Prof. Srikanth Villivalam has 29 years of Research, Teaching, Training, Consultancy, and Industry Experience. He had been awarded Ph.D. by Osmania University, Hyderabad for his Doctoral Thesis on Marketing Strategies of Software Export Industry. He was awarded Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) by UGC. He had published papers in reputed national and international journals.

He has conducted National Conferences on Cyber Marketing (2007), Customer Relationship Management (2008), Customer Oriented Services Management (2009), Modern Retailing (2017), Management Research in India (2019), National Education Policy (NEP, 2020), and Research, Learning & Teaching Experiences during Covid-19 Pandemic (2021).

He has carried out 19 Research and Consultancy Projects for different organizations.

The Research Projects include an AICTE funded research project on Customer Relationship Management; ICSSR funded Research Project “Whistleblowing as a Corporate Governance Mechanism”.

The Consultancy Projects include Karnataka Soaps and Detergent Ltd., HOPCOMS, Karnataka State Agriculture and Marketing Board, Government of Karnataka, A.P. Rajiv Swagruha Corporation, Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd., (MECL), Govt. of Assam, Karnataka Evaluation Authority, National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), Dept. of Prohibition & Excise, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana State Beverages Corporation Ltd., and Telangana State Seeds Development Corporation Ltd.

16 Research Scholars have enrolled for Ph.D. work under his guidance, of which 12 have been awarded Ph.D., and 2 are going to submit their theses shortly.

He is currently Dean (Academic Affairs) at the Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE) looking after and coordinating the Academic, Admissions, Placements, Training, Research, and Consultancy activities of the Institute. He is also the Head, of the School of Marketing in IPE.

IPE Hyderabad

You have worked with many prestigious institutions throughout your 28+ years of career, What is something about IPE that excited you to join the organization and be a part of it?

A full-fledged or complete academician is one who will be involved in teaching, research, training, and consultancy activities. IPE is one of the very few institutions in India that provides opportunities to pursue various academic activities such as teaching, research, training, and consultancy. The institute provides ample opportunities for a faculty member to become a complete academician. That is the reason I got motivated and excited to join IPE.

How do you balance the academic needs of students, and administration at the same time as a Dean of Academics?

The position of Dean (Academics) comes with a lot of responsibility. There is continuous interaction with students, faculty, and staff. Each stakeholder has unique requirements, and as Dean (Academics), a lot of my time is spent meeting and listening to the stakeholders. I strike a balance by maintaining time regimens and prioritising issues based on urgency and importance.

What kind of steps do you take to ensure that the curriculum and academic pedagogy stay updated and current with the latest trends?

The institute adopts a particular process to ensure that the curriculum and academic pedagogy stay updated and current with the latest trends. The faculty of the programme are encouraged to engage in research activities in their chosen areas of interest to carry out research projects. They are also encouraged to present and publish research papers at national and international conferences, seminars and webinars. These activities will enable the faculty to interact with peers from various institutes and share ideas and the latest trends vis-à-vis curriculum and academic pedagogy. Area (Marketing/HRM/Finance/Operations/Analytics) meetings are held to discuss the ideas and trends in the specific meetings, along with programme meetings to collate and discuss the latest trends that can be incorporated in the programme design and delivery.

Can you explain us about the collaborations with external organizations to provide latest training and skill development programs for students?

IPE has collaborated with both national and international organisations. IPE has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with universities such as Osmania University, the University of Hyderabad, and the Central University of Rajasthan, to name a few, for research, faculty and student exchange. IPE has also tied up with Talent Sprint to impart training and skill development in areas that include personality development, business communications, and priming for placements.

Check IPE Placement

Can you describe what is the challenging part of being in the role of Dean and how you successfully manage it?

Among the different roles of a Dean, I find maintaining academic rigor in the academic schedule, which involves the components of input, process and outcome, challenging and stimulating. Every stage requires the involvement of students, faculty, staff, and technology. I am trying to sustain academic rigor by developing a culture of teamwork, establishing systems, and forging a balance between the different stakeholders.

How do you leverage the use of technology for the teaching methods to give effective learning experiences to the students at IPE?

We are living in a technology-driven world. Business education is no exception and IPE is continuously leveraging technology to improve pedagogical methods to enhance learning experiences for students. In light of the prevailing trends, the institute has established adequately equipped computer centres with numerous servers and 120 PCs featuring the latest configurations. Furthermore, the institute offers state-of-the-art laptops to all students enrolled in the postgraduate program. Additionally, the entire IPE campus has been equipped with Wi-Fi six version connectivity, enabling round-the-clock access to the Internet at a speed of 1 Gbps (1:1) for both students and employees while ensuring advanced firewall security measures. IPE also uses campus ERP to improve stakeholder management like student timetables, course allotment, attendance, registration, hostel management, and accounts and administration. IPE is equipped LMS Moodle Platform for online continuous assessment and offers SAP-certified training on Office 365, Python, R, Power-BI, SPSS, SAP, Tableau, Bloomberg Terminal, Hadoop, Turnitin Feedback Studio, and Language Lab.

What kind of initiatives have been implemented to encourage the students to be involved in extra curricular activities outside the classroom?

The institute has implemented numerous initiatives to encourage students to be involved in extra-curricular activities. Sanskriti is an inter-B-school event organised by IPE students to develop planning and organising skills. Samithis is an intra-IPE event designed to develop planning, organising, and competitiveness among the students in the respective domains that include Marketing, HRM, Finance, Operations and Analytics. We also plan and organise guest speaker series with culture events club actively plans and organizes literary and cultural activities throughout the year.

What is your vision for the coming years as a Dean of Academics for IPE Hyderabad?

My vision is to become an institute of choice for students wishing to pursue management education. We want to be the choice for researchers wishing to research in social sciences and for Government and other agencies seeking research inputs. I envision the institute to be the go-to name for practitioners from the public and private sectors seeking consultancy inputs.