Dr. Harish Mahendru is working as the Director of Himalayan Group of Professional Institutions, Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh. He has done Graduation in Electronics & Communication Engineering from Institution of Engineers of Kolkata, Post Graduation in Engineering from MNNIT of Allahabad and PhD from Punjab Technical University as part of his academics. He has a wonderful 37+ years of working experience with 20 years in the Indian Air Force as an Electronics and Telecommunication Engineer and rest years as a Teaching Faculty, Principal, Dean and Examination Controller in reputed technical institutions. He has also published several research papers in various National and International journals and his research interests are Mobile Communication, Artificial Intelligence and Speech Signal Processing.

Himalayan Group of Professional Institutions

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

"Working on the education sector, I get direct opportunities to contribute in society and nation growth"

Education is one of the best and pious services to humankind. And guiding students to choose the right path and right career as per industrial and societal demands is one of the key factors that fascinates me to stay connected with the education sector.

Being the Director of the College, what is your philosophy of leadership?

"Leadership is all about using available resources and people for the benefit of students"

A true leader in my opinion is the one who knows how to use available human and infrastructural resources in the best possible way for the overall development of students and make them ready for the global challenges and industrial acceptability. 

How do you strategize the key programs for the marketing and administration of your college?

"I design programs as per market demands and use survey reports to make students aware about them"

Being the Director of an Engineering college, I choose programs as per core and emerging technologies which have present and future demands. And planning for the marketing of such programs is done by presenting the survey reports and future aspects.

In your experience, what benefits students can gain from studying here in your institute?

"Students will receive best education and global industrial exposure here in our college"

The syllabus of various programs which we offer to our students and the overall curriculum is designed very carefully after rigorously analyzing the global requirements, trends and developments. And we have also embedded a few additional inter and intra disciplinary courses based on the global requirements and interests of the students. So overall students will get the best education and practical exposure here while pursuing their dream courses with us.

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How does the curriculum of HIET ensure the best practices of industry?

"We implement the curriculum provided by the University and supplement it through additional courses"

Our college follows the curriculum designed and updated by HPTU to which we are affiliated. And the curriculum which HPTU provides to its associated colleges is designed by the expert Academic Council keeping in mind the current and future industry scenario. In addition to all this, to supplement the education and existing courses, we teach various additional subjects to our students which remains trending in industries. 

How is your college more welcoming to students of different races or economic backgrounds?

"Our courses fees are nominal and we also provide fee waivers and scholarships to needy students"

We firmly believe that education should be accessible to all as it lays the foundation for growth of society and nation. Hence we have kept the nominal fee for our courses without adding any hidden and fancy charges. Also, we provide assistance to eligible and reserved category students for various government funded scholarships. Lastly, special fee concessions are also given by us to such students who come from less stable economic backgrounds. 

What are your roles and responsibilities for the college and students?

"I am responsible to increase value of our college and to offer finest quality education to students"

Being the Head of the institution, my prime responsibility towards college is to work for its value enhancement and when it comes to students so I am accountable to provide best class and industry oriented education which can also prepare them simultaneously for the society. In addition to this, engaging students in extracurricular activities of college, providing personality development and soft skill training for the overall development of the students also comes under the scope of my duties.

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

"Our focus for upcoming years is to introduce new courses in all our specializations"

We are planning to introduce many new programs and courses in the discipline of Computer Science, Civil, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering that will cover new technologies and will prepare students for the outside competitive world. And our next goal is to inaugurate an M.Tech course for all the streams.

When you first came to HIET, what was your vision for the college and how far have you come in implementing them?

"My vision was to make our college one of the top Institutions of Himachal Pradesh"

When I joined HIET, my vision for the college was to bring it in the top 100 Engineering colleges of the country and top 5 engineering colleges of the state of Himachal Pradesh in the next 5 years. Although I have completed just 6 months in this college, I can see my vision and directions are showing results and I am strongly confident that I will achieve my goals very soon.

What would you like people to know about your college that makes it different from others?

"We provide job oriented education to students and prepare them for both industries and society"

In the last two decades many Engineering Colleges have been established all around the country like mushrooms. And those parents who are not much literate, do not know about the status, infrastructure level and quality of education being imparted by these colleges due to which they get trapped and select a wrong college for their child. Hence I would like people to know that we are one of the top education institutions of Himachal Pradesh who offer best quality and employment oriented education and placement opportunities to students and have world class infrastructure, labs and research facilities for their complete growth and development. 

What do you see as your college's greatest strengths?

"Our college infra and opportunities we offer to students makes us strong"

The greatest strength of HIET is its amazingly developed infrastructure, quality of education and placement assistance we offer to students. Apart from this, our location is also an important pillar of our strength as we are situated close to many esteemed companies of Kala-Amb, Poanta Sahib and Chandigarh region.

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

"Lack of skilful Graduates and job opportunities in market is a real challenge nowadays"

In my opinion, the biggest challenge in front of higher education institutions is to develop employability skills in students for relevant specializations and help them secure a good job. Because even for the Engineering field, jobs are limited in the outside world as compared to the number of Engineering Professionals graduating every year from colleges. And the situation becomes even worse for Non-IT graduates as most of the jobs are in the IT and related sectors due to automation and computerization. 

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

"Plan your future early and stay dedicated towards your goals"

My suggestion to our youth and aspiring students is that they should start exploring and preparing for their career and passion from class 9th onwards. And carefully choose a career after analyzing related opportunities it offers and demands it holds in the outside world. Lastly, don't stress much about the future, develop your skill sets as per your interest and passion and for sure you will land in good companies in your future.

What are some plans that you are currently designing for HIET international affairs and students?

"We are preparing to work together with foreign universities to introduce their courses in our curriculum"

The recently introduced National Education Policy has opened the door for the foreign Universities to run their programs in India. Hence, we as an esteemed institution are planning to collaborate with many foreign universities and colleges to provide best courses, services and global industrial exposure to our students.

How do you establish a healthy relationship and environment in your institute? 

"By regularly communicating with my staff and addressing students queries on time"

For the purpose of ensuring a good relationship with everyone and a wonderful working-learning environment for them, I connect with them on a regular basis to listen and resolve their queries on time and make them realize that they are our most important assets. Also, we have set up grievance committees for students and staff to give them a platform through which they can bring forward their personal issues and get solutions for the same on time. Last but not the least, Faculty and students are regularly motivated to ensure cordial relations with each other.