Professor Vijaya Rudraraju is currently the Principal of the Apollo Institute of Hospital Administration, Hyderabad. She is a postgraduate in management administration and was awarded a doctoral degree in 2000. She has about 29 years of experience teaching master's students including international experience at King Saud University, Riyadh. Dr. Raju has more than 17 years of administrative experience as a Director/Principal of management colleges. She has guided numerous PhD and M.Phil. scholars and is presently guiding eight PhD candidates. She has published several research articles in national and international journals and attended many seminars, workshops and conferences both in India and abroad.

Apollo Institute of Hospital Administration

With over 28+ years of experience in teaching and administration, you've held key roles throughout your professional career. How has this diverse experience shaped your educational philosophy and leadership style?

I had the opportunity to gain diverse experience. Teaching and leading different generations of students from 1994 until now has been very enriching. Being in this profession in the pre-internet age and the internet age has given me an opportunity to see and understand the changes in students and the higher education sector. As a teacher, my role has changed from a knowledge giver to an attitude builder. Earlier, the teacher was the major source of information and knowledge and the students relied on them. But now Google is teaching almost everything on earth and the teacher’s role now is to be a mentor or a coach, concentrating more on building constructive attitudes among the students and helping them realise their potential to succeed in their careers and lives. As an administrator, I have been leading various generations X, Y and Gen Z. My style of leadership had to change if I was to be successful. I am enjoying being with the current generation of students and colleagues, as they are highly creative and more technology equipped.

What is the mission and vision of the Apollo Institute of Hospital Administration, and how does it guide the institution's activities?

AIHA is committed to producing high-quality hospital administrators by focusing on teaching and research, forging a synergetic relationship with healthcare institutions, and emerging as an outstanding school of learning. In line with our mission, we implement an updated curriculum with diversified pedagogy and extensive Industry-Institute interaction. The healthcare institutions contribute by way of projects, internships, and lectures, while our students, while learning, contribute to them by way of assisting in their live projects and their JCI/NABH procedures. The vision of Apollo Group is to touch a billion lives. AIHA functions in accordance with the vision to become the most competitive hospital/healthcare administrators who act as a thread bringing other healthcare professionals together in providing patient care and satisfaction.

What measures does the institute take to ensure that students receive a well-rounded education, including practical training and exposure to real-world healthcare settings?

For this Master’s in Hospital Management course, we follow Osmania University’s curriculum. However, we take great interest in providing the students with practical exposure by sending them to healthcare organisations. There is a lot of industry institute interaction. The students are taken for hospital visits and to interact with healthcare personnel to understand the administrative and other functional issues in the first semester. The students are posted in our Apollo Hospitals for 12 weeks in the second semester to object, interact and work on live projects under the mentorship of healthcare professionals. The students volunteer to be interns in hospitals and healthcare units and work on administrative issues and problems to suggest better mechanisms. During the final semester, the students go for a four month long internship in healthcare organizations and prepare a dissertation on issues related to healthcare to offer valid suggestions. Healthcare personnel are frequently invited for lectures on the current trends and practical aspects of various concepts related to healthcare administration. During the two year course, the students are given several assignments focusing on practical applications when they visit healthcare units.

How does the institute foster a culture of research and innovation among its students and faculty?

The students and faculty are encouraged to do live projects in the healthcare arena. They are encouraged to publish quality research in prominent national and international journals. Creativity and novel ideas are encouraged on campus in all activities the students do.

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How does the institute stay current with developments and trends in the healthcare industry, and how are these integrated into the curriculum?

AIHA invites eminent practitioners of hospital administration to speak to students so that industry changes are brought to the classroom without delay. The curriculum is frequently updated by inviting resource persons from industry and academia so that the syllabus stays contemporary. Many of our students work on live projects in our hospitals in departments such as IT, AI and MI. We focus on quality learning and future trends in the respective areas of the healthcare sector. AIHA is blessed to have an ocean of practising resource personnel of the Apollo Group to educate and contribute to keeping the students current in their learning.

How well is AIHA focusing on maintaining industry relationships with companies, healthcare organizations to leverage them for live projects, training, and placements for the students?

We are very much focused on having a constructive relationship with the healthcare industry. We are proud to state that over the last 30 years, 28 batches of students have rolled out and many of them are well placed. Our senior alumni are now the CEOs, COOs, and Vice Presidents of various healthcare organisations around the globe. Student placement is not a problem. Secondly, AIHA is housed on a campus with one of the top hospitals in the country, Apollo-Jubilee Hills, and a teaching hospital, as we have the Medical College. Our students are given priority for live projects and placements in the wide and extensive network of Apollo Healthcare organisations, as we all belong to the Apollo Family.

How does the AIHA ensure that it remains competitive and at the forefront of healthcare education in the region?

AIHA is the first institute in the country to start the MHM (Master’s in Hospital Management) course. It is close to the hearts of our Chairman and Vice Chairperson. We get all the support from the management. To ensure that the students come up with flying colours, we focus on involving students in practical assignments and live projects in our hospitals, inviting eminent speakers to talk on contemporary topics, and encouraging them to practise management and administration while on campus through the student clubs.

Student engagement and holistic development are crucial in higher education. How do you envision encouraging extracurricular activities and promoting the overall growth of students during their time at the college?

Extracurricular and co-curricular activities are taken care of by the student clubs. The institute has several student clubs with faculty mentors that target activities outside the classroom and learning the principles and functions of management and administration. These include the Academic Club (FALCONS), The Socio-Cultural Club (FLAMINGOS), The Social Media Cell, The Alumni Cell and the Placement Cell. The students organize several inter-college competitions, fests and Sports tournaments during their two-year tenure.

Could you share some advice for youth and aspiring students to pursue a good career?

Today’s youth are very lucky to be in the internet era. They have limitless opportunities to learn and keep themselves updated. They are tech-savvy and very creative. I would like to advise them to understand that learning is continuous and that today’s industrial environment is highly dynamic and turbulent. Hence, to be successful, one should keep abreast of the changes in the healthcare industry and keep oneself updated. The healthcare industry is ever-green and even during the pandemic, it did not slow down. As our chairman, Dr.Pratap C. Reddy, says, this industry is opening up a lot of opportunities, just like the IT sector, not to work in our country alone, but all around the world.