Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode's director Prof Debashis Chatterjee strongly believes, “IIMs have a pre-eminent role in altering the business landscape of not only this country but also of the world.”
Here's what else he opines on reputation and quality of education at IIMs, diversity and more.
What does obtaining an MBA from the IIMs entail? How has the role of IIMs in India's business landscape evolved over the years?
IIMs have a pre-eminent role in altering the business landscape of not only this country but also of the world. Indian CEOs from the IIM system have taken the world by storm and continue to be the foremost ambassadors of brand IIM. IIMs foster an entrepreneurial spirit among their students. They provide a holistic ecosystem that nurtures innovation and encourages learners to explore entrepreneurial ventures.
Having said that, it is also important to not rest on one’s laurel but continue to bring in dynamic changes to keep the competitive edge in a day and age where technology is bridging the divide rapidly. It is also a matter of pride that Indian Institutes of Management are not just knocking at the doors of gaining global recognition, but are bringing down the wall of divide to offer world-class, affordable education to deserving students.
The management learning embedded in the ethos of Indian Thought is the fulcrum on which the future thought leaders will thrive in the coming decades. India as a global learning centre will flourish with IIMs leading the charge with its highly valued MBA of not only management education but also imparting crucial life skills.
What are the key challenges that IIMs face in maintaining their reputation and quality of education?
Today we live in a dynamic world. IIMs as national institutes of eminence have to be one step ahead of the curve. We have to educate our students that in order to start a business, it has to be economically feasible, technologically viable, politically acceptable, and environmentally global. We have this enormous responsibility of creating a generation who think in this direction.
The challenge therein is that we have not only to create competent managers but also compassionate individuals. IIMs by virtue of their DNA will also continue to look for opportunities encountering their challenges. COVID-19 pandemic was the best example. The ones with the depth and resources will thrive. IIM Kozhikode pioneered the Interactive - Learning (I-L) Program for working executives in India, in the internet’s formative years in India and rolled 300 class contact hours in 2001-02, an unparalleled feat during that era.
We had foreseen long before anyone in the country, that geographical and physical barriers in education can only be bridged by technology. It is that experimentation which gave us the confidence as we took on the challenge of upsetting of a well-synchronised academic calendar and went completely online to nullify the effect of the pandemic. From classes, to internships to placement, we continued on our journey unhindered.
What role does research play in the academic environment of IIMs, and how does it benefit students and industries?
We value research deeply. Our endeavour towards learning has always been to provide greater flexibility and freedom to researchers that will enable them to think out of the box and re-define their academic skills and creative abilities.
IIM Kozhikode is known for creating a sustainable learning environment grounded in the values we have held close over the years. Our inhouse journal IIMK Society and Management Review has received an Impact Factor (IF) of 1.6 and is also now the only “SCOPUS” indexed journal from any Indian management school appearing in both, the Chartered Association of Business Schools [ABS 2021 (ABS 2)] and the Australian Business Deans Council [ABDC 2019 (C)], lists.
Research & Consultancy projects that we undertake for leading government as well as corporate entities also creates a research-intensive environment for students and faculty members.
Recently, as part of the Vision Document IIM Kozhikode is preparing for Suzuki Motors, Japan, our students were exposed to one of the most enriching and endearing international organisational setups. All this practical learning translates into creating future thought leaders and the industries also respond proactively to the infusion of fresh, creative and innovative approach the young minds bring in.
IIMs are working towards diversifying its crowd. What steps did your IIM take to enhance that?
Diversity helps enrich classroom discussions by bringing in fresh perspectives in an intense programme like an MBA at IIMs. Given the impetus on case studies and discussions as a dominant pedagogical tool in our classrooms, diverse views help in forming an informed decision for students who benefit tremendously through peer learning.
Diversity in the classroom fosters creativity. Diverse, cross-cultural, cross-academic classrooms encourage critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. Students feel encouraged to collaborate which in turn helps them learn from each other’s experiences, bouncing ideas off of each other and creating creative solutions. It increases their cultural awareness in a classroom setting, preparing them for a future career in a rapidly changing business environment.
- IIM Kozhikode prides itself in being a pioneer in introducing gender as well as academic diversity. It has been a conscious effort by the institute to encourage a healthy mix of students and welcome them to the IIM Kozhikode fold. We were the first to achieve gender parity way back in 2013, with PGP-17 recording more than 50% women MBA candidates and breaking the glass ceiling. We repeated history for the batch of 2020-22, where female candidates inducted for the programme was close to 54%. The current academic year, we have more than 45% women in the batch for our MBA as well as PhD Programmes.
- In 2019, we also led from the front and introduced ‘Supernumerary’ concept wherein 60 seats reserved for women was done using the same three-staged process restricted to only the women candidates.
- Besides this, after we initiated our new full-time MBA programme – Liberal Studies and Management (PGP-LSM) in 2020, we have consistently recorded a <50% enrolment rate in favour of women candidates.
- Academic Diversity is another aspect which IIM Kozhikode focuses on due to which candidates from a non-engineering background also make a significant part of the cohort inducted every year for the flagship programmes. For the current batch, 59% of students are from non-engineering background.
- To further augment classroom diversity, IIM Kozhikode offers 50 supernumerary seats for international candidates for its three PGP offering. 12 students from 5 countries joined IIMK this year.
- As much as 25% of faculty members and 50% of IIM Kozhikode Board of Governors are women. It is the kind of messaging that comes from the very top that sets up an Institutional/Organisational culture which is readily receptive to changes that can go a long way in creating a more level playing field.
On the same note, regarding potential candidates, what qualities is the institute seeking?
Our focus is developing the emotional quotient of the students as the current workplace is largely focussed on technical (hard) skills, with a need for those more equipped with emotional and creative intelligence.
Recruiters very often make mention of the lack of people skills, out-of-box thinking, and cultural insensitivity of the students. They have shared experiences when students were given a simple human-related issue to tackle which needed more emotional intelligence than anything else and how in tackling the issue, only a few students succeed. This clearly implies the need for exposure to courses non-quantitative in nature in addition to quantitative ones. At IIM Kozhikode we specifically work on imparting these skills through our MBA programme.
Do you concur with the assertion that "IIM graduates are all homogenised in their thoughts”?
As far as IIM Kozhikode is concerned, over the past decade or so, we have unwaveringly focussed on encouraging students from diverse backgrounds, besides engineering, to help break the homogeneity of a class. The success of our PGP-LSM, a first-of-its-kind full-time MBA merging liberal arts and management by any IIM, is proof that our efforts to break the monotony and cultivate a heterogeneous mix of next-generation thought leaders and managers, is a success.
We have time and again made dynamic changes to our selection criteria. The enthusiastic response to a diverse class profile and the value addition in terms of peer learning has only justified our purpose in continuing to promote students across gender and academic backgrounds. The recruiters as well as the students are highly appreciative of our programmes which is reflected through our placement as well as through various academic output.
What advice do you have for candidates aspiring to join your institute?
It is very essential for them to come with an open mind and appreciate that the future of their business will depend entirely on the quality of their actions in the present. The first step for them is to be conscious of an old mindset that they are carrying in their head about business as usual.
Yet we can see that business as usual does not work anymore, just as the business school as usual does not work for me anymore. That is the old normal. The new normal post the pandemic is not sitting there like a target you have to hit. The new normal is what you create through your karma— your thoughtful and conscious action.
