Know your leaders – Patanjali Alaiya (General Secretary, XLRI Jamshedpur)

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Team InsideIIM: How is the appointment of the General Secretary done?

PA: Elections- both the batches participated in elections, which were conducted in last academic year.

Team InsideIIM: What are the traditional responsibilities of a Student coordinator in your institute?

PA: The student coordinator, as a head of the apex body SAC, facilitates the smooth functioning of all the student affairs. Being the primary interface for students with the administration, the student coordinator represents the interests of the students to the administration. The coordinator also has to maintain right balance between the Academic, Placement, Co-curricular, Extra-curricular and other interests of the students. Other responsibilities involve budgeting of students’ activity funds provided by the institute, scheduling of all students activities and ensuring that probity and transparency is maintained. In addition to these, he also has to strive continually improve the scope and quality of student affairs within XLRI.

Team InsideIIM: What is your idea of a good working relationship between the institute’s authorities and the student-run bodies?

PA: A good working relationship happens only when either of the parties put themselves in others shoes before coming to any conclusions. ..”do kadam tum chalo, do kadam hum chaley”.

Team InsideIIM: What have you/do you plan to accomplish as the student coordinator in your tenure?

PA: I would strive to accomplish the following:

Try to take the oldest B-school in the country nearer to being the best B-school in the country.
For HRM, XLRI is considered as the best B-school in Asia Pacific. Try to get HRM program on the world map as a premium HRM school.
Have a national level sports cum cultural event (efforts for Valhalla already started, scheduled on 27-29^th July)
Make Ensemble, XLRI’s flagship management festival, as the destination for participants from top B-schools across the country.
Organise an international HR/IR conference.
Add a cultural tint to XL-IIMC meet, which was only a sports meet.

Team InsideIIM: What are the aspects where you think your institute can do better?

PA: The following areas:

Industry exposure
Benchmarking and collaboration with international universities

Team InsideIIM: How do you manage a rigorous academic schedule along with the extra-curricular activities like these?

PA: Prioritising activities into important, urgent and important + urgent so on. I am also grateful to my friends who give me additional support in case of studies and group projects whenever I get overloaded with the activities.

Team InsideIIM: What is your message for the incoming batch?

PA:I would like to initially give my heartiest congratulations to the batch for making it to XLRI. As a senior, I would like to give a word of caution that- don’t relax, this is a different ball game. Getting into was different and now sustaining is a different part. Learn and enjoy as much as u can, as these days will never come back. First work hard and then party harder.

Team InsideIIM: If you weren’t the SAC, then which committee would you have been a part of, and why?

PA: Before becoming Gen Sec I was a part of SPIC MACAY, CII- YI. I have special inclination for Indian culture, mythology and art. SPIC MACAY provided me a connect to the same. CII- Young Indians provided me an opportunity to work for society and hence a sense of satisfaction. I would have continued with these two committees if I weren’t in SAC.

Team InsideIIM: If you were forced to choose a business school apart from your own, which one would it be and why?

PA: Looking at my profile I think I would have gone for ISB Hyderabad.

Team InsideIIM: What do you like best about your job?

PA: Whenever I am able to get a favourable decision from admin, the joy of my batch and appreciation I receive make me proud.

Team InsideIIM: How do you think this experience will help you in the long run?

PA: As an HR manager I will be a liaison between management and employee, here I am a link between students and college admin. Additionally leading a team, multitasking, priority management, negotiation skills are all great take-aways of this responsibility.

-Interviewed by Team EXLINK

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