Our students have overcome the fear of Public speaking, Assistant Professor Imroz Mansuri, NBS

In a conversation with Shiksha, Assistant Professor of Narayana Business School (NBS), Imroz Mansuri talks about the industry-relevant curriculum and unique pedagogy that the institute has adopted to make students industry-ready. Mansuri has over 10 years of rich corporate experience with four years of experience in academics. He has an excellent track record of building, leading and monitoring teams that create value for customers and corporate shareholders.

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

A: Narayana Business School (NBS) takes pride in two things — its curriculum and teaching pedagogy. Both have been designed after lot of brainstorming and thought process.  Curriculum is developed taking into consideration the requirements of the industry. The alumni working at senior positions are invited to share inputs to keep the curriculum updated. The placement team also remains in touch with various corporates throughout the year. They keep providing the update concerning the latest happenings in the industry. The information is then analysed and implemented as part of curriculum.

NBS follow a unique pedagogy. We devote complete attention to students in the first year, keeping in mind the background they come from which is gradually reduced in the beginning of the second year. The reason for the same is that students become aware of the concepts and they develop the ability to deal with these concepts and their application in totality. Towards the end of the program, they are in the creation mode where they are able to extend the concepts learnt in the classroom.  This methodology is called Blooms Taxonomy. This way, students have the opportunity to put learning into practice and they are more industry ready.

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

A: The institute has track record of 19 years in placements. This has allowed us to learn and update ourselves about all the industry related details that includes culture, knowledge, attire, mannerism and work methodology. Right from the beginning, the students are groomed in various facets of life to be industry ready.

The first component we focus on is Public Speaking. This is done through assignments and presentations. Students overcome their fear of speaking on stage, allowing them to present themselves better in interviews. This improves their body language and confidence. The second component is attire. The school still follows uniform system which gives students sense of formal dressing that is part of the corporate culture.

Apart from grooming sessions, we also conduct BNB sessions to keep students aware about all the latest happenings across the globe. These news contents are studied in depth to cover famous personalities from corporate and government organizations. New organisations and concepts are discussed so that students know that certain type of companies exist for specific services and products.

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

A: Our students have overcome the fears that the students of other colleges possess. By fear, we mean that our students are smart enough to strike a conversation with complete strangers, talk in front of a high profile person, come up with very creative ideas of doing things, critical thinking, etc.

Our students come from very diverse backgrounds. Different geographies, languages, cultures, ethnicities bounded all in one at NBS. When they learn about all the different aspects of people, it enhances their vision and their thoughts get wings to explore and experiment more. A go-getter attitude is developed in them. The faculty mix is also equally diverse which helps to build a strong connection with the students.

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

A: We reiterate our stance on the curriculum. It is not contemporary if it’s not updated taking into account the industry requirements. The curriculum of our college is indeed very dynamic in nature. The combination of strong alumni network, diverse board and feedback from placement division helps us remain in constant touch with the industry.

Moreover, our course structure is derived in such a way that students will get to attend sessions from industry experts. These experts provide an in-depth understanding of the latest happenings to the students.

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

A: NBS is very much receptive towards innovation, technology, science and entrepreneurial activities. There are number of examples to justify this attitude of the institute. A lot of our alumni are running successful businesses. They strongly give credit to the college for its unique approach that has moulded them towards innovation and entrepreneurship.

Moreover, as a college, we have our own incubation centre, ‘Narayana Centre for Research & Innovation’ with the following facilities for the students and their budding ideas:.

• Access to the vast NBS network of industry leaders
• State-of-the-art Infrastructure
• Online and Offline Library
• Internal Networking amongst the incubated startups
• Air Conditioned Co-working shared space
• High speed Wifi campus
• Meeting and networking joint
• Amphitheatre and auditorium for presentations
• Indoor and outdoor sports complex

We have also kept the door open for various corporates to nurture any idea or startup at our college. The corporates can also be a part of the funding provided to the students.