CTL Hosts 2nd Edition of Nurturing Future Leadership Program

The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at IIMB hosted the Nurturing Future Leadership Program from September 16 to 20, under the aegis of Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Programme, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India.    

In all, 32 participants, nominated by 17 central institutes and five state-funded institutes, attended the programme. The central institutes include IITs (BHU, Bombay, Hyderabad, Jammu, and Jodhpur), IIMs (Amritsar, Kashipur, and Raipur), IISERs (Berhampur, Mohali, and Pune), NITs (Calicut and Warangal), Central University of Haryana, Dr. B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, The School of Planning and Architecture (New Delhi), and Maharashtra National Law University. The state-funded institutes include HKM Govt. Degree College (Kashmir), Karnataka Akkamahadevi State Women's University (Bijapur), Payyanur College, Rani Channamma University (Belagavi), University of Kerala, and Zisaji Presidency College (Nagaland).   

The programme was inaugurated by Prof. Rishikesha Krishnan, Director of IIM Bangalore, and Prof. Sushanta Mishra, Chairperson of CTL and faculty of OB & HRM area. Prof. Mishra formally commenced the programme with a Welcome Address, where he shared a comprehensive overview of IIMB’s history, followed by a summary of the essential components of the programme.  

Strategic innovation and engaged leadership in diverse areas of research were the highlights of the Keynote Address on ‘Academic Leadership and Institution Building’, delivered by Prof. Krishnan. He urged the participants to set a personal vision for the future, look beyond their role as a teacher and instead view themselves as an ‘engaged scholar’. 

The programme featured an array of insightful sessions focused on topics that covered the areas of managing self, developing leadership capabilities in academic setups, and visioning & engaging people.  The sessions were led by senior faculty members of IIM Bangalore. The details of the sessions conducted during the programme are provided below:  

• Prof. Sushanta Mishra, delivered a series of sessions on the topics of ‘Leadership Competencies’, ‘Emotional Intelligence & Resilience’, ‘Building and Leading Teams’, and ‘Driving People and Performance’. The sessions involved the use of case studies and in-class exercises. The case discussions saw active participation from the audience on relevant aspects such as decision-making, people management, collaboration, team building, and so on.  

• Prof. Rahul De’, Professor, Information Systems, led a session on ‘Digital Leadership’. Drawing on the digital transformation that the education sector is currently undergoing, Prof. De’ threw light at the strategic use of emerging technologies such as cloud-based apps for classroom exercises/activities and Blockchain for credentialing and content authentication. His session majorly delved into the fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence, engaging participants in exercises based on different AI frameworks and models.  

• Prof. Sourav Mukherji, Dean, Alumni Relations and faculty of OB & HRM area, offered a perceptive take on the dimension of sustainability in academic institutes through his session on ‘Driving Sustainability Initiatives’. While he acknowledged that it is challenging to change human behavioural traits, he also asserted that academicians have a crucial role to play in inculcating pro-environmental behaviour at a community level by embedding sustainable practices in their pedagogies and research.  

• Prof. Anil B Suraj, Chairperson, Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, and Professor of Practice, Public Policy, delivered an insightful session on ‘Institutional Legal Aspects and Promoting Inclusivity’. Prof. Suraj set the context for the session by familiarising the participants with the Indian legal system and the way it functions. While interacting with the participants, he threw light on some key strategies that can help academic leaders ensure legal compliance, thereby fostering a safe environment for the institution as well as its stakeholders.   

• Prof. Shankar Venkatagiri, Area Chairperson, Information Systems led a session on ‘Negotiation and Conflict Management’, where he engaged the participants in an intensive role-playing exercise to give them a hands-on experience of applying their negotiation skills. He also threw light on some power negotiating tactics to help them reach a conscious and wise agreement.   

• Prof. Deepti Ganapathy, Chairperson and Visiting Assistant Professor, Centre for Management Communication, touched upon another relevant aspect of leadership through her session on ‘Effective Communication for Academic Leaders’. She engaged the participants in a group exercise, where she introduced a few situation-based dilemmas and encouraged the groups to apply their communication skills to discuss and come up with effective resolution.  

• Prof. Gopal Mahapatra, Professor of Practice, OB & HRM, led a lively discussion on ‘Understanding Self & Visioning’. The session comprised simple exercises for the participants to envision their personal/professional goals through self-exploration and create a roadmap to realise their aspirations as knowledge workers. Prof. Mahapatra highlighted the importance of learning agility for leaders and educators to cope with the constantly evolving landscape of the world.    

• Prof. P D Jose, Professor of Strategy, and Prof. G Raghuram, Former Director, IIM Bangalore, engaged in a dialogue focused on the topic, ‘Managing Stakeholders’. They emphasized the need for future leaders to adapt to the evolving stakeholder ecosystem—edupreneurs, technologists, investors, government & regulatory agencies, international collaborators, etc.—in academic institutions. Some of the key aspects that they highlighted included the protection of non-teaching time of faculty members, involvement of faculty in policy-based decision-making processes, and building of a strong organizational culture within the institution.  

The programme also contributed to holistic growth for the academic leaders by incorporating sessions on yoga & mindfulness, a cultural walkthrough comprising pottery and Channapatna wood turning activities as an attempt to connect them with sustainable enterprises, and a short exposure tour of Bengaluru. 

CTL’s Chairperson, Prof. Sushanta Mishra officially closed the programme by sharing insights on the core duties of an academician in relation to their role as academic leaders. Citing real life instances of thought leadership, Prof. Mishra motivated the participants to see value in balancing their diverse responsibilities, ultimately benefiting their institutions and the academic community as a whole.