NLP and Psychometric Profiling are Taking Their Roots in Indian Education with National Education Policy 2020: "Prof. Sanjay Srivastava, Vice Chancellor – MRIIRS"

Tell us about your book based on the wisdom of the Geeta. How did you get the inspiration to write it and how does it relate to leadership skills?

Writing Geeta has been a journey that ranges back to both my personal and professional experiences. In 2009, with a set of researchers from different IIMs and IITs of the industry, we did a research work on defining and understanding the Indian mindsets. The paper got published in the International journal of repute in the year 2009. After which, with a few American researchers, we conducted a comprehensive metric study on what are those attributes that differentiate between a leader and a super-leader. Nine attributes were identified: 5 intrinsic attributes- Learning, Laugh, Looking, Lasting Impression, and Love; 4 extrinsic attributes- Leverage, Like ability, Listening, and Lead.

When I started reading Geeta, I realized that the identified attributes in the research are already mentioned in the Geeta by Lord Krishna. The qualities of a super-leader are same that of anyone else, the only difference is that these qualities in a super-leader are optimum.

The ‘Geeta’ written by me has a specific chapter on Leadership that talks about these nine attributes that are a must in a leader.

How was your experience of working with the government organizations for the various training and development programs related to public administration?

Working with government organizations has always been extremely inspiring as well as motivating. I have worked with various academies of the country including NBS Academy, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy Hyderabad, Nacin, Haryana Institute of Public Administration, IIPA and many more.

Every organization that I worked with, I found that their responsiveness and receptivity have gone exponentially up.

You have led the doctoral programs at Amity University and several research scholars have attained your guidance. What’s your view on the current facilities and support for research studies in the Indian higher education institutions?

So far, 34 scholars have received their doctoral degree under me. When we talk about the research facilities available in Indian higher education institutions, I personally feel that as a country, we need to raise our standards from compliance zone to the zone of research and innovation. As a country, we have come a long way but we have miles to go.

As a country, we are struggling and it is majorly dominated by the Western world. If we look at the scopus index journal, we find only 5 percent Indian publications and the other 95 percent of them are foreign publishers.

How deeply are the techniques of NLP and psychometric profiling used in the Indian education system, even though we see the concepts being used widely in the corporate sector?

NLP and psychometric profiling are taking their roots in Indian Education with National Education Policy 2020. NEP 2020 also stresses the fact that students should get enough space in their schooling and higher education life to explore their passion along with their studies. This will also boost the dream of our Hon’ble Prime Minister of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

The Manav Rachna group of institutes has gone from strength to strength reaching new milestones. What is your vision for the further growth of the institute, and what will be the streams that you will focus on?

Manav Rachna is always an ever-evolving institution emphasizing on character-building and competence enhancement so that an all-rounded person can come out from the portal of Manav Rachna so that he/she can be a good human being and a proud citizen of the country.

We have inculcated a culture of professionalism with human touch in all our faculties ranging from Engineering to Management, Media, Law, Design, Architecture, Applied Sciences, Allied Health Sciences, Hospitality and Hotel Administration, Business Studies, and several others.

The NEP talks about multidisciplinary studies and international collaboration. How do you see these aspects being implemented in the higher education institutions in India?

In my opinion, NEP talks about the mandatory in education system. The focus on multidisciplinary studies and international collaborations to provide opportunities to students is a significant step that can have great effects. When it comes to higher education, international collaborations help students grow and interact with students and faculty members of different cultures and communities that not just helps them in their diverse thinking but also provides them an opportunity to see the other side of the world and learn from them. This adds to their holistic development to a large extent.

Along with this, there is a great need to train our teachers and upgrade their skills and knowledge contributing in enhancing the standards of teaching and attracting quality aspirants into academia.

Do you think India’s young population is a strong point for our economic growth? How can we work towards achieving the optimum results with our workforce?

As the fastest growing economy, India is home to a fifth of the world’s youth and that gives it a unique demographic advantage. New technologies and the pace with which the world is moving ahead, Indian youth is to be prepared for the next-gen jobs. Preparing our young generation while they are pursuing their higher education, by inculcating in them the requisite skills and giving them proper hands-on exposure can help them be a pre-informed part of the industry.