Inauguration of 2012-14 batch

The young and fledging Indian Institute of Management in the city of Kashipur, Uttarakhand today opened its doors to a fresh batch of students. Having secured admission through the highly competitive Common Admission Test (CAT

-2011), this will be the second batch of students at IIM-KP, the institute having commenced operations only last year.  The students were welcomed by the director of the institute, Mr. Gautam Sinha.

            The Chief Guest at the event was Mr. Rakesh Sharma, Principal Secretary of Technical Education, Uttarakhand. Mr. Sharma’s association with the institute is quite prominent as he was instrumental in setting up the IIM at Kashipur. Wing commander Anupama Monga Vij also graced the occasion.

            The proceedings for the day started with the new students taking a pledge of conduct, value and dignity, both personal and those of the institution. This was followed by the lighting of the lamp by the Chief Guest and the Director.

            Mr Sinha, speaking on the occasion talked of the necessity to ‘deglamourise’ MBA. He cited the example of the current market situation vis-a-vis banking and financial sector and advised students to look beyond these current trends and focus on Rural Management. Emphasizing that management graduates must now able and willing to get their hands dirty and reach out to the rural masses in search of future growth. He also spoke of the need for today’s generation to possess multiple skill sets in order to be able to perform well in the corporate world where the hierarchy has changed from a top-down approach to a more linear approach with large amounts of networking involved. He also talked of plans to raise the standard of IIM Kashipur in order for it to be on par with the older IIMs and expects to increase the number of permanent faculty at the institute, with most of the current faculty being on loan from IIM Lucknow, its mentor institute.

            In his address to the students, the chief guest, Mr Sharma, told the students of the various decisions taken before setting up the IIM at Kashipur. He expressed his desire that this move would help put Kashipur on the map and grow in stature. He also enjoined the students to take up projects and make recommendations as regards to the development of this industrial town. On a different note, he also spoke of the beauty of Uttarakhand as a tourist destination renowned for its trekking activities. He asked the students to take such treks periodically, asserting that this would increase the students’ knowledge and also act as a stress buster from the daily rigour at IIM

Furthermore, Mr. Sharma spoke of major development plans for the town of kashipur. He spoke of development plans for a helipad to improve connectivity to this place citing similar successful examples taken in the past. He also announced to the students that a 200 acre campus was under construction as a permanent location.

            The students at IIM have been on campus for the last three days and are in the midst of an induction process. The batch comprises about 40 students and has a healthy mix of engineering, commerce and arts. A certain proportion of the students are also freshers. The students are from all over India thus contributing to the diversity factor.

            The day’s proceedings were concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Navneet Kaur who is a faculty at IIM Kashipur.