Dr. Asit K Barma is the Director of Bharathidasan Institute of Management. With his 33 years of experience in academia and the technology industry, he contributes at the intersection of teaching, research, and industry consulting in Digital Business and Technology Adoption space. He completed his Ph.D. from the Faculty of Management Science, University of Madras; PGDM from IIM Ahmedabad and B.Tech in EEE from IIT Madras. His areas of interest include Digital Business Strategy, Digital Marketing, IT Sales and Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Service Excellence and Customer Experience Management, Service Excellence, Technology Readiness, Digital, Society and Platform Business Model. He has also been instrumental in guiding CII, FICCI-Tamil Nadu State Council, NASSCOM and the Society of Automotive Engineers in preparing several key concept notes and policy recommendations.

Bharathidasan Institute of Management

What keeps you connected with the education sector for so long?

“My exploratory nature to find solutions to problems”

With my long corporate experience in the technology sector and academic experience of teaching next-generation subjects, building new technology labs, and conducting pan India research, I have developed a unique understanding of how to advance professional education with scientific scholastic underpinning. I love doing such experiments and that is what keeps me moving.

How this Covid pandemic has affected your institution?

“Nothing much, as we were having required infrastructure to cope up with such events”

Our college already had the required technology backbone to expand the capacity and build redundancy as we moved to an online mode of instructions from the usual classroom ones. To ensure ‘in-class learning experiences’ in online mode we used various features available in the platform such as discussion rooms, polls, whiteboards. We could seamlessly manage course delivery, examinations, proctoring, paper corrections, admission, student placement and even our own staff recruitment. We invested in getting online access to our lab and library facilities so that students can do their certifications, research, and coursework remotely.

How is your college adopting new modes of instruction in a post-pandemic world?

“We are using the blended mode of teaching and adhering to best practices”

Post-pandemic, we have adopted a hybrid model, only to gradually return to regular classroom learning. We never compromise the safety of our students and staff and remain agile to quickly adopt an appropriate mode of learning- online/offline or hybrid as per the situation and requirements. We also have our own Covid prevention protocol and Covid Response Team.

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What activities and programs are offered by colleges to ensure students are ready for the industry?

“Technology and SDG/ESG blended courses with on-field application opportunity”

We have courses like Derivative Analytics, Digital HR, Fintech, Blockchain for Business Applications, AI/ML, entirely designed and delivered by our industry partners. Each student needs to solve business problems as part of our Research Incubation program and they are also encouraged to publish their papers with a faculty member. Our students also work on specific SDG areas with State Government Departments, NGOs, Corporates as a part of this program.

In your opinion, what are some of the new skills which will be required in the post-pandemic world?

“Strong social communication and new technology skills will be must”

In my viewpoint, whichever domain you are in, learn new technology applications relevant to your work. Your integrity, human values, your commitment to ESG always come under scanner in today’s networked economy. Organizations are becoming social enterprises. Technology needs to become more humane while you need to appreciate new technology applications across domains. 

Did the pandemic in any way impact the placements statistics of your institution?

“No, in fact, we had 100% placement with significant growth in salary”

The pandemic did not impact our placement process since the recruiters, students, and faculty members quickly adapted to the new normal. We instead found momentum on the demand side, with our recruiters increasing the CTC and hiring a more significant number of students from the campus. It happened so fast that we did not get time to print our placement brochures even.

What makes your college different in comparison to others?

“Our program architecture and pedagogy”

Even though BIM has 38 years of rich legacy, we operate with the agility of a start-up. Through a well-crafted program architecture, BIM nurtures ???? shaped professionals. All courses which we are offering in our institution are integrated with SDG/ESG, Design Thinking, and new technology applications. Students with faculty mentors are encouraged to undertake interdisciplinary research to develop proofs of concepts and create patents in areas like text mining and consumer sentiment analysis, algorithmic trading, etc to build a deep understanding on the application side.

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

“Never stop learning new things”

Be a constant learner and keep building the next-gen skills in your specific areas even after graduation. Work on developing your personality and social skills. Build your confidence and courage to plunge into the unknown.