REPORT
INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON LEADERSHIP SKILLS IN NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES ORGANIZED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NUTRITION IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE NUTRITION SOCIETY OF INDIA AND THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES
13 – 14th November 2007
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NUTRITION
(Indian Council of Medical Reserarch)
Jamai Osmania PO, Hyderabad – 500 604
Ph: +91-40 27008921
Website: www.ninindia.org
WORKSHOP COORDINATORS
Prof. Ricardo Uauy
President, International Union of Nutritional Sciences
And
Professor, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology
University of Chile, Chile
And
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
London, UK
Dr. A. V. Kurpad
Dean and Head
Institute of Population Health and Clinical Research
Department of physiology
St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences
Bangalore, India
Dr. Kamala Krishnaswamy
Former Director, National Institute of Nutrition
And
President, Nutrition Society of India
Dr. B. Sesikeran
Director
National Institute of Nutrition
Indian Council of Medical research
Hyderabad, India
LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Dr. Kalpagam Polasa
Dr. K. Madhavan Nair
Dr. B. Dinesh Kumar
Dr. A. Lakshmaiah
Dr .P. Raghu
SESSION COORDINATORS
Ms. Sylvia Fernandez Rao
Ms. Vasuprada Iyengar
Ms. Little Flower Augustine
PARTICIPANT DETAILS
Abhaya R. Joglekar, Dr.
Assistant Professor
Department of Home Science
Dr.R.B.Govt. Navin Kanya, Mahavidyalaya, Raipur (Chattisgarh)
Anooja Thomas K, Dr.
Lecturer (Senior Scale)
Dept of Home Science,
C. M. S College, Kottayam – 686 001, Kerala, India
Arlappa N, Dr.
Senior Research Officer
National Institute of Nutrition, ICMR, Hyderabad-500 604, India
Dipika Agrahar Murugkar, Dr.
Scientist (Sr Scale)
Soyabean Processing And Utilization Center
Central Institute Of Agricultural Engineering
Nabibagh, Berasia Road, Bhopal – 462038, MP
Kavita MS, Dr.
Lecturer, Dept of Home science
Govt. Women's college, Thiruvanathapuram - 14, Kerala
Mala Manral, Dr.
Assistant Dietician,
Cardiothoracic and Neurosciences Centre
Room No 15, OPD block, Ground Floor
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi
Suneetha E, Dr.
Research Officer
Lifetime Wellness Rx International Ltd.
Apollo Health City, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Ankita Sharma, Dr.
Lecturer (Home Science)
Faculty of Arts and Science and Commerce and Law
Mody institute of Technology and Science, Deemed University
Laxmangarh, Sikar, Rajasthan
Ashok Kumar J, Dr.
Professor,
Department of Biochemistry, Father Muller Medical college, Mangalore
Bhuvaneshwari G, Dr.
Subject Matter Specialist (Home Science)
Krishi Vigyana Kendra, ARS Campus, Gangavati, Koppal Dist., Karnataka
Janci Rani PR, Ms.
Student Counselor & Consultant Nutritionist,
Amritha School of Engineering
Amritha University, Ettimadai, Coimbatore – 641 105
Kirtan Vilas Tarwadi, Dr.
Scientist under WOS-A Scheme of DST
Biometry and Nutrition Group
Agharkar Research Institute, G G Agarkar Road, Pune – 411004
Suneeta S. Chandorkar Dr.
Lecturer
MS University, Baroda, Gujarat
Hari Priya S, Ms.
Lecturer, Dept of Food Science and Nutrition
Avinashilingam University for women, Coimbatore - 641043
Indrapal Meshram , Dr.
Senior Research Officer
National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR), Hyderabad-500 604
Jagan Mohan R, Dr.
Scientist (Food Tech)
Paddy Processing Research Center (Ministry of Food Processing Industry)
Pudukottai Road, Thanjavur – 613 005
Jai Ghanekar, Dr.
Research officer
Aga Khan Health Service,
Aga Hall, Nesbit Road, Mazagaon, Mumbai – 400 010
Kamble Rajkumar M, Dr.
HOD, Dept. of Home Science
Rajaram Government College, Kolhapur, University Road, Maharashtra
Neetu Mishra, Dr.
Lecturer
Centre of Food Technology
Science Faculty Campus, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, UP
Malavika Vinod Kumar, Dr.
Trustee, Sunder Serendipity Foundation
6G, Century Plaza, 560-562, Anna Salai, Teynampet, Chennai – 600018
Manjula K, Dr.
Assistant professor, SV University,
6-8-100/A, NGO’s Colony, Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh
Patel Vinayak Haribhai, Dr.
Reader, P.G. Department of Home Science
Sardar Patel University, Vidyanagar,Gujarat
Priya Darshini, Ms.
Program Manager
Nutrition Improvement Program
DSM Nutritional Products India Pvt. Ltd.
Solitaire Corporate Park, M.Vasanji Marg, Chakala, Andheri (E), Mumbai 400 093
Radhika, M.S., Dr.
Research Officer
National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR), Hyderabad-500 604
Vanisha Nambiar, Dr.
Lecturer
Dept. of Foods and Nutrition,
The MS University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat
Puspanjali Samantaray, Dr.
Reader, Dept of Home Science,
Berhampur University, Orissa – 760 007
Rajlakshmi Tripathi, Ms.
Asst Professor (Sr. Scale) & Warden
Govt M.H. College of Home Science & Science for Women Campus
Napier Town, Jabalpur (MP) – 482 001
Ramachandran HD, Dr.
Senior Lecturer, Department of Applied Botany
Mangalagangothri, Mangalore University, Mangalore – 574 199
Rekha Sinha, Dr.
Head, Department of Home Science
Faculty of Agriculture, Birsa Agricultural University
Kanke, Ranchi – 834 006, Jharkhand, India
Sandhya Madhukar, Dr.
Reader and Head, Dept of Home Science
J. E. S College, Jalna – 431 203, MH, India
Tapas Chakma, Dr.
Deputy Director
Regional Medical Research Centre for Tribals
RMRCT Complex, Nagpur Road, Jabalpur - 482003, MP
Anirban Pal, Dr.
Scientist C, In-vivo Testing Facility,
GRB Division, Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
CIMAP , Lucknow,
Blanca Calatayud, Ms.
16, Ashram Avenue
Chennai
blast53@hotmail.com
Narayan Prasad Yadav, Dr.
Scientist B
Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
Near Kukrail Picnic Spot, Animal House, CIMAP, Lucknow, P.O. – 226 015
Sanjay Jaiswal, Dr. Lt. Col.
Reader, Dept of Pharmacology
Armed Forces Medical College, Pune – 411 040
Sheela Shenai N.A, Ms.
Professor
KVM College of Nursing, Cherthala, Kerala
Smitha Pathak, Dr.
Assistant Professor
Government M.H. College of Home Science and Science for Women
Napier Town, Jabalpur-482 001, Madhya Pradesh, India
Sreekanth Attaluri, Dr.
CIP-Liaison Office
Regional Center of CTCRI, Dumuduma, Bhubaneshwar – 751 019,Orissa
RESOURCE PERSONS
E-Siong Tee, Dr.
Nutrition Consultant,
Food Safety and Quality Division,
Ministry of Health, Malaysia.
Hector Cori, Dr.
Scientific & Technical Director
Nutrition Improvement Program
DSM Nutritional Products
Santiago – Chile
Hee Young Paik, Dr.
Dept. of Food and Nutrition,
College of Human Ecology
Seoul National University
Seoul, Korea
Indira J Parikh, Dr.
Founder president, FLAME
Pune, India
Kamala Krishnaswamy, Dr.
Former Director, National Institute of Nutrition,
President, Nutrition Society of India
Hyderabad, India
Krishna M. Ella, Dr.
CMD, Bharat Biotech International Ltd.
Hyderabad, AP, India
Kurpad AV, Prof.
Dean & Head
Institute of Population Health and Clinical Research
St.John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore, India
Mahtab S. Bamji, Dr.
Emeritus Scientist,
Dangoria Charitable Trust, Hyderabad, India
Meera Shekhar , Dr.
Senior Nutrition Specialist
Human Development Network, USA
Nanda S.K., Dr.
Principal Secretary
Government of Gujarat
Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department,
Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar, India
Phondke G.P., Dr.
Former Director
National Institute of Science Communication
CSIR, Delhi, India
Prakash V, Dr.
Director, Central Food Technological Research Institute
Mysore 570 020, India
Rajagopalan S, Dr.
Trustee, Sundar Serendipity Foundation
Chennai, India
Reva Nayyar, Mrs.
Former Secretary
Department of Women and Child Development
Government of India, New Delhi , India
Ricardo Uauy, Prof.
President, IUNS;
Professor, Institute of Nutrition & Food Technology
University of Chile, Chile;
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
Sesikeran B, Dr.
Director
National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR)
Hyderabad, India
Sunil S. Jhangiani, Dr.
Board Certified, American Board of Physician Nutrition Specialists
Gastroenterology , Internal Medicine &
Managed Care Medicine, U.S.A.
Sunil Sazawal, Dr.
Associate Professor
Department of International Health
Program in Global Disease Epidemiology and Control
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA
Vijayaraghavan K, Mr.
Chief Executive Officer
Sathguru Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
Hyderabad - 500 034, India
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The International workshop on “Leadership skills in nutritional sciences” was jointly organized by the National institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical research, Hyderabad, India, the Nutrition Society of India and the International Union of Nutrition Sciences on the 13th and 14th of November 2007, at the National Institute of Nutrition. A total of 38 participants from various faculties ranging from clinical nutrition to medical science participated in the two-day workshop. The faculty consisted of twenty experts from a wide range of specialties, including the government, academia, corporate and management sectors. The workshop was spread over 6 sessions commencing with the inauguration session. Each session was followed by an interactive session. Opportunities were provided to the participants for one-on-one interaction with the faculty and interactions as groups of 2-3 participants with common concerns with respect to hindrances in research progress, to address these specific problems. The basis for assigning these groups were the responses in the pre-workshop questionnaire, which the participants were requested to fill in, in order to identify major concerns that were preventing from being successful researchers. Group activities were designed to increase interactions among participants and participants were asked to make individual presentations on their short – term and long – term goals. Group presentations dealt with the results of their assigned group activities and were presented on the second day during the concluding session. The workshop came to an end with the concluding session which included distribution of certificates to the participants. A post-workshop feedback questionnaire was also administered to enable better conduct of such workshops in future.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The organizing committee would like to place on the record their deep sense of gratitude to the various funding agencies for funding the workshop. We are indeed indebted to the Indian Council of Medical Research, the Indian council of Agricultural Research, Department of Science and Technology, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Defense Research and Development Organization, the International Union of Nutritional Sciences and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh. The organizers also wish to thank the outstanding group of participants, who devoted considerable time and thought, but for whom this workshop would not have been a success. The participants included the august faculty and enthusiastic delegates, and last but not the least the hardworking group of local organizers.
INTRODUCTION
Nutritional disorders account for a large segment of the disease burden in the world. There is hence a requirement of inputs including manpower if we need to bring down this burden. Experience has shown that effectiveness of any program, or focus in research agenda or setting up of national and international priorities all depend on effective leaders with a very high level of competence. The IUNS along with NSI and NIN have found it most appropriate to conduct a two-day Workshop on “Leadership skills in nutritional sciences”, covering administration, basic sciences, public health, clinical nutrition, advocacy and scientific communication, specifically addressing the needs of South-Asian countries. Thus, the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad, has organized the Workshop in association with the Nutrition Society of India (NSI) and the International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS) on 13th and 14th November 2007 at NIN, Hyderabad.
OBJECTIVES
The main objectives of the workshop are:
- To inspire future leaders through personal examples and vignettes;
To give participants a greater understanding on the role of nutrition in development;
To provide them with knowledge of the competencies of leadership;
To highlight the importance of advocacy;
To provide a view to the newer skills necessary for successful cross cutting research, such as nutritional epidemiology and cellular and molecular nutrition;
To sensitize participants to the need for skilled leadership through the understanding of critical review;
To serve as a forum for networking and future collaboration
SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS
Candidates aged below 45 years with minimum 5 years of teaching/research experience, and also the field of specialization, publications, patents and major achievements are considered for participation in the Workshop. Out of 58 applications received, taking into the admission criteria as well as geographical representation, 38 candidates were selected by the Scientific Committee of the International Workshop.
WORKSHOP PROGRAM
To fulfill the objectives of the Workshop, the program was designed to have seven sessions covering presentations by eminent resources personnel in their relevant disciplines with interspaced interaction sessions, panel discussion and group activities for the participants. Twenty resource persons participated in the deliberations, in addition to the thirty eight participants.
SESSION – I
Inaugural session, self introduction of participants and administration of the Pre-workshop questionnaire
SESSION – II
SESSION – III
SESSION – IV
SESSION – V
SESSION – VI Concluding session and valedictory session
Group activity presentation by participants of activity B: identify the 3 main barriers that prevent them from achieving their career goals
Valedictory address by Dr. Arjula Reddy, Vice-Chancellor, Yogi Vemana University, Cuddapah, AP, India.
Presentation of course certificates to the participants by Dr. Arjula Reddy.
Vote of thanks proposed by Dr. B. Sesikeran, Director, NIN
PROGRAM DETAILS
The inaugural session of the International workshop on leadership skills in nutritional sciences was chaired by, Prof. Ricardo Uauy, President IUNS, Dr. Kamala Krishnaswamy, President, NSI, Dr. B. Sesikeran, Director, NIN and Dr. Kurpad, St. John’s Academy.
Dr. B. Sesikeran cordially welcomed the august faculty and the participants on behalf of NIN, NSI, IUNS and the ICMR. He mentioned that this workshop is much needed for grooming nutrition leaders in India and regretted the inability of participants from other SAARC nations to attend the same due to disturbed political situation in the subcontinent.
Dr. Kamala Krishnaswamy, while introducing the theme of the workshop, said that in light of the triple burden, a paradigm shift in nutrition research has occurred, which needs molecular approaches and analytical public health science to find solutions to existing public health problems, which will provide evidence-based medicine and science for decision making. These challenges require new leaders who can visualize issues, motivate and drive groups and lead by example. The objectives, she stated, are leadership skill acquisition and capacity building. The ability to envision, enable and empower the people, with the knowledge of how, when, where to network and being able to learn and lead with confidence are important, she said. She also elaborated on the need for nutrition research in India to start new ventures, do more basic science, take a re-look at older norms and adopt the life-cycle approach due to diversity in habits. She requested the experts to share their vast experience and the participants to make the best of their experience and group activities, while simultaneously trying to think globally and appreciate diversity.
Prof. Ricardo Uauy while addressing the gathering, emphasized that this workshop was entirely focused only on the participants and that this was for and about the participants only, who have to play the most important role in order to make this workshop effective. He urged the participants to think of why things aren’t happening as planned, be more responsive to the current needs of the country, realize and appreciate the importance of groups rather than individuals. He also said that generating more knowledge alone was not enough and that it has to be dissipated to the public. He went on to explain the mission and workings of the IUNS and its present goals of eradicating malnutrition in all its forms. He also talked about the relevance of meeting the MDG by 2020. He also said that to make things happen it is necessary for the future leaders to focus on female nutrition, enabling better services, effective interaction and communication, attract private sector partnerships and advocate better government accountability on the pressing issues. He reiterated that the IUNS will extend its fullest help in achieving the same.
Prof. Kurpad then proposed the vote of thanks. He thanked Dr. B. Sesikeran, Dr. Kamala Krishnaswamy and Dr. Uauy and the IUNS, the faculty and finally the participants. He said that nutrition research in India has to work hence forth on mission mode only with a paradigm shift in the strategies followed to suit our needs. He also said that the minds of the young nutrition scientists have to be ignited to achieve our nutrition goals.
SESSION I: The first session had talks by Dr. Meera Shekar, Mrs. Reva Nayyar; and Dr. Indira Pareikh.
Dr. Meera Shekar, senior nutrition specialist, Human development network, USA: Repositioning nutrition as central to development
Dr. Meera shared her experience with WHO and talked about the need for repositioning nutrition as central to development of a nation, especially the developing nations like India. She emphasized on the central role of nutrition in determining the direction of economic policy and development for improved growth of a country. The highlight of the talk was the critical evaluation of the ICDS (Integrated Child Development Scheme, Govt. of India) to identify the gaps and bridge the same. She cited examples to highlight the contribution of malnutrition in decreasing GDP and the need for realistic analyses of cost-benefit ratios of interventions. She went on to say that even though Asia, as a continent seemed to be on track for achieving the MDGs with major contributions from China, India as a country, lags even behind Africa. She stressed on the need to recognize the window of opportunity from pre-pregnancy to 18-24 months after childbirth as the priority area of investment, as at present investment is highly insufficient and that this alone can greatly contribute to achieving the non-income MDGs. Therefore the need to effectively evaluate and monitor programs that operate in the window of opportunity such as the ICDS, generation of political commitment and investment towards the right issues are important, she said.
Mrs. Reva Nayyar, Former secretary, Department of women and child development (DWCD), Government of India, New Delhi
Role of leadership in nutrition of women and children
Mrs. Nayyar spoke passionately her experience in the government of India as secretary of the DWCD. She stressed the need to admit the magnitude of the problem we are currently facing and use a multi-factorial approach integrating sanitation, health care delivery, public health measures to combat the same. She said that the government alone cannot achieve this. Strong local leaders have to be created. The non-functionality of the national nutrition mission was brought out and the need for improving the Public Distribution System (PDS) coverage was also mentioned. The need to invest in female nutrition and education, early childhood care and use the growth rate of Below Poverty Line (BPL) families as indices of development were also highlighted.
DR. Indira Pareikh, Founder President, FLAME, Pune
Leadership and change management
Dr. Parikh’s talk focused on how leadership has changed in the recent decades. She started with asking the participants to list 10 most important qualities they possess which make them good leaders. She said that the focus of leadership has shifted and therefore the qualities expected from a leader have changed. Today’s leaders have to be able to give direction across multiple vistas as strategic alliances and global partnerships have taken centre stage she said. As organizations have become very large, interpersonal skills have to be modified to tackle groups or teams instead of individuals and therefore be able to manage diversity or dualities. She stressed on the ability to understand and assimilate constantly evolving knowledge as a necessity. She also said that today’s scientists also need to know how to get financial aid and therefore have to be not only good scientists but also good managers and better leaders. The importance of nebulous organizational structure that is not top-heavy and thus permitting constant interaction amongst all hierarchy, are pressing needs, she said. In conclusion, she said that leaders should be visionaries, be able to communicate the inarticulate, be able to recognize and nurture potential with in the organization, motivate to prevent comfort zone occupation and deep slumber and be simultaneously able to replenish self, others and the institute.
Interactive session 1: The challenges faced by women in being leaders in nutrition
SESSION II: Dr. Jhangiani, Dr. Phondke, Dr. Krishna Ella and Dr. Sazawal were the speakers of the second session.
Dr. Sunil S. Jhangiani, Chief, Division of Clinical nutrition, Our Lady of Mercy Medical Centre, Bronx, New York, USA
Food – based dietary guidelines: a worldwide challenge!
Dr. Jhangiani observed that there has been a steady increase in global interest in nutrition as better diet implies better nutrition, which results in enhanced productivity, boosting the nation’s economy and reduction of health care expenditures. Given the prevailing problem of double burden of disease, he highlighted that the current problem was in designing appropriate guidelines and suggested that FBDGs offer a novel way of communicating appropriate food consumption patterns based on relevance to public health issues, food availability in cultural context using a Multi-disciplinary approach. However, a strong political backing such as that of the head of Governments (USA, president promulgated the FBDG) is essential as many lobbying groups are capable of masking the actual science. Challenges in designing FBDG include providing one set of guidelines for an entire nation, same guidelines for all age groups, diverse populations within a nation, and presentation to the public, which are important as India is currently revising its FBDG. The talk continued to elucidate the steps involved in designing FBDG and the new approaches being followed, including using media such as the WWW, mobile phones for spreading the FBDG guidelines. Stress was laid on the FBDGs being as simple as possible with wide coverage. According to him, the effective way of communicating FBDGs is to focus on Mothers & Infants, consumer testing to enhances credibility/ efficacy, use of country-specific data, build breadth and depth of expertise base – nutrition, public health, education and food science
Dr. G. P. Phondke, Former director, National Institute of Science Communication
Role of science communication in enhancing nutrition literacy
Dr. Phondke started with defining communication as method of putting things across to people in an easy and innovative manner. Since the public’s attitude to scientists is one of awe, it is important to communicate science effectively, he said. Science communication should be target group oriented, tailor-made and easily comprehensible without information overload. The different types of communication media used, with special reference to radio as a versatile and mobile media, especially in the Indian context was stressed upon. He recommended appropriate methods of science communication to the participants and same were explained in detail. The fact that pictures speak more volumes than words was illustrated and methods to increase impact of communication outlined.
Dr. Krishna Ella, CMD, Bharat biotech international Limited, Hyderabad, AP, India
Bio-entrepreneurship and innovation: importance for India
Entrepreneurship and innovation as keystones to development was the focal theme of his talk. That India has a rich innovative history was elegantly illustrated. However, our major problem in making successful entrepreneurs was identified to be lack of marketing skills. Innovation, right from childhood, and the ability to act independently taking risks, should be encouraged as this will lead to successful entrepreneurships. The same was explained by citing the example of M/s. Bharat Biotech, of which Dr. Ella is presently CEO. Bharat biotech started off with meager resources but today is reckoned as a major player in the biotech scenario mainly because of a healthy mix of innovation and marketing strategies.
Dr. Sunil Sazawal, Associate professor, Department of International Health, Program in Global disease epidemiology and Control, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public health, USA.
Capacity building for nutrition research
DR. Sazawal through personal examples of problems faced by him as a researcher trying to influence policy in the long run said that, persistent credible data generation activity is an essential component in bringing about change in policy at the international level. He quoted the example of how zinc has now come to be included in the WHO guidelines and international diarrhea management kits. He explained the nature of what individuals can do with limited resources. He also stressed on the need to clearly define executable goals with tangible outcomes in the identified time frames which should be devised, tested and published. The workshop approach to training and capacity building was suggested as a possible means of generating good caliber proposals from nutrition scientists in India. Current pressing needs such nutrition not being given the status of a separate discipline, absence of transferable research and lack of effectiveness of already implemented strategies were given due importance and extensively discussed. Also, an extensive discussion of how a bureaucrat and a scientist look at the same issues, helped participants in understanding the various perspectives of the issue.
Interactive session 2: Nutrition as a profession and career opportunities
SESSION III: this session saw Dr. Prakash, Dr. Tee and Dr. Paik deliver their lectures.
Dr. V. Prakash, Director, Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore, India.
Capacity building addressing the leadership skills to reach out the house-hold nutritional programs – how sustainable is it?
Dr. Prakash delivered a lecture that focused on the need, out reach, possible empowerment through capacity development and leadership and institutional roles in capacity development, with examples of lacunae in leadership drawn from the entire spectrum of nutrition and food science. While mentioning that time keeping is a valuable asset in leadership, he emphasized the need to focus on the what, when and how much of an integrated approach. Leaders, he said, must integrate team building with science, citing the example of humanitarian crises, when societal nutrition becomes the primary focus. He then emphasized the need to be able to distinguish between the affordable and the unaffordable, especially in the present scenario, where ensuring food and nutrition security needs both backward integration and forward outreach in integrating the unorganized, organized and large scale sectors of food production. This also requires the ability to simultaneously be global versus national, and national versus household, in outlook, he said. He also emphasized the need to recognize the difference between individual and team leadership, citing the example of the partial success of the ICDS as that of team leadership and the absence of individual leadership in the failure to make folic acid fortification mandatory. While talking about the ability of a leader to be able to convert a concept into a sustainable, industrially viable product, he also said that the affordability, availability and accessibility of leadership are essential to ensure its sustainability, as it cannot be a one time process and likened the same to the triple A’s of food and nutrition security. Leaders should be able to create a strong knowledge base and utilize the same effectively to create and enhance the spread of networking and collaboration, he said citing the example of commercialization of NIN-developed energy food by CFTRI, now consumed by about 6.6 million children. Also mentioned was the need for innovation in lab to land leadership. He went on to say that sustainable development and capacity development should go hand in hand and that CD should be preventive not restorative, with a mélange of scientific and economical leadership . He further said that leaders must be able to create space well in advance and allow other leaders to grow, and that the way forward involved the capacity to address problems, focus on knowledge, technology and economics, networking and be able to touch people, giving the example of the tsunami relief work carried out by CFTRI, in delivering 70 tones of ready-to-eat food.
Dr. E-Siong Tee, Nutrition consultant, Food safety and Quality Division, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
Leadership in food regulatory affairs
Dr. Tee, being active as Chairman, Expert Group on Nutrition, Health Claims and Advertisement, Member, Malaysian Food Regulations Technical Committee, Chairman, Working Group on Food/Drug Interface products, presented an overview of Malaysian regulation in place as on date. His talk dealt extensively with the Malaysian experience during formulating food regulations, which in a span of 10 years has progressed to the extent of being able to match Codex standards. His talk gave an insight into the problems and hurdles faced while formulating regulations for acceptance of varied nutrient labelling and nutrition and health claims.
Dr. Hee Young Paik, Dept. of Food and Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans
Dr Paik gave an insightful talk on the process, procedures and problems encountered during RDA revision. Furthermore, Korea has successfully converted their RDAs to DRIs in a very short span of 3yrs under the leadership of Dr Paik and a team of 90 professionals. She emphasized the need for proper planning and training in workshops with international faculty. She also explained the methods used for developing the DRIs as RIs, EARs, AIs and ULs in detail with reference to the physiological groups considered.
Interactive session 3:
SESSION IV: Dr. Kurpad, Dr. Cori and Mr. Vijayaraghvan were the speakers in this session.
Dr. A. V. Kurpad, Dean and Head, Institute of population health and clinical research
Department of physiology, St. John’s National Academy of health sciences, Bangalore, India
Leadership skills in Nutritional Sciences – Is there a Recipe
Dr Kurpad considered a leader as one who creates a mission, and locates a relevant mission in his/her local microenvironment. He elaborated on the need for a clear, integrated research agenda to solve the research question. Giving an example of an integrated agenda, he said that it would typically include everything from molecular biology to social sciences with networking between the governments, universities and research institutions. With the example of chronic disease research, he vehemently stressed on the need for basic biology to be integrated into epidemiology, and that research should not only be prevalence but have more of prospective cohorts and surveillance systems. Research questions include heritage claims and folk remedies, he said. Leaders, he said should be able to identify new vistas, ask the right questions, be skeptical, pick the right people for the team, have learning skills, EQ, IQ, along with professional will and personal humility. According to him, a near perfect recipe would include interdisciplinary skills, a global approach, and ability to sell dreams, networking, and constant review.
Dr. Hector Cori, Scientific and Technical Director, Nutrition Improvement Program, DSM Nutritional products, Santiago - Chile
Investing in nutrition – costs and benefits
Dr. Cori’s talk gave an industrial perspective to food fortification - a potential solution for decreasing under-nutrition. It centered on the cost of food fortification and the need to understand that food fortification, in the long run will lead to economic benefits in terms of decreased loss in DALYs. Since good nutrition is good business and under-nutrition and poverty are interlinked in a vicious cycle, it is important to understand and consider costs of providing good nutrition, he said. He stressed the importance of good program design, quality of vitamins and minerals used for fortification as pre-mixes, the co-operation between industry, government, monitoring and evaluating agencies and stakeholders for successful fortification programs. He mentioned that the industry has woken up to the fact that sustainability of business is dependent on common good and corporate social responsibility. His take-home message for future leaders was a relook at fortification as a sustainable strategy for decreasing under-nutrition as fortification is not costly when compared to economic loss due to under-nutrition; and that the industry is willing to partner in the responsibility of eradicating malnutrition.
Mr. Vijayaraghavan, Chief Executive Officer, Sathguru Management Consultants Private Limited, Hyderabad – 500 034
Enhancing leadership in research management and technology transfer
Mr. Vijayaraghavan began his talk by outlining the current problems faced by academic research such as constrained learning in structured syllabi and that inter-disciplinary education is gaining importance due to easy accessibility to electronic resources. Since leadership involves predicting, responding and adapting to change every quickly, he stressed the need for networking on a global level and the presence of a good infrastructure. He gave a different perspective to industry – academia collaborations, in that they are complimentary to one-another, citing the example of Carnegie–Mellon model and the pharmaceutical industry. The importance of branding, building and maintaining the same with adequate standards was also stressed on. He also elucidated on the multiple roles of a researcher: teacher, entrepreneur and maintaining a balance among them. Leaders should also recognize the importance of organizational agility in the light of global networking, intellectual property rights, and conflicts of interest between administrators, partners, regulatory authorities and faculty. Also, clear metrics of measuring research output and effective dissemination of research should be considered. In conclusion, he said that to survive and maintain a competitive edge, it is necessary to constantly innovate.
Interactive session 4:
SESSION V: Speakers were Dr. Nanda, Dr. Bamji and Dr. Rajagopalan
Dr. Mahtab S. Bamji, Emeritus scientist, Dangoria Charitable trust, Hyderabad, Former Director – grade scientist, National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad.
Bridging the leadership gap in nutrition
Dr. Bamji, spoke about her transformation from a basic biochemical scientist to a practicing social scientist. Her lecture dwelt on practical aspects of empowering the community with examples from her own work in the Medak district of AP, India. In her introduction she mentioned that nutrition requires inputs from many disciplines ranging from medicine and health care to social engineering, and that nutrition leaders should have an understanding of other fields. Leaders should champion for food and nutrition security as a human right. She also said that health care access, food and nutrition security, education and environment security are to be made available, accessible and affordable to the poorest and that this should be considered as a important development index. Dr, Bamji then elaborated on the various means of empowering the community in detail citing many examples. The magnitude of improvement brought about due to these interventions speaks for its efficacy and careful monitoring and problem solving has led to its successful and sustainable implementation, she concluded.
Dr. S. Rajagopalan, Trustee, Sundar Serendipity foundation, Chennai
Need for viable integrated measurable vector of parameters for analysis assessment and surveillance of nutrition status in a community
Dr. Rajagopalan’s talk focused on the importance and methodology associated with analyzing, assessing and surveillance of the nutrition status of a community using select nutritional status indicators such as nutrient intakes, anthropometric data and hemoglobin and hematocrit, and how he helped modify/change national policy for food and nutrition security. Nutrition profiling, he said, were important not only to understand nutrition problems but also plan, monitor and evaluate appropriate intervention programs. It requires enormous, consistent and inter-related data that may be collected through a variety of methods ranging from food balance sheets to laboratory investigations. Since most of the nutrition goals of the country have not been met, nutrition profiling assumes more importance. He further explained the importance and development of a composite nutrition insecurity index which incorporated various indicators of under-nutrition, for many of the states. He concluded by saying that prioritizing the nutrition of the girl child is essential for sustainable improvement in the nutritional status of the population.
Dr. S. K. Nanda, Principal Secretary, Food, Civil supplies and consumer affairs department, Government of Gujarat, Gandhinagar.
Leadership building
Dr. Nanda’s talk started with what leadership building entails, such as the importance of ethics and management, motion and potential and people and values. He then said that the ultimate goal of leadership is excellence with success as its bottom line and that success is always a product of doing things right. He then talked of the types of leaders and their typical characteristics. Next, the traits that make leaders what they are were elucidated in detail followed by their attributes, which ended with a crisp summation of the above mentioned qualities. He went on to explain the various theories of leadership and how they can be put in to practice. His talk ended with an emphasis on the need and advantages of innovation.
Session VI: Concluding session and valedictory function
The groups made a presentation of the group activity B carried out by them and the participants were encouraged to speak of what they had learnt during the course of the workshop.
The valedictory address was given by Dr. Arjula Reddy, Vice-Chancellor, Yogi Vemana University, Cuddapah, AP, India. This was followed by the distribution of certificates to the participants by Dr. Arjula Reddy. Dr. B. Sesikeran, Director, NIN, then proposed the vote of thanks.
Response Summary of the Feedback questionnaire
Total no. of respondents: 34
10. What did you learn that you will put into practice?
Total respondents = 30
11. Where did we fail to meet your expectations?
Total respondents = 30
12. Suggestions for improvement
Total respondents = 30
