Professor Keya Sengupta is the first woman director of an Indian Institute of Management. Born and brought up Shillong, Sengupta says there is no added challenge because of her gender. Her studies have been entirely in Shillong where she completed her PhD. “I must say I am extremely proud of the high standard of education which Shillong has given me all throughout my life,” she says.
In an interview with Nabamita Mitra, Sengupta talks about her childhood, IIM-Shillong and the challenges in the way forward.
Tell us something about your life in Shillong?
The sixties and the seventies were my student days when lifestyle and the cultural and socio economic fabric of Shillong were entirely different. I will always cherish the beautiful days which a quiet hill station like Shillong with my childhood friends has enriched me and made my life meaningful.
I have grown up in the woods of Shillong under the loving care of my parents who had always taken keen interest in my disciplined upbringing in the midst of strict supervision of my studies and music. I also took great interest in painting and an uncommon (by today’s standard) interest in needlework as I had seen my mother in my childhood days doing a lot of such work. In my school too needlework was a part of our course. Reading was of course another hobby which I picked up right from my childhood days. The habit began with visit to the Children’s Corner every Sunday morning at the State Central Library, which later shifted to the regular section of the Library, which had almost all the classics and wonderful collection of books.
Being the first woman director of any IIM how challenging do you think is the job? Is there any extra pressure to perform?
Being the first woman director of any IIM has been a totally new experience. However, I do not face any extra challenge on that account, because I have always received cooperation from all my fellow faculty members, officers and staff of the institute. In fact, sometimes I feel that it is a privilege and an edge which I receive for being a woman leader.
However, I do not deny that being a director is not a challenge. It is indeed a great responsibility. But I love facing expected and unexpected challenges, because at the end of it, the experience only makesyou more confident and stronger. Only one has to face the challenges with a cool head.
A news report says entry of women in IIMs has dropped. Why do you think it is so? What is the percentage of female students here?
Yes, entry of women students had dropped not because girls are less capable but perhaps because they might be finding other avenues more interesting. However, recently the intake of girl students has increased in a number of IIMs. Some IIMs make an extra effort to get more girl students. At IIM Shillong, we do not make any separate provision for intake of girl students as we feel that in a competitive environment both men and women are equal and should face similar competition both at the entry level and also throughout their career. However, I am happy to inform that in spite of our uniform policy, intake of girl students at IIM Shillong this year has been one of the highest among all the IIMs in the country. Our intake of girl students this year has been about 43 percent, which has increased significantly from 20.34 percent in 2016-17 and only 12.42 percent in 2017-18.
Last year a report said sales and marketing were the most sought after domain. Which are the other domains where placements are leading?
Yes, sales and marketing has been the most sought after domain recording 36 percent placement, which had increased by 6 percent over the previous year. This is followed by finance that witnessed 24 percent and consulting and general management 19 percent. The domain of IT and analytics recorded 16 percent placement.
Indian Institute of Management Shillong launched a one-month course in 2015 that aims to help unemployed youth launch their startups. How was the outcome? How many entrepreneurs have come out?
IIM Shillong has been regularly organising short-term courses for the youth of north east region. One such course was in 2015 when some new entrepreneurs have been given short-term trainings in management skills. However, one of our most successful programmes was the two six-month course which we organised in 2011 and 2012 for the start-ups for the entire north east on “Developing Managerial Skills for Entrepreneurs”. The entire programme was funded by the Ministry of DoNER. I am happy to say that most of the participants of the course are doing extremely well as young entrepreneurs in the entire North East.
What is the ratio of local and outside students here? If locals are less, what exactly is lacking?
We have been getting very few students from North East India and Shillong in particular. So far we have got only about four to five students from Shillong. From the entire north east we get about 6-10 students every year. The maximum number is from Assam followed by Manipur.
There is nothing really lacking among the students of north east as far as merit is concerned. I suppose the spirit of competition and the aspiration to be the best and the level of self-confidence need to be sharpened.
IIM-Shillong is nowhere on the 2018 ranking list published by MHRD-NIRF. What do you have to say about that? How do you plan to improve?
Among the management institutes in MHRD-NIRF ranking position of IIM Shillong was 21st in 2017 and 26th in 2018. That is an area where we really need to work hard. I am happy to state that we have taken a number of steps and the entire IIM fraternity, from students to faculty, officers and staff are making all efforts to make ourselves one of the best management institutes in the country. In that way we are hoping to rise up the ranking though we are not focusing only on the ranking as such. We believe that if we do well in every front, our raking will surely improve. I am sure that all other institutes are also working in a similar manner so that our task becomes even more challenging.
As an economist, which economist’s works do you admire?
I admire Professor Amartya Sen as an economist. Professor Sen’s work reveal that sophisticated models and tools of economics are meaningless unless and until the basic needs of the common man can be met. What I therefore strongly understand is that the high growth rate of the country or the improved macro-economic indicators of the country can be quite meaningless, when the majority of the population are still languishing in poverty. The basic work of economic models therefore should firstly strive to meet the needs of the common man and the theoretical model of economics has to be oriented towards that goal.
What do you have to say about the current government’s economic policies, like GST and demonetisation, among others? Also, what about the state?
GST has been a long desired need of the economy as India has to be at par with the other developed countries of the world. It is expected to reduce the production cost, logisticexpenses, theoverlapping of numerous state and central taxes and will make our product costs come down. This will not only make prices lower and bring down the inflation rate but will make Indian products price competitive in the global market.
However, like any other major policy changes GST too has been facing the initial teething problem of transition and implementation. Therefore, the country has not yet been able to fully take advantage of GST. However, the full benefit can be experienced only after a gap of a few years.
Demonetisation too has certain positive points, some of which are reduction in the generation of black money but it hadbrought the level of economic activities in the country and the growth rate of the country. However, economic activities have now slowly and gradually absorbed the shock and the economy is slowly but surely limping back to the normal tracks.
The state of Meghalaya with one of the greatest potentiality for growth is unfortunately one of the worst states in terms of most of the performance parameters. I think good governance, accountability and transparency should be the pillars of modern Meghalaya.
What are the achievements of the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Centre for Policy Research and Analysis?
Though the MoU for setting up Dr APJ Adul Kalam Centre for Policy Research and Analysis in collaboration with the DoNER and North Eastern Council was signed in October 2016, the Centre has been set up and started functioning only three months back in the Mayurbhanj Campus of IIM. We have held the first meeting of all the stakeholders on the July 27, 2018, which happens to be death anniversary of Dr Kalam. We are now in the process of recruiting staff and experts for the Centre.
If you have to change one thing in the higher education sector in the country, what would you change?
I personally think the teaching-learning process has to be improved and strengthened. There has to be a constant urge for innovative method in every academic session. The system of students’ feedback of teachers is a method by which faculty will be under constant need for improvement and better performance.
If you have to sum up the achievements of the institute under your tenure so far, what would you highlight on?
I will not like to summarise as achievement under my tenure, but what is more important is the achievement of the Institute during the last 10 years. An institute is a continuity and directors are only assigned the responsibilities of taking the institute forward. IIM Shillong, in spite of its locational challenge, has made significant strides among the aspiring management students, corporate sectors, where our students are highly sought after. Good number of international institutes and Universities are coming forward to collaborate with us. Different organisations and companies are increasingly sending their top officials to IIM Shillong for mid service training for their executives. Over and above this, we have also been able to contribute tothe society in which we function. Our students give training to the children from the underprivileged section in science and mathematics every Saturday using all the IIM infrastructural facilities. Added to this is also the regular training programmes which IIM Shillong has been organising free of cost for the unemployed youths of the region. All the students and faculties participate enthusiastically for these social activities.