"Understand The Environment, Because The Future Is Uncertain", Says Dr. Suresh Mallya

He wants to make a difference. He gets along easily with people. He believes students should have a definite goal in life. He also believes that teaching is a two-way process.

He wants to make a difference. He gets along easily with people. He believes students should have a definite goal in life. He also believes that teaching is a two-way process. Meet Dr. Suresh Mallya, professor at SCMS-Cochin since the 13th of July this year. Dr. Mallya brings with him an impressive industry experience backed by the most formidable qualifications.

A mechanical engineering graduate from Calicut University with a master's degree in business administration from Cochin University of Science and Technology, Dr. Mallya also holds a PhD from MGR University. He has also completed his MA and M.Com from Annamalai and Madurai Kamaraj University respectively, and is an MPhil from Alagappa University and MFT from Pondicherry University.

He has served in Premier Cables Company Ltd., Angamaly for 11 years as production manager and sales engineer. For 3 years, he was with Indian Precision Bearing Manufacturers Ltd., Mangalore as marketing manager and sales manager. He has a total teaching experience of 15 years, as faculty at National Institute of Sales, Kerala, KCG College of Technology and Valliammai Engineering College, Chennai. So what prompted him to shift to teaching? Says Dr. Mallya, "The reason is that I wanted to share my knowledge and experience in industry for the welfare of the students. Secondly, my wife is a professor, so she asked me to shift to teaching. I gave it a serious thought and shifted my career slowly towards teaching."

Dr. Mallya's teaching philosophy reflects that he is a 21st century professor. Believing in participative learning, he says that teaching is not "one-way traffic, but always goes both ways." He believes that every day is a new learning experience and moulds his teaching skills to contain a dash of curriculum and loads of industry experience.

So what are the biggest challenges he believes future managers will face? Says Dr. Mallya: "In this uncertain world, one cannot predict the future and cannot take success for granted. Yet managers should get into business and strive to make a profit." He exhorts his students to understand business, the competitive environment, take studies seriously and learn to cope with pressure.

Dr. Mallya believes that business education at SCMS-Cochin reflects the reality of the business environment today. This difference is what attracted him to SCMS-Cochin. After an eventful 16 years in Chennai, when he was looking for a change, he applied via an advertisement for a job vacancy and cleared the interview. An expert in international business and general management, Dr. Mallya says his immediate goal is to firmly establish himself in SCMS-Cochin and Kerala for the moment. Dr. Mallya believes that students should learn how to take risks, and to think out-of the-box. These are precisely the qualities that he will strive to inculcate in SCMS-Cochin students.