Dr. Monica Sharma is the Head and Associate Professor of the Department of Management Studies, Malaviya National Institute of Technology. She is also the Coordinator of the MNIT Innovation and Incubation Centre (MIIC) a DST, GOI sponsored Technology Business Incubator sanctioned by MHRD and she looks after all the activities related to incubation and effective management of the TBI. She has earned her Bachelor’s of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering, Master’s of Business Administration in Production and Operations Management and has also completed PhD in Operations Management. She is a certified quality engineer and six sigma, green belt holder. She has also undertaken various projects from UGC, DST (GoI, New Delhi). She has organized more than 30 workshops/sttp/fdp related to entrepreneurship development and sustainable manufacturing and has supervised more than 6 PhD’s along with 4 PhDs ongoing and has written several books as well. She has published several journal articles in the International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, Journal of Cleaner Production, The TQM Magazine, etc along with research articles in international conferences. Her research interests are industrial engineering, lean manufacturing, materials management, operations management, operation research, total quality management, manufacturing excellence, sustainable manufacturing, and Six Sigma.

Monica Sharma's Profile

What are your roles and responsibilities towards the students?

"To develop course curriculum for them and provide the best knowledge to them"

Being the HOD and a Faculty member of the Department of Management Studies, MNIT Jaipur, my core responsibilities include administrative tasks, teaching and mentoring students, conducting research, course and curriculum development and the dissemination of the right information to the stakeholders. I aim to enhance the learning environment through instruction, planning activities, practical and applied research, and services that support the institutional mission.

How do you establish healthy relations with the students and fellow faculty?

"By acknowledging my mistakes and ensuring the environment of free communication"

I always follow the approach of open and transparent communication, trust and honesty to establish healthy relations with my fellow faculty and students. This gives a positive mindset to everyone to complete their duties. Apart from this, I treat all faculty with respect and also encourage students to have a free flow of discussions. I make every effort to keep the relationship conflict-free by admitting mistakes and setting clear boundaries with fellow colleagues.

Check: DMS MNIT Jaipur, Courses and Fees

How do you bring in a practical and industry-oriented approach towards subjects?

"By conducting guest sessions, role plays and taking help of case studies"

To ensure that my students learn concepts in a better way and also get an idea of industry happenings and expectations from them, I take the help of the latest case studies, role-plays and via interactions with industry alumni through guest lectures or sessions. During classroom teaching, we try to relate theory with industry problems and also invite experts from the industry to share their experiences. In our course module, we have an Applied Management Research Project where students identify practical problems from the industry and submit a report which is part of the evaluation component.

How do you strategize and update the curriculum to make it befitting for the students?

"I take inputs from faculty and offer various learning assignments to students"

The curriculum of our institute gets updated every 4-5 years. And to make it best for students in terms of industry orientation, we take input from all faculty members for effective implementation. Apart from developing a perfect set of in-class projects and assignments, I ensure meeting the needs of the students in a way that guarantees the material is understood, maintained and applied in and out of the classroom.

What are your views on the placements and higher education of students from your department?

"Our students are shining in both areas and we feel very proud"

Even during the pandemic, our placements were good. Moreover, few of our students are pursuing PhD from reputed national institutes like IITs and foreign universities to flourish through their career aspirations and many are placed in reputed organizations. Our department has empowered and facilitated students to establish a sync between the demand and supply of work opportunities in every specialized area. 

How do you prepare your student to cope with this competitive world? 

"We organize professional visits and training programs to boost their confidence"

Instead of focusing on competition as a threat, our students are trained to focus on their unique set of competencies and talent because we believe in cultivating a mindset in them that could make them capable enough to adopt a holistic approach toward life. And to fulfill this belief, we use the strategy of effective curriculum, industry-based training and industry visits. They are also encouraged to be mindful and self-efficacious of their choices in life.

What extracurricular activities are organized in college to enhance the skills of students?

"Our students clubs conduct activities to develop overall personality of students"

We strongly believe that co-curricular activities are equally important along with studies to keep students physically and mentally fit. And for this, we have different kinds of clubs to support students develop their inbuilt qualities, hidden talents and leadership or managerial skills through various fun and academic activities. Moreover, students take up live and research-based projects as part of their course curriculum which gives them opportunities to gain skills in cross-functional areas.

What approaches do you use apart from curriculum to teach your students?

"We invite faculties from different colleges and experts from industries to take sessions"

We invite Industry personnel for guest lectures, and faculty from other premiere institutions to visit our college and to have a fruitful interaction with our students and lastly, we conduct game and role play-like activities.

Any valuable advice which you would like to give to students for a prosperous career ahead?

"Be skilled enough and set realistic goals for yourself"

I would advise my students to be honest, trustworthy, efficient and good team players. Also, they should enhance their skills and should be ethically and emotionally strong so that they can accept mistakes and bring in some out-of-the-box solutions. Start with redefining “what prosperity means to you?”. Set worthy goals for yourself, be compassionate and find happiness in each aspect of your life.