Be the Game Changers...
An interview with Prof Dr Uday Salunkhe, Group Director-WeSchool[/b]
[/b]
Sir, congratulations on receiving the prestigious AIMS Ravi J Matthai award for creating excellence in management education, at the 24[/b]thA [/b]AIMS Annual Convention recently.[/b]
[/list]
I am deeply honored on receiving the prestigious AIMS-Ravi J Matthai National fellowship award for "Excellence in Management Education". Ravi J Matthai was the visionary who pioneered the establishment of management education in India by setting up IIM- A and later IRMA at Anand. Believing that people at the bottom of the pyramid were the greatest resource for development, Matthai worked with village communities on issues of livelihood and empowerment .JAWAJA a social outreach project that he set up to provide livelihood options to marginalized communities in drought stricken areas of Rajasthan continues to grow and is well known model of social upliftment, nationally and internationally. [/b]
I feel humbled at being recognized and appreciated for my efforts, but more so because of the rare distinction of being felicitated at the hands of Padmashri Dr. Pritam Singh, a teacher whom I have always considered as my inspiration and sharing this award with two truly great teachers and institution builders, Dr. Shekhar Choudhari, Director-IIM C and Fr. Abraham, Director-XLRI.[/b]
[/b]
I feel truly humbled by the honor and also consider myself ever so fortunate than "Eklavya", who had only one "Dronacharya". I have had more than one "Dronacharya" and it was extremely touching moment for me as some of them who have always advised and supported me and WeSchool like Dr. Y K Bhushan and Dr. M .R. Rao were present at the award ceremony.
[/b]
Having said that, receiving an award especially as prestigious as this is to me an impetus to set the next milestone and In fact it adds more responsibility as expectations are going to be higher on all counts. The commitment to uphold its value through strengthening our mission for continued endeavor towards nation building becomes an inspiration as well as a challenge.[/b]
[/b] [/b]
[/b]
Yes, I was immensely touched when Fr. Abraham shared with me that besides being the youngest president of AIMS in 2008, I am also the youngest educationist to receive the Ravi J Matthai award in 2012.[/b] [/b]
[/b][/list]
From all the interactions, learnings, successes, tough moments that have been part of my journey to this moment, there have been five principles that have guided me through life. And these are; creating a compelling environment around you for achieving excellence, Perpetual Optimism, Collaborative Mindset and Networking .Last but not the least it should never be forgotten that Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual strength leads to fiscal fitness.[/b]
[/b]
[/b][/list]
The central themes that are catalyzing a global transformation in this era are Creativity and Innovation, Creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives. It is not limited to musicians, writers, poets, painters; even scientists, politicians, and businessmen work with purposeful creativity. Innovation should be central to ways of doing things, whether in a corporate, government or NGOs as it finds its impact not only just in products, but also in functions, logistics, business models, and processes. It is quite clear that management institutes too need to change their siloed mindsets and put an action plan in place to nurture Global Citizen Managers who will focus on the triple bottom line with social responsibility, governance, values and ethics taking center stage.[/b]
[/b]
[/b][/list]
A focused approach to nurture students as Global citizen managers and our AAA approach is a step to further advance in that direction. AAA is an acronym for Acquisition, Application and Assimilation of knowledge. The approach emphasizes students to learn through application of acquired knowledge and meaning of the knowledge acquired & experience by understanding one's roles and responsibilities towards business, relationships and society as well as understand one's beliefs and values which influence/guide one's actions & decisions. [/b]
[/b]
We have included courses such as the "Integrative Manager" wherein through team teaching, multidisciplinary concepts are taught to nurture an integrative thinking mindset. "Innowe" our innovation lab has nurtured and incubated several students' new ideas/ projects; which have been well appreciated by Industry and this has been possible through integrating the philosophy of design thinking & innovation across all programs at WeSchool. [/b]
[/b]
Global & rural exposures and opportunity to engage in several projects and initiatives such as D-Magics, GRLI, SIFE, Udaan and Munijan have sensitized them to their role as an individual to make a difference and give back to the society. [/b]
The young managers stepping out of B Schools should be mentored by leaders from different walks of life for entrepreneurship, leadership and innovation thinking, molding them into leaders with global mindsets and eco-sensitive hearts. It is our earnest desire to disseminate our knowledge and experience with not only WeSchool students, but to the society at large. Receiving the Ravi J Matthai Award increases our responsibility to continue with greater vigor on our mission to reinvent business and management education by making it relevant for tomorrow's realities.[/b]
[/b]
[/b][/list]
When I think of the legendary Ravi Matthai, I am also reminded of Dr Varghese Kurien, Dr M S Swaminathan, Dr C K Prahlad and Nobel Laureate Dr Mohammed Yunus. These change leaders had the vision to transform the lives of grassroot communities and the passion with which they worked changed lives of the rural poor and gave educated urbanites a new perspective of societal growth.[/b]
The youth of the country are a sensitive, committed lot, they want to repay the debt of the society and make a difference in the global community. Aspiring students who are fortunate enough to avail of expensive management education should look at it not only as a stepping stone to a lucrative career option as a golden opportunity to repay the debt of the society by serving the underprivileged, thereby creating a win-win situation for all the stakeholders. With innovation and creativity on your minds, passion in your hearts and technology at your fingertips, you can change the system, spread the solution, and persuade entire societies to take a new direction.[/b]
An interview with Prof Dr Uday Salunkhe, Group Director-WeSchool[/b]
[/b]
Sir, congratulations on receiving the prestigious AIMS Ravi J Matthai award for creating excellence in management education, at the 24[/b]thA [/b]AIMS Annual Convention recently.[/b]
[/list]
I am deeply honored on receiving the prestigious AIMS-Ravi J Matthai National fellowship award for "Excellence in Management Education". Ravi J Matthai was the visionary who pioneered the establishment of management education in India by setting up IIM- A and later IRMA at Anand. Believing that people at the bottom of the pyramid were the greatest resource for development, Matthai worked with village communities on issues of livelihood and empowerment .JAWAJA a social outreach project that he set up to provide livelihood options to marginalized communities in drought stricken areas of Rajasthan continues to grow and is well known model of social upliftment, nationally and internationally. [/b]
I feel humbled at being recognized and appreciated for my efforts, but more so because of the rare distinction of being felicitated at the hands of Padmashri Dr. Pritam Singh, a teacher whom I have always considered as my inspiration and sharing this award with two truly great teachers and institution builders, Dr. Shekhar Choudhari, Director-IIM C and Fr. Abraham, Director-XLRI.[/b]
[/b]
How do you feel as the elite list of past awardees of this particular award includes the likes of Kumar Mangalam Birla, Deepak Jain, J J Irani, C Rangarajan,each one of them a great contributor to Industry, Academia and Society.
I feel truly humbled by the honor and also consider myself ever so fortunate than "Eklavya", who had only one "Dronacharya". I have had more than one "Dronacharya" and it was extremely touching moment for me as some of them who have always advised and supported me and WeSchool like Dr. Y K Bhushan and Dr. M .R. Rao were present at the award ceremony.
[/b]
Having said that, receiving an award especially as prestigious as this is to me an impetus to set the next milestone and In fact it adds more responsibility as expectations are going to be higher on all counts. The commitment to uphold its value through strengthening our mission for continued endeavor towards nation building becomes an inspiration as well as a challenge.[/b]
[/b] [/b]
You are not only the youngest President of AIMS but also the youngest educationist to receive the award.
[/b]
Yes, I was immensely touched when Fr. Abraham shared with me that besides being the youngest president of AIMS in 2008, I am also the youngest educationist to receive the Ravi J Matthai award in 2012.[/b] [/b]
What were the principles that guided you in this journey of yours; first as a corporate head with great turnaround strategies that turned sick units into profitable ones and later as a head of a fledgling institute that rose to become one of the top ranking Bschools in the country?
[/b][/list]
From all the interactions, learnings, successes, tough moments that have been part of my journey to this moment, there have been five principles that have guided me through life. And these are; creating a compelling environment around you for achieving excellence, Perpetual Optimism, Collaborative Mindset and Networking .Last but not the least it should never be forgotten that Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual strength leads to fiscal fitness.[/b]
[/b]
You had once said that "we are on the verge of moving from a Knowledge economy to an era of Creative economy" Could you elaborate on this?
[/b][/list]
The central themes that are catalyzing a global transformation in this era are Creativity and Innovation, Creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives. It is not limited to musicians, writers, poets, painters; even scientists, politicians, and businessmen work with purposeful creativity. Innovation should be central to ways of doing things, whether in a corporate, government or NGOs as it finds its impact not only just in products, but also in functions, logistics, business models, and processes. It is quite clear that management institutes too need to change their siloed mindsets and put an action plan in place to nurture Global Citizen Managers who will focus on the triple bottom line with social responsibility, governance, values and ethics taking center stage.[/b]
[/b]
What are the key initiatives that you have initiated at WeSchool towards preparing the students to transform themselves into key game changers?
[/b]
[/b][/list]
A focused approach to nurture students as Global citizen managers and our AAA approach is a step to further advance in that direction. AAA is an acronym for Acquisition, Application and Assimilation of knowledge. The approach emphasizes students to learn through application of acquired knowledge and meaning of the knowledge acquired & experience by understanding one's roles and responsibilities towards business, relationships and society as well as understand one's beliefs and values which influence/guide one's actions & decisions. [/b]
[/b]
We have included courses such as the "Integrative Manager" wherein through team teaching, multidisciplinary concepts are taught to nurture an integrative thinking mindset. "Innowe" our innovation lab has nurtured and incubated several students' new ideas/ projects; which have been well appreciated by Industry and this has been possible through integrating the philosophy of design thinking & innovation across all programs at WeSchool. [/b]
[/b]
Global & rural exposures and opportunity to engage in several projects and initiatives such as D-Magics, GRLI, SIFE, Udaan and Munijan have sensitized them to their role as an individual to make a difference and give back to the society. [/b]
The young managers stepping out of B Schools should be mentored by leaders from different walks of life for entrepreneurship, leadership and innovation thinking, molding them into leaders with global mindsets and eco-sensitive hearts. It is our earnest desire to disseminate our knowledge and experience with not only WeSchool students, but to the society at large. Receiving the Ravi J Matthai Award increases our responsibility to continue with greater vigor on our mission to reinvent business and management education by making it relevant for tomorrow's realities.[/b]
[/b]
What will be your message to the youth of our country?
[/b]
[/b][/list]
When I think of the legendary Ravi Matthai, I am also reminded of Dr Varghese Kurien, Dr M S Swaminathan, Dr C K Prahlad and Nobel Laureate Dr Mohammed Yunus. These change leaders had the vision to transform the lives of grassroot communities and the passion with which they worked changed lives of the rural poor and gave educated urbanites a new perspective of societal growth.[/b]
The youth of the country are a sensitive, committed lot, they want to repay the debt of the society and make a difference in the global community. Aspiring students who are fortunate enough to avail of expensive management education should look at it not only as a stepping stone to a lucrative career option as a golden opportunity to repay the debt of the society by serving the underprivileged, thereby creating a win-win situation for all the stakeholders. With innovation and creativity on your minds, passion in your hearts and technology at your fingertips, you can change the system, spread the solution, and persuade entire societies to take a new direction.[/b]