A seasoned Academician with an Entrepreneurial Spirit

Dr. Urvashi Makkar, Director General – G. L. Bajaj Institute of Management & Research (GLBIMR) 

Dr. Urvashi is a seasoned academician with a keen interest & flair for entrepreneurship and persistent passion for continuous learning. She has a varied experience of 21 years in academics, research, training & consultancy and conducted more than 50 EDPs/MDPs/Workshops. She has been associated extensively with Research & Consultancy assignments of reputed companies and contributed extensively in Institution Building during her current and previous association by improving Academic Quality & Research Orientation, Building Global Interface, Developing Entrepreneurial Culture, Improving Corporate Linkage and Creating Performance Oriented Work Culture.

Keeping her journey to contribute in the areas of Research and Consultancy, Recently She has successfully completed Certification Course on “Higher Education Leadership Program” from Harvard School of Education, Harvard University, and Boston, USA in October, 2016.  “My passion is to reinvent the education standards especially higher education in India.”, she says.

Here are some more insights from Dr. Urvashi Makkar shared with team ABT.

Who is your greatest inspiration & Why?
Since childhood I have been very strongly inspired by the thoughts and work of Swami Vivekananda. His youth orientation, his teaching and his passion has always inspired me. I imbibe his teaching in my profession to make sure I contribute towards the society. Also my parents are my greatest source of inspiration. I have inherited my passion towards work from my parents.

Tell us more about G L Bajaj Institute of management & research and its reach so far.

GLBIMR is not just an institution which imparts world-class education, but an experience where everyone associated is part of a team which has a common mission – to see that we nurture truly great leaders. GLBIMR has been a forerunner in recognizing the needs of the industry and integrating knowledge with professional inputs. At GLBIMR, our multi-pronged approach in pedagogy is based on Academic Excellence, Holistic Development and Corporate Readiness to facilitate development of future corporate leaders. The highly skilled & proficient faculty, the development process, the systems and procedures together with the enabling environment ensures transformation of an aspiring professional into a committed and employable contributor to society and nation.

We have made highly contemporary certification courses as part of the curriculum of PGDM prorgamme like Digital Marketing Certification Course by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises –Government Of India (MSME), Financial Services Certification, Advance MS Excel Certification, Yellow Belt Six Sigma Certification by MSME and Entrepreneurship Development Programme by National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), without any extra fees. Besides these we have also signed a MoU with Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) for a Certification in “Basic Course on Stock Market”.

Added to these are the GLBIMR’s linkages with frontline global business schools. These strengthen the institute’s global outreach and learning initiative, providing the students exposure beyond national borders. We are committed to playing a key role in creating an ambience for the creation of new ideas, knowledge and professionals who will be market leaders of tomorrow. In doing so, we hope to make significant contributions to the development of the country and to the improvement in quality of life of its citizens.

GLBIMR adopts the globally prevailing business practices to create a continuous stream of future student leaders. By learning and understanding the Industry needs and requirements, GLBIMR has developed a deep insight which helps and guides us to make our students Industry ready. Expert Speakers from corporate and academia are invited on regular basis for knowledge sharing with the students. This gives our students real insights of the ever changing dynamic market scenario.

What led you to choose Education Management as a profession?
My dream, aim, passion & mission have always been to improve the quality of education system in our country. Education is one of the primary needs for any nation to develop. Education is no doubt the most powerful tool to change the world but for that it is important that right people join this sector. Choosing education sector as a profession was never an alternative to me, I had the focus of getting into teaching and mentoring from the beginning. I am glad that I am doing justice to my dreams. I don’t have second thoughts about this, being part of  the Teaching fraternity is my best decision because it has changed the way of thinking towards social, economical & national issues and has given me strong conviction that the youth of the country can definitely be oriented as the biggest asset of the country. As a Teacher, I contribute towards this National goal.

What are your views on the changing landscape of education delivery today, given the high tech world we live in?
This is an era of technology and innovation, and learning the management of technology, Innovation and change is the need of hour for the aspiring management graduates. This has become imperative in the current VUCA environment hence education delivery must be highly agile & flexible with more impetus on technological on technological innovations.

If you were to do one thing differently, what would that be?
I have never stopped learning and re-learning in my life. I believe education empowers us with the ability to think, to differentiate right from the wrong and good from the bad. Our country need the youth who are empowered with their wholesome Education & here comes up the role of teaching fraternity in Nation Building. For that it is of utmost importance that the teachers empowers themselves first, I have dedicated a considerable time of my life towards Research work so that I can work for the betterment of the education system in India. In my current association with GLBIMR, my focus on the Triple dimensional approach in pedagogy based on Academic Excellence, Holistic Development and Corporate Readiness to facilitate development of future corporate leaders. Customizing the curriculum is one such different initiative which I have taken and it is a great success.

Could you recall any one proud moment?
I have to my credit more than 76 publications in refereed International/National Journals and have authored/edited 10 books. One of my CRM Book with TATA McGraw Hill is the first book in the area of CRM which has been translated in Chinese language and adapted as reference book by China Republic University.

What would you like to achieve in the coming years?
I look positively at developing an entrepreneurial culture and Global interface. There is a strong need of encouraging Research orientation amongst students as well. In my current association I am very actively working on these issues. The young talent of India has to be nurtured in a way so that their ability can contribute for the economic development of the country. This vision can be achievable by connecting the young Indians to management education with an aim to grow as entrepreneurs and at the same time there is also a need to redefine the management education in terms of employability to develop an entrepreneurship culture in India.

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