An interview with Vaishali Chaudhari, BMS faculty of Mulund College of Commerce.
Name– Mrs. Vaishali Chaudhari Kamerkar
College– MCC College, GNIMS
Tell us something about yourself
I am currently a visiting faculty for BMS, MBA & MCA . I have worked as a MMS & BMS coordinator for more than 7 years. I have 3 years industry and 10 years of teaching experience. I started my academic career with MCC college as a visiting faculty & Acharya college as a full time faculty in BMS. I am MMS in Marketing & have completed NET in Management.
Tell us something about your college
I have worked as an Associate professor & MMS co-coordinator with GNIMS, Matunga. Before that I was BMS Co-coordinator with N.G. Acharya & D.K. Marathe College, Chembur. I have worked with MCC college as a visiting faculty for more than 7 years. I have also worked as a visiting faculty with Vivekanand college, Jhunjhunwala college, Podar College & SIWS College (Basically colleges nearby to Mulund)
When did you join the teaching profession? What inspired you to choose this line?
I joined teaching in 2000 as a visiting faculty & 2003 as a full time faculty. What inspired me is my passion for teaching; I always wanted to be a teacher (rather facilitator and counselor). When I passed out from degree college, I was very ignorant about career avenues and nobody was there to guide properly. I was sure I can fill the gap at least somewhere. I joined BMS & after moving to MMS teaching, still continued to teach BMS since I enjoy being with Bachelor level students who are much more enthusiastic & I seriously feel they need me more.
Which subjects do you teach? What do you love most?
I teach QMB, Logistics, Marketing Research, Rural Marketing, International Marketing, Marketing Management etc. I love QMB most.
What is your teaching philosophy?
“Education is not the fulfilling of a pail but lighting a fire”. – William Buckler Yeds
I want to facilitate learning for student and learn from them. I like to experiment with teaching pedagogies to make it interactive, practical yet simpler. Hope to provide encouragement, support and direction to identify and work on strengths & want to instill students to set and accomplish goals.
Do you believe in teaching should be full of ideas rather than stuffed with facts?
Yes, teaching needs to be full of ideas, but how about blend of both?
Can a student from Arts/science background also do BMS?
Management education has no boundaries.
As a BMS faculty, what kind of projects do you expect bms students to work upon?
Where there would either be networking with corporate world or practical learning.
Do you think a BMS Student should participate in College fests and Industrial Visits? Why?
Yes, definitely they should.
College Fests: Teach you organizing, time & stress management, develop teamwork & give platform to perform and excel which ultimately lead to overall personality development.
Industrial visits: can give good practical knowledge of production management. They are more picnics than that of IVs, but definitely a stress remover, bring students closer.
People say BMS is 70 % of first year MBA. After BMS, is work experience important for MBA?
I would say more than 70 % if executed properly. Few subjects taught in BMS are not taught at MBA level.
Yes, work experience before MBA is always better since it makes students more matured and better focused, that can definitely teach them priorities.
There is a shortage of eminent professors at bachelors’ level management. With more and more institutes joining the professional courses bandwagon, do you think BMS will become yet another Bcom?
The situation is similar to MBA; good institution’s degree will always be valued more. But I think will not become yet another Bcom if projects and presentations are done seriously and that is in hands of students, not the institute.
What should BMS education mean to a student?
An opportunity to learn & excel.
I think future value of BMS degree lies in the hands of the students, their attitude matters the most. Today’s student is strong enough to get for himself/herself what he/she wishes for.
Do you think the course curriculum is at par with industry expectations?
No, curriculum needs few more practical subjects and compulsory summer projects.
Today, we often come across students committing suicide out of failure, depression or tension of exams. What do you have to say about this?
I think more than a pressure of exam, pressure of competition and comparison is killing students. Proper counseling to all the three parties is needed to solve the issue viz. students, parents and teachers.
Who in your life has most influenced you?
My parents, my teachers & my students.
What are your professional/career goals?
Help at least 100 students to attain their goals & persuading (sometimes forcing) students to work towards their own good.
Do alumni come back and tell you about life after bms?
Yes, plenty of them.
A famous quote says “A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others”. What would you like to say on this?
I don’t agree to this completely, why consume itself? I think teachers are learning in this process as well.
Who would you call as the best student so far in your memory?
Many are there, it’s difficult to take one name….I remember different ones for their different qualities, rather one or two from each batch.
One touching incident that happened with you in your teaching career?
There are many incidents, they are my treasures, keeps me going… I still feel equally touched when students passed out 6-7 years back, send thank you message on teachers day. I will never forget mails & letters sent by students after leaving Acharya college.
What suggestions would you like to give to Mumbai university for amendments in the BMS course?
This we discuss at the right platform anyways. I think students should be asked this question on this platform.
How do you find BMS.co.in? What help should it provide in future?
This is a user friendly website and also a good platform for all BMS students and teachers to come together. Will definitely help faculties to understand what students want from this course. Also can help students to share notes, ideas, and projects in future. It can also be used to update yourself on latest trends, happenings in the field of management and can become forum for development of career.
What message would you like to give to the bms students?
Explore yourself; this is the right time for you to do introspection. The more clear you are about what you want from this course and where you want to land, better can be your focus. Upgrade yourself with latest trends in management and read as much as you can.
Thank you so much for giving us your valuable time. I’m sure reading this interview would be a great help and inspiration for the students.
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