Aarav Muchhala, Managing Trustee, Sai Shiva Educational Trust, shares the vision driving the group’s journey in engineering, hospitality and higher education. He discusses what sets the institutions apart, and how technology, innovation and lifelong learning can prepare students for a rapidly evolving world.
By Andrea CostaBir
The Arun Muchhala International Group has built institutions across engineering, hospitality and higher education. What is the vision that drives your family’s commitment to education?
The foundation of our family’s commitment to education was laid by my father, Arunkumar Muchhala. His vision was both simple and powerful: Every family should have an engineer. He believed that when a middle-class or economically disadvantaged family had a professionally qualified engineer, it could achieve greater financial stability and create opportunities for future generations.
When he established his first engineering college, he recognised that technical education would remain relevant in a rapidly developing world. He later introduced an international lodging and hospitality programme which, although short-lived due to regulatory restrictions, opened our eyes to the growing potential of hospitality education.
During this period, I began working closely with my father. Together, we established the Arun Muchhala International College of Hotel Management in Thane, offering the B.Sc. in Hospitality Studies. As I became more involved with the principal, faculty members and administrative team, my interest in education developed into a much deeper sense of purpose.
The real turning point came when I began interacting directly with students. I wanted to understand not only what they were learning but also what they expected from their college experience and the opportunities they hoped education would create for them. These conversations made me realise that students in Thane needed access to a broader range of academic pathways beyond engineering and hospitality. That understanding inspired the establishment of our junior and senior colleges.
Today, our vision is to build institutions that respond to the evolving aspirations of students while remaining accessible, practical and closely connected to real-world opportunities. My father gave us the foundation, our students continue to give us direction, and my family has remained my strongest support system throughout this journey.
What do you think sets the Arun Muchhala International Group’s educational institutions apart from other colleges today?
What truly sets our institutions apart is the direct and open access students have to the management and trustees.
A student can walk into my office, speak openly about a concern, share an idea, or raise an issue regarding faculty, infrastructure or student services, knowing they will be heard without hesitation or fear. I believe this level of accessibility creates trust, accountability and a much stronger connection between students and the institution.
World-class infrastructure, fully equipped computer and science laboratories, and qualified faculty members are essential, and we are deeply committed to maintaining those standards. However, many institutions today offer good facilities. Our real distinction lies in ensuring that management remains visible, approachable and directly connected to the everyday experiences of students.
For us, education is not managed from a distance. We listen, respond and remain personally involved. I strongly believe this should become a wider practice across educational institutions because students deserve to know that their voices can reach the people responsible for shaping their academic environment.
How do your institutions ensure that students graduate with both academic knowledge and the practical skills needed for the real world?
We believe that academic knowledge becomes truly valuable only when students understand how to apply it in the real world. Our approach therefore combines strong classroom teaching, technology-enabled learning and consistent practical exposure.
Academically, our students are guided by a qualified and experienced faculty team that uses technology to make complex concepts easier to understand. We recently introduced an interactive smartboard at the Aarav Muchhala Senior College of Arts, Commerce & Science, with the intention of gradually moving beyond conventional blackboard-based teaching. The technology allows faculty members to combine explanations with videos, diagrams, presentations and practical demonstrations.
For example, during a biology practical, students can visually follow each stage of an experiment through a recorded demonstration, pause it when required, and revisit individual steps multiple times. This makes the learning process more engaging, consistent and accessible. It is one example of how technology can strengthen both theoretical and practical education.
However, practical learning cannot remain limited to classrooms or textbooks. I personally ensure that our students are exposed to real working environments through visits to factories, farms, hotels, restaurants and other industry locations relevant to their courses. Whenever possible, I accompany them because I want to understand what they have observed, what they have learned and whether the experience has inspired new ideas.
For our hospitality students, we place particular emphasis on domestic and international industry exposure. We encourage opportunities with leading hotels, resorts, cruise organisations and hospitality destinations wherever possible. These experiences strengthen their résumés and, more importantly, build confidence, professional discipline and practical competence across areas such as culinary operations, housekeeping, front office management, and food and beverage service.
I am especially interested in understanding what our students learn during international exposure. When they return with new techniques, service standards or operational ideas, we explore how those learnings can be introduced within our institutions — even when they extend beyond the prescribed syllabus. That, to me, is how education remains connected to genuine career opportunities.
What are your future plans for expanding or strengthening the group’s presence in the education sector?
Our long-term ambition is to establish the group as a university and create a more flexible, future-focused model of higher education.
While our institutions have built a strong foundation, I believe there is significant scope to expand the range and relevance of the courses we offer. The world of work is evolving rapidly, but traditional education often continues to separate students into rigid streams such as arts, commerce and science. In reality, future professionals will need knowledge and skills across multiple disciplines.
We therefore envision developing practical, skillbased programmes that prepare students not only for today’s employment opportunities but also for careers that are still emerging. A student should be able to combine technology with finance, communication with entrepreneurship, or coding with business management.
We often speak about hybrid technology, hybrid workplaces and professionals who perform multiple roles. Education must evolve in the same direction. Our aim is to create interdisciplinary programmes that allow students to become adaptable, independent and capable of succeeding across different industries.
Becoming a university would give us the opportunity to pursue this vision on a much larger scale and contribute to a more relevant and progressive education system.
Do you believe education is the most powerful tool to empower young people and help India progress? Why?
Absolutely. Education gives young people the knowledge, skills and confidence to shape their own future, and when individuals progress, the country progresses with them.
What makes education especially powerful today is its accessibility. Learning is no longer confined to a classroom. Young people can study languages, technology, finance, design, communication and countless other subjects through online courses, digital platforms and professional certification programmes.
Even learning directly from an experienced person is a form of education. Every skill we acquire improves our ability to solve problems, earn independently and create value for others.
Social media has further increased the impact of education because people can now share what they have learned with a much wider audience. One person’s knowledge can educate, inspire or influence thousands of others.
I therefore believe education should be viewed not only as a degree but as a continuous process of learning. That culture of lifelong learning will be essential to India’s future growth.
What qualities do you think every young Indian should develop to succeed in today’s fast-changing world?
I believe the most important quality every young Indian must develop is the willingness to keep learning.
The world is changing at an extraordinary pace. New technologies, digital tools, business models and professional requirements are emerging constantly. To remain relevant, young people must stay curious, follow important trends and actively explore tools that can strengthen their careers, businesses and productivity.
Learning today is not limited to formal education. It may involve understanding a new application, mastering software, adapting to artificial intelligence or keeping up with changes in taxation, finance and regulation. Even small improvements in knowledge can create a significant professional advantage over time.
Adaptability, awareness and curiosity all begin with a learning mindset. My belief is simple: When we stop learning, we stop progressing. Young people who remain open to change and continuously upgrade their skills will be best prepared to succeed in the future.
With AI and technology transforming industries, how can colleges prepare students to stay ahead of the curve?
Colleges must move beyond teaching students how to use AI casually and begin teaching them how to use it professionally, responsibly and strategically.
Many students are already familiar with platforms such as ChatGPT and other large language models, but their use is often limited to completing assignments, summarising information or rewriting text. AI has far greater potential. It can support research, analysis, coding, design, communication, automation and decision-making across industries.
I believe educational boards and affiliating universities should allow colleges to introduce both basic and advanced AI skills, including prompt engineering, within undergraduate programmes. Students should learn how to frame effective instructions, verify outputs, identify limitations and apply AI tools to real workplace challenges.
As more organisations integrate AI into their operations and workflows, graduates who understand how to work effectively with these systems will have a clear advantage. If colleges provide structured AI education today, students will not only be better prepared for future industries but will also help those industries innovate more effectively.
What message would you like to give to students across India about using education not just for personal success but also to contribute to the nation’s growth?
My message to students is that education should never be viewed only as a means of personal advancement. Every skill and experience we gain gives us an opportunity to create value for others.
An educated and skilled individual contributes to the nation by working productively, creating employment, building businesses, paying taxes and bringing knowledge, expertise and economic value to the country. However, the impact becomes even greater when knowledge is shared.
Digital platforms have made it possible to learn and teach almost anything — from repairing a laptop and managing finances to cooking, coding or developing professional skills. That is the true power of education: It multiplies when it is passed on.
India will progress when its young people succeed with a sense of responsibility. Learn for yourself, grow for your family, and use your abilities to strengthen the nation. When young people learn, apply and share their knowledge, personal progress naturally becomes national progress.
