One year MBA Class of 2014 graduates at IIM Indore

Indian Institute of Management Indore (IIM Indore) hosted its 15^th Annual Convocation on Saturday, March 29, 2014 in a ceremony spread across two days. The occasion was graced by eminent dignitaries from the industry.

45 participants of the one year MBA programme (EPGP) graduated the course at the convocation and were awarded diplomas at the glittering ceremony. PGP, PGP-UAE, PGP-Mumbai, EPGP-EG and PGPMX-Mumbai participants were awarded diplomas at the event while FPM students were conferred the title of Fellow of IIM Indore.

The event marks a milestone for IIM Indore: the 2014 graduating class is the fifth class to complete the one year MBA programme launched in 2009. The one year MBA programme is the first masters level programme at IIM Indore to accept experienced professionals with a minimum of five years of work experience in keeping with global standards for an MBA programme (both one-year and two-year MBA programmes in USA and UK induct candidates with on an average 5-6 years of professional experience). Consequently the MBA programme is the first programme at IIM Indore to meet accreditation norms for an MBA course as specified by global accreditation body Association of MBAs, UK.

Ramachandra Guha speaking at the IIM Indore convocation

The Annual Convocation began with convocation procession, a tradition where all participants along with the Chief Guest, Board and faculty members of IIM Indore walk through the hallowed precincts of the Institute towards the convocation venue. Shri K.V. Kamath, Chairman, IIM Indore then declared the annual convocation open and delivered the welcome address.

This year, the Chief Guest of the event was Shri Ramachandra Guha. In an inspiring Convocation address, Shri Ramachandra Guha talked about the state of the current Indian Republic.

He said that today India faces five challenges: conflicts over linguistic and religious identities and the challenge is to protect out plural ethos in this conflict; the unreconciled parts of India pose a significant challenge where we must ponder, understand and address the alienation experienced by three states of our country Kashmir, Nagaland and Manipur; the levels of social inequality create the need to be aware that economic growth can bring about deepening and pervasive social inequality; corruption at both micro and macro levels; and environmental challenges that can only be addressed through a more responsible and parsimonious use of our resources.

Dharmendra Kumar Goyal, EPGP ’14 receiving the Gold Medal from Ramachandra Guha

He urged the Graduating Class to think about these fault lines in the Indian Republic adding that the only manner in which these challenges can be met is when we have capable leaders with a vision to make India a more democratic and just society. He exhorted the Graduating Class to be such leaders in whatever sphere that they may choose in order to usher in a brighter future for our nation.

The IIM Indore Gold Medal for Scholastic Performance for the EPGP programme was awarded to Dharmendra Kumar Goyal.

Professor Rishikesha T. Krishnan, in his 1^st convocation address highlighted major achievements of the Institute in the academic year 2013-14. 

Speaking to Oneyearmba.co.in about the graduating one year MBA Class, he said, “The EPGP has multiple distinctive features, but I would like to underline two of these. The first is that our EPGP participants spend six weeks at University of Texas at Austin. This international exposure at a top-ranked global business school nicely complements the high quality inputs they receive at IIM Indore. The second is that in addition to a general management core we provide concentrations in two areas – Analytics and BFSI – with a mix of cutting edge courses from our faculty and industry experts. Combined together these give IIM Indore EPGP graduates a unique differentiator over other one-year programmes.”

He added, “Not surprisingly, industry response to IIM Indore EPGP has been positive. Our students also got excellent feedback from UT Austin. I am confident that IIM Indore EPGP alumni will make a substantive impact in their chosen domains in the years ahead.”

The convocation was streamed live on the IIM Indore website for the benefit of the parents of the students who were not able to attend the Convocation as well as the general public.