Prof (Dr). Shuchitangshu Chatterjee is the Vice Chancellor of RKDF University. He has finished his education at Kharagpur and Ranchi. At the age of 29, he was accredited as a Founder Member of the Advisory Committee of International Thermoelectric Society, USA in 1988. He has received more than 76 publications, 37 of them being international. He holds 18 Patents in the area of thermoelectric and allied fields. He has amazing experience in the academic, industrial and defense sectors. He has successfully developed and commercialized a good number of projects in the field of Thermoelectrics for different agencies including Indian Defense. He has also developed a heating/cooling helmet for industrial application, which is also commercialized. He has given his exemplary service to the highly recognized company, MECON Ltd. Ranchi. He has widely travelled around the world including USA, University of Toronto, Canada, Russia, Paris, France, Kazakhstan and UK due to official assignments. With his phenomenal dedication and hard work for several years, he has been honored with many Awards and respected positions like he was elected as the Vice-President of the International Thermoelectric Academy in Belfast, UK. He was awarded as the Best Citizens of India Award and the Bharat Jyoti Award in 2016. He also received the award of excellence for young scientist during the year 1992-93 from the Indian Institute of Metals as well as the best paper award during the year 1994 - 95 from the Indian Institute of Metals. And he is Honored as a Member of the International Thermoelectric Academy and Academician Ukraine, 2014 and 1996.

RKDF University Ranchi

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

"My passion to impart quality education to prepare a skilled workforce for our country"

I have worked with many educational institutions of good repute in different capacities as well as industry. My passion towards teaching and imparting quality education to encourage the research work in different fields, training and preparing the skilled man force required by the industries in the present cutthroat competition are the key factors that keep me connected to the education sector. I believe that education is not a name of any degree or certificate that can be shown to others as proof, but it is the proof of our attitude, action, language and behavior toward others in real life. 

What is your philosophy of leadership?

"A good leader knows how to act as a bridge between people of different domains and mindsets"

In my opinion, one can’t expect to be a good leader unless he/she is a demagogue. Being a Vice-Chancellor at RKDF, I work as a bridge between the faculty, staff and the management and try to provide all sorts of necessary assistance to my team to fulfill our common goals. I also encourage my team to work freely without taking any unnecessary stress, and it's my responsibility to provide them with a transparent and trustworthy ambiance where they can provide their suggestions, and put forward grievances without any hesitation. 

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

"By always keeping myself updated with the latest industrial and educational trends"

As far as marketing is concerned, I keep a very close watch on our competitors and understand the market segments thoroughly so that I can offer the right kind of guidance to my team and education to students. We always try to keep ourselves updated with the current trends in the education sector and choose a correct marketing plan accordingly. We have detailed SOPs for every department which ensures the quality of services provided by employees at all times and we also use tools like video marketing, SEO and visual data marketing to enhance our reach among students. Lastly, we never miss any chance to interact with our students through events like webinars, seminars, FDP and conferences and our social media accounts such as LinkedIn, Facebook and user-generated posts. 

In your experience what can inbound students gain from studying here at your university?

"We offer the best quality education to mold our students into a good citizens"

We at RKDF not only provide good quality theoretical and ethical knowledge to give our students deeper insights about ethics, values, karmas and dharma but we also offer amazing practical exposure to them. The curriculum of our college is drafted and updated in line with the latest global and industrial demands. And we also consult with industry professionals and teachers to include various refresher courses to enhance our student's skills. Students are also sent on industrial visits and educational tours to get an overview of how the corporate world operates.

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

"It is developed after taking suggestions of academicians, industry experts and students"

Our university keeps a close watch on the latest trends in the education sector and understands the demands of the industry and students. All this helps us to plan suitable training for our students to make them capable enough to survive in this competitive world. Our Students-Industry interface is the key model which ensures the best practice of the industry. Our motto is to make our students self-dependent and equip them with entrepreneurial qualities. Moreover university in all its professional courses ensures the following:

  • Industry consultancy curriculum for an effective learning experience for UG and PG students. 
  • Training of teachers by industry experts.
  • Opportunities for real-time exposure to students and faculties through floor training and internships.
  • Establishment of industry-sponsored laboratories on campus for skill enhancement of students and faculty. 

How could your university be more welcoming to students of different races or economic backgrounds? 

"We provide scholarships to meritorious students through various government schemes"

We provide scholarships to meritorious students under Chancellor Chair-ship scholarship scheme in which students belonging to SC/ST/OBC/Minority or students coming from poor economic backgrounds are given opportunities to continue their further studies without any hindrance. University also provides financial support to students through the e-Kalyan Govt. of Jharkhand and Bihar and NSP. 

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

"I need to ensure my presence in every activity be it budget planning or meetings with institutions"

Being the Vice-Chancellor of the university, the ambiance of my responsibilities is very vast. I need to serve on several councils, take colleagues' suggestions and provide valuable input whenever required. I also have to review academic programs, budgets and policies to make necessary improvements in them. Maintaining and building positive relationships with other academic institutions, and organizations, allocating resources fairly and securing grants, supervising staff and addressing any performance issues, preparing reports, attending academic conferences, delivering speeches at events such as graduations and open days and ensuring university standards are some of the other responsibilities I need to fulfill on daily basis. 

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

"Our focus should be on enhancing our education quality and presence among students"

In the upcoming years, we should work on enhancing our position and brand value among the top private universities of Jharkhand and India while offering immense opportunities to our faculties, research scholars and students for their growth and development. We should also enhance the quality of education we are offering, increase research in different fields, and increase scholarly activities to become a centre of excellence.

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When you first came to RKDF University, what was your vision for it and how far have you come in implementing the same? 

"To make this institute best for every student irrespective of their background"

My vision as a Vice-Chancellor of the university at the time of joining was to develop it as a nerve centre that can cater to students from all classes of the society and make them good human beings with ethical values and not just the money-making machine. We have been successful in achieving this to a great extent but still, our efforts are continuing towards the same. 

What makes your University unique in comparison to others? 

"We offer career-oriented programs and rigorous industrial exposure through training"

We as a university not only grant degrees to students once they finish their respective courses, but throughout their whole journey, we treat them like our own children and do their parenting and guardianship. The main objective of this practice is to give them a homely and congenial atmosphere to develop their life skills. Apart from all this, we have several Recognitions and Accreditations on our name, we have an amazing team of faculty who are highly qualified and experienced. Lastly, we offer job-oriented courses, extensive industrial exposure to students and innovative processes in teaching and learning. 

What are some of the greatest strengths of your college?

"Our motto and faculty make us strong"

Our vision and mission and a team of sincere and dedicated faculty members are our main pillars of strength.

What are some of the biggest challenges of National Education Policy in your view?

"After its implementation, institutes will have less control on students which may lead to issues"

The National Education Policy 2020 may be seen as the biggest challenge apart from the competitors in the market. Few points of NEP 2020 make the students more empowered with less control over universities/institutions on them which may lead to the misconduct and indiscipline of the students. 

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

"Gather new skills and keep upgrading yourself"

I truly believe that it's inevitable to give a proper shape to your career at the right time and right place before it is too late. In today’s era where we have seen a crucial time of lockdown during a pandemic, every sector and entire economy has declined. So I would like to advise my students to gain proper knowledge and build necessary skills which can’t be faded-up in any situation. 

What are some of the plans that you are currently designing for students? 

"We are planning to introduce a few new programs for our students in line with industrial demands"

Our university has taken the membership from the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) to attract international students and we are currently in the process of designing many new courses to attract more students from all parts of the world. We already have a few students from countries like Nepal. 

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

"We have adopted the practice of open communication in our college"

We have adopted an open-door policy for everyone, whether our employee or a student. The grievances handling cells have been created for both employees and students to give resolutions to their issues on an immediate basis. We always try to keep a healthy and congenial relationship between management, employees and students by introducing different activities and equal participation.