Malabika Sarkar at the leadership lecture at Bengal Chamber of Commerce. (Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya)

As leader of a premier university, Malabika Sarkar has her task cut out and topping her list of priorities is upgrade of infrastructure so that the faculty is inspired to give its best.

The Presidency University vice-chancellor shared her experience as she spoke on Leadership, Empowerment and Society at the Leadership Lecture Series presented by Calcutta Management Association (CMA) in association with The Telegraph at Bengal Chamber of Commerce.

Sarkar started off by saying management mantra was not her forte. “My leadership experience is restricted to running my alma mater and I will draw on this experience to speak about leadership.”

“Some are born leaders and have leadership qualities ingrained. Some have leadership thrust upon them. Two years ago when I was asked to take charge of my alma mater, leadership was literally thrust upon me,” she said.

Sarkar said the “Presidency experience” had given her the opportunity to find ways to overcome constant pitfalls and challenges.

The vice-chancellor said her greatest challenge at the moment was to raise resources for infrastructure upgrade. “My vision is to shape Presidency as an institute which would produce researchers of the calibre of Acharya Jagadis Chandra Bose and Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray. We can produce world-class researchers from among the current teachers only if they can be provided state-of-the-art laboratory and research facilities and unfortunately Presidency still lacks that.”

“In the absence of proper academic infrastructure, a teacher won’t feel motivated to give his or her best,” she added.

The university is leaving no stone unturned to generate resources for the development of infrastructure.

The university authorities have approached the state government and the University Grants Commission for funds and also opened up the vice-chancellor’s fund to receive donations from alumni and corporates to help set up advanced laboratories for physics and bioscience, Sarkar said. The V-C’s fund already boasts a collection of Rs 1 crore.

“In 2011, Presidency received a plaque from the Royal Society of Chemistry, the UK, for work done by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray and another from Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers last year in recognition of Acharya Jagadis Chandra Bose’s legendary work on the millimetre wave. The recognition prompted us to set up the best research facilities,” said Sarkar. “Upgrading academic infrastructure is significant to instil hunger for research in students, from whom we could get quality teachers for tomorrow.”