Interview by Arjun Verma

Rao

 

Dr. Tirumala Kodanda Rama Krishna Rao is currently working as the Principal of Aditya college of Engineering and Technology, Surampalem, Kakinada.

An experience full of opportunities

  • A bad doctor can kill only one patient.
  • A bad engineer can kill few people.
  • A bad teacher can spoil generations.

The above saying highlights the role of a teacher in society. This profession brings respect to the person automatically in society. We get the opportunity to mold young minds and motivate them or counsel them to become the most efficient citizens and useful and invaluable persons to themselves to parents and also to the nation.

In this, there are no politics involved like in any other jobs. As most of the time, we are interacting with fresh and plain thinking young people. It is also a lively profession, as we deal with human beings unlike in other jobs, where they deal with files and machines or in animated or lifeless things.

As a Professor and Principal, teaching is my passion. It gives me opportunities, new things, improves subject knowledge, and gives me opportunities to interact with eminent people in the field. Also improves and leadership qualities. It is also a lucrative profession, as the salaries are high in the education sector.

Challenges faced as the principal of Aditya College of Engineering and Technology

As the Principal of ACET, the challenges are many viz.

  1. Making student understand the disruptive technologies
  2. Finding highly qualified faculty with the righteous attitude to teach my students at ACET.
  3. Low pass percentage at 1st and 2nd-year level B.tech students is a big challenge. Most of the students come from rural areas lack good communication skills and capabilities to understand basic subjects in Engineering. As they need more time to overcome the teaching problems they are failing in the university semester exams So, taking the failure percentage is a big challenge
  4. Finding placement for the passed out students is another big challenge any principal of an Engineering College faces. Bringing up the standards of the students to get good sores in GATE/IES/ other competitive examinations is another big challenge. It’s my aim to achieve university top ranks for our passed out students.
  5. Another big challenge is developing ACET into the centre of Excellence when high-quality research and development activities are carried on. It’s also my aim to establish a state of art Entrepreneurship development cell, where students are given training not to seek jobs but to create jobs for themselves and others.

ACET’s curriculum

Regarding our syllabus, ACET is an affiliated to JNTUK and freedom to change the curriculum to the needs of the present industry is limited. In spite of we are conducting extra courses in collaborating with industry and other skills development programmes involving both discipline and courses. The above programmes ensure the development subject knowledge, exposure to state – out – technology and improves communications skills. As a result, the gap between the academics and industry is filled.

Future goals for Aditya college of Engineering and Technology

Goals:

  1. To establish academic-industry collaboration by taking industry projects, inviting lectures from industry.
  2. To achieve top university ranks
  3. To achieve 100% placements to our students
  4. To achieve centers of excellence in all disciplines/departments.
  5. To acquire research / Seminar grants from AICET/MHRD/DST TEQIP/MSME/FIST and other govt. and private agencies.

Ensuring Quality Education

  1. By appointing highly qualified faculty covering all specializations of the curriculum. The faculty must be drawn from all centers of excellence in the world. Every effort is made to catch and appoint highly qualified faculty.
  2. By procuring state of art equipment to establish advanced laboratories in all disciplines in spite of the prohibitive cost.
  3. By deputing faculty to do Ph.D. under QIP in all disciplines  
  4. By deputing faculty to attend workshops / STTP or Training programs conferences at National and International level.
  5. By sponsoring students to participate in BAHA, ESVE, Seminars or conferences and encouraging them to start startups, participate actively in entrepreneurship activities.

Building a positive school culture

Positive School Culture

  1. By appointing anti-ragging teams, a sage environment is created with zero complaints of ragging. Students can freely move in the campus and express their opinions and participate in various activities including cultural and technical events organized within the campus.
  2. Proctored system is available in the college campus whose students are counseled and grievances are addressed.
  3. A separate cell is established for women empowerment and grievances redressal with  women as committee members
  4. Management, Principal and HODs are accusable anytime to any faculty or students
  5. Hostel s are available to men and women students with Gym, Wi-Fi, quality food, picnics, Cultural events organized for overall development of the student.
  6. Extra-Curriculum and curriculum activities are organized for improving the personality of the students Viz.  VEDA/Colors/Sieger/ACL/ Intermolars, etc.,
  7. Establishing a relation with the students.
  8. Through proctoral system, we maintain cordial relations with students, which involves counseling, discussing academic performance related aspects, career guidance.
  9. Encourage students through clubs to interact among themselves and with faculty viz. we can talk, robot club, SAE, Short films, etc.,

Placement opportunities available at Aditya College of Engineering and Technology

  1. The students are provided CRT program right from 1st year onwards, to create an awareness to prepare themselves to get the prerequisites for the campus placements.
  2. When placements are ensured in the college, the students get automatically self-motivated, self-disciplined, tries to acquire good communication and technical skills. Tries to undergo various training programmes to get certified in skills development.
  3. To push further, the students can be trained for GATE/IES/Civil and other competitive examinations.

Leadership style of Dr. Rao

According to me, value-based leadership quality is the best leadership quality because this leadership style is based on the notion that people are motivated by their values and live by them. Therefore leadership underpins their decisions and vision with their value motivators, it consists of four core processes.

  • Challenging developing and understanding
  • Values and beliefs
  • Capabilities and behaviors
  • Embedding Success

Value based leadership: is more likely to be successful if values come all the way from the top as opposed to being started halfway down. This changes the whole organization culture.

There is a lot more you can turn about how to lead and motivate people.

Suggestions for current youth and aspiring students

  1. Technology should be used in proper way.
  2. Institute – industry collaboration should be ensured.
  3. Students should prepare themselves to face competitive examinations for a better career.
  4. Youth should grow as job gives but not as job seeks. They should start their own enterprises

Youth are taking Quick decisions during a crisis. They should resolve with patience. As there is a saying “Time Heals Everything”