Dr. Yadavalli Basavaraj is the Principal of the Ballari Institute of Technology and Management. With 32 years of experience, he started working in academia after obtaining a postgraduate degree in Maintenance Engineering from the University of Mysore. Thereafter, in 2009, he earned a doctorate degree. He holds memberships in the Indian Society for Technical Education, the Additive Manufacturing Society of India, the Indian Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Institute for Exploring Advances in Engineering. Dr. Basavaraj has also published over 50 papers in international and national journals and presented 19 papers at conferences and seminars.

Ballari Institute of Technology and Management

You have held key positions at education institutes throughout your professional career. What are the key factors that keep you connected with the education sector? 

I would like to emphasise the following three critical factors that I keep connected with within the education sector. Information literacy is the ability to effectively use information resources. I enjoy working towards finding, evaluating, organising, using, and communicating information during notable situations such as problem-solving. In my perspective, school education is very important in order for students to have a quality educational career. Usually, family wealth has become a predictor of students’ educational level, and we see a lot of students who do not carry out their education due to a lack of funds. This should not happen, and efforts are to be made towards solving this problem so that there will be equal access to education, which I enjoy working towards. Students need to develop a deeper understanding of their degrees. Teaching them that skill is what keeps me connected with education. We are not just making the students think outside the box, such as by analysing processes and facts, but trying to give them a depth of education to be improved rather than width.

Being the Principal of BITM college, how do you strategize about the key programs and plans for the marketing and administration of your college? 

The institution has implemented outcome-based education across the institute and has successfully obtained NAAC accreditation with an A+ grade. All eligible programme are accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), including the Master of Business Administration (PG). We have also been ISO certified since 2005 and are currently adhering to the best practises as stipulated by ISO 9001:2015. We also conform to demanding international standards by creating and implementing a Quality Management System. Our institute's USP is its unfathomable student-teacher rapport, proctoring, and student-centric learning. Feedback from stakeholders, namely Students, Parents, Faculty, and industry, is regularly taken to improve the systems at the institution.

Workshops, Personality Development, and Industry-Institute Interactions are also routine on campus. We also have a plethora of MoUs with reputed industries and have taken the big leap for skill development through in-house training, projects, soft skills, R and D, and certifications essential for student development. This has resulted in consistently placing an average of 450 students every year.

How does the curriculum of BITM ensure the best practice of the Industry? 

Our Institution was granted Academic Autonomy by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and conferred Autonomous status for the academic year 2021-22. We have a strong focus on OBE, and courses have well-defined objectives and learning outcomes aligned with the mission of the institution. Our UG and PG programmes offered by the institution cater to the industrial needs of the engineering fraternity. The institution takes the utmost care in developing the programme chart for the effective implementation of the curriculum. The curriculum is designed by the respective departments as per industry requirements and has approval from the Board of Studies (BoS) and Academic Council.

As the principal, I also conduct meetings with HODs to explore strategies for the effective implementation of the curriculum. The institution designs and develops an action plan for the effective implementation of the syllabus. By understanding industry trends and gaps, ability enhancement courses, special skills, internships, and aptitudes as topics beyond the curriculum are inculcated to the students from time to time.

Any insights into how your college could be more welcoming to students of different races or economic backgrounds? 

The college supports students in applying for scholarships from the Government and scholarships provided by the university. There is plenty of financial aid for meritorious students and students from economically weaker backgrounds. Since 2021-22, an average of 60.22% and 6.75% of our students have availed of these financial aids.

What would you like people to know about your Institute they may not know? 

Being an autonomous Institution, we have the flexibility to design our own curriculum as per industry requirements. The institution has a strong focus on Outcome Based Education, and courses have well-defined objectives and learning outcomes aligned with the mission of the institution. The institute is guided by its strategic plan, concentrating on teaching-learning and research activities through the Centres of Excellence (CoE) to ensure the employability of our graduates. I would also like people to know about our Institute (BITM), our teaching-learning process, research, innovations and extensions, infrastructure and learning resources, student support and progression, governance, leadership, and management, and our institutional values and best practises.

What do you see as BITM College’s greatest strengths? 

BITM’s strengths are its state-of-the-art campus and modern infrastructure. We have a green campus that follows the best environmental conservation practises. We have a quicker decision-making process because of our open and decentralised management system. Our students have an optimal student-faculty retention ratio and gender ratio. Several of our teachers have doctorate degrees along with experience in the field. We also have a good brand presence in the Hyderabad, Karnataka, region and border district areas of Andhra Pradesh. The college has MOUs with top multi-national companies that provide certification courses, internships, and more to our students. We enjoy good connections with the alumni members who are working in top organisations at companies internationally and nationally.

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What are some of the biggest challenges you see, both for higher education in general and for BITM Specifically? 

Our biggest challenge is a lack of Interest among prospective students in Engineering studies. Engineering courses are also quite expensive, making them out of reach for many students. Due to this, many students end up migrating to outer cities for education, which is a major loss for us. The syllabus of some universities is not flexible and does not meet industry expectations due to excessive emphasis on theoretical subjects. Along that line, there is also a lack of job opportunities in the manufacturing industry, and we have challenging job prospects due to internal and external factors.

Any suggestions you would like to give to the current youth and the aspiring students? 

My suggestion to all aspiring students is that “To be successful in life, you need to be smart and work hard. The harder you work; the more success you get. Be clear about what you want. Hard work in the right direction, upskilling, reskilling, and cross-skilling yourself is the mantra of success.” This is what I want to share with all the youth and aspiring students.

Plans that you are currently (or will be) designing for BITM Institute – International Affairs and/or students? 

Ballari Institute of Technology and Management’s Department of Management Studies has a well-planned international connection for research, student exchange, and faculty exchange plans. We also have connections with Dhaka International University, Bangladesh, and Dr. Soetomo University, Indonesia. We have also planned out various activities, such as the faculty exchange programme, the student exchange programme, visiting the international campuses, and faculty research collaboration in the fields of engineering and management. We have also initiated, resource sharing with Dhaka International University, where our faculties participated in international webinars and also conducted research.

What do you think should be the BITM’s top priority over the next 5 years?

BITM’s top priority over the next five years should be to create a Centre of Excellence in all the departments that can utilise the resources and expertise. We also need to provide state-of-the-art modern infrastructure facilities and develop infrastructure for carrying out our research and development activities. Our academic infrastructure, like laboratories and the central library, needs to be strengthened further, along with our campus-wide networking. We need to have more of our faculty members with PhD degrees, and we also need to obtain six-year NBA accreditation for all programmes. We want to provide our students with the right skills and resources to become entrepreneurs by conducting ideation and business plan competitions, bringing in mentors for interested students, and seeking out seed money for potential start-ups. Other goals are to augment technology-based learning by providing skill sets, encouraging self-learning and collaborating with more foreign and national Institutions.

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How do you tend to establish a healthy relation and environment in your Institute? 

In my view, the ability to build a positive workplace relationship is essential so that there is mutual understanding between employees. When your employees can develop a positive relationship with their peers, there is trust and shared respect among them. It is essential to create a work environment where everyone feels like they belong so that they actually want to stay at the Institute. Trust is a vital foundation for employees to bond with others and build healthy relationships. When there is trust, transparency ultimately follows, and work and communication are done more effectively. There must also be mutual respect between employees so that they value each other’s opinions and ideas. Mindful Employees are also careful with their words and are better listeners. They value others as much as they value themselves, never resort to negative thoughts, and emphasise a positive relationship more.

What is the rate of admission in your college? Has it increased from the last year?

The admission rate for the academic year 2022-23 is 85% despite the poor admissions in Mechanical and Civil Engineering, which is higher compared to the last year's 77%. This is mainly due to the quality placements and the training plan that we adopt at our Institution. For the current academic year (2023-24) admissions are in progress, and we do not have a definitive figure yet.