Dr. Suresh Garimella is the Director of the Sagar Group Of Institutions. He is a Doctorate and an MBA, both from the Osmania University, Hyderabad, and has an Honors degree in Zoology. He has worked as a Sales and Marketing teacher for 25 years in several B-Schools. In addition to being a teacher, he held senior-level positions as Academic Head, MDP head and Program Chair during this period. He was a visiting faculty member to a number of Premier B Schools like IIM (Indore), IIM Sambhalpur, IIM Raipur, IIM Vizad, NMIMS (Hyderabad), TISS Hyderabad to handle UGP, PGP & Ex.PGP courses in the domain of Marketing and Sales. He was also a resource person for the ISB-Goldman Sachs women entrepreneurs program.

Furthermore, he worked as a key resource person at a number of MDPs both open and In-Company programs. Some organizations where he was a resource person are JSW, L&T, Polyolefins, Godrej, BSNL, Bayer, NTT, Indian Railways, Indian Army, etc., His consulting assignments include Channel selection with BSNL, Business Development at AGNI, Product rationalization with Bajaj Electricals, Employee Satisfaction Studies with JSW.

Sagar Group Of Institutions

What is the latest program on campus to help students stand apart from the crowd?

“A two-year post-graduate program in Agri-Business Management”

We at the Sagar Group of Institutions, offer AICTE approved 2-Year Post Graduate residential program in Agri-Business Management. 

What are the factors that make this program the best for the students to opt for?

“To create leaders in the Food and Agri sector”

Agriculture dependence in our country is very huge in terms of the number of people supported directly as well as indirectly. Being a Semi-Arid zone, our portfolio of crops is also large both in terms of quantity and variety. Also, the food sector has a lot to offer to the significantly diverse needs of the Indian Palate. We as a nation, therefore, need professional managers who can handle the strategic as well as the micro issues connected with these sectors. Hence a program like ours is well placed to offer trained manpower to the Food & Agri sectors of our nation. 

What are the “best practices” in the course you’re offering?

“On Course projects, Group learning, Self-Learning, Case method, Field trips, and Industrial visits to name a few”

Our school is located on a 50-acre campus in midst of active agricultural farms. Chevella Mandal, where we are located in itself is one of the largest Hubs of Vegetable & Flower cultivations in India, lending an appropriate learning ambiance to students of Food & Agri Business. At SGI we train our students not only in the classrooms. They also get ample opportunities to work in the field both literally and figuratively. In addition, our pedagogy involves a host of state-of-the-art global tools like On Course projects, Group learning, Self-Learning, Case method, Field trips, Industrial visits to name a few. Our professional and academic tie-ups with organizations like Samunnati Foundation and Academic Institutions like IBS Hyderabad enhances the most required variety and depth of managerial learning

What are some valuable insights of the program that you are offering at your institute/dept.?

“Work on multiple learning platforms for the students to excel”

As indicated the student works on multiple learning platforms through his/her two-year stay with us. For instance, all students are members of what we call a ’Seed to Market’ project that runs for about 12 weeks. The student is involved in all matters that start from bidding for the land to harvesting the crop and selling for profit. Such a comprehensive project is made possible only due to the vast stretch of Agricultural land available to us.

The portfolio of courses covers a wide canvas of Managerial Learning. Our faculty members both internal and visiting together come with over 300 man-years of experience in Agri/Management teaching, training and researching. 

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How does the program ensure that students are being prepared for the future?

“Course pack in sync with the latest ecosystem changes”

We ensure that our course pack keeps pace with the developments in the appropriate business space. The SGI academic team in consultation with the industry think-tank and senior academics periodically reviews the syllabus and modifies the course pack to contemporize the course content and delivery. Exposure to relevant digital platform tools is also sufficiently embedded into our program structure.

How did you train yourself and the faculty to deliver this program to the students?

“Faculties involved in Pedagogy Workshops and Research Activities”

Faculty members participate in pedagogy workshops. They engage in writing and are involved in research activities. Additionally, our faculty members constantly teach different audiences thereby enhancing their own awareness and teaching abilities.

How do you tend to build an industry connection with this program? 

“Expert & Alumni Talks, Industry Visits, Industry involved in Curriculum Design”

The industry connection is established and supported by multiple methods. SGI talk is a frequent feature wherein senior decision-makers who made a difference to their organizations share their knowledge with the students. Our students are frequently taken out on visits to agri related organizations, like market yards, input companies, farms etc. Another way to get the industry to connect is by having industry experts on our academic council. Alumni talks is another connection that we work on 

What were the challenges that you faced while inculcating this program in your curriculum?

"Dynamic Agri-Ecosystem which is fast changing"

The Food and Agri Business management program is a unique program. The challenge is to ring in dimensions of practical nature alongside the theoretical management concepts, more so in an ecosystem where corporate farming is not widespread and the management is of the produce of small landholdings. 

The other challenge comes from the dynamic agri ecosystem which is fast adapting hi-tech solutions based on AI, Drones, etc. In such cases, the knowledge transfer has to significantly happen from practice to classroom and not from textbooks to the classroom. We are addressing this by tying up with agri tech companies and other relevant bodies

What are the types of projects that the students are working on through this program?

“Management Internship, Hands-on-Farming Project amongst others”

An 8-week Summer Internship Program wherein the work of the students gets submitted as a project for assessment. Seed to a market project wherein the students work on a piece of land on campus from the level of preparing the soil to sell the yield for profit. The students document their learning and present it to the faculty for assessment. A number of On-Course projects are part of our pedagogy.

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What are the benefits and career options after pursuing this course?

“Agri-Input Industry, Supply Chain, Logistics, FPOs, Agri-Tech, Agri-Finance amongst others”

Students either join the Agri related companies (Seeds companies, Commodity exchanges, Agri Chemicals, etc.) or FPOs or become Agr-entrepreneurs.