The Indian Institute of Management Nagpur (IIMN) welcomed its seventh batch of the Post Graduate Programme (PGP) in Management, as well as the first PhD batch, on July 5, 2021. The event was attended by IIMN faculty, staff, senior students, and students of the Batch of 2021-23 from all over the country, along with their family members, from their respective homes. The ceremony marked the beginning of the orientation programme for the new batch.
Prof. Varsha Khandker, Chairperson, Admissions, welcomed the participants of the programmes, noting that the PGP Batch of 2021-23 has the highest proportion of non-engineers (21%) till date, adding that students from more than twenty states of the country are represented in this batch. She emphasized that in the programme, the students will focus on learning to learn, and exhorted the students to be open to knowledge, and seek it out in the world.
In his address to the students, Prof. Prakash Awasthy, PGP Chairperson reiterated that the coming two years would be of immense importance to them. In a changing industrial environment, Prof Awasthy said, the learnings at IIM Nagpur would enable to students to manoeuvre new challenges. He related that the multifaceted pedagogy at IIM Nagpur which includes real-life engagement with the industry, peer learning and international exposure, is designed to create managers who can tackle global issues.
Dr Bhimaraya Metri, Director, IIM Nagpur, addressed the students next. He began by congratulating the students and their parents, mentioning that they students are embarking upon a very significant journey that starts from Nagpur, the centre of India. He mentioned that IIM Nagpur is the only IIM located in the heart of the industry, in the 5th fastest growing city in the world. Dr Metri shared that the Institute is the fastest growing IIM with its physical infrastructure nearly complete, and a state-of-the-art permanent campus nearly ready to operate as soon as it was safe under the present pandemic circumstances.
Coming to the programme, Dr Metri emphasized on the presence of a young but remarkably qualified and experienced faculty, the continuous engagement with industry experts and a global outlook as evidenced by IIM Nagpur’s many strategic partnerships with universities in Japan, Europe, Canada and the US. He mentioned that the students’ learning will further be enhanced by initiatives such as Industry Week (where successful entrepreneurs will share their experiences with the students), International Week (wherein faculty members from renowned universities from around the world will teach the students), Business Thought Leadership Programme and e-mentoring that will connect students with alumni working in the corporate world to tap into their wealth of knowledge and experience. He also shared that IIM Nagpur seeks to make its mark globally, and is aiming for international accreditation in the coming two years, along with plans to start a campus in South East Asia in the near future.
In his concluding words, he advised the students to connect not only with each other, but also with their traditional roots. He stated that a disruptive world such as ours requires intuitive forms of leadership, which is guided by centuries of traditional wisdom that Indians possess.
Prof Awasthy then proceeded to announce the names of the awardees of the Certificates of Merit (term-wise toppers from each section) and the Director’s Merit Certificates (top 5 percent of the batch) among the PGP 2020-22 Batch. The Certificates of Merit were awarded to Dimpy Khurana, Savio Joseph Zacharia, Rampa Karthik, Shubham Mahajan, Richa Chowdhury, Saurabh Bhargava, Abhishek Bangad, Pragati Lohani and Samruddhi Koli. Richa Chowdhury, Pragati Lohani, Dimpy Khurana, Saurabh Bhargava, Abhishek Bangad, Samruddhi Koli and Shubham Mahajan were also the recipients of the Director’s Merit List Certificates, along with Bishal Dhar, CPS Gowtham and Chinmoy Mishra.
The event was followed by an interaction between students of both batches. The orientation programme for the incoming batch is scheduled from July 6th to July 11th, to be coordinated by Prof A R Papi Reddy. During the Orientation, the students will be acquainted with various aspects of the programme, and the Institute as a whole. A speaker series hosting prominent figures from various fields, is also scheduled during this week. IIM Nagpur will be hosting Padma Bhushan Sri M (Head, Satsang Foundation), Mr Randeep Sudan (Founder and CEO, Mutiverz), Mr MVN Rao (Group Head, HR & CSR, L&T), and Mr Ashish Vidyarthi (National Award-winning Actor), as part of this series. Over the course of the next week, students will interact with faculty and staff members to acquaint themselves with Institute processes and facilities, preparatory modules for PGP, interactions with alumni, and workshops that will prepare them for their two-year-long journey at IIM Nagpur.