Prof. (Dr.) Dhrubajyoti Chattopadhyay is currently the Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor of Sister Nivedita University, Kolkata from January 2020 onwards and was the Founder Vice-Chancellor of Amity University Kolkata from 2015-2019. Chattopadhyay was the Dean, Faculty of Science at the University from 2003 to 2007. Holding an experience of almost four decades, it’s been a great educational journey he experienced. 

Sister Nivedita University

What is your philosophy of leadership? How would you describe your leadership style?

“Democratic leadership for smooth management and better decision making”

In my experience of 35 years I’ve learned that being a mentor is more important than being a boss. We need to understand that in the dynamic environment of today subordinates should be taught the art of decision making and not just be left out to do the regular job. We need to encourage our subordinates to take decisions and understand the factors associated with them. While taking decisions the subordinates can make mistakes but it should be essential to make them learn from those mistakes rather than penalizing them. 

The education systems in India and other foreign countries are structured very differently. In your experience, what can an inbound student gain from studying here in your institute/ university/ school?

“Exposure to the students with international culture for better development and growth”

The education pattern in India has a different blending than that of foreign varieties. We blend tradition along with enhanced pedagogy. Studying in India is more concept-oriented and has been designed on conceptual clarity. Students here are prepared for some of the toughest examinations which get them an entry to premier crème de la crème institutes. Hence inbound students will have exposure to the development of fundamentals along with exposure to lateral thinking.

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

“Provided fieldwork and activity-based learning by several proven ways for the students of the institute”

Sister Nivedita University (SNU) has an expert Academic Council and has the best representatives from both industry & Academia. The BOS meets once a year to discuss various academic curriculum issues including curriculum up-gradation and proposals of industry oriented courses to the Academic Council. SNU has a unique learning methodology that gives students a platform to apply their conceptual thinking. 

What do you think your roles and responsibilities to the Institute and the students are?

“The rise in the learning curve with experienced faculty to provide the best to students”

As a Vice-Chancellor, my first preference would be to see that students are enjoying their class and constantly increasing their learning curve. We have a wonderful Faculty pool and great Management team and I am sure, SNU can carve out a niche in research education and can build its own style of teaching and become the epitome of quality education & intellectual capital.

What do you think should be the Institute’s top priority over the next 10 years?

“To build an the international reputation of the institute for a better educational exposure”

SNU has been developed as a research-based university. I believe we are going to work on having a lot many national and international research projects on which students would be involved. We already have four research projects out of which two are national and two are international. We are also planning to have a joint venture and research collaborations with various premier research foundations not only in India but also abroad. I firmly believe SNU would be considered as a Centre of Excellence in the coming years.

Any insights into how your college could be more welcoming to students of different races or economic backgrounds?

“If you look into our campus you will see that it is a mini India in itself”

We believe in the strength of diversity and look for students from all over the country with diverse socio-economic backgrounds, to give students a feel of various ethnicities and culture which exists in our country. We ensure that no deserving candidate will go uneducated, hence we have a scholarship facility that guarantees up to 100% fee waiver based on marks as well as merit. We also hold special tutoring sessions for students who require special attention.

What would you like people to know about your college they may not know?

“The dedication to providing quality education would make the institute foremost”

I must say that SNU would be one of the best universities not only in eastern India but in the entire country in delivering quality education blended with our Indian culture. Shortly, SNU would be generating quality students across diverse sectors and would be a one-stop destination for all the courses which a student can aspire both through our combined approach of the online and offline medium.

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

“Experienced faculty with enhanced academic structure and well-shaped educational criteria”

  • A brilliant faculty team 
  • One of the best state of the art infrastructure in terms of labs and other facilities concerned in Eastern India to date. 
  • It has been ensured that we hire the best person associated with a particular domain. The effort has been given to see that the Faculty members are from diverse backgrounds with suitable research experience so that they can properly guide the students.

Any suggestions you would like to give to the current youth and the aspiring students?

“Work hard for accomplishing the best for your career and life”

I would like to suggest that changes will come that will redefine the education landscape shortly. Hence you must understand that keeping yourself updated is the only solution to win the race.