IIM Sambalpur conducts its first ever virtual induction program, reiterates its commitment towards gender diversity

Sambalpur. Succeeding a pioneering online admission process, IIM Sambalpur, one of the most promising and dynamic management institutions among the new generation IIMs of the country welcomed their MBA Class 2020-22 and PhD Class 2020 through an august inauguration programme.

The virtual session was graced by distinguished and esteemed guests which included Chief Guest Mr. Guru Prasad Mohapatra, IAS, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and Guest of Honour and Keynote Speaker, Mr. Prabhjeet Singh, President, Uber India & South Asia. The inaugural programme also witnessed a welcome address by Prof Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director, IIM Sambalpur.

The MBA Program was introduced by Prof. Atri Sengupta, Chairman, PGP and the PhD program of the institute was introduced by Prof. Balamurugan Annamalai, Chairman, PhD Program. The 6th MBA batch with its full strength of 168 students is a vibrant combination of gender and academic diversity.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director, IIM Sambalpur, said, “Inclusivity is one of the core values of IIM Sambalpur and I am glad to say that we have the most diverse class profile this year, in terms of gender with 40% female candidates, socio-economic class and diverse academic background with rich industry experience, representing more than 17 states/UT’s of the country.

We have increased our seats from a 100 to 165 this year. Among the students who have taken admission this year, 72% are from Engineering background while rest 28% from other subjects and 60% come with prior work experience in the industry. I am confident that we will be able to produce Responsible Leaders with an Entrepreneurial blend of mind from these Students.”

The 5-day Induction program will be addressed by a host of eminent and notable leaders from the industry and the Government.

The guests who will honour the induction week include Mr. Dinesh Murugesan, Head HR, DSM, Mr. Rasmi Swain, Principal- Risk Management & Information Security at Infosys Member, SMU (Dallas), Shri V. Srinivas, IAS, Additional Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances, GOI and Director General, National Centre for Good Governance, Mr Prasad Unnikrishnan, Partner, KPMG, Prof. M R Dixit, IIM Ahmedabad, Mr Tarun Chugh, CEO, Bajaj Allianz, Dr. E Sankara Rao, CEO & MD IFCI Ltd, Prof Sabyasachi Sinha IIM Lucknow, Mr. Umesh Adhikary, President, Chairman’s Office Aditya Birla Group, Mr. Siddhartha Gupta, CEO Mercer Mettl, Ms. Prativa Mohapatra, Vice President, Sales for IBM India/South Asia, Mr.Subrat Tripathy, Chief Executive Officer, The Dhamra Port Company Ltd., and Mr. Jyoti Kumar Agarwal, Director Finance, JSW.

Owing to the current circumstances, IIM Sambalpur will be conducting online classes with the help of several digital tools and processes to facilitate effective learning for its students.

Taking forth the concept of Flipped classrooms, Learning Management Software like Moodle will be utilized, and students and faculty members will interact regularly through VC.

Furthermore, the institute has smart classrooms equipped with SMART Boards, where students can login and access notes, presentations, curriculum schedules and even test their own knowledge through built-in quizzes.

All examinations of IIM Sambalpur will be conducted through online processes as well, either by using online proctoring systems for descriptive exams or using LMS for quiz and multiple-choice exams. Team projects will also be conducted virtually as per the trend in industry.