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62ndTata Consultancy Services Smart Manager Case Contest

Last Date: 22 Feb 2013

The last mile

By Poornima Subramanian

Aryabhattaa unique, lamp-shaped, 600-seater auditorium designed by one of Indias

prominent architect was the pride of the National School of Technology (NST), Tegrikashi. One

of the youngest NSTs in the country, this three-and-a-half-year-old institution was led by Dr

Anurag Dy Selva. A relative newcomer in the education arena, his appointment as the

Director of the institute came as a surprise to many in the sector. But his academic

credentials and career track record were impeccablea doctorate in aeronautical engineering

from Mendeleevs Technology Institute, followed by a stint as Director Research, Spacsa, a

pioneering space research organization, and then a few years as a successful venture

capitalist supporting non-formal education models.

Dy Selva truly believed that total literacy can only be achieved by innovative approaches that

go beyond the systeme-classrooms, tutor-pooling, life skills training, etc. He regularly

questioned the statusquo and strayed away from the beaten path. Case in pointthe newly

built auditorium. While most of the older NSTs built an auditorium only after ten years of

existence, Dy Selva saw no reason to follow the norm. He believed that the auditorium would

boost the brand image of the institute in the minds of the stakeholdersstudents, faculty

and corporates. He convinced the board of directors, got the buy-in of the internal

stakeholders, convinced a Fortune 500 company to invest, and got the job done. The

auditorium was a great hitbusiness, architectural and design magazines carried stories

and other institutes visited the campus for inspiration. Looking at the auditorium, heremembered the institutes initial days

in retrospect

Established through a special act of the government, the NSTs are a group ofautonomous

publicengineering institutes of higher education. Initially, four institutesone in each region

of the countrywere started. Sprawling campuses, prestigious and renowned faculty, state-of

the-art laboratories, exchange programs with peer institutes abroad, meaningful and

sustained industry interactionall of these ensured that the quality of technical education

imparted was on par with the best in the world. Companies clamoured to recruit students

from NSTs, which soon became regulars in top 100 ratings. Admission to these institutes

was coveted as it ensured the best jobs, pay packets and designations. Thousands of students

competed for a few hundred seats. The fierce competition spawned an entire industry of its

owncoaching classes, tutorials, personality development classes, etc.

Soon, the demand for more NSTs acquired momentum. The alumni, including industry

leaders, social entrepreneurs, bureaucrats and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, also threw

their weight behind the cause. They also loosened their purse stringsthey contributed in

improving and extending the existing facilities at their alma mater and also pooled a seed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_university

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fund for new institutes. The policy makers at the Ministry of Education understood the need

behind the demandit was imperative that the country churned more employable engineers

if India were to sustain its current growth rates in sectors such as IT, telecom, etc. It was

decided that it would establish eight more NSTs in the next four years and an ordinance was

passed to this effect. A committeecomprising education ministry officials, directors of

existing NSTs and alumniwas set up to identify the locations of these new NSTs. The

committee, after undertaking a feasibility study, came to the conclusion that tier II and III

cities would benefit greatly if these new NSTs were established there. Thus in the first phase,

work on four NSTsTegrikashi, Nupur, Jaganmohan and Nasapwas commissioned. The

committee also recommended that each of these new NSTs be put under the care of the older

NSTs. The established ones would help the mentee institutes in fine-tuning their pedagogy,

training faculty, setting up industry-facing panels and placement processes. They would also

share resources until the new institutes found their bearing.

Of the four, Tegrikashi was the most surprising choice. Located in the mineral-rich state of

Chatan, this city had a penchant for grabbing the headlines mostly for the wrong reasons

naxal insurgency, tribal displacement and mining scams, etc. Rail services were regularly

disrupted, roads blocked, and electricity, water and other infrastructural amenities were moreabsent than present.

It was in such a scenario that Dy Selva was put in charge of establishing the institute at

Tegrikashi. His friends and colleagues actively encouraged him not to accept the assignment:

You will fail within a system that believes in following the last letter in the rule book, You

have no previous experience, You do not believe in formal education, etc. However, spurred

by the challenge of achieving the impossible, Dy Selva accepted the assignment. His first

move was to shift his residencealong with his wife and childrento Tegrikashi. Through

this he sent out a clear signalhe believed that it was safe to live in the area. While the

government began negotiations with locals for land acquisition, Dy Selva in consultation with

the mentor NST and industry leaders drew up the institutes academic program. Here againhe took the unconventional route. He decided that Geology and Geophysics would be the core

focus areas of the institution as against the more popular IT or electrical engineering. He

argued that the area in which the institute was located lent itself to this course. Students

would have more practical, hands on experiencea mining belt the institute was close to had

some large bauxite, aluminium and coal mines.

He also drew up an ambitious wish list of faculty that he would like to teach in the

institution. Meticulously, through a series of one-on-one meetings, he sold his dream, and

convinced them to join him. Thanks to this, the institutes faculty roster boasted of some of

the best in their fieldsPrashant Sekhar, Head of the Department, Geology and Geophysics;

Srividya Muhammed, Head of the Department, Mechanical Engineering; Gia Sonwane, Head

of the Department, Electrical Engineering; and Beeju Cyril, Head of the Department,

Information Technology. All of them had had successful, much decorated careers in renowned

institutions the world over, but a bigger unifier was their willingness to tackle the unknown.

All these moves by Dy Selva were closely watched by the government, peers and industry. His

moves only confirmed what they already knewthat the older NSTs tend to be conservative,

refuse to make any changes in their curriculum and are happy to rest on their laurels. It

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would take an upstart like Dy Selva to shake the system completely. Competition in this case

would awaken the more established NSTs from their stupor and improve the overall quality.

3...2...1...take off

Within a year, a spanking new campus came to lifeDy Selva ensured that the local

population was actively involved. Whether it was construction workers, suppliers, or therecruitment of administrative staff, he made it a practice to give locals preference. This

helped him inculcate a pride in the local community about the institute. The institute also

helped in reviving the defunct primary and secondary schools in the area by lending its

infrastructure, teaching aids, etc. Within a couple of years, the NST brand also attracted

retail chains, coffee shops and modern hospitals to Tegrikashi. Besides opening up a whole

new worldin terms of products and services to the locals, these also generated more

employment. Slowly but steadily Tegrikashi seemed to be shaking off its troubled area image.

All these ensured a healthy student intake for the first batch. Five hundred and fifty students

from various parts of the country were selected, and the first batch commenced with great

fanfare. Throughout the course, Dy Selva kept sharp tabs on the progress of the batch, their

performance and the reception of the new curriculum. In three years, the institute proved its

calibrestudents won several inter-collegiate competitions, faculty published several research

papers, and almost 6,000 students chose NST Tegrikashi as a preferred option during the

next years admission process. The student population steadily grew, and today the institute

had 1,650 students staying on campus. Aryabhatta, the lamp-shaped auditorium, was built

to cater to the demands of this burgeoning student population. It also stood as a proud

reminder of Tegrikashis journey from darkness to light.

cloudy horizon

While all seemed to be well, there were niggling problems that Dy Selva had begun to notice.

Initially, he did not pay too much attention. But now with campus placements due to takeplace within the next three months, he felt that these were signals of greater malaise.

Gia Sonwane had just complained that during the last six months they were struggling to get

confirmations from industry practitioners for guest lecturesthey were either busy traveling

or were unavailable for appointments. He also noticed that some of these managers who had

declined Tegrikashis invitation were accepting invitations from other NSTs. When he had

called some of these managers personally, they had sounded vague and did not offer him any

clear clues.

And the previous day the physical education director Krishna Rao had decided to cancel an

inter-collegiate tournament as students from other institutes were not showing enoughinterest.

Deciding to get to the bottom of the matter, Dy Selva called for a working committee meeting.

He also felt it would be a good opportunity to check on the progress of the placement

committee.

crash down

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As the professor in charge of the placement committee, Muhammed was the first to go. We

have sent out feelers to around 150 companies across the nation. The first round of

brochures were sent three months ago. Initially 70 of them responded favorably and asked for

second-round presentations. At this stage we divided the team into twoone to pursue these

70 companies and the second to follow up on the ones which did not respond. Despite

repeated follow-ups and reminders, we have confirmation only from 7 companies. We have

not been able to crack the rest. And honestly, I have gone through the approach process with

a fine-toothed comb. I am unable to find the weak link. Why is there such a lukewarm

response?

When I tried contacting the HR Vice President of Infomania, I felt that the industry is still

not sure about the quality of graduates from the new NSTs. They plan to wait and watch.

Nobody wants to be the first to take the plunge, said Sonwane.

Sekhar cleared his throat, I have been meaning to discuss this before. Last month, I had

approached Prana, the largest bauxite mine in this area, for summer internships.

Surprisingly, they said that their system does not allow them to take interns.

Were not these NSTs set up to cater to the industry demand? If the industry itself does not

stand by us now, how are we to survive? mused Cyril. He continued, Maybe we should have

adopted the conventional approach and absorbed more students in the popular streams such

as IT and electrical engineering. At least that would have ensured an average recruiter

turnout.

At this point Dy Selva interrupted him, The idea of this meeting was to analyze the problems

and find solutions. Let us not allow one crisis to shake our beliefs. We all shared a dreamof

a better, finer institute that will support innovative thinking and surpass the parent brand.

We need to think calmly and come up with solutions. We need to primarily understand that itis question of the lives of these students.

Sekhar intervened: Let us be honest and speak plainly. We all know that peace in this region

is fragile. You never know what erupts when. Last month too...there was a big road blockade.

Two of my friends from the academia who were on their way to the campus were stuck in the

jam for more than 24 hours. Earlier this month, newspapers carried reports of a lawsuit filed

by the locals on Prana. There were protests and people were injured. So why will companies

risk sending their managers here?

And let us not forget one more fundamental fact, Cyril interjected. This is our first batch;

we are competing with far bigger brand names that have been around for decades. The

economy is already in a bad shape, jobs are not as easy to find as they were when we started

four years ago. Employers would prefer giving away these limited jobs to the tried and tested

institutes rather than a totally unknown commodity like us.

As the Director he knew that irrespective of the faculty and the curriculum, placements held

the key to the institutes success. It was imperative that they have a 100% placement record

in the first year. But none of these social or political problems could be solved overnight

through the intervention of a few academics far removed from the corridors of power. For the

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first time, Dy Selva was worried that the euphoria was over and hard reality would prove his

detractors right.

After a few hours of discussions, all the faculty members left the auditorium one by one. The

director stayed back alone, wondering how to make the best of a bad situation...

Your question:

How should NST Tegrikashi convert its disadvantages into advantages in the 1) short term

(with an eye on the impending placement season only three months away), and 2) long term?