“The IIMB vision and mission can be drivers for excellence”: Prof. Trilochan Sastry
Prof. Sastry speaks on ‘Life within IIM Bangalore and life outside’ during a special lecture to mark his retirement after 22 years of service at IIMB
3 April, 2025, Bengaluru: Prof. Trilochan Sastry, faculty from the Decision Sciences area, who retired from the services of the Institute with effect from 31st March 2025 after 22 years of service at IIM Bangalore, delivered a special lecture on ‘Life within IIM Bangalore and life outside’, earlier today.
Thanking the Institute for all the opportunities and support it has provided over the years, Prof. Sastry said, “Life at IIMB is good and the Institute is an excellent place to work for. However, we can make it even better by unlocking our fullest potential. Regarding life outside IIMB, remember that each one of us in the community is an ambassador of this institution. There are immense opportunities to make impact and do lop level research.”
Pointing out that the key idea about management education and research is that this field builds a 360-degree view of any situation, he queried, “Now the question is, are we taking advantage of this unique position and what can we do better?”
He went on to list how it was a blessing to be working for an institution such as IIMB. “The campus here is clean and green, the weather in the city is excellent, and the students, faculty, staff comprising administration, security and yes, the canteen staff – all are skilled and efficient. I thank each one of you.”
Sharing his academic perspective, he said that since IIMB has become financially independent now, we needed to reflect if we have a responsibility towards the world outside and our country. “When I talk about academic life here, I have to mention that there is a lot of freedom to do research, teach Electives, and more. Sometimes, student attitude is a concern, but that is a worldwide phenomenon. We have an excellent student community here. We need to give serious thought on student stress, and that is true for any institute, not just IIMB.”
Discussing how the world has changed since IIMB was set up, he mentioned globalization in terms of placements, students and faculty from overseas, domestic and international rankings, etc. “From three IIMs, we are now at 21. There are other private B-schools in India which try to attract faculty by paying handsome salaries. There is competition in Executive Education also. There is a lot more media attention now. Today, the society and the Government expect a lot more from the IIMs. We need to take cognizance of all this. When the world outside has changed so much, we need to take a 360-degree view and see how we can bring about improvements in our field.”
He congratulated IIMB on being ranked among the best 100 B-schools in the world, as per top national and international rankings. “But what about being rated among the top 50? Maybe we are not ambitious enough. Our IIMB vision and mission can be the drivers for excellence. We need to revisit the mission statement every few years.”
Sharing his thoughts on institution building, he said that an institution needs to identify internal weaknesses and overcome the same. “We need to be reflective, and not defensive, of feedback. Long-term academic excellence sustains on institutions.” He quoted Nobel Laureate David Baltimore and winner of Abel Prize Srinivasa Varadhan, both institution builders, who advised to recruit the best people, for greater and continued success of institutions. “IIMB already has excellent faculty and top faculty have choices, and we strive to bring them here. The speed of response in recruitment is also crucial – we need to be fast and decisive in recruitment.”
He went on to discuss leadership and explained that in academics, leadership is fundamentally different because it is knowledge based. “Bringing in best resources, both human and financial, as well as prioritizing quality over quantity, nurtures the ecosystem, as mentioned in our mission statement. Reputation of any institute depends on world-class faculty and that is what we need to nurture. We need inspiring leaders.”
Regarding life outside IIMB, he said that the best institutes across the world are as outside facing as they are inward looking. “We need to engage with the world outside, in terms of business, government and society, based on which research work can be done. It is encouraging to see younger faculty being passionate about their work. But we can make deeper impact through newer management problems. Engaged scholarship is required to create thought leaders.”
Faculty opportunities is another area that found mention in his talk. “The contribution of IIMB faculty in research, collaborations, executive education, journal and other publications, working with the Government, etc., is immense. While working with farmers, we learnt about food science and technology and came up with three top products which are being exported now. Many more opportunities need to be explored to enhance research and make deeper impact.” He added that this needs to be done in teams, and not in silos.
“Can we do this – the answer is yes. The quality of faculty is excellent, and the younger faculty is immensely motivated. We just need to step back and see where we stand, where we want to go, if we are going there, and what we need to do to get there. Most importantly, we need to be globally competitive. I wish each one of you, as well as the Institute, the very best.”
An accomplished scholar, Prof. Trilochan Sastry’s research interests lie in areas including supply chain management and operations, social entrepreneurship, rural development, and good governance. He served as the Dean of IIM Bangalore from 2008 to 2011. He earned his PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, his MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and B Tech from IIT Delhi. His has published in international journals of repute and has authored a number of management cases. Before joining IIMB, he was a Professor at IIM Ahmedabad, the Associate Dean (Research) and Professor at the Indian School of Business, and has held visiting faculty positions at top global institutes. He has also consulted for various corporate, government and international agencies. He is the founder of two notable NGOs and has served on the boards of various companies and NGOs. His contributions to civil society have been widely recognized, earning him numerous accolades such as the CNN-IBN, NDTV and Times of India (TOI) Indian of the Year awards. He is also a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from IIT Delhi and the Best Young Teacher Award from the Association of Indian Management Schools. Two of his books got published recently – ‘The Essentials of Hinduism: An Introduction to All the Sacred Texts’ and ‘The Essentials of World Religions: An Underlying Harmony’. He has also written widely for the popular press. He was conferred with the Satyendra K Dubey Memorial Award from IIT Kanpur for his contributions to bringing about transparency in public life. The Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) also conferred an award on him in 2024.
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“The IIMB vision and mission can be drivers for excellence”: Prof. Trilochan Sastry
Prof. Sastry speaks on ‘Life within IIM Bangalore and life outside’ during a special lecture to mark his retirement after 22 years of service at IIMB
3 April, 2025, Bengaluru: Prof. Trilochan Sastry, faculty from the Decision Sciences area, who retired from the services of the Institute with effect from 31st March 2025 after 22 years of service at IIM Bangalore, delivered a special lecture on ‘Life within IIM Bangalore and life outside’, earlier today.
Thanking the Institute for all the opportunities and support it has provided over the years, Prof. Sastry said, “Life at IIMB is good and the Institute is an excellent place to work for. However, we can make it even better by unlocking our fullest potential. Regarding life outside IIMB, remember that each one of us in the community is an ambassador of this institution. There are immense opportunities to make impact and do lop level research.”
Pointing out that the key idea about management education and research is that this field builds a 360-degree view of any situation, he queried, “Now the question is, are we taking advantage of this unique position and what can we do better?”
He went on to list how it was a blessing to be working for an institution such as IIMB. “The campus here is clean and green, the weather in the city is excellent, and the students, faculty, staff comprising administration, security and yes, the canteen staff – all are skilled and efficient. I thank each one of you.”
Sharing his academic perspective, he said that since IIMB has become financially independent now, we needed to reflect if we have a responsibility towards the world outside and our country. “When I talk about academic life here, I have to mention that there is a lot of freedom to do research, teach Electives, and more. Sometimes, student attitude is a concern, but that is a worldwide phenomenon. We have an excellent student community here. We need to give serious thought on student stress, and that is true for any institute, not just IIMB.”
Discussing how the world has changed since IIMB was set up, he mentioned globalization in terms of placements, students and faculty from overseas, domestic and international rankings, etc. “From three IIMs, we are now at 21. There are other private B-schools in India which try to attract faculty by paying handsome salaries. There is competition in Executive Education also. There is a lot more media attention now. Today, the society and the Government expect a lot more from the IIMs. We need to take cognizance of all this. When the world outside has changed so much, we need to take a 360-degree view and see how we can bring about improvements in our field.”
He congratulated IIMB on being ranked among the best 100 B-schools in the world, as per top national and international rankings. “But what about being rated among the top 50? Maybe we are not ambitious enough. Our IIMB vision and mission can be the drivers for excellence. We need to revisit the mission statement every few years.”
Sharing his thoughts on institution building, he said that an institution needs to identify internal weaknesses and overcome the same. “We need to be reflective, and not defensive, of feedback. Long-term academic excellence sustains on institutions.” He quoted Nobel Laureate David Baltimore and winner of Abel Prize Srinivasa Varadhan, both institution builders, who advised to recruit the best people, for greater and continued success of institutions. “IIMB already has excellent faculty and top faculty have choices, and we strive to bring them here. The speed of response in recruitment is also crucial – we need to be fast and decisive in recruitment.”
He went on to discuss leadership and explained that in academics, leadership is fundamentally different because it is knowledge based. “Bringing in best resources, both human and financial, as well as prioritizing quality over quantity, nurtures the ecosystem, as mentioned in our mission statement. Reputation of any institute depends on world-class faculty and that is what we need to nurture. We need inspiring leaders.”
Regarding life outside IIMB, he said that the best institutes across the world are as outside facing as they are inward looking. “We need to engage with the world outside, in terms of business, government and society, based on which research work can be done. It is encouraging to see younger faculty being passionate about their work. But we can make deeper impact through newer management problems. Engaged scholarship is required to create thought leaders.”
Faculty opportunities is another area that found mention in his talk. “The contribution of IIMB faculty in research, collaborations, executive education, journal and other publications, working with the Government, etc., is immense. While working with farmers, we learnt about food science and technology and came up with three top products which are being exported now. Many more opportunities need to be explored to enhance research and make deeper impact.” He added that this needs to be done in teams, and not in silos.
“Can we do this – the answer is yes. The quality of faculty is excellent, and the younger faculty is immensely motivated. We just need to step back and see where we stand, where we want to go, if we are going there, and what we need to do to get there. Most importantly, we need to be globally competitive. I wish each one of you, as well as the Institute, the very best.”
An accomplished scholar, Prof. Trilochan Sastry’s research interests lie in areas including supply chain management and operations, social entrepreneurship, rural development, and good governance. He served as the Dean of IIM Bangalore from 2008 to 2011. He earned his PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, his MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and B Tech from IIT Delhi. His has published in international journals of repute and has authored a number of management cases. Before joining IIMB, he was a Professor at IIM Ahmedabad, the Associate Dean (Research) and Professor at the Indian School of Business, and has held visiting faculty positions at top global institutes. He has also consulted for various corporate, government and international agencies. He is the founder of two notable NGOs and has served on the boards of various companies and NGOs. His contributions to civil society have been widely recognized, earning him numerous accolades such as the CNN-IBN, NDTV and Times of India (TOI) Indian of the Year awards. He is also a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from IIT Delhi and the Best Young Teacher Award from the Association of Indian Management Schools. Two of his books got published recently – ‘The Essentials of Hinduism: An Introduction to All the Sacred Texts’ and ‘The Essentials of World Religions: An Underlying Harmony’. He has also written widely for the popular press. He was conferred with the Satyendra K Dubey Memorial Award from IIT Kanpur for his contributions to bringing about transparency in public life. The Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) also conferred an award on him in 2024.
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