Dr. T. Sanjay Kumar is presently working as an Associate Professor and the Academic Head at the TKR Institute of Management and Science. He has an MBA in Marketing, an M.Com., UGC-Net, AP-SET and a PhD in Business Management. He has 15 years of teaching and six years of industry experience. His area of interest is doing continuous research in the field of Management with a special focus on marketing. Dr. Sanjay has presented and published papers in national and international conferences and journals and has also been a keynote speaker in some of them. He conducts workshops on effective teaching for academicians and learning sessions for students. He has been mentoring students and research scholars from time to time in the field of marketing research.

TKR Institute of Management

What is the latest program that you are offering in the institute that will help students outperform and stand apart from the crowd?

We have a new course, an MBA in Entrepreneurship. Students who have a family business or those who want to establish a start-up can take up that course. After taking up that course, they can work in any organization and after a certain time, they can start up their own. We also have students who are opting for MBA degrees in Systems, IT, and IT specialisation. We also offer an on-demand specialisation in Business Analytics, Database Management Systems, and Data Visualization. For MBA Marketing, earlier we had regular subjects like Promotion, Distribution and Consumer Behavior. However, the university has now added subjects like Digital Marketing and Marketing Engineering in a bid to combine technology with business subjects.

What are the factors that make this program the best for the students to opt?

We have made efforts to make sure our curriculum and subjects are updated and include the latest in-trend topics. We want our courses to reflect the present-day industry situations and problems. This way our students will be able to compete with students from other universities as well. Our curriculum also ensures they have the right skills and knowledge to compete and succeed in the industry. Additionally, we have courses that are aimed at grooming student’s personalities and skills. For instance, we have a Leadership and Change Management course to teach leadership skills. For this subject, we use case studies and examples of people in the industry who have failed so that students can learn from their failures. Some other subjects we have included are international finance, global business and digitalization.

What are some valuable insights of the program that you are offering at your institute/dept.?

At the end of teaching each subject, we have examinations, internals, assignments and presentations. We take our students on industry visits and based on that, they need to prepare reports or assignments. For instance, in operations management, we take our students to a production plant for biscuits or textiles. Students are advised to observe and connect their classroom teaching to the practical aspects of the industry. We also have internships that students must compulsorily complete to graduate. These are a few examples of how we offer practicality in our curriculum.

Check TKR Institute of Management & Science Faculty

What are some most proud moments in your career so far?

There have been many proud movements in my career. My first proud moment would be when I qualified for the NET exam, which is one of the most difficult exams in India. Additionally, it was a matter of pride for me when I received my doctorate from Osmania University. I have also attended various seminars and conferences and received several awards. Apart from this, our students were selected for the G20 Model Session, which was held in BITS and all our teachers were proud.

What do you found most difficult about being a CEO?

The challenging part is ensuring the students are regularly attending college. Due to the pandemic, a lot of students wanted to opt for jobs instead of completing their education for financial reasons. Convincing the students and bringing them to the college was a challenge for us. We had to let them know that money can be earned at any point in life but getting back to education is hard after some time. Another challenging part is making the students understand the concepts. Because a lot of students are from varied backgrounds, sometimes they are not able to understand English. We make sure to provide extra attention and classes to such students.

Any insight or advice that you would like to give to the current youth or the aspiring students?

I would say that life is short and that it passes by quickly. You have less time and a lot of things to accomplish. If we can better manage time, then we can manage life. You will also be able to better manage your career. By managing time and work, you will be able to not just work but also play and take time off. Once your career is at its peak, take time to be grateful and give back to society. Contribute to charity and the underprivileged. I believe students have to do two things if they want to achieve success, effort and focus. Whatever you do, you should focus and make efficient use of time. Give yourself time as well.

What is your vision for next five years for our college?

My vision is I want to see the college as one of the best management colleges in Telangana. We are already considered in the top five colleges in the Telangana district and we have a good rating. But I want to further develop this college. I want this college to be number one. If anybody talks about MBA education, they should talk about TKR Institute of Management and Science. Since 2003, we have been offering an MBA degree and we have had considerable success till now, but there is a lot more to do. We are adopting more technology and using learning aids like electronic aids for teaching. We are also sending our students for training.