To succeed in the corporate world, students need to understand the ability to work as a team, says HOD at Gandhi Inst.

In an exclusive interaction with Shiksha.com, HOD-MBA Department at GIMT - Gandhi Institute of Management and Technology Piyanko Maji talks at length about the curriculum and the pedagogy of the institute. He calls teachers as the master of the subject matters who are responsible for the quality delivery of the content. The sole idea is to make students competitive and at par with the current industry standards. To achieve this goal, Gandhi Institute also focuses on keeping the curriculum updated by regularly inviting industry professionals to understand the latest trends and practices in the corporate world and afterwards incorporating the same into the curriculum. Maji is an MBA graduate from Madurai Kamaraj University and has over seven years of experience in HR, Training and Development.

Read the complete interview below:

Q: What is the difference between the teaching methodology in your institute and others?

A: Teaching and learning are the two sides of a coin. The most accepted criterion for measuring good teaching is the amount of student learning that occurs. 

Here at Gandhi Institute, the teachers cast themselves in the role of being a master of the subject matter. The teacher is looked upon by the learners as an expert or an authority. We basically prepare our students with the current competitive scenario along with their respective subjects. This is why the curriculum at Gandhi Institute is industry-embedded and is architectured with the help of faculty members and industry professionals so it can be tailor-made to fulfil the expectations of today’s corporate world.

the teachers cast themselves in the role of being a master of the subject matter. The teacher is looked upon by the learners as an expert or an authority. We basically prepare our students with the current competitive scenario along with their respective subjects.

Q: How are you preparing your students to be Industry ready?

A: One of the crucial factors that students today need to succeed at work is the ability to work as a team. They need to understand how to communicate, compromise and share credit so that they can be a valuable contributing member to projects. We genuinely focus on that area and try to input it to our students. 

We also focus on Project-Based Learning. With this methodology, students develop the skills to work independently or collaboratively, to come up with an essential question that does not have an easily found or specific answer, and which engages students in sustained inquiry. PBL promotes critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving, and enhances the learning potential for each student as they design their own learning path. 

Q: What quality do your students have which other college students lack?

A: Students at Gandhi Institute are made industry ready and groomed to be more competitive, good team workers and self-confident individuals. With the applied learning approach followed at the institute, our students develop the capability to analyse and evaluate the situations before reaching a conclusion. And, this also makes them capable to answer all ‘If’s’ and ‘But’s’ associated with one problem. They are curious and this is what drives them to experiment, learn and discover a new way out’s.

With the applied learning approach followed at the institute, our students develop the capability to analyse and evaluate the situations before reaching a conclusion. And, this also makes them capable to answer all ‘If’s’ and ‘But’s’ associated with one problem.

Q: Do you think the curriculum of the courses taught in your institute fits in the requirement of the industry?

A: As mentioned earlier also, the curriculum at Gandhi Institute is industry-embedded and is designed basis collective suggestions from faculty members and industry professionals. This way, we are always aware of the latest industry trends and expectations of the corporate world from fresh graduates. Basis of this understanding, we plan year-on-year and continue to teach our students with the help of interactive classroom sessions, live projects, hands-on training, etc. so when the students graduate, they do not feel unfamiliar with the practices of the corporate world.

Q: Is your college receptive to innovation, technology, science & entrepreneurship?

A: Yes, our college is receptive to innovation, technology, science & entrepreneurship.

We are a student-centric institute and hence, we innovate every day by experimenting with new ways of delivering content to the students. Students’ motive should not be to learn to pass exams and get promoted to next grade rather learning should make a life long impact on them. So, we always keep trying to make learning fun for them.

As far as, technology is concerned, we are moving towards digitalisation at a rapid pace and we have no choices than to adapt ourselves to it. Hence, we have digital classrooms, well-equipped labs with various e-resources in the library to make students learn practically.

Entrepreneurship is what we have always encouraged among students, and this is why we regularly invite industry leaders, CXOs, CFOs, CEOs, Directors and start-up entrepreneurs to facilitate guest lectures. They share their journey, challenges they faced and how did they manage to overcome. They answer student’s questions and enlighten them to be entrepreneurs or professionals in the future to contribute to society. 

We are a student-centric institute and hence, we innovate every day by experimenting with new ways of delivering content to the students. Students’ motive should not be to learn to pass exams and get promoted to next grade rather learning should make a life long impact on them. So, we always keep trying to make learning fun for them.