NMIMS, Navi Mumbai

Dr. Arvind Mathur is the Associate Dean at NMIMS, Navi Mumbai. Nurturing the innate curiosity in young minds is what he believes in. Right through the college years without overpowering it with heavy workloads is a great challenge and responsibility. Read here what he has to say in his interview.

Any of the significant challenges you faced as the Associate Dean of the college?

“We ensure that our students progress gradually by aligning their mentality to industry”

We are a very new campus. We were virtually unknown in the industry, and we have to put in a great effort to improve our visibility. As the students move to senior classes, we have to broaden their horizons through guest lectures and industry visits. We are on the right track, but we still have a long way to establish ourselves as one of the country's premier engineering institutes.

How do you tend to establish a relationship with the students? How do you make yourselves available to them?

“We monitor the progress of the students to help them in every step possible”

We are a small, growing college, and the strength of the students is currently relatively small. The students have far more access to the faculty than any other college in the country. We try to maintain an informal relationship with the students as far as possible. Initially, new students feel shy about approaching the faculty or me, but they open up and communicate their problems within a few months. One month after the new semester starts, I go to every class and take their feedback. I am currently teaching four courses. We closely monitor students who are struggling academically. A few students find the curriculum challenging, and they need support and guidance to complete the program. We have faculty mentors who regularly interact with students and provide counseling.

Tell us about the efforts behind establishing such a successful college and how do you plan to take it to greater heights?

“It is essential to provide students with experiential learning environment”

The physical infrastructure of our college is on par with any college in the country. We make sure to implement the best industry-standard learning in our curriculum.

Now that the basic building blocks are in place, we focus our attention on higher-order activities like improving the delivery of classes, overall student development, industry collaborations, and faculty-driven research.

Check NMIMS, Navi Mumbai Courses & Fees

How do you create a student centric environment in your college?

“The student's transition from children to adults during their college years”

 Our goal is to provide an environment where they can grow to their full potential as human beings. Giving them a good classroom education is just one part of the overall college experience. We also give them opportunities to develop their organizational skills and talents by participating in competitions and college festivals. Our school's student council plays a very active role in organizing events, guest lectures, and giving feedback about student problems and concerns. The student chapter of SPIC MACAY organizes concerts and lecture-demonstrations by nationally renowned artists and gives the students a glimpse of our rich cultural heritage. As the strength of students increases, we will further scale up the student activities.

How do you integrate value-based education with your curriculum?

“We prepare strong minded students to prepare for future challenges” 

Our goal is to groom all-around students who will excel in any organization and good citizens of the country. Ethics is a compulsory course for all students. We penalize violations of academic integrity in assignments and tests quite strictly. We have a non-smoking campus. Disciplinary action for misbehavior is prompt. Many faculty go the extra mile to help students. We put in a great deal of effort into ensuring the integrity of examinations. There is zero favoritism for any student. The entire establishment is transparent, and I think that rubs off on the students more than any moral lectures that we give them.

What would be your ideal school environment, and how would you encourage that kind of culture?

“Our ideal environment strives to develop students in all verticals”

We want our laboratories and libraries to be throbbing with students until late in the evening. We want to offer a flexible curriculum where students can pick their courses from a broad palette. The students should look forward to coming to college every day and participating in various extracurricular activities and sports. We provide exposure to art, literature, music, theatre, films, and dance. We are creating the necessary infrastructure for all this. Some extracurricular activities have already started, and we hope to start the rest over the next one or two years. Our University is very keen to implement this vision, and they provide all the necessary support for it.

How do you look at the growth of students through placement opportunities available at the college? How do you wish to push the envelope further?

“We collaborate with industries to open-up several opportunities for students”

Our senior-most batches are going for an internship in 2021. We are preparing them for the industry in several ways. They undergo many workshops to improve their soft skills. We are also collaborating with the industry to give them experience on the projects they will work on after they graduate. It is relatively straightforward that the job opportunities in the years to come will be in the technology sectors like AI, machine learning, data analytics, Fintech, etc. Through our curriculum and projects, we want to bring student skills and capabilities to a level to perform competently during their internships and jobs, particularly in these emerging areas.

Click here NMIMS, Navi Mumbai Placement

What goals do you have in your mind for your institution for the next few years?

“Our goal is not to grow in size but in the quality of the overall student experience”

 Being a small college where the faculty knows all the students by name is an excellent characteristic we would like to retain. There are many metrics to judge an institution's quality, but the one that matters the most to students is the salary offer during placements. We want to set up a virtuous cycle where positive feedback about our college attracts the best students, and over time, we acquire the reputation of being an elite institution.