Dr. Hiral Shah has been working as the Principal of Ananya Institute of Science, Kalol, Gujarat. She has done B. Sc. In Microbiology and Vocational Biotechnology from Gujarat University, M.Sc. in Microbiology from Bhavnagar University, Ph.D. in Microbiology from HNGU, Patan and PG Diploma in Clinical Research from ICRI. Her research areas are Fermentation technology, Agricultural Biotechnology and Clinical Research. She has an amazing 22 years of experience as an Administrator and Academician in the education and research sector. Also, she has published more than 20 research papers in various national and international journals. Apart from all this, she has participated in 60+ regional, national and international conferences, seminars and workshops and has also participated in faculty development courses. She is a Member of Microbiologist Society of India, The association of Microbiologists, India and Gujarat Principals group association. Throughout her professional journey, she has developed different SOPs for Laboratory Establishment, conducted online and offline examinations, organized workshops and seminars on campus and has been the Coordinator of Gardhichar Vidyapith or HNGU from 2015-2017.

Kalol Institute and Research Center

What are the key factors that keep you connected with the education sector?

"My curious attitude of doing research on various topics and challenging nature of this field has kept me associated here"

The education sector has always attracted me due to its challenging nature because I am passionate about developing innovative ideas in the teaching and research field. I have been fortunate to have worked in various positions, both as a teacher and as an administrator in this sector. Hence, I believe my thirsty attitude of exploring things and the happiness and satisfaction I receive after educating my students and interacting with them are the biggest factors behind my association with this sector.

Being the Principal of Kalol Institute and Research Center, what is your philosophy of leadership?

"Leaderships for me is all about empowering others to make a vision a reality"

In my opinion, Leadership is the capacity of an individual to translate a vision into reality by collaboratively working with people. And leadership doesn't mean you have the power to do anything because it's a very responsible job and the growth of many people is closely linked with how you deal with them. Also we believe in the best and our faculties members and all other staff members work as a team to fulfill the vision and mission of our institution and whatever tasks are completed in college, everyone has their share in it and for me every single person is equally important. 

How do you strategize the key programs for the marketing and administration of your institute?

"By organizing discussion sessions and seminars on a regular basis"

As a Principal of the college, I am responsible for the sustainable development of institute quality and as society demands are evolving along with changing world and technologies, so we need a more robust system in place which can address today's world requirements and also helps us to improve our teaching methodologies and lastly can give more practical exposure to students so that they can become an innovative individual. So, to make people aware about us, our programs and facilities, success stories and achievements, we keep organizing seminars and open house discussion sessions on various subjects. And for our institute's growth, it's super important that I keep track of our faculty's needs also in case they require any kind of training programs or sessions to upgrade their skills. Because I believe that developing the human resources on a continual basis is very important for an institution to rise up to the challenges that changes in industry and economy pose, and to sustain amidst competition with relevance to current needs. The only challenging part of my job I would say is to constantly check the interests of our institution and current expectations of industry. But I have a liberal and open-minded management team to support. 

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In your experience, how will the introduction of the National Education Policy improve the education sector?

"National Education Policy will surely transform the education sector and give more robust career opportunities to students"

As we all know that India’s education system is quite different from other countries as our system is somehow straightforward and a student can only achieve his/her education in one particular subject or stream. But this has been an old story now and the introduction of new education policy has reformed our teaching format, way of delivering education and have modified fundamentals also. And this policy will definitely give a boost to students' career as they will be able to choose options as per their interest, passion and societal needs. And the most amazing part of this policy is that different streams can be merged together and students have the flexibility to study subjects of cross domains as well, and that is the reason more students are getting attracted towards it. 

How does the curriculum of your college ensure the best practices of industry? 

"We supplement student’s knowledge by organizing workshops, hands-on training sessions and professional visits"

Our college is affiliated to Gujarat University, hence follows the curriculum designed and updated by them, so we have very limited scope of modification in it. But to make it more industry oriented, we keep analyzing the industrial trends, development and requirements from time to time. And to educate students beyond hard-coded curriculum, industry interaction sessions and guest lectures are organized by us on a regular basis. Apart from this, workshops, hand-on training programs and industrial visits etc. are conducted in collaboration with industry experts and eminent Academicians and we try our best to implement the suggestions given by industry people by improving our educational delivery models and teaching methodologies. Last but not the least, we have good reputed, experienced and skilled people in our governing body to help us in constant upgradation of our curriculum. 

How is your institute more welcoming to students of different races or economic backgrounds? 

"We provide scholarships to eligible and needy students and also arrange special training programs for each"

We treat every student equally, give them the same respect and provide them with a friendly learning environment and opportunities in college irrespective of their caste, color, religion, economy and personal background. In addition to this, scholarships and other benefits are also provided to eligible students and extra classes and personality development sessions are arranged by us from time to time as per requirements of students. 

What are your roles and responsibilities for the Institute and students?

"I am responsible for supervising all activities and ensuring a disciplined environment in college"

Being the Principal of college, I am responsible to supervise and monitor every single activity and event of our college. And making sure students, teachers and staff members follow all rules of the institute and stay disciplined, ensuring safety of students when they are on any industrial tours or picnics also comes under the scope of my responsibilities, because I firmly believe that just sitting in a cabin or making ideas on paper can never help me to achieve greater results for my college. 

What do you think should be your college's top priority over the next 10 years? 

"We should focus on improving our educational practices and teach students about Entrepreneurship"

I firmly believe that our goals for upcoming years should be to develop our college campus by adopting hybrid learning aids in education, providing flexibility in online education systems, and increasing career opportunities inside as well as outside campus. In addition to this, we should focus on organizing more Faculty and students development programs, knowledge exchange sessions along with events on startups and Entrepreneurship by collaborating with various industries and universities in order to give more practical exposure to teachers and students so that they can understand real-life business challenges and figure out their solutions. 

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What would you like people to know about your college that makes it different from others? 

"We not only deliver best quality and employment oriented education to students but work for their complete development"

Ananya Institute of Science is not only a Science College where focus is given on delivering only theoretical knowledge to students. But we also encourage students to regularly upgrade their skills through learning opportunities and training programs we organize for them and our main objective here is to develop students' overall personality development and inculcate best ethical values in them for society and nation growth. Apart from this, many co-curricular activities are arranged too to enhance their vision regarding life goals and provide directions to achieve it.

Any precious advice which you would like to give to the current youth and aspiring students? 

"Pay attention to your heart while taking important decisions of life and give your best in every work you do"

I would like to advise my dear students and ambitious youths of our society to listen to their heart and critically analyze their strengths and passion while choosing a career path. Also, promise yourself to excel in every work you do and don’t look for immediate security or shortcuts, because your every goal asks you to invest your sincere time and hard work. Also, don't forget that you are first a society person and a professional, so you have a greater share of responsibility towards society. Last but not the least, remember that your well being lies in the well being of all others around you.