Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla delivers IIMA’s 56th Convocation address virtually

Ahmedabad : The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), India’s foremost and globally recognised management institute held its 56^th annual convocation virtually at 12.00 p.m. today. Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairperson, Board of Governors (BoGs), IIMA and Professor Errol D’Souza, Director, IIMA graced the occasion, as other members of the Board, faculty, staff, alumni, graduating students and their families joined the event virtually.  The ceremony was broadcasted at https://www.iima.ac.in/convocation2021/ earlier today.

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairperson, BoGs, IIMA, declared opened the first virtual convocation followed by the invocation, setting the stage for a memorable graduation ceremony. Mr. Birla thereafter conferred Ph.D. titles, MBA, MBA-FABM, and MBA-PGPX degree and awarded scholastic medals. This was followed by the convocation address by Mr. Birla.

A total of 605 graduating students were conferred titles, degrees and included students from IIMA’s full-time long duration programmes, i.e. the Ph.D. Programme in Management, the Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP), the Post Graduate Programme in Food and Agribusiness Management (FABM-MBA) and the Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (MBA-PGPX). The toppers from each programme were awarded gold medals in recognition of their accomplishments.

Delivering the convocation address, Mr. Birla, congratulated the graduates and said, “It is important that you have clarity on your North Star, but then be adventurous and experiment, use these experiences to build your flywheel and compliment your IQ with EQ. I don’t see IQ and EQ as binary qualities, but rather as complementary traits that make a personality wholesome You need to add other dimensions to your thinking, most importantly, of empathy and humility.

When you look back in a few years you must ask yourself just one question. Did I make a difference? It doesn’t matter whether you are a marketer or a consultant, an entrepreneur or a techie. Have you advanced progress in your field and added to the cumulative repository of knowledge and wisdom? If the answer is yes. Then you have done justice to the education you have received and lived up to the rich legacy of this iconic institution.” 

In his concluding address, Prof. Errol D’Souza, Director, IIMA, applauded the perseverance and hard work of the students and faculty in the face of the pandemic. Prof. D’Souza said, “Doing what is fair is often in conflict with showing loyalty and good citizenship behavior in organizations that the students will work in. However, in a VUCA world we require people who are just and fair.” He congratulated them for navigating choppy waters during the challenging year at the institute and encouraged them to go out and give the best they are capable of that will be beneficial not only to their careers but also to humankind.

Despite the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, students across programme kept up their enthusiasm, giving their best in academic and extra-curricular activities.

The Red Brick Summit, India’s biggest management symposium; Krishi Manthan, the largest International Food, Agribusiness and Rural Development Summit of Asia, were student led events that met with success. The student’s social wing proactively reached out to the weaker sections of the community, during the pandemic to provide financial aid, build community kitchens and facilitate safe travel for migrant workers to their hometowns.

Traditionally, the convocation ceremony at IIMA is held at the lush green lawns of the Louis Kahn Plaza, where the convocation march is led by the Chairperson and Director of IIMA along with other Board member, faculty and students assemble. This year, to comply with the government regulations on Covid-19, IIMA switched to the digital mode to hold its 56^th convocation.

Although an online function which was different in many ways, it brought alive the memories of many who studied, stayed and taught at the institute. While the graduating students, their family and friends watched the convocation ceremony from the safety of their homes remotely, the large number of faculty and staff joined the ceremony virtually from their secure offices or homes on the campus.

The virtual ceremony ended with the Chairman IIMA BoGs declaring the 56^th Annual Convocation closed.

With the passing out of the students today, IIMA will have around 39,600 alumni who include, business leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, diplomats, academics, change makers in the social sector, artists, celebrated writers, among others.