Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s SPJIMR’s PGDM programme inducted its 40th batch which also happens to be the most diverse ever with 42 per cent women. The number of women participants in this course has been steadily rising without there being any quota for girls or preferential selection, says a press release.
The batch has participants from different fields and professions with 27 per cent non-engineers and 87 per cent of the participants have come with work experience. The batch has students from across the country and includes three international students.
Virtual ceremony
SPJIMR’s PGDM Class of 2020-2022, of 240 students, was welcomed to the B-school on August 1, 2020, through the programme’s first ever-online inauguration. The virtual ceremony recreated the experience that is held in the ML Shrikant auditorium at SPJIMR, with a virtual lamp lighting and the traditional prayer. The ceremony was attended by incoming students, current students, faculty, and staff. Interesting and engaging videos on SPJIMR and the campus were shared with the incoming batch. There was also experience sharing sessions from the seniors. The incoming students took the SPJIMR oath and pledged to follow the institute’s honour code.
The institute selects candidates with exceptional CVs and extra-curricular activities in ‘profile-based’ selection. The regular selection process gives importance to various aspects of a participant's profile along with academics.
Welcoming the incoming batch, SPJIMR’s Dean, Dr Ranjan Banerjee spoke about the core principles of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and stressed on the concept of continuous learning and the interconnectedness of the universe. This finds resonance in the Mission Statement of SPJIMR - influencing practice and promoting value-based growth. He said, “We want to build a generation of leaders who balance collaboration and competition; self and the other; who go into the world with idealism, and a deep desire to leave the world a little bit better than they found it.”
100 girls in batch
PGDM Chairperson Dr Sajeev Abraham George, said, “It is a first that we have 100 girls in the batch, and we are very happy to have students with such a variety of backgrounds and from different parts of the country. It is this diversity of the batch along with SPJIMR’s pedagogical innovations centered around experiential learning, that makes our programme distinct and we hope that our students would become value-based leaders in the uncertain and unpredictable times we live in.”
The students have begun their sessions online. SPJIMR has made sure that all infrastructure is in place for the academic programme to be taught virtually. All subjects would be taught via regular classes held online, until the pandemic situation improves and it is fit enough for the batch to come to the campus.