Prof. Raja Prabu R is currently serving as Director (Accreditation & Ranking) and Director (IQAC) at GITAM Deemed to be University, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Earlier, he has served for almost 30 years at B S A Crescent Varsity ( B. S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science & Technology, Chennai, India) in various Positions. At Crescent, He had Served as Director (Accreditation & Ranking) for 3 + years ; Dean (Academic Research) for 7+ years ; Head of the Department of EEE for 9 years ; Professor In-Charge of the Central Library for 5 years; Campus Electrical Maintenance Engineer for 8+ years, etc. Prof. Raja Prabu R got more than 106 research publications to his credit, successfully completed three sponsored Research projects funded by Government agencis and got one Patent published, as well as, co-authored a Book titled “Electroporation-based Therapies for Cancer” (Elsevier Publications).

GITAM Visakhapatnam

You held key positions at various prestigious institutions throughout your career. What is that one thing that made you excited and walk with GITAM on the journey?

This is my 34th year of service in the teaching profession. I was serving Crescent University for almost 30 years. In Crescent, I was the founding Dean (Research) for 7 + Years, Director (Accreditation & Ranking) for 3 + Years and I was the Chair of the Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering for 9 + Years. In addition, I was the Professor Incharge of University Library for 5 Years and Campus Electrical Maintenance Engineer for 10 + Years. Moreover, I had an opportunity to undertake Post Doc Research training at PURDUE University, USA. So, all these experiences have enabled me to become a well-rounded teacher and educational administrator over these years. 

When I thought of taking a position at GITAM, a few things really impressed me. The first one is the Vision & Mission of the Management and Institute. In fact, in my very first interaction with the top management of GITAM, they have mentioned that, GITAM aspires to become a “Top 100” Global Institutions by the year 2040. But, several Institutions may say that we would like to become a Top Global University. However, there may not be a proper time frame and framework for the strategic planning. So, when you set a real goal, it has to be target oriented as well as duration oriented. That kind of clarity GITAM has got. 

The next best thing impressed me a lot is the personality of the President & Secretary of GITAM society. Their unique way of handling failures and trying to learn through these failed attempts are worth mentioning. Because, we know failures teach you more lessons than success. Here is a team, which is on a constant pursuit of Excellence through the new measures and positive changes. So these challenges appealed to me. 

The professional ambience, academic freedom, best in class infrastructure, GITAM’s reputation, multiple campuses & their locations, diverse opportunities are few other excitements available at GITAM for anyone to pursue their Career. 

How do you balance the needs of faculty, students, and administration as a DIRECTOR - Accreditations and Rankings?

The National Education Policy 2020 has clearly indicated the significance of major Stakeholders viz., Students, Faculty & Administration and their role to be played for effective enhancement of the Quality aspects of an University. As a Director of Accreditation & Ranking, we strive to align the Goals of my Directorate with the University’s Vision & Mission through open communication and collaboration with all the Academic departments and Functional directorates of GITAM University.

One of our USP is to make the GITAM system and its data, as transparent as possible to all the Stakeholders, thereby ensuring no pit falls in any Strategic planning & development. From this Directorate, we are also making the entire GITAM system to function through “Outcomes Based Approach.”

Through our discussions, we have also made the individual department’s Vision & Mission in alignment with the University’s Vision & Mission. As this Directorate is handling the entire University’s data, most of the decisions made will be on the realistic mode, thereby catering to the needs of faculty, students & administrators.

As, GITAM is poised to put itself on a “Continuous Improvement Mode”, the needs of faculty, students & administrators are periodically reviewed and given due consideration. In addition, we are really attentive, empathetic & inclusive in all our decision making process, in order to achieve the GITAM’s Target for 2040.

How would you collaborate with other institutional stakeholders, such as academic departments, administration, and external advisory boards, to improve the quality standards and rankings of the university?

When we talk about the success of “Accreditation and Ranking”, it is not the performance of an individual or an individual department. It is the performance of entire University including all the Stakeholders. Hence, effective collaboration & communication becomes a significant aspect of the functioning of my Directorate. 

To my best, we can collect, compile & validate the data, before presenting it to the external agencies. But, we cannot generate numbers. Now a days, the numbers become data only when it is substantiated with evidence. Moreover, this Directorate is a firm believer of “Collective Wisdom” rather than “One’s Intelligence”.

Accordingly, we have established a collaborative culture, both within the Directorate and w.r.t other Institutional Stakeholders, through an open communication and involving them in the decision making process. Periodical and regular weekly meetings are organized by this Directorate on every Monday for effective data sharing and to have a clear analysis on the data collated. During these meetings the benchmarking and best practices will also be discussed and based on the consensus, the same will be disseminated to all the Stakeholders.

In other words, we are gently communicating to the other Stakeholders about our expectations, probable strategies to achieve the Target, clear idea about the metrics on which performance is measured etc., This will make a very clear & transparent system and because of this strong relationship, I am sure the quality standards and Rankings of GITAM are poised to reach greater heights.

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What is the USP or what are the differentiating factors that make GITAM stand out from other institutions in terms of the quality of the curriculum, Accreditations etc?

As I mentioned earlier, I would say that, the Multi-Disciplinary learning in a single campus through 12 different Schools of learning viz., Engineering & Technology, Management, Science, Law, Architecture, Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Paramedical Sciences, Public Policy, Humanities & Social Sciences is the USP. In addition, the great infrastructure which GITAM has got, probably you cannot find in many of the top Institutions. We have got one-third of our classrooms are smart classrooms. Here, we have got almost 590 classrooms across four campuses of GITAM, out of which 200 classrooms have been already converted into state of the art smart classrooms. The remaining classrooms are being converted in to smart classrooms in a phased manner. The next best thing is, we are focusing on “Student-Centric Teaching-Learning” in which cafeteria approach, learning courses on their choice, learning at their own pace, Interdisciplinary learning, Major & Minor degrees are some of the key takeaways for the learners at GITAM. 

GITAM is very popular for its student support systems. We have got an exclusive Directorate of student life. As you may find in some of the leading “Western World Universities”, the Directorate of student life takes care of all the student needs, starting from the admission process, orientation cum induction training programme, academic teaching-learning process, personal counselling, professional counselling, career guidance, etc. The GITAM Career Guidance Centre (GCGC) is one of the most sought centres of our students especially for their job placements & higher studies offers. GCGC assess the skill sets of the students at the time of admission and identify their requirements. Skill development trainings are provided based on the individual needs. 

Our students have choices to choose multiple disciplinary courses, as well as, choice to choose courses, course slots, course teachers etc.,. We also have a mechanism by which, a top faculty can offer courses to the students of other campuses, through smart classrooms.

Moreover, GITAM is a Category – I Deemed to be University in this Country serving for the cause of higher education during the last 4 + decades and this Institute is Accredited by NAAC with the coveted “A ++” Grade in the 3rd Cycle of Assessment. It is also ranked by NIRF, THE World University Ranking, QS Asia Ranking, THE Impact Ranking etc.,

How important are accreditations for a fast-growing university like GITAM and how does it help the students with their academic needs?

Accreditation and Good Rankings are of paramount importance for a fast growing University like GITAM. They serve as a validation of the Quality process, the Institution’s academic rigour, adherence to Global best practices and commitment to continuous improvement. 

The Accreditation and Ranking performances of GITAM are the major value additions to our most important Stakeholders of the higher education system, namely the parents and students. When I am a prospective student in this country and when I look for an admission to pursue my higher education, there are 1,113 Universities and 60,000 + Colleges available. How do you know, what are the top institutions that are offering quality programs that I’m interested in? This is where, the Accreditation and Ranking comes into the picture. They will disseminate the valuable information’s about the quality of the Institute, as well as, the programmes to the students, parents & others.

In addition, the Accreditation means the recognition of an Institute’s Excellence and it facilitates the student’s mobility and transfer of credits. Moreover, the employability and career prospects of the students will get enhanced because of the Accreditation status of the Institute. It also leads to a Global recognition and it makes a statement that, GITAM is focusing on Continuous Improvement.

Can you describe what is the challenging part of being in a DIRECTOR – Accreditations and Rankings role, and how you successfully manage it?

Some of the major challenges include developing a comprehensive understanding about the complex Accreditation processes viz., Institute wise (NAAC) & Programme wise (NBA) and disseminating the significance of the metrics of the Accreditation process with all the Stakeholder of the system. It also requires compliance w.r.t the Statutory regulatory agencies viz., NMC, AICTE, CoA, PCI, BCI, INC, UGC etc., needs and requirements.

Managing the expectations and pressures from the various Stakeholders of the system w.r.t Accreditation & Ranking results is a big challenge. Sometimes the expectations might be far from the reality and we are expected to convince the Stakeholders about the current status and future growth.

One of the biggest challenges is handling huge data of the students and staff members w.r.t their entry level accomplishments, performance at the Institute and future relations, after becoming Alumni. Several of this Accreditation & Rankings exercise are time bound and time management is a significant factor.

Last, but not the least, building a good & committed team is of utmost important as they are the key players in the field for the entire Accreditation process. Successfully managing these challenges involves a combination of effective leadership, Bi-directional communication, Strategic planning, Collaboration with all Stakeholders at all levels in the Institution etc.

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What is the vision of GITAM University in terms of accreditation, ranking, or collaborating with foreign universities?

Recently, GITAM has successfully completed the 3rd Cycle Assessment by NAAC and got awarded the highest grade of “A ++”. As GITAM is continuously securing top grades in the last three cycles of assessment, the validity of NAAC Accreditation has been extended from five years to seven years i.e., available up to 27 Feb 2030. Accordingly, GITAM retains the Category – I status up to 2030.

In addition, measures have been initiated for programme wise Accreditation by NBA, AACSB etc.,. We have identified programmes for these Accreditation based on the expected metrics and in a year or two, some of the programmes in GITAM would have been Accredited.

Similarly, GITAM is ranked by NIRF, THE, QS and other top ranking agencies of this Country and Globally. Several measures are put in place in order to improve the performance of GITAM by these ranking exercises.

I am just sharing another idea in the pipeline. We have got 12 schools in as many number of disciplines. Each of my 12 schools will identify a “Top 200 Global University” for handholding and sharing of the best practices. We will work with them for a 5 to 10-year period in order to understand, what it takes to become a “Top 200 Global University”. We will work with them, will learn from them, how they have grown into a top university, and follow the best practices in our style. 

We are focusing on Continuous Improvement, as well as, Sustainable Improvement in all the hemispheres of the higher education system. Some of the current focuses include students Input quality, teacher’s quality, student-centric learning, student support system including career guidance, etc.,. We are also making equal commitment to make a positive impact on our society through community engagement, outreach programmes and sustainable development initiatives. 

With all these Strategies, new Initiatives and commitments, I am sure, GITAM is poised to grow better and better and soon, it will become a “Top Global University”