Interview with Dr. Pinaki Mitra

What are your strengths?

Self Confidence, Endurance.

May I know your weaknesses?

Introvert.

What are your goals?

Remain up to date with recent developments.

Where do you want to be in next 5 years time? 

A more accomplished researcher.

What 3 positive words would your colleagues/friends say about you?

Friendly, Enduring and Hard Working.

Tell me about a time when something went well?

When I got promoted in my job.

Tell me about a time when something went wrong and you dealt with it?

When I fall sick.

What is your greatest achievement? 

Development of some online courses.

What & who motivates you?

Researchers in my area of interest.

What do you want to develop about yourself?

Analytical and Logical thinking capability.

How do you handle pressure/stress?

Taking rest.

What do you like to do outside of work?

Travel.

What’s unique about you?

Self reliance.

Tell me about how a professional qualification you have obtained has helped you personally?

My educational degrees like B. E, M. E, Ph.D.

Tell me about a significant crisis you have faced? 

When I was jobless after Ph.D.

How do you resolve conflict in the groups or teams that you are a part of?

By arriving at a consensus through discussion.

Tell me about a time when you changed your priorities to meet others’ expectations?

When I had to supervise students not in my area of interest.

Tell me about a difficult decision that you have made?

When I had to give poor grades to students.

What significant problems have you faced in the last year?

Not much.

Tell me how you organize your work and schedule your time?

According to our institute’s requirement of teaching, research and administration.

Describe a situation you were involved in that required a multi-dimensional communication strategy?

When I was faculty forum coordinator.

Give an example of a difficult or sensitive situation that required extensive communication?

To arrive at a consensus among different faculty members.

What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction? Why?

Publishing research papers, editing books etc..

Describe a time when you led or motivated others?

When I had to supervise students.

Describe a situation where you were successful in getting people to work together effectively?

While I was coordinating quality improvement program’s short term courses.

Describe a situation in which you were a member (not a leader) of a team and a conflict arose within the team. What did you do?

I had to substantiate my opinion through discussion.

Tell me about a time when you were able to change someone’s view point significantly?

When I had to referee in a journal where my paper was rejected.

Tell me about a time when you were asked to do something that you disagreed with?

I had to take up the teaching duty of some back loggers with a lot of endurance though I initially disagreed.

What your researchers should develop in research?

Solution for state of art research problems.

May I know about your research students? How many members awarded with the degree PhD/M.Phil?

Currently I have 5 Ph. D students. At least 15 students were awarded M.Tech degree under my guidance.

By considering all of your research students, who is the best researcher you would like us to know?

Mr. Panthadeep Bhattacharya.

What is the greatest work done by your research students which have shown greatest impact in that field?  

Research on density based clustering in pattern recognition.

What type of research is going on in your laboratory?

I don’t have any personal laboratory. But I do involve many undergraduate students in computer graphics laboratory.

Describe a specific problem solved by you?

Medial Axes Problem.

What is an approach for a problem?

Linear Programming.

Give some commonly faced repercussions in your life with which you failed to meet your deadline?

Not much of future plan.

In such situations what are the measures you have taken to avoid such repercussions when the same deadline is set in course of time?

To become more organized.

What are the qualities of an ideal student/ learner?

Flexibility to adapt to new changes.

What are the qualities of an ideal teacher?

To understand the weakness of weak students and simultaneously motivate good students.

Which stage of education for a child is important?  

Primary education.

Does nationalism has any impact in learning process?

Yes like Vedic Mathematics.

Does one education system suit for all set of students across the world?

May not be because of diverse background of students.

How to initiate problem based learning?

Improving the analytical skills by showing various types of proofs.

What is the goal of education?

To learn humanitarian values simultaneously with specialized topics.

What is the root cause of existing scenario of choosing education as an earning source than learning source?

Poor economic condition.

Role of emotional intelligence of a person?

Emotional intelligence can sometimes positively influence thinking process.

How to define a success?

When the desired goal is achieved.

How to handle failure?

Failures are pillars of success.

Does a person daily routine has an impact in learning?

Well organized daily routine will definitely help in learning.

What is effect of technology on students?

It can aid in the interactive learning process.

How can we streamline usage of technology for better results?

Through more online and open access courses.

Finally, what do you suggest the young/upcoming researchers?

Not to get discouraged by failures in life.

You may also like...