Good day, Dr. K. Uttam. I'm Arjun. I've had a look through your background and your professional record. I'm interested in hearing more about your work and how you see yourself fitting in here with our faculty. Ready to start?

I'm ready to start.

Could you briefly introduce your professional journey in academia?

Yeah. First I would like to introduce myself, Myself is Doctor K Uttam. I'm currently working at Sr. University Warangal as Assistant Professor in Marketing. And uh, I'm dealing the subjects of consumer behavior and consumer psychology.

Coming to my PhD journey, I have done my PhD from National Institute of Technology for UNCLE and my area of specialization is consumer behavior.

And have awarded my PhD.

Thanks for sharing that!

Professor Uttam, let’s begin by discussing how your qualifications align with this role. Could you walk me through your experience and qualifications that specifically relate to teaching theory and laboratory courses in marketing?

So coming to my uh.

Suitability of this position I have done.

Yeah, sure.

I've done my PhD, uh, from NIT Warangal and my subject area was, uh, consumer behavior wherein I have worked with the bottom of the pyramid markets to trying to understand what are all the factors that are impacting consumer behavior. And coming to my academic experience, I have been working with Sr. University since, uh, November 6th of 2025. So I have, I'm dealing with consumer behavior and consumer psychology subjects. So coming to my research.

And exposure. So I have published UH-3 papers among which one I have a category paper, one is UH ABDC B category paper, another one is Q2 publication. Those are all reputed publishers.

Thank you for sharing. Could you elaborate on the specific academic methods or approaches you've utilized in teaching consumer behavior and psychology to engage and benefit your students?

Yeah, while I was teaching consumer behavior and consumer psychology courses at at Essar University Warangal. So I'll be using case study methodology wherein I'll be taking one case and discussing the case how the organizations nowadays are.

But.

Now using these, uh, marketing research and consumer behavior, uh, psychology to promote their products and services. In some cases, I might be using some, uh, short videos, uh, which will engaged.

Students very much.

And I'll be.

All right. Could you also provide details on how you assess the effectiveness of these methods in terms of student learning and engagement?

So whenever I'm using these kinds of methods, I'll be seeing with the students are engaging actively or not. So if the students are engaging actively, so I might, I'll perceive that these are very useful for them and students are, uh, finding it curious to know bit more about these kinds of, uh, theories or the, the kind of material that I provide.

Got it. Moving on to research publications—can you highlight the key contributions or takeaways from your published works, particularly the ones in reputable journals?

So one, uh, the recent publication that I have is from, uh, ABDC, a category wherein we have worked out what are all the factors that are impacting consumer behavior in bottom of the pyramid market context and going in brief. So, uh, we have used MCDM criterias to add, uh, prioritize the factors that have been already identified from the literature. So from the, uh, from, uh, that multi criteria decision making models, uh.

You have found out that ability to use the product and the skills and, uh, capabilities of the BOP consumers is the prime most important factor that is impacting consumer decision making in bottom of the pyramid markets.

Interesting analysis. How do you see the findings from this research influencing your teaching approach or the curriculum you design for courses on marketing or consumer behavior?

So this is one such interesting question that I got till now. So connecting research findings with academic. So see, this is the research that have been done in the bottom of the pyramid market. So I am also teaching the students, those who are coming from the bottom of the pyramid families, those who are of low income, uh, population. So here in these people will also have that, uh, social psychological distance and, uh, they will perceive that our skills and.

Mobilities are not that great to understand these kinds of advanced courses. So I make sure that this is not, uh, very advanced level of coursing and, uh, with a bare minimum of efforts, you can master this consumer psychology and consumer behavior and marketing courses.

Thank you, Professor. Let’s explore your involvement in guiding student projects and research. Could you describe an example where your mentorship has had a notable impact on a student or group of students?

So while I was working as a research scholar at National Institute of Technology, Warangal, so my supervisor and I have guided some, uh, PG and, uh, MBA students. So wherein I have closely worked with them and I have, uh, uh, suggested some kinds of methodologies that they might, uh, look forward to adopting their projects in capstone projects especially so have helped them in, uh, finalizing the methodologies and framing.

UH, objectives as well. And then I have uh, guided them how to write a paper. So I have guided 5 of MBA students in uh, their project works coming to my recent academic UH experience have just now allotted uh project students. So it's been only one week, so I'm looking forward for.

Guiding them also.

Noted. Could you elaborate on how you assist students in mastering analytical tools like SPSS, Tableau, or Python as part of their projects or research?

So first I'll, uh, first I'll start with the SPSS. So SPSS wherein, uh, I'll guide them and I will suggest them to use it for, uh, descriptive analysis and some kinds of, umm, mean, median mode and the correlation regression. These kinds of basic statistical analysis can be done using the SPSS, uh, software. So coming to data visualization, I'll suggest him to go for Python or Power BI.

W so that the visual aspects and the inferentials are very much crisp and ready to understand. So this kinds of approach I'll follow whenever I'm suggesting them for analytical tools and techniques that are very much useful in.

Researcher or the projects?

Understood, Professor. Let’s shift focus now—could you share an example of how you’ve incorporated a structured and student-centered teaching approach in your classroom?

Uh, justified and it's not justified also. So I have given a course of consumer psychology here and consumer behavior. So I make sure that they have some basic understandings of, uh, marketing as well. So I have asked some basic questions like have you known marketing mix, uh, segmentation, targeting and positioning. So, uh, product line, these kinds of basic things I'll check. So then only if these, these concepts are, uh, understood and they know these concepts.

So, uh, whenever I enter a class, I make sure that the students are well versed with the basic concepts, without which, uh, teaching them higher levels of concepts won't.

Proceed with further, uh, my core topics. So I'll make sure that if at all, some students are not, uh, understood these kinds of basic concepts, I'll try to revise those basic concepts and I'll try to move forward with my subjects. And in my subjects also, I'll try to see that I use case based approach for easy, easy understanding. And these cases also, I make sure that it's from our, uh, developing nations context.

So that they can relate.

Thank you, Professor. Could you now elaborate on your experience with managing student evaluation, including designing assessments or addressing diverse student capabilities?

Quizzes and, uh, I'll be, uh, using more of analytical kind of, uh.

Concepts so that to test them how these, uh, concepts that I have taught, they can, uh, they are applying in real life cases.

That’s clear. Could you also speak to how you ensure fairness and objectivity in your evaluation process, given such diverse methods?

Yeah. I make sure that every student, uh, is evaluated, uh, without the subjectivity of his, uh, credentials For that, I'll make sure that, uh.

I'll be giving questions and.

Yeah, sure.

Please continue—how

Yeah, I, I make sure that I give a fair level of, uh, questions so that it's not, uh, very tough level and it's not very easy as well. And I, I make sure that I use, uh, some kinds of, uh, real case based.

Take your time. How do you ensure fairness when evaluating students?

Got it.

Dr. Uttam, I see you have an impressive background with a Ph.D. program underway at NIT Warangal and a strong track record of peer-reviewed publications. Let’s discuss your research work in more depth. Looking at one of your publications, could you briefly explain its core findings and how you could adapt the content to make it accessible for undergraduate students studying marketing?

Yeah. So, uh, one of my, uh, repeated, uh, publications recently, uh, that I have published. So I have used MCDM criterias, multi criteria decision making models, which we have adopted from operations research. So if at all, uh, I wanted to adopt these kinds of methodologies for UG and PG students. So this is very much useful. Why? Because UG and PG students, they don't have much of A time to do projects at the research. So, uh, did the collection of.

Is very, uh, lengthy process, but when you're going to adapt MCTM methods, so the collection of data is, uh, bit limited. It's not that extensive one, uh, with limited amount of data such as, uh, sample of 25 to 30, we can do a qualitative and both quantitative analysis. So this is 1 much, uh, one such great important thing that I like to use whenever I'm guiding UG and PG students.

Understood. So you're leveraging Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methods for their ability to handle both qualitative and quantitative analysis with limited data. That makes sense as an approach for undergraduate and postgraduate student projects, where time and resources are often constrained. How do you ensure that students with limited exposure to advanced methodologies like MCDM can grasp the underlying concepts effectively? What strategies or teaching methods do you employ?

And MCDM methods are not that complex methods, but it's not uh very much explored in compare in comparison with other methods such as correlation, regression, all, all such uh.

Uh, structural equation model, these kinds of, uh, conventional models, but MCDM methods are, uh, easy to understand and they need a very less data. And given the mathematical background, uh, with UG and PD students, they can easily adopt these kinds of methods.

Yes, definitely. Whenever I'm, uh, teaching them the introduction of MCDM criterias, I'll make sure that I give real life examples that they actually do whenever they're making a purchase or they're prioritizing their, uh, resources at the money. So I'll give them the basic examples that how you are already doing it. The only thing that you're not doing is you're not taking it consideration of numbers. So I'll introduce gradually. I introduce the mathematical concepts that are.

I see. Your point that MCDM methods are less commonly explored yet simpler and data-efficient compared to traditional models is compelling. Given that undergraduate and postgraduate students often have varied mathematical backgrounds, how do you typically scaffold their learning? Do you integrate practical examples or hands-on applications to make MCDM relatable and intuitive for them?

Underlying them.

That's a clear and methodical approach, tying abstract concepts to tangible, everyday decisions like purchasing or resource allocation. Gradually introducing the mathematical aspect after establishing relatable examples seems like an effective way to keep students engaged. How do you gauge whether your students have effectively understood and can apply MCDM methods by the end of your course or module?

I'll, I'll be giving some examples to solve them. So I'll be giving the examples that they're actually doing it, but not doing with the numbers. So I'll be giving, uh, the numbers along with the criterias that they have to make the purchase decisions. So likewise, I'll be giving cases that they're actually doing it.

That's a practical strategy, using familiar scenarios with quantitative elements to test their understanding. It reinforces both conceptual and application skills effectively. Let’s move forward.

Professor, could you outline a 3-year research roadmap for your role in the Marketing department? Specifically, how do you envision your research contributing to the institution's goals and rankings?

So the timeline for my research, uh.

For three years, I'll be focusing on, uh, I have, uh, some objectives that have not explored much while I was doing my PhD. So I'll be looking forward them to explore such areas. And I'll be, uh, doing some kinds of innovative methodologies I'll be adopting definitely, uh, such as, uh, artificial neural networks or fuzzy logics that are increasingly adopted to get it a good reputed publications. So, uh, moving down the line.

For three years, I'll be aiming for at least 2B cat 2A categories and certain couple of B categories so that my research credibility and institutional efficacy will increase.

Interesting plan, Professor. How do you plan to mentor junior students during this period to ensure a consistent pipeline of high-quality publications stemming from your research?

Yeah, for projects and internships of the UG and the BG students, I'll be guiding them a timeline framework. Why? Because they are having very much less time as compared to a regular PhD student or part-time PhD student. So I'll with within the given time frame, I'll have short objectives and crisp timelines and efficient data collection and data. Analysis methods so that they can complete easily without any stress.

Given the period of six months of the one year and I'll make sure that they also know how to write a paper in the given timeline. So writing a paper is easy. I think the only thing is we have to make them familiarize by writing some small kinds of paragraphs in introduction, methodology, literature review and the findings are are the conclusions. So making them these things I'll be.

Focusing on getting their papers at the works to get published.

In upcoming years.

Understood, Professor. Given your research aspirations, how do you plan to leverage international collaborations to boost citation metrics and broaden the impact of your work?

Yeah.

Uh, coming to leveraging?

Yeah, come.

Take your time to explain your approach.

And who are working in good areas, those who are having a scope of research at least for timeline of next 5 to 10 years. So I'll be choosing such topics and I will be approaching the uh, designated professors, those who are working on those topics and I will be collaborating with them to publish a repeated journals across management and specifically marketing.

Yeah, while coming to leveraging my, uh, international collaborations, I'll make sure that I'll be collaborating with the, uh, researchers who are having very exceptional track record.

Form of VIT and I think VIT is a very such.

For this interview, we must stay focused on the role and its requirements. If you are referring to the values or focus areas of VIT University, feel free to clarify further, and we can continue discussing your approach to teaching innovation. Do you want me to repeat the current question?

Yes, sure.

Could you explain how you would implement an active learning model, such as a Flipped Classroom, for a large-enrollment marketing course without using slides?

Yeah. Uh, for these kinds of, uh, flipped classroom model, I'll be distributing the case studies, uh, at least 24 hours before the class so that people, uh, students will read and come. So when they are coming to classroom, we'll be discussing the practical aspects of the cases and real life scenarios, how these real life concepts, uh, and the cases are attached to each other.

Sorry to interrupt, we're down to the last 5 minutes.

I'll be taking the daily, uh, real life examples that are currently, uh, going on in their surroundings. So whenever the students are making purchases, they might be having a conscious, uh, knowledge of what kinds of products they are purchasing, why they are purchasing. Is this targeted marketing strategies that they are adopting us. So these kinds of, uh, basic understanding, I'll make sure that they are understanding what are all the current scenarios they are facing.

How would you apply this engagement technique to cover a complex marketing theory, like consumer behavior or market segmentation, in an interactive manner?

So, uh, I'll be testing them the, uh, the applicability of the concept that I teach. So if the students, students are very, very much comfortable in applying the concepts in real life case studies. So I'll be evaluating based on that, how much they can apply in real life cases.

How would you design evaluation tools to measure actual competency in such a course, beyond standard tests or exams?

Dr. Uttam, let us discuss a topic that combines academic leadership and institutional building. How would you systematically approach improving the "Research per Faculty" metric within a Marketing department to meet high-level accreditation standards?

So I'll, uh, for this thing, I'll look forward for, uh.

Collaboration, how the faculties are collaborating with the top researchers across the world, if at all they are doing, how the way the research is going. I'll look into that aspect. So I'll I'll promote A collaborative and cross disciplinary research in this marketing department.

Promoting collaboration and cross-disciplinary research is a forward-thinking approach. How would you balance this push for collaborative efforts with the administrative workload that often accompanies such initiatives?

Yeah, these two, these two things are complementary for one another if you are collaborating with international researchers. So it will make the academic.

Think a complimentary.

That’s

As I have recently joined, I have not given such uh, roles and responsibilities Sr. Valangal. But as of now, I am having two roles and responsibilities Sr. University Warangal. That is, I am assigned enough timetable and I am statutory body of library committee.

Understood. Have you previously been part of any internal committees that significantly impacted quality audit results or accreditation outcomes? If so, could you describe your role and contribution?

Aspect.

Thank you for sharing that. Your involvement with the library committee is a valuable start in understanding institutional processes. Let's proceed.

Professor, let us say you are faced with an allegation by a student claiming bias in their grading, which counters the institutional pressure to meet pass-percentage targets. How would you approach resolving this situation while adhering to ethical and academic standards?

Show one such approach that I'll definitely follow wherever I'm going is the transparency. So I'll be very much transparency in doing what are all the evaluation criteria's I'm doing so in compliment with, I'll be fair enough.

Without any discrimination or the subjectivity of my expertise or or my closeness with students.

Ensuring transparency and fairness is indeed crucial. To probe deeper, could you illustrate specific steps or mechanisms you would implement to maintain and demonstrate this transparency in grading, particularly in cases where a student challenges the outcome?

In certain cases, I'll I'll be asking the students to come and visit and discuss with me with the evaluation marks that I have given.

I'll be given I'll be giving him the opportunity. Yeah, sure.

Thank you for clarifying. Following up, how would you handle a situation where institutional leadership publicly disagrees with your resolution in a committee setting, especially if it involves this specific grading dispute?

If the committee.

Uh, I will abide by the decisions of the committee. So what are all the committee decisions? I'll abide by them.

Thank you, Professor. I'll take that into account. Let’s move forward.

So while I was working at NIT Warangal, so I have guided some of the project students who are pleased currently in various organizations across India. So I'll be taking help of them in securing internships, projects and the jobs as well.

Professor Uttam, let's assess how you plan to align academia with industry demands. How do you intend to leverage your professional network to establish internship or core-sector employment opportunities for students?

Noted. How would you contribute to the creation or redesign of a Marketing program to ensure its relevance to modern industry needs?

For that, I'll be going through the various institutional curriculum, uh, those who are adapting to the, uh, modern technologies or modern needs. So I'll, I'll take suggestions from those kinds of curriculum and redesign the curriculum at VIT.

Understood. Can you share how you plan to secure industrial consultancy projects that could generate revenue for the department?

Coming to industrial projects, I will be looking up at various websites like, uh, public sector undertakings are major corporations that are uh, actively giving advertisement for the projects. And after that I'll leverage the network that I have with the students that those who have been placed already in these organizations.

Professor, before we wrap up, do you have any questions about the role or our organization?

As of now, I don't have any such questions.

Glass.

Thank you again, Professor. Would you like to end the interview here?

Yeah, definitely. Sure.