Dr L Kavitha Nair: A Visionary Learner and Educator Shaping the Future of Language Learning

Urge…Merge…Emerge!

Introduction:

Dr. L. Kavitha Nair is a beacon of excellence, driven by an unwavering passion and purpose, rooted in her belief that education is one of the most transformative forces for creating a better world. She breaks conventional boundaries, embodying her personal philosophy: "Urge... Merge... Emerge.” 

With over a quarter century of experience, Dr. Nair has taught students from a wide array of cultural backgrounds, including foreign universities. Currently, she serves as the Professor and Head of the Department of English and Foreign Languages at SRM IST. For her, teaching is more than a profession; it is learning every moment, a calling shaped by the inspiration of many exceptional educators. Her primary school English teacher, Ms. Anitha, first ignited her love for language, while later mentors such as the late Prof. Dr. Vishnu Bhatt, Prof. Dr. Rajani, Prof. Dr. Radha Bhatt, and Prof. Dr. Rajagopal profoundly influenced her development. However, her closest connection is with Prof. Dr. K. Ganesh. She added “He is more than just a teacher; he is a role model. Each time I meet with him, it is a revelation, a treasure trove due to his energy, passion, and resourcefulness. My every meeting with him reiterates the fact of a tiny drop staring at the mighty ocean”.

Her journey would not have been possible without the steadfast encouragement of her family. Her father, Retd. Flt. Lft. N. Karunakaran Nair, recognized her potential early on, gently guiding her into the world of language and remaining her quiet hero, always supporting her with unspoken pride. She is deeply grateful for his belief in her, shown through warm pats and discreet smiles. Her mother, Ms. Latha Nair, has been a guiding light, inspiring her with over 36 years of teaching experience, and her proud smile fills Dr. Nair's heart with gratitude. Her husband, Mr. Suresh Nair, has stood by her through every challenge, encouraging her growth, while her son, Pranav, provides calm and balance, reminding her of the joy in their shared journey with his simple, “Ma, tell me.”

Challenges and Achievements:

Repeated challenges to resilience, adaptation, and commitment to work are part of the 25 years that she spent in academia. While tough, these challenges have been some of her most important teachers and have helped her with a lot of growth in who she is as a person and professional.

1. Navigating the Culture While Working Overseas: Her biggest challenge was working at Northern Border University in Saudi Arabia (2013–2020). Cultural differences, particularly within the education system were tricky to navigate yet also rewarding. She had to innovate her teaching methods to suit the learners from various disciplines. Delicately balancing between culture and education was a challenge that she had to streamline. 
2. Managing Personal and Professional Life: As is experienced by many in their demanding occupations, finding that balance between personal and professional life has been a constant struggle. She also had her shares of struggles between her responsibilities as a professional which conflicted with her commitments to family, the long hours, the administration and so on. She could maintain a balance between career and personal life with the support of her family and a focus on well-being. Music, yoga, sports, and time with friends keep her energized
3. Tech-integrated learning: The pace at which education moved from technology-induced to real-time during the pandemic was a challenge. Online teaching, especially, some of the approaches with online teaching methods, digital resources, and virtual classrooms came with a sharp learning curve. Keeping students interested and educated in a virtual setting meant inventing new methods and continuously adapting as well.
4. Connections with Students from Different Generations: It has taken decades to reach this point, staying connected to students from different generations, has both been a pleasure and a learning. The absolute 360-degree change in students and redefining of work ethics at universities, is a moment to reckon with for all educators. This ever-changing dynamic meant she had to constantly grow and fine-tune the message without compromising the teaching principles. Of course, adapting to this shift, and ensuring her teaching remained effective and required constant recalibration. Navigating those waters has always demanded the perfect blend of adaptability and EQ. The rewards – being remembered by students whom she had taught nearly 25 years back, when they recollect and retell the minute descriptions of her classes and moments with them,  it becomes the best gift a teacher can receive in the lifetime. 

Dr. Nair has a few milestones to reflect on when she looks back at her career, moments that have been instrumental in shaping the path of her professional and personal growth. She said “They are not only milestones, but they are also signals that my life was taken from hard work, love, and passion. I would borrow the acronym EEE – Education, Experience, and Environment – this EEE would summarize my challenges and achievements”. 

1. My Alma Maters: One can never thank enough the roads that mold a complete career. Being a KV student, gave her enough room to experiment, SDNB Vaishnav College for Women, University of Madras, where she did her graduation, almost gave the foundation to her personality and Madras Christian College, University of Madras, completed the arc of her education, with her MA, MPhil and PhD.  The contribution through experience that this environment and education has given her is remarkable, which according to her, cannot be described in words.  
2. Madras University Ranks: This is one of her earliest and proudest moments when she secured three top ranks in her graduation, under University of Madras. It was this academic accolade that further coagulated her desire to engage in the discipline and it is what has given her the courage to plow through in the course in education. 
3. Women’s Cricket: Another monumental moment for her was being the captain of her College Women's Cricket team and later representing the University of Madras in Women's Cricket. Leading the team at college, taught Dr. Nair great lessons in leadership, teamwork, importance of interactions and belief, and persistence, some of the attributes that later helped further her career. She feels strongly that the contribution of sports in building grit in a person, is of boundless value, a point she continuously stresses and wants parents to relook at.
4. A Trainer: The training from Dale Carnegie, along with other certifications, and becoming a trainer, added great value to her as a ‘learner-teacher’. She has trained some great teams and well-known corporates through her training, from the middle to the top-level management. It was an eye-opening learning experience to her, which she makes use of in her everyday teaching.

Dr Nair has received various awards and recognitions at the university levels. Most recent being the award and recognition for outstanding delivery of workshops for faculty and for the Voluntary Teaching Service, at the Northern Border University, KSA. Her recognition in sports, especially in shuttle at place of her work is also notable. She adds that “While these awards and recognitions have been significant, I believe that the true reward lies in the journey itself, the opportunity to learn, grow, and make a positive difference in the lives of others. Each recognition serves as a reminder of the incredible support system I’ve had, from my mentors to my family and friends”. She also strongly juts in stating that, “It always takes a team to achieve - the undeniable truth, which each one needs to recognize as it helps us in becoming humbler as we scale the challenging paths in life”.

Personal Insights:

Dr. Kavitha says “The combination of passion, purpose, and the staunch belief that giving back to society is a major part of my career. The joy of learning, teaching, and the process of sharing makes a difference and keeps me motivated every single day”.

Talking about a balance in professional and personal life, she believes that maintaining balance is not always easy, but through a combination of strong support from family, time management, and a focus on personal well-being, one can achieve nearly unadulterated balance. She added “I have found ways to nurture both my career and my personal life. Becoming an indelible part of every engagement and owning it and creating a sense of fulfillment keeps me energized and motivated. Being accessible, setting boundaries, support from my family, embracing flexibility, meaningful time with family and friends, teamwork, prioritizing and focusing on what matters most are some of how I face and meet the challenges of the work and life in the 21st century work environment”.

Impact and Vision:

Dr. Nair leads by consensus, with empathy and empowerment. As a learner-teacher and Head of the department of English and Foreign Languages, she thinks success in leadership lies in creating a culture of mutual trust, reinforcement, and collective accountability. The top five leadership approaches Dr. Nair cherishes:

1. Empathetic Leadership: Dr. Nair is an empathetic leader. She works to know the individual strengths, vulnerabilities, and hopes of every team member. Through approachability and genuine concern, she ensures her team is comfortable sharing their ideas and concerns. Being empathetic and building stronger relationships with her colleagues and students, would create a more collaborative or even supportive environment. 

2. Collaborative and Inclusive: Her leadership philosophy is at its core, a collaboration. She always believes that the best ideas and solutions come from the community effort. She welcomes conversation, appreciates the diversity of thought and experience around her, and creates conditions for all to participate. This inclusiveness empowers the team, giving them a feeling of ownership for what we are both aiming to achieve. She believes that people are more inspired and committed to excellence when they think of what belongs to them. 

3. Transformation: The most important rule that she follows is transformation rather than change. She adds “I think leadership is a prescription to elevation of human beings and systems, maximizing their potentials. This takes a commitment to progress and the belief that there is always room for us to get better and do good”.

4. Inspiring mentorship: Based on her mentor, Prof. Dr. K Ganesh, she strives to guide and lead from the front with a humane touch, with the team that reports to her, she wants to allow growth and advancement. Dr. Nair said “To me, more than a team, it is shaping future leaders within and outside of one's arena. Once they are there, I like to do everything possible in my purview — to support their professional growth journey, overcome obstacles together with them, and celebrate their success/testify about my great coworkers”. 

Through her different cultural and educational backgrounds, she has experienced leading teams of all diversities and proficiencies; these experiences made her realize that one needs to be able to bend to lead. She appreciates that every situation, team, or person is different, so she likes to flex the way she works around situations but with those core attributes of collaboration, empathy, and positivity always at the center.

As the Head of the Department, of English and Foreign Languages, she strives to create new learning experiences and opportunities for both her students as well as faculty at SRMIST. Below are a few of the things she continues to chip away on: 

1. Project-Based Learning for First-Year BTech Students: Dr. Nair is an active contributor to the PBL (Project Based Learning) in first-year BTech as part of curriculum integration. The program is designed to push beyond traditional classroom techniques enrolling students in interdisciplinary projects, bridging literature with real-world application. 
2. Digital Repository for Language Resources: She is in the process of planning for this and will be announcing a project that is focused on creating an online digital repository to make learning more accessible, for the existing languages, endangered and on the verge of extinction. The purpose of this repository is preservation and also to enable sharing, learning and facilitating sharing of traditional knowledge, with scholarly work on campus and beyond. The plan includes developing multimedia such as video lectures, podcasts, and electronic resources to suit both visual and auditory learners. 
3. Prospective Department Growth and Curriculum Development: In the future, Dr. Nair wants to create interdisciplinary classes that connect literature with culture and technology. Exploring how to integrate digital humanities into the curriculum – maintaining that traditional literature has unarguably the contribution to hone students regardless of the growing importance of digital skills.
4. Peer Mentorship Build: Another project Dr. Nair is keen to work on is forging tighter relations with the team members. She is working to establish a more formalized mentorship framework through peer observations, co-teaching experiences, and networking opportunities that ease them into their careers.

As she reflects on her career journey, Dr. Nair feels a deep sense of purpose and excitement for what lies ahead. Her future goals and aspirations center on both personal growth and making a lasting impact on the academic community. Here are key aspirations:

1. Developing a Comprehensive Mentorship Network, especially for women: One of her long-term aspirations is to establish a comprehensive mentorship network, with a particular focus on supporting women in academia, leadership, and professional growth. Women face unique challenges in navigating their careers, especially in fields traditionally dominated by men, and a structured mentorship program can serve as a powerful tool to bridge the gap and create opportunities for growth, learning, and empowerment.
2. Creating a Centre for Literary and Cultural Studies: She dreams of establishing a Centre for Literary and Cultural Studies within our department, focusing on the study of Indian and world literature, cross-cultural exchanges, and digital humanities. This center would serve as a platform for critical discussions, workshops, conferences, and collaborative projects. It would not only elevate our department’s academic standing but also create a space for rich cultural dialogues that extend beyond academia.
3. Innovating Curriculum with Technology: Looking to the future, she aims to further integrate technology into the curriculum. She envisions creating courses that explore the intersection of literature and technology, such as courses on digital storytelling, AI in literature, and virtual reality in narrative construction. She aspires to prepare students for the evolving digital landscape while maintaining the essence of humanistic studies.
4. Creating a Lasting Legacy in Education: Ultimately, her aspiration is to leave a lasting legacy in education. She wants to be remembered as an educator who not only taught but transformed lives. She hopes to continue nurturing students and faculty, empowering them to achieve their fullest potential. Her goal is to inspire future generations of educators, ensuring that the values of empathy, inclusion, and innovation remain at the core of academic leadership.

Conclusion:

It would be possible to say that in the journey of an educator, leader, and mentor like Dr. L. Kavitha Nair, resilience innovation, and commitment are reflected. Above all, her ability to handle cross-cultural challenges adapt to the changing needs and requirements of students, and lead with empathy makes Dr. Nair one of the highly respected figures in the language education sector. This vision of empowering the future generation of educators and students alike and bringing about a culture of inclusivity while attaining an expanded boundary of traditional education seems to be her key desire. Her life until now, is spearheaded by two empowering quotes:

1. "They tried to bury us, they didn't know we were seeds," symbolizes resilience and the ability to thrive despite challenges. 
2.  "Putting days into life is ageing, Putting life into days is growing" inspires to focus on meaningful experiences and growth, rather than merely counting the passage of time. 

She believes these ideas can serve as a strong foundation for those who want to be the change makers and the path breakers.