PGPEM welcomes 80 students to the Class of 2025-27 on 5 April 2025
Serving as Chief Guests were Pranam S Karpur of Genpact, and Sangeeta Bavi of YourStory, both alumni of IIMB
5 April, 2025, Bengaluru: With a legacy spanning 27 years, the two-year MBA for Working Professionals: the Post Graduate Programme in Enterprise Management (PGPEM), welcomed the 2025-27 batch on 5 April 2025. The inauguration was attended by 80 students of the incoming cohort, along with Prof. Mukta Kulkarni, Dean Programmes; Prof. U Dinesh Kumar, Dean Faculty; Prof. Ashis Mishra, Chairperson, PGPEM. Marking the occasion, two alumni of IIMB’s PGSEM programme, Pranam S Karpur, Vice President and Sr. Partner - Data, Tech & AI, Genpact, and Sangeeta Bavi, Chief Operating Officer, YourStory, served as the Chief Guests.
Learning, leading, and lasting connections: The alumni keynote
“Congratulations! You have joined a league of leaders”, said Pranav, addressing the incoming cohort. He drew from his own experience of the PGPEM, formally known as the PGSEM, to inform the students of its key differentiator—symbiotic learning. “You are uniquely positioned to apply your learnings from IIMB in real-time to garner immediate professional insight. In the meantime, you get to bring in and workshop professional challenges in the midst of a rich pool of faculty, a world of resources, and a group of peers with whom you are going to build long-term relationships”.
He encouraged the cohort to “mind the gap” between where they are and where they aspire to be, to communicate extensively with their employers, and to build a strong support system that will aid in keeping up with the rigour of the programme. “Leverage stubbornness as a strategy and allow the programme to expand your horizons”, he said.
An alumna of PGSEM 2010, Sangeeta Bavi, reflected on how the programme played a very important role in shaping her career spanning 25+ years. “I am a witness to how having a degree from IIMB puts you on a different horizon of consideration”. Acknowledging the high-pressure nature of the programme, she recounted, saying, “You will have conflicting priorities and moments of reconsideration, but the manner in which you learn to manage your stress will make you a much stronger professional and leave you with an unmatched sense of discipline”.
Speaking of the programme’s capabilities, Sangeeta touched on the art of pivoting and the power of networking. She advised students to chart their career path by aligning their next five professional decisions with their long-term goals. On networking, she noted, “The network I’ve built here has helped me make friends, open up to business and career opportunities, and many of them are even my customers. Network-building is your biggest asset at IIMB”.
Batch profile
“Management problems require a well-rounded approach that is informed by the best practices of a variety of industries. It is why we take great pride in curating this particular cohort”, said Prof. Ashis Mishra as he delivered the batch profile.
Calling it an extremely selective and rigorous pathway for personal and professional growth, he said, “This cohort sees participation from 73% male and 27% female students; an average age of 34, with the highest and lowest being 47 and 26, respectively. We see an average work experience of 11 years, with the highest at 22 years and the lowest at 4 years. In terms of educational profile, 84% are from an Engineering background, followed by Commerce, Science, and other disciplines. Lastly, you bring an organizational background that is 29% from the IT sector, 29% Manufacturing, followed by Service, Commerce, Consulting, Retail, Energy, Aerospace, Telecom, and others”.
The programme’s global standing
OB&HRM area faculty Prof. Mukta Kulkarni extended her congratulations, reminding students of the global stature and standing of the PGPEM, which is designed for working professionals with a minimum of 4 years of experience. “You should be proud of making it into a programme that ranks highly in critical QS rankings, being #1 in the country, top #10 in the Asia Pacific, and among the top #50 globally”, she said. On the dynamic nature of the cohort, its alumni fraternity, and opportunities for cross-programme engagement through electives, she said, “Show up. The most unbelievable ideas and connections will come from these spaces”.
Staying conscious and cognizant in the face of AI
Meanwhile, Decision Sciences area faculty Prof. Dinesh Kumar, while interacting with the students, quipped about the PGPEM being the faculty’s favorite cohort. Adding to his congratulatory remarks, he spoke of AI capabilities entering the fray and causing volatile disruptions in the job market. “Unless you have the right kind of human intelligence and know how to use it, AI is not capable of taking your jobs”. He added, saying, “Through this programme you will become conscious, cognizant and learn to understand problems better. It is going to add immense value to your toolkit”.
Welcoming the students, Col. S.D. Aravendan, Chief Administrative Officer, IIMB, guided students to route any administrative queries to the admin office.
Click here for photo gallery
PGPEM welcomes 80 students to the Class of 2025-27 on 5 April 2025
Serving as Chief Guests were Pranam S Karpur of Genpact, and Sangeeta Bavi of YourStory, both alumni of IIMB
5 April, 2025, Bengaluru: With a legacy spanning 27 years, the two-year MBA for Working Professionals: the Post Graduate Programme in Enterprise Management (PGPEM), welcomed the 2025-27 batch on 5 April 2025. The inauguration was attended by 80 students of the incoming cohort, along with Prof. Mukta Kulkarni, Dean Programmes; Prof. U Dinesh Kumar, Dean Faculty; Prof. Ashis Mishra, Chairperson, PGPEM. Marking the occasion, two alumni of IIMB’s PGSEM programme, Pranam S Karpur, Vice President and Sr. Partner - Data, Tech & AI, Genpact, and Sangeeta Bavi, Chief Operating Officer, YourStory, served as the Chief Guests.
Learning, leading, and lasting connections: The alumni keynote
“Congratulations! You have joined a league of leaders”, said Pranav, addressing the incoming cohort. He drew from his own experience of the PGPEM, formally known as the PGSEM, to inform the students of its key differentiator—symbiotic learning. “You are uniquely positioned to apply your learnings from IIMB in real-time to garner immediate professional insight. In the meantime, you get to bring in and workshop professional challenges in the midst of a rich pool of faculty, a world of resources, and a group of peers with whom you are going to build long-term relationships”.
He encouraged the cohort to “mind the gap” between where they are and where they aspire to be, to communicate extensively with their employers, and to build a strong support system that will aid in keeping up with the rigour of the programme. “Leverage stubbornness as a strategy and allow the programme to expand your horizons”, he said.
An alumna of PGSEM 2010, Sangeeta Bavi, reflected on how the programme played a very important role in shaping her career spanning 25+ years. “I am a witness to how having a degree from IIMB puts you on a different horizon of consideration”. Acknowledging the high-pressure nature of the programme, she recounted, saying, “You will have conflicting priorities and moments of reconsideration, but the manner in which you learn to manage your stress will make you a much stronger professional and leave you with an unmatched sense of discipline”.
Speaking of the programme’s capabilities, Sangeeta touched on the art of pivoting and the power of networking. She advised students to chart their career path by aligning their next five professional decisions with their long-term goals. On networking, she noted, “The network I’ve built here has helped me make friends, open up to business and career opportunities, and many of them are even my customers. Network-building is your biggest asset at IIMB”.
Batch profile
“Management problems require a well-rounded approach that is informed by the best practices of a variety of industries. It is why we take great pride in curating this particular cohort”, said Prof. Ashis Mishra as he delivered the batch profile.
Calling it an extremely selective and rigorous pathway for personal and professional growth, he said, “This cohort sees participation from 73% male and 27% female students; an average age of 34, with the highest and lowest being 47 and 26, respectively. We see an average work experience of 11 years, with the highest at 22 years and the lowest at 4 years. In terms of educational profile, 84% are from an Engineering background, followed by Commerce, Science, and other disciplines. Lastly, you bring an organizational background that is 29% from the IT sector, 29% Manufacturing, followed by Service, Commerce, Consulting, Retail, Energy, Aerospace, Telecom, and others”.
The programme’s global standing
OB&HRM area faculty Prof. Mukta Kulkarni extended her congratulations, reminding students of the global stature and standing of the PGPEM, which is designed for working professionals with a minimum of 4 years of experience. “You should be proud of making it into a programme that ranks highly in critical QS rankings, being #1 in the country, top #10 in the Asia Pacific, and among the top #50 globally”, she said. On the dynamic nature of the cohort, its alumni fraternity, and opportunities for cross-programme engagement through electives, she said, “Show up. The most unbelievable ideas and connections will come from these spaces”.
Staying conscious and cognizant in the face of AI
Meanwhile, Decision Sciences area faculty Prof. Dinesh Kumar, while interacting with the students, quipped about the PGPEM being the faculty’s favorite cohort. Adding to his congratulatory remarks, he spoke of AI capabilities entering the fray and causing volatile disruptions in the job market. “Unless you have the right kind of human intelligence and know how to use it, AI is not capable of taking your jobs”. He added, saying, “Through this programme you will become conscious, cognizant and learn to understand problems better. It is going to add immense value to your toolkit”.
Welcoming the students, Col. S.D. Aravendan, Chief Administrative Officer, IIMB, guided students to route any administrative queries to the admin office.
Click here for photo gallery