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Discover how NAMTECH's Techno Manager program combines engineering skills with management thinking to prepare professionals for ESG-driven industries and sustainable business leadership.
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00:10Welcome to Naptalk, the Naptek podcast. We are delighted to have today with us Narayan
00:17Swami. He is a popularly nana to all of us. Mr. Narayan Swami is a partner with KPIT. He
00:27has had a distinguished career in consulting and has worked across different domains as well as
00:35across different industries. We will be talking to Nanaya about the emerging scenario vis-a-vis
00:42management and sustainability. If you are to make a career in management, then how sustainability is
00:50imperative, how sustainability can show and shape your career path. We will be discussing on how the
00:59different trends are emerging across sustainability and industry and how these trends fit in with the
01:07management and management education that students need to take. With regard to manufacturing and
01:13industry, and if we take it from the 70s, that how the entire industry has sort of technically evolved,
01:20has evolved in terms of production processes. You've been consulting and you've been dealing
01:26with industries over the last few decades. What is your assessment and take how this entire paradigm
01:34is evolving and transforming? Thank you, Dr. Hafiz. Pleasure to be part of Naptalks.
01:40That is a very pertinent question. Because as we speak, particularly in the past two to five years,
01:49I see a significant change in the way particularly manufacturing industry and industry associated
01:56with that is looking at sustainability. It is no more just talk. It is no more just reporting.
02:03It is actually being put to practice. Many industries like Asilar Mittal Group, for example, has reduced
02:11by 33% in the last year alone. And that is because they are bringing in more efficient renewable energy
02:18sources. They are consciously reducing carbon emission and they are employing not just new techniques but
02:25also new materials. What does these things tell us? That it is not just a rhetoric, it is actually being
02:32put to practice.
02:34So, the circular economy is being practiced by Indian corporates and the results are evident.
02:40It's important to deconstruct the word sustainability as it encompasses a lot of elements. As a manager, I need to
02:49make decisions based on innovations,
02:53based on a lot of digital technologies that have come in and also I have to focus from a management
03:02point of view,
03:03focus at looking at pathways which sort of give me new opportunities. So, how are these two interplaying and what
03:11kind of career opportunities do they really lead to?
03:16Great. So, if you look at the industry and where it is, you know, what I see from the vantage
03:23point that I am sitting,
03:25the career paths and hence the competencies of people, especially at the managerial level, is changing quite significantly.
03:35Earlier, it used to be technical skills and management skills compartmentalized. There were a set of people who, you know,
03:43recruited for their technical skills and they were working in those areas and there were managers who were recruited for
03:49managerial skills and they were working together.
03:52Right now, I see, especially in sustainability, a combination of technical skills and managerial skills that are very essential.
04:02Right. So, I see career paths very bright for those youngsters who have a combination of these skills.
04:09How do you build competencies in the technical aspects of sustainability, be it innovation, new materials, new processes, alternate forms
04:18of energy, carbon reduction and the works.
04:21So, I see a clear shift in the sustainability professionals to be techno-managers. Somebody who has a deep understanding
04:31of technology
04:32but at the same time is also good on managerial skills. And that, I think, is the need-adhar.
04:39As we move forward, we need a lot of education pathways in this because conventionally you had management education which
04:51has been pretty strong in the country
04:53and we have excellent institutions that are imparting that skill. We also have very elite and high-level advanced technology
05:04institutions.
05:05You need somewhat a confluence of the two and how that confluence should happen, the future needs to really bring
05:13out.
05:14Definitely when it comes to undergraduate and graduate education because some of these concepts should not just be taught but
05:21be ingrained at that stage.
05:23So, the traditional formats of where you have technology institutions who are deep into technology, their research laboratories, their people,
05:33all of them look at technology and advancements in technology.
05:37And there is another set of institutions that are going to teach management philosophies, managing businesses across.
05:44That's how it has been till now. That needs a paradigm shift.
05:49And I'm looking at new age institutions and that's why I'm delighted about how NAMTECH takes these kind of challenges.
05:57Where you are looking at shaping the individual on the technology side, yes, but at the same time also bringing
06:04in those relevant managerial capabilities.
06:08Like we spoke earlier, particularly for sustainability, this is getting more and more relevant.
06:14Also, the fact that in the digital era that we are in, there are a whole bunch of stuff that
06:20are available outside the classrooms.
06:22How do we make sure that these youngsters get good access and an immersive learning to some of these concepts
06:30before they go to the industry?
06:32That's going to be important.
06:33And I believe the career pathways for youngsters who get into this space is immense.
06:41We are looking at millions of jobs created along the lines of where sustainability is required.
06:47But more importantly, I see every job role having a significant component of sustainability at the core of how it
06:56is being delivered.
06:56Excellent. And this is born out by the fact that when we started a program on smart manufacturing and robotics
07:05and semiconductor.
07:07So one of the key elements we felt that sustainability course should be an integral part of the one year
07:15program.
07:15But we also realized that it was not merely having a course, but it was more about integrating sustainability modules
07:25and pedagogy across the curriculum.
07:28Key element in this whole scenario is also the path to take and how are the academic institutions sort of
07:37placed to deal with this?
07:39Well, academic institutions should now start with youngsters starting to think sustainability.
07:48And like I said earlier, it's not as if sustainability is externalized.
07:54It is a part of what is being taught, right?
07:57And it is part and parcel of every job role that eventually the youngster is going to take up.
08:03Unfortunately, many of our educational institutions are compartmentalizing it as if it is a separate course.
08:10We need to look at how a new generation of leaders are going to think completely different in terms of
08:19being sustainable, not just in the final end product, but also in the process, right?
08:24We are talking about, you know, disclosure three norms.
08:27And how do you make sure that you take responsibility for something that is even beyond your manufacturing unit?
08:34That's point number one.
08:36Second, when you do sustainability, it's not as if you are adding to cost.
08:42A true sustainability expert is going to look at it as a means of reducing costs.
08:50How do you make sure that you go and use materials that, for example, is both sustainable and is also
08:56going to bring the cost on?
08:58How are you going to look at some processes that are environmental friendly, but at the same time is efficient?
09:05How do you look at innovation that has got sustainability as an integral component of, you know, whatever it could
09:12be a process, it could be a product?
09:13And hence the thinking, the manager's thinking itself is going to be different, thanks to the training that he or
09:20she gets in the educational institution.
09:22And that is the core of how educational institutions should look at transforming the way they design their curriculums, the
09:31way they teach children, and the way they actually prepare them for particularly manufacturing industry, but across.
09:39Now, within these emerging opportunities, how do we position because sustainability per se, as I said, is a very overarching
09:50concept.
09:51So, while you understand the core of sustainability in terms of ESG, in terms of metrics, measurement, compliance and reporting,
10:00but that's only a smaller part of it.
10:03The larger part is to go into each of these areas, be it related to energy, be it related to
10:09materials, or if it is related to newer elements related to not only decarbonization, but also pollution abatement of various
10:19kinds, including the greenhouse gas emissions.
10:23So, these are, do you think these are also the areas that one needs to really focus on?
10:29ESG today or sustainability today goes much deeper.
10:33You also get into why certain things are happening, how can that be rectified, and how can be made better.
10:41And this cuts across all domains.
10:45Energy, particularly renewable energy, and any other sustainable means of producing energy, is a significant component of sustainability, and hence
10:55there are going to be a lot of carriers around that, but that is just one part of the story.
11:00You are also looking at perhaps somebody who is going to innovate new materials that are going to help achieve
11:09this.
11:10You are also going to look at people who are going to look at carbon emissions, and how do you
11:15reduce carbon emissions?
11:16How do you look at absorbents that will also help in overall reducing the carbon emissions when it comes to
11:22factories?
11:22But even at a policy level, go beyond services and manufacturing, maybe in government, maybe in other bodies, you need
11:29professionals who are looking at sustainability in a manner where you have the right kind of policies that can be
11:36adhered to by industries.
11:38We are also looking at how, in terms of reporting, technology systems that will also evolve around sustainability, not just
11:48on the reporting part, but also on the measurement part of it.
11:51So, overall, I see sustainability becoming an integral component of various job roles.
12:00There could be certain specific job roles for sustainability that is also emerging on one side, but most of the
12:06job roles are going to demand an element of sustainability, an understanding of sustainability, so that the next generation is
12:13going to be a bunch of leaders, a bunch of technocrats, a bunch of techno-managers,
12:18leaders who are going to change the way industry works, be it manufacturing services, or even beyond that.
12:26It is really critical for us to redesign some of our management modules and management courses and management programs, also
12:37redesign the technology modules and technology courses and programs.
12:41How much of it is being done?
12:44And how much of it is the need of the art to really fill this void?
12:49If we are looking at it for the next generation, if they are not trained in this, then they would
12:55be left behind in their career paths.
12:57What's your opinion on that?
12:58Dr. Hafiz, my view is sustainability is no more a rhetoric. Sustainability is reality.
13:07Indian corporates, forget the global ones, Indian corporates have not only started to adopt them, they have also started seeing
13:14the results.
13:14Many of them have declared huge budgets to be net zero, much before the 2070 deadline that as a country
13:22that we have set ourselves for.
13:23So the industry has started to move towards an era where sustainability is at the core of everything that they
13:32do.
13:32They are looking at education institutions to produce these set of youngsters who are going to be native sustainability thinkers.
13:40Are education institutions prepared for it? Unfortunately, not many of them are thinking along those directions.
13:47As we discussed earlier, the combination of techno managers is going to be crucial for getting this.
13:53How many institutions are looking at designing courses that will cater to, you know, a techno manager who can think
14:01along sustainable direction, which is what the industry needs.
14:03So I think it is time that educational institutions start looking at this necessity.
14:10It is not even a far away requirement. It is a necessity.
14:14And you need this as of yesterday and industry is training existing people to get this.
14:20They would welcome youngsters, new professionals who will be contributing to this area.
14:25So there's a bit of a catch up game, but I think that's why I said institutions like NAMTECH, I'm
14:31very glad I've taken this right on and have courses that will cater to these requirements.
14:36The scenario is changing and the scenario is changing in a major way.
14:41You need technology to come together with management and you need techno managers.
14:46These techno managers, the important key element is that sustainability is imperative even for these techno managers, because all the
14:56technology innovation is in the areas where decarbonization, where the focus on green pathways is critical.
15:06And there are number of emerging opportunities on these green pathways and green jobs.
15:13So all in all, there is a humongous amount of opportunity in this area.
15:18We need institutions. We need career opportunities that align with these institutions.
15:26We need industry and the institutions to come together to deliver these programs.
15:32The NAMTECH's program on sustainability engineering and management is one such program.
15:38Going on this, Nana, what is your take on this, that how this scenario is emerging, that how you are
15:45seeing this in the consulting space, that how these kind of job roles are emerging and how do you see
15:54the similarly other industries and manufacturing space, how these job roles are emerging?
16:00Dr. Dr. Hafiz, I will answer that in two parts.
16:04One is what, how we are looking at from a consulting perspective and how the clients who we advise, the
16:12various sectors that we advise and how they are looking at in terms of the requirement for sustainable professionals.
16:18And you mentioned that in the short term, you are looking at 8 to 10 million jobs in sustainability alone.
16:25And in the medium to long term, you are looking at 45 to 50 million job roles.
16:31Those are job roles specific to sustainability, but three to four times that number of the job roles that are
16:41outside the core sustainability also need these skills, right?
16:45Could be in manufacturing, manufacturing intense industry like cement or steel or logistics or some of these things which are
16:55known as the so-called polluting industries where sustainability has a direct impact.
17:00But it is also impacting equally those industries like services industry.
17:05You know, we are looking at some of the Indian IT majors who have embraced sustainability in a big way
17:10and they need sustainability professionals in their work culture also.
17:14So, we are looking at a multiplication of sorts of not only the core technology professionals, which as you said
17:23could be around 40 to 50 million, but even others who are going to look at it.
17:27But what is more interesting, Dr. Hafiz, is what do you need from these people?
17:33What is the industry looking at these people, right?
17:36In any disruptive concept that happens, you not only need people who understand what is the disruption,
17:44but also those who can make it happen.
17:47So, how do you have somebody who has the managerial thought process and can combine what are required from a
17:54sustainability perspective?
17:56So, this is where I see a combination of technical skills and managerial skills core to a sustainability professional.
18:05Now, wherever we go and recruit, inherently, and not only we, our clients who are recruiting in cement, in steel,
18:14in industrial manufacturing, even in consumer manufacturing entities, even sometimes in service industries like bank who lend to these industries,
18:24the kind of people who we are looking at are those who understand the sustainability components,
18:30but can also see how can that be put to use from a business context.
18:35And that is where what we have been speaking as techno managers play a crucial role.
18:41And I see a growth path for those professionals, for those youngsters who embrace this approach of learning the technical
18:49aspects of it.
18:50We are also looking at how they can be put to practice from a business context.
18:55This is a wonderful conversation.
18:57Hope you liked it.
18:58Hope you found it useful.
19:00We will keep coming back with more podcasts on NAM Talks.
19:04Thank you, Nana, for being here.
19:06It was wonderful to have you and great to have this conversation.
19:11Thank you, Dr. Hafiz.
19:12Thank you for inviting me over.
19:15Delighted to be a part of the journey where NAM Tech is taking a lead role in producing these new
19:20professionals who are absolutely relevant for sustainability in the industry.
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