“Be aware of your inherent capabilities and work towards your goals accordingly,” suggests Mr. Kanwaljeet Singh to the youth

Interview By Bhawna Rawat

Mr. Kanwaljeet Singh is currently working as the Vice Chairman of Sri Sukhmani Group of Institutions/Polytechnic for Women. He is a qualified MBA and has been in the field of education since 1975. Under his leadership, the institutes provide students with the knowledge, skills & confidence that are relevant to contemporary creative practice.

Experience in the education industry

Our group, Sri Sukhmani Group of Institutions has its legacy since 1975, where we run vocational and technical courses. The International Polytechnic for women was established in 1979. My experience in the education industry has been ever since then and I have witnessed a series of events where I have got a chance to serve the industry by giving independent individuals to the society. This makes it the best industry to be in.

Philosophy of leadership adopted to take the team ahead

Leadership for me is leading by example

I make it a point to be the first one to come to work daily, which is why everyone else is punctual about time. I have put in a lot of efforts along with the Chairman of the group, Mr Avtar Singh, who is my father and also the founder of the group. People learn from these qualities, I believe. When we started out the first college for commerce, Mr Avtar Singh was one of the most well-known accountants around the city and knew the industry well. He has written a lot of books too. There have been our employees who have imbibed in these qualities. So, I believe leading by example is the leadership style that I follow.

The significant challenges faced by the Chairman of the London School of Trends

During the journey of the Sri Sukhmani Group, we faced a hurdle wherein there were complications observed without Management institute in Dwarka. When we took up to this college in Dwarka, there was very less inhabitation in and around Dwarka, it was not an easy task. We got affiliation from AICTE after a lot of hurdles. We faced hurdles in generating awareness there as it was not as densely populated area as it is now. We have however been able to pull through the challenges.

The group has a number of colleges in Dera Basi and Chandigarh and in the current scenario when there are so many colleges and students are confused about which one to choose,

I think every day is a challenge where you have to prove time and again that you are better than your competitors

These are the hurdles that we face every day

The curriculum making sure to be Industry-Oriented

Our curriculum is entirely industry oriented. For example, for our interior design course, whatever is the most recent technology in the industry is being imbibed in the curriculum. Every semester the syllabus is updated because these are all skill-oriented subjects. Whatever feedback is received from the industry, we try to imbibe it into our curriculum. We have active industry players on our advisory council who advise us and we design our course accordingly.

The growth of students through placement opportunities available at London School of Trends

We have about 80 to 90% placement rate. Recently, there was a placement drive in Dwarka campus where about 16 companies came and picked up over 100 students. With more technology-driven curriculum we hope to extend this envelope further.

Read more about placements opportunities available at PFW

Establishing a relationship with the students being the Chairman of the institute

We have a suggestion box, where students are open to put in their suggestions about a number of things concerning the institute. Their timely feedback is taken. Anybody can come and meet me, speak about what they want to, express their ideas and I am more than happy to be giving them my time.

Encouraging an ideal school environment at the campus

An ideal school environment should be a combination of professional as well as friendly environment, where the student is able to give her/his own ideas and also imbibe the education given in the college. We appreciate creativity in students so that they realize that they are going to be the future pillars of the society

The top qualities that an aspiring candidate must possess

Aptitude is an important quality for these courses. Hard work, sincerity, discipline are also essential for a career in the Design field.

Goals for the Sri Sukhmani group for the next few years

We will soon be starting the MBBS course in Chandigarh which is right now of prime importance for us. We believe in short-term goals to excel in the fields exclusively.

Suggestions for the current youth and the aspiring students

The current scenario, where there are many institutes and courses, is making students confused as they want to be a jack of all trades rather than master on one. I would want to convey that the youth needs to be focused so that the aptitude of the student can be developed in a particular area and they may be helped to set up a career in that field.

We, at Sri Sukhmani Group, are here to guide them, be it our nursing college, dental college, Management College or even the engineering college. We have all kind of skilled education possible. We suggest to the students to be aware of their inherent capabilities and work towards their goals accordingly.