The last mile

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 system
e-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, he remembered the institutes initial days
In retrospect
Established through a special act of the government, the NSTs are a group of autonomous public engineering
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 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 more absent 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
again he 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 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 the recruitment 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 take place 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 enough interest.
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
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 it is 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 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?
You are to submit your analysis as a word document in not more than 500 words