The 17th batch of Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX) of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) has 31 women from diverse backgrounds from filmmakers to teachers and from NGO workers to even a chef. The one-year, full-time programme has 140 candidates from different sectors such as manufacturing, IT/ITeS, defence and security, planning and architecture, shipping and logistics.
Emphasising the importance of diversity, Prof Viswanath Pingali, Chairperson, PGPX said, “The current batch comes with some very interesting experiences that can add tremendous value to classroom learning and strengthen diversity. This diversity is much needed in order to strengthen peer-to-peer learning and enrich discussions. The much-needed modern skill of being interdisciplinary in their thought process becomes feasible only with such a diverse batch.”
Changing landscape
The average work experience is more than seven years and almost 20 students from the batch have international work experience. This batch has also registered the highest competitive exam scores since 2020 — average GMAT scores of 713 and average GRE scores of 325.
Further, Pingali said, “We are happy to be able to maintain the diversity of the batch in terms of gender, academic and professional backgrounds. IIMA is renowned globally for its rigour in academics, and PGPX, which is an integral part of the institute, is no exception. Students are expected to put in significant effort towards their classes, both before and after the class.”
In the past 40 days the students have been on campus, they are already enaging long hours in individual and group studies, taking up surprise quizzes and several other student club activities, all along with daily classes and assignments, a release from the institute, said.