Prof Nagesh Rao to take over as Director MICA

The Times of India, Ahmedabad, has the following story that should interest those in the Communication field.

IIM-A faculty to be director of Mica
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Ahmedabad: Faculty at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) Prof Nagesh Rao is all set to don a new hat. He will take on the role of director at Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (Mica). Rao will take over the post from March 31 for a three-year term, but he is already busy sketching plans to widen the global exposure of the institute’s students.
After former director Ashok Ranchhod resigned in May 2011, Prof Arbind Sinha had been officiating as the director.
 “I think the profile is best suited for me as my background and area of expertise is aligned with Mica. I have done PhD in communication from Michigan State University in USA,” said Rao, who has taught in several universities in the US for more than 20 years. He taught the University of New Mexico before coming to India to join IIM-A two years back.
Talking about his excitement for the new responsibility and his plans for the institute, Rao said: “Mica is already very strong as a communication management Institute. My focus will be on the international part of it. My plan is to work towards more international exposure for the students and faculties such as student and faculty exchange and inviting international faculties. This will help the students gain a better understanding about the latest happenings in the global arena.”

Many faculties of IIM-A take sabbatical leaves from the institute to handle various important posts. Director of IIMBangalore Pankaj Chandra and director of IIM-Indore N Ravichandran are on sabbatical leave. However, Rao might not be able to enjoy the privilege of sabbatical leave. This is because at IIM-A, a faculty is required to work with the institute for at least three consecutive years before being eligible to apply for sabbatical leave. Rao has completed only two years at the institute.
He also said that along with raising the level of awareness of global trends, Mica, under his leadership will enhance the capabilities of its students to prepare them to work at the global level. “Many Indian companies are expanding globally. These companies need good communication managers in the international locations,” said Rao, talking about new horizons that are opening for the institute’s students. In this regard, Mica will be looking towards training its students in cross-cultural communication and global leadership.

    Taking about the general issues in the area of education in the country, Rao said that there is a lack of focus in the area of research at educational institutes. “There is a strong need to build research programmes. If you look at the top universities in the world, all of them have strong focus on research,” said Rao.

Nagesh Rao 

Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JQS8yMDEyLzAyLzIyI0FyMDAyMDE%3D