Sujith Jayaprakash
Director & Business Head at NIIT Ghana
Ghana
Q1. Please share your educational and professional journey?
I have completed my Ph. D in Computer Science and currently working as the Director and Business Head of NIIT Ghana. I have a decade of experience in the education sectors in India, Africa and Latin America with significant experience in Senior Management roles and leading institutional academic delivery improvement and education quality development
Q2. What did attract you towards teaching instead of any corporate job?
Corporate jobs are much better when it comes to monetary benefits, but for every individual, there is a passion which drives his/her life. Teaching is my passion. Sharing my knowledge to others and seeing them become successful in their career are two great things I have always enjoyed in this profession.
Q3. What kind of hurdles did you face in your journey?
Like most of them who hails from a small town, I have also experienced financial setbacks and language barriers during my college days. However, those setbacks were my stepping stones or enablers to make a successful career. I believe that humiliations you face in your life help you to push your boundaries. Every time you fail and retrospect yourself, you get clarity on your next step. Every journey comes with hidden hurdles, but the confidence and motivation in you to face those challenges make you a better person.
Q4. How do you handle stress in this fast and competitive life?
Time management and prioritizing your tasks are the key to the success of managing stress-free life. Majority of the people around us do not value their time, and that leads to unnecessary pressure. Another essential thing for a stressful life is to feel contented with what you have and what you have achieved.
Q5. What was your Thesis topic in Ph. D? Please share some brief about it?
My thesis topic is on Predicting the academic progression of students using Machine Learning algorithm. In a tertiary education system, we have been witnessing student retention problems and the low-quality graduate output. One of the solutions, I have proposed in my research work is to predict the performance of a student at the early stage of his/her college life. An institution should be able to identify the influential factors on student performance to guide and mentor the students well. A students’ performance can be deteriorating due to family problems, wrong choice of program or due to the poor study habits. So, I proposed a recommender model which collects various parameter that can influence the academic performance of a student and predicts his/her performance at the very early stage. Universities can use these findings to help students at the initial phase of their academic life.
Q7. You had both academic and administrative experience in your long span of career. Which one do you like most and why?
Before I stepped into the role of an education administrator, I started my career as a Lecturer. I’ve always been an academician regardless of what my administrative work ever demanded. Being a hardcore academician is a difficult task as it requires to update yourself every time. To be on top of your game, you need to be versatile and should know in every field. So, I have always liked to be an academician.
Q8. Which one thing do you like most about yourself?
I am an affable person and, that quality in me has always helped me to become a good team player and understand my fellows.
Q9. How do you motivate students to excel in their academics and career?
Motivation is an essential factor when it comes to student success. Apart from the self-motivation which everyone must possess, I feel there should be an extrinsic motivation such as rewards or recognition, which can push students further to achieve greater heights. So, I always believed in encouraging students even for the smallest achievement they make. Selfless encouragement and motivation can make a huge difference in people’s life.
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