Vaagdevi College of Engineering, Warangal

Dr. K. Prakash is the Principal at Vaagdevi College of Engineering, Warangal. He is an experienced educator who brings various learning possibilities at the table for students to grow multi-dimensionally. He believes in experiential learning and the importance of adapting to the current industrial trends. Read here what he has to say in his interview.

What is your philosophy of leadership? How would you describe your leadership style?

“Empathy will go a long way in carrying out the tasks”

In my perspective, a leader should be a pioneer. He should own the system by holding the problems of the people for achieving the targets. He should motivate his team to teach collaborative work and see that the results are achieved. Identifying the right person for each task is also very important.

I further believe that the leader must be knowledgeable of the institute’s requirements, and at the same time, he must have compassion towards human problems. I set the goals and give a free hand to them to achieve and accomplish. Many times this is successful. 

How do you strategize about the key programs and plans for the marketing and administration of your Institute?

“I don’t believe in specific marketing strategies for an educational institution”

Only our sincere efforts and successes will speak for it in attracting the students. However, in the given competitive society, we have to adopt the propagation of our success in various facets by our institution's stakeholders using digital media platforms. 

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What can an inbound student gain from studying here in your institute/ university/ school?

“We ensure our focus is on holistic development of the students”

We are giving impetus to improving soft skills and hands-on training to our students from their first-year study itself. Further, we have MoUs with individual foreign universities to study abroad, internships, etc., to prepare them for a global personality. Being an autonomous institution, we have the liberty to frame our syllabus, keeping in view the requirements world-wide. These further include enhancing critical thinking, conceptual learning, problem-solving skills, industrial readiness, teaching team spirit, etc.

How does the curriculum of Vaagdevi College of Engineering ensure the best practice of industry?

“The experiential learning environment is our greatest strength”

Our strength is our curriculum, which mainly focuses on industrial requirements to develop experiential learning among the students. We have many MoUs with industry to provide internships and prepare the curriculum to suit their needs. As part of our curriculum, right from the first year, students are encouraged towards project-based learning. We have a flagship program called SEEK (Skill for employability and Enhancement of Knowledge) under which we encourage the students for skill upliftment in emerging areas beyond the curriculum. We have a strong Board of Studies, with experts from industry and academia.

Any insights into how your university could be more welcoming to students of different races or economic backgrounds?

“Any student who joins our institution becomes a responsible and productive citizen”

We have students studying at our campus from various economic backgrounds. We welcome all of them and see that they should understand each other and society as well. For this, we are creating a conducive environment without any coercion whatsoever. They become friends and enjoy their company without any barriers and study their courses together. It is a beautiful experience for them at Vaagdevi. 

Preparing students to become professional with all inputs is our success Mantra. We conduct co-curricular, extra-curricular activities and social awareness camps, Hackathons, Project Expos, Seminars, Workshops, Internships and Industrial visits for our students. Besides them, there are several clubs for the students to expose themselves in the field of their passion like photography club, literary club, chess club, music, dance, robotics, IoT club, etc. 

What do you think your roles and responsibilities to the University and the students are?

“An educational institution’s responsibility towards society is enormous, vital, and subjective”

We always bear this in mind and have been striving to teach the best to enable young minds to become good technocrats getting gainful engagement. They are to fulfil the societal needs by providing technological solutions. We teach in the students, during their course of study, ethical and human values to become socially responsible citizens. 

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What are some of the biggest challenges you see, both for higher education in general and for Vaagdevi College of Engineering specifically?

“These days, higher education has become very complex, ever-changing and challenging”

In my opinion, understanding the students’ perception is the big challenge. We cannot be old fashioned and grasp the pulse and change according to suit to them. Further, among the stakeholders, the employer, i.e. the industry is also significant. Their expectations are very dynamic, and we have to mould the student from their point of view. At the same time, we have to take into cognizance the sentiments and expectations of the stakeholders.

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

“Sincere efforts will undoubtedly yield the expected results”

My suggestion shall always be to be hardworking, focussed and goal-oriented following the demands of the industry and society while enjoying the studies. The student should have clarity as to what they want to become exactly. It has been our endeavour at Vaagdevi to direct the students to tread this path, and wish them all the success for a bright career and life. Youth shall generally have high expectations and strength to achieve them. We nurture success by putting in their efforts. 

What are some plans that you’re currently designing for your college?

“We are planning for international collaborations to bring in new learning opportunities”

We are planning to have some more MoUs with foreign Universities with specific plans such as twinning programmes, exchange of faculty for research, getting the students certification by foreign universities, association in curriculum aspects, international internships to students and certifications during the study period, and so on.

Also check Vaagdevi College of Engineering, Warangal Faculty

How do you tend to establish a healthy relation and environment in your institute/ university?

“We make sure to provide a budding and a growing atmosphere for students to learn and grow”

We have a CRT cell and mentoring system to nurture students and deal with not only the academic problems but also their personal issues. They are taken into confidence and counselled for their problems taking up the issues with their parents if need be. We have excellent CCTV surveillance covering classrooms, corridors, canteen and parking areas, etc. for monitoring the safety of the students for a healthy environment. We teach an atmosphere of brotherhood and create a culture of positive thinking among the students.