Pursuing Business Specialization ‘Pivotal Moment’ In Life

Prof. (Dr.) Santanu Roy, Director of IBS, Dehradun, shares insights on industry collaborations, fostering creativity, and navigating the entrepreneurial landscape with Education Post’s Prabhav Anand. Highlighting the importance of staying abreast of developments, he advises aspiring management professionals: ‘Keep track of the evolving business landscape.’

Q. How has your M.Sc in Physics from IIT Delhi contributed to your perspective in the field of Industrial Engineering and Management, especially considering the unconventional transition from Physics to Management?

I joined IIT Delhi in the year 1975 after passing the then Higher Secondary Examination (CBSE, Class XI) and clearing the IIT Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). At that time, all IIT Undergraduate Programs – B. Tech or M.Sc - were of five-year duration. The first two years were common across all the programs. So, I did all the basic engineering courses in my first two years of study and then we all entered our respective Disciplines in our third year of study. My specialization was on Solid State Physics which has a close connection with engineering. Thereafter, while serving as a scientist in CSIRNISTADS for an extended period of more than two decades, I maintained a very close interaction with industry. Thus, my progression towards doing my PhD in the field of Industrial Engineering and Management at IIT Kharagpur was very natural.

Q. With your extensive experience in academia and industry, having worked with organizations like UNDP, FICCI, and ONGC, could you share a pivotal moment or project that significantly shaped your approach to research and consultancy in the realm of Technology Management and Supply Chain Management?

My experience of working with national and international bodies was very enriching and definitely had a lasting impact on my research and consultancy in different domains. Just to cite a few instances, I was the Program Director of a week-long Management Development Program (MDP) on ‘Project Management’ for senior ONGC executives that was scheduled from 30th November to 9th December 2009. In the field of ‘Technology Management’, I was a key constituent of a two-member team at CSIRNISTADS working on the project, ‘International Comparative Study on Organization and Performance of Research Units (ICSOPRU)’, sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The study was based upon empirical data on 1460 research units collected across six different nations – Argentina, Egypt, India, South Korea, Poland, and the ex-Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The project findings were published in a highly-cited research paper in the journal, Scientometrics (ABDC ‘A’ Category) in the year 2003. In the field of ‘Supply Chain Management’, I have served as a consultant to companies in Dubai such as Choithrams on ‘Food Supply Chain’, the Landmark Group on ‘Warehouse Management and Demand Planning’ and Redington Gulf FZE on ‘Blockchain Use Cases in Supply Chain’. The trend continues till the present day. I maintain close tie-ups with professional industry bodies. Just to cite, I am a member of the All India Management Association (AIMA) and a member of, the Association of Supply Chain Professionals (ASCP).

Q. Your contributions to various government initiatives, including those by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Textiles, are noteworthy. How do you see academia actively participating in national development, and what role does IBS Dehradun play in this larger context?

Among the various government initiatives that I have contributed to, I had served as a member of two top-level project advisory bodies of the Ministry of Science and Technology – ‘Knowledge Creation and Innovation in an Emerging Technology: Contemporary and Future Scenario in Nanotechnology’, National Nano Mission during November 2010 – July 2012, and ‘India’s Reverse Brain Gain (RGB) in Liberalized Era’ during August 2007 – June 2009. I was a member of the Advisory Body of another Project sponsored by IIT Kharagpur, ‘Technology Adoption in Tea Industry with Special Reference to North-East India’ from October 2007 – March 2009. 

All the above initiatives have provided me with immense learning opportunities. Thus, it is imperative that academia actively participate in national development. We at IBS Dehradun actively encourage our academia to play a significant role in this regard, contribute to our progression as a nation and share such experiential knowledge to our students and research scholars.

Q. In a rapidly evolving business landscape, where creativity is increasingly valued, how do you encourage students at IBS Dehradun to cultivate and apply creative thinking in their approach to management, and what role do you believe creativity plays in shaping innovative and successful business strategies?

To pursue a business specialization is a pivotal moment in one’s academic and professional journey. It’s not merely a choice of focus; it’s a strategic decision that shapes the trajectory of a career considering not only current trends but also the anticipated future landscape, aligning an individual’s skills and interests with market demands. The skill sets for the future include critical dimensions such as analytical thinking – critical thinking and problem-solving, digital literacy – besides understanding and using digital technologies, leadership and emotional intelligence, and appreciating the growing importance of sustainability in business. Further, in future job market trends, we find an increasing prevalence of remote work and virtual team management. All these signify the critical importance of creativity in today’s business landscape.

At IBS Dehradun, we encourage our students to cultivate and apply creative thinking in their approach to management. Apart from enlightening our students on the importance and significance of the points mentioned above, we organize creative events such as team building through the activities of our different clubs like Finance Club, HR Club and other IBS Clubs. One such club worth mentioning is the Philautia Club which reinforces self-awareness and care. The club was initiated to spread awareness and positivity about health and fitness among students and faculty members of IBS by practicing and conducting activities such as yoga and meditation, Zumba and dance, singing, swimming, sketching and painting, etc. Another club that may be cited here is the Abhivyakti Club which was established with the purpose of bringing together the love of language and positivity, giving students a reason to smile and helping theatre enthusiasts to showcase and develop their acting, interpersonal and directional skills. Some other activities organized by the club include Mock Parliament, Management Games, Kavyanjali (Debate Competition), Union Budget Panel Discussion, Anti-Drug and Anti-Ragging Awareness Programs, Digital Street Consultation for street vendors, as also cultural activities like Diwali party and fresher’s party and Independence Day celebration. Apart from the club activities mentioned here, the case study pedagogy that is a key component of our teaching and learning methodology involves situational analysis of various business scenarios inculcating the spirit of creativity among our students.

Q. Given the growing emphasis on entrepreneurship, how does IBS Dehradun foster an environment that encourages students to explore entrepreneurial ventures, and what strategies do you believe are effective in enhancing collaboration between academia and industries to nurture and support emerging entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurship is a very significant opportunity that focuses on starting and managing a business, innovation, and taking care of the consequent business risk. We at IBS encourage our students to take up the roles of an entrepreneur or start-up consultant. Industry collaboration and networking assume criticality in such a scenario. We highlight the importance of networking that facilitates opening doors to opportunities, the benefits of participating in relevant industry forums and events, leveraging our alumni networks for providing insights and guidance and staying updated on industry trends. We also strive to help our budding entrepreneurs prepare themselves for the challenges ahead by focusing on aspects like self-assessment – reflecting on their skills, interests and values, researching industry trends, seeking advice and guidance from mentors, and on the importance of thoughtful decisionmaking. At IBS Dehradun, students are encouraged to participate in prestigious entrepreneurship competitions such as Business Plan, Stock Mock Plan and Business Quiz organized by different universities and organizations. Our students have received awards, cash prizes and trophies in these competitions. Our university has an Institution Innovation Council to provide support towards entrepreneurial initiatives. Thus, enhancing collaboration between academia and industries to nurture and support emerging entrepreneurs is a critical element in this endeavor.

IBS Dehradun regularly organizes talks and sessions by industry experts on specific subjects in emerging business areas. We encourage our team members to attend events organized by various professional industry associations and deliver workshops on specific practical subjects. Just to cite, I delivered a workshop on ‘Carbon Footprints and How the World is Tackling Climate Sustainability’ on 16th December 2023. Further, I have been part of an entrepreneurial venture in an emerging area of medical science – Acranolife Genomics Private Limited. This venture has been a top winner in one of India’s biggest innovation competitions organized by the Department of Science and Technology at IIM Ahmedabad, and has also been felicitated by the President of India. The entrepreneurial success story has been shared with our students.

Q. Wrapping up our conversation, what advice would you give to aspiring management professionals looking to navigate the challenges and opportunities in today’s ever-changing business landscape?

Our business landscape is constantly changing. Among the five biggest challenges facing the business landscape at the moment, the factor that strikes first is that of accelerated digital transformation – innovations and developments in transformative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet-of-Things (IoT), Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR), Cloud Computing, Blockchain, and super-fast network protocols like 5G. What’s more, these transformational digital technologies do not exist in isolation from each other and we often see the boundaries between them blurring. To prepare to meet this challenge, businesses must ensure they embed the right technology throughout their processes and in every area of operations.

The issue of inflation and supply chain security comes next. Many industries are still plagued by supply chain issues that emerged during the global shutdowns caused by COVID-19 and have only gotten worse due to the war in Ukraine, and now the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. To combat this and stay afloat, companies need to improve their resilience in any way that they can. It is important that companies map out their entire supply chains and identify any exposure to supply and inflation risks. That way, they can explore ways to mitigate that risk, such as alternative suppliers and becoming more self-reliant. The third challenge is the issue of sustainability.

The world is increasingly waking up to the fact that the climate disaster will pose a much bigger challenge than anything we have experienced in recent decades. Companies need to make sure that their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) processes are moved to the center of their strategy. Every business needs to strategize with clear goals and timeframes of how to reduce any negative impacts, and then the target needs to be underpinned by solid action plans.

Next, we have the factor of immersive customer experience. We realize that customers now crave for experience above all else. We can think of recommendation engines that help us choose what to buy or online customer service portals that deal with problems and after-sales support. The Metaverse – something of a catchall term used by futurists to describe the ‘next level’ of the internet, where we interact with brands and fellow consumers through immersive technology, including 3D environments and VR – is the stage where this will play out. We may think of online shops where we can browse and ‘try on’ virtual representations of clothes, jewelry, and accessories. We might use virtual dressing rooms to dress up avatars of ourselves – as pioneered already by the likes of Hugo Boss – or it could involve AR, as used by Walmart, to see how clothes will fit on our actual bodies. These trends will impact both online and offline retail. Finally, the talent challenge is emerging as a big hurdle to cross. Over the past year, we have seen huge movements of talented people, referred to as the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting, as workers reassessed the impact of work and what they want to get out of their lives. Offering people fulfilling work, ongoing opportunities to grow and learn, flexibility and diverse, value-oriented workplaces will all be essential in 2024.

On top of that, the accelerated digital transformation leads to more workplace automation that will augment pretty much every single job in the world. Humans will increasingly share their work with intelligent machines and smart robots which has huge implications for the skills and talent companies require in the future. As human jobs get augmented by technology, businesses must re-train staff with skills needed to work alongside smart machines and to grow their uniquely human skills that currently cannot be automated. In 2024, it will include skills such as creativity, critical thinking, interpersonal communication, leadership, and applying humane qualities like caring and compassion. Our aspiring management professionals looking to navigate the challenges and opportunities in today’s ever-changing business landscape must and should keep track of the developments as detailed above.