Continuing its streak of a high gender diversity, the handcrafted IIM Sambalpur, one of the most promising and dynamic management institutions among the new generation IIMs of the country, welcomed their MBA Class 2021-23 through an august inauguration programme. The virtual session was graced by distinguished and esteemed guests which included Chief Guest, Dr Saurabh Garg, IAS Chief Executive Officer, UIDAI and Keynote Speaker, Mr Lalit Gupta, Co-founder, Edduus, Leadership Coach and ZIIL Malaysia. The induction programme also witnessed a welcome address by Prof Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director, IIM Sambalpur. The program began with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp, followed by an address by Prof. Poonam Kumar, Chairperson Admissions. The MBA Program was introduced to the other faculty members, staff, students and media by Prof. Merlin Nandy, Chairperson, PGP. The 7th MBA batch with its strength of 169 students is a vibrant combination of gender and academic diversity.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director, IIM Sambalpur, said, “The Vision of IIM Sambalpur is to “Nurture Responsible Leaders with Entrepreneurial Mind Set”, and we operate around our 3 Core Values: INNOVATION, INCLUSIVENESS & INTEGRITY. The ecosystem we have created based on the 3I’s of Innovation, Inclusiveness and Integrity has been instrumental in creating a difference. As an evidence to our Inclusiveness Value propositions, we became the first IIM in 2019 MBA admission with highest gender inclusive diversity of 49% female students in MBA, 44% in 2020 and 48% female in 2021. As an outcome of this, every other IIM has started following our inclusive policy and now we are happy to see that this has become the trend in all other Institutes. Another evidence of our Inclusiveness value propositions is that we have signed MOUs with MSME, GOI and India SME Forum to develop small businesses and start-ups in smaller towns to make business more inclusive and not confined to big companies in big towns. This year we have 48% girls in a batch of 169 students in MBA 2021-23 from more than 22 different states in India. 67% of the candidates are from Engineering background and 65% of students have prior working experience.”
He further added, “The role of IIM Sambalpur is to build entrepreneurial capacity so as to create wealth for our Country and our society. Our unique proposition is to nurture large number of start-ups and entrepreneurs across the country. hence, we would encourage our young MBA students all those who are a part of the institute to align themselves with our Vision and participate in executing the same. We desire for you all to acquire skills and capabilities to create wealth for the organisation and for yourself. I wish that all the students make maximum and optimum use of their next 2 years hear in developing their managerial and leadership capability and become a responsible leader with an entrepreneurial mindset.”
Addressing the new batch, Keynote Speaker, Mr Lalit Gupta, Co-founder, Edduus, Leadership Coach and ZIIL Malaysia, stated, “We are living in an era of entrepreneurs and leaders. Studying at an IIM, you are sure to have a successful career, whether you join a multinational company or start a venture of your own. There is a huge amount of disruption happening around us and COVID has only accelerated those changes. Technology makes things more efficient. Today we are all connected with each other, and these uber-technologies are disrupting traditional business models faster than ever before. These changes are revolutionary. Leaders have high level of emotional integrity that is about being brutally honest in knowing what exactly they want for themselves. While this is an era of uncertainties, it is at the same time an era of opportunities and possibilities. We have to figure out how to take advantage of these opportunities and possibilities and not get bogged down by the challenges. This is what will create the difference between living and leading. You are at the right IIM to be able to excel at that because the focus on entrepreneurship at IIM Sambalpur is exemplary.”
Chief Guest, Dr Saurabh Garg, IAS Chief Executive Officer, UIDAI, commented, “Companies that existed 100 years ago, don’t exist anymore and this is normal. People can make educated guesses on what the future holds but they remain guesses and that is the exciting thing about the future knowing that there will be changes which one could have never imagined a few years back. Keeping in mind that change is the only constant, the one advice that I can give these students is that figuring out the gaps that is there in your education. Every interaction you have with another human being, is a course in communication. Performance of a leader also depends on teamwork so do learn how to work in groups and teams. Life is a marathon, and you will not have victory at every point. I am sure you are all looking forward to the next two years, but I would suggest you do think about your alma matter once you go out as well.”
The 5-day Induction program will be addressed by a host of eminent and notable leaders from the industry and the Government. The guests who will honour the induction week includeShri Aishwarya Pratap Singh, Head of Marketing, ITC Limited; Shri Keshav Rao Director, Personnel, MCL; Shri Dilip Ranjan Sahoo, Head HR, Vedanta; Shri Krishna Padhee, Head HR, Hindalco; Ms. Harshita Agarwal, VP, Royal Bank of Scotland; Prof. M R Dixit, IIM Ahmedabad; Ms. Sucheta Mahapatra, Member BoG Managing Director, Branch International; Mr. Arvind Padhi, IAS Director, Country Relations, ICRISAT; Prof. Sabyasachi Sinha; Mr. Ashish Garg, Member BoG, BCG; Film Maker, Mr. Neel Madav Panda.
Owing to the pandemic, IIM Sambalpur has been conducting online classes which is likely to continue this year as well. Introduction of Flipped classrooms and thereby following a blended pedagogy, allowed IIM Sambalpur to transition quickly and efficiently in the online mode, once the pandemic hit. The institute’s classrooms are equipped with SMART Boards, where students can login and access notes, presentations, curriculum schedules and even test their own knowledge through built-in quizzes. Use of Learning Management Software for online proctored examinations along with an innovative pedagogy like Flipped classrooms, have allowed IIM Sambalpur to be in line with the vision and objectives of the New Education Policy. IIM Sambalpur has achieved 100% placement for its 5th batch despite the pandemic with multi fold increase in recruiters across sectors.
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