Leadership Is All About Empowering, Engaging, Collaboration, Co-Creation: Dr. Monica Khanna, Director, K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research

From seeing a 3 member faculty team to heading a panel of 89 members, Dr. Monica Khanna has been associated with K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research since 1995.

She said, “I have seen the institution grow multifold since 1995 when I was a visiting faculty till now as the director of the institute.”

The 38-year old institution, visions to be a world-class business school. KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research (SIMSR), is currently in the process of getting accreditated by Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International).

The 11th Director of the institute said, “SIMSR vision is to be the world-class research and teaching institution that is global in the reach of its ideas and universal in its purpose.”

“In order to implement the vision, it means a complete change of mindset of the faculty, staff, and students as well as complete cultural organisation change, which is a mandated step,” she added.

KJ Somaiya took inputs from IIMs in order to create a world-class institution and adapted the ‘research incentive’ initiative for its faculty.

Dr. Khanna elaborated, “We borrowed the concept from one of our alliance partners, a business school in Germany, in order to provide the required time to the faculty for research. We introduced a ‘block time table’ in which the faculty covers a subject in a fixed time period with specific direction, focus, and academic rigor. The faculty gets enough time for teaching and can spend the rest of the time on research.”

For the great sense of faculty engagement, they have been divided into communities and each one is involved in some activity at the institute. The institute trying to create platforms for faculty and students where they can realize their full potential.

“We created the internationalization platform in which we have introduced ‘mandarin’ as an elective language for the students that created a positive sense among the students,” said Dr. Monica Khanna.

Commenting on the role of leadership in management education, Khanna said, “As a leader, I try to bring a small change in the existing setup and it has made diligence. The role of leadership is very important and without a good team, a leader is completely ineffective. Today, leadership is all about empowering, engaging, collaboration and co-creation.”

Started in the year 1981, K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research was inaugurated by former PM Manmohan Singh.