Nagpur: The Indian Institute of Management Nagpur welcomed its fifth batch of PGP students (2019-21) in the Inauguration Programme at the NIT Community Hall on June 24th, 2019. The event was graced by Mr Nitin Bawankule, Country Director for Google Cloud, and attended by the students of PGP-1 and 2, IIMN faculty, staff and parents of the new joinees. The inauguration flagged off the week-long orientation programme for the new batch.
Prof Thiagu Ranganathan, Admissions Chairperson began the event with an account of the selection process that ensured that only the most deserving candidates made it to the Institute. “Fairness is more important than efficiency,” he stated, to emphasize that the process of selection did not compromise on quality over efficient execution. The Institute also sought to maintain inclusivity, he said, referring to the implementation of the EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) quota from the current year at IIMN.
This was followed by the Chief Guest’s speech. Mr Nitin Bawankule is an alumnus of VNIT, Nagpur and IIM Bangalore (Class of 1994). In an interactive address, he spoke to the new batch about the importance of values and practices such as upskilling, embracing change, thinking big, networking, teamwork and a problem-solving attitude. Citing examples of various industry giants, he explained to the students that reinvention and the ability to think for the long term were key to remaining relevant in the industry. In addition to this, he also advised the students to remain humble, optimistic, retain integrity and put personal well-being first. He ended with a note to the students about recognizing their privilege and giving back to society.
IIMN Director Prof L S Murty then addressed the students, congratulating them and their parents for achieving this milestone. He emphasized that parents would have to continue to support their children throughout the two-year journey in which students might encounter many ups and downs.
Speaking about the Institute, Prof Murty referred to the logo and motto of IIMN as signifying a constant journey in the pursuit of the ultimate knowledge. This journey, while aided by members of the faculty, will also involve rigorous self-reflection and collective exploration on the students’ part, he said. He also said that the new batch would be unique in terms of being the first batch to experience both the present as well as the upcoming permanent campus of IIMN at MIHAN.
Prof Murty concluded with valuable advice to the new batch in the form of an analogy – that of a grinding wheel that goes on incessantly. It is up to the tools to apply themselves to the wheel to hone themselves, abrasive though the process may be. An implement that has applied itself to the grinding wheel correctly would have extracted the maximum benefit from the process.
Prof Deeparghya Mukherjee, PGP Chairperson addressed the students after Prof Murty. He expressed his hope that the batch would uphold the professional values inculcated in their previous workplaces at the Institute as well. He then proceeded to announce the names of the awardees of the Certificates of Merit (term-wise toppers from each section) and the Director’s Merit Certificates (top 5 percent of the batch) among the PGP 2018-20 Batch.
The Certificates of Merit were awarded to Aditya Prakash, T Bharath, Ankita Joshi, Jomy George, and Soumya Ojha. Suraj Tiwary, T Bharath, Ankita Joshi, Jomy George, Soumya Ojha and Rajat Goyal also received the Director’s Merit Certificates. The certificates were awarded to the students by Mr Bawankule.
The programme was followed by high tea and an interaction between students of both PGP batches. The orientation week progressed with the workshop ‘Right from the Start’ by Ms Aruna Gopakumar, followed by an outbound activity by Breakthrough, which helped students break the ice and interact with each other. These activities – in addition to sessions acquainting them with various facets of the Institute – were followed by a visit to Slum Soccer – an organization that aims at empowering youth from underprivileged communities through football, on Saturday
About the PGP Batch of 2019-21:
The Batch of 2019-21 for the Institute’s flagship Post Graduate Programme (PGP) in Management is composed of 122 students, of which 20 are female candidates. The average work experience across the batch is 26 months, and while it is comprised majorly of engineering graduates (114), there are also 8 students from backgrounds as diverse as chemistry, psychology, commerce, computer application and hotel and tourism management. Students hail from as many as 23 states, enhancing the multicultural nature of the Institute.
