Exploring the future of leadership through DSU's visionary programs - Dayananda Sagar University

Leadership redefined: DSU’s vision for shaping tomorrow’s leaders

We live in a borderless world. Dynamic and ever-expanding. For anyone seeking a career in the developing or the developed world, the competition is fierce and the skills demanded are exemplary. The environment is as challenging as it is rewarding and only the fittest survive. So to get in, grow, and gain from such an environment young professionals need to have skills that go way beyond domain expertise. This is considering the need to don different hats and play different roles across geographies - from tech, to support, to client engagement.

Dayananda Sagar Institutions (DSI), one of India’s most revered names in education, offers quality courses in streams such as Engineering, Biological Sciences, Commerce, Law, Management, Basic Sciences, Humanities and Nursing - from pre-university to PhD programs. Started in the early 60s by the Late Shri. Dayananda Sagar, DSI owns and manages several schools and colleges and the Dayananda Sagar University (DSU), a premier center of excellence in higher education.

Since inception, DSU has been adapting to the changing dynamics of the marketplace, reorienting and redesigning its programs, approach and philosophy to create professionals with contemporary skill sets.

The market landscape today has rapidly changed when compared with what it was even two decades ago. The era is no longer exclusive to large corporations, multinationals, huge banks, or other large enterprises. It’s no longer brick and mortar alone but a time that’s taken over by online stores, startups and remote operations. Events like Covid have further transformed our work culture. Businesses today expect prospective employees to be more proactive, multi-tasking, possess better communication skills and better understanding of the developments around them across board. They are also required to perform independently, lead and take charge to drive the organisation’s goals.

At DSU, the focus in addition to imparting core skills is on developing leadership skills, particularly to those students in Engineering, Management, Commerce, Finance and Allied programs. The focus is on blending academic excellence with visionary leadership through training programs. The management and leadership abilities of students is achieved through a rich portfolio of pedagogical tools. These include classroom instruction, case-based discussion, role plays, film-shows, games, on field projects and company internships. The syllabus is prepared after extensive deliberations with inputs from industry experts.

Students are also given an opportunity to learn from guest lectures and seminars by industry experts to get a first-hand understanding of advanced concepts in commerce and management education. This prepares them mentally for roles that are not just functional but also require organisational leadership skills considering that they may have to deliver in a startup kind of ecosystem or better still, helm one early in their careers.

This approach has resulted in students from DSU being among the most sought after from the industry with students getting attractive offers from reputed enterprises across verticals, year on year. At DSU, the focus will always be on imparting education that creates aware citizens with knowledge, integrity, values and character. To create professionals who are able to sense, analyse and interpret trends, seize opportunities and leverage a business scenario ethically to deliver value to the companies and communities they function in.