Good education isn’t just about following a set curriculum, writing assignments, and scoring well. Although it is a great way to check progress, an adjoining understanding of current industry practices is what completes the circle. The editorial at Business Outreach Magazine highly values knowledge and the visionaries who nurture it: the educators. It is the educators who shape the minds of the future generations. It is the educators who instill in students the sense of justice, equality, and equity. And it is the educator who teaches their student to always have an open mind and seek inspiration wherever and whenever possible. Interestingly, the latest two-page feature is something more than unique. It is a riveting read. This piece on Dr. Thomas K. George is a close reading on how his leadership navigated the LEAD College of Management in becoming one of the most respectable institutions in our country.
Dr. Thomas K. George is a multifaceted personality. For the institution, he is the brain behind taking LEAD towards its goals of scalability and expansion. For the faculty and staff, he is the embodiment of empathy. And for students, Dr. George is no less than a messiah guiding the curious minds in achieving what they deserve: the best of everything. On a lighter note, Dr. Thomas shares with us the perks of working in an environment that always seems to cultivate energy. There would surely be some advice for one who neglects homework and neglects working on their future aspirations. Dr. Thomas recalls his college days pursuing engineering when he had a computer and printer. Back then he used to print his seminar reports. And he finds it striking how it turned into a business. Eventually, that evolved into DTP, and every sales service became dependent on computers. Dr. Thomas George has seen the revolution from paper to computer, and he has seen it all.
Moving forward, Dr. George started taking trainings from JCI, Junior Chamber International, before he himself became a trainer. This was the moment of revelation when Dr. Thomas K. George found his calling towards teaching. He used to conduct a lot of trainings and strategize his own program, Turning Point. It was a seven-day program from 8:30 in the morning till 12:30 at night. The editorial finds it impressive that even the long hours seem to be just a number for Dr. Thomas, and he used to love conducting his trainings. Most importantly, the value that he generated from these trainings helped a lot of students, which seemed to be the impact of Dr. George’s hard work. To date, Dr. Thomas K. George has done about 363 programs for engineering colleges. Dr. Thomas knows the transactional equation of great content with value, and that is why while doing his MBA, Dr. Thomas disliked the stale curriculum and theory-based learning, where teachers used to just come to class and write something on the board and leave after the class got over. LEAD College of Management came into existence from this industry gap.
Dr. Thomas K. George is highly optimistic about the future prospects of the education industry in India. With the National Educational Policy, education is now accessible to all with multiple entries and exits. Keeping the bigger vision of a knowledge-driven society, LEAD was formed. In the educational institution, MBA is taught keeping in mind the latest industry requirements. About 36 computer tools are being taught along with Python. Dr. Thomas truly believes that an MBA with an extension of IT will make the curriculum future-ready for better career growth.
Under the leadership of Dr. Thomas K. George, the LEAD College of Management is strategizing to become a university in the next six years. The institution was established during the period 2010–12 with an initial intake of 120 students. LEAD has grown significantly over the years. Between 2013 and 2015, the intake capacity increased to 180 students. Outbound Training (OBT) was formally established, and additional infrastructure facilities were developed to support academic growth. In the period 2016–20, the institution was accredited with NAAC Grade ‘B,’ strengthened its academic delivery through effective leveraging of technology, and placed a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship education. From 2020 to 2022, the institution achieved NBA accreditation, expanded its intake to 300 students, launched the LEAD Certified Entrepreneurship Programme (LCEP), and established the LEAD Business Incubation Centre (LEAD-BI). During the period 2022–24, the intake further increased to 360 students, the institution secured ISO 21001:2018 certification and GSAAA accreditation, attained autonomous status, launched new academic programs including MCA, and undertook significant infrastructure enhancement initiatives.
For the unparalleled contribution to the sector, Dr. Thomas and LEAD won awards like the Guinness World Record for the longest business lesson (72 hours), Best Institution Builder – National Institute of Personnel Management (NIPM), Distinguished Edupreneur Award – National Foundation for Entrepreneurship Development (NFED), Eminent Educationist Award – Indo-American Education Summit, The Master of Management – World Business Conclave, Hong Kong, and SMART Person of Palakkad – Awarded by the Chief Minister of Kerala.
To the aspiring minds seeking success, Dr. Thomas K. George says, “Stay motivated and, you know, just take the whole thing as a challenge. The world is keeping on changing. So take it as a challenge and learn that, and then it becomes very wonderful.”
