IIM Kashipur will be a formidable leader in Analytics domain: Director

In an exclusive conversation with Shiksha.com, the Director talked about the institute’s admissions, placements strategy, management training programmes and more. Check out some important excerpts from the interview below:

Despite the ongoing pandemic situation, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kashipur placed its biggest-ever batch of 320+ students belonging to the MBA and inaugural edition of the MBA(Analytics) program, said Director Kulbhushan Balooni. In an exclusive conversation with Shiksha.com, the Director talked about the institute’s admissions, placements strategy, management training programmes and more. Check out some important excerpts from the interview below:

Q. How was placements post-pandemic? What were the challenges faced?

A. This year, we had an excellent placement season, contrary to the initial expectations. We placed our biggest-ever batch of 320+ students belonging to the MBA and inaugural edition of the MBA(Analytics) Despite the pandemic, our students were placed in record time by January. In addition, we had several new recruiters this year. The challenges were mainly concerning the logistics of arranging processes with students residing both on- and off-campus. However, barring a handful of companies, processes were held online, thereby eliminating the need for travel. We are thankful to our recruiters for placing their faith in our students and partnering with us.

Q. We all know CAT is important for PGDM, MBA programme. What are the courses offered by IIM Kashipur that enrol students without CAT? What is the process to get admission in these courses?

A. IIM Kashipur has a strong commitment to democratizing high quality and excellence in education and training. We firmly believe that having a bad day on the CAT examination should not mean that the candidate cannot get the quality of education that an IIM offers ever While executive programmes offer admission without CAT scores, the merit of intake is maintained through a detailed selection process tailor-made for each programme and certification. In many programmes, alternatives to CAT, such as GMAT, JRF, and other reputable scores, are accepted to increase diversity in the cohorts to enhance learning in the classrooms.

Q. Are there any major changes in IIM Kashipur Admission Process post-COVID?

A. At IIM Kashipur, we follow a rigorous admission process in all programs. Thus, to ensure the students’ quality, we have retained the admission process same across the programs with one change; the interview was conducted online instead of offline.

Q. What are the benefits of attending a management-training course for the students?

A. Management-trainings are different from learning or getting educated. Management training is more specific, and the outcomes are often a specific skill set that the trainee develops. This skill set makes sense only if the trainee has a clear thought process regarding the skill set that s/he is seeking. The right skill set can help the trainee overcome a current obstacle in their work environment and career growth path or equip them for their career's future and upward

In these uncertain times, the skill set might be required as a job enabler or qualifier even if it is not necessarily a growth enabler. Many middle-level managers lack a skill set that allows them to move into the boardroom or higher management. Some leaders need to add skills to catapult their teams and organizations into a high-growth orbit. Management training is of significant value in such situations.

Q. How IIM Kashipur prepares students for the industry?

A. IIM Kashipur is a modern-day state-of-the-art management institution that seeks to build on the collective strength of various functional areas and Centres of Excellence to deliver multiple degree-granting and management-training programs. The state-of-the-art content delivered by diverse faculty backed by high-quality global research and relevant experience in teaching and training makes the training programs of IIM Kashipur unique. The core values of collegiality and pro-active engagement with stakeholders such as students and recruiters ensure that the students get specialized inputs to be industry-ready.

Active components such as Experiential Learning, which directly engages students with problem- solving at the grassroots, research dissertations to master and specialize in the entire value chain of conceptualizing, collecting, managing, and analyzing data to generate industry- relevant inputs ratified by industry experts, and prepare the students to outshine the competition in the industry.

We also have introduced industry-series workshops as a component of our MBA programs, where students get to learn directly from practitioners, thereby reducing the industry-academia gap. In addition, our students regularly participate and secure podium positions in corporate case-study competitions, strengthening and demonstrating their knowledge. The merit of selection coupled with innovation and rigour of the coursework ensures that the students are prepared for long successful careers in the industry.

Q. What are the key management skills and lessons students need to learn from COVID- 19?

A. Today’s fast-changing business environment requires people to be agile. Disruptions like Covid-19 have brought unexpected impacts and provoked long-term changes to the ways business is done by realigning infrastructure and capacities toward adapting to the new reality. We see a basic restructuring of the business, starting with targets through strategy and infrastructure realignment and leading to modified processes and operations. The infrastructure and related CAPEX changes are long-term changes that can be termed permanent changes and focus on employee well-being and productivity, profitability and ESG, risk mitigation, and reskilling, a part and parcel of everyday decision-making and strategic initiatives in the organization.

In this context, the key management skills and lessons that students need to learn from COVID-19 is to have a planned approach wherein flexibility does not come at the cost of efficiency, where risk mitigation and management is an integral part of the solution, and where the new normal is translated into meaningful business inputs using analytics for business decision-making backed by genuine research.

The ability to create an innovative structured business model in an unstructured disruptive situation is a must, and our programs are geared toward entrepreneurship as a core value.

Q. How IIM Kashipur is using innovations towards success?

A. IIM Kashipur uses innovations in programme design, structure, content, and delivery powered by technology and human orientation in its quest for success. Our strategic goals guide various innovations such as new programs (a two-year MBA in Analytics), structure (the PhD program has been revamped to meet global standards through an innovative structuring based on the rigor of research integrated with interdisciplinary forays), content (Experiential Learning and Industry Workshops in MBA program are innovations that enable the student to take on problem-solving in the real world and learn from the industry), and delivery (the Executive MBA in Analytics programme is the first two-year hybrid programme which brings the students to the campus every term so that they get the best of faculty interactions along with the convenience of online learning). This is just the tip of the iceberg as many innovations are being introduced in the classroom and administration of the

Q. Blended teaching or Classroom learning, what is beneficial and how. Kindly explain.

A. Classroom teaching and blended teaching have their respective advantages and disadvantages. Classroom teaching is unmatched in terms of faculty-student interaction, classroom discussion, and peer-to-peer learning. It provides a strong incentive to learn as pursuing a full-time degree instead of working is a huge opportunity cost. The IIMs are known for their peer network, which is much easier to build in a classroom setting where alumni can regularly visit to interact with current students. Blended teaching is beneficial from the lifelong-learning Often the opportunity cost is too high for executives

to leave a job and join a full-time program. For them, blended teaching is helpful. It is also beneficial from the point of view of our nation, as it enables constant skill-upgradation and closer industry-academia interaction.

Q. Is IIM Kashipur planning to start the programme in Data Science, AI, or ML? What are the new courses launched by IIM Kashipur?

A. IIM Kashipur successfully launched the first two-year MBA (Analytics) degree program in 2020 despite the COVID scenario. The reception of this program has been encouraging, with 4300 plus applications received the trust in the program comes from faculty who have honed their expertise in Analytics and associated domains. This program covers state-of-the-art topics, including machine learning, big data, deep learning, reinforcement learning, data visualization, and data-driven decision-making, apart from solid foundations in core management topics.

This experience has enabled IIM Kashipur – to launch further a two-year Executive MBA (Analytics) degree program, recently in April 2022, which is again a first of sorts amongst IIMs. We are confident that IIM Kashipur will be a formidable leader in the Analytics domain in times to come.

Various certification programs have also been launched specifically for executives. These include both short-term as well as long-term programs. These are offered with technology partnerships, but the institute fully owns, governs, and operates the programs. Regarding Analytics, since 2017, short-term programs in Business Analytics and Big Data have been taken up by IIM Kashipur. Other long-term programs include Executive Programmes in Strategy and Leadership, Supply Chain Management, and General Management.

Q. Kindly share academic collaborations IIM Kashipur has with other Indian and foreign institutions?

A. IIM Kashipur has several tie-ups with leading management institutes across the world, such as Aalborg University, Denmark; Alba Graduate Business School, Greece; Brunel University, London; ESDES, Lyon, France; Tel Aviv University, Israel; University of Lima, Peru; Woosong University, South Korea; Linnaeus University, Sweden; Salford University, UK; and Syracuse University, New York. IIM Kashipur is a member of the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) and EQUIS (EMFD Quality Improvement System).

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