IIMK Kochi Campus Executive MBA Programme Witnesses 36 % jump in Enrolments; 172 Participants Inducted into the Largest Ever Batch

Kozhikode : The Induction ceremony for the 10th batch of IIM Kozhikode’s Executive Post Graduate Programme (EPGP) in Management, Kochi Campus, for the year 2023 – 2025 for working executives was recently held at IIM Kozhikode campus. Mr. ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam, Former Union Minister of State for Culture, and Tourism, Former Civil Servant and Supreme Court Advocate was the Chief Guest for the induction programme. Director IIM Kozhikode, Prof. Debashis Chatterjee, presided over the ceremony with the Deans, Chairpersons, faculty, staff and the newly inducted students in attendance.

The Kochi campus, a brainchild of the current Director Prof. Debashis Chatterjee, was setup in the year 2013 and was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister of Kerala. The current EPGP 10 batch with 172 participants is the largest executive-MBA batch till date at satellite campus and comes with an average work experience of 9 years. The cohort also has 4 international participants (USA, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Singapore) this time around and female candidates account for 20% of the batch. To allow participants outside of Kerala, this batch is scheduled to have one weekend cohort in physical mode, and two weekday cohorts in online mode. Interestingly, in a wide and welcome departure from the past trends at IIMK Kochi Campus, over 75% of the batch comes from states outside Kerala. IT/ITES (35%), Manufacturing (12%), Govt/PSUs (10%), BFSI/Consulting (09%), Sales and Marketing (07%), Entrepreneurs (06%) sectors/areas make up for the bulk of this cohort which has representations from leading corporates/companies like – Microsoft, Amazon, Cognizant, Reliance Communications, IBM, TCS, Boeing, American Express, Tech Mahindra, Deloitte, Samsung, Tech Mahindra, Adobe, Capgemini, Bosch, Apollo Tyres etc.

In his inspiring address to the students and IIMK community members, Mr KJ Alphons used his varied life and career experiences as exemplars to underscore those values that held him in good stead in his nearly three-decade long Civil Services career and then later as someone who left the IAS to join politics, to subsequently became a Member of Parliament and a Union Minister.  He encouraged the student participants to “Dream Big and Aim Big”, and to have the urge to make a difference in the society, even if in a small way. He emphasised that in this increasingly digital age it is essential to maintain the humane and emotional connect with colleagues, friends, family and community, as people’s participation was critical for driving societal development objectives. He urged the future managers and leaders to adopt a sustainable lifestyle and never to shy away from taking courageous decisions at critical junctures in their careers.

Prof. Debashis Chatteree, thanked Mr Alphons for gracing the occasion and recounted the genesis of the idea of Kochi Campus during his first stint at IIMK, back in 2012. He congratulated the participants for making it through the tough selection processes, and also lauded the diversity in the batch that saw a confluence of participants from 22 states and over 20% females. He pointed out that management is India’s most successful soft power and that Indian Managers are a potent force to reckon with, at the global stage. “What makes it possible for our managers to do so well? It is the deep orientation to values in India; wealth creation is sacred and legitimate here. A way to express Indian soft power is to provide a management education that is rooted deeply in not just the symbolism, but the actuality of what it means to be an Indian.” He expressed confidence that IIMK will play a crucial role in the creation of a new and resurgent India, and urged the participants to be engaged with the larger institutional mission of IIM Kozhikode.

Earlier, Prof. Venkataraman S, Chairperson – IIMK Kochi Campus Programmes, introduced the guests and the incoming cohort of EPGP Kochi-10. Prof. Anandakuttan B Unnithan, Mentor-Professor IIMK delivered the vote of thanks.

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