Raj Shankar's Blog, page 11
July 7, 2016
Autonomy to HEIs – is it enough?
Last week I read a news item that said the PMO was asking the MHRD to give ‘autonomy’ to 20 Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in the country. This they hope will help the HEIs become ‘world class’. It is a very bold and forward looking decision. With most international rankings questioning the stature of our HEIs, such progressive thought is important.
One look at the entrepreneurship literature, especially corporate entrepreneurship literature suggests that ‘autonomy’ is but one among a bunch of factors that can help trigger entrepreneurial tendencies. A simple case in point in ‘corporate entrepreneurship’ within established organisations. While ‘autonomy’ is one of the factors there are others too – such as access to work discretion, rewards, organisation boundaries, and organisation climate.
Above all these an institution that wants to turn entrepreneurial requires individuals with ‘an entrepreneurial mindset’ that will allow them to take risks, bold decisions, handle exceptions, and practice ambidexterity.
Do we have entrepreneurial leaders in higher education who can do it? I think that is a big question. How do we find them? How do we empower them? Else it will be just another few thousand crores spent, not invested.
Hope our policy makers think on this!!
July 5, 2016
Reporting Vs Research
I had an interesting chat with an eager, passionate, enthusiastic and smart student. She wanted to write about entrepreneurship. We spoke about how she could approach learning the subject and eventually contributing to it. During the conversation I found that we kept coming back to this rather important point – reporting versus research.
Reporting is what reporters must do. They are to observe and report (state facts) without interpretation. They normally do not involve trying to identify ‘causality’. On the other hand research is what researchers do. They use the facts and attempt to draw causality. They try to answer questions about why, how, and what behind phenomena.
Reporting must record phenomena, Research must attempt to decipher the meaning and causality behind it.
It is important to know that both roles are important. It is because we do not have high quality reporting that we do not have high quality datasets to work with. Hence both roles are critical. So why is this important?
As a student of any subject it is important to locate oneself in a role that is most suitable to one’s interests as well as one’s capabilities. It is only by situating oneself in the cusp of interest and capability that one can contribute to the most. One can straddle between the two, but moving too often makes one less focussed on either. Hence it makes sense to stay rooted in one and occasionally spend time in the other.
I am a researcher. I have decided to be one. I try to help practitioners make sense of phenomena and thereby make better decisions. What do you want to do? Think and make a wise decision!
I told this budding writer the same thing. The beauty is – she said she would take the inputs, think on it and come back with her decision. This makes the life of a teacher worthwhile.
Happy Thinking!
July 3, 2016
Talk at GIC – an entrepreneurial ecosystem
I was invited to speak last Friday at Gujarat Technological University (GTU) Innovation 
Council. They are popularly known as GIC. It was fantastic knowing everyone there. Right from the time I was connected by their Director, the faculty and students running the centre stayed in touch with me, coordinated with a hitch and ensured that I was put back in the cab safely.
Their hospitality was amazing!
Their energy was amazing!
Their curiosity was amazing!
Their culture was amazing!
It is rare to see such an entrepreneurial culture anywhere in India. So I was curious to know how they managed to create it. While they did tell me about the autonomy, the handling of exceptions, the leadership and many others, according to me it is the faith that Mr Hiranmay put in the students. The entire place is run and managed by students. I have always believed that teachers must empower students and be there only to protect them when things go wrong. I saw one man do it. AND I saw the many students there live up to the expectations. (The poster on top was also created by one student)
Their responsibility impressed and inspired me!
Their maturity and professionalism blew me away!
For those who don’t know – these are kids doing their engineering (mostly in their second year). My salute to them. I came away inspired, energised, and reinvigorated. I hope I have added some steam to their already existing momentum too.
Post the talk I was interacting with a couple of startups housed there. We spent almost an hour and at least a couple left with action items for innovation and improvements. I hope they find their solutions and scale up. The startups posed specific challenges and were willing to listen to suggestions (solutions) from a variety of angles.
Overall it was an evening well spent (i think i must say – invested). I will be ever ready to go there whenever possible for I believe this is a classic case of an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the making!
My wishes and prayers are with these kids for them to live their dreams and their capabilities.
June 30, 2016
Alvin Toffler – you will be remembered
How many of us have grown up hearing about ‘information overload’? This was the man who spoke about it first.
He wrote classic bestsellers such as ‘Future Shock’ and ‘The Third Wave’ – If you have not read them, read them now. If you are one of those like me who have read it, I don’t have to ask you to re-read it – just for the sheer joy of how a futurist indicates the future without predicting it.
It is sad that the world lost him. He was 87. You can read more about him, his life and work here: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/30/boo...
Thanks Alvin Toffler for helping us look at the world differently. I hope to re-read your books as a mark of respect to you and your thoughts. I am sure you have inspired number of budding scholars (me included) to study phenomena deeply and write daringly.
Recently Steve Case titled his book ‘The Third Wave’ and spoke about how he was deeply impacted by the ideas of Alvin Toffler too. Read this interview here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawb...
Prof Alvin Toffler, you will be remembered.
June 29, 2016
To the Arctic and Back
I recently visited Bodo, a small city in the northern part of Norway. This was to attend the prestigious Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC).
When I left India, temperatures were well over 50 (yes, 50 degree celsius). When I eventually landed in Bodo, it was raining and temperatures were around FOUR degree celsius. I and a fellow doctoral consortium candidate got out of the airport and experienced the cool Arctic winds for the first time. We were simply praying that the bus arrives quickly. This was summer in the Arctic and all of sudden the weather Gods had decided to give us a different experience. We eventually reached the Nordland University Business School and settled into our warm rooms. There was something planned for the evening and so we took a little break and quickly changed to join in for a trek.
When I arrived with the heaviest jacket I had, the leader of the trek looked at me and said – you may require more layers! I smiled and wore one more. We wore a little raincoat over it and hiked. The rains persisted and made the bonfire a wet experience. But the company of fellow scholars made the entire evening enjoyable. My hosts were so caring about every one of us. They were all the more careful when they realised that I had just come from a place which was ten times as hot!!
The next couple of days were all spent in the conference sessions. But every evening the group was exposed to different aspects of Norwegian culture. I especially enjoyed the Samei cultural experiences provided. The weather improved and on the last day, many of the doctoral students joined together and trekked a little hill from where one could see the whole of Bodo.
The experience of the midnight sun was another wonderful experience. As one who comes from a tropical country it was rather strange that there was no night at all. It never got dark!! It was fun.
I liked Norway as a country for many reasons – punctuality, hospitality, ethics and cleanliness. The people are so good to interact with and helpful. I hope I will get opportunities to visit, interact, know more and collaborate with scholars in Norway. It feels good that I now have friends in the Arctic region too. I hope some of them will visit India and give me an opportunity to play host.
Overall a lovely experience. I had in the recent past gone to Indonesia (just below the equator) and now I went past the Arctic circle. I am enjoying where entrepreneurship research and teaching is taking me. Hope to see more of the Earth, interact with people and learn about the various cultures. All of this, I hope will make me a more sensitive and matured human being. Hope I can contribute to the society in my own small way.
For now I am back in India. The temperatures have eased a bit, only eight times that of what I experienced in the Arctic. Isn’t it cooler now? I am waiting for the monsoon to arrive and cool the Earth around here.
June 28, 2016
My First BCERC
I was one of the 25 doctoral scholars chosen from across the world to attend the prestigious Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC). In the field of entrepreneurship it holds a coveted place. This was the 36th edition of the conference. It was the first time that the BCERC was held in the Arctic region and it also happened to be my first. Doubly special, isn’t it?
The doctoral consortium was amazing. I made lovely friends with budding scholars in the field. Our Doctoral Consortium Directors (Johan Wiklund and Elisabeth Ljunggren) had lined up an amazing array of leading scholars to talk and interact with us. This included Dean Shepherd, Saras Sarasvathy, Candida Brush, Per Davidsson, amongst others. We also had number of others who listened to our dissertation projects during the breakout sessions. I had the pleasure of sharing my work with Alex McKelvie and Einar Rasmussen. They game me pointed feedback.
Apart from the doctoral consortium, Johan and Elisabeth ensured we met number of scholars during the conference, attended specific papers and did homework to connect our work to certain streams of existing research. The wrap up session on the last day was an interesting way to conclude the consortium. Overall the learning was immense.
The numerous social / informal events during the conference (one every evening) gave enough time to get to know people. I made new friends from various continents and I am sure we will also do some future work together. The biggest benefit is knowing so many nice people who all have a common interest – entrepreneurship research.
I thoroughly enjoyed my first BCERC and I have to thank all at the Babson College and Nordland University Business School who made it so memorable. I am completely bought into the tribe (if I may call so) and hope to be there at every edition of the conference.
I now look forward to being at the next. I also know that I will have to work hard to make myself eligible to be there (get my paper accepted). I am already on the job!!
I now look forward to being at the BCERC in 2017.
June 27, 2016
Received Some Press Coverage
I was written about in the papers last week.[image error] While I could read two, the ones I could not read (written in Gujarati) seem to have given me more visibility.
Happy to share this with all my readers and well wishers.
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Times of India
DNA
Nav Gujarat Samay
http://epaper.navgujaratsamay.com/details/10923-5679-1.html
Sandesh
http://sandesh.epapr.in/844056/Ahmedabad/17-06-2016#page/22/2
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Thanks for your continued support and wishes!
May 17, 2016
Indian Education – Lots to change
Three news items I read in the past few weeks gave me a feeling of how much Indian Education needs to change if it has to truly live its purpose. Here are the three points:
At the Policy Level: Rajya Sabha roll call: Only 37 out of 245 MPs were present for debate on education. Link: http://indianexpress.com/article/indi...
At the Leadership Level: Under cloud for long, Pondicherry University vice-chancellor Chandra Krishnamurthy resigns. Link: http://indianexpress.com/article/indi...
At the Execution Level: EdTech Startup Purple Squirrel shutdown. Link: https://inc42.com/buzz/purple-squirre...
While the above news items are only a sample of what probably appeared in the papers over the last fortnight, I believe it is indicative of how much needs to change. So, I don’t want you to look at it as negative news, but as changes that are needed if we want to see the sector contribute to its potential.
India is a land of intellectual potential. But research and teaching are lagging. How do we resurrect Indian Education to its original glory? Simply by giving it, its due at every level. At the policy level we need our leaders to take education very seriously. They need to spend more time discussing (progressively) how to take education forward. At the Leadership level, we need more honest and academically inclined administrators. In a transparent world, it will be embarrassing for faculty members to hide their poor credentials. Either they must whip themselves up or move aside for better people to take on the mantle. At the execution level, we must be prepared for more experimentation by entrepreneurs and Universities alike. We cannot expect our entrepreneurs to succeed with innovative solutions unless the ecosystem supports experimentation. And we must allow poor ideas to die so that better ones can be birthed and grown.
Overall the three articles are indicative of why Indian Education is plagued and behind. It is also in the same three articles that I see potential for a resurrection.
I hope you see it as much as I do.
May 14, 2016
PGPBM for working executives at IIM Trichy
A number of working executives don’t wish to take a two-year break to do an MBA. But,
they do realise that possessing a good MBA can help them scale new heights in their careers. Here is a program from IIM Trichy that can possibly help such high-growth seeking working executives.
This two year PGPBM program is well designed keeping in mind the time-constrained working executive. Individuals will find value from the rigour and relevance of the courses.
You can look up information from here: http://www.iimtrichy.ac.in/pgpbm
May 11, 2016
VC Funding – Slowdown is (probably) good
While there is a lot of hoopla around entrepreneurship the world over, two trends seem to be heating up:
Reducing valuations of high growth ventures
Slowing down of venture investments
I personally see this as a positive thing. Like all things in the world, entrepreneurship and associated investments go through ups and downs. During the ‘down’ phase there is a tendency for situations to become closer to normal. I think this is happening to this sector.
Reducing valuations is also good. This reduces the pressure on the entrepreneurs while also keeping valuation close to value creation (read more on the difference here).
I recently came across an article that spoke of the virtues of a possible decline/slowdown in Venture Capital (VC) Funding. Link: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/ar...
Think about it.
