“What are the Degree Programs offered by Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation [VMRF] and what are some of the salient ongoing research projects? 

VMRF (Deemed to be University) established under UGC, MHRD, Govt. of India and is existence for more than 3 decades. It offers various Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs in the faculties of Engineering & Technology, Architecture, Medicine, Dentistry, Allied Health Sciences, Homeopathy, Nursing, Pharmacy, Management, Physical education, Science & Humanities and Law. VMRF also runs Doctoral programs across all the faculties mentioned
above except Law.

VMRF is also involved in research across various disciplines, especially focusing in inter-disciplinary research between Medical and Technology and quite a large number of these research programs are funded by both Government and non-Government agencies. To name a few Structure based drug design Mechanistic studies for Covid-19, VT Scope -Intubating video stylet and Women’s safety application along with some innovative products done by our students.

It is my pleasure to state that our dynamic and vibrant Chancellor Dr S Ganesan has created an ecosystem to promote inter and multi disciplinary activities in VMRF to meet the global needs.

What challenges has Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation [VMRF] faced in light of the pandemic and how have you managed online courses in Engineering?

Utilizing various online platforms both the online classes and practical classes were held. During COVID’19 Pandemic, VMRF has successfully managed delivering courses for all Undergraduate and Postgraduate programs to its constituent institutions like Engineering, Medical & Health Sciences, Architecture, Management and Arts & Sciences through CAMU Digital Campus in collaboration with Microsoft Teams. Practical sessions was better managed with the help of Virtual Labs provided by IIT’s , Mathworks, Arm University,INTEL Foundation for innovation and collaborative education (FICE)etc. Online Certification Courses offered by NPTEL, SWAYAM, ATAL, Coursera helped the students and facilitators to disseminate the understanding and to share their knowledge.

How would you characterize the current relations between Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation [VMRF] and the Corporate and Industry world? What are some of the projects that you are implementing local companies?

Of late, VMRF has embarking on a very intense drive to collaborate with the Corporate and Industry across the spectrum of both Health care and Technology. Various MoU’s have been signed aiming a win-win for both VMRF and the Industry/Corporate. At the one end, it has tied up many global companies like Bentley, Huawei ICT Academy, Arm University,Reyn Lab ,Bitgrit to tap into their wide array of training programs in their respective area which would provide a jump start to the student and on completion of these training would increase their employability in the respective areas of study. This would also benefit the respective Industry/Corporate as they will have students whose employability skills are high. In addition VMRF is also tying up with Corporate to design curriculum and also to conduct specific value added courses to the students. A few projects that we are currently working with local companies are promoting stone sculpting (which is popular in Mahabalipuram, Chennai), local chocolate manufacturing (with one of our alumni).

How has the GEDC connected you and your university to corporate or industry leaders and other global universities? In what ways has your membership facilitated this connection (i.e. Global Webinars, Industry Forum, WEEF/GEDC Annual Conference, Student Global Events, Global Virtual Internship Platform, etc.)?

WEEF /GEDC has connected VMRF through series of capacity building webinars, Industry Forum, Annual Conference (WEEF-GEDC 2018 Albuquerque, GEDC 2019 Santiago,GEDC industry Forum 2019 and 2020) which helps in connecting with Experts, Academicians, Leaders globally located with so called young minds(Leaner’s) in developing the next generation of engineering innovators.

What are some of the cutting-edge engineering education advancements at the Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation [VMRF] during the last few years under your leadership?

Cutting –Edge technology fabricated in various engineering programs under my leadership in VMRF is  research centers for IoT by INTEL FICE, Artificial Intelligence Lab with GPU systems, RPA (Robotic process Automation), BOSCH Automotive Research, Centre for Plant Tissue Culturing & Bioprocessing, Virtual Instrumentation and Medical Imaging through National Instruments, Centre for Cloud Computing, Centre for Nanotechnology Research , Centre for Concrete Research & Testing , Centre for Alternate Fuel Testing, Centre for Quality Arc Welding etc. Also by introducing industry specific courses in our curriculum by world renowned corporates like Bentley, Huawei ICT Academy, Arm University,Reyn Lab Mathworks, Altair with mutual MoU’s

Can you share with us some of the approaches that Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation [VMRF] is implementing to sustain growth and retain a constant engagement from its student body?

Approached taken by VMRF to sustain growth and to retain constant engagement from Students body is by following,

• Digital Classroom, classroom immersed with technology that enhances learning.
• Active Learning, by sharing ideas and problem solving.
• Participatory Teaching, self-regulation & self-reflection strategy.
• Flipped Classroom, Student-centric approach to learn problems and to discuss with peer group.
• Integrated Curriculum, Combine disciplines rather than compartmentalizing subjects.
• Visual representations, teaching through animations, 3-D representations.
• Simulations, Games or role playing methodology.
• Ecosystem, to promote Innovation  andentrepreneurialculture.

At Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation [VMRF], what are some of the initiatives that you have undertaken to promote diversity in Engineering Education?

• VMRF is a pioneering and vibrant university offering a multi-cultural experience with an ambience marked by the perfect harmony of living in diversity.
• University promotes a sustainable culture of diversity equity, inclusion of faculty & students and diverse external groups.
• Commitment to promoting student diversity and inclusion in campus.
• Commitment to faculty recruitment  retention  and developing a diverse community.
• Commitment to develop innovative and inclusive scholarship and teaching.

In your opinion, what are some of significant issues/topics that ought to be addressed by the global engineering community and particularly by Engineering Deans, to further strengthen inter-regional communication and continue to globalize this field of study?

The following has to be addressed by global engineering community,

• How to Incorporate global sustainability through the Engineering curriculum?
• How to Provide students with increased opportunities to develop a level of global experience and skill set through international experience?
• How to Evaluate the feasibility of, and recommend start-up and implementation strategies for a new center on global engineering and sustainable technologies?

How has GEDC helped your Institute achieve the goal of being a more global environment?

As a Secretary/Treasurer of GEDC and Chair-GEDC India Chapter, GEDC has helped VMRF to achieve the goal of being more global environment by connecting Leaders, Academicians, Innovators from various universities through capacity building webinars, Industry Forums, Conference in connection with WEEF-GEDC which provokes University-Industry Collaboration, which in turn helps the institution to grow globally.

What are your top five priorities as a dean and where do you plan to take the Faculty of Engineering five years from now?

With the dynamic leadership of our Chancellor and our continuous  encouragement with , I wish to do

• To foster a sense of service, professionalism, ethics, and dedication in our ecosystem.
• Providing excellent value based educational opportunities to create competent future leaders with deep sense of respect towards fundamental principles, constitutional duties and awareness  of one’s roles and responsibilities in changing world.
• Promoting inclusive practices for a demographically diverse student population and  their mobility.
• To provide solutions for economic and environmental sustainability for our communities through engineering education.
• Providing a unique platform for interdisciplinary & multidisciplinary research to all faculty and students and encouraging them to take up the societal problems, focusing  on the outcomes that can be extrapolated to the emerging needs of the society.
• Providing a platform for students to explore their inventiveness and nurture their potential for Entrepreneurship and outreach activities.