"Our Motto Is Pursuing Excellence With Ethics"

Meha Mathur Jul 24, 2023

Rev Fr C Joe Arun SJ, Director, Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA), Chennai, has a vast teaching and administrative experience in higher education institutes. A PhD from Oxford University in Anthropology and an MBA (Marketing) from IIBM and MBA (HR) from Madras University, he has earlier held the positions of Director, St Joseph Institute of Management, St Joseph’s College, Trichy and Director, Goa Institute of Management, Goa, among other stints. In an interview to BW education, he shares the ethos of his institute, the challenges that management education must address, as also opportunities that open up with artificial intelligence. Excerpts:

What is the ethos of Loyola Institute of Business Administration? And how does it differentiate it itself from the other B-schools in the country?

We are a not-for-profit institute, in the true sense of the term. Our approach to education is driven by ‘Cura Personalis’, ie care for individual. That individual could be a slow learner, a person from the marginalised communities like Dalits, tribals, transgenders, migrants and refugees. If somebody can’t afford the management education fee, we bear the cost, if they are worthy candidates. We have more than 20 such students, who are getting free education. If I do not take care of people on peripheries, I should not be running this institute. And I ask my faculty to spend 80 per cent of their time on those who are slow learners, who are weak and who are suffering.

Also, while pursuing excellence we are all the time mindful of ethics. To give an example, if you offer me a product that is of high quality but has been purchased in a grey market, then it’s not for us. Our motto is ‘pursuit of excellence with ethics’.

What is the teaching-learning atmosphere and what kind of interaction happens in the classroom among people from various backgrounds?

As far as my knowledge goes, no other institute has the syllabus and the pedagogy, that we have. I have helped develop this curriculum based on my experience in Oxford, where I did my PhD. And it is based on the philosophy that singers must be tested on singing and dancers must be tested on dancing.

We do not have exams. It is only assessments according to individual’s strengths. If a student is very good in oral communication, most of his or her exam will be on oral basis. The same approach goes for those who excel in written communication or in group work. Yes, every student should know basics of a subject and they should be able to apply that in real world. And that education should be able to transform them as a person.

To give an example, in our course on sales, in order to assess their learning, we give them 50 pencils each and tell them to sell those. If they cannot sell, they have not completed their education. Even if they have not been able to sell, they should be able to come up with reasons why they have not been able to do so and what lessons they have learnt. This is where all are equal, whether they are from a poor background or rich family, whether you are a high percentile student or otherwise. The taste of the pudding is in the eating.

Based on your experience, what are the biggest challenges that management education is facing today?

Based on my experience in various B-schools, I can say that faculty do not want to change or improvise. Their content is not dynamic or user-friendly. We are in the times of artificial intelligence. But they are still teaching the old-world ‘what is marketing?’. They are using the same PPTs.

The change is not happening because they are habituated to take only classes. They will go to classroom with the mind-frame ‘what is it that I want to tell my students today’. But they do not bring this knowledge in the form of activities or cases. If you are a teacher, you should not teach. You should accompany the students in their process of learning.

So with AI, what is the change that is coming in management education?

The tasks we have been performing, can be simplified and also, we can do numerous tasks in shorter period of time. Faculty can develop models and cases with the help of AI. AI gives us an important support. There is worry about originality being impacted. But to give an example of cooking, even if the support staff cuts the vegetables, a cook’s originality lies in preparing the dish. Similarly, in the case of Chat GPT, how you use it will be different from the way I use it. Tools are tools. What matters is human touch.

How is NEP being rolled out on the campus? And what are the advantages that you are seeing of NEP?

Fundamental to NEP is liberal education. Liberal education means that you are making a student a thinker. And this can be done through an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach. You cannot teach marketing without an understanding of finance, operations and HR. LIBA is one such multidisciplinary institute, with cross-functional teams. Each course is taught by faculty of different expertise. At our institute there is no dichotomy between what students learn in college and personal life, that the thin layer that wall between life and work is removed because of this multidisciplinary education. This is also reflective of the way we lead our lives – handling finances, family and logistics. We live holistically, using different disciplines.

So, we are imbibing numerous positive aspects of NEP. And NEP is not a regulation, it’s a policy direction and you can implement according to your requirements and situations.

What kind of industry connects have been forged at the institute?

There are two aspects to ‘industry connects’. One is - I need to make an impact in the society and the other is - I need to make an impact in the corporate world. We have a centre called Management Development Centre which works with IT and manufacturing companies in Chennai. There are about 42 companies who take our management development programmes (MDPs). And we also connect to several social centres and NGOs through our centre called CK Prahalad Centre for Emerging India. CK Prahalad was a student of Loyola College, and who coined ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’.

We upskill the rural youth and rural women, empowering them to start a business. And also, we have a tie up with the Tamil Nadu Government through an incubation council that we have, for nurturing entrepreneurs. Some of the manufacturing hubs have approached us for upskilling their employees. There is active participation of students in this.

We have a village exposure programmes for our students. We encourage them to interact with rural men and women who are producing vegetables but don’t know how to market it. About 300 women sought the institute’s help last year. For example, someone wanted to start a business in fishing net. And our faculty helped them to develop this business. Also, we fund their enterprise in a small way, initially. So, it is not about industry alone, it is about industry and society.

Interacting with your students, you would get a sense of what they are interested in – getting a job or entrepreneurship. At LIBA, what is the thrust of students?

The students who come to LIBA are from humble backgrounds and do not have the aspiration to start a business. They come here to become qualified for a job. And last year we had 100 per cent placement. But we nurture the entrepreneurial spirit of our students. We encourage them to learn the skills and competencies that one day will make them an entrepreneur. In fact, we have many students who come back to us a few years later, telling us that they have decided to turn entrepreneur.

What is your personal philosophy on education?

Through education, I want to know about myself and uncover myself. I call this a disclosure of my personality. It’s about understanding what I am now and what I aspire to be. There is a gap between the two, and education should address that gap.