Mr. Paras Thakur is the director of Imperial Institute of Advanced Management (IIAM), Kalyan, Maharashtra. He has been playing an important role in shaping the careers of the students by providing them the needed guidance and support. He pursued engineering and after completing MBA in Operations, he holds 8-10 years of experience in the corporate sector. This has established him as an educator who possesses the required knowledge and experience to make students ready for the challenges that they may face in the corporate world.

IIAM Kalyan

You have held key positions at education institutes throughout your professional career. What keeps you connected with the Education Sector and how has your experience been so far with the institute?

Coming from a corporate background, I understood the gaps in the education industry. So, when I commenced this journey, I realized that our curriculum should be a blend of academic theory and industry practice to make the students industry ready. This passion of building superior quality professionals keeps me connected with the education sector 

Being the Director of the Imperial Institute of Advanced Management (IIAM), what is your philosophy of leadership? How would you describe your leadership style?

I believe in the philosophy of leading by example and that has been my motto always. For me personally, leadership is about inspiring others to do their best work. Also, I have understood from my experience that to be an effective leader you need to be an effective communicator. So, whenever I delegate a task to my staff, I lead from behind and I ensure they know that I care. 

How do you strategize about the key programs and plans for the marketing and administration of your school being the Director of IIAM?

I have always followed the principle that “You can’t manage what you don’t measure”

While our aim has been increasing the enrollments in our college, however I don’t just keep that as my measure of our performance. Hence our strategies also have programs where we make our youth self-aware of the industry practices and need of the hour education through our seminars. We also conduct various quiz competitions across colleges to select the eligible and worthy students. So, we try to bring a very holistic approach in our strategy along with the traditional approach.

The education systems in India and other foreign countries are structured very differently. In your experience, what can an inbound student gain from studying here in your institute?

Well, firstly, I would like to emphasize on the dual specialization that we provide in our college, which if you take notice is given by limited colleges. That is our USP. Also like I mentioned before, we create industry-ready students by giving them training in hard skills. And lastly, something that is not so focused in many colleges is the student’s soft skills. It’s a proven fact that today having good communication skills is mandatory for any industry and we at IIAM have specific soft-skills centric subjects so that our students ace their communication skills.

How does the curriculum of IIAM ensure the best practice of the industry?

Apart from providing them with updated industry knowledge, we also regularly conduct workshops and seminars by industry specialists. These workshops give the students a hands-on idea about the current trends and approaches which gives them exposure to the practices of the industry.

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

We, at IIAM, have always focused on welcoming students who are worthy and deserving and we have always supported this phenomenon right from the beginning. We have a lot of students who come from lower income groups and we have ensured that we provide them with scholarships through our trusts. Also, we have given various options for fee payment in the form of installments for the convenience of the students because we believe that a student should get the education he/she deserves irrespective of their financial background.

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

As mentioned earlier, I have always believed in giving quality education and for that I take my responsibilities very seriously. I ensure the students get the best knowledge by providing them with the best faculty. Not just that, we also believe in giving them an environment where they feel enriched, and our infrastructure is an example for the same, with CCTV equipped, air-conditioned and mock aircraft classrooms. 

What do you think should be the University’s top priority over the next 10 years?

With the rapid pace of technological advancements and increasing complexities in global issues, it has become essential for universities to promote cross-disciplinary research and education. Our aim for the next few years would be to invest in cutting-edge research facilities and recruiting top talent in emerging fields can position us as leaders in our segment.

What would you like people to know about your institute they may not know?

Colleges can play a very important role in advancing knowledge and solving complex problems. Hence, we at IIAM give importance to learning through experience. So, our pedagogy is also on similar lines. Our course curriculum and our teachers ensure the same. Also, we are providing the students with the French language as a part of the curriculum, which widens their career prospects.

What do you see as the greatest strengths of IIAM?

I believe excellence is achieved by performing exceptionally well in all fields. Similarly at IIAM, our greatest strength is our exceptional performance in all fields such as our pedagogy, our faculty, our placements and our infrastructure. We have successfully placed 85 % of our students of both BBA and MBA in reputed corporate companies. 

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

Students today have a lot of options in front of them and are unable to process them. Hence, I feel, we need to bring clarity to the students to make the right choices according to their interests, strengths and future career growth prospects. We at IIAM try to address this problem through my seminars. We believe investment in education can give the best returns.

What are some plans that you’re currently (or will be) designing for IIAM students?

We will be focusing on the courses based on the current market trends and requirements. The students in the future will get an option of add on certification courses which will help them upskill themselves and be up to date with the market needs. 

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

Getting an education is important. However, in today's time, getting the right education at the right time is more important. So my suggestion to the youth is to choose wisely and all the best for their future endeavors.