Dr. Mahendhiran E is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Commerce and a Facilitator at Agurchand Manmull Jain College. With 15 years of teaching experience in commerce, he specializes in marketing, logistics, and entrepreneurship, backed by extensive research in these domains. His expertise lies in imparting practical knowledge and fostering critical thinking skills among students, aiming to prepare them for real-world challenges in the business landscape. Through innovative teaching methods and a deep understanding of industry trends, Dr. Mahendhiran aims to empower the next generation of business leaders.

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

As a Facilitator for the department, my foremost responsibility towards students is to cultivate a supportive learning atmosphere. I aim to create engaging classroom experiences that encourage active participation and comprehension. Additionally, I provide guidance and support tailored to individual student needs, addressing their academic concerns effectively. Fostering a culture of respect, collaboration, and inclusivity is vital to promoting student growth and development.

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

I create opportunities for students and faculty to feel like they belong to the academic community through inclusive practices and initiatives. We take into consideration the unique needs of our students concerning professional courses like medical and engineering. We also take into account family emergencies and provide proper guidance on dealing with their challenges. I represent the needs and challenges of my faculty with the management and work towards achieving positive solutions. I also work to encourage faculty to flourish in their area of specialization; they are allocated subjects in their area of interest to the best of their abilities.

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

The department works on regularly inviting professionals from industries relevant to the subjects covered in the semester to deliver guest lectures in their fields. Recently, we have had guest lectures on introduction to capital markets and on goods and services tax. Moreover, we organise field trips like to Adani Ports, and Kattupalli to give our students practical exposure to their various fields of business. The faculty are encouraged to present the learners with real-life case scenarios and practice active collaborative learning techniques in their teaching pedagogy.

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

The department strives to provide the students with internship opportunities from their third semester. In the recent past, ten of our students from B. Com third semester were provided with an opportunity to intern at TTCECS. Our students are also provided with consistent support and mentoring from the department in their perusal of their professional courses. Four of our students from our departments have cleared intermediate levels in their professional courses. Moreover, three students have cleared the foundation level in their professional courses as well.

What are your views upon the placements and higher education about the students from your department or how does your department prepare students for higher education? 

With regard to the further development of our students, the department assists the students with obtaining the Bonafide certificate from the college and provides the students with key referrals for their placements. We assist with the verification of students through emails promptly for the perusal of higher education abroad and within the country on a regular basis. We also conduct career and higher education awareness by bringing in career experts. Currently, five of our students have been offered provisional approval for admission to universities in different European countries.

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

To provide our students with an edge over the competition, the department regularly brings in industry experts to interact with the students and to bridge the academic industry gap. Students from our department are encouraged to take up internships in their second year to be industry-relevant and prepared for placements. Alongside this, we encourage the students to be a part of many inter and intra-collegiate events.

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

In order to enhance the skills of our students we insist on taking up value-added courses across disciplines or specializations. The Department brings in representatives from various training institutes to share with the students the multiple opportunities in various government sectors. We also have Naan Muthalval courses and a banking programme by TCS.

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

In spite of implementing various measures to transform the teaching-learning process, there is a lack of collaboration and participation from the students. A sizeable amount of time and resources of our faculty are directed towards the execution of administrative rolls which at times leads to duplication of work. We are currently working hard at eliminating these challenges. 

When you came to the college, what was your vision and how are you trying to achieve the same? 

I joined the institute in 2009 with the vision of positively impacting the students of the department through knowledge dissemination. I also wanted to bring holistic development to them. Throughout the years that I have been here, I have continued to delve into the changing needs of the students. Being the facilitator, I encourage the department as a whole to bring holistic development to our students as well.

How does the curriculum of your department/college ensure the best practice of the industry? 

Being a college affiliated with the University of Madras, we have limited control over the designing of our curriculum. However, we provide our students with relevant value-added courses every year with certification to keep them updated with industry trends. In the department of Commerce, we have courses on GST filing and event management.

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

To enhance the quality of education the department encourages faculties to constantly update themselves by attending and participating in FDPs, PDPs and workshops. The department of Commerce inspires its faculty to carry out collaborative research with students, thereby, allowing the students to present their research at national and international conferences. The faculties of the department are constantly encouraged to update themselves with industry relevant knowledge and skills by taking up certification programs through NPTEL, SWYAM, MOOC and other leading EduTech providers.

What are the interventions and approaches you bring in apart from curriculum to train/teach the students? 

We encourage our students to carry out research and present papers at various national and international conferences and seminars. The department organises multiple guest lectures that are delivered by industry experts on various areas of business. The students of the department are allowed to represent the department in all the events organised by the department providing them the platform to coordinate with various stakeholders in the execution of the events.

What do you see the department’s greatest strengths and how can it be enhanced? 

Our greatest strengths are our faculty members. They have distinguished qualifications and wide industry experience that add to their teaching experience. With the rich experience of the faculties, the department has been consistently producing exemplary results in the end-semester examinations. The department looks forward to capitalising on the qualifications and experience of its faculty members to exploit student potential through continuous research. Furthermore, to bring further quality to education our faculty members are encouraged to work more on their area of specialisation, thereby providing a holistic experience for our students.

What valuable advice would you like to the students for them to have a prosperous career ahead?

We insist that our students prepare themselves well for their careers by having a broad understanding of the various avenues available to them in their fields. They must also know about the necessary skills required to pursue a career in their field. In the present era of digitalization and MNCs, we see a strong need for our students to be familiar with handling the commonly used software in their field and, more importantly constantly work on their verbal and oral communication skills.