MICA Professor Siddharth Deshmukh Exclusive Interview with CATking
Prof. Siddharth Deshmukh graduated as a “first MICAn” in 1996 (first batch of MICA’s two-year flagship PGDM) and returned to his Alma Mater firstly as an Adjunct faculty (2 years), then as Associate Dean, in charge of the Digital Area, Corporate Interface and Placements, Marketing, Alumni Interface, MDPs, and various other responsibilities (2 years), and is now a Senior Advisor and Adjunct Professor.
Designation: Adjunct Faculty and Senior Advisor, MICA
Accomplishments: First batch MICAn, Entrepreneur, Motivational speaker and a podcast hero.
He believes that the critical set of factors that connect him with the education sector is based upon his curiosity towards new aspects in the subjects he is passionate about. He also enjoys sharing the learnings coming out of that curiosity with his students. Everything else is built upon this core foundation.
Leadership style:
About his leadership style, he says, “I believe in momentary leadership: where everyone can be a leader given a certain context and time. We need to be smart enough to recognize the leader at that moment and give all the encouragement and backing to that person. Sometimes, that person is you, and sometimes, it’s someone else. We need to develop that personal courage to allow this to happen. This is my leadership style.”
He calls MICA a school where students get life-changing and career-changing inputs because of its unique inclusive nature. Inbound students are challenged to be as creative as possible without losing sight of practical, logical realities. They also receive these educational inputs from professors, industry practitioners, fellow students, alumni, and the overall open, discovery-driven environment.
MICA’s curriculum:
He sees MICA’s curriculum as pathbreaking and highly refined as it does not follow the past- it shapes the future of the industries it serves. Intense effort and care are given to incorporate this into the curriculum. At MICA, the curriculum is shaped with extreme care given to all aspects of the holistic development of the students, ensuring that their education is well-rounded and serves them well.
MICA has been an oasis that promotes a new kind of inclusive, discovery-led thinking, where each student brings in their experiences, but their prejudices are challenged and transformed. Anything MICA does in the future should focus on increasing the intensity of this “way of MICAn life.”
As a first batch Alumnus, his role and responsibility towards the institute cannot be only captured in a document- its spirit extends to ensuring that the institute and its students shape the future of the society that they will be living in through the learnings gleaned from their time here.
MICA in next 10 years:
He believes that the institute’s top priority over the next few years should be to make students ready for a new, digital-first, interconnected world that changes itself every day.
He believes that his vision for the institute has evolved with every interaction he has had with the institute. He wants MICA to be known for a different kind of learning that gives its inhabitants the potential to be great in the immediate and more extended future. In his efforts to implement the vision, he says, “I attempt to implement that vision in a small way with every single piece of work that I do.”
Find yourself at MICA:
At MICA, as a student, professor, or any other stakeholder, people will lose themselves and find themselves as better human beings and professionals. The “finding yourself” part many can anticipate and know. The “losing yourself” part- not so much! It can be a big, positive, and ultimately pleasant surprise and gift to oneself. Creative expression with empathy and inclusiveness are MICA’s biggest strengths, according to him. Storytelling with passion, with the backing of data-driven patterns, ensure MICA’s students are well equipped to handle any challenges that come their way with utmost professionalism and tenacity.
Advice to young students:
His suggestion to the youth is to learn something new in their area of interest every single day.
He also highlights the importance of the newly launched “Connect the Dots” program at MICA that gets industry and Alumni to mentor students, but with a twist: They apply what they’ve learned to the challenges their mentors will give them. MICA’s management development and online programs share the learnings and knowledge to people not directly studying at the campus programs.
He calls MICA the place where you lose yourself to find yourself and describes it as a place that becomes yours forever home.
Registrations open for MICAT-II
Deadline : 16th January 2022
