The Higher Education Review

The necessity of research approach towards education is realized globally today. While the Harvard Business School has a research center in Mumbai, the University of Chicago and Deakin University have similar research centers in New Delhi, Indian institutions are matching the pace with internationally renowned institutes. Vivekananda Institute of Management Studies situated in the Coimbatore city of Tamil Nadu State has initiated a distinguished research center in their campus, named as ‘Centre for Research Consultancy & Publication’ (CRCP). Along with CRCP, the institute has also prompted to begin “VICHARA”, which is a bi-annual double blind and peer-reviewed international management journal both in online and print versions. The objective of initiating VICHARA is to preserve and disseminate management innovation and practice. Every issue of the journal includes business research, case studies, book reviews and so on.

VICHARA has been able to capture attention among the academicians over the country in a brief period of time. “The B-schools are responsible to generate future entrepreneurs and professionals, and this process demands intense research and relating of concepts related to management studies to reality”. says Dr. V. Kulandaiswamy, Secretary, Vivekananda Institute of Management Studies.

The CRCP is a platform exclusively for the faculty members and the students of VIMS to undertake research activities and share their ideas with a larger audience where as VICHARA renders opportunity for academicians from different institutions to present their ideas in the form of research papers. The institute has cultivated a very accurate blend of rigorous research and reliable course curriculum. VIMS follow the designed curriculum of Anna University. But for the complete realization of one’s ability, co-curricular activities are equally significant. The students of VIMS are prompted to take part actively in industrial learning, experiential learning and Empirical Micro Learning (EML). One of the crucial surplus of VIMS is its steady effort of creating approaches, which are quite different from all other B-schools. ''We organized HR interviews with different corporates where the students are interviewed by the HRs in a very professional manner. This process is accordingly recorded in the form of video-document, which is evaluated by the faculty members, and they point out necessary corrections and lend their valuable suggestions and the outcomes of this process are posted in the public portals,” explains Dr. Kulandaiswamy.

Innovation in management studies creates a long-lasting influence and produce breathtaking shifts in competitive positions. VIMS affirm to inculcate the spirit of innovation among the students from the initial days. Incorporating creativity in teaching and learning process and adopting techniques that are pursued by leading B-schools in the country is the supplementary element of VIMS. The students are enabled to foster their thinking capabilities and discover new innovations.

As the institute commence ‘outcome based learning’, the effort and dedication of the teachers matters the most. “Our faculty members solemnly choose to adopt methods like role playing, industry scan, discovery learning and other self-directed methods in the teaching learning process,” shares Dr. Kulandaiswamy. These methods aid the students with a sheer interest of participating in the learning process and polish their ideas. Apart from concern for the progress of the students the institute also gives proportionate significance to enhance the knowledge of faculty members by conducting ‘Faculty Development Programmes’ oftentimes. The institute has a pleasant combination of senior and junior faculty members who are mature enough in understanding the young minds.

Recently, the institute has also initiated an entrepreneurship cell, realizing the growing need of instilling entrepreneurship skills in management students. The trainers identify the students who possess a real spirit of entrepreneurship, and respectively provide them the basic knowledge required as an entrepreneur. “We are determined to create a mindset in our students which won’t allow them to merely aim to acquire a management degree, but to accelerate in-depth knowledge which will help them to survive in the long run,” concludes Dr. Kulandaiswamy.