Be curious and build your band of co-travellers, Kumar Mangalam Birla urges students at the convocation for the founding class of BITSoM
BITS School of Management (BITSoM), the new-age business school in Mumbai, today hosted its convocation for the founding class of 2021 – 2023 at the NCPA, Mumbai. 137 MBA students received their management degrees in the presence of Chief Guest, Mr Uday Kotak, Managing Director and CEO, Kotak Mahindra Bank. The Convocation was presided over by Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chancellor, BITS Pilani.
Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla congratulated the founding class, their families, the faculty, and the staff of BITSoM. In his speech, he urged the graduates to remain curious and lifelong learners. He said, “Take the long view. Think of payoffs longitudinally over a period of time. I know that as ambitious, driven youngsters, that is not always easy in the moment. But trust me, it helps. Great leaders understand that pioneering breakthroughs take time and require patience.” He also encouraged them to build their band of co-travellers. “No pioneer succeeds alone. Whether during the long days when your path seems unclear, or during the times when you need to find bursts of inspiration, you will look to those around you. Your co-travellers are not just professional colleagues but people whom you implicitly trust and are rooting for your success”, he said.
Mr Uday Kotak, in his commencement speech congratulated the “first graduating batch of a unique business management school, BITSoM”. He also applauded Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla for his commitment to making young India future-ready. Advising the students, he said, “Entrepreneurs fail when they aren’t professional enough and professionals fail when they aren’t entrepreneurial enough. Professional Entrepreneurship is a core quality that the future will require”
Prof V Ramgopal Rao, Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani congratulated the students and said “Learning will take you places, and open new opportunities. To remain a lifelong student, keep an open mind, and ask questions.” He added “never compromise on your rules and never lower your bar regarding honesty and uprightness”.
The Chancellor, Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chief Guest, Mr Uday Kotak, Vice Chancellor, Prof V Ramgopal Rao, the Founding Dean, Dr Ranjan Banerjee, members of the Governing Council, and the BITSoM Faculty led the Ceremonial March of the graduating class.
Dr Ranjan Banerjee, congratulating the graduating students said, “I would like to leave you with a thought that I shared on day one, please approach life with a default filter that is collaborative. Interdependent situations outnumber purely competitive situations, and most business schools do not stress this enough”. He also added “institutions do not transform individuals. They provide an environment in which individuals can transform themselves, and the ultimate credit must go to our founding class and the collaborative culture they have built.”
The convocation ceremony was attended by over 600 people including the students, their families, members of the faculty, and the BITSoM team.