The 21st and 22nd Convocation of the Indian Institute of Management Indore was held online. A total of 1,439 participants — 741 from the 2020 batch and 698 from the 2021 batch —graduated in the online convocation. The Chief Guest for the convocation, Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestle India, delivered the convocation address.
Deepak Satwalekar, Chairman, IIM Indore Board of Governors, declared the convocation open, and said, “Look at every crisis as an opportunity, not as a profiteer, but to serve. Do not sit and complain about the reduced opportunities, but make the best of what you can and demonstrate your capability to the fullest.”
Key milestones
Prof Himanshu Rai in his address shared various milestones achieved by IIM Indore in the last two years. He mentioned that the institute now has collaborations with 40+ foreign educational institutions for student and faculty exchange, and research. He also noted that the number of articles published in the top journals by March 2020 had increased by 25 per cent as compared to the previous academic year.
Encouraging the participants to remain optimistic he said, “We as humans, are full of experiences and moments. We learn through the moments we live in. We are what our experiences and understanding mould us into who we truly are and who we are meant to become. You can still gain experiences. You can still create more memories. When things don't go quite as planned, like the previous two years, how you handle the disappointments and challenges that you face now and in the coming years, both personally and professionally, will determine the experience that you have and the memory you walk away with.”
Valuable lessons
Congratulating the graduation batches, Narayanan in his address shared with the participants 6 C’s — Character, Confidence, Courage, Competence, Curiosity and Contentment; which helped him in his journey so far. “Character is a unison of purpose, values, behaviour and outcomes. Confidence is an important measure of capability of success in one’s life. Courgae is the inner strength to be able to do the things you set your mind to. Competence is the marriage between education and skills. The person who can make a mark is not just competent but also curious to learn more and more about the field that they are working in. Learn to be content. When you have done your best, and you achieve something, be grateful for it,” he concluded.