Interview: Dr. Rajendra K Sinha, Professor & Chairperson (CoEB) at IFIM Business School|Collegedunia

Interview by Yash Panchal

Presently working as the Professor & Chairperson for Centre of Excellence in Banking (CoEB) IFIM Business School, Dr. Rajendra K Sinha holds a B.Sc & M.Sc degree. He did his PGDM (International Management) from All India Management Association, Delhi in 2000 and Ph.D. (Business Administration) in Enterprise Resource Management from Aligarh Muslim University in 2006. He is an Enterprising leader & planner with 35+ years of extensive experience with State Bank Group including Top Executive assignments in SME, Industry Studies.

He is a recipient of Cooverji Hormusji Bhabha Research Scholarship & Award from Indian Banks Association (1998) and Finance Minister Book Writing Award in 2000 under IBA auspices on “Jokhim Prabandhan Aivm Vyatpunna” (Risk Management & Derivatives). He authored a book in 2009 on “Bankon mein Jokhim Prabandhan Aivm Vyatpunna ka Mahatava ” (Risk Management in Banks & Importance of Derivatives). He has represented SBI at National/State Level Conferences / Conclaves as a Speaker / Panel Experts.

Dr. Sinha also has received certifications like Certified Associate of IBF (CAIIB) from Institute of Banking & Finance, CIF (Certified Insurance Facilitator) from RNIS, AMFI (Mutual Fund Distributors Certification) from BSE Training Institute and SP (Specified Person SBI General Insurance) from Indian Institute of Insurance. Dr. Sinha has a thesis titled “Asset Liability Management in Banks in India” to his credit.

Dr. Sinha’s assessment of the education industry

Education Industry has undeniably played the pivotal role in intellectual wealth creation of a nation by producing the skilled and professionally competent youth. India’s higher education segment is the largest in the world and is expected to increase to US$ 37.8 billion by 2020. India has one of the largest networks of higher education institutions in the world.

It is a matter of proud for me that I am associated with IFIM Business School, which is one of the 6 Business Schools in India, with the prestigious AACSB accreditation. IFIM Business School is now in the same league with the other 5 Business Schools in India, namely IIM-C, ISB-H, XLRI, IMT-G, and TAPMI.

Dr. Sinha’s philosophy of leadership

I believe that to achieve excellence in any area, there must be a high level of benchmarks acting as the driving forces. I am an ardent believer of transformational leadership, with a deep sense of shared purpose, to motivate subordinates, while taking a broad view of the issues surrounding and using them as a driving force for meeting the overall goals of the organization.

Significant challenges faced by Dr. Sinha as the Chairperson CoEB of IFIM Business School

My focus remains to see that the students not only get the knowledge on various topics of a course but also fully understand the latest regulatory environment, which will give them the confidence to act prudently in a given situation.

Therefore, the Centre of Excellence in Banking endeavors for imparting knowledge on the best banking practices embedded with the latest regulatory guidelines and theories.

Curriculum of IFIM

IFIM curriculum works in complete alignment with the mission of IFIM Business School, which lays emphasis on nurturing holistic, socially responsible and continuously employable professionals. Our curriculum interventions such as the Personality Enhancement Program (PEP), Social Immersion Program (SIP), Research Incubation (RI), and Industry Internship Program (IIP) have delivered measurable positive outcomes.

The USP of IFIM Business School lies in its Bespoke program, wherein the students have the flexibility to choose the courses of their interest areas. Purposing and Mentoring Process for the students is achieved effectively through the Dual Mentorship Program, involving the joint efforts of a Corporate Mentor & a Faculty Mentor in guiding the student in his/her developing and working upon the Purposing plan in a focused way for achieving for themselves the short/medium/long-term goals.

Growth of students through placement opportunities available at IFIM Business School

Our students have been getting placed in prestigious banking and financial institutions i.e. Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, HDFC, Axis Bank, Citi, Standard Chartered, Federal Bank, etc. IFIM Business School’ PGDM program has accreditation of National Board of Accreditation (NBA). IFIM Institutions are ISO 9001-2015 certified.

With AACSB accreditation, IFIM Business School is rightfully positioned at the cutting edge of business education in the world. AACSB accreditation is synonymous with the highest standards of excellence in education, as it provides quality assurance. As we are now among the 6 elite business schools in the country with AACSB accreditation, this will have further ripple effects on the range of the companies getting attracted for placements of our students.

Dr. Sinha on how he establishes a relation with the students

Our curriculum provides a lively relation with the students through interventions like Social Immersion Program, Research Incubation, and Industry Internship Program. Each Faculty has to work with a group of students for these programs as a mentor and constantly monitor the progress. Besides, there is Facebook at work, which enables the free flow of information between Faculty and students. Apart from this, I also prefer to have WhatsApp groups with students for various interventions.

Dr. Sinha’s ideal school environment

I believe that an ideal business school needs to have a collaborative and personalized learning environment. The emphasis needs to be on a holistic learning, wherein besides the skills development, the personality development of students should equally get the focus. Fortunately, at IFIM Business School these aspects get adequate emphasis.

Clubs such as IFIM Entrepreneurship-Cell (IFIM E-Cell), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) club, Marketing club (Impulse), Finance club (Alpha), Human Resource Management club (V4U), Toastmasters club, Music club (Nirvana) etc., provide students ample opportunities to explore their areas of interest and bring the best out of them.

Top qualities that an aspiring MBA/PGDM/BBA/Law student must possess

The students showing an inclination for these courses must reflect an attitude and aptitude towards it. Students must have die-hard interest for the course they want to pursue as the inner driven force is essential for their success.

Goals in mind for IFIM B-School

IFIM Business School’s relentless pursuit will continue towards realizing its Vision Statement which reads as “To be the most sought-after destination for quality management education in India”.

Suggestions to the current youth and the aspiring students

Students must dream big and work for excellence in whatever activity they choose. This will help them realize their aspirations and in turn, help this great country achieve the intellectual, technological & scientific milestones and put it as the front runner amongst the galaxy of nations.