Anurag University, Dean, Research and Development: Dr. S. Sathees Kumaran Interview

Dr. S. Sathees Kumaran is the Dean, Research and Development at Anurag University. He received his PhD degree in Information and Communication Engineering in 2016. Currently, he serves as a professor in the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Anurag Group of Institutions, Hyderabad, India. He is a guest editor for Inderscience and Emerald journals and served as a volume editor for Springer conference proceedings. He has research and teaching experience of 20 years and received research grants from Government and Private funding agencies in engineering and healthcare. He has published more than 50 research papers in SCI/Scopus journals and reputed conferences. He is a reviewer for IEEE, Elsevier, Springer, Taylor & Francis, Wiley and IGI Global journals and reviewed more than 200 research papers. He also served as keynote speaker, advisory committee member and Session chair for IEEE/Springer international conferences.

How has your experience and journey with Anurag University been?

The journey with Anurag University has been a great and wonderful experience for me. I joined this institution in 2016 as Professor and Head of the Electronics and Communication Engineering Department. I always admired the state-of-the-art infrastructure and experienced faculty of Anurag University. As the head of the department, I had the opportunity to interact with the leadership team regarding the vision and policies. Based on my experience as Dean of Research and Development, I can assure you that Anurag University has great potential to excel in academics and research.

How would you foster a culture of research and scholarly activities among faculty and student members in their research endeavors within the college?

Fostering a research culture requires a multifaceted approach that motivates the faculty and students, provides resources and support, and recognizes their contributions. It is necessary to create a research infrastructure for interdisciplinary research, collaborative activities, and sponsored research. To promote interdisciplinary research by encouraging collaborative projects that address the issues of the university and those of national importance. The faculty and students are provided with seed funding to develop products and engage in fundamental research. Support and guidance are provided for the students through the incubation center and the entrepreneurship development cell for initiating student start-ups.

Can you explain how ANURAG UNIVERSITY provides support, funds and infrastructural facilities to encourage research activities?

Anurag University provides seed money funding for students and faculty to develop innovative and useful products through research. The seed money allotted to investigators is provided with the funding of 2 lakhs for procuring equipment, consumables, travel, and attending conferences. Various research centers are established in the areas of digital manufacturing, sustainable environments, cybersecurity, electric vehicles, intelligent computing, and chip design to improve collaborative and sponsored research. Financial assistance is provided for the faculty members who publish high-quality papers in reputed WoS/Scopus-indexed journals. The consultancy and patent policies are in place to motivate the faculty and students to develop products for the benefit of society and industries.

What are the steps that Anurag University takes in order to provide experiential learning to the students?

Experiential learning provides important practical experiences to help students gain knowledge, skills, and expertise. Anurag University encourages students to take up a few real-world problems and situations in the form of project-based learning, problem-based learning, and a flipped classroom approach. Employing these initiatives really improves student engagement, skill development, and career readiness.

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Can you describe what is the challenging part of being in a Dean - Research role, and how you successfully manage it?

Being in a Dean of Research and Development role has its own challenges. The first and foremost challenge is balancing the administrative and academic responsibilities of the faculty with time consumption for research. Promoting interdisciplinary research and receiving research grants from government funding agencies It is also highly challenging to keep track of the funded projects and complete them successfully. Guiding and motivating early- career researchers are another issue at the university that is really needed to improve the research activities. I successfully manage these challenges with the support of our leadership team and my interactions with stakeholders. Our vice-chancellor, registrar, and senior professors provide continuous support to solve these complexities successfully. With the support of seed funding, many aspiring faculty prepare high-quality research proposals and submit them to various government and private funding agencies. They also publish their research in high-quality, peer-reviewed journals.

What are the initiatives and programs you implement related to research, to continuously improve research activities among the students?

Various initiatives related to research are implemented by the Research and Development Division to improve the research culture among the students. The research-related workshops and training programs are organized for students, faculty, and research scholars. The faculty and research scholars are encouraged to present their research findings at reputed and iconic conferences and peer-reviewed journals. A few discussion sessions are arranged with a combination of different disciplines to promote interdisciplinary research. Innovative product development, interdisciplinary research opportunities, and initiatives to encourage startups are a few other programs focused on by our university.

How important is focusing on research activities in the present educational curriculum and how well that will help the students and faculty in their career growth?

Focusing on research activities in the present educational curriculum is highly required for both the faculty and students for their career growth and personal development. Especially, the critical thinking and problem-solving skills of students need to be improved in the present scenario. The research focus will be highly helpful for the students to pursue higher studies and to improve their competitive advantage in the job market.

What is your vision as a Dean - Research for bringing changes and developments in terms of research activities in the institution?

My vision as a dean of research is to create an innovative and dynamic research environment and startup ecosystem to address national and global challenges. It is possible to achieve the above vision by providing research infrastructure, promotion schemes, and supporting interdisciplinary and sponsored research activities.