Dr. Urvashi Makkar is a Campus Director of IMS Ghaziabad considered as a seasoned academician, scholar and institutional leader having over 23 years of an illustrious track record in Management Education. She has recently been elected to the prestigious Council of Management of All India Management Association (AIMA), national apex body of the management profession in India as Representative of Corporate/ Institutional Members for the year 2021-2023. Besides this, she has completed a Certification Course on “Higher Education Leadership Program” from Harvard School of Education, Harvard University, Boston, USA. Dr. Urvashi Makkar, is also holding numerous other academic responsibilities in institutes of repute. She is currently a member of the Governing Body of Shivaji College, University of Delhi, treasurer of the Governing Body of Bhagini Nivedita College, University of Delhi, Head of India Operations in a New York based startup. She has to her credit 13 books published by renowned publishing houses, including TATA McGraw Hill and more than 76 publications in National & International conferences and seminars. As a research enthusiast, she holds distinguished positions in the global platform and has been serving in the editorial board of many reputed national and international journals. Many relevant aspects on management and leadership, situational leadership, different styles of leader were deftly explained by Dr. Urvashi to over 150 academic leaders in the rigorous session. The interactive pedagogy adopted by her enriched the learning experience of the delegates who were able to recognize the difference between leadership and management as well as understand the key leadership and management challenges in their respective institutions. She has been successfully awarded with the prestigious CMI Level 5 “Certificate in Management and Leadership” for her participation in the UK-India Education & Research Initiative in collaboration with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). She has been conferred with a number of awards in recognition of her phenomenal contribution to the field of education. Some of them are ‘Exemplary Contribution in Higher Education for Global Vision and Outlook’ by Honorable Shri Suresh Prabhu, Former Union Minister of Railways ‘Sashakt Naari’ Award, “Lifetime Time Achievement Award for Exemplary Contribution in Higher Education”, ‘Woman Academic Leader Award’ in Higher Education Category, by Padma Bhushan Ms. Shabana Azmi. 

IMS Ghaziabad

Being the Director of the institute, what is your philosophy of leadership and how would you describe your leadership style?

“Leading from the front, taking responsibility for all failures and attributing success to the whole team”

Coming from a family of academicians, Leadership for me is leading from the front, taking responsibility for all failures and attributing success to the whole team. I have always believed that a leader should be result oriented by use of ethical means. I care about my people as also the job and feel that people give their best if they have trust and faith that they are being valued. When we talk about leadership styles, they keep on evolving and changing based on different situations & circumstances. But largely, I always appreciate the collaborative leadership style in which a lot of discussions & consultations are done with the team members before plunging into any decision making process. And that has always helped because when you have such a strong team of faculty and staff members on your campus. You can take advantage of the brainstorming and different perspectives. However, when contingencies are having an impending impact on the timelines, then the transactional style always works in which certain goals are given to the team with definite timelines.

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

“Highly placed academic council, meetings and discussion with stakeholders ensure industrial curriculum on campus”

IMS Ghaziabad has got the distinctive distinction of evolution of its curriculum with the passage of time as per the expectations of the corporate sector. We sync with the expectations & requirements of the corporate in terms of the skill sets of the students. In our campus, we have a highly placed academic council in which we are currently having experts and very senior members from around eleven countries besides our own country. It represents academia as well as the corporate. Every year, we are having the Academic Council Meeting in which curriculum revision is the major agenda, and based on three major feedbacks which we receive from major stakeholders we design the curriculum. Secondly, we take feedback from the alumni and also from the academic council members. Based on these feedbacks, we design the curriculum every year, and a new curriculum with certain additions is offered to the students. We have added 37 new modules in our curriculum in which we have integrated a very relevant module on Skill Enhancement & Corporate Readiness (SECR). It will focus on the skill improvements of the students as per the recruiter’s feedback in terms of their expectations from the PGDM students when they enter into the market. We initiated skill-oriented Value-Added Certification Programmes (VA-CPs) and Value-Added Short-Term Training Programs (VA- STTPs) to supplement the highly competitive and corporate relevant curriculum. It is increasing the employability quotient of our students. The institute successfully conducted Value Added Certification Programmes by MSME on “Digital & Social Media Marketing”, “Yellow Belt Six Sigma”, “Financial Markets, Product & Planning”, “The Super Power Job Seeker Professionals”, “Google Analytics”, “Sales & Negotiation Programme”, “Advanced MS Office” by Microsoft and there are many more in the pipeline.

Any insight into how your institute has been throughout all these years when it comes to placements?

“Pre Placement Prepared Committee conducts numerous workshops on Resume Writing, Group Discussions and Mock Interviews to empower the students towards a bright career”

Getting placed in an organization of repute is the dream of every student pursuing a professional course. The corporate resource center or the Placement Cell of IMS plays a vital role in facilitating students in the realization of this dream. It is bringing the industry and academia close to each other by providing Career Counseling, need based education and organization support. The industry is supporting IMS Ghaziabad in its endeavors by interacting with our students through Seminars, Conferences, Symposiums, Guest Lectures and offering learning opportunities through short-term/long-term Projects, CSR projects, Live projects, Networking Events, Industry/Plant Visits etc. The Corporate Resource Centre and the Pre Placement Prepared Committee conducts numerous workshops on Resume Writing, Group Discussions and Mock Interviews to empower the students towards a bright career. The cumulative efforts of the CRC, Pre Placement Preparedness Committee, faculty and staff team of the institute has reaped rich dividends. As a result of the various initiatives for Skill Enhancement & Corporate Readiness, IMS Ghaziabad has accomplished a stellar record of excellent Placements. A listed organizations like, Deloitte, Mondelez, Byju’s, Amul, Colgate, Berger Paints, ITC, Dabur, ICICI, Axis Bank, EY, S&P Global, DTDC, Square Yards, Prism Johnson Ltd., Uniqlo India, Reliance Digital, Aditya Birla Group, Wipro, Mahindra Logistics, Godrej and Boyce, XL Dynamics, WNS, Zomato, Reliance Jio, Uflex Ltd, DHL Supply Chain, Bisleri, Flipkart, Naukri.com and many more, we will consistently fulfill the aspirations of our stakeholders and be better than the best. The Institute has been consistently offering Summer Internship Projects (SIPs) with stipend in top organizations such as Curate Data Analytics, WhiteHat Jr, Praedico Global Research, Tata AIG, The Capital Box, Insplore Consultants, Career Domain, Sharekhan, 10times, FinSkool, Fooracles, Jaquar, Pathkind Labs, Times of India, Chaayos, Sodexo. IMS Ghaziabad feels honored to be associated with a 6000+ Alumni base that is well established at the reputed positions in Industry.

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

“Teach pupils to become responsible citizens for the country, and impart skillful talents in them”

When defining the roles and responsibilities of a person who is sitting on the chair of the Director, sometimes the boundaries are blurred as we cannot confine that role within predefined limits. Very interestingly, we create KPAs and KRAs for our team members. We teach the students how to define performance, how to gauge appraisals etc. But when we talk about certain positions, we are responsible for every single outcome happening in the campus. Sometimes, the role of KPAs and KRAs become redundant. I believe that this chair demands something beyond certain roles and responsibilities. This chair demands a lot of passion towards the student community and per se in the larger perspective, towards the society and nation. I feel myself privileged that I am part of the academic fraternity in which not only are we providing the degrees to the students, rather we are providing a strong platform to create responsible citizens for the country who are capable of taking the nation to greater heights by virtue of imbibing the skills which they have learnt in this campus. So, I believe that in the larger perspective, we are contributing to the development of the nation by providing sensible, mature, skillful talent. I am very pleased and privileged that our team of faculty members understands this responsibility very well, and carry forward the glorious 33 years legacy of IMS Ghaziabad.

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

“Research orientation, global interface, environmental sustainability, etc are our primary focuses”

It is really very important to understand the role of an academic institution in a society as well as in a country beyond the primary responsibility of giving knowledge and education to the students. Besides that, our contributions to the nation in terms of environmental sustainability. We are trying to bend the minds of the learners towards the bigger perspectives which can change the future of earth is really very important. Hence, IMS Ghaziabad has been associated with important causes like environmental sustainability, water conservation, tree plantation etc. since inception and has been striving that students enter into the market with this sensitivity. This is one of our major priorities in the coming years. Second very important area in which we believe IMS Ghaziabad will be doing very well in the coming 10 years is the research orientation. This is one area in which I believe a lot needs to be done currently in terms of contribution to research and for that our faculty members are taking many initiatives. We strongly believe that we would be establishing our worth in this area in the imminent future. Third major focus area of our campus currently is the global interface for which IMS Ghaziabad is providing many platforms to its students for interaction with the global experts. As part of global collaboration, IMS Ghaziabad is offering 30 Hours Global Swiss Certification Program on “Ethical Decision Making and Responsible Business” to PGDM Batch 2021-23 & Batch 2022-24, which is conducted and certified by Humanistic Management Center and Humanistic Management Network, Geneva. To further broaden the horizons of its students, IMS Ghaziabad has partnered with reputed Global experts as Adjunct Faculty for various subjects. The institute organized its 30 hours flagship Global Talk Series on “Strategic Management” and Management of Change, Innovation and Technology which were conducted by the Managing Director of Morgan Franklin Consulting, USA. Innovative pedagogical tools like Case Analysis, Team Project Presentations, Group Discussion, Article Analysis etc. enhanced the learning experience of the young minds who participated in the discussions with full enthusiasm. Undoubtedly, the Global Talk Series enabled the students to comprehend the dynamic business environment of the present era and widened the boundaries of their knowledge for effective strategy formulation and decision making. We would be focusing on having the Students Exchange Program with foreign universities with which we already have tie ups. Similarly, we would be having training Programs for the students as well as Faculty Exchange initiatives.

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When you first joined, what was your vision for the institute, and how far along did you have come in the way of implementing it?

“Academic quality, Students Outreach Programs, and Skill Enhancement are our primary vision”

When I joined this campus way back in 2004, IMS Ghaziabad had been one of the topmost institutions of NCR and Northern India. We are really proud that today also, it is in the premier league. But definitely, the focus in vision has evolved with the passage of time. In the initial years, the primary focus was on academic quality, classroom delivery and the confinement of students to the campus life was much higher. During the course of our evolution, we expanded the boundaries of our campus in the terms that a lot of focus is given on Students Outreach Programs which have been recently initiated. Under this initiative, our students go outside the campus for participation in various academic as well as co-curricular activities. Our budding professionals have participated in numerous events organized by elite names like PCCI, FICCI, Aaj Tak, ASSOCHAM, FWA etc. under our endeavors for strengthening the student outreach. Besides that, our focus is on expanding the reach of the students into the global arena. It also gave a new vision to our campus to further expand our boundaries. Another very important change which has happened in the last 4-5 years is the focus on Skill Enhancement. We always tell our students that don’t bank upon the campus for the placements, always bank upon creating your skill sets, because once you are having the skill sets, the placements become the byproduct rather than a goal. We have been successful in creating this focus amongst the students and that has been the reason that 100% placements are coming out as a byproduct itself. We are not preparing the students for the first job of their life instead preparing them for a career which is lifelong.

How is IMS Ghaziabad encouraging innovation and creativity in students? What are the unique mechanisms the institute follows to achieve creative outputs from students?

“PGP, Departmental Clubs, Annual Academic Fest, Summer internships are provided to pupils”

College Life is one of the most remarkable and endearing times of an individual's life. At IMS Ghaziabad, we have always strived to facilitate cherishable and memorable times to our students. We provide a nurturing platform to transform their dreams into reality. Multiple opportunities are provided to students for inculcating creativity, imagination, leadership skills and managerial acumen. Participation in various initiatives and committees such as Class Representative, PGP, Departmental Clubs and organizing an array of Intra and Inter College Competitions and events such as ‘Samaagam’, the Annual Academic Fest of IMS Ghaziabad; Mélange, the Inter Institute Cultural Program; ‘Vataayan’-the Inter Institute Summer Internship Presentation Competitions transform them into thorough professional managers who are competent to present their perspective in a peaceful and responsible manner. The ‘Aabhar’ Club is the socially driven initiative of IMS Ghaziabad in which Corporate Social Responsibility is the keyword. The students are engaging with many NGOs of our country, we have coordinated with ‘Goonj’ for various initiatives towards social causes. We run the noble “Blanket Distribution Drive” every year during winters. Similarly, we have collaborated with “CRY”, a global NGO with which the association is confined not only to having certain events but our students are doing 2 months of internships also in addition to the Summer Internship. It is a mandatory requirement as part of the PGDM Program. The activities of the clubs and committees create an environment of collaboration and accountability encouraging students to work in teams. These also provide an opportunity to apply their creative and innovative minds. Even classroom assignments like team projects and presentations require them to work in collaboration. While ensuring academic excellence, the personality development modules and mentoring program help students develop mutual respect and tolerance. The students learn in an environment which is experiential, fun, enjoyable, and highly conducive.

What do you see as your institute’s greatest strengths?

“Campus life, faculties, teaching pedagogy, training, research, skill enhancement, value added courses are the greatest strengths of campus”

At IMS Ghaziabad, the focus is not only to achieve the highest standards of academic excellence. But, also to achieve a highly effective corporate interface backed with multi-dimensional development opportunities. A three pronged strategy with an all-encompassing comprehensive approach towards achieving Academic Excellence, Corporate Readiness and Global Interface is interwoven throughout the PGDM Program. With its internationally acclaimed faculty and teaching pedagogy, the Institute has an all-pervasive focus on teaching, training, research and consulting for crafting global business leaders for the 21st century workplace. IMS Ghaziabad has undertaken the unique initiative of Skill Enhancement & Corporate Readiness (SECR) for continually enhancing the skill sets of the learners towards corporate readiness and employability. A plethora of novel and innovative endeavours such as Value Added Certification Programmes (VA-CPs), Value Added Short Term Training Programmes (VA-STTP), Global Academic Collaborations, Distinctive Talk Series; Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE), Corporate Interface Series (CIS), IMS Innovation Hub, Placement Readiness Enhancement Program (PREP); Student Peer Learning Initiatives, Pre-Placement Preparedness Committee (PPPC); Personal & Professional Skill Programs (PPSP), SMART (Social Media and Related Techies), etc. We launched Corporate Development & Excellence Center (CDEC), our flagship training, development and consulting vertical at a glittering ceremony at Radisson Blu last year. Another distinctive feature of IMS Ghaziabad is its campus life which is full of passion, action and immense learnings. The very first day the student enters our campus, the action starts and continues for 2 years. Not even a single day is mundane, not even a single day is where they do not learn something unique because the academic calendar is planned in such a way that every single day is being taken care of in terms of extracurricular activities, cultural events, Sports meets etc.

What are some of the biggest challenges you see in general for higher education in India and for your institute?

“Lack of research, management institutions countrywide, and fitment of the faculty Members are the greatest challenges faced by us”

When we talk about the challenges for academic institutions, the biggest challenge is the lack of research orientation, and it has been acknowledged by the AICTE as well as UGC. We are very proud that IMS Ghaziabad has been. NBA accredited institution since the last 20 years and that accreditation is one symbolic indication that we are respecting the research orientation in our campus. It is as very strong weightage is given to research when these accreditations are given to any management institute. However, this is one area which is very challenging, because quality research is dependent on the proaction of the faculty team in terms of putting their efforts in research which in turn is going to define the research ecosystem of our whole campus. We have a number of policies in place to provide support as well as incentives to faculty for encouraging research. The second area of challenge which is faced by management institutions countrywide as well as worldwide. It is strengthening the entrepreneurial culture in our campus because most of the students come to our institution with a mindset to grab excellent placements. The third very important challenge is finding the right kind of fitment of the faculty members having a passion for being in the teaching profession. I believe that teaching is a profession in which you don’t sustain only because of your skills and expertise because of your passion to learn, and unlearn. These three challenges are universal in nature and we are optimistic that our institute will do better in these areas in the coming years.

How do you tend to establish a healthy relationship between IMS Ghaziabad and the environment?

“Focus on creating an awareness in the budding managers about their responsibility towards the environment”

Education has always been one of the most important change agents in the world. What happens in the classrooms is a direct reflection on what happens in society. The difference, the intervention that we wish to make has to start from the educational ring itself. The Sustainable Development Goals given to the world by the United Nations are based on what we need to survive in a better world. The National Education Policy 2020 has given an urgent call to align education in India to the Sustainable Development Goals. At IMS Ghaziabad, we focus on creating an awareness in the budding managers about their responsibility towards the environment. The PGDM students coming to our institution are actually young adults having their own value systems & strong beliefs about the sustainability goals for the environment. We create a lot of mismatches. The second very important stage is sensitization towards these global goals and causes. IMS Ghaziabad is having the socially driven ‘Aabhar’ Club in our campus, which is creating awareness about these burning causes as well as sensitizing the young minds towards the environment. We have the Annual Nukkad Natak organization in our campus in which the students are expected to take up a relevant theme which can be a social theme, an environmental issue and they participate in it with full strength. Secondly, we are having tie up with NGOs like “Goonj”, “CRY” and many more in which the global sustainability goals are always at the core of the various actions. We are well aware that these are very humble initiatives, and put much more effort in these areas to sensitize the students towards these goals.

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What suggestions would you like to give to the youth of the country?

“Confin dreams to the limitations of boundaries and flourish them well”

In the contemporary dynamic and turbulent times, the world is witnessing a sea change in almost all dimensions. New types of jobs are coming up which require different kinds of skill sets. What was hot selling cake in yester years is becoming redundant today. I would advise the young generation of our country to develop in themselves the crucial skill of ‘Learning Agility’ when it comes to learning and imbibing new information, knowledge and skills. This is very critical in current VUCA times wherein what is applicable and relevant today. When the young professionals are empowered with this agility, they will start preparing for the future challenges in a more focused way. I have been a very strong believer in the “Power of Dreams” and always tell my students to never confine their dreams to the limitations of boundaries, never define them, rather have very big wings to fly higher. I think that every single student is a bundle of so much potential if given the right ecosystem and avenues. they will flourish into the best of the individuals, best of the management professionals and best of human beings.