Good day, Sakshi Singh. 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?

Please start by introducing your professional journey in academia.

Thank you for the opportunity. I am Sakshi Singh and I have a PhD in finance from Banaras Indian University. Uh, my doctoral research was focused on studying post listing behavior of IPO.

Performance in pharmaceutical sector. I have done my post graduation and graduation from Delhi University. I've also taken classes in BHU for my supervisor and I have taught subjects such as financial management, financial services and market and risk management.

Apart from that, I have various publications in UGC CARE, Scopus and Abd ABDC index journals.

I've also presented my research work in various conferences, such as conferences organized by I am Kashipur, I am Calcutta, et cetera.

And I also know I've I'm also very comfortable using various softwares such as RSPSS and vivo and e-views.

Thank you.

Thank you for sharing that, Professor Singh!

Professor Sakshi Singh, let's begin by verifying your skills for the role. First, regarding your ability in financial analytics—how would you explain the use of SPSS as a tool for financial data analysis in teaching and research?

See Financial analytics basically looks into the the company's financial health and predicts what a company should decide in terms of its capital budgeting decisions, financial decisions and investment decisions. And for that species can be quite useful, especially for.

Especially for doing disruptive analysis and also for regression analysis.

In in for these two tools, SPC is quite useful and I've also realized it during in my PhD research work.

Understood, Professor. In that case, how would you structure a lesson where you teach students regression analysis using SPSS, ensuring that they grasp both the practical application and theoretical underpinnings?

Sure. So if I have to teach.

Uh, regression analysis with students. If I have to teach regression analysis to students, first of all, I will explain them the theoretical portion about how regression analysis helps us in knowing how dependent, how independent variables are influencing independent variables. And I will specifically take a.

Case study maybe any company or a phenomena such As for example, I'll take how various factors such as issue specific factors, market specific factors or form specific factors are affecting IP performance. But what I have done in mind research work in my published in my PhD work and I will make them understand how regression analysis works and how to read the analysis.

Output such as.

R Square and.

P values these things I would do and I will also I will also help them with installation of SPSS software and give them a practical lesson how to use it and maybe further on I will give them a case study or where they can do the same work.

Individually.

Understood. You've outlined a clear and practical teaching approach by combining theory, real-world case studies, hands-on practice, and individual exercises. This shows your ability to integrate research and teaching effectively. Next, moving on to core financial management—how would you explain the trade-off between liquidity and profitability to graduate-level students?

Liquidity and profitability.

Coming first of all, explaining both the terms, liquidity means when a company, when an organization is in a position to uh, have liquid assets, has more liquid assets to pay off its obligation timely. Whereas profitability means when a company is making more profit, having higher sales, higher revenue, so.

If a company is going for liquidity, then it will.

One of The thing is that it will have a better, it will in case it will have better cash, cash. So most of the cash will be there and it will focus less on having larger.

Inventory but for profitability this valuable that a company should have more inventory so there should be a balance between the two of these factors in an organization for.

For a better performance of a company and so that the company can earn better profits but maintain its liquidity position in case of any emergency obligations or such cases arrive.

You've made the distinction clear, Professor, and emphasized the need for balance between liquidity and profitability for organizational sustainability. How would you apply this concept in guiding students through a practical exercise, perhaps using financial ratios or case data?

Financial ratios are quite a good tool to explain them about liquidity and profit.

Profitability. For liquidity, mostly we use ratios such as quick ratio, working capital ratio and for profitability we use various.

We we use various profitability ratios such as gross profit ratio and gross profit ratio, net profit ratios and comparing these and of course taking case studies of real real life companies.

Different sectors such as manufacturing sector, service sector and I can compare how more liquidity is required in each sector and how sector wise a company has to decide its liquidity level and its offer better profitability.

Of the.

That's a well-rounded approach. You've demonstrated a structured way to incorporate financial ratios and sector-specific analysis for teaching the trade-off effectively to your students. Let's now focus on teaching theory and laboratory courses. Professor, how would you design a course module to ensure students appreciate the interplay between theoretical understanding and practical application in financial management?

See Financial Analytics, which is mentioned as a work profile, is a practical demonstration of financial management.

Financial management basically basically leads a manager in taking three major decisions that is investment decision, financing decision and dividend decisions. And through financial analytics tools such as software's, various softwares and ratios we come to know how to how manager can predict and take better such decisions. So for bridging the gap between theory and practical point of view for the students, it is very much required.

They should have a very clear foundations about all the.

Theories mentioned in financial management such as capital budgeting, working Capital Management, cost of capital et cetera. But they should also learn how to use tools, various softwares and they should have a well-rounded approach towards the software to so that they can use them in in case study format by taking various cases and.

Asking them to learn how to look at a company's financials and they should use these softwares and come to know how they can have better decisions. How can when in future they become managers or founders maybe they can be able to take better decisions related to finances of your company.

You've proposed a comprehensive course design, linking foundational financial management theories with practical analytics tools and real-world decision-making scenarios. This approach indeed fosters a holistic understanding for students preparing to tackle future managerial challenges. Now, regarding student evaluation and exam duties—how would you ensure your assessments are both rigorous and fair, particularly in evaluating conceptual understanding versus practical problem-solving skills?

So for first of all for continuous assessment, I truly believe in continuous assessment and for that first of all a two way communication is very much required in a class. So I will always have a participate participations from students side. Also my teaching is very student centric so I always try to.

Connect all the theories with the real world examples or real world analogies in which I always ask students to participate and give their point of view such as while explaining time value of money. I will always connect with them by knowing their real life examples such as how they save money and how they budget money and how time values can be utilized for them in their personal lives.

In this way I this was an example and in this way I explained them how they can use various concepts in future to.

For more evaluation, I will focus on taking various class tests and MCQ based quizzes and also I will help. Firstly I will ask the students to come up with individual projects which they can do on their own.

But I will also help them in framing objectives or taking topics and explaining them to them and what kind of tools they can use. So through for continuous assessment, of course, I will include test quizzes within the class, participation from student side and of course.

So these are some of the tools that that I will use continuously to know where my students stand during the.

PPT's presentations I will try to include or a project based assessment.

Project during the coursework.

Thank you, Professor. You've demonstrated a thoughtful approach to student evaluation, incorporating continuous assessment methods, real-world connections, and diverse tools like tests, quizzes, projects, and presentations. This ensures a well-rounded evaluation of both practical and conceptual skills. Next, let's discuss guiding student projects and research. How would you mentor students working on financial research projects, ensuring they produce academically credible and impactful work?

1st fall open, they will start with uh starting search projects. The major the major thing is setting up proper objectives and I will surely help or guide them with that and setting proper hypothesis framework and choosing the right tools.

Apart from that, most of the financial work when it involves financial analytics is also involves secondary data analysis which was also quite important for me personally as all of my research works till now is based on secondary data analysis. So I will help them find the correct database from where they can collect the information for their further analysis. I will for their conclusion. I will help them concluding and what are the findings and how they can frame that.

And their research work and what kind of decisions the analysis will help.

Them in taking for the project. Apart from that, I will also help them in knowing various other features which is required while making a research work such as.

Not not plagiarizing the work and making it, making the whole methodology section more efficient. And yeah, using 22 tools at least so that the results which are coming.

Are more appropriate. So these are few of the steps that I will take while guiding my students in their research work.

Thank you, Professor. You've outlined a disciplined and supportive mentorship strategy, emphasizing clear objectives, hypothesis framing, credible data sources, ethical practices, and methodological rigor. This approach ensures students produce impactful and academically credible research. Next, focusing on communication and teaching approach—how do you ensure your lectures and course materials remain clear, engaging, and accessible to all students, regardless of their varying levels of prior knowledge?

Till now, whatever classes I have taken, I always focus on preparing a PPT beforehand for my classes because it makes the class more visual.

And it helps students in connecting. I I also like giving them notes and handouts post my classes. And for communication I always as I've already mentioned before that I always try that my students are also participating in a class.

And the class is interactive and always there should be awareness among the students. What awareness among the student that they can always contact me if they are not getting any concept which I always keep that truth open. And at the end of the class I always try to communicate that feedback is important from their side too. Apart from that, first new learners I will be available for taking their remedial classes.

And also post class I will be available to my students for their concept, clarity or any kind of issues they have with any topic.

If needed.

Thank you, Professor. You've demonstrated a thoughtful approach to creating inclusive and engaging learning environments, emphasizing visual aids, structured materials, interactive participation, feedback mechanisms, and personalized support for diverse student needs. Next, regarding your doctorate—how has your Ph.D. specialization in Finance prepared you to address emerging trends or challenges in financial education and research?

Somali PhD research was focused on looking at IQ performance and I chose a specific sector which is pharmaceutical sector. As my PhD started during the COVID time period, this sector was quite in trend and quite important and it is still because India is one of the highest.

Producer, I mean biggest producer of generic medicines right now in the world and globally also India is gaining a reputation of being the pharmacy of the world. So I chose this sector because of that. Apart from that the tools that I have used till now such as.

Are greatly helpful for investors who are interested in IPO performance. Though the little conclusion if I can give about my thesis work is that it shows that most of the investors who are looking into IPO are more benefited if they are in that for short run.

In my PhD work such as regression analysis and ANOVA et cetera, where I have looked into what are the factors that are affecting the IPO performance.

And focus more on issue specific factors.

Such as offer size, offer time and market specific factors such as hot issue and market volatility if they want to make profit and in long run most of the IPO most of the IPOs underperform. Apart from that for also during my PhD work I have done various various papers which have focused on studying market efficiency.

In Indian in in Indian context and also volatility, volatility measurement in Indian stock market. So these are few of the tools and the areas that I have looked into for studying Indian financial market.

So I'm quite equipped with using various.

Softwares which I have utilized till now in my secondary data interpretation and I'm also aware of various databases through which we can get information.

Uh, for our data analysis.

Thank you, Professor. Your research has clearly focused on relevant and impactful areas like IPO performance, market efficiency, and volatility, using robust analytical tools and databases. This equips you well to address contemporary trends and challenges in financial education and inspire future research in these domains. Now about research publications—could you discuss one of your publications in a reputed journal, highlighting its contribution to finance as a field?

OK so one of my paper which studies market efficiency of pharma sector in Indian stock market. It shows that the the Indian market is weakly inefficient.

Weekly efficient. Sorry, it means that the investors.

They are uh, there is information asymmetry between the ishwar form, the companies and the investors. So there is information in asymmetry. So the market prices do not properly show the information available in the market. The prices are not showing the information available in the market. So if the market is not efficient.

In that case, the investors, the stock market investors can make money in by investing in pharma sector stocks. So I have looked into that and that paper has been published in Pari Kalpana journal, UGC CARE listed journal. Apart from that, recently I have also published a paper discussing IPO IPOs in South Asian market.

In which I have looked into.

In in which I have looked into how IPO scenario is different in South Asian countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and I have come across that most of the IQ study till now has come out out of India and our neighboring countries are lagging behind in that. And yeah.

Thank you, Professor. You’ve provided clear insights into your work, demonstrating important contributions to studying market efficiency and IPO performance across sectors and regions. Your research is both impactful and timely, addressing significant gaps in the field. Finally, turning to your industry experience and consultancy—how has your internship as a Channel Financing Intern at Hindustan Coca-Cola influenced how you guide students in understanding financial operations and decision-making?

So I did this internship while I was back in my graduation in the in fourth semester.

And for during my yeah, during my 4th semester, I have done that and.

Under a supervisor who was in this branch in in this branch of the company and very basic.

The for during my internship I was working under under.

Very basic rules were given to me during this internship as I was still undergraduate at that time. Various such as making presentations, getting the slides fixed and.

I was introduced to use usage of Excel and dealing a bit with company.

Company worksheets, so that that was all of which I was introduced to because the internship was only for around 2 months.

Understood, Professor. While the internship provided foundational exposure to financial operations and tools like Excel, your insight into its real-world applications can still help students bridge the gap between academic concepts and professional practices. With this, we've covered all major skill areas relevant to the role. Allow me a moment.

Professor, to begin, could you share which introductory finance course you find most fulfilling to teach and why?

In classroom I will be very comfortable teaching financial management and financial services and market. Apart from that if going towards practical insights I will also be comfortable teaching any software based course if they are. I'm right now I'm more comfortable with spaces and R.

And Eveus too, so I'll also be comfortable teaching those. But yeah, right now as I've already taught these subjects such as financial management, risk management and financial services, I will be very.

Comfortable teaching these courses.

Thank you, Professor. It’s clear you have a strong preference for financial management and related areas, along with practical applications using software like R and Eveus—very relevant in modern finance education. Let’s move forward.

Professor Sakshi Singh, I see you've completed your Ph.D. in Finance at BHU and have JRF qualifications. Let's delve into your research background. Could you please discuss one of the key topics of your doctoral study and elaborate on how you connect it to your teaching methodology?

As I've already mentioned, my doctoral research was focused on IPOs.

That is initial public offering. So especially while teaching financial services and financial markets, I'm very comfortable explaining my students about the diversification of sorry, the categorization of financial market in India such as primary market and secondary market.

For my PhD research work for my thesis work I have looked into the primary market which is IQ but for my more papers such as studying for studying volatility and returns and time series analysis of.

Secondary market database, I have looked into the secondary market. So I'm quite comfortable in connecting these two markets which which is the core of financial capital financial market in India.

So in that way, connect with students a lot and I'm able to give them some insights from my study, which I used to do during my teaching experience. Yeah. So that's how I connect my till now, whatever research work experience I have, I connect them to my classroom teaching.

That's insightful, Professor. You mentioned your Ph.D. thesis on IPOs and your research into volatility analysis using secondary market data. How do you bridge theoretical concepts in these areas, like primary and secondary market distinctions, with real-world data in your classroom discussions?

Our scheduled time for the interview is now up. Before we conclude, do you have any questions related to the role or the company?

No, as such role, but uh, I'll be very grateful if I get the opportunity to join the institute because because it is very reputable and umm, I really would like to umm, contribute in the research and research scene of for the VIT. Thank you.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Professor. If you have nothing further to add, may I confirm that you'd like to end the interview now?

Yes.