<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">I wish to join NICMAR, Pune because it represents the kind of institution where my academic strengths in finance, research, and industry engagement can translate into meaningful impact for students and the wider built-environment ecosystem. NICMAR&rsquo;s positioning at the intersection of management education and industry-facing problem solving strongly resonates with my own professional journey&mdash;bridging academia with practice through applied research, executive training, and innovation initiatives.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">As an Associate Professor (Finance) with over 15 years of experience, I have consistently focused on building learner capability through outcome-driven teaching in corporate finance, investments, financial planning, and decision-making. Alongside teaching, I have led institutional initiatives in research, innovation, entrepreneurship, and industry partnerships&mdash;work that aligns well with NICMAR&rsquo;s practice-oriented culture. I am particularly drawn to the opportunity to contribute to programmes and research themes connected to sustainability, and project ecosystems, where finance plays a crucial role in enabling viability, resilience, and responsible growth.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">My research background&mdash;22+ Scopus-indexed publications, conference presentations, and patents&mdash;reflects a strong commitment to knowledge creation with relevance. I enjoy translating research into usable insights through data-driven methods and tools (including SPSS-based quantitative analysis), and I would be excited to collaborate with NICMAR colleagues on high-quality research outputs, funded projects, case development, and industry-aligned publications. I also bring editorial leadership experience as Chief Editor of an academic journal, which can support institutional research visibility and scholarly standards.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Beyond research and teaching, I value mentoring and ecosystem building. I have worked with corporate professionals and start-ups through workshops and mentoring in financial wellness, investment planning, and business growth. At NICMAR, I see an opportunity to deepen this work by contributing to industry interfaces, executive education, and student career readiness&mdash;helping learners connect finance concepts with real-world strategic and operational challenges.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">In summary, I wish to join NICMAR because it offers the right environment to integrate rigorous academics, applied research, and industry engagement. I believe my profile fits NICMAR&rsquo;s mission of developing competent, ethical, and future-ready professionals&mdash;and I am eager to contribute through teaching excellence, impactful research, and meaningful institutional initiatives.</span></p>