Elevating Research & Innovation In Business Education

With a growing number of business schools in the country, challenges have intensified for each one of them to stay ahead of each other in terms of curriculum, facilities and placement. TA Pai Management Institute works constantly and consciously to provide the best management education output. Rajeev Kumra, Director, TA Pai Management Institute, Manipal, recently spoke to BW Education. Excerpts: 

How TA Pai Management Institute is catering research and innovation? 

Our business school contributes to the industry at the forefront of knowledge and innovation. In our institute, we have taken conscious steps to not only increase the quantity but also the quality of the research output. And that is why our focus has been on the policy level and operation level. 

At the policy level, we have created research tracks wherein faculty are supposed to teach only 90 hours and up to 60 hours in a year, allowing them to focus on publishing in star journals and FT journals, thus elevating research quality.  

But most importantly, unlike many other business schools, we are not dividing the incentive and henceforth, the faculty ends up getting a very lucrative incentive. We give seed money to the faculties to undertake research and also hire research associates. At the same time, we sponsor them for any international & national seminars and workshops to develop themselves. We as a business school have research verticals and also a research and publication committee, which meets every month to discuss the seminars and provide hand-holding of the faculties. We are very consciously and aggressively recruiting across various items of fresh PhDs because we have to look at the capability of the faculty. We are also leading a cross-collaboration, researchers with the other departments of the university. 

Which are the interdisciplinary programmes offered at Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE)? 
 

We are fortunate as a school to be part of the extensive Manipal group and MAHE, which encompasses various institutions. Our university boasts multiple constituent units, including Kasturba Medical College (KMC), known for its esteemed medical college, MIT, renowned for its Institute of Technology, as well as departments in architecture, humanities, commerce and hospitality management. Within our school, we have a dedicated research coordinator who collaborates across different departments. This collaboration occurs at multiple levels, starting from leadership down to individual courses and research endeavours. 

Faculty from hospitality management contribute their expertise in service marketing, further enhancing our understanding in this domain. This collaborative approach extends to research endeavours, facilitating cross-disciplinary projects. Overall, we have cultivated a culture that promotes cross-disciplinary research, fostering innovation and collaboration across various fields. 

How are the campuses analysing the need for AI and advanced technology for both students and faculty? 
 

AI is not just a passing trend but the future of technology, whether we embrace it or not. It's crucial to acknowledge the impact of AI and ML, as highlighted by Deloitte's research indicating that 54 per cent of graduates encounter AI-related requirements in job applications. Industries across the board are adapting, evident in recruiters' use of AI for applicant profiling. 

Given this widespread integration of AI, educational institutions like ours must fully incorporate it into our curricula. We are approaching this at multiple levels, starting with strategic planning where AI becomes integral to every course.  

It's essential to view AI as a facilitator rather than a competitor. In our institute, we run a programme ‘Summer’, in which multiple courses are floated by various departments at Rs 350 for three-months, both online and offline. These courses help the faculty pick up the newest technologies possible. 

How are aspirations of students changing and how is it reflected during the placements?

Aspirations among students are undergoing a significant transformation, particularly with the influence of Gen Z and millennials. Their preferences differ markedly from previous generations; while we sought stability and long-term commitments from companies, they approached recruitment with different priorities. Beyond salary, they seek considerations such as work-life balance, available leave, company culture, amenities and additional perks. 

What would you say about the current international rankings? And how would you explain India's slightly low performance? 
 

Indian business schools encounter global rankings, particularly in the ‘Financial Times' or ‘Quality of Service' rankings, where only a few schools manage to break into the top 50. One major reason for this is the criteria used in these rankings, which often prioritise factors less favourable to India due to its vast population compared to smaller countries like Qatar. Internationalisation holds significant weight in these rankings, likely because they originated in Western contexts where international diversity is more prevalent. To address this challenge, many Indian universities are undertaking strategic initiatives to enhance their international profiles.