Dr Ajay K Sharma is presently serving as Vice Chancellor at I K Gujral PTU, Kapurthala. He has contributed to the several academic and administrative reforms to the system of Higher Education, serving as Professor and Head, Dean (Planing and Development), Dean (Administration), Dean (Academics) NIT Jalandhar, Director NIT Delhi, Director NIT Hamirpur (Officiating) Mentor Director IIIT, Una at various prestigious Indian institutions of National Importance and organizations. He has published 354 research papers in the International and National journals and conferences, and 12 books. He has supervised 36 Ph.D. and 46 M.Tech. thesis as well. Also, he has completed eight R&D projects funded by GoI, and was associated to implement the World Bank project for TEQIP-I programme at NIT Jalandhar. 

I K Gujral PTU

What are the key factors that keep you connected with the education sector?

“Engagement for betterment”

Education is the basic need of society. All the other sectors are directly or indirectly channelized from education. The purpose of education is to serve humanity for the betterment. The scientists and engineers have innovated the technologies for work efficiency. I have opted and joined the education sector as a passion not by profession. It is a marvellous experience to work with experienced people as well as with budding contributors of future society.

How would you describe your leadership style?

“Serving the dynamic demands of team and organization”

I think the leader is who can motivate all the team members and stakeholders to achieve the higher objectives. A leader realises the unexpected and near to impossible goals with his or her leadership skills. Role of the leadership is very important keeping in view the quickly changing employment landscape and global ecosystem, it is becoming increasingly critical to address the needs of the children not only to learn, but more importantly to learn how to learn.

How do you strategize the key plans for the marketing of your institute?

“Prioritizing needs and execution of plan”

The only way to survive in the age of cut throat competition is you have to prioritise your programmes. Then you need to depute the right team on the right job to execute the work plan. You know we are living in a marketing society, where everyone is looking for a brand. Various modes of media may help your key programmes to reach the masses. But we should not forget the quality assurance to the society. Your institution should remain the talk of the town.

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What can an inbound student gain from studying here in IKG PTU?

“Quality facilities and global standard education”

We have a large system comprising five university campuses and more than 200 affiliated colleges. We have qualified faculty, state of the art infrastructure, and other facilities required to offer education of global standards. The curriculum of IKG PTU has been prepared according to the needs of industry. We are now capable of providing skilled and efficient engineers to the global industry also. Thousands of engineers of IKGPTU are serving the nation and abroad also. We have nominated an eminent industrialist in the Board of Studies of all the streams. It is our regular practice to update the curriculum on the lines of industry demands. We have established an Incubation centre for promoting the innovation ecosystem for students and strengthening academic-industry collaboration.

What do you think your roles and responsibilities to the students are?

“Offering a better learning atmosphere”

I think that the students are our real stake holders. My institution is working day and night for the betterment of students. We have introduced it to get the feedback from students to ensure more and more improvements from time to time. My first concern is to provide an employable friendly environment to the students.

What do you think should be the Institute’s top priority over the next 10 years?

“Focussing on research, development and quality approaches”

I think the top priority of an institution is employability of the students. We have chalked out a comprehensive plan to improve the technical skills of our students. We are going to start finishing schools, incubation centres to prepare the students according to the next 10 years of global industry demands. We are establishing state of the art infrastructure in terms of workshops, Labs, instruments and use of IT technologies. We are moving from technical education to multi-disciplinary mode of education keeping in view the rapid changes in the knowledge landscape. With various dramatic scientific and technological advances, particularly involving mathematics, computer science, and data science, in conjunction with multidisciplinary abilities across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities will be increasingly in greater demand.

What do you want people to know about IKG PTU that they may not?

“Strengthened collaborations worldwide”

University achieved has been ranked among the top 100 and 150 Institutions in Technical Education in NIRF-2019 and NIRF 2020 by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), New Delhi. We have signed Academic MOUs with 21 Foreign Universities which includes Vancouver Island University, Canada, Nottingham Trent University, U.K. , Northern Illinois University, USA etc. for faculty and student exchange programmes. 

What do you see as your University’s greatest strengths?

“Large scale practical learning perspectives”

We have established an Innovation Cell (IIC) under the Innovation Council of the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, and a training centre in collaboration with TATA Technologies at University campus for best training of students. Also, we have introduced the concept of Major & Minor in degree certification to enhance employability of students by providing them opportunity to learn in multi disciplines of courses. Moreover, our university has organized more than 40 Conferences, FDPs, workshops, seminars, expert lectures for training of Faculty in Engineering, Sciences and Management in collaboration with AICTE, NITTTR, Chandigarh and many reputed industries. 

What are some of the biggest challenges you see for higher education?

“Improvement in quality and learning”

I think the biggest challenge is to provide world class higher education within a defined price range, improving the quality of research and increasing industry-academia collaboration for better employability of students. The higher education system should be redrafted in the present scenario. A ray of hope is seen in the New National Education Policy being adopted in higher education as well as in school education.

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How are you dealing with the current Covid-19 pandemic?

“Online availability of learning systems and software”

IKGPTU has been working on the official files of the e-office system since last year. We have ensured the conduct of full classes during the lockdown also through online modes like Webex Cisco, Google classrooms, zoom and many more. The university has recently established a studio to record video lectures of our faculty and other eminent scholars around the globe. Our faculty is also engaged in preparing SLMs to cater the study needs of our students. The Knowledge Resource Center’s of the University have been strengthened to more than 21,500+ books, 10,000+ Ph.D. M.Tech research thesis, 1.70 Lacs+ subscribed and complimentary e-books and nearly 37,000 digital resources including e Journals, research thesis, utility software’s, study materials, reference works, e-books, images, infotainment materials etc. All the e-Resources and e-books available in Knowledge Resource Centre are accessible through the mobile applications, fully automated with installation of the latest version of the most advanced software. 

Any suggestions you would like to give to the aspiring students?

“Stick to your goals and do work hard”

I always motivate the students to set the higher goals of their life. I think nothing is impossible to achieve in this world, but it could only be possible with hard work and dedication. Students should focus on their career development. Opportunities knock on our door, but the students should be ready to grasp these opportunities. Passion can create miracles.