Dr. M. Govinda Raju is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering & and Principal at Baba Institute of Technology and Sciences, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. He is a seasoned and technically competent Mechanical Engineering Faculty and academic Administrator with 23 years of career success in managing multiple functions with reputed Institutions. He has pursued a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from Sir C R R Polytechnic. Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, and AMIE - Mechanical Engineering from the Institution of Engineers (India). Moreover, he has completed his MTech from the National Institute of Technology, Warangal in the Department of Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in “Design and Production of Internal Combustion Engines and Gas Turbines”. Finally, he has pursued his Ph.D. from Andhra University, India from the Department of Marine Engineering. He has spearheaded the Accreditation process for NAAC and attained an “A” Grade for Baba Institute of Technology and Sciences, Visakhapatnam in the year 2023, NAAC A”” Grade for Sri Venkateshwara College of Engineering and Technology, Srikakulam in 2015. NBA for the Department of Mechanical Engineering for VITAM College of Engineering, Visakhapatnam in 2007. He has played a key role in achieving ISO 9001:2015 Certification. Dr. M. Govinda Raju has been the Honorary Secretary for the Institution of Engineers (India) Srikakulam Local Centre from 2017-2019. He received the “Best Educationist” Award from the International Institute of Education & Management in Feb 2016 at the Indian Society of International Law, Opposite Supreme Court, New Delhi; and has also received the “Educational Leadership Award” at Indo- Global Education Summit & Expo organized by Indus Foundation at Taj Deccan, Hyderabad on 19th July 2017.

Baba Institute of Technology and Sciences

You have held key positions at education institutes throughout your professional career. What are the key factors that keep you connected with the education sector?

The key factors that keep me connected with the education sector are, firstly my passion for teaching and learning. Because see, everyone will have their interest. I am very much interested in teaching and teaching is my passion. That is one key factor that connected me with the education sector so far. I have almost 23 years of service in this education sector. Another key factor is that we can create an impact on society by giving proper education to our students. By shaping the minds of the future of our next generation.

The third key factor is continuous learning. In the education sector, we learn continuously. There is no end to learning. That is one aspect, one key factor that kept me in this education sector. We can also have some creativity and make some innovations by engaging with the present generation, and present students. And we can also have some diversity of roles and a wide range of roles we can perform. I have worked as an assistant professor and associate professor, professor head of the department, assistant principal and I am now working as a principal. 

Being the Principal of Baba Institute of Technology and Sciences, what is your philosophy of leadership? How would you describe your leadership style?

As far as the philosophy of leadership is concerned, as a principal of BABA Institute of Technology and Sciences, the principal should align with the specific needs and goals of the institution, while also embracing broader principles of educational leadership. And my philosophy of leadership is, firstly, a principal should be a leader and should have a student-centric focus. So, the principal philosophy should be always towards the student-centric teaching-learning process, and every action, and policy should aim to provide the best possible educational experience for the students, equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed for successful engineering careers. Also, the principal should have innovation and adaptability thoughts. 

In this fast-evolving field of engineering, the principal should embrace innovation and adaptability, encouraging the faculty and students to explore emerging technologies, teaching methodologies, and research opportunities, which ensures the college remains at the forefront of the advancements. Also, the philosophy of leadership, I believe, is, that the principal should have some ethical and responsible engineering practices. So that means, we need to instill ethics and social responsibility within the engineering curriculum, and in the delivery of the curriculum, the leader should emphasize the importance of engineers contributing positively to society, and addressing the ethical dilemmas in their work. The principal, and the next philosophy, as far as my thoughts are concerned, is the principal should have a strong collaboration and partnership. He should bring a strong relationship between the industry, government, and other educational institutions, which can provide valuable resources, opportunities, insights, and collaborative partnerships that can enhance the college's reputation and the employability of its graduates. And the principal should always have to empower and support. My leadership should empower faculty and staff to excel in their roles, providing professional development, resources, and support to the work environment, which is essential and gives motivation and dedication to the team.

Being the principal of Baba Institute of Technology and Sciences, how do you strategize about the key programs and plans for the marketing and administration of your college?

Generally, as far as admissions are concerned, firstly we are strengthening our academic system here. We are concentrating more on academics. So, we are targeting the outcome of the students. So, in this regard, as far as advertisements and all are concerned, basically we are not focused on this branding and all, but instead, we are focusing on improving the academics of the students. At the same time, we do a lot of activities, whether related to co-curricular and extracurricular activities or student activities. And we are also a member of IIC. So, we are conducting all those MIC, IIC-driven activities, so that the students will get engaged in all these things and get interested. And finally, we believe in the student's mouth publicity as our branding. That is the strategy we are following.

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The education systems in India and other foreign countries are structured very differently. In your experience, what can an inbound student gain from studying here in your college?

As I said, today the first point is we have a different system of education when compared to other countries that everybody knows. The new education policy is also enforced and we, being an affiliated college, follow the instructions given by the national education policy itself. And that policy is driven by the government. So, we have a separate planning section for that. We have nothing to do with that. And as far as our college is concerned, as I said before, we are concentrating mainly on the overall development of the student, right from academics.

First of all, if we can give the confidence to the students to clear all the subjects in the first year, that will carry throughout all four years. So, we initially started to focus on giving the right inputs to the students, both theory as well as practical. Also, as and when, wherever it is required, the necessary skills by using, we are sending the students for internships, we are taking, we are promoting our students to internships through the LMS portal proposed by APSCHE. And not only that, we do have several contacts with so many local industries and we are sending them regularly. Students are trained not only in the theoretical way of doing things but also in the practical way of doing things. We are also imbibing certain research initiatives among the faculty as well as the students. That is, that makes the difference between our college and other colleges.

How does the curriculum of the BABA Institute of Technology and Sciences ensure the best practice for the students of the industry?

The curriculum is being designed by our University. So, we do not have any role to play because we are an affiliated college. We follow the curriculum designed by the university. We are affiliated to JNTU Vizianagaram. And what we are doing to make our students industry-ready is, we are conducting some add-on courses. That means we are identifying certain trust areas where industry is required. So, we are encouraging our students and conducting such add-on courses within the college as an additional part of the curriculum. So, in that way, students will benefit and they will be industry-ready tomorrow and they can be induced whenever the placements happen.

Any insights into how your college could be more welcoming to students of different races and backgrounds?

Yes, first of all, we are inclusive. We do not have any bias. Anyhow, most of the seats are getting filled through the convener quota only. So, you will get different types of students, get a different category of students from all the sects. So, there is no special encouragement for so and so people or like that because we welcome everyone and everyone is the same for us. There is no gender bias, there is no caste or religion bias. We welcome everyone. So, we treat everyone as same and we give inputs with their all, these are all our children and the future of this country. So, we train all of them the same way.

What do you think should be the college's top priority over the next 10 years?

The top priority for the next 10 years is firstly as far as the college is concerned because now we are an affiliated college and we have a lot of many things to do like, first of all, we are marching towards autonomous, we are applying for autonomous very soon and I am sure by another 6 months we will get autonomous status and we are concentrating main on the research, innovation, internships and the placements. And we are concentrating on outcome-based education for the students. So, for whatever we need already we are accredited by NAAC with A grade. So, we do have all these practices and we instill much and more and focus more on such practices so that for the next 10 years we wanted to become one of the best colleges in Andhra Pradesh.