the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan National Award for Best Engineering College Principal by ISTE, New Delhi in 2017 and the Best Principal of the year award by Computer Society of India, Mumbai in 2018.

Advantages of working in the education sector

While working in educational industry there are many advantages, I would like to mention few of them:

• It gives exposure to Manifold Perspectives, this job tends to interpret employees to a diverse variety of perspectives and different attitudes.
• Stable Scheduling of work according to the university planners.
• It gives personal gratification as this sector directly impacts the future of the count and gives a chance to inculcate knowledge in large groups of the aspirants.
• It gives relational collaborations as the education sector develops good associations with workfellows, students, and academic communal.

Building a positive culture in the Institute for students coming from various backgrounds

Positive and prolific learning atmospheres are key to student’s speculative, responsive and social success in the college

Unfortunately, in any sector, positive learning environments don't just come about on their own – they must be created.

There are ample of mechanisms that go into making a positive learning environment for students. The institute offers a climate of protection, where risk-taking is stimulated, there is open trustworthy conversation where trust and respect is nurtured.

The best time to start developing a positive learning environment among the students is during the first days, weeks, and months of the academic year, where we try to:

1. Make learning more relevant and practical by taking various interactive sessions with students.
2. Develop and follow a Code of Conduct.
3. Employ a positive action curriculum by including various industrial visits, technical and sports events.

A transformational leadership style

There is a good quote from Tom Peters, he states that “leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.”

My philosophy of leadership, in a nutshell, is developing a positive culture that my students, staff, and communal members be part of it, rather than finding ways to get escape from it. My leadership style by default is a concerted and holistic, yet it’s transformational.

Challenges faced by Dr. Mane while authoring his 6 books

After spending 24 years in this engineering education sector and 3 years in industrial sector, it becomes very obvious to impart the gained knowledge. For writing these books, I had used my   vast theoretical and practical experience and knowledge of the subjects. There were no specific challenges apart from unavailability of resources in early days.

Giving your knowledge for betterment of understanding of the students in terms of books is indeed a good experience.

Advice for engineering aspirants

Engineers are technological backbones of any country. The aspirants should inculcate the holistic approach while perusing this education. They should be:

• More curious while learning.
• Be adaptable to welcome newer technologies.
• Failures are inevitable in every sector but consider this as an opportunity to learn and grow.
• Chase your dreams; fear is natural for everyone but success is only possible if you give your best try.

Ensuring best practice of industry through placement opportunities

• The curriculum ensures that the best practices of industry are taught to the students by including them in the syllabus.
• The curriculum gives the students multiple opportunities to practice and demonstrate what they learn in a variety of contexts.
• It also allows students to experience problem-solving and critical thinking in the situations that are drawn from their personal experiences and real-world applications.
• The curriculum emphasizes interdisciplinary connections and integration which helps them to learn concepts like working in a team, to enhance leadership quality, communication skills.
• The curriculum also ensures that the engineering students develop lifelong learning skills.
• The placement opportunities also help the students to gain the employability skills. The employability skills include:

Soft skills such as communication skills, aptitude, group discussions, manners and etiquettes, foreign languages, SWOT analysis and many more.

Read more about placements opportunities available at A.I.S.S.M.S. Institute of Information Technology

Future plans for the institute

• Promote and support institution readiness to adopt present and Future technological development.
• Enhance interdisciplinary research opportunities to impact the quality of life for the region.
• Increase revenue opportunities for faculty and students.
• Upgrade teaching-learning process to create impact.
• Enhance student and faculty capabilities to work with world-class institution/universities for achieving academic autonomy.

Read more about faculty available at A.I.S.S.M.S. Institute of Information Technology

Adaptability of AISSMS IOIT in terms of changing learning practices in the education industry

The institute is very much adaptable in terms of changing the learning practices in the education industry which reflects from the institute’s quality policy.

“We commit ourselves to provide quality education and enhance our student’s quality through continues improvement in our teaching learning processes.”

Importance of time management for Dr. Mane

Time management in my life:

•  Make to-do lists in the evening for the next day.
• Set a time limit to each task.
• Decide priorities.
• Zero pending tasks.

I follow the principle of William Shakespeare “Better three hours too soon, than a minute too late.” Therefore, ”BE ON TIME”