Interview by Bhawna Rawat

aaquil

Prof. (Dr.) Aaquil Bunglowala is currently working as the Associate Dean, STME, NMIMS, Indore. His educational qualification includes B.E., Electronics & Telecommunication, M. Tech, (Microelectronics & VLSI Design), M.B.A., Systems Management along with Ph. D. in Electronics & Telecommunication, all from premier educational institutes/Universities. He is a person of professional excellence combined with dynamic Leadership and compassion.  With over 24 years of experience in industry and academics on various profiles, his expertise lies in Digital System and VLSI design. He has served as the Principal of Sanghvi Institute of Management and Science, Indore, Director of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Technology, Indore and Associate Dean of MPSTME, NMIMS, Shirpur Campus.

Dr. Bunglowala has been actively involved in research. He has guided several M.Tech & Ph.D. scholars and published more than 50 research papers in National and International journals of repute. Apart from this, he is involved in various Research Projects. His upcoming book is on Innovative Approaches for Pre-Screening and Sensing of diseases. He has also contributed to research in the capacity of being a reviewer of books for renowned publication houses and various International Conferences and Journals. To his credit, he has won the award of Best paper presentation in a National Conference, Research article “Software Product Lines for Mobile Patient Monitoring Systems Using FODA a Grammar” is Winner at World Academic Championship -2017 in Computer Engineering, Chief Organizer of UTKARSH 2004, Best Science Model.

Dr. Bunglowala has delivered expert talks and has been invited in many National/ International conferences and workshops as session chair. He has been appointed as a subject-expert for Selection Boards of various colleges and subject matter expert for PG Dissertations including M. Tech, MCA and M.Sc., at various Universities. He succeeded in introducing M. Tech in 3 different branches during one of his assignments. He has also designed and developed UG & PG laboratories of Electronics, Digital Design, Micro Systems, Project Lab and VLSI design lab. Moreover, he has designed syllabi of several courses at university level. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and life member of various professional bodies like ISTE.

The education sector impacts the entire world with its contribution

My experience in the education sector has been varied as I have played various roles being a part of it. I believe that being in the education industry is not only about the conventional teaching, rather it is to pass on your knowledge and experience to the future generation. When educationists work for the society, they bring a lot of positive change which impacts not only an individual, a family, society or a nation but the entire world.

It gives me a lot of satisfaction working in this industry as it provides me with the opportunities, not only to educate but also to learn. There is always a challenge for continuous learning which motivates me to be updated with the emerging trends.

I have always enjoyed working with young minds as the environment created by them is very dynamic and academically exciting.

True leadership involves participative decision making

I remember that early in my career when I was new to the field of teaching, I had it in the back of my mind that one day I would be a school head. At a relatively young age of 40, I have been entrusted with the responsibility of heading an educational organization. It is a great opportunity but the whole journey until here makes me think that leadership is a combination of natural ability and common sense. Whether leaders are born or are they made? I say yes to both!

As a leader, I always look forward to academic excellence, diversity, collaboration, open communication, work ethics, moral leadership, and responsibility along with humility and courteousness. My philosophy has always been to bring a difference in the lives of people I am associated with. The greed of power has never been essential to me because according to me leadership is all about instilling positivity and motivating others to achieve more. I personally believe in a strong decentralized hierarchy and considering myself first among equals which further allows me to have a transparent and independent approach.

I have faith in participative decision making. As a leader, I always make sure that faculty, staff, and students are involved in the decision-making process. Participative decision making allows the process to be holistic and critically-thought, leading to the growth and development of the organization as well as its members. I may not be a perfect leader, I might make mistakes, but I will stay true to my values and what I believe is best for the university.

I believe “Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.” 

Ensuring the quality of education provided to the students is the biggest challenge

The higher education sector is changing very rapidly. This is a service industry and moreover, it is a people processing service. So, maintaining and delivering quality is a major challenge faced by anyone who is a part of this industry. The NMIMS University’s primary goal is to provide quality education.

My broad set of objects includes responsibility for regulation, quality assurance and improvement in education. The quality of work undertaken by a teacher has significant effects upon his or her students. I feel that continuous improvement of the student’s skill set is at the core of quality assurance and enhancement activity.

It is my belief that no quality assurance body or regulator will maintain or improve quality by relying only on compliance with or assessment of quality processes. As educators and administrators, we must take up the task of measuring outcomes individually too. Sophisticated and innovative learning approaches, even those which prove elusive, problematic and seemingly impossible to achieve consensus on, must be implied.

I have faith that if all of us take responsibility for the quality of our contribution to the student’s experience, it would be a challenge worth accepting and accomplishing.

At NMIMS, we believe that the faculty plays a significant role in influencing the careers, life and at times the destiny of students. Hence apart from quality education, development of faculty is of utmost importance to us.

We offer executive programs in our curriculum to provide professional training to the students

Our curriculum includes assessing opportunities for improvement and the need for ensuring suitable employability, innovation and research. We involve industry professionals in curriculum design and development of various courses to Synergize curriculum with industry practices and needs. We discuss the latest practices and technology changes to be incorporated into our curriculum with the industry people.

Apart from conventional academic programs offered to the students at our campus, we also offer executive programs that are custom-made to meet the needs of an ever-changing economy and also keeping in mind the unique circumstances of working professionals.

We have a strong commitment to build durable and long-lasting relationships with the corporate world. We organize a lot of Industry-institute partnership programs to identify the demands of the industry as well as to keep pace with them. At NMIMS, academic learning is reinforced with industry leaders visiting the campus to address key issues prevalent in the corporate world and insights on key features.

Our curriculum gives equal weight to practical and theory and includes Industrial visits, internship training program and research to provide broad exposure to the students on experimental learning. Be it a tailor-made course curriculum to meet the growing demands of today’s market or imparting students a real-world application of theoretical concepts through faculties from industry or giving students an insight into the professional world through our internship programs, NMIMS has always strived to set the benchmark for corporate relationships with universities.

The placement Department operates throughout the year to build a connection between the students and the corporate world

We motivate our students to aim for an excellent career with their passion in mind to achieve their dreams. We ensure that they get the right platform to showcase their talents in the most effective way, which will bring honor to the institution.

 NMIMS has a full-fledged Placement cell that continuously monitors the employment opportunities available and arranges for the Campus Recruitments for eligible students. The placement cell works towards providing students with Internships and Final Placements. The Placement Department operates all year round with a view to facilitating a connect between fresh graduates and the corporate world.

In addition to placement, grooming sessions on technical areas and interactive sessions with the professionals from the corporate world are organized to make the students aware of the recent trends and technologies used in the industry. At NMIMS, the students make sure they bring out their best in competitions of National and International repute getting excellent placements.

Read more about placements opportunities available at NMIMS

I am a student-friendly Professor who likes to inspire students

I am a student-friendly person who believes in the younger generation’s capacity and I am keen on inspiring them and provide all support to develop them as great assets to the country and to the society.

At NMIMS, we have an integrated holistic approach to teaching, in which there is one to one mentoring for every student. A mentorship program has been put in place to ensure that outstation students are at ease in the matters relating to their lives at the School. A group of students are put under a faculty who acts as their mentor. The Mentor directly interacts with me and shares all the matters related to the students. Students also communicate with me through emails. Whenever required, I make it a point that they personally interact with me.

I have always enjoyed working with young minds as the environment created by them is very dynamic and academically exciting.

An ideal school environment focuses on learning and contributing to the society

My aim is to create a learner-centric environment. We hope to create a learning experience for all our participants, an experience that will impact their careers and their lives.  I personally believe that learning is a very systematic process and it needs to be rigorous and application-based to make the students employable. It should be collaborative, relevant, and applied. We have adopted several best practices for the benefit of students and the teaching-learning process. We are promoting research, Incubation and entrepreneurship activities in a big way with a goal to take the school to a very high pedestal.

I also encourage students and faculty members to be a responsible social citizen and offer their services to the community like village adoption and developing sustainable solutions for local problems through involvement with local civic bodies.

Suggestions for the current youth to bring an end to unemployment

The youth unemployment is one of today’s big global challenges. Youth entrepreneurship offers innovative solutions for economic growth among young people. We are living in a time where opportunities are all around us. A certificate or degree is not enough. Get out of the job mindset.  The job is not the only option available to you. There are unlimited possibilities today. All you need to do is find out what you love doing and then work on it and excel at it.