Dr. Byamakesh Nayak, the Dean of the KIIT School of Electrical Engineering, has extensive teaching, research and administrative experience spanning more than 22 years. He graduated from the Institution of Engineers and went on to complete his M.Tech. in Machine Drives from IT at Benaras Hindu University. He also earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering from KIIT University in 2011.

Dr. Nayak has a vast knowledge of Electrical Engineering and industry experience. His main research areas are Power Electronics and Electrical Drives, hybrid vehicles, renewable energy and the application of PIC Microcontrollers in special drive applications. He has published more than 150 research articles, and 120 articles indexed in Web of Science in peer-reviewed journals of international repute and conferences with h-index 15 (Scopus), h-index 27 (Google Scholar), i10-index 38 (Google Scholar), Scopus research. He has citations of over 1077 and 1448 Google scholar citations.

Dr Nayak has filed a number of patents in India and abroad. He has supervised more than 35 M.Tech. and seven PhD theses to date. He has attended many national and international conferences, presented papers as a keynote speaker, chaired technical sessions and organized conferences and seminars as chairman of the School of Electrical Engineering. He is an active fellow and member of most of the national and international professional organizations like Charted Engineer (Institute of Engineers (India)), IE, India, IET and ISTE. Dr. Byamkesh has achieved many national and international awards for his contribution to the field of electrical engineering.

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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?

Our strength is our unity. The most important learning responsibility for students' future success is maintaining discipline both in and out of college. All our faculties have a formidable duty to bring best practices for improving the academic and research strengths of students from reputable engineering colleges and universities inside and outside of India to our school. We do this by inviting talented academic, administrative, and industry personnel to observe and listen firsthand. We encourage students to engage in reputable conferences, workshops, seminars, webinars, sports, tech fests, industrial visits, and many other events that extend their knowledge base and develop their leadership skills to foster connections between the academic institution and industry.

Being the Dean of the Institute what is your philosophy of leadership? How would you describe your leadership style?

The leadership's guiding principle is to unite all parties involved, including students, faculty, technical assistants, and support staff, under one roof. The primary characteristic of leadership is the faculty's and technical assistants' deliberate efforts to move the school towards exponential growth in terms of teaching, research, and innovation by developing consensus strategies and periodically assessing the strategies' efficacy. The growth of the students, our primary stakeholders, is the focus of all our strategies.

Being the Dean, how do you strategize about the key programs and plans for the marketing and administration of your Institute?

Once strategies are made by consensus with the stakeholders the implementations to make it successful are carried out by forming the committee members of faculties and technical assistants. For the students to profit from their plans, they will preserve and examine their plan and attempt to enhance or change its key components by gathering student input. The proposition of the strategies is discussed thoroughly, and its pros and cons are monitored for further implementation.

How does the curriculum of the Institute ensure the best practice of industry?

Our curriculum is based on NEP guidelines provided by the Minister of Education, India. In addition to the basic courses in electrical, electronics, and computer science, our programme includes courses at the vocational skilled level, Industry 4.0, scientific technical writing, community-based learning, University Human Values (UHV), and a plethora of social activities and sports courses. Besides the fundamentals, the courses are structured to cater to the interests of the students in the future. While developing students' research, inventiveness, and fundamental academic knowledge is our primary goal, our course design also offers valuable support for those who wish to pursue careers in sports, writing, social services, and other related fields. We offer skill-based training in areas like PLC and Scada, industry and home automation, which is very beneficial for jobs in the industry, and MATLAB, Lab View, and ETAP, which support students in their research and business startup.

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

I am a professor first then dean of the School of Electrical Engineering. My primary goal is to work hard to impart and share my knowledge for the benefit of the students. Additionally, I am completely satisfied with my appropriate strategies and infrastructure with the help of faculties support, which includes top-notch laboratories which benefit the students. Our students are cordial, and they talk with me and assist me in developing various plans that would primarily benefit the school. The management is helpful and gives us what we need for the school to succeed quickly. 

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

In my opinion, there are a lot of students in our country who have the skills and knowledge necessary to bring India to developed status. We are currently in the early stages of developing electronic chips but we are not meeting the government's aim for electric vehicles or the growth in solar energy. Despite the government taking numerous measures and sanctioning millions of crores of rupees, we have not yet achieved this. The primary fundamental fields of technology—mechanical, electrical, and electronic—have a dearth of highly qualified pupils. If students' skills in these areas improve, then no one will give up on making India a developed state in the next ten years. 

Since the establishment of KIIT School of Electrical Engineering what was your vision for the Institute? Has it evolved over time, and how far along in implementing that vision?

We are offering a B.Tech. degree in core engineering with a minor in electric vehicles and solar energy to help students develop their skills in designing electric vehicles, connecting solar energy to the grid, and designing chips. Our partnership with Larson & Turbo (L&T Edu Tech) allows them to provide courses on electric vehicles beginning in the fifth semester. Another company, SMPS Private India Ltd., is located inside the Electrical Engineering School and trains students in chip design.

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

Our official website has all the information regarding what students can expect from the college and what our achievements are. Aspirants can ascertain the faculty's strengths and research background. I would like to stress the events that the students are offered, such as IEEE conferences, industrial talks, intensive training, skill training, and alumni talk series. We are making the placement records available on the websites of the KIIT School of Electrical Engineering as well. This will make people more aware of our university and allow for comparisons with other colleges and universities. 

What do you see as the Institute's greatest strengths?

We have established a robust academic environment that fosters research potential, encourages students to launch cutting-edge businesses, and maintains strong industry partnerships. The curriculum's structure is adjusted to achieve these objectives. To increase placement power, we look at both the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Indian government policies about areas of greater focus and workforce requirements. The three key SDGs that we are now focusing on are affordable clean energy, infrastructure and industrial innovation, and sustainable cities and communities. By contacting industry experts and signing MOUs with reputable businesses and educational institutions, we are offering more advanced training in areas like electric vehicles, industrial IoT, solar wind energy, and more.