At the 20th Annual Convocation of IIM Indore a total of 729 students received their diploma certificates in seven different management programs including the 2-year full-time Post-Graduate Program (PGP) in Management and the One Year full-time Executive Post Graduate Program in Management (EPGP). In a first, graduates of the EPGP, were awarded an MBA degree.
Delivering the Convocation address, Sanjay Nayar, CEO, KKR India Advisors Pvt. Ltd., advised the graduates to give their 100% to the task at hand, gather the courage to take risks, learn from mistakes, maintain a balance between professional and personal life and cultivate humility.
“As a guy who did a job, I learnt that we should preach simple things and give 100% to whatever work we’re doing. We should understand and get the courage to take risks—we may learn this over the years, but risks would help us learn from mistakes.
“Also, always maintain a balance between professional and personal life, arrogance and humility and remember that you might be vulnerable, but you will still be able to achieve if you focus on your goals,” he added.
Sharing his experience as a manager, he noted that one needs to walk the talk for the people to look up to you. Hence, you need to work hard if you want your team to do so. Small things matter a lot, saying thank you, please, matter a lot to people. Always stay humble and learn from your mistakes,” he added.
The Programs and details of the graduating students:
| S.No. | Program | Male | Female | Total |
| 1 | FPM | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| 2 | FPM Industry | 3 | nil | 3 |
| 3 | PGP | 249 | 167 | 416 |
| 4 | PGP Mumbai | 42 | 29 | 71 |
| 5 | IPM | 66 | 37 | 103 |
| 6 | EPGP | 54 | 12 | 66 |
| 7 | PGPMX | 51 | 11 | 62 |
The Fellow Program (FPM) is a doctoral program in management, IPM a 5-year Integrated Program in Management and PGPMX is Post Graduate Diploma in Management for Executives in Mumbai.
Earlier, the ceremony began with a colourful convocation procession where the Chief Guest, Board and faculty members of IIM Indore walked through the aisle towards the convocation venue.
Deepak M Satwalekar, Chairman, IIM Indore then declared the convocation open. Congratulating the graduating students, he stressed the need for them to focus on their goals, work hard and aim for learnings rather than outcomes and rewards.
“The greatest leaders also might not also be successful, but they learnt from their mistakes and had the courage to accept failures,”
Noting that the work culture and environment were changing rapidly, he said, “Either you can sort the problems you are facing today or you can anticipate the problems you might face tomorrow.
“During this time, make sure to find the opportunities in the problems or the scenario which is being developed,” he added.
“The work environment is changing, the culture is changing and the social scene will be different from what is today. As you see these changes, will you use what you have been taught or anticipate tomorrow’s changes,” he said.
Satwalekar asked the graduates “to be true to yourself and always follow your principles, no matter what—for that will help you in achieving your goals.”
IIMI Director Prof Himanshu Rai, in his speech, noted that the academic year 2018-19 has been a remarkable one for IIM Indore—with the Institute achieving the ‘Double Crown’ by accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business(AACSB) making it one of the very few Institutions in the nation with double accreditation. The first accreditation by Association of MBAs –AMBA was earned in the year 2017. IIM Indore has started the process to earn the third accreditation- EQUIS, he added.
He noted that the job of the leaders has become more demanding and challenging in today’s scenario and they think out of the box, find a new paradigm and better solutions for sustainable growth.
“The greatest leaders also might not also be successful, but they learnt from their mistakes and had the courage to accept failures,” he said. Prof Rai urged the graduates to set an example of ethical leadership to create management paradigms.
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The felicitation of the Scholarship Achievers and Gold Medallists took place at the Pre-Convocation Ceremony on March 25.
Besides the Scholarships and Awards given to students during that ceremony, medals for Academic Excellence were presented by the Chief Guest:
The IIM Indore Gold Medal for Scholastic Performance Rank 1 went to Advika Jalan, Rank 2 to Sneha Kavishwar and Rank 3 to Ayushi Goyal. Advika Jalan also received the IIM Indore Gold Medal for the Best Woman Participant for Scholastic Performance.
IIM Indore Gold Medals for Scholastic Performance were presented to the PGP Mumbai, PGPMX-Mumbai and EPGP participants: PGP-Mumbai – Kotak Hinal Ashokbhai; PGPMX-Mumbai – Vishesh Chadha (2016-18), Pulkita Rohilla (PGP 2017-19 Batch 01); EPGP Batch (2018-2019)- Kirti.