Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad welcomed its new batch of MBA and MBA-FABM students through a virtual inauguration. This was necessitated by the shutdown of academic institutions by the government to control the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.
Professor Errol D’Souza, Director, IIMA, said, “We at IIMA are delighted to welcome the batch of 2022. Even though we are awaiting the government directives to open academic institutions, we will make sure that our students feel the campus learning experience in our online classes.”
Heterogenous classrooms
Of 390 students, 90 per cent of the batch is between the age of 21 to 25 years. Since 2018, there has been a consistent and steady rise of young professionals setting foot in IIMA.
This year, IIMA also saw a decent rise in students from the arts background joining the MBA programme. Professor Vishal Gupta, Outgoing-Chairperson, Admissions, IIMA, explains “Our admissions policy helps us admit students with diverse perspectives to contribute greatly to the discussion-based learning that we employ at IIMA. We believe that having a broad mix of participants without compromising on quality will enrich the academic experience of IIMA students even further.”
Spectrum of perspectives
MBA-FABM programme, IIMA’s top-rated programme in agri-business, also had students from diverse backgrounds entering the class of 47 students. This year saw a slight shift in the academic background from engineering to science.
IIMA Director D’Souza added, “Diversity in the student population helps in enriching the learning process. We consider surface-level diversities in easily identifiable characteristics, such as, sex or educational backgrounds to be important. It has an impact on the heterogeneity of the classroom. Such deep and enduring attributes including values, attitudes, opinions, and perspectives of students inform their creativity and performance in an organisational context.”
“The entire media industry is going digital, and the pandemic has bolstered this growth. To operate in such a competitive market, one needs to have a holistic approach. It is becoming part of a bigger phenomenon which demands not only a balance of creativity and analysis but also dynamism since it is evolving at an exponential rate. I feel PGP at IIMA with its rigorous curriculum will help me broaden my perspective and deepen my understanding,” said Prachodaya Das, student of the MBA 2020-22 batch, hailing from a mass communication background.