Prof Gregory Prastacos address to Faculty of Way to Transform Shridhar University Rajasthan

April 11, 2010 - PRLog -- Gregory P. Prastacos is Professor of Management Science at the Department of Management Science and Technology and Rector of the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB), Director of the MBA International and Director of the Management Science Laboratory . He is an alumnus of Columbia University from where he received a B.S. in Computer Science, an M.S. in Computer Science, and a Ph.D. in Operations Research. He has previously taught at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University, and has held visiting appointments at the University of Bern, the University of Paris-Dauphine, the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and the National Center for Scientific Research in France (CNRS).

On Feb 21, 2010, Prof Gregory Prastacos visited Shridhar University and addressed the faculty. Salient aspects of his address goes as follows:

"I have had a very nice time meeting people in Shridhar University and feel a major effort is already underway to make this university a world class centre of teaching and research. Teachers have a crucial role to play in present day scenario of explosion of knowledge when new is fast replacing the old set of norms and perceptions. They must struggle to catch up with the latest and keep themselves updated and ever geared up for the future challenges. Three areas they have to address as part of their duty are Teaching, Research and Extension.

Teaching: I have been lucky to have received and imparted education in many parts of the world. Pedagogy is always an open ended scheme and calls for constant up gradation. Top end students of the class should be encouraged to move beyond the set curriculum and work as assistants to faculty in matters of research and academic administration. All efforts should be made to up the level of low-end students without compromising with the overall quality of academic excellence. As private universities have arrived on scene, there is bound to be a keen competition, and 'excellence' in all fields of undertaking is one factor which will decide their survival as well as future. So any compromise on excellence is not only unacceptable on part of the Teacher but also on part of the University as a whole.

Research:  Having passed through a trajectory of myriad disciplines ranging from engineering, mathematics, business administration, Human resource development and eastern philosophy, I am convinced that ultimate aim of every piece of knowledge is to reach out to the society at large. To pay back to society what all we received from it in the first place. Academia needs to be kept on track of social relevance by a continuous chain of research work.

Extension: All knowledge generated in labs and lecture halls must finally flow into the mainstream life of the society, nationally and internationally. That’s the final touch-stone of the real worth of a University. It should transform thought-process, make people receptive to new ideas, vision and perspectives. Can we empathise with our environment, cut material costs and still increase out-put? Can we think globally while still being loyal to our local lineage? That is the challenge.

I see every one talking about values. But how exactly the values influence our behavior? My take on this is as follows. We make billions, trillions, zillions of decisions in our life-time. Many of these are clear to us, many not-so-clear. Nevertheless we go ahead with them. Same happens with employees working in an organization. Every decision they make can’t be overseen or monitored by their superiors. Most of the time they have to be on their own, and this is exactly where the role of values comes in. If the values of organization are crystal clear in the minds of employees, their vision would be same as that of their peers, superiors and the proprietors.  Their actions, their decisions too would be in tandem with organisation’s progress and well being. Otherwise they may well be acting and deciding at cross-purposes with their employer. That’s the value of VALUES, the vision statements of corporate world and standard operating procedures laid down by most employers. These show-case the ideals a company stands for. The values that are close to head and heart of founder entrepreneurs. If these do not find way to head and heart of their employees, their objectives will not be realized. When employees are driven by ethos and values of the host organization, they become guardians and trustees of their employers. This is the ultimate objective of all management studies.

So, stick to values that your university stands for."

For more details about Shridhar University click http://www.shridharuniversity.ac.in

# # #

About Shridhar University: It is an initiative of the Meerut based Sarvhit Trust and is located in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan (India) near Pilani enroute to Chirawa along the State Highway to Jaipur. Pilani is well known for the host of educational institutions as well as CSIR Laboratory CEERI. The name Shridhar is synonymous with Lord Krishna the most globally well known avatar of Hindu God Vishnu.

The Shridhar University campus is fast coming up with the state of the art infrastructure to provide the best environment for the pursuit of higher education by offering Diplomas, Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral programmes in various diverse disciplines including emerging areas to prepare the enrolled students for taking up leadership in the larger task of nation building. Shridhar University is a full-fledged Rajasthan State approved Private University and and does not fall under the category of deemed universities.