Prof. Kanak Gupta’s role at Jaipuria Institute of Management goes beyond his classes. Apart from being a faculty member in the Organisational Behaviour& Human Resource department, Prof. Gupta has a crucial role as the Asst. Dean, Student Affairs, as well as the Chairperson, Admissions. An MBA from Krannert School of Management (Purdue University, Indiana, USA), Prof. Gupta has been with Jaipuria Institute of Management right from its inception, and brings in global best practices in business education to this completely digital management college.
“Jaipuria Indore has a completely new culture that allows respect for each others’ views and criticism is given only in order to improve things. Following my core intent to be learner-centric, I plan my classes ahead of time, visualise the same, and try to fit them into the larger scheme of things and overall learning. Right at the start, I organise several ice breakers – offbeat orientation, remedials to bridge the gap among students, a new way of presenting a course outline, a new learning method, learning by doing and numerous situations – empowering students to lead the class room discussion without any fear of being wrong, and encouraging students to come up with ideas suited for their learning.”
Infact, Prof. Kanak Gupta is currently working on a semi-autobiographical novel where he’ll be speaking from the heart in telling a story of how an MBA from one of the best B-schools in USA and the world became part of the team involved in building a world-class management college – Jaipuria Institute of Management, Indore.
Prof. Kanak Gupta became an entrepreneur fairly early in life- 17 years, to be precise. With his co-founder friends, he has been able to create the most prolific English theatre group in the country –Theatrecian – that has been recognised and profiled by the likes ofthe BBC, India Today,and YourStory.in.Prof. Gupta was honored with the Young Creative Entrepreneur Award by the British Council in 2010, and was the youngest student in his MBA class at Purdue University.He got his first job in a Venture Capitalist funded start-up in London and worked for some of the best known consulting firms, training outfits and consumer companies in Europe for almost six years.
“While working, I was also ‘closet’ faculty; I was invited as a special guest across B-schools worldwide. Even then, I believed in experiential learning. I moved to academia when a call from within told me that I probably need to make a difference–or at least try making a difference- to the intellectual capital of the country.”
According to students of Jaipuria Indore, Prof. Kanak Gupta’s classes are “great fun”. Workshops, games, activities and movies add up to making them a fantastic learning experience. Prof. Gupta personally enjoys teaching behaviour studies. He views himself more as a trainer of Talent Management, Cross Culture and Change Management. He confesses his bias towards social media and self-development, having pioneered the same in some places he has worked in.
“There’s probably a difference of 5-6 years between me and the students. It perhaps makes it easier for me to empathise with their situation. However, students often say that I am a strict disciplinarian… wonder where that comes from!”
Prof. Gupta is a voracious reader, theatre artist, music and movies buff, and is hooked to social media and politics. An untiring blogger, he watches a lot of sport- cricket, football and tennis.
“So if you are on KBC, please feel free to include me for your ‘phone a friend’ call, especially for movies, sport and current affairs! I used to love running, but ever since I fractured my leg three years ago, that love has taken a backseat. I love travelling, and have seen almost a quarter of the globe already.”
As one of the designers of the Jaipuria Indore curriculum, Prof. Gupta believes thatlife in Jaipuria Institute of Management is designed to recognize and enhance the ‘X’ factor in every student.
“Campus life is a home away from home. A complete business education must go beyond technical knowledge, offering you the environment in which to develop a game plan for life. Our objective is to help each student define his or her calling in life and grow as a leader in all areas of life. You should be challenged to follow your passion so that your life’s work has significance to you, as well as to society.”
He assures aspirants to Jaipuria Institute of Management Indore that “you will find your X-factor, define your own success goals, prepare yourself to succeed, and then work hard to make it happen.”