I was very happy to learn from press reports that our Indian School of Business at Hyderabad has secured 15^th global b-school ranking recently.

On this occasion, I wish to share some thoughts and practices I have developed during my previous assignment as a Professor of Finance in a leading B-School. I believe these ideas will enable our faculty colleagues in all institutions in general and in B-Schools in particular to gain more visibility for themselves and for their institutions.

Faculty Clubs

Every educational institution may constitute a dedicated Faculty Club. The membership could be restricted to full time faculty members of the institution. The faculty members may be encouraged to make periodical presentations through this forum on any topic of common interest or issues concerning their field of study. Actually this Faculty Club can become the testing ground for our budding faculty talent who pursue their doctoral research. They can present their ideas so that they can be debated actively. This brainstorming will definitely facilitate our faculty members to come out with quality research findings.

Papers publication Working papers Conference papers submission

The faculty members may be encouraged to periodically contribute working papers and conference papers for discussion. The faculty members may also be persuaded to get their papers published in leading journals. Prescription of a target for each faculty member for such yearly publication may not be a bad idea.

Students and research oriented contemporary issues

The faculty may jointly prepare research oriented papers with their bright students. The students may be required to take up contemporary issues for research and submit reports of their findings. This opportunity will motivate the students and encourage them to pursue research and take up faculty assignment as a career option. Some institutions have already prescribed this as an academic requirement. The other institutions may take up this exercise in right earnest. This will be an opportunity for the students, faculty guide and the educational institution to take up locally relevant issues for study and submit to the relevant government agencies.

Publication of books of study

Availability of good enough text books written by Indian authors in many subjects of study is a matter of concern. As a faculty I have come across some text books written by foreign authors many years ago still being prescribed as a text book for study. Our faculty is equally talented and they can come out with more relevant quality text books with domestic inputs and case studies. I bet with a little bit of proper planning these books can be brought out with quality contents. Surely a great opportunity exists for our talented and popular faculty members.

Visiting faculty

As there is a dearth of good quality faculty our educational institutions may encourage our faculty members to take up visiting faculty assignments in other institutions. This kind of faculty exchanges and visits will widen the experience of our faculty and their vision too. In short term, through this arrangement, our educational institutions can easily manage any faculty shortage and attrition. The faculty members may also be able to earn more. Some pro active educational institutions encourage their faculty members to take up this visiting faculty assignments on consultancy basis with revenue sharing.

Development of new courses and subjects for study

I find some educational institutions still continue with their age old subjects of study. To meet the demands of the market place and also facilitate their students to become market ready, these educational institutions should come out with new courses and subjects for study. By rotation, the faculty members should be encouraged to come with new courses every alternate year. This is also to overcome the redundancy factor with regard to faculty delivery with the same old subjects for study year after year if they are not regularly updated and changed.

Field visits and community projects

Some institutions have field visits and community projects in their curriculum on an informal basis. They have to be formalized. Educational institutions may consider entering into some kind of tie up or arrangements with local organizations to encourage students field visits and community projects. This will instill leadership qualities and problem solving capabilities in the young minds of our students.

Regular industry interaction

Every educational institution should encourage regular industry interaction by inviting the leaders of the local industry to interact with their students. This can become a facilitating tool to encourage campus recruitment by such local industry. In addition, the students will also get to know first hand the problems faced by the industries and they can even come out with out of box ideas for solving them.

Establishment of chairs

Once the educational institution has reached a status of repute, it can think of establishment of chairs in specific areas of study catering to a particular industry sponsored by leading corporates. I have come across such chairs in leading educational institutions in India and abroad

Develop case studies from local experience

Case study oriented approach is the preferred form of study in many fields. However most of the case studies taken up are outdated and they are with foreign content. The faculty members may be encouraged by the educational institutions to bring out relevant local case studies in their respective fields of study. Targets can be prescribed for such case study development. Students can easily identify themselves with such local case studies and learn the lessons quite comfortably.

Faculty development programmes

Educational institutions may consider hosting faculty development programmes during non academic season to promote faculty learning, exchange of ideas and development. Duration of such programmes can be decided by the educational institutions themselves. The idea is to get the faculty visit the other educational institutions and find out first hand how the other faculty members organize and deliver.

Management and Executive development programmes

Every educational institution should strive to conduct management and executive development programmes designed and delivered by their faculty members. This will provide yet another opportunity for the faculty members to earn consultancy income. In addition, for the corporate executives this will provide with an opportunity to have class room learning.

Connect with past students

Though many educational institutions have yearly alumni programmes, there is a great opportunity waiting for the educational institutions and their faculty members in the form of special catch up with latest programmes for their past students. I doubt whether the institutions have them mapped in their radar and their specific requirements.

Promote local consulting group

The educational institutions can consider setting up of a local consulting group to provide in depth reach, study and findings on any local issues. Definitely the local authorities and the government would welcome such measures from these educational institutions. This can be identified as one of the key Responsible Business Initiatives for the educational institutions.

Set up a school for Alternative Policy Initiatives

Most of the time, the policy initiatives are held in the senior government servants hold. This limits wider public debate and consideration. To overcome this, our educational institutions may consider setting up of a separate school for alternative policy initiatives comprising their select faculty members who would organize periodical interaction among themselves, with the students, local industry and populace and come out with comprehensive alternative initiatives for debate and consideration by the local authorities and the government. This approach will directly benefit good quality policy measures being implemented by the local authorities and the government.

Set up local Management Association

Our educational institutions may consider setting up of a local management association the membership of which may be extended to the local industry and other educational institutions, select leading members of the society, faculty members and the students. They can meet at regular intervals to come out with new management thoughts. They can in turn be articulated in the form of research papers for publication in reputed journals.

I know I am asking for moon from our educational institutions. I hold the view that for our educational institutions to gain more visibility in the market place they need to indulge in such developmental activities. I strongly believe some more educational institutions in India are endowed with more capabilities and they also do perform. But what they need at this hour is clear and enhanced visibility to garner more market recognition in the form of higher global ranking.

I am prepared to share some deeper thoughts on each of these identified areas and other newer areas for implementation by our education institutions when approached. I would consider it my duty and a special privilege at the same time.

Are they willing

Well. A note of confirmation. I did practice, implement and conform to these requirements in my previous professorial assignment. And I have my records for performance.