Renu Bala has been working as the Vice Principal of Himalayan Group of Professional Institutions, Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh. She has done M. Sc. Nursing (Community Health Nursing) and has 6+ years of Teaching experience. Apart from this, she has published more than 20 research papers in numerous reputed national and international journals including Scopus, UGC and Indexed Journal. She has also attended, participated and co-ordinated in 25+ National and International nursing Conferences, Seminars and workshops. She is a life time Member of TNAI, NTA and International Association of Oncology.

Himalayan Group of Professional Institutions

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

"Satisfaction and happiness which this field offers to me has helped to stay connected with the education sector"

There are actually several factors which have helped me to stay associated with the education sector and the very first factor is the satisfaction and happiness I receive here after educating students. In addition to this, being in the education sector gives me immense opportunities to learn new skills and upgrade my knowledge and the education sector also gives job security. Also I feel highly proud when my students achieve new heights of success and make sure they have a promising future for themselves and lastly as I am directly involved in shaping up the future of students, so that feeling is totally unmatchable. 

Being the Vice-Principal of Himalayan Group of Professional Institutions, what is your philosophy of leadership? 

"A true leader is the one who knows how to collaborate with people of different mindset and ensure they put their best in work"

Leadership in my opinion is all about collaborating with people of different mindset and expertise and inspiring them to do their best. And if I talk about my approach, I am very direct and collaborate regularly with my team members for delegating tasks, improving employee satisfaction, ensuring professionalism in all my work and making sure everyone has mutual respect for others. Apart from this, I regularly interact with my team to motivate and support them to be an integral person, develop emotional intelligence in them and make sure they know I care. Nursing is a service to humanity and hence our college maintains all worldly ethical values and standards of excellence in education, teaching and training.

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

"We make best use of our social media handles and college website to tell our success stories to outer world"

For us, finding effective study habits is the first tip on this list because it is essential to build a strong foundation for success in Himalayan Institute of Nursing. And to stay connected with the outside world and make them aware about achievements, success stories and programs, we use online advertisements and our social media accounts along with college magazines and also organize free health camps and school visits on a regular basis.

In your experience, what benefits students can gain from studying here in your institution?

"Students will get finest quality education and practical exposure here in our college"

Nurses are very essential for the proper functioning of healthcare systems. They help with administering drugs and treatments, support patients who deal with physical and emotional pain and can provide comfort to the worried families and loved ones. And students after joining us to pursue their dream courses will achieve excellent education, confidence to confront cut-throat competitive world as we inculcate best skills in them. 

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How does the curriculum of your college ensure the best practice of the institute? 

"Our college curriculum is compliant with best educational practices and we supplement it through value based courses from time to time"

Our college conducts thorough research and analysis of educational and industrial trends and society needs while designing and updating the curriculum of our college. And we also take our stakeholders suggestions and inputs to understand and explore the issues involved in professionalism as Nurses and our teachers then plan the teaching schedule in advance and also use various pedagogies so that the syllabus could be completed on time and end goals could be achieved. Apart from all this, to supplement the knowledge, additional courses are also offered to students and a wide variety of events and competitions including quiz competition, community development programs, health awareness camps and programs such as rally, seminars and exhibition are organized by us on a regular basis and our students also participate in National and International Health Day activities and professional development programs to strengthen their knowledge and practical exposure.

How is your Himalayan Group of Professional Institutions more welcoming to students of different races or economic backgrounds? 

"We motivate underprivileged childrens to join us to pursue their dream courses"

Our college truly cherishes the diversity of students that we have in our college by providing equal learning opportunities to everyone. And we also encourage underprivileged childrens to take advantage of our academic support programs and nursing courses. 

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

"I am responsible for complete administration and supervision of college activities"

Being the Vice Principal of College, I am primarily responsible for preparing course materials and syllabus of subjects, designing homework and assignments for students, evaluating and grading students' class work, laboratory clinic work, assignments and papers, and collaborating with colleagues to address teaching and research issues. In addition to this, I am responsible for planning, evaluating and revising curricula and educational methodologies and practices of our college, assessing clinical education and patients needs using a variety of methods, advising students on academic and vocational curricula and career issues, maintaining student’s attendance record, grades and other required records. Apart from all this, maintaining scheduled office hours to assist students to supervise them about internships, projects and research work, conducting research in a particular field, publishing findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media, participating in students recruitment, registration and placement activities, working in collaboration with academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters and academic issues, coordinating training programs with other universities, clinics, hospitals, health agencies or vocational schools, general administration and overall supervision of teaching programmes, students welfare, health and security services, teaching staff, organizing training programs for students and faculty members, recruiting teachers, participating in teaching programs and supervising library services also comes under the scope of my responsibilities. 

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

"Our priority for upcoming years should be to collaborate with International universities and improve our courses"

In my opinion, we should emphasize on strengthening and centralizing courses of our college in order to provide a promising career to students in the Nursing field and help them achieve academic excellence through simulation based and better nursing education. And we should also focus on collaborating with international universities for better E-learning opportunities and arranging smart classes for students so as to produce skilled Nurses for hospitals.

When you first came to HGPI, what was your vision for the institute and how far have you come along in implementing them? 

"Providing best quality, easily affordable and employment oriented education to students was my goal"

When I joined this amazing institution, my aim was to provide the best quality nursing education to students that is compliant with latest technologies, cost-effective and improve students performance in rendering comprehensive, compassionate and holistic care and treatment to patients. In addition to this, I wanted to establish a Center of Excellence for nursing education at international level through quality research and development. And to make my objectives true, all the faculties of our institute are providing tremendous support to me and we all are committed to deliver education of highest standards to students through integration of theory and practice that reflects the current needs and trends of the society. 

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

"We offer scholarships to needy students and best practical exposure to all students"

Our School of Nursing provides scholarships to the unprivileged students so that they can gain optimum knowledge and build their career. In addition to this, we regularly organize numerous cultural and sports events to help students grow on both personal and professional level, because we believe co-curricular activities are very important along with studies. Also, we have established a homely environment for the students with Wifi enabled Campus, Gym, neat and clean Hostel facilities with hygienic food, indoor and outdoor activities. Last but not least, we conduct industrial visits, educational trips, cultural events, youth fests, community visits and proper Hospital Training for students from time to time.

What do you see as your college's greatest strengths?

"Our college values, flexible teaching approach and our people makes us strong"

I firmly believe that the main source of our college strength is our mission and vision of providing quality and employment oriented education to students, our honesty and Trustworthiness for students, teachers and staff members, our reliability, flexibility and adaptability to adapt to new standards, requirements and technologies. In addition to this, our people and their skills, our collaboration with other reputed institutions and industries, latest technologies we use to deliver education to students, our management and leadership, self-discipline and growth mindset makes us strong.

What are some of the biggest challenges you see for Nursing education in general?

"Selection of right candidate for Nursing field and lack of qualified faculties are major issues"

The ultimate goal of Nursing service is to provide holistic care to the patient and also to render excellent education in all the government and private institutes. And in my opinion, the biggest challenge in front of institutions nowadays is selecting the right candidate, providing them with the right learning environment through experienced and learned teachers.

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

"Be a life-long learner, honest and humble towards others and do things you are passionate about"

I would like to advise my dear students to think before acting, because once they will analyze a situation carefully, they can save themselves from making critical mistakes or putting their life, education and freedom at risk. Hence, it is correctly said that thinking ability will safeguard you. Also, be humble and honest, do things which you are passionate about, never stop learning and be early for everything. In addition to this, choose clinicals that push you out of your comfort zone, celebrate even your small victories, believe in yourself and instead of consuming only theoretical knowledge, try to gather as much hands-on experience as you can get. Last but not the least, don't be afraid to ask questions, adopt smart study habits and don't restrict yourself to the books only, there are millions of things in the world to explore, only you need to ask questions. 

What are some plans that you are currently designing for international affairs and students of your institution?

"We are planning to collaborate with IELTS institute and enroll our students in UK institutes courses"

Our college is planning to collaborate with the IELTS Coaching Center for the purpose of improving communication skills in students and improving their overall personality. In addition to this, we are working really hard to enroll our Nursing students in RCNi (a subsidiary of Royal College of Nursing, UK) Continuous Professional Development Programme for Nurses. And the main aim is to give best practical exposure to students at a global level.

How do you establish a healthy relationship and environment in your college?

"By communicating with everyone regularly and resolving their issues on time"

For the purpose of ensuring a good relationship with the students and fellow faculties and also to provide them a healthy working-learning environment, I regularly communicate with them, respond to their queries with a positive attitude and through an open and respectful communication channel. Apart from this, I never forget to acknowledge and appreciate their performance and give them appropriate rewards for the same.