Ms. Priyanka Sengupta is working as a Deputy Director in the Indian Institute of Hotel Management. She has around 20 yrs of experience in the education sector (educational institutes and primary schools). She has been associated with the Indian Institute of Hotel Management for the past 3 yrs. She is an alumnus of Loreto and has completed her post-graduation in Public Relations Management.

Indian Institute Of Hotel Management, Kolkata

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?

The main thing that keeps me connected with the students is the aspiration to take students to a level, which they have not been able to achieve, and how the students are actually coming from various environments and amalgamating into a system, which is called a school or a college. They are then becoming one. So, this is something that is unique. Every educational institution has its unique aspects, but children, when they are coming from different environments, are amalgamating and becoming one. The uniqueness of that oneness is what I like in educational institutes.

Being the Deputy Director of IIHM, Kolkata, what is your philosophy of leadership? How would you describe your leadership style?

For me, leadership is the team. If my team is loving me, I'm a leader. If my team is performing because of the love that is being given to them, then I am a good leader. Vice versa, if I feel that I am wanting to dominate my team and get the workout of them, then I am not a leader, because in that case, my dominance is being felt and they will also feel that dominance. They should work voluntarily to support me and that is my leadership. I will have to motivate them. So that they will willingly work for me. I will not have to force them to work for me, and that is the leadership that I feel is best.

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The education systems in India and other foreign countries are structured very differently. In your experience, what can an inbound student gain from studying here in your institute?

The bonding. What students will gain in studying in this organization is the bonding we give them. This is not only to the students but to the parents as well, because we are well connected with them and with any problem that they face. Be it a child who is outside (I am talking about after college), that can happen, if they are not connected to their parents, even late at 10:00 PM. We connect with them and we try to get the parent closer to the child anyhow, whatever. So, these are certain things which keep them bonded and well glued. See be it an educational institute or a professional college or school, it is not just about taking money and delivering education. It is about the entire effort that a parent is making to teach the child in my college, and the entire effort in terms of the bonding, in terms of the education, in terms of the exposure, we give to the students. It is very different from what a college or an institution would be internationally and what we delivered here in India.

Any insights into how your university could be more welcoming to students of different races or economic backgrounds?

If you talk about economic background, we assist as much as we can. We are helping students financially by providing them loans, so that they can proceed with their education. We also go out of our way for people who do not get the loans, by putting a specific structure financially, for e.g in the form of EMIs or giving them concessions somehow or giving them pretty more discounts than they are actually supposed to get, so that they can be benefited, and at least the child can study in a professional course and get a job and then.

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

Our top priority should only be placements. It has always been the same, because this is a professional college and we are supposed to fulfill the goal of a child. Suppose, if we are not placing them and we are not fulfilling the goal of the child, then we are not keeping up to our commitments.

What do you see as IIHM, Kolkata’s greatest strengths?

I believe our greatest strength lies in our honesty/transparency. There are many institutions that don’t show the real picture or show only the rosy picture. We believe that we should show that we are. This helps us maintain that trust and bonding with the students and even their parents.

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Any suggestions you would like to give to the current youth and the aspiring students?

Definitely, I would like to mention three things. First is integrity in character, which is very important. if you lose integrity in character, you can never build a credential. And if you can't bring the credential later on, you will face troubles in life. Because if you have strong credentials for five years, that will give you a job for the next 10 years. Second is, during the initial stages of your life, just go on working and grasp the opportunities that come your way, because your parties and your football matches can always come back, but the opportunity can never come back. The third is motivation. The self-motivation that will make you go ahead. These are the three main important things that I would like to suggest to aspiring students.