Dr. Rashmi Aggarwal, Professor at Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, has a Bachelor of Science in Law, a Master in Law, and a Ph.D. (Patents Law) from the Law Department, Punjab University, Chandigarh. She joined Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, Delhi-NCR, in Jan 2022, before she worked as an advocate in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court of India and as a Professor in the area of Economics, Environment, and Policy at IMT Ghaziabad.

She has held various academic administration positions, Chairperson for two years of PDGM Program(s), Chairperson of PGDM Executive, Chairperson- Media and Corporate Relations, Chairperson- International Relations Committee, and Core Coordinator for the coveted AACSB accreditation at IMT G. Besides pioneering the Assurance of Learning (AOL) processes across all management programs at IMT G she also has regularly facilitated Business Accreditation Seminars on Assurance of Learning and AACSB standards with experts from AACSB accredited B Schools for Dean(s) and Directors of management schools in India and abroad. 

Dr. Aggarwal has engaged with the University of Rajshahi, and North South University, Bangladesh, as an External Peer Reviewer to assess Higher Education Quality Assurance for World Bank’s International Development Association and UGC- sponsored International accreditation. Her teaching areas are corporate laws, corporate governance, internal audits, risk management, and international trade laws. 

Dr. Aggarwal is mentored by FICCI for the ‘Women on Board Mentorship Program’ under the Former Director of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and is a non-executive Independent Director on the Boards of listed companies. She is also on board committees like Audit Committee, Stakeholder’s Relationship Committee, Risk Management Committee, Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, and Nomination and Remuneration Committee. Before joining academics, Dr Aggarwal started as an advocate in Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court of India. 

Shiv Nadar University

Being a Faculty of the Department, what are your roles and responsibilities towards the students?

The faculty at Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence plays multiple roles, like teaching engagements. aligning theory with applications during classroom sessions, guiding students on various projects on emerging trends and challenges, inspiring them to think outside the box, and mentoring them to adopt a holistic perspective on decision-making. Technology is creating new challenges every day. We could either be in denial or ignore the problem, or we can challenge technology. I want to opt for the latter. As an educator, I devise new ways to engage with students so that classroom learning is valued beyond what technology platforms can provide with a click of a button.

How do you tend to establish healthy relations with the students and fellow faculty?

It is essential to foster trust to build a strong, sustainable relationship between the students and faculty. If a person is deemed dependable and well-informed, it helps to build a strong foundation for long-term relationships. While having the answers to all their problems is not important, having empathy will make us each other’s confidants. These relationships also must be nurtured with mutual understanding, patience, and unconditional support.

How do you try to bring in a practical approach towards subjects and make it industry-oriented?

As a Business Law teacher, I integrate business applications of compliances and regulatory frameworks as early as possible in my course. I make it a point to cite relatable everyday situations like buying bread for breakfast and connecting that transaction into a valid, legally enforceable contract as a live example. I take this further and adopt multidisciplinary approaches like finance, accounting, and online sales. It is fascinating that management students ask me the same questions every year: How are oral contracts legally enforceable? Generally, every business news has some legal aspects to it. Hence, a perspective is easy to build on by explaining the cost of non-compliance or creating awareness of non-negotiable laws in every given scenario.

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What are the best practices offered by the department to the students which help them gain necessary skills?

The School of Management and Entrepreneurship (SME) departments are committed to the success of our students. To attain this, we have adopted a competency-based outcome approach for all our programs, which aims to impart knowledge, skill, and attitude considering the final learning outcomes. Every course is reviewed at the beginning of the academic year by academic luminaries from institutes of higher learning of repute and industry practitioners. 

Our faculty also stay abreast of the industry and current trends by engaging in peer-reviewed research publications, which helps them orient toward emerging theories and concepts. We record changes made in course content and take qualitative and quantitative feedback from our students and recruiters. It is a constant endeavour of all departments to offer cutting-edge core and elective courses across all domains. A few top-of-the-league initiatives taken by SME are The Venture Lab (TVL), a place to teach undergraduate students to run their ventures. We also have the Business Challenge Practicum (BCP) for postgraduate students. We also have an obligatory social sector internship offered by SME, a life-changing experience for our students where they associate with rural and underprivileged communities. Some of our engagements have been published as case studies and presented at research conferences in institutes of higher learning like Oxford.

How do you strategize the curriculum and how often does it get updated to make it befitting for the students?

Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence has a continuous improvement approach in all program architecture through regular industry collaboration and peer learning. Our curriculum is divided between core and elective courses. Generally, the latter gives a larger flexibility to introduce new trends. These courses can be domain-specific or interdisciplinary in nature. 

The stakeholders understand that no decisions are taken in silos anymore, and technology is the new business language and an enabler. Therefore, curriculum revision at SNU requires technology as a peripheral input. Besides the yearly curriculum review and revision, advanced pedagogical tools like simulations are also used in unconventional subjects like ethics and law.

What are your views on the placements and higher education about the students from your department or How does your department prepare students for Higher education?

I am happy to discuss placements for our students in higher education. Placements can be one of many criteria for success, especially for professional programs. The students should be industry ready. The industry is constantly craving new innovative products and processes. Hence to cater to industry needs, the students should be taught to question the obvious, be risk takers and have the drive to innovate and be creative problem solvers. Not every problem needs a quick fix by a technology-enabled application. Certain sociological and human-centric aspects need a deeper assessment of situations. If these aspects are adequately covered in all programs and courses, higher education can only serve the community by providing a conscientious and well-rounded learner.

How do you help your student to cope up with the competition being so high in the outside world?

The world has always been competitive, but never in the past have opportunities been more abundant than in the present. Our students are well-informed about the business environment to take any challenge in their stride. They have well-rounded personalities that enable them to convert problems into a solution. Our vibrant university offers varied programs that give both in-class and outside-the-class exposure that helps them to understand the world beyond limited horizons. As mentioned above, an integrative approach to problem-solving helps the students manage any challenges that come their way.

Do you have any extracurricular activities/ programs to enhance the skills of the students or expose them to real-world challenges?

The SMEs at Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence offer numerous curricula, co-curriculum, and extra-curriculum activities. These activities include inter and intra-campus competitions like quizzes, case study presentations, debates, and expositions that feature outside delegates on start-ups and new ventures. These experiences help students learn and develop important inter-personnel skills like communication, team building, perseverance, practical application of theory, and resilience.

What are the challenges you faced/ are facing to uplift the quality of education of your department?

The belief that Covid 19’s unfavourable impact on the education sector was, unfortunately, true for SNU. Our biggest challenge, post-Covid 19, was bringing back students to in-person classrooms both in letter and spirit. While students enjoy peer learning and on-campus living, they find the four walls of the classroom confining and difficult to navigate. We believe that the quality of education can be enhanced only when human aspects like understanding body language, appreciating a counter viewpoint, and creating an amicable learning environment are realized.

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How does the department/ college/University enhance the skills of the faculty and prepares them according to the industry standards?

To keep up with the ever-evolving education, Faculty development programs (FDPs) are rolled out to enhance knowledge and skills. A fixed fund is allocated to keep up with the ever-evolving education ecosystem faculty members can utilize as per their area of expertise, such as attending FDPs in India or abroad. The FDPs conducted by the university have trainers from academia and the industry. Recently I conducted an FDP for University colleagues on teaching excellence.