Interview by Bhawna Rawat

Mr o p sharma

Mr. O. P. Sharma is currently working as the Head of Training and Placement at Ashoka Institute of Technology and Management. He holds degrees like PGDBM (Marketing), B.E. (Electrical Engineering) and M.Tech. (IT). He has a demonstrated history of working in the education management industry. He is skilled in Negotiation, HR Consulting, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Graduate Recruitment, and Team Building.

Working in the Education sector offers everything that one aspires for

I have been working in the education sector for almost 10 years. My tenure of a period of 10 years in the education sector was full of challenges, opportunities and performance, something that one always aspires in life. It gives me immense satisfaction and a great sense of achievement that I have been a part of a system that shapes the minds and lives of people. My students have reached the highest level of their profession in different fields, be it industrial or commercial sector. When I see them performing well, I get a feeling that it is my achievement.

Touching the heights through the students, in so many areas, this can be possible only in the education sector.

A philosophy of leadership that involves guidance with love and passion

I have a simple philosophy of leadership that is to have faith in subordinates, respect their views, and guide them with love and passion.

We are encouraging the students to collaborate with the Industries along with their studies

The Institute invites the Industry experts to interact with the students, to evaluate and to give their valuable suggestions. Our curriculum gives equal weightage to practical and theory and includes Industrial visits and internship training program to provide broad exposure to the students on experimental learning. During the semester breaks, we are providing professional training as per the industry needs. We are encouraging the students to do their projects in collaboration with various companies.

Designing a curriculum that provides the students with the skills demanded by the industry

We provide counsel to the students from the beginning of the semester and we are trying to find out their interest. We design the curriculum which meets the industry requirement. We keep close touch with the companies that come for campus placement with regard to the skill requirements.

Placements opportunities at the campus are held periodically

The students of the institute are evaluated by prospective employers/companies, both on-campus and off-campus. Prospective employers are invited periodically by the placement cell of the institute to select the manpower.

Read more about placements opportunities available at AITM

Important skills that a corporate seeks in the students at the time of recruitment

According to my opinion, the students must have good communication skill and sound domain knowledge and also have teamwork, flexibility, willingness to learn and grow, emotional Intelligence, problem-solving skills, and an adaptive thinking.

Making a bond with the students to share their problems and suggestions

As the Head of Training & placement, it’s very important to have a healthy relationship with the students to guide them properly. We have regular dialogues with students, we address their problems and earn their confidence. We are also in touch with our students through the social networking platform.

Openness and transparency can lead to building an ideal environment

We are trying to make a positive environment by making the students aware of the vision of the institute. There must be a proper system in place and everything must be system driven. Openness and transparency in functioning are essential for building a positive culture.

Things students must focus on to improve their skills

The students must focus on improving their academics’ conduct and build confidence. It can be done by acquiring a ‘depth of knowledge’ and learning to communicate effectively. I always tell my students to stop focusing so much on the result and instead learn to enjoy the process of learning.

Goals set by the Institute to obtain a qualitative output

We are focusing on the qualitative output from the institute, based on overall teaching/research and consulting output. We are trying to set up an employability centre for those who are in need of jobs.

Suggestions for the current youth who are going to become the future managers

In today’s competitive environment, no one can succeed without creativity and innovation

May it be a job or self-venture, one has to be competitive and different. The era of a generalist’s approach has gone. Now it is the core competencies that make the difference. Youth today has to get prepared to accept the challenges of the fast-changing business practices.