Interview by Yash Panchal

AISSMS

 

Dr. Abhijit Manchankar is the Director at AISSMS Institute of Management. His educational qualifications include BE (Electronics), MBA (Marketing) and Ph.D. (Marketing). He possesses an experience of 22 years including 6 years in corporate industry and 16 years in teaching. His areas of expertise are Marketing Management & Research Methodology.

Dr. Manchankar is a recognized Ph.D. guide of Savitribai Phule Pune University under Faculty of Management. He has his 15 papers published in reputed journals. He has participated in 50 conferences/seminars/workshops. He has also conducted many training programs for Academicians, Researchers, Entrepreneurs, etc.

Dr. Abhijit Manchankar talking about his 16 years of experience in the education industry

I have three degrees to my credit namely – B.E. (Electronics), M.B.A. (Marketing), Ph.D. (Marketing). I have a blend of experience in corporate and education sector. I have 6 years of industrial experience and more than 16 years’ experience in the education sector. My experience in education sector includes teaching, research, administration and quality improvement.

Education is a noble profession. The ultimate aim of education is to develop the holistic personality of students leading to employability enhancement or entrepreneurship development. The Education Industry strives to develop leading knowledge, required skills, appropriate attitude and revered values among students and transform them into responsible global citizens. The Education Sector is responsible for building human potential for bringing socio-economic development which makes it very special. As working in Education Sector is more fulfilling and satisfying than any other field hence it becomes the best industry to work in.

All India Shri Shivaji Memorial Society has a long legacy of 100 years and is well known for quality education and social welfare

It has unique culture and hence it is highly fulfilling to work with such an esteemed heritage group of institutes.

Experiential learning has made education understandable, meaningful, application oriented, interesting and enjoyable

I have participated in more than 50 seminars, conferences & workshops. I have published many research papers in reputed national and international journals. The seminars, workshops and conferences lead to professional development. The participation in such programs enriches knowledge and skills. I have learned emerging trends and latest practices in the corporate world by participating in such programs. It also helped in networking with academicians, corporate professionals, research scholars and management thinkers.

The publication of research papers has developed systematic thinking in solving problems. It has helped in crafting innovative ideas in overcoming challenges. All these have resulted in moving from the use of traditional teaching methods to experiential learning methods. Experiential learning has made education understandable, meaningful, application oriented, interesting and enjoyable.

A combination of democratic and participative leadership style

I strongly believe in ‘Democratic Style of Leadership’ and practice ‘Participative Style of Management’. The teaching and non-teaching staff members constitute a Team. I take the ideas, inputs and suggestions from all staff members during the meetings. Based on the suggestions given by the staff members, goals are decided and plans are made and implemented by working as a team. Being a leader my role is to understand the strengths of all staff members, inspire them and channelize their potential to realize the vision of the Institute.

As a leader, I strive hard to utilize the good qualities of staff members in a synergetic way for institutional development. For this purpose, conducive environment is created which focuses on mutual trust, respect, freedom in decision making, creative thinking, co-operation and teamwork. All these efforts have led to the passionate involvement of staff members in institutional development.

The institute persists to develop the skills of students as well as the faculty

The students and faculty members are the most important stakeholders for any educational institute.  Our Institute considers faculty and student development as the thrust area.

The faculty members of our institute are assets. For appreciation of this asset, our Institute organizes many professional development programs for the faculty members like – seminars, conferences, workshops, faculty development programs. The Institute has the best practice of organizing Internal Faculty Development Program (Internal FDP) every year for faculty members. The objective of Internal FDP is to inculcate the culture of knowledge sharing in order to foster the development of faculty members.

It provides a platform to the faculty members for knowledge collaboration and learning from peers. In these sessions, faculty members act as resource persons and share their expertise with other faculty members. The Institute encourages faculty members to participate in the professional development programs organized by other reputed institutions. The faculty members are continuously engaged in research and contribute towards the knowledge development. In addition to this, the Institute motivates faculty members to develop real life cases and publish the same in the form of ‘Management Case-lest Book’. All these efforts lead to faculty enrichment and improving teaching ability of faculty members.

The Institute strives hard to develop a holistic personality of the students. We craft valued corporate professionals by providing requisite knowledge, required skills, positive attitude and revered values to students. The Institute undertakes plethora of co-curricular activities Expert Sessions, Workshops, Seminars, Conferences, Industrial Visits, Entrepreneurship Development etc. The Institute organizes many extra-curricular activities like – cultural, sports etc. to develop the all-round personality of students.

The Institute undertakes extension activities like – Tree Plantation, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Blood Donation Camp, Activities for NGO’s, Health Check-up Camps etc. These activities sensitize students towards social issues and inculcate sense of social responsibility amongst them. The Institute has the best practices for student development. The Institute organizes ‘Specialization Club Competition’ which provides platform to the students to showcase their talent and acquire new skills. The Institute organizes ‘Cross Cultural Interface’ which makes the students aware about cultures and traditions of various countries and its impact on business operations. In addition to this, the Institute conducts ‘Soft Skill Training’ for students to enhance their employability and organize ‘Entrepreneurship Development’ activities to develop entrepreneurial ability.

It is essential for the education sector to adapt to the changes in the business environment

The educational sector is dynamic and undergoing sea of changes because of changes in the business environment. The business environment is volatile and uncertain. It is driven by globalization, technology revolutions, changing demographics, pressing social imperatives and environmental concerns. The business environment is spinning new opportunities as well as challenges. Sustainability itself has become a big challenge. Managers are required to be proactive enough to develop strategies for building a sustainable business.

Managers need to use ‘out of box’ thinking to craft innovative strategies. This change in the business environment has demanded new knowledge and skills from business managers. Hence, management education has undergone changes in last few years. The curriculum has enriched incorporating latest trends and business practices. The pedagogy has become student-centric and is focused on ‘Experiential Learning’ so as to develop the required skills and application-oriented mindset. The focus is shifting from employability enhancement to entrepreneurship development. Thus, it is important to adopt the changes in the educational sector to grow over a period of time.

The growth and placement opportunities available at AISSMS IOM

AISSMS Institute of Management (IOM) has a Training and Placement Cell. The Cell strives hard to organize training programs aimed at enhancing the employability of students, develops strong linkages with the business organizations and provides placement assistance to students. The Institute has developed strong bond with highly reputed business organizations. Alumni of the Institute are working in highly reputed organizations at good positions and contributing towards the success of their organizations.

Some of the Alumni have become successful entrepreneurs and started their own enterprise. Alumni Association of the Institute includes alumni working at higher positions in reputed corporate organizations and successful entrepreneurs. The Alumni Association of the Institute is very active and also contributes towards institutional development including placement. All these efforts lead towards providing lucrative career opportunities for students. The Institute also has ‘Entrepreneurship Development Centre’ which conducts variety of activities to inculcate entrepreneurial culture among students.

Our faculty members use experiential learning while teaching to make learning meaningful

The Institute strives hard to develop valued corporate professionals. The Institute is affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University and offers MBA Program. The curriculum is revised by the University, keeping in mind the emerging trends in management and corporate requirements. The Institute differentiates itself from other institutes based on the pedagogy used to deliver the program. The faculty members use experiential learning while teaching. The faculty members use activity based learning to make education meaningful, interactive, interesting and enjoyable.

The Institute organizes a plethora of curricular, co-curricular, extra-curricular and extension activities for the students to develop their overall personality. Few activities which makes the Institute differentiate from other institutes are – soft skill training, entrepreneurship development, specialization club, cross-cultural activity. The soft skill training is conducted for MBA I and II year students which focuses on industry required skills enhancing their employability.

The entrepreneurship development activities inculcate entrepreneurial spirit among students encouraging them to become entrepreneurs

The specialization club activities provide a platform to the students to showcase their talent and acquire new skills. The cross-cultural activities orient students towards cultures and traditions of various countries and their impact on business operations in this era of globalization.

Goals for the institution for the next five years

The Institute is a proud part of All India Shri Shivaji Memorial Society which is a heritage group of Institutes. The Institute has clearly stated its vision and mission. The Institute has set up its goals for the next five years. The Institute would strive hard to strengthen research activities. The Institute would focus on conducting live research projects for the benefits of the business organizations and society at large. The Institute would like to launch its research journal to provide a platform to the faculty members to publish their original and quality research papers.The Institute plans to build and nurture linkages with highly reputed business organization for mutual benefit.

The Institute plans to start new collaborative programs as per the requirement of the industry to enhance the employability of the students. The Institute would like to focus on training and consultancy services for the corporate organizations. The Institute plans to improve the quantity and quality of placements. The Institute would like to create complete eco-system for encouragement and support of prospective and existing entrepreneurs. The Institute would also like to develop linkages with non-government organizations for conducting collaborative social activities.

The growing economy of India has myriad of opportunities for the youth

Indian economy has undergone a sea of change in the last few years. Liberalization, privatization and globalization have revolutionized the Indian economy. Indian economy is growing at a handsome growth rate of around 8% and GDP has crossed $ 2.5 Trillion. Presently, Indian economy is the 6th largest economy in the world and is expected to become the 3rd largest economy in near future. India has become one of the most preferred destinations of world class companies. Thus, the present state of Indian economy is bright and forecast is even brighter. All these developments have resulted in lucrative employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for the youths.

India is a country which has a demographic advantage that soon it will become a country with highest number of young population. Youth are going to play key role in shaping the future of India and making it a superpower. The youth today, are very dynamic, talented, versatile and energetic. The youth needs to retrospect and explore themselves.

The youth should do SWOC analysis i.e. strengths, weakness, opportunities and challenges.

The youth should focus on developing holistic personality. Holistic personality can be build by learning latest knowledge, acquiring industry required skills, developing positive attitude and inculcating revered values. Based on the SWOC analysis, goals can be set and then plans can be made for the achievement of the same. Today, there are golden opportunities for both employment as well as entrepreneurship. Hence, youth should not focus on becoming successful corporate professional but explore possibility to become successful entrepreneur.