After weeks of deliberations and evaluating various options, IIM Amritsar has decided to start its flagship MBA programme online from July 13. While the continuing batch of MBA-05 will have their sessions from July 15, the new students will begin their orientation and preparatory courses around the same time.
Since the upcoming MBA-06 batch needs to be familiar with the college's different processes and resources, the Institute has planned for a fortnight's induction programme before it starts Term 1 classes for the new batch on August 3. The induction programme will provide the new students with the necessary foundation for the courses and familiarise them with the institute's systems and processes. As life at IIM Amritsar is not confined to academics, these sessions will also orient them towards the pulse of student life, including students' committees and interest groups.
The Institute is taking enough measures to make the onboarding process for the new batch convenient and smooth as they set off on a two-year MBA journey. Even before the orientation programme begins in the week of July 13, Prof. Nagarajan Ramamoorthy, Director IIM Amritsar, will meet students from the MBA-06 batch in the second week of July to introduce them to the Institute and faculty members.
Being familiar with the challenges of online learning, Prof. Nagarajan has proposed Tutorial classes every week besides the regular sessions to ensure students face the minimal difficulty owing to the mode of learning. After interacting with the continuing students, Prof. Nagarajan felt that some students might face internet connectivity issues at times. To facilitate smooth learning for such students, he suggested recording all lectures and sharing links with all the students, so they could later review the content discussed in the class.
The Institute has decided to keep the size of the class below 50 to promote a higher level of engagement and active learning. In addition to the measures to aid student learning, the Institute has conducted training sessions to familiarise the faculty members with various online teaching tools and learning management systems.
IIM Amritsar will run classes online until the Central and State governments allow the opening of the campus for students. The decision to open the Institute may be taken in the latter half of July 2020.