Dr Nishtha Shukla is the Principal and Head of the Economics department at RKG Educational College, Lucknow. She has completed her graduation in Economics Honours and Post Graduation in Economics. She also has done B.Ed., M.Ed., MPhil and Ph.D. in education. With a NET qualification, she has a rich experience of over 20 years in academics and research. She has previously occupied several top-level positions at prestigious educational institutes all over India.
How would you describe your leadership style?
“To include everyone's opinion in decision making and allowing their growth”
I follow a very democratic style of leadership. At our institute, everyone (both the faculty and the students) gets an equal chance to occupy key positions and grow. There is a continuous rotation of different in-charges and every semester there is change in landscape with new mentors. This helps everyone understand the functioning of leadership roles.
What can an inbound student gain from studying here in your institute?
“A learning environment that inculcates values of social responsibility and academic development”
We are proud to have faculty members that are dedicated to the cause of education and have pure intentions for students' futures. The teachers are given full freedom to use their creativity while teaching. On the students front, they are exposed to many social activities such as Safai Abhiyan, Blood donation camps, workshops on Adult Education, awareness about health and hygiene, etc. Such activities enable us to instil a feeling of empathy and benevolence in our students.
How does the curriculum of your institute ensure the best practice of industry?
“By incorporating extra and co- curricular activities into the academic programs”
To ensure the best practice of industry, we provide updated academic courses and training in soft skills. This is done via Scout and Guide camps, yoga classes, reviving the basic skills of language – Hindi and English. This helps them improve their communication skills and abilities to work in a team.
At regular intervals, we organize Disaster management class, Martial Arts, training in Arts and Craft, Carpentry, model makings etc. A lot of thinking goes into making the classes more interesting fun for students. At the same time we have tried to keep pace with the technological changes happening around us.
What do you see as your College’s greatest strengths?
“Our growing commitment towards helping students become future-ready”
We focus on continuous education of our students and their overall development. Our students get a chance to interact with industry experts from different fields through the seminars and symposiums organized by the college regularly. We also have a special training cell for the benefit of our students. It helps them in pre-placement activities such as building effective CVs, preparing for interviews, group discussions, etc.
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What do you think should be the University’s top priority over the next 10 years?
“Improving the quality of education and retention of well-qualified faculty”
Our future strategy is two-fold, quantitative and qualitative enhancements. The qualitative aspect being that the institute should have all the modern facilities and should keep on updating itself. On the other hand, we also aim to increase the number of experienced faculty members to impart quality education.
What are the biggest challenges for higher education in the current scenario?
“Venturing into digital education has been a challenging aspect for several institutions”
Due to COVID, all academic organizations had to switch to online education. The lack of adequate infrastructure and inability of teachers to adapt to newer education technologies, have been challenging for us. Faculty trainings and assistance have helped immensely to overcome this issue. Other difficulties faced in the education sector are declining quality of primary education and infrastructure in rural schools nad colleges.
Any suggestions you would like to give to the current youth?
“Mental stability and confidence are the key factors for survival in the age of competition”
The most important advice I would like to give is regarding emotional and mental health. These days, in order to succeed, people are ignoring their mental fitness. I feel that the youth needs to be emotionally and mentally very strong. We have recently seen a rise in suicide cases, caused due to depression and nervous breakdown. To tackle these issues, we must first teach our students to be emotionally healthy and not give in to negative thoughts.
What is your definition of success?
“To be successful, one must find emotional balance and mental peace first”
My definition of success is the presence of an environment of positivity around me. Be it personal or professional, any given task must be executed with a smile on the face. Success doesn’t mean having materialistic things. It must reflect in your optimistic way of life. Happiness that comes from within, and brings us emotional satisfaction is what success means to me.
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