Introduce yourself in three words or phrases.
Enterprising, focused on institutional buildup, and always love challenges.
What do you like most about your job?
What I like most about the job is that, having always been in education, I get to work with youngsters and help them realise their dreams. That has always been my passion.
If you could learn a language instantly, which would you pick and why?
Well, I would like to learn Spanish because I already know close to seven languages, and Spanish is one I’ve always wanted to pick up. Apart from English, it’s one of the most widely spoken languages globally, and that really motivates me.
As for the languages I know, most of them are Indian languages, along with English. I can speak Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and several other South Indian languages, as well as Punjabi and Haryanvi.
What makes you get up in the morning?
The excitement of doing something very different, so every day I set up some new challenge for myself. That’s what excites me about that particular day, and most of these things are decided a day before. Every time, it is about achieving that particular day’s objective and the whole fun of living in that moment is what excites me.
Champion/cheerleader which we should all follow and why?
I have different champions for different areas of life. For inspiration and leadership, I look up to Mahatma Gandhi for his ability to rally people around a cause. In business, Steve Jobs has inspired me with his vision for building organisations. And for life lessons, I draw from India’s many great gurus. So, across different spheres, I look to different role models.
Best international ed conference and why
I like the IC3 event; it’s a melting pot of so many different service providers and universities all coming together and working. Apart from that, I like the THE event as well — organisations that enable a lot of conversations and meaningful discussions. A conference, for me, is successful if it gives me at least one good opportunity to have meaningful conversations and make good connections.
Worst conference food/beverage experience
There are quite a lot, but I would not want to name them right now. Though there are definitely a few conferences that are worse in terms of food!
Book or podcast recommendation for others in the sector?
There are several books that have always been my favourites. Of late, one I’m currently reading is by my friend Dr. Rajesh Shrivastava, who authored a book on how to build brands. It’s an amazing read.
Describe a project or initiative you are currently working on that excites you.
Currently, this is about setting up an absolute greenfield campus of the University of Liverpool in India. It’s amazing because, for the first time, the University of Liverpool is coming to India to create a full-fledged campus.
This is exciting since it brings together the best of learning from both the West and the East, offering that to students. I’m quite excited about this because of what the students are going to gain from this whole initiative.
