Our approach emphasises on conceptual clarity and theoretical build, says Associate Professor JIMS

In conversation with Shiksha.com, Associate Professor and HOD-PGDM Retail Management at Jagan Institute of Management Studies Dr Deepika Saxena talks about their industry-based curriculum. The idea is to expose students to corporate culture so they get the taste of solving real-world problems. Dr Saxena has got over fourteen years of experience in academia and industry, including 12 years in teaching and research.

Q: What is the difference between the teaching methodology in your institute and others?

A: The teaching methodology at JIMS is unique in itself which highly focuses on the industry-academia connect and emphasise on beyond classroom learning. The classroom teaching and learning approach emphasises on the conceptual clarity and theoretical build using audio-visual aid, presentations, role-plays, case studies and articles discussions. Various new teaching-learning approaches followed at JIMS are:

• Activity-based learning where students conceptualise, plan and execute various club activities including developing and implementing simulation games and exercises’
• Teaching through Social Sensitisation (Self Society and Organisations) where we focus on imbibing social values and individual’s social responsibility and create connect with society through various NGOs and at the same time work on the solutions of social problems and try to bring the change for societal benefit
• Learning through MOOCs, Online Quizzes, Teaching through YouTube Channels
• Project and Assignments based learning
• Teaching through Industry Practitioners through guest lectures and workshops
• Integrating theory and practices through Mall/Store Visits, Industrial Visits, Warehouse Visits, Port Visits, Stock Exchange Visits and so on
• Integrating theory and practices through Industry Research Projects where students work with the corporates and find solutions to the business problems
• Learning through Social and Community Projects where students work on community issues with social entrepreneurs and develop business model/revenue model for them;
• Learning through Research Papers Publications and Conference Presentations
• Case-based Group Discussions where students brainstorm and analyse the situation and using critical thinking, analytical and problem-solving skills.

Q: How are you preparing your students to be Industry ready?

A: Students at JIMS are regularly exposed to the corporate culture and work environment through live projects, internships, and on the job training. We, at JIMS, create industry interface for the students through guest lectures, workshops, seminars/conclaves, panel discussions on a regular basis. This provides them exposure in terms of solving real-world situations. Apart from providing these learning platforms to the students, we regularly work on each individual student for his overall development in terms of knowledge, attitude and skills throughout their journey at JIMS.

Q: What quality do your students have which other college students lack?

A: We, at JIMS, work on each individual student in terms of knowledge, attitude, skills and personality development. As every student is different and has different abilities and potential, so we handhold each of our students through mentorship programme and guide them in the right direction through faculty mentor, corporate mentor, alumni mentor and placement mentor. We provide the students experiential learning in terms of connecting them directly with the corporate & entrepreneurs and develop problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and analytical abilities; and therefore the students here are one step ahead of others. 

Q: Do you think the curriculum of the courses taught in your institute fits in the requirement of the industry?

A: Yes, the course curriculum at JIMS definitely fits the requirement of the industry. We develop our curriculum in conjunction with the experts from the industry and regular feedback and inputs are taken from them in order to match-up the subjects and syllabus in the course curriculum as per their requirements. It helps meet the growing demands by the organisations for the professionals with the practical skills and intellectual ability to succeed in this fast-paced and global business environment. Detailed discussions with the industry professionals are regularly conducted for designing the course curriculum of all the three programs at JIMS – PGDM, PGDM (Retail Management) and PGDM (International Business).

Q: Is your college receptive to the innovation, technology, science & entrepreneurship?

A: Definitely, yes. JIMS is a place for innovation. We always encourage our students to come out with new ideas and out of the box thinking in whatever they do. We have Innovation Cell where various events are organised to find innovative solutions to the problems. Smart India Hackathon, initiative of MHRD, is a part of this cell where students find solutions to the given problems. We imbibe in them the use of the latest technology as a learning platform, not only for IT students but also for all management students. Entrepreneurship has always been an encouraging area for the institute; for this purpose, JIMS supports the new innovative ideas, provides mentoring and funding through JIMS Incubation Cell.