An Open Book of All-rounded Excellence & Commitment
Ambitions do not turn into magic overnight but require lots of hard work, passion, grit and determination to come to fulfillment. Dr. Mariazeena Johnson, the Chancellor of Sathyabama Institute of Science & Technology is the perfect epitome of the above statement. Having started her journey as an entrepreneur and a social activist, and with a clear motive of societal progress, she leads Sathyabama as a strong believer of infusing tech with entrepreneurship, guiding tomorrow’s engineers towards technological innovations. From starting as the director of the tech institution to being named among Nation’s 100 most impactful women and top 12 women transformers of India, her journey is a reflection of the hardwork and dedication of her team, coupled with her zeal to outperform on a daily basis.
Striving on Sathyabama’s vision of converting students into global professionals who are agile and vibrant, under a culture-driven campus, the tech institute is enabling such an ecosystem that relies on all-round development, along with technical brilliance. And, as a vital member, Dr. Mariazeena has been on the forefront of Sathyabama, guiding the institute towards accreditations, affiliations, recognitions, compliments and uncompromised quality education.
An engineer with MBA, M.Phil degrees and a Ph.D. credited to her name, with dedicated assistance from her husband, Dr. Mariazeena progresses each day, as an educator and a woman leader, who continues in the footsteps of her father – Colonel Dr Jeppiaar. Always being ready for change anytime and anywhere, she helped Sathyabama stay prepared for any sort of paradigm shifts, and even during the pandemic, she effectively helped mitigate all the challenges and worked towards providing most feasible solutions to teaching, learning and evaluation. “Being a person who believes in CHANGE, I always welcome anything that brings progress and sustainability”, quoted – Dr. Mariazeena.
The confidence code
For more than a decade, Dr. Mariazeena has successfully managed to propel the institute’s vision globally. Despite SIST achieving recognitions and laurels in the field of tech and innovation, Dr. Mariazeena’s passion for reforming education is never ending, and she wants to bring a change in the whole education system. Not just looking forward to improving the lives and educational experiences of students at SIST, she aims towards targeting every student of our sub-continent, ensuring that he/she gets exceptional learning platforms, irrespective of the city, state or institute. Adding a point to this, she stated – “Education is the birthright of every individual, irrespective of their social status or physical capabilities, and we must make sure, that at least in education everyone is an equal”.
Forging ahead with a similar point of view, under Dr. Mariazeena’s authority, the board of SIST guarantees that socially, financially weaker students, and differently-abled students are offered the chance to seek full grants for their study terms. Moreover, with the founding of the Anbu foundation, an association established by Dr. Mariazeena, more than 500 students each year are given full scholarships, guiding students towards accomplishing their respective goals and dreams, and not letting their weaknesses hinder them in the path of getting educated.
As we all know, leaders are not born but are made through calculated efforts, perseverance, and persistence, where Dr. Mariazeena has grown into an influential leader, where her actions inspire others to dream big, learn beyond textbooks and curriculums and become the best versions of themselves. Her journey from being a teacher, entrepreneur, to becoming a global leader had many ups and downs. However, it was her persistence and passion towards education and the betterment of the society that persuaded her to never give up and continue on the road of hardships, redefining the phrase – women leaders in education.
A strong advocate of justice and transforming lives, Dr. Mariazeena encourages inclusive models of education as her top priorities and contributions to change the face and pace of modern education. “Women empowerment is a must and it is a continuous process, and we cannot have any pauses in this journey; it should be revisited, reframed and rejuvenated periodically”, she comments. She also adds – “A strong woman in a family is an asset, A strong woman in a society creates assets. This society requires such women, who can create assets of effective human resources, systems which are flexible and progressive”.
All in all, Dr. Mariazeena realizes that there is more work to be done and while constantly striving to achieve her aim she also empowers others to be leaders. “For me, leadership is to empower others to become leaders and not make them followers,” she quotes. Having redefined the benchmarks of the educational realm, Dr. Mariazeena has now shattered the conventional beliefs about women leaders. Although, the journeys of both Dr. Mariazeena and Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology are far from over, together the combined efforts are preparing SIST to adapt to new challenges and innovation coming its way. Also, living amidst one such character who has changed the insight towards authority and schooling, Dr. Mariazeena’s commitments to society and schooling have now stirred another period in the domain of training. And, most would agree that Dr. Mariazeena’s campaign will land us in a promising and instructed future, well in-sync of what she wants to accomplish in the years to come.
