Interview by Kritika Gupta

IMS

Dr. Kulneet Suri is designated as the Senior Director of Institute of Management Studies (IMS), Noida. Her education qualification includes - an MBA, M.Phil in English Language and a Doctorate in Management. She is a well known global professional, having published a book on ‘Total Quality Management (TQM) and 5 other books on the English language.

Dr. Suri has contributed several articles in academic/ professional journals on a wide range of topics related to management, organisation behaviour and quality management. Earlier, she had served for 18 years as an International Operations Head at IES Group of Institutions/

Dr. Suri views and experience of the education industry

Nothing is more professionally fulfilling than to help students learn, to build a Nation, and to create a new knowledge base in EDUCATION and Women and Girl child upliftment. If you are self-motivated and enjoy teaching and learning, there is no better career choice than to be associated to this industry.

Working in education Industry has been learning in itself. The experience has been enriching, challenging at the same time. It is a growing industry and is highly relevant to the nation-building activity.

Challenges faced as the Senior Director at IMS Noida

Managing manpower and retaining the best of your employees is a challenge every day. Education Industry is in a flux and you have to be in sync with the changes.

On the other hand, every industry has challenges to work with and I am happy that at IMS through our employee friendly policies we have been able to harness these fluxes.

Curriculum standard at the Institute of Management Studies

We always develop the skills of our students for entrepreneurship, so that they are independent. We hone them for the same. They then have the option of facing the industry or working on their own start-ups.

Towards this initiative, we have developed the “Million Dollar Idea Factory, which enables the student to learn to drive business.”

Methods opted to build a relation with the students

Every year, I meet students through workshops by the name of “IQ” Intelligence Quotient. It is an active interaction session with them. With this, I address the students at the time of extra curricular activities.

Leadership philosophy and style

Showcasing unique scope of responsibility with proven success and track record in delivering results is true leadership. Heightened awareness of developing productive relationships with internal colleagues and external stakeholders and active in building and leading effective and productive teams is leadership.

A leader is passionate about the professionalization of support services and their impact on stakeholders. My leadership style in particular, is to take everyone along and remain true to your responsibilities.

Definition of a Manager as per Dr. Kulneet Suri

Management skills are innate and to some level can be developed. Students who are aspiring to be PGDM graduates need to keep in mind that a manager is an all-round developed personality.

A manager is competent in every aspect of business-be it analytical or humane’. Students pursuing PGDM must take some global exposure as this makes them more culturally acceptable. They should learn from day to day experiences—because even a mother is a manager.

Experience while forming the IAAB, welcoming members from 35 Universities

IAAB (International Academic Advisory Board) was a very challenging and enriching experience. I was dealing with Academic/Non-Academic people from 35 countries. I learnt a lot from them about their experiences working in their home countries, how they managed their workload, how they wanted to showcase their talent to people outside their country.

Views on Indian education system

The youth of India must learn more of application rather than theory. So, I feel that students must learn to do and not just learn by Rote. With the ever-changing dynamics of the industry, the educational institutions need to update their methods and techniques to impart the knowledge to the students.

Working with IEC Group of Institution and then with IMS Noida, Dr. Suri’s journey so far

Both the places are evolving in terms of teaching methodologies. You have to be a learner at every step. Self-evolvement happens while you learn. The evolvement has to be both intrinsic and extrinsic.

The span of control, the protocols and procedures vary from each institution to another. But certain domains remain ever-challenging and ever-lasting despite working for any Institution.

“The foundation of every country, state is the Education of Youth. Education is an embellishment in possessions and a retreat in adversity. Education is not only a source of the hallway in to a job. The most valued consequence of education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, distinguish whether you like it or not, it is the first lesson that ought to be learned and however early a man’s training may begin in probably the last lesson he learns meticulously.