The Indian Institute of Management Nagpur welcomed its fifth batch of PGP students (2019-21) with an inauguration programme at the NIT Community Hall on June 24. Nitin Bawankule, Country Director for Google Cloud, was chief guest at the event attended by students of PGP-1 and 2, IIM-N faculty, staff and parents of freshers. The inauguration flagged off the week-long orientation programme for the new batch.
Prof Thiagu Ranganathan, Admissions Chairperson, gave an account of the selection process that ensured that only the most deserving candidates made it to the Institute. “Fairness is more important than efficiency,” he said, emphasising that the process of selection did not compromise on quality over efficient execution. The Institute also sought to maintain inclusivity, he said, referring to the implementation of the EWS (economically weaker sections) quota from the current year.
Nitin Bawankule
This was followed by the chief guest’s speech. Bawankule is an alumnus of VNIT, Nagpur and IIM Bangalore (Class of 1994). In an interactive address, he spoke to the new batch about the importance of values and practices such as upskilling, embracing change, thinking big, networking, teamwork and a problem-solving attitude.
Citing examples of various industry giants, he explained that reinvention and the ability to think for the long term were key to remaining relevant in industry. He advised the students to remain humble, optimistic, retain integrity and put personal well-being first. He ended with a note to the students about recognising their privilege and giving back to society.
IIM-N Director Prof LS Murty addressed the students, congratulating them and their parents for achieving this milestone. He said that the parents will have to continue to support their children throughout the two-year journey, during which their wards may encounter ups and downs. Speaking about the Institute, Prof Murty referred to the logo and motto of IIM-N as signifying a constant journey in the pursuit of the ultimate knowledge. This journey, while aided by members of the faculty, will also involve rigorous self-reflection and collective exploration on the students’ part, he said. He also said that the new batch would be unique in terms of being the first batch to experience both the present as well as future permanent campus of IIM-N at MIHAN.
Prof Murty concluded with valuable advice to the new batch in the form of an analogy – that of a grinding wheel that goes on incessantly. It is up to the tools to apply themselves to the wheel to hone themselves, abrasive though the process may be. An implement that has applied itself to the grinding wheel correctly would have extracted the maximum benefit from the process.
Prof Deeparghya Mukherjee, PGP Chairperson, said he hoped the batch would uphold the professional values inculcated in their previous workplaces and at the Institute. He announced the names of awardees of the Certificates of Merit (term-wise toppers from each section) and the Director’s Merit Certificates (top 5 per cent of the batch) among the PGP 2018-20 Batch. Bawankule gave away the certificates to Aditya Prakash, T Bharath, Ankita Joshi, Jomy George, and Soumya Ojha. Suraj Tiwary, T Bharath, Ankita Joshi, Jomy George, Soumya Ojha and Rajat Goyal also received the Director’s Merit Certificates.