IIMB One Year MBA (EPGP) 2019-20 Batch Begins Academic Session

IIM Bangalore’s one year MBA, the full-time Executive Post Graduate Program (EPGP) batch of 2019-20, began the academic session with an inauguration ceremony at the campus on March 27, 2019.

Vikram Utamsingh, Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal India, who was the Chief Guest at the ceremony, stressed the need to deliver value and exceed expectations.

• Chief Guest Vikram Utamsingh, MD, Alvarez & Marsal India, stresses the need to deliver value, exceed expectations and not to compromise on integrity.
• Current batch has 80 students, 62 male (77.5%) and 18 female (22.5%).
• Average age 30 years, minimum 26, maximum 41
• Work experience: average 7.5 years, minimum 5.2 years, maximum 15.6 years.
• GMAT score: maximum 770, minimum 650, average 699
• Gender ratio has improved from 21% to 22%. Students with international work experience up from 26% to 36%.
• The percentage of students with international work experience up from 26% to 36%, PSU/Government sector from 12% to 21% and engineering from 81% to 86%.

“Deliver value and exceed expectations. Do it right when no one is looking. Go beyond what you are required to do and balance the risks. Always be objective and get the facts right. Treat others the way you want yourself to be treated.

“The power of giving is very humbling. No one can take away the spirit of entrepreneurship from you, there is a little bit of that in all of us. If and when you consider the journey of entrepreneurship, be proud of creating social value,”

“And never compromise on integrity, because trust is earned when actions meet words. You cannot let that slip, personally or professionally. Nurture integrity in team members as well,” he said.

The students should learn to do what is right and not what is easy, take responsibility and give credit, step up and take charge of failure of self and others and to undertake the most difficult task themselves, he added.

Utamsingh also discussed a few other vital skills for success including entrepreneurial spirit, taking responsibility to help fix problems, calming a hostile environment and putting the firm before self, etc.

“Learn from failure. One good thing about failure is that it makes you humble. It may shock you, but failure readjusts goals. So, tackle failure as feedback, fix it and move forward. A lot depends on if you embrace or succumb to failure,” he pointed out.

Stressing the vital importance of hard work, he said, “Focus on doing ordinary things in an extraordinary fashion, then you will be able to build your brand well. Everyone has the will to win, but preparing to win is crucial. Remember, the quality of work is the best kind of advertising. Teamwork is also essential.”

The speech was followed by an interactive session of the new students with the Chief Guest.

Earlier in the day, Professor G Sabarinathan, Chair, Admissions & Financial Aid, and IIMB faculty in the Finance & Accounting area said that in the current batch, the gender ratio has improved from 21% to 22%. The percentage of students with international work experience has gone up from 26% to 36%, PSU/Government sector from 12% to 21% and engineering from 81% to 86%. There are more students from the finance sector (6%) and energy sector (21%).

Seven students have a degree from IITs and 8 from NITs. There are 13 candidates from the Public Sector, 61 from Private, four from Government, one from NGO and one is self-employed.

The EPGP Chair, Professor R Narayanaswamy, IIMB faculty from the Finance & Accounting area, welcomed the incoming batch and gave an overview of the program.

Professor Abhoy K Ojha, Dean, Academic Programmes and IIMB faculty from the Organizational Behaviour & Human Resources Management area, briefed the students about the administrative set up of the program and discussed the nature of engagement required from the students.

“Keep reminding yourself that you are students at IIMB, although you all have some amount of work experience. Please do not take the position of customers here, we are educationists here – we prepare you for the future.

“We need to maintain the high standards and rigour of IIMB. But remember, even if we need to take some harsh decisions, you will be the beneficiary. We will treat you as adults, but we expect a reciprocal sense of responsibility from you,” he added.

“Moreover, you have to display high standards of ethical behaviour – we deal with such issues very strictly. We also expect you to display good citizenship behaviour. Remember, we are custodians of ‘Brand IIMB’,” Prof Ojha said.

“You also have to adjust to the realities of a highly talented group of people, which might become stressful at times. But you will not be alone during such times. Other than the support of your friends and family, there is counselling service on campus that you can count on,” he added.

Shruti Sharma, Vice President, Development, Salaam Bombay Foundation and alumna of EPGP Class of 2011, shared her learnings and takeaways from IIMB with Batch XI of EPGP. “The USP of the program is that we all come with experience, which helps us understand problems better and ways to solve them. We start thinking differently and the learning becomes a part of us.”

She said knowledge and confidence were her two big takeaways from IIMB. “One of the constant factors in my entrepreneurial journey is creating social value – this is a huge contribution that entrepreneurs can make to society.

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“The power of giving is very humbling. No one can take away the spirit of entrepreneurship from you, there is a little bit of that in all of us. If and when you consider the journey of entrepreneurship, be proud of creating social value,” she added.

Professor G. Raghuram, Director, IIM Bangalore, congratulated the new batch and said, “It is not about changing tracks or boosting your career. The EPGP at IIMB would be a completely transformational journey for you. I would advise you to learn fast as the world is changing, so be aligned to the changes and to your goals.

“Plan well during the course, focus on preparation, be open to multiple perspectives, and remember that problem formulation is important for analysis and execution,” he added.

He said more than work-life balance, what is needed is work-life integration. “We need to be prepared for the ‘downs’ of life, but remember that nothing is permanent, not even failure”, he added.

The EPGP is an intensive program designed to enhance skills and capabilities essential for responsible positions at senior management levels. Challenging and globally oriented, the objective of this program is to produce future leaders who can handle the dynamic corporate environment.