Education is more than knowledge acquisition; it’s about creating skills & competence!!!
– Prof. (Dr.) Urvashi Makkar
Director, IMS Ghaziabad
Prof. (Dr.) Urvashi Makkar is a visionary in the perspective of transforming Management Institutions by her unmatched leadership in Organizational Development, her continuous perseverance in improving Academic Quality and Research Orientation with Ph.D. EPHRM-IIM Calcutta, MBA and PGDCA & an ardour for innovative learning; has created a niche for herself in Education Industry.
IMS Ghaziabad is one of the Best B schools in India accredited by NAAC with ‘A’ Grade and Globally accredited by ASIC, U.K. IMS Ghaziabad offers full-time AICTE approved & NBA accredited – PGDM Programmes, which has been awarded the MBA equivalent status by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) and MCA Programme is approved by AICTE and affiliated to Dr. APJ AKTU, Lucknow.
With its internationally acclaimed faculty and teaching pedagogy, IMS Ghaziabad feels honoured to be associated with a 6000+ Alumni base that is well established at the reputed positions in Industry. With a continuous record of excellent placements for the last 30 years, IMS Ghaziabad is one of the best B Schools in Delhi NCR and all across India offering the best placements in diverse profiles. In an exclusive conversation with Professor Dr. Urvashi Makkar, Director, IMS Ghaziabad, talks about her career journey and how education evolved over the years.
“I consider myself a student for the life who is always ready to learn not only from my faculty colleagues but also from the environment, my students and everyone I interact with. Learning is a continuous journey, if we stop learning today, we would stop leading tomorrow. I am a strong believer in big dreams and aspirations which give the wings to us to fly higher,” says Dr. Urvashi.
The biggest factor that has helped her in career is her continuous zeal to keep on learning, focus on processes and system-oriented environment and an ion performance orientation. Besides that, the focus on developing entrepreneurial culture and global interface in the institutions where ever she has worked has given her an edge to learn in the broader perspectives of management education. Talking about her success habits, she says that prioritization of tasks, trying to understand the intrinsic details of every system to create standardized processes, and continuous learning about the ongoing trends and accepting new technology that comes with digitization have always helped her in creating a sense of purpose.
Decision Making is a Part of Leadership Qualities
Dr. Urvashi says that having a holistic view of the institute with a balanced focus on the academic quality, corporate interface, global exposure, faculty development, and student-centric strategies leading to their corporate readiness has always been the focus and all the decisions were centered on these key areas which can become the competitive edge for the campus. The certification courses are in the areas of digital and social media marketing, Google analytics, yellow belt in Six Sigma, and financial markets and products. Besides these, Microsoft certification in MS office has also been implemented.
To encourage creative thinking, she says that they have an open-door policy at IMS Ghaziabad, whenever anyone has an idea they are more than welcome to discuss it with Department Head or share it with her anytime. They conduct regular brainstorming sessions with the faculty and staff members for the same. They have Institute Innovation Cell also which helps students to develop entrepreneurial skills and foster creativity.
Education Sector has Evolved over the Years
Education has evolved in terms of technology, subjects, and delivery. Digitalization deemphasizes the top-down dissemination of standardized knowledge. “As an educator, you go from disseminating knowledge orally, via in-class lectures, to putting it online in a variety of formats, including written text, videos, quizzes, and so on. While, almost by definition, oral lectures are prepared in advance, providing such content online frees up class time for more discussion,” she explains.
“I see the increased emphasis on interactive learning and discussion as one of the primary advantages of digitalization, since for me it’s the more interesting part of learning,” she adds.
When asked about what is the one thing she wants to change about the education sector, she says, “I urge the educators to broaden their horizons, bring novel and innovative teaching & learning tools to help students understand the practical aspects of studies. Here at IMS Ghaziabad, we follow Bloom’s Taxonomy that focuses on the top three tiers of learning, that is – Evaluate, Analyze and Create. The focus is on developing cognitive facilities of the students with an orientation towards their corporate readiness.”
To claim that a great teacher can transform the life of a student is not an exaggeration. As some of the most prominent role models for student success, teachers are responsible for more than just academic enrichment. “If you want to be a great educator, you need to interact with your students at different levels, because the best teachers are committed to the well-being of their students both inside and outside the classroom,” she asserts.
The importance of Up-Skilling Leadership
A common misconception about career development is that the leaders are at the pinnacle of their career and have no need to develop as they have reached a senior management level. In other situations, managers are frequently regarded professionally and socially as being more experienced, but this is not always the case. “To keep up with the fast pace of change is happening in the leadership landscape, very recently I undertook the leadership development programme at Harvard graduate school, Boston. Besides this I have been privileged to be able to successfully complete the AICTE-UKEIRI Leadership Development Training Programme, which was held in association with British Council and Dudley College, UK, says Dr. Urvashi.
She thinks that we all need to upgrade ourselves on a continuous basis and that’s why we need to learn continuously new skills. Besides this, today is an era where we need to keep on unlearning and relearning keeping into view the constantly changing needs.
Success Mantras for Students
Students should focus more on enhancing their skills and learning upcoming technologies, at the end what will matter is your overall employability and your attitude to accept new challenges. In these unprecedented times, when uncertainty is inevitable, only skills will make or break your career. For that, it is important to keep high ambition. Dr. Urvashi believes that every member of the teaching fraternity must ignite the students to learn the fundamental rule that “Small ambition is a crime!”
Dr. Makkar also persuades future corporate leader to follow 3P’s approach of Pride, Power of Dreams and Perseverance to facilitate their corporate stint.
About Prof. (Dr.) Urvashi Makkar
Prof. (Dr.) Urvashi Makkar, Director, IMS Ghaziabad is also a Member of the Governing Body of Shivaji College, University of Delhi, Treasurer & Member of the Governing Body of Bhagini Nivedita College, University of Delhi, having over 23 years of an illustrious track record in Management Education Sector and has outstanding achievements in delivering mission critical results as Director of the Management Institutions.
She has played a stellar role in revamping the academic infrastructure and promoting institutional visibility through enhancing academic quality, creating excellence in research and improved admissions by acquiring NBA & NAAC accreditation. She is committed to cultivating socially responsible business leaders at IMS Ghaziabad who carries a growth mindset, global perspective, and progressive outlook under the dynamic patronage of Sri Naresh Agarwal Ji, Chairman, IMS Group of Institution.