Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, welcomed the new batch (2019-21) of PGP and PGP-FABM on June 16. Prof Errol D’Souza, Director, IIM-A said, “We are delighted that in selecting potential future leaders who can contribute to their own and their colleagues’ growth and learning, we have also achieved a diverse mix in the entering class. In a discussion-based learning environment, such as ours, diversity of participants’ backgrounds, their experience and inclusivity of the institution’s culture contribute significantly to a positive learning environment.”
This year, there was a consistent and steady rise in students with work experience of 13-36 months joining the PGP programme.
Prof Vishal Gupta, Chairperson, Admissions, IIM-A, said, “Our admissions policy helps us admit students with diverse perspectives to contribute greatly to the discussion-based learning that we employ at IIM-A. This is part of a conscious effort to improve the in-class learning experience of students.”
PGP programme: Work experience
The PGP programme saw a slight dip in the otherwise steady growing strength of female students. This year, 24 per cent of batch is women.
Prof D’Souza added, “We are conscious about the efficacy of increasing the percentage of women entering our class. The achievements are slow as the goal is to not give extra credits or specify a quota for gender or other diversity attributes in the admission process.”
PGP programme: Female students
Manasi Susarla, PGP student, with a background in journalism and communication said, “Having dealt with fast-paced businesses on an everyday basis and driven communication strategies for them for almost two years now, I have developed a keen interest in how businesses, in their entirety, function and grow.”
The PGP-FABM programme, saw a leap in students from agriculture background.
PGP-FABM programme: Students with agriculture background
PGP-FABM programme: Students with Food/Dairy technology background
Danish S Mehta, PGP-FABM student, said, “I come from a farmer-family in Haryana. From the beginning of my professional endeavors, I had a keen interest in the field of agriculture and wanted to have my own agri-business. My undergraduate course in agriculture taught me about the operational nuances of agriculture as a livelihood and what importance it holds in our country.”