Collegedunia
INTERVIEW
QUESTIONNAIRE
DIGNITARY: Dr.Vijaya Rudra Raju, Principal – Apollo Institute of
Hospital Administration
Profile:
Prof Vijaya Rudraraju is currently the Principal of Apollo Institute of Hospital
Administration, Hyderabad. She is a post graduate in Management Administration and
was awarded a doctoral degree in the year 2000. She has about 29 years of experience
in teachers Masters Students including an International experience in King Saud
University, Riyadh. She has more than 17 years of administrative experience as a
Director/Principal of Management colleges. She has guided PhD and M Phil scholars and
is presently guiding 8 PhDs. She has published several research articles in National
& International Journals and attended many seminars/workshops/ conferences both
in India and abroad.
Questions & Answers:
1. With over 28+ years of experience in teaching and administration, you've
held key roles throughout your professional career. How has this diverse
experience shaped your educational philosophy and leadership style??
Answer: Yes, I had the opportunity to have diverse experience. Teaching and Leading
different generations of students since 1994 till now had been very enriching. Being in
this profession in the pre internet age and the internet age has given me an opportunity
to see and understand the changes in the students and the higher education sector also.
As a teacher my role has changed from a knowledge giver to a attitude builder I would
say. Way back, the teacher was the major source of information and knowledge and the
students relied on him/her. But now Google is teaching almost everything on earth and
the teacher’s role now is being a mentor and a coach and concentrating more on building
constructive attitude among the students and help them realise their potential to
succeed in their careers and lives.
As an administrator too, I had been leading various generations may be X, Y and the
Gen Z. My style of leadership had to change if I had to be successful. I am enjoying
being with the current generation of students and colleagues as they are highly creative
and more technology equipped.
2. What is the mission and vision of the Apollo Institute of Hospital
Administration, and how does it guide the institution's activities?
Answer:
Mission- AIHA is committed to producing high quality hospital administrators by focusing
on teaching and research, forging a synergetic relationship with Healthcare Institutions,
emerging as an outstanding school of learning.
In line with our mission, we implement an updated curriculum with diversified pedagogy
and extensive Industry-Institute interaction. The healthcare institutions contribute by
way of projects, internships, lectures etc while our students while learning contribute to
them by way of assisting in their live projects and their JCI/NABH procedures.
Vision - The Vision of Apollo Group is to touch a billion Lives-
AIHA functions in accordance with the Vision to come up with the most competitive
hospital/healthcare administrators who act as a thread bringing the other healthcare
professional together in providing Patient care and Satisfaction.
3. What measures does the institute take to ensure that students receive a
well-rounded education, including practical training and exposure to real-world
healthcare settings?
Answer:
For this Master’s in Hospital Management course, we follow the Osmania Curriculum.
However, we take great interest in providing the students with practical exposure by
sending them to healthcare organizations. There is a lot of industry- Institute interaction
by way of
Hospital/Healthcare Unit Visits- The students are taken for Visits and interact with
Healthcare Personnel to understand the administrative and other functional issues in the
first semester.
Know Your Hospital Program- The students are posted in our Apollo Hospitals for 12
weeks in the 2nd semester to object, interact and work on live projects under the
mentorship of healthcare professional.
Internships- Where the students volunteer to be interns of hospitals and healthcare
units and work on administrative issues and problems to suggest better mechanisms.
Final Internship & Dissertation-During the final semester, the students go for a
4month internships in healthcare organizations and prepare a dissertation on issues
related to Healthcare to offer valid suggestions.
Guest Faculty- Healthcare Personnel are invited frequently for lectures on the current
trends and practical aspects of various concepts relatd to Healthcare administration.
Practical Assignments-During the 2 years course, the students are given several
assignments focusing on practical application where they visit healthcare units
4. How does the institute foster a culture of research and innovation among its
students and faculty?
Answer: The students and faculty are encouraged to do live projects in the healthcare
arena. They are encouraged to publish quality research in prominent nation and
international journals. Creativity and novel ideas are encouraged in the campus in all
activities the students do.
5. How does the institute stay current with developments and trends in the
healthcare industry, and how are these integrated into the curriculum?
Answer: AIHA invites eminent practitioners of hospital administration to speak to
students so that the industry changes are brought to the class room without delay. The
curriculum is frequently updated by inviting resource persons from Industry and
academia so that the syllabus stays contemporary. Many of our students work on live
projects in our hospitals in departments such as IT, AI and Quality learning the future
trends in the respective areas of the healthcare sector. AIHA is blessed to have an ocean
of practising resource personnel of the Apollo group to educate and contribute t keeping
the students current in their learning.
6. How well is AIHA focusing on maintaining industry relationships with
companies, healthcare organizations to leverage them for live projects,
training, and placements for the students?
Answer: We are very much focussed in having a constructive relationship with the
healthcare industry. We are proud to state that over the last 30 years, 28 batches of
students have rolled out and many of them are well placed. Our senior alumni are now
the CEOs, COOs, and Vice Presidents in various healthcare organizations round the
globe. So student placement is not a problem.
Secondly, AIHA is housed in a campus with one of the top hospitals in the country,
Apollo-Jubilee Hills; and a teaching hospital as we have the Medical College. Our
students are given the first priority for live projects and placements in the wide and
extensive network of Apollo Healthcare organisations as we all belong to the Apollo
Family.
7. How does the AIHA ensure that it remains competitive and at the forefront of
healthcare education in the region?
Answer: AIHA is the first institute in the country to start the MHM ( Master’s in Hospital
Management) course. It is close to the heart of our Chairman and Vice Chairperson. We
get all the support from the management. To ensure that the students come up in flying
colours, we focus on involving students in practical assignments, live projects in our
hospitals, inviting eminent speakers to talk on contemporary topics, and encouraging
them to practice management and administration while in campus through the student
clubs.
8. Student engagement and holistic development are crucial in higher
education. How do you envision encouraging extracurricular activities and
promoting the overall growth of students during their time at the college?
Answer:
Extracurricular & Co curricular Activities are taken care by the Student Clubs-
The institute has several student clubs with faculty mentors which target at outside the
classroom learning of the principles and functions of management and administration.
These include the Academic Club (FALCONS), The Socio-Cultural Club (FLAMINGOS), The
Social Media Cell, The Alumni Cell and the Placement Cell. The students organize several
Inter College Competitions, Fests and Sport Tournaments during their 2 year tenure.
9. Could you share some advice for youth and aspiring students to pursue a
good career?
Answer:
Today’s youth is very lucky to be in the internet era. They have limitless opportunities to
learn and keep themselves updated. They are tech-savvy and very creative. I would like
to advise them to understand that learning is continuous and today’s industrial
environment is highly dynamic and turbulent I would say. Hence to be successful, one
should keep abreast with the changes in the healthcare industry and keep oneself
updated. Healthcare industry is ever green and even during pandemics there was
nothing like recession. As our chairman Dr.Pratap C Reddy says this industry is opening
up lot of opportunities just like the IT sector not to work in our country alone, but all
around the world.
