Interview by Bhawna Rawat

Chetan

Prof. Chetan Wakalkar is currently the Group Director of Indira Group of Institutes, Pune. He is also the Managing Trustee of the group. His educational qualifications include BE/MBA, E&TC.

The most vital sector is the education sector

The education sector is the most vital sector for any country as it contributes significantly to nation building. Being a part of it is exciting as we are creating a workforce for the future of the nation and responsible citizens.

Unity in diversity at Indira Group of Institutes

Over the years, the Indira Group of Institutes has created a unique culture of inclusiveness, respect for one another, learning together by supporting each other and pride in who we are. All Indiraites would epitomize this and that’s what unites us in spite of our diversity.

Participative leadership philosophy of Prof. Chetan

My philosophy of leadership is about inspiring and mentoring our team to deliver the best results for our group. I believe in a participative style of leadership with solution based decision making.

Challenges faced in the journey so far and the changes noticed in the industry over the years

Frequent changes in government regulation with a short-term view have been one of the biggest challenges that we have faced over the last 2 decades. Rigid and archaic policies have rendered the education sector ineffective in responding to today’s rapidly changing business and technology environment.

Increase in healthy competition is one of the major changes this sector is experiencing now. In contrast to a decade ago, today’s students have a much wider choice of cities and universities to select from with a vast array of courses to pursue. Role of technology and social media is significant in education today and any institute not inculcating the same in its pedagogy is bound to lose out.

The updated curriculum of Indira Group ensuring best practice of industry

Indira has firmly believed that a great education would train a student to know what to do with what he learns, emphasizing the application of knowledge. We have achieved the same by creating a comprehensive industry outreach program. We have created numerous seminar/leadership and award series that attract some of the best corporate minds to our campus. The Indira Super Achievers, the Indira Marketing Excellence Awards, Indira International Innovation Summit, the Indira Engineering Excellence Awards, and Indira Brand Slam are some of our industry academia properties. In addition to this, we are the academic knowledge partners in numerous HR /Branding /marketing / Leadership summits in India and Asia. this gives our students numerous opportunities to learn from the industry experts. We also have an ongoing Career Leadership Development Program wherein professionals from the industry come to campus to teach and mentor our students for the business world.

Goals in mind for Indira Group for the coming years

The Indira Group of Institutes entered its silver jubilee year from the 5th of September, which happens to be our foundation day. The year would be filled with special celebrations and learning events for the Indira family. The next major step for our group is the launching of our private university under the Government of Maharashtra. The Indira Knowledge World University would come into existence soon at our Parandwadi Campus on the Pune Mumbai expressway.

The university would be based on the philosophy of liberal education and aspires to bring the unique and futuristic curriculum to our students in the field of engineering and technology, management, law, and media mass communication. The University would attract students not only from India but from all over the world.

Importance of time management

Advice on time management is one of the most oft-repeated for students, yet it is one of the most difficult to develop as a habit. Today’s quality education makes great demands on a student’s time, hence it’s of utmost importance to manage your time well, as one needs time post-college lectures to complete assignments. etc. The best and easy option is to make timetable for the entire day besides your college TT and attempt to stick to the same as much as possible. Start with a week at a time and as you achieve success, it will form into a desired habit that will support you for life.