Merger of Minds With Dr. Uday Salunkhe and Dr. Sanjay Deshmukh

Mumbai, India, July 29, 2015 (Newswire.com) - It was truly a meeting of minds that had brought together more than 40 Institutional Heads, Corporates and HR Faculty of B schools in and around Mumbai, at WeSchool campus on 23rd July 2015.

The purpose of this collaborative platform was to craft a structured immersion experience for Faculty in Industry. Dr Sanjay Deshmukh, the newly appointed Vice Chancellor, Mumbai University, inaugurated the program , titled ‘ Merger of Minds’ , in the presence of  Dr V. V . Khole, Vice Chancellor, Amity University and Former VC Mumbai University , Dr D. Y. Patil, Director ,Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Institute of Management &Research  and Chairman ,Forum of Business Schools , Judajit Das, Chief HR officer,ICICI Prudential and President , NHRDN (Mumbai chapter) , several eminent educationists and  HR practioners . Welingkar Institute of Management hosted this initiative as a Forum of Business Schools initiative.

In line with the vision of our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Government of Maharashtra, the above collaborative effort will be directed towards Faculty sharpening and contemporarising their mind-sets, attitudes, knowledge and skills. They would have to move away from being the lead provider of knowledge and skills to   more of a facilitative approach focused on student-centric learning requirements.  The immersion experience - initially planned for the Faculty from HR includes a variety of pedagogy, executed under the tutelage of an industry Mentor, and would be extended to faculties across specialization and streams at a later stage.  WeSchool Mumbai is collaborating on this program to be mentored by senior HR professionals from NHRDN, while   Prof Vijayan Pankajakshan, Dean-HR at WeSchool is actively leading this initiative from the institute.

While congratulating Dr Sanjay Deshmukh on his appointment as the Vice Chancellor, University of Mumbai, Prof Dr Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, WeSchool, outlined the challenges faced by educational sector and emphasised that collaboration was the key to creating a better a future for thousands of students. ” The rate of knowledge obsolescence and the dynamic environment changes makes collaborative models a necessity. Educational institutes have the responsibility remain aligned and contemporary with the stakeholders, which influence what is to be taught and how the same would be reflected in the behaviour and actions of our graduating students. This is the era of Mergers of Minds as unless we come together to co-create the future for all stakeholders, things will be difficult. Today, while there is too much emphasis on academically qualified faculty, what educational institutes also need are the professionally qualified faculty. We must start a process of reverse mentoring by bringing corporate heads to our classrooms and send faculty to experience and learn from the best practices in the corporate arena. Let us adapt the SOS approach: that begins with transforming self, organization and society. Let us collaborate to co- create a better future for all our students”  

While addressing the audience, Dr Sanjay Deshmukh, Vice Chancellor, University of Mumbai, outlined his vision for the growth and development of education, with a special focus on reaching the unreached. “‘Merging of minds’ will be possible when government, academia  and Industry join hands  at all levels to develop a  symbiotic relationship that creates room for innovation and sustainable development for all ,and  especially for  those who don’t have many opportunities.”

“Contributing to efficient workflow, setting up of interface infrastructure, student engagement& enrichment, strengthening R&D efforts are the key areas for collaboration, where we will have to step beyond boundaries of traditional thinking, adopt principles of design thinking and empathy for people who are marginalized as an integral part of the education we provide to our students.”  He emphasised as he unfolded his plan of action.

“As we progress we must also ensure we have bio-balance combined with economic stability, the world must become a bio-village.” He added.