Dr Hari Shankar Gaur is the Dean of the School of Agricultural Sciences at Sharda University. He has a total experience of more than 45 years in the education domain. He is an eminent nematologist, teacher, researcher and manager of higher education institutions. He earned his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees with the Golden Jubilee Medal. He is internationally known for his work on anhydrobiosis, hatching and other survival strategies of nematodes. He has over 350 publications to his credit including 145 research papers, 55 review articles, 9 books, and 2 video films.

School of Agricultural Sciences, Sharda University

What are the key factors that keep you connected with the education sector?

“The desire to pass the knowledge and the legacy to the new generation with value addition”

I have been in the education sector for the last 45 years including the last 17 years, as manager of higher education, which has been a very satisfying experience. The key factors in the satisfaction are my peers, teachers, colleagues and students. I am passing on the intellectual genes in society to the next generation, so that my students can carry on this process. I believe in perpetuity if my knowledge is passed on from one generation to the next. Problem-solving and developing novel technologies is our duty. Moreover, I am glad we can generate more trained and dedicated mentors for the future.

What is your philosophy of leadership?

“A collaborative approach in team building and operational activities”

Being a part of a team, I facilitate and guide my colleagues wherever needed and help remove obstacles. Also, I learn from my colleagues and circumstances as well. I believe in giving a good amount of freedom of expression and experimentation. I do keep an eye on them and intervene if necessary, but give due credit to my team for their achievements and own responsibility for failures. 

What can an inbound student gain from studying in the School of Agricultural Sciences?

“A curriculum that enables students to implement technology & knowledge as per the situations”

The curriculum and pedagogy at the School of Agricultural Sciences are very much tuned to address the national and global needs. We in India have the advantage of diverse weather, natural resources, biodiversity and a variety of farming systems. Our curriculum is very much tuned to directly address the problem and needs of the developing and underdeveloped countries, particularly of Asia and Africa. It is also benchmarked with some of the best public and private national and international universities. Our students get the knowledge that is very much directly translatable into practice.

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How do you plan to make students ready for their professional career?

“By enabling our students to adopt precision farming, automation and apply artificial intelligence”

Our curriculum and pedagogy are directly relevant as per industry needs. However, we also teach our students about the latest developments and technologies all over the world. Our strategy has been to prepare students for agricultural production, protection, improvement systems, entrepreneurship, and industries for research and development. We are one of the universities where the students are given research orientation and projects even at the UG level. We also adopted a ‘Student Ready’ program as per the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). It gives them direct exposure to rural farming, entrepreneurship and industry. Our students are also directly involved with various industries for training, including agrochemicals, seed, fertilizers, farm machinery, etc.

Which are the professional careers students can choose after completing their degree?

“Agriculture-based businesses, advisory, managerial, import-export services and independent ventures of this domain”

Agriculture students have vast opportunities such as agricultural advisory systems, banking services, agriculture credit systems, extension services in state agriculture departments, agri-journalism, processing industries, organic farming, etc. Many of them also opt for higher studies in India or abroad. Importantly, there has been a growing demand for these professions in various sectors. Lowest unemployment rate presently is among agricultural graduates. A good number of our students have been already placed in reputed organizations through campus interviews even before the completion of their degree programme.

What do you think should be the School of Agricultural Sciences top priority over the next 10 years?

“We want to become a world-class centre in multidisciplinary agricultural research”

We want to become a centre of extension for agriculture services, educating farmers and also provide software-based online services. Also not only produce for the country but also able to address national and international agri-business issues. Our aim is also to take care of the natural resources & environment and focus on sustainability. We wish to expand into various branches of agricultural science. 

What do you see as the School of Agricultural Sciences’ greatest strengths?

“Highly qualified faculty functioning together in a multidisciplinary model”

Our greatest strength is our highly qualified, trained and motivated faculty. All our faculties are Ph.D. holders and post-doctorates from reputed Universities, including ICAR National Institutes, SAUs, CSIR, IITs, foreign universities and Institutes. We expose our students to a myriad of opportunities, that way we can build competencies of our students as per global levels. Also, we try to offer holistic learning with an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach.

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Any suggestions you would like to give to the aspiring students?

“Students must be able to adapt to the ever-changing scenarios of the academic world”

My advice to the students would be to gain the latest knowledge and strengthen their innovative thought and approach. Their aim should be not only to find employment but to become an employers. They should be able to produce new technologies, and not only depend on existing ones. We should not be static but proactive and dynamic in our approach.