The five-day Programme (21-25 Oct) on ‘Leadership 4.0: Management & Governance in the emerging world of disruption’, conducted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode under The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme concluded on Thursday. In all, 20 participants from 15 partner countries were trained in scientific aspects of leadership and management under the programme funded by the Ministry of External Affairs (Government of India).
Addressing the participants during the valedictory event, the chief guest, Dr Devyani Khobragade, Joint Secretary (Development Partnership Administration II), Ministry of External Affairs, thanked the Director, Dr Debashis Chatterjee, faculty members of IIM-Kozhikode, and the participants from ITEC member-countries for taking the Ministry’s Flagship ITEC programme forward. She hoped that these learnings would not only help the participants enrich their knowledge in leadership and management but also help propagate the uniqueness and diversity of Indian culture that they experienced during their stay in India.
Dr Khobragade added that the ITEC programme would soon transcend boundaries through the E-ITEC (live online tutorials) and through onsite programmes in member-countries as India looked forward to providing all possible technical assistance through country-specific programmes delivered through Institutes of Eminence such as IIM-Kozhikode.
‘Be the change you wish to see’
Speaking on the occasion Dr Debashis Chatterjee, Director IIM Kozhikode , thanked the Ministry of External Affairs, for its support in conducting the Institute’s first-ever ITEC programme, and the participants for their active contribution during the course. He said “India’s biggest contribution to the world has been knowledge, and that the country has lot to offer when it comes to innovations and community-driven initiatives. This ITEC programme with an intensive take on leadership and management will equip the participant with unparalleled skills” .
Invoking Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion, he added that “Every participant present should endeavour to be the change that they wish to see in this world.”
Leadership 4.0 was attended by 20 foreign diplomats, civil servants from 15 partner countries — Malaysia, Ethiopia, Zambia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Bhutan, Mauritius, Kenya, Egypt, Oman, Nigeria, Botswana, Gambia, Maldives and Indonesia. The interactive programme, scientifically designed by the distinguished faculty members of IIM Kozhikode, was about surviving and thriving in a volatile, uncertain and non-linear world.
Governance, risk management
Prof Rudra Sensarma, Dean (Research, Innovations & Internationalisation), IIM Kozhikode , shared that the participants learned about vital elements in leadership, participatory governance, managing risks, communicating in a world of disruptions, and public policy during the course of the programme. A field visit to the neighbouring Wayanad district was also organised for the foreign delegates to help them gain insights into hugely successful community driven initiatives like the women’s self-help group ‘Kudumbashree’ and the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project ‘Jalanidhi’.
Expressing their gratitude to Ministry of External Affairs, IIM Kozhikode and India as country, the delegate participants of the ITEC programmes recounted their rich learning from the Leadership 4.0 programme and the community-driven initiatives demonstrated during the field visit and pledged to share and propagate this Indian experience in their respective countries as true ambassadors of thought.