FICCI Conference in Hyderabad

 Pics from the event about AI in Education- held at Park Hotel, Hyderabad. Education in the AI world was the theme. Some interesting perspectives were presented among others, by MUralidharan, founder of TMI, an IIMA alum. (not in pics)

Economic Times Education Summit

 I participated as a speaker on a couple of panels. Overall, it was a nice attempt to bring together thought leaders from government regulators, academic leaders and industry participants. IBM and Google were two major industry partners, apart from many others. 

I talked about the need to leverage alumni connects, and the need for autonomy, or freedom from excessive regulation of the unnecessary kind in our country. Higher education needs to be free to experiment and innovate with programs, curricula, pedagogy and more. The UGC chairman hinted that these would happen, with the NEP and a new outlook. He also talked about how industry and academia need to support each other. 

Pics from the event. My colleagues Sudhir Pradhan, and Anju Jadon also participated.

Above- One of the panels in which I was a speaker.

Below- another Round Table at the event, moderated by Devina Lason of ET. 

This (below) was the Round Table topic, with industry and academia participating.

Sudhir Pradhan, and Anju Jadon- above.

An ad for the event, on the ET page.

Nagaland Part 2

 Among other things, we learnt a little bit about the culture, food, and the earlier insurgency- now mostly limited to extortion for no good reason from businesses- in a meeting with the Minister for Education, Temjen Imna Along. He spent time in Mumbai, loves vada pao, and is very passionate about developing his people.

We were presented a shawl, after he explained its significance, that the red one is usually for men who are respected by the tribe, and other colours are for women. We were glad to be the recipients, with all that it implied. The right way to wear it is this.. 

We also visited a college in Dimapur run by two alums of CIEFL (now English and Foreign Languages University) in Hyderabad. They are a brother and sister duo.

and, we met an MLA from Nagaland, who also suggested we set up something in the state.

Brand Launches

 

Ok, now that we have launched our MBA@Prestige University and are about to launch the IMP or 5 year integrated program next week, here are some thoughts about brand launches-

1. It's hard work.

2. Needs lot of planning, no matter what type of service/product it is.

3. Various wings/parts of the organisation need to work together.

4. Consumer's reaction is unpredictable, as his range of options is large, and his reasons for choosing a brand are sometimes not very clear.

5. Investment in branding usually does not go to waste. It adds up.

6. Selling skills matter. So does positioning.

7. Your previous networks can help generate goodwill for a new brand.

8. It's hard to put together a team that will work like in a startup towards this launch.

9. It could be expensive, in the first couple of years.

10. In education, both physical infrastructure and people matter a lot.

Quality of the Learning Experience

 There needs to be a lot more flexibility in teaching-learning methods across higher ed. and perhaps other levels too. We need to give teachers the autonomy to innovate and experiment. Of course, subject to the recruitment of teachers being conscious of quality.

Right now, at school level, the battle seems to have been won by coaching classes. Entrance exams galore make that possible, in a way. Medical, Law, Engineering are the prime culprits. But more entrance exams are coming up each year or two.

Anyway, back to the classroom. Exploration, and exercises/projects are some under-utilised methods in my view. I am not talking of teaching coding for computers, but social sciences such as management, where dealing with people is the major skill that has to be a part of the learning goals. Too much emphasis on the 'knowing' part and not enough on the 'doing' or 'being' parts may make Jack a dull boy (and Jill a dull girl)..diversity in the class is a also a desirable goal, to help peer learning thrive.

If entrepreneurship can also be a small part of the curriculum, the job-hunting mentality among many grads may give way to a more exciting and satisfying journey for many. Of course, selecting students with a risk-taking ability may need a re-look at admission processes. Maybe we can talk about this another time.

Obsessions of Indians

 Americans are obsessed with 'football'- not as we know it. The foot is hardly used. Anyway, it's a national obsession. In India, we fret about cricket in the same way. Every run, each ball in every match big or small, is analysed by armchair pundits. Opinions about batsmen or bowlers see-saw faster than the stock market, or the dollar exchange rate.

But there is another obsession we have (not the fat wedding), which is not talked about as much. Education. From pre-primary play schools, to Kindergarten, and onwards, we obsess about schools, and grades-only we call them marks. It may sound crazy (it is? Ok), but every parent is obsessed about what his kid will study- at least in the middle class, which is infinitely larger than we assume based on statistics (which are dodgy at best). Whether it is the Board exams given by Super-bored students, or entrance exams that are cracked by the super-prepared ones, one thing stands out. The obsession about education, IITs, or IIMs, or the National Law Schools, that recently entered 'the league'. 

Coaching classes seem to be the largest industry in India, though fragmented into hundreds of brands in each town. Kota is a town known only for coaching classes, the way Hyderabad once was -or the whole of Andhra Pradesh. 

If we only cared as much about the outcomes of that education on society and its well-being..

Boss as Villain

 If bosses are villains, I plead guilty to being one, around 4-5 times. I was, after all, the head of a few departments/institutions in some capacity, and responsible for the work of a few people- from about 15 to about 100 at different times. Faculty as well as non-teaching staff.

My experience as a boss (think of a less intimidating term if you like) has largely been good, when I had the authority to actually make decisions. Not just financial, but re-allocation of people, choosing people for particular functions, or other policy matters. In general, I believe in giving people a lot of responsibility if they seem capable of doing something, rather than micro-managing. I like people who do things, rather than those who simply crib- unless that cribbing improves matters.

I also believe that the old-world family run companies in India (with a few exceptions) did not grow to compete with global fast enough due to management methods that they followed. Things have improved, but we are still way behind China, in many aspects. Of course, governance and ease of doing things are also responsible, and the role of regulators. In education, there is too much regulation, though it appears to be easing-slowly.

  

3 Weeks at NMIMS Bangalore

 It has been an interesting 3 weeks at Bangalore in my new job with NMIMS here as director. Strange circumstances that have seen no students on the campus physically yet. Hopefully, we may see a few in the coming weeks, though it depends on multiple factors including State government guidelines and how COVID plays out. Vaccination has started abroad, but the U.S. and Europe data on current rate of infections is not exactly encouraging. Lockdowns are back in lots of places. 

But we did manage a few distanced meetings among faculty colleagues at NMIMS, and we are still grappling with COVID-related issues like everyone else in education, I guess. Mostly, everybody has become comfortable with online modes of learning and evaluation. We also have marketing campaigns running for our Executive programs and Undergraduate programs, both of which are a part of our portfolio at Bangalore's two campuses. One undergrad program that I find very interesting is the B. Sc. in Applied Statistics and Analytics. It's cutting edge, and the need of today.

Remotely chaired a conference session too, at the IMS-NASMEI Conference today (Dec. 18, 2020)..a good substitute for the Great Lakes NASMEI conference that I usually attend physically this time of the year, in Chennai. Might also experiment with a Zoom session on Personal Branding for a former student. based on how it goes, you may see more of me on some Youtube forums..just a friendly warning.

Also began to catch up on old friends. Savitha (below) for example, who is from the first batch of Kirloskar Institute, Harihar. We have met regularly since those days. 

The Purpose of Exams

We thrive on exams- educational institutes, I mean, and the profs. in them. But what exactly is an exam, why was it invented, and does it serve its purpose?

Yes, and No.

If it makes people think-before, during and after the event, it is a good thing, in my view. If it doesn't, not serving its purpose. just like education.

Maybe with smaller classes, one can explore different types of exams. Oral, for instance. With large classes which are a norm even in institutions that can afford to have smaller ones, your options are limited. But creativity can probably be used here as well, to make it a more meaningful experience.

I have of course, found brilliant students through exams. But I have also found them by other means. So exams might not be the only way to grade the student. Application, which takes time to show up sometimes, could be another.

Entrance exams are another kind. They largely want to filter out a large populace, and so concentrate on that purpose, rather than being a genuine test of a person's all-round capability for engineering, medicine, or whatever the entrance exam is for.

I have had interesting experiences with exams of all kinds- open book, closed, viva, projects, presentations.. will try and list them out one day.

Reflections

This is a composite pic made from two different ones- the one on the right is from Vignana Jyoti Institute of Management at Hyderabad, where I worked from 1992-1995. The one on the left is from IMT Nagpur, where I was between 2009-2013.

The journey to this point is full of learnings. I have found that I like the cosy small classes better than the industrial, large ones. Not much one can do about it, though.

I have also found that learning mostly happens by doing, much more so than by listening to someone talk, though  a combination might work. This, one can do something about.

Projects which take you into the field are almost guaranteed to teach you something new.

Exams should make a student think-not a professor, about how he will grade them on time.

Bureaucracy is stifling-wherever it exists, and is probably the single biggest reason that creativity gets stifled anywhere- a country, an organisation.

Selection processes are critical in maintaining quality, both of students and teachers.

Fallacies

One of the major fallacies that is going around is that education is going to solve all problems. That needs a lot of qualifying, for it to be true.

Education cannot be just a degree, or a string of degrees.

Good human values like concern for people, environment come before education of the degree-adding variety. Or, should be a part of it. Common sense is as valuable as education.

Education of the wrong kind can actually breed a lot of problematic kids/adults.

Good governance has a lot to do with happiness. A reasonable job opportunity according to skills acquired solves most discontent. The lack thereof 's the reason for most migrations, including the current ones. Education should not end up producing an army of overqualified (mostly on paper) people who have aspirations not matched by skills.

Superman is not going to save the earth.

Delhi Government and Governance

What is governance? The Delhi governance imbroglio inspired this one.

Defence is a part of it, and so is law and order.

Apart from these, it should ideally be, at least in a democracy, people who serve the citizens. Citizen services include transportation, housing, health, water, drainage, education and so on. How to provide these in a fair and just manner is what the government needs to decide- and implement.
It does not include showing undue favours, transferring officials every few months, or wasting time on activities detrimental to providing services to citizens.

Democratic governments can do a lot of damage by not doing any of the things they need to do. Also by doling out free goodies to sections of people (or all the people) forever. That kills motivation to work for a living. The poor and helpless deserve help but usually don't get it.

Also, by wasting time in controlling the private sector without a good reason. Rules can be framed transparently, and independent regulators with professionals left to regulate various sectors.

The challenges are vast, and sometimes technology can help. Applications for a passport, ration card, driver's license (barring the test itself), registration of land, and many more can easily be made online with scanned documents and verification within a time-bound manner ( a service guarantee?) by officials concerned. If not, it should be deemed correct. Responsibility must shift to the officials for proving anyone wrong. This would improve governance manifold.

A Lesson on Earnestness and Its Importance at IIM Indore

I have no idea if Oscar Wilde intended this one to be a pontification on the importance of being earnest in whatever you are doing. Whether it was intended or not, the staging of his play by the name (the Importance of Being Earnest) did prove that it helps-to be earnest.

I am referring of course, to the brilliant performance on campus (IIM Indore) by our students of this play yesterday. Three months of continuous hard work can do wonders, and the enthusiasm with which the cast and support did it bore fruit. It was one of the best possible renditions of this that you could pull off with an almost entirely amateur cast, the director being the experienced hand bringing it all together with great (im)patience-actually needed to drive a project of this kind. Talk about the importance of being Impatient!

The story of this play has a mix of humour- there are one-liners on relatives (aunts in particular), education, Londoners, marriage, high society, social standing, book-writers, and many things in between that would each make you roll on the floor in laughing fits- misunderstandings, suspense and of course, romance. Example of the Wilde humour- "all women become like their mothers-that is their tragedy. No man does-that is his."

The on-screen chemistry was wonderful, adding to the charm. The costumes, make-up and sets matched the 'Victorian' needs of the characters. The dialogue delivery added the needed punch.

Hats off to the cast-Avik, Philip, Shrunga, Jasmine, Sanjana (outstandingly scary as Lady Bracknell),Urvaksh, Ayushi, Siddharth, and of course, Shweta Kushal the director, and the backstage guys (stage, sound, lights, running around) for a memorable show!

Dum Laga ke Haisha- Film Review

This is a good feel-good film about an Indian marriage, particularly one involving a girl who is overweight by most standards, but educated and eligible otherwise. Bhumi Pednekar thrives in her role, and Ayushman Khurana in his- he is the reuctant shopkeeper's son who marries her due to family pressure.

A lot of ups and downs happen in their marital life, which are handled with sensitivity. The fact that in India, you marry a family (at least the girl does) is brought home starkly, because hardly anything remains private in the couple's married life.

A couple of critical incidents force the husband to start studying again for his 10th standard exams (unsuccessfully as it turns out), but then, a competition where the husbands carry their wives in a hurdle race (and hence the title of the film) unites the husband and wife (estranged earlier), and there is a happy ending.

The underlying motive/message is good, and the actors pull it off. Worth a watch. There is a mix of comedy and pathos or emotion in appropriate doses to keep the narrative going. The support cast (there is a lot of this) helps the cause.

The PGP (MX) Program

I was in Mumbai to attend the inauguration of a weekend program for working executives we run in Belapur (new Mumbai). There is a good amount of interest among working people to do this to enhance their qualifications, and learn some management concepts. Currently, many candidates are self-sponosored, but going forward, companies might consider sponosoring their executives, so that they turn out more effective in their jobs, or get to leadership positions in the organisation and shoulder more responsibility.

We have had this program for a few years now out of a temporary campus near CBD Belapur. We are likely to move into our own campus in a few months. That will give us much-needed space to add a library and a few other things to this outreach campus. Other IIMs that have a second campus are Lucknow-NOIDA and Kozhikode-Kochi. There were plans to have an Ahmedabad campus in Mumbai and Bangalore campus in Singapore many years ago, but they came to nought.

Maybe a few foreign universities starting MBA programs could shake up the IIMs and prod all of them towards thinking global. Right now, an assured domestic market of Indian students ensures some complacency.

Cynicism and Optimism

The reactions to PM Modi's speeches are bipolar- you either love them or hate them. The unfortunate part of our history for the last decade has been that cynicism has replaced optimism. Actually, everyone knows the problems we have as a nation AND the solutions to these. In 1991, they were articulated well by Manmohan Singh in his historic budget speech.

It is indeed ironic that it took the (once-in-opposition) BJP PM to re-articulate them for us. And that the same Dr. Singh allowed things to drift in the other direction-away from reform- when he had the chance. Anyway, the lost decade apart, one can still solve most problems by working at them, bit by bit. No one has a magic wand, not the US, not Russia, nor some messiah from above. We need to work on the agenda we set ourselves.

The sooner we start, the sooner we get there. And we have to learn to understand what is good for us as a people- a country, indeed, the world (but after we set ourselves straight). That we need productivity, jobs, health, education and infrastructure stares us in the face everyday. Point is, what are we going to do about it?

This is just a reiteration of the fact that optimism and hard work can at least help us improve our lot. No amount of cribbing or wishful thinking will. We still have a good chance. Let's take it.

The Weight Loss Club by Devapriya Roy

What I liked about the book.

This book contains no advice about eating carrots instead of radish, or eating less sweets, if you are so inclined. It does, however slightly, nudge you towards exercise, and two of the protagonists fall in love with each other in so doing. So it is totally worth it, at least for some.

It has the charm of an Amol Palekar- Basu Chatterji film (think Rajnigandha), or a Hrishikesh Mukherjee classic (Bawarchi?  Khubsoorat? You take your pick). Actually, there was a film called Thoda sa Roomani ho Jaaye, which I was sometimes reminded of, in terms of unhappy people with unresolved lives slowly ‘finding themselves’. If I remember that right, Nana Patekar played a critical role in it.

It could happen anywhere. Substitute Dhokla and Thepla  for the Mishti doi and Sandesh, it could be Gujarat. Or Puran poli and Shrikhand, it could be Maharashtra. Though Calcutta is finely integrated into the story, it is not critical to it.

The characters are very real. I could identify at least a couple of people from my own life who would (did?) behave like each of these characters.  Treeza and John, Ananda, Apu, Monalisa and her competing gang of moms with a ‘killer’ instinct, the God-like tuition master Bor Da, and the college kids Abeer, Mandy, AJ and the rest. The ma-in-law takes are really reminiscent of the Lalita Pawar character in films, but also of real life haranguers-in-chief in many households.

From an educationist’s point of view, the parental obsession about their kids’ careers (usually to their detriment and with no concern for their likes) that comes through forcefully (even if it is unintended), is worrying.  Actually, the marriage obsession too, and the middle class love for NRI grooms-though I shouldn’t be complaining. I was one a good 25 years ago. Until we both decided to go desi.

The story is complex, because of the many characters, but is resolved nicely, and the style of writing is first rate. The idea of a flash mob relevant to some recent happenings is used well in the climax. You will however, be disappointed if you were looking for a crash course on weight reduction, with diets, charts, and asinine advice. That is NOT what it is about.

If you liked Devapriya’s first book (The Vague Woman’s Handbook), I am sure you will like this one even more.

Education Seminar at Sohna

I attended a seminar on higher education at an upcoming Haryanvi town of Sohna, beyond Gurgaon yesterday. It was organised (very well) by a media company called nine dot nine floated by the erstwhile Dean of ISB, Pramath Sinha, and his team.

The town of Sohna, about 25 kms. from Gurgaon is reported to be another Gurgaon in the making. Not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing. Anyway, the venue was the Westin at Sohna. Why Westin went east into this place is a question, but having got there, they have managed well. The food was excellent- they had an Italian-Spanish mix of some yummy stuff the names of which I can't begin to remember.

The turnout at the seminar was good, ranging from the ex-chairman of UGC, to a lot of Vice Chancellors, of private and public universities. I also ran into an IIMB alum from three batches after mine. Many new business ideas were apparent from various sponsors of the seminar. Adobe, Oracle, Naukri.com and so on.

The best presentation was by the founder of FLAME, a liberal arts school in Pune, Parag Shah. He explained 'Dil se' (from his heart, literally) the reasons and reasoning that went into founding the 4 year degree program-offering institution. He is also a builder, and has built some real estate including a golf course around the school. But his philosophy of how to combine music and mathematics in the same school on the lines of similar institutions in the West struck a lot of chords. Of course, he had Dr. Indira Parikh, former IIMA professor, to help him as the Dean to implement his ideas. True innovation, in the way courses are offered in different streams, and students grow up as a complete person, rather than as an engineer or doctor. Great idea, I would say.

IIT Di

Inspired to title it this way by the numerous di's and da's all around us who are becoming more important by the day. And also a general kolaveri of the original kolaveri di fame- those who haven't heard of this, please excuse-and update thyself.

What I meant to say is that I went to IIT Dilli for a conference whose theme is Excellence in Higher Education. And got a chance to interact with a few interesting returned NRIs among other beings. They are heading some new institutions-universities mostly, and in the private sector. So the boom may have begun, both for NRIs and univs. Hopefully it will attract good students and build a virtuous cycle.

A mass of macro level data was also presented and discussed, which generally makes little sense to me as I am a micro-brained person- I refer to its size, not pre-occupations.

Anyway, it was a nice experience and an ego-boost, because I met some readers of my text book, and they said they liked the book. So, I should attend more such conferences, is my major takeaway. Hopefully someone will host a few!

Coincidences

Coincidences play a big role in our lives. Pleasant surprises abound when you have been in the teaching line for a couple of decades. I ran into a few readers of my books in a faculty workshop I was addressing at Delhi, which I have got used to by now. My attempt to demystify one of the highly mystical subjects- marketing research and the statistical mumbo-jumbo it involves, have paid off a bit, if these readers are to be believed.

Then, I met a few youngsters who work for Arvind Retail, which is headed by a classmate, J. Suresh, at an executive development program. We discussed apparel marketing and the various brands of them that Arvind sells in India, some through international tie-ups and some their own. They also run the Mega Mart stores in India.

Then, at the airport, I met a former colleague who worked at Kirloskar Institute of Management, Harihar. He is now into his own freelance training and consulting business. We were able to discuss many things, including the state of management education in the country, which is passing through a stress test. Of course, the good institutions have nothing to fear. But an inevitable churn is on, like the amrut manthan in mythology.

Destined to spend more time in Delhi for an accreditation workshop soon.