THE BEST PRINCIPAL! Fr Victor Lobo SJ- the Principal of St. Joseph’s College, Bengaluru Bestowed ‘Best Principal Award’ by All India Association of Christian Higher Education (AIACHE)
Bengaluru: At the recent 19th General Body Meeting and Triennial Conference of the All India Association of Christian Higher Education (AIACHE) Conference, held at Hotel Singaar International, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu for AIACHE member institutions, Fr. Victor Lobo SJ, Principal – St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Bengaluru was conferred with the Best Principal Award.
With the participation of over 200 colleges across India, the theme of the conference centred around ‘Resurrect: Reaffirming Priorities and Creating the Future together in Today’s Context’. Hon’ble T Mano Thangaraj, Minister for IT, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Rt. Rev. Remigius, Bishop Emeritus, Roman Catholic Diocese of Kottar, Tamil Nadu, Dr Manoj Kumar Kejriwal, National Commission for Minority Education Institutions, Justice Narendra Kumar Jain, National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions were some of the eminent personalities present at the event.
Commented Dr M. Davamani Christober, newly elected President of AIACHE, “Noted educationists who are committed to shaping the future of education and who are contributing significantly towards education research and development are leaders in bringing about positive societal change. Fr Victor Lobo SJ, Principal of St. Joseph’s College is a role model to us educationists in striving towards this greater purpose”.
Also commented Fr Victor Lobo SJ, “The College ranks first in the country in the 4th cycle of NAAC with 3.79/4.00 CGPA, due to which the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) upgraded the college into University under Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) and directed the State Govt. to pass the St. Joseph’s University Act. Accordingly, the St. Joseph’s University Act was passed in March 2021. The college stands out for its Outreach programmes which include adopting Govt. schools and reaching out to elevate the underprivileged sections of society. The College has also been awarded by the Limca Book of Records, Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records.
The three-day conference centred around the future of education and recognised noted educationist for key traits which includes their ability to manage effectively, encourage a culture of creativity and innovation, foster collaboration and partnerships, keep abreast of developments in the field of education and industry, demonstrating exemplary leadership and commitment and most importantly fostering an environment towards teamwork are all qualities that were parameters in the judging criteria for the Best Principal’s award by AIACHE.
ABOUT FR VICTOR LOBO SJ:
Fr Dr Victor Lobo SJ obtained his B.Ph., B.Th., M.A. (English), and then completed Ph.D. in Sufi Literature. He has undergone 17 years of Jesuit training. He took over as the Principal of St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Bangalore, on 17 April 2015 and has led the expansion of the institution in new directions such as the M.Sc. in Big Data Analytics, M.Sc. in Food Science and Technology, M.Com., M.A. (Advertisements and Public Relations), courses in Commerce and Management, and interdisciplinary Humanities courses such as Communicative English, International Relations and Peace Studies, Public Policy, etc.
Fr Dr Victor Lobo SJ draws inspiration daily from the Jesuit ideal of Magis (in Spanish meaning ‘doing more’) which directs each individual to look at their work in terms of doing more and doing so unselfishly. He defines his task in the light of the Jesuit vision of forming ‘men and women for others and with others’, and visualizes the institution achieving the highest levels where this ideal can be realized in the best possible way.
St Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Bangalore, is Re-accredited with an A++ grade and 3.79/4.00 CGPA by NAAC which is the highest in India in the fourth cycle. It is recognized as a “College of Excellence” by UGC. It has been awarded the DBT Star Status & DST FIST grant by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government. Because of all these awards and achievements, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has upgraded the College into a University and has directed the State Government to pass St Joseph’s University Act.
As an Islamic scholar, Fr Victor Lobo SJ is on different national cum international boards. He is a member of JAM (Jesuits Among Muslims) – a worldwide association; JAMIA (Jesuits Among Muslims in Asia); JAMI (Jesuits Among Muslims in India); and ISA (Islamic Studies Association). He is on the board of SALAAM – an international Journal.
Fr Victor Lobo SJ travels across the country and the world for meetings and conferences, visits universities and institutions of eminence and implements the best international practices at St Joseph’s College.
Great to Know that St. Joseph college Bangalore is upgraded to a University under instruction from central government. Hope St. Aloysius College Mangalore gets a University status at the earliest. Congratulation to Fr.Dr. Victor Lobo