Good day, Dr. Rajesh Pasala. 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.

Hello, are you there?

Yeah, I am here. Shall we start now?

Yeah.

So.

Yeah, thank you so much for giving.

Certainly, please continue. Share your academic journey with us.

Yeah, hi. Good morning.

Good morning. Please tell me about your professional journey in academia.

Yes.

First of all, thanks for giving me this opportunity to introduce myself. I'm Doctor Rajesh Basila and I have 13 years of academic teaching experience. In addition to that three years of industry experience I have. I completed my PhD in Marketing from Department of Commerce and Management Studies under University in the year 2024 April.

And in addition to that, I have other academic qualifications.

And the credentials I have so that I have completed a.

Your AP said 2020 in the ER 2016 and also UTC net in the ER 2000, 2020 one major session in management subject. So I have done my MBA with a dual specialization in the year 2000 2009. So the dual specialization which covers marketing management and human resource management in my entire. Teaching Career I have worked for three educational institutions.

The most recent one I had been walking for Android. Layla Institute of Engineering and Technology as an assistant professor teaching for MBS students that I have almost worked for eight years there and this educational institutions one of the renowned institutions in Andhra Pradesh near Amravati, a capital city of the state.

And so at a postgraduate level, I have experience in teaching multiple subjects in marketing and human resource management. To say specific about marketing management, I have experience in teaching marketing management, consumer behavior and customer relationship management, services marketing and.

Brand management, digital management also have. An experience in teaching for two times.

For my students and I have a, uh, extensive knowledge in uh, marketing analytics as well. So I never get a chance to teach a marketing analytics, but some part of it I have an experience in teaching this marketing and analytics. I'm eagerly waiting to explore this marketing analytics more. And so I coming to a research side apart from academics, I have also. Experience in research area.

So so far I have published nearly.

Now 14 research papers in national and international journals and one of my research paper with the title impact of materialistic values.

Uh, the impact of materialistic values.

The I mean to say that one of my Papa got a best award with the title.

But compulsive buying behavior of the youth. So this paper received the best paper award in an international conference held in the year 2021. So apart from that I also got an opportunity to organize the the two national level FTP program. Not national level. It is a state level FTP program Sir. And also I have organized several alumni mates State, state.

Impacts materialistic value, so in.

Management fest and also apart from this I have presented papers in almost.

More, more, more than you know 11:50.

Papers presented in national and international conferences also participated. Attended in 19 FDP programs as well as I have an opportunity.

To participate in around 7 workshops, organize it by various institutions, educational institutions. And apart from all these, I have also contributed at various levels in academics. Like I am a coordinator, I was a coordinator for NAC criteria 5 and also I asked I was a coordinator for the student discipline and sports coordinator, alumni coordinator. I was the Co I I mean to say.

I I was a associate editor for a newsletter in my college level and after complete at the time of I, I was starting my PhD. Finally here I choose to work in an IT sector. Deliberate. It is my deliberate choice to go with that decision because I always wanted to. Explore more into a practical side that how industries work. I just want to gain a first hand information from. Industries so at the time of my PhD, finally after thesis preparation and submission of the thesis I got an opportunity to work with an IT industry. Industry so I just started my career in the year 2023 by joining an IT company called Convulex which is a company operating with Oracle fusion technology and serving.

So yours and Middle East country clients. So in this organization I have been closely associated with the top 11 management, especially with the CEO and my role is mostly to, you know, organizing, I mean to say that strategic hiring and workforce planning and also JD structuring which aligns with the projects and. Customer requirements. Apart from that also I focus on.

Uh, employer branding and uh, digital presence of the employer, these are the my major focus areas. So this particular industry experience helped me to gain a first hand information about the job market, especially for the MBS students. So this inspired me to give a guest lectures whenever I got to educate the MBS students to make them understand about the market scenarios.

What career opportunities they have. So with an intention to educate them and counsel them regarding their career opportunities, I used to give them guest pictures whenever I get a chance and so far I have delivered 2 guest lectures in that way and I feel that.

Uh, this particular experience, uh, can help me to add a value to my academics where whereas, uh, I can, uh, more, you know, academic focused with a practical.

Things that I can put forward to my students and I can make my classroom as more activity based and also I believe in you know, case discussions in the classroom and also industry link.

Teaching that I, uh, you know, believe in and I implement in my uh, uh, classroom with my students. So and uh, I always feel that my industry experience is not a shift from my direction. My core intention or core passion is always into a teaching. Now again, I just want to restart my career by just, uh, you know, uh.

Bringing my best to my students in make them to understand more about the, you know, job market and career opportunities and all. And also I want to choose this, uh, career restart again with a, a great institutions like wit where this bit Vellore is focusing more on their excellence, innovation and industry collaborations and all, but I feel this particular opportunity. Can help me to grow?

So personally, at the same time, I can also add value to the educational initiations like Vita. So this is all about myself and I'm open for any questions. Thank you.

Thank you, Professor Rajesh, for sharing your academic and professional journey. It’s evident from your extensive teaching experience, research accomplishments, and industry exposure that you have a well-rounded and dynamic background. Let's proceed.

Dr. Rajesh Pasala, I see you hold a PhD in Commerce and Management Studies from Andhra University, with some notable achievements such as qualifying AP-SET and UGC-NET for Assistant Professor positions, along with receiving a 'Best Paper Award' for your research on compulsive buying behavior. Let’s assess your technical expertise and academic preparation systematically. How do you integrate Marketing Analytics as a teaching tool in your lectures to enhance student understanding and engagement?

So I believe in, you know.

Activity based and case discussions as well as industry linked teaching. So whenever I just want to, you know, teach a subject, I just come with a background of that particular topic and where some relevant examples I put forward. And after the lecture I just bring us in this industry practical scenario in front of the students. I encourage them to discuss and. Where the, uh, you know, uh, an assignment on it. And also I give them an opportunity to, uh, analyze that in a group discussions. So this kind of, you know, kind of a group discussions help them come up with their innovative ideas, and they're also giving a chance for others to have posing their questions and all. So altogether at the end, such kind of discussions make the students understand more about the practical side of.

The concepts, uh, rather than simply, uh, theoretical knowledge, uh, they are gaining in the classroom. So I want to say that I believe in activity based and, uh, case discussions and industry linked teaching.

Understood, Professor. Your emphasis on activity-based teaching, case discussions, and incorporating industry scenarios offers a robust approach to student engagement. When employing these techniques, how do you measure the impact or success of your methods on your students’ conceptual understanding and their ability to apply marketing analytics in real-world scenarios?

Well, here, uh.

The outcome that I measure by just in, in two, uh, ways. One is they have to, uh, prepare an assignment on the topic and uh, they have to submit second thing that they have to openly discuss their analysis with the panel, especially to the faculty and with other students. And this open discussion now helps them and also others what innovative ideas the students are bringing to.

Uh, concept, if those are really, you know, good points that can be appreciated. Others also, they can learn if something that they are missing the core concept of the idea so that other students are the faculty can help them to, you know, guide them and correct them in that way. So I believe that, you know, by submitting the assignments and. Participating in the open-ended discussions on their you know.

Open-ended discussions about their analysis can be our best measures for the outcome what they have learned out of a topic.

Clear, Professor. Assignments and open-ended discussions provide direct metrics for understanding the student's grasp and application of a topic, especially in fostering peer learning and feedback. Next, how do you approach integrating Services Operations Management concepts into your research or teaching curriculum to ensure practical relevance?

Uh, I can you please repeat the question?

Yeah.

How do you incorporate Services Operations Management concepts into your research or teaching curriculum to ensure practical relevance?

Well, I just want to integrate, you know?

I I just bring.

Yeah, yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm discussing this.

So I just, I just go with the contemporary concepts, what's going on in the marketplace right now, which is very relevant for learning for the students. And I just list out the different topics which are relevant for today's market. And I divide the entire classroom into different groups and each topic that I assigned to the different groups.

And I I encourage them to go for a market research analysis.

And ask them to prepare, uh, you know, uh.

Analyze the topic, collect the data practical data I I encourage them to collect application of some statistical tools to get the the more accurate decisions out of the data they collected, and also encourage them to publish that research articles, whatever they prepare research papers, they prepare publish them to publish them in some national and international journals. So when this.

You know there is a peer reviewed reviewed review, so we'll be there. So SAS reviews reviews are there in journals, publications and all. So they also review the kind of work they have done. If the findings of their research article is most accurate and viable NFR, they will be shortlisted and they presented, you know they accept it for the presentation or publication in their repeated journals. It is so whenever.

Or they get published. The students also gain some confidence that kind of work, whatever they have done is most relevant. And also they, they just, you know.

It is a kind of encouragement for them to go for such kind of more assignment preparations or the research publications and all. So this is how I encourage, incorporate, you know, integration into the, you know, teaching of the subject to the students.

That's what I believe.

That’s insightful, Professor. Your methodology of blending contemporary topics, market research, and encouraging students to publish in reputed journals clearly fosters both practical understanding and academic confidence. Could you share a specific example of a Services Operations Management research topic you guided and how it contributed to the students' learning experience?

While at the time of COVID-19, there is a lot of shift, we observed people are, you know, moving from physical payment systems to a digital payment system. But at the same time people use it to have a doubt in their minds that is it a safe method to do a digital payments. That is a question, but that is also a time period where aggressively is. India.

Well.

Uh, progressing towards a digital payment system, So I just choose this topic.

You know, cashless transactions in India.

The you know people how they are perceiving so perception of exactly the topic I have chosen that perception of people towards cashless transactions in India. I have verified so many other publications which are already existed in the marketplace and also the you know some statistical. Statistics in India happening and some first hand information from some people in my chosen market area.

You know asking about their concern towards using of a digital payment systems. So with the use of that information I have received through a primary data and a secondary data, I have prepared a a research article called.

Public perception on cashless transactions in India, which is very relevant at the time of COVID-19. So and I published that paper. So this is what I feel that you know, I just not only publication.

At the same time, I brought this concept to the students for their analysis on this topic. So this is how I integrated my research work into a Services marketing.

With the title called Public Perception on Cashless Transactions in India and I published a paper and I brought this topic for the student discussion and this is how I blended my research experience into the teaching.

By just focusing on the relevant topic of that time at the time of COVID-19.

Thank you for that detailed explanation, Professor. Using a highly relevant and contemporary topic like public perception of cashless transactions during COVID-19 demonstrates a strong connection between industry trends and academic exploration. Your approach effectively balances research depth with practical learning outcomes for your students. Let us move forward. How do you structure laboratory courses in your teaching, ensuring both theoretical clarity and practical application?

Well, that is a good question. I just want to answer with my, you know, previous experience, what I had so. In my teaching I apart from just a teaching I used to have.

Activities like training sections for the students where I just divide my, you know, I just implemented 1 innovative, you know, teaching methodology. That is the activity based the activity, I named it as a concurrent land. So this particular activity where I considered it is a kind of a.

Laboratory, kind of.

Stimulation kind of an experience, so where I divide that entire group of entire students into a different groups and ask them to go for, you know, starting their own business. I mean to say this is all, you know, simulation, simulation kind of exercise. In this simulation kind of exercise, students use it to start a business. So what we require for a business to start right from funding of a business.

Two sourcing of the required materials and the people to work for that business, they develop the product and they need to sell the product and you know, revenue need to be, you know, managed and they need to pay their debts and all so that loans and all so that the entire active entire this business activities need to be incorporated that I did actually. So now the students what they started, you know.

They come up with other innovative business idea and they need to get a loan from the bankers by giving their presentation about their business idea. So I used all my faculty members as a bankers and these students, whatever the concept they prepared, they used to come to the bankers and explain their concept and they need to.

You know, get sanction off certain funds with the use of funds, they start their business operations like purchasing of a material. People land everything. So they prepare the product and they, you know, promote the product into the market and where here the target market. I used other students in the first year or so where there need to be you know. Persuade through their promotional activities.

No. Explain and.

Not trade shows and all to buy the product. So yeah, there are different 8 different companies we created with the use of this students and eight different kinds of products in the market. Now it is up to the junior students to make their own decision buying off this product, which product to buy. So this kind of an activity which encourages students in thinking in a real time scenario, what are the, you know, what are the real struggles.

That businesses face while procuring off the money, material and people and promoting of their product and you know, selling of the product and all. So this is what a simulation kind of exercise I created, implemented and I succeeded in it. I consider such kind of activities I can incorporate as a laboratory kind of, you know, experiments for the students.

Yeah.

Thank you, Professor. Your simulation-based approach, where students undertake end-to-end business activities—from funding and operations to marketing and selling—offers a dynamic, hands-on learning experience that mirrors real-world complexities. This truly enriches their understanding of theoretical concepts while allowing them to practice practical applications. Now, how do you ensure fairness and accuracy in your methods for evaluating student performance, particularly in exams or graded assignments?

There is a Bloom's taxonomy we have. So this Bloom's Taxonomy helps to, you know, design the question paper the students need to go through and answer there. These Blooms taxonomy used to have a different levels from a simple to a complex level of questions they need to go through and answer. So I just use to prepare. My question paper with the use of this Bloom taxonomy.

And this can help to accurately, you know, measure the students learning outcomes. It is, you know, whatever the simple to a complex questions that we are preparing out of the syllabus, we have taught the students. Students can answer it based on that, you know, we can evaluate the performance of the students in a best possible manner.

Understood, Professor. By leveraging Bloom's Taxonomy to structure questions from basic to complex levels, you ensure a comprehensive evaluation of student learning outcomes while maintaining rigor and fairness. How do you support students in successfully completing their final projects or research endeavors? Could you provide an example?

So well for my students, I encourage them to choose the contemporary topics in their relevant subject areas and I give them a guidance right from the beginning how to choose the topic and objectives need to be framed. So based upon that objectives, what kind of an approach, research methodology they have to choose? To, you know, go for data collection and analysis of that data.

Data and the outcome must be relevant to, you know, meet the objectives of the particular, you know, topic they have selected for. So time to time I evaluate, I just give them a different chapters. What are the different chapters in a project? And I just personally look into the students, how they are preparing each chapter and it's a relevance to the market.

And I just monitored them time to time by just, you know, correcting if anything needed, you know, whether the at the time of choosing a topic or setting of an objective software, you know, topic or maybe a selection of the research methodology, there analysis part is there and also the final outcome and also the.

That is how I just guide the students.

Thank you for sharing, Professor. Guiding students through every stage of the project—from topic selection and methodology to final conclusions—ensures their work is both academically rigorous and market-relevant. It demonstrates your commitment to fostering meaningful research outcomes. Next, how do you approach teaching with a structured and clear communication style that helps students of varying levels grasp complex concepts?

Well, can you please repeat the question?

How do you ensure your teaching uses a structured and clear communication style to help students at different levels understand complex concepts?

So we have a, we must have a teaching.

Notes.

Yeah, yeah.

Yes.

Whenever you're ready, feel free to share your approach.

See. Well, I can say that we must have a teaching plan.

So that teaching plan which should.