Transforming the face of Education - Dr. Anand Poddar

A thinker and a philanthropic Educationalist, Dr. Anand Poddar established the Poddar Group of Institutions in 1998. With a humble beginning in Rajasthan, Dr. Poddar had a dream, to not only educate but also to instill practical skills in the youth. With a motto of Education with a Purpose to Shape a Better Future, Dr. Poddar is a well-known name in the education sector.

In his elongated career of more than 20 years in the education sector, Dr. Poddar has contributed immensely towards the advancement of the Indian education system. Over the past two decades, Dr. Poddar’s dream has grown to be a family of more than six educational institutions that are focused on imparting purposeful education right from school to the Ph.D. level. 

Dr. Poddar believes in giving back to society and is actively involved in various industry bodies, community groups, and NGOs. He has also written myriad books on topics like Advanced Biotechnology, Entrepreneurship, Renewable Energy, and Industrial Economics & Management. He has published many papers as well. For his diligence and dedication, he has been awarded the Shiksha Bharati Puruskar from All India Achievers Foundation, Delhi, and GERA Award 2019 from Message Sanstha, amongst a plethora of others.

It was while working in the corporate sector during the early phase of his career that Dr. Poddar realized there is a gap that prevails in the existing workforce, with a lack of relevant skills & business competencies in the youth. He, in turn, felt that our education system is not providing enough industry exposure to the students to make them job-ready. With this thought in mind, Dr. Anand Poddar decided to take the plunge into the education sector, since he felt the need to develop innovative and scientific curriculum with industry participation to fill this void.

That was when Dr. Poddar laid the foundation of Poddar Group of Institutions back in 1998, intending to provide excellent standards of teaching and learning along with enough industry exposure keeping pace with the rapid advancements in the technology.

Today, under the able guidance and leadership of Dr. Anand Poddar, Poddar Group of Institutions is a leading name in the education sector. One of Dr. Poddar’s brainchild, Poddar International College, established in 2005, was chosen as the Best Upcoming Higher Education Institute of Rajasthan in ASSOCHAM National Education Excellence Awards in 2017 and Best Private College in Rajasthan by ICCI.

With the vision so clear, and the captain so able, the Poddar Group of Institutions believes in igniting the young minds of the students to prepare them for their future careers and workplace. He introduced an International Communication Program by Pearson, United Kingdom, as communication seems to be a quintessential asset for anyone and everyone. The Information Technology sector is a dynamic one is a fact that Dr. Poddar recognizes. Therefore, he has prescribed several Add-ons for IT students like AI programming, Robotics, IoT, Python, Digital Marketing, Analytics, and Machine Learning, to name a few.

The Management students are provided with business training at Top B-School of India along with Certified training programs in digital marketing, content writing, and business analytics. The students are assigned science research projects funded by DST, UGC, BARAC, etc. They are further provided training for entrepreneurship through the Incubation center sponsored by DST or under IIC, MHRD, and by industry experts. Even the faculty is also very distinguished, handpicked by Dr. Poddar himself. He chooses those who are trained and able to provide the students with the necessary skill set that would make them not only employable but also better citizens.

Dr. Poddar is not only leading the change in the sector but is also an idol to thousands of students. Believing in the age-old philosophy of Vasudev Kutumbakam, Dr. Poddar treats everyone at the Poddar Group of Institutions as family. He is always concerned about his employees, staff, and students alike.

Being the Chairman of Poddar Group of Institutions, Dr. Poddar gets very little time to engage with students. But, as he gets time, he makes sure to be part of the various knowledge exchange programs conducted at the institution. He likes to attend conferences, seminars, or any other cultural event where he could interact with his staff and students. Furthermore, he connects with his employees, faculty, and students via Digital and social media platforms and makes sure to interact with them at various forums and events face to face. 

He believes in and always strives towards bringing out the true potential of each individual through right exposure, where everyone thrives for excellence, thus creating a high-performance culture within the organization. Dr. Poddar feels that being in the noble profession of imparting knowledge and learning, it is of utmost importance to have a positive mindset, free of any stress and negativity, to help and guide young minds.

Dr. Poddar believes in learning every day, upgrading your skills and knowledge to stay relevant, he feels blessed to be in the Education sector which provides an opportunity to learn and interact with fresh brains that enter the institution every year. Dr. Poddar could see the education sector being influenced and shaped by technology. So, he invested in the G-Suite for Education, provided by Google to facilitate smoother dissemination of online leaning towards youth.

He always stresses the industry-participation with academia to provide the right practical exposure to students to make them employable and job-ready. To facilitate practical learning, the Poddar Group of Institutions has collaborated with many industries that provide on-the-job training, live projects, and research facilities to all the students. Moreover, Dr. Poddar always emphasizes the true potential of research. Likewise, some of the faculty members at the institution have received the young scientist award as well.

Someone rightly said A true leader who leads the institution with example. Dr. Poddar is the epitome of dedication and diligence. He loves undertaking new challenges, and also admits that this is what keeps him on his toes all the time. He, along with his team, is always busy designing Industry relevant curriculum, Industrial training, picking-up best practices, doing market research to create an impactful education system.

Aligning himself with the Leader and growth of its students, the group has the vision to foster learning and achieve excellent standards of quality education, keeping in pace with rapidly changing technologies and best practices.

Dr. Anand Poddar firmly believes that everyday challenges are what make life fun. We should always have an optimistic outlook on life and never shy away from hurdles and obstacles. After all, it is the pressure that turns stones into diamonds. His entire life is dedicated to the transformation of the education sector to make the students ready for the Future.

Disclaimer: The views, suggestions and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Forbes India journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.