IIMB welcomes 17 students, including nine women, to its PhD programme
Director, Deans and Faculty urge the scholars to set high standards in research and publication
12 June, 2023: “As participants of the IIMB doctoral programme, your responsibility includes keeping the flag of IIMB flying high. We have consistently achieved top scores in the NIRF rankings with 100 per cent in Perception score in the 2023 rankings. We accomplished this because people in industry and academia rate us highly, which again happens due to the top quality research work that is being done here”, said Prof. Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore, while welcoming students to the new batch of the Doctoral Programme (PhD) of the institute, earlier today.
IIM Bangalore welcomed 17 students to the PhD programme this year. There are nine women in this cohort.
Harking back to his own time as a PhD student, Prof. RT Krishnan described it as “an inflection point” (in 1991) as changes were introduced in the Economics curriculum responding to the changes in the country’s policies. He said today there is another inflection point. “The entire country today, as well as the field of research, is at the crossroads, with technology and AI gaining tremendous relevance. New winds will spur your professional growth. Our PhD programme itself has evolved significantly. You can also be part of our journey in enhancing the programme further.”
Benchmark against the best, says IIMB Director
Prof. RT Krishnan advised the students to stay relevant with their research work. “The fact that you come from different fields and regions reflects this is a national programme which will give you a broad perspective. You need to build a strong foundation here and keep pace with the sophisticated research methods of the times. Embrace quantitative methods. Ask questions which are interesting, make your research rigorous and relevant.”
Highlighting the importance of following rules at an institute such as IIMB, as well as laying focus on mental health of the students, he said, “Be sensitive while interacting with people. Engage with people. Stay fit in mind and body, and use the services provided by the school be it in sports, physical fitness and mental health.”
Encouraging the students to benchmark themselves against the best in the world in terms of having papers ready for publication in top journals, collaborating with peers for paper publications, attending top conferences and forming their own professional networks, and creating a distinct position for themselves in their respective fields, Prof. RT Krishnan said, “Make the best use of resources here and use your time well. On the basis of your work here, you could find recruitment in top institutions.”
Earlier in the day, Prof. Ananth Krishnamurthy, Chairperson, PhD programme, and faculty in the Decision Sciences area, shared the batch profile.
Prof. Rajendra K Bandi, Dean, Administration and faculty in the Information Systems area, Prof. Sourav Mukherji, Dean, Alumni Relations & Development and faculty in the Organizational Behavior & Human Resources Management area, and Prof. U Dinesh Kumar, Dean, Faculty, and faculty in the Decision Sciences area, also addressed the students.
“IIMB provides a great ecosystem for researchers. Many of our PhD alumni are faculty in IIM Bangalore or in other IIMs”, said Prof. U Dinesh Kumar.
Addressing the new students as his ‘future academic colleagues’, Prof. Bandi shared details of the facilities available on campus. “You are in a world-class campus. Make the most of the infrastructure and other facilities,” he said.
Director’s Merit List awardees
The event also included felicitation of first- and second-year students on the Director’s Merit List. Kunal Biswas, from the Economics area, received the DML award for second-year students, and Shweta Sogani, also from the Economics area, received it for first-year students.
PhD students who have achieved different milestones in their programme during the past year were also felicitated, which included candidates who cleared the comprehensive exams, successfully defended their proposals and dissertations. A Programme Overview by the Doctoral Programme Committee was also provided to the 2023 cohort.
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