Sathe Transforms MILS Quietly And Surely

Sathe Transforms MILS Quietly And Surely

/ April 7, 2023 / 27 Comments / Leadership

That was a pleasant surprise for me. I entered my Institute, known to the world as MILS or Maharashtra Institute of Labour Studies although the name was changed to an impossibly long ‘Late Narayan Meghaji Lokhande Maharashtra Institute of Labour Studies’ a few years ago. (And my friend Dipak Gadekar corrected me by pointing out that the word ‘Late’ was dropped recently. Thanks Dipak. Changes at the institute were only for namesake!) That was the only change that Institute has witnessed in recent times! Fifty years ago, when I passed out of the Institute, it was called ‘Bombay Labour Institute’ which later was renamed ‘Maharashtra Institute of Labour Studies.’

Nothing else changed. The old classrooms, the outdated furniture, the faculty – everything remained unchanged. The library was not well arranged, and the offices of the faculty were in bad shape.

The proud alumni of the institute had given up on changing anything at the Institute till Mr. Sathe arrived. Mr. Shashank Sathe. He was posted as the Director of the Institute and slowly but surely things started changing. The pace of change has picked up.

Mr. Shashank Sathe got the alumni to work for transformation of the Institute. The ever-willing alumni sprung in action. They organized a series of lectures on the latest topics and subjects. The alumni-lecturers covered many subjects which were not in the syllabus (but should have been) and they also covered many other subjects in greater depth. Then they arranged a development center for the students. The quality of inputs skyrocketed.

(Mr Shahank Sathe, Director)

Mind you that this is a Government Institute affiliated to the University of Mumbai. It’s a double whammy for changing anything. Sathe, the Director, focused on what could be changed immediately. And he did it quietly. The result: Placements have shown steep improvement. That’s the indication that the industry has noticed the positive changes.

Now he has transformed the class rooms. With the latest furniture. Facilities. And the class rooms are air-conditioned! Freshly painted, and attention is paid to acoustics. (Oh, how I envy the students!!).

He transformed the dingy library. They have given a facelift to the entrance.

And now Mr. Sathe has turned his attention to the syllabus which needed upgradation. Alumni stepped in. They had formed a committee which worked but later it needed revival, which was not difficult under Mr. Sathe’s guidance. They prepared detailed report on the proposed changes to the syllabus.

Sathe invited a group of alumni to advise him on the changes to the syllabus. Hopefully he with his inimitable way, will get approved from the powers that be.

The recent events show how a leader can transform an old institution. The job is not yet complete, but he is on the roll and ‘all the universe will conspire’ to help him achieve it!

Among the subjects in the syllabus is ‘Leadership.’ Students of MILS (sorry, NMLMILS!) do not have to go too far to see a leader in action!

We are proud of you, Sir! Wishing you all the best, Mr. Sathe.

Vivek S Patwardhan

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”

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