We need to nurture the human touch in whatever we do-Vanita Shastri
“Life challenges us every day. We must adapt, learn and stay open to new ideas,” says Dr. Vanita Sinha Shastri, Dean of Undergraduate Programs at Ashoka University.
An academician, entrepreneur and philanthropist, she has never let challenges get the better of her and has lived a life rich with experiences that come of pursuing ones dreams.
In the early years of her career, she worked for Redwood Investment Systems Inc. in Boston and later in her entrepreneurial journey founded two non-profit organizations. Armed with a Ph.D. from Cornell University, she went on to teach at prestigious educational institutions like the School of Management at Boston University, Wellesley College, Massachusetts and University of Mass at Dartmouth.
As a student of politics she was very impressed by Gandhi and admired his qualities of selfless service and teaching and mentoring. These have been constant themes in her life along with a parallel track in the performing arts as a classical dancer and a theatre person.
In her interview with HerStory, Vanita talks about the highs and lows of her life, the wisdom gleaned from going through multiple career tracks, the changes she’s witnessed up close in the entrepreneurship field during her long tenure in it and her new plans as the Dean at Ashoka University.
Early years
With two sisters and one brother, Vanita was raised in an egalitarian and democratic home environment where children were encouraged to ask questions and debate over dinner. She reflects, “This had a lasting impact on my approach to life. My mother always instilled in us the value that ‘We could do anything,’ which has given me the inner strength to persevere and not give up easily.”
She studied Political Science at Lady Shriram College (LSR) and followed it up by an MA and MPhil from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). She rounded up her education by obtaining a Ph.D. from Cornell University on India’s Industrial Policy. Vanita feels this education has been the foundation enabling greater achievements and learning.
At Ashoka University
Ashoka University is a new initiative that is building a liberal arts program in India. It is this that enthused her to come from Boston to India and be part of the experiment.
The value proposition of a liberal arts education in India is that it creates a holistic experience for students in a multi-disciplinary format and proposed to be a game changer in higher education.
I have worn different hats during my career- academician, entrepreneur and management leadership. I look to combine all these skills in my role here. The opportunity to build a unique institution, to strengthen the vision, scale programs and inspire leaders of tomorrow is want motivates me each day.
The Meru Education Foundation and the Habitat Learning Centre
At Meru Education Foundation in USA, the mission is to bring unique learning programs on arts, history, language and culture of India to audiences in North America. As part of Meru’s work, they host cultural programs throughout the year.
As part of her work with Meru, she created curriculum and lesson plans to teach about on India for all (K-12) grades in schools. “One of those lessons plans I converted into a book titled, ‘The Salem India Story,
Maritime Trade between Salem MA and India (1788-1845),’ which documents the early trade between India and the United States,” she shares.In 2001-2002 she also founded the Habitat Learning Center in New Delhi that provides computer literacy to disadvantaged youth. It continues to provide training in digital learning for the underprivileged children in partnership with NGO’s in Delhi.
She is also a trained Indian classical dancer, in the Odissi style, under the guidance of Madhavi Mudgal and legendary Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra. While dance has always been a passion, she enjoys reading, researching and giving presentations on Classical Indian Dance and Indian Aesthetics. In addition, she has participated in theatrical productions as an actress and has been teaching Hindi to children in US.
Challenges
“My advice to women is that each of us carves our own journey. Go with your gut feeling, follow your inner voice. You might not know it yet, but you are right!”
Vanita has navigated her career through a variety of roles and responsibilities. At each stage in her life she adapted accordingly. When her children were growing up she gave them her undivided attention, picked them up from school every day and spent time with them. But now her work has her focus.
Epiphanies
Nothing is readymade. Life is what you make of it. We all have moments of feeling worthless but it’s in those moments that you must reflect on the lessons and core principles that are most important to you and take inspiration from those to move on. I had many such moments. While writing my PhD. Thesis, my children were small and needy, it was hard and I could have given up but for me to complete something I have taken up is very important. At such moments invoking the core always helps me and then answers come from unknown places.
Having a supportive family, parents and siblings has played a big part her life. Her husband, has always encouraged and supported her in all her endeavors. “We are friends and partners at many levels, in the arts, in educational and intellectual pursuits – he is the first sounding board for me and a very careful listener,” she says.
Women entrepreneurs
Vanita doesn’t think that technology is a barrier for women. “Today, women are in every field and I am very proud of that. I have always mentored other women and shared my experiences and stories with them. I think women are carriers of culture in a very unique way.”
India has produced numerous women leaders who continue to inspire Indian women to come forth and do extraordinary things. In this context Vanita is very excited about a new center that Ashoka University in partnership with Genpact is starting called Genpact Center for Women Leadership (GCWL) on March 23rd.
Staying close to her roots
While we are modern and professional I think it’s equally important to keep the culture and be comfortable in our roots.
Her own journey over the past thirty years has been one, she says, “where I have tried to synthesize the old with the new. Tradition in not something of the past but contains knowledge that is useful, and can contribute to our lives in very real ways.”
As parents too, she and her husband wanted their children to know India, develop friendships with their cousins and grandparents, and speak the language. They visited India every year and also took a year’s sabbatical and lived in Delhi so the children could go to school in Delhi and experience a full year of festivals and seasons of India. “It was not always easy but my children did it, they gained a lot from it (I think) and we all grew as a family.”
Education beyond books
“In today’s world the GenY are so adept with the mobile phone and Apps that it seems we are always catching up.” A believer that learning is a life-long process, Vanita continues to learn something new every day from students, her children and colleagues.
Vanita lays great emphasis on cultural education too. “At Ashoka we have included learning about the arts as part of the curriculum. A student can also minor in performing arts and I look forward to developing that program further.”
Significant changes in education across globe
With her long association with education Vanita has seen it undergo change and transformation. “Education is changing, the way we learn is changing. Younger and younger students are doing what the previous generations did at a much later age. The technology revolution through the internet has made
information more accessible. For the motivated there are no boundaries, whether it’s in India or anywhere in the world.”
According to Vanita, the challenge will be how to disseminate relevant information to the students in need and motivate the disinterested and disengaged young mind.
Talking about the higher education, she says, “It is undergoing changes, be it online courses, blended learning, flipped classroom or liberal arts curriculum. There are many options being tossed around. Only time will tell how much and what extent of disruption takes place.”
The ecosystem in India and in USA- innovation and funding
Vanita attributes the industrial policy, the negative attitude to ‘business’ and the overarching grip of family owned businesses as deterrents for a long time to becoming an entrepreneur in India. According to her from 1991 with the opening up of the economy and liberalization, things began to change and Y2K and outsourcing led to a major shift with big leaders like Infosys, Wipro, TCS and others paving the way for startups.
“For long the difference between India and USA has been that product companies have been built outside. I think that is changing and will change faster as the eco-system develops and matures. Accepting failure as a stage in the journey of entrepreneurship is a big part of the social fabric and the eco-system in US. We need to be willing to take that in our stride here in India and not ostracize those who attempt entrepreneurship.”
Role of academics in entrepreneurship and industry innovation
The study of entrepreneurship and industry is an important part of the life cycle of any business. Research on Innovation and disruption gives insight on trends and projections. These are important forany society. Case studies that are researched and written are crucial in the study of a sector or industry for looking at long term trends and predicting needs and gaps.
A good example is a recent study from MIT, the findings of which are published in the Book, The Second Machine Age where the authors, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, have researched how digital technologies are transforming our lives and job security. They have researched how people can remain “economically viable” in the face of increasing automation and the Internet of Things.
Very often of course innovation that takes place on university campuses or research done by a professor finds its way into a product, company or new offerings. These are some of the ways in which industry and academics intersect.
Learnings
As the Executive Director of TiE in Boston she closely interacted with very successful entrepreneurs, some of whom have made a big impact through transformative ideas, disruptive products and built great companies.
“I have learnt a lot from them, especially how successful people can be humble and truly value every small detail. Most of all I find that we need to nurture the human touch in whatever we do.”
A good mantra to follow on a daily basis for Vanita is one shared by a former mentor: “Successful people are not always happy, but happy people are successful.”
