A legendary Canadian quality guru

Perhaps no one has seen God. We can only feel His presence. People say that God cannot be present everywhere that is why He created mother. I want to add; God cannot be present everywhere that is why he created and sent his messengers to help His followers.

You need to recognize that messenger. I was fortunate that I recognized and found one in 2003. After having done post graduation (master's degree) from IIT Kanpur, India and served in the governmental organization for over 18 years, I had migrated to Canada in 2002 in search of a better life.

Dr Mozammel Khan is known to me for over 15 years now. I had met him first in 2003 when I was looking for upgrading my educational credentials to be recognized and absorbed in Canadian profession. Having a master's degree in Environmental Engineering, I was considering taking up a course/program related to Environmental Engineering. As another option, I was considering Quality Assurance as many people observe me to be a born perfectionist, a quality professional.

It was in 2003 when I had met Dr. Mozammel Khan as the creator and coordinator of Quality Assurance program when I was considering these two options. Dr. Khan is a real expert of quality and he quickly realized my quality traits during his interview with meand exclaimed, "Praveen, you are a true quality professional. I strongly recommend you to become a part of our Quality Assurance program." I have been proudly associated with him ever since.

Dr. Khan had created the one-year postgraduate program of Quality Assurance in 1998. He calls this program to be one of his 'babies'. He loves so much this program, all quality professionals related to this program, be it the students, professors, employers, or the like.

Sheridan's success lies in the success of its students. Successful students contribute towards the success and satisfaction of employees, employers, stakeholders, more jobs, improving Canadian economy, happy community, and the like! Sheridan Institute recognized the contribution of Dr. Khan and honoured him with the prestigious award of the "Best Teacher" (out of around 4000 professors) committed to students' success.

Dr. Khan is not just committed to students' success during his / her academic sessions at Sheridan but also after that always whenever needed. When it comes to Sheridan's student success, I am a typical example to throw light on Dr. Khan's contribution towards students' success.

"Dr. Khan helped me to regain my lost self-esteem and redefined my definition of best teacher. I owe my success to him."

For the first time in the history of Sheridan Institute, a book by the name of "Transforming Lives at Sheridan: A Tribute to Dr. Mozammel Khan" has been written to honor Dr. Khan. All proceeds from the sale of the book go towards the Mozammel Khan Endowment fund, created by the Sheridan Foundation. A scholarship by the name of "Mozammel Khan Scholarship" has been set up to award one scholarship every year to a Quality Assurance student annually.

In my lecture presentations of "Quality Auditing", I explain how "the Lead Auditor" is the answer to many questions. Similarly, Dr. Khan is the answer to many questions related to Sheridan, such as:

Who is the best teacher?

Who is the best human being?

Who is the best mentor?

Who is the 'ocean' of knowledge?

Who is the 'Wikipedia' of quality?

Who is the best colleague to work with?

Who do you turn to when you need any help?

Who shows you the right path when you need?

Who boosts your confidence to recognize your own strengths?

Who is the source of inspiration?

And the list continues…I strongly feel that Dr. Mozammel Khan is the Canadian 'avatar' or 'version' of Quality Guru. (Some of you may be aware that there are about half a dozen quality gurus recognized internationally.)I wish I could recommend him for one of the highest civilian awards in India, "Padma Shri" for his contribution towards helping Indian community in Canada.

The writer is an Indian-born Canadian professor in the Faculty of Applied Science and Technology Sheridan Institute of Technology, Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada