IIMB hosts valedictory ceremony for Batch 3 of Professional Certificate in Hospital Management
Dr. H Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman, Manipal Hospitals, delivered the keynote address
25 July, 2025, Bengaluru: IIM Bangalore, through its digital learning initiative IIMBx, hosted the valedictory ceremony for Batch 3 of the Professional Certificate in Hospital Management (PCHM), a 10-month programme designed to equip healthcare professionals with essential administrative and leadership capabilities to manage complex healthcare systems. Marking the occasion, Dr. H Sudarshan Ballal, MD, FRCP (London), Chairman, MHEPL, Manipal Hospitals, delivered the keynote address earlier this evening.
Dr. Ballal reflected on the shifting contours of healthcare delivery in India. “Your completion of this programme is a testament to your hard work”, he said, addressing the gathering of doctors, clinicians, and healthcare workers accompanied by their families.
Drawing on his five-decade-long experience in the medical field, Dr. Ballal spoke of the sector’s evolution from an ecosystem comprising government, teaching, charitable, and mom-and-pop nursing homes to one that now demands management as an antidote to overburdened medicine. “There was a time when management was entirely alien to medical professionals. But private investment changed the landscape. Today, we see the white coats donning blue coats to bring managerial acumen into healthcare; something once thought to be improbable”, he noted.
On the importance of empathy in leadership, he advised participants to be consultative, fair, and humble. “Arrogance has no place in medical parlance,” he said. Recounting his own decision to pursue a management programme at the age of 65, he encouraged participants to remain lifelong learners, adapt to technology-driven interventions, and be prepared to seize emerging opportunities.
Shankar Sitaraman, CEO, IIMBx Digital Learning Foundation, spoke about the journey of IIMBx in extending management education across sectors. “We're delighted to contribute to taking management learning to what is one of the most important sectors of our economy”, he said. Noting the impact of IIMBx since becoming a Section 8 company, he added, “We have reached over one million learners so far. Our focus continues to be learner-centric design, quality content, and impact-driven delivery”.
Prof. U Dinesh Kumar, Director In-charge, IIMB, talked about the manner in which medical advancements, even while accounting for breakthroughs, have been able to discover very little about the human body. “Despite remarkable progress in medicine, diagnostics remain challenging. Programmes like PCHM help bridge gaps in hospital operations and bring much-needed managerial rigour. That is why we chose the MOOC delivery format to scale impact and nurture compassionate healthcare leaders”.
Calling the PCHM one of the most important parts of IIMB’s programme portfolio, Prof. Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director, IIMBx Foundation, faculty of Strategy, thanked Dr. Devi Shetty, Chairperson, IIMB Board of Governors, under whom the programme was envisaged. He also thanked IIMB faculty for designing the programme in close consultation with healthcare professionals to make the learnings as targeted as possible. “Our attempt was to design a course in a domain that has traditionally been outside the purview of management education. I urge all of you to apply what you have learned. We are eager to plug any gaps that you have found. So, do share your feedback”, he said.
In the closing remarks made by Prof. Haritha Saranga, faculty of Production & Operations Management (POM) and course instructor for Healthcare Operations Management, she said, “The programme is supposed to be a magnifying glass for you to review care operations more critically”. She encouraged participants to see technology as an enabler to eliminate obsolete tasks and redesign processes, especially in the Indian context, where the doctor-to-patient ratio stands at approximately 1:1000.
Click here for photo gallery
IIMB hosts valedictory ceremony for Batch 3 of Professional Certificate in Hospital Management
Dr. H Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman, Manipal Hospitals, delivered the keynote address
25 July, 2025, Bengaluru: IIM Bangalore, through its digital learning initiative IIMBx, hosted the valedictory ceremony for Batch 3 of the Professional Certificate in Hospital Management (PCHM), a 10-month programme designed to equip healthcare professionals with essential administrative and leadership capabilities to manage complex healthcare systems. Marking the occasion, Dr. H Sudarshan Ballal, MD, FRCP (London), Chairman, MHEPL, Manipal Hospitals, delivered the keynote address earlier this evening.
Dr. Ballal reflected on the shifting contours of healthcare delivery in India. “Your completion of this programme is a testament to your hard work”, he said, addressing the gathering of doctors, clinicians, and healthcare workers accompanied by their families.
Drawing on his five-decade-long experience in the medical field, Dr. Ballal spoke of the sector’s evolution from an ecosystem comprising government, teaching, charitable, and mom-and-pop nursing homes to one that now demands management as an antidote to overburdened medicine. “There was a time when management was entirely alien to medical professionals. But private investment changed the landscape. Today, we see the white coats donning blue coats to bring managerial acumen into healthcare; something once thought to be improbable”, he noted.
On the importance of empathy in leadership, he advised participants to be consultative, fair, and humble. “Arrogance has no place in medical parlance,” he said. Recounting his own decision to pursue a management programme at the age of 65, he encouraged participants to remain lifelong learners, adapt to technology-driven interventions, and be prepared to seize emerging opportunities.
Shankar Sitaraman, CEO, IIMBx Digital Learning Foundation, spoke about the journey of IIMBx in extending management education across sectors. “We're delighted to contribute to taking management learning to what is one of the most important sectors of our economy”, he said. Noting the impact of IIMBx since becoming a Section 8 company, he added, “We have reached over one million learners so far. Our focus continues to be learner-centric design, quality content, and impact-driven delivery”.
Prof. U Dinesh Kumar, Director In-charge, IIMB, talked about the manner in which medical advancements, even while accounting for breakthroughs, have been able to discover very little about the human body. “Despite remarkable progress in medicine, diagnostics remain challenging. Programmes like PCHM help bridge gaps in hospital operations and bring much-needed managerial rigour. That is why we chose the MOOC delivery format to scale impact and nurture compassionate healthcare leaders”.
Calling the PCHM one of the most important parts of IIMB’s programme portfolio, Prof. Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director, IIMBx Foundation, faculty of Strategy, thanked Dr. Devi Shetty, Chairperson, IIMB Board of Governors, under whom the programme was envisaged. He also thanked IIMB faculty for designing the programme in close consultation with healthcare professionals to make the learnings as targeted as possible. “Our attempt was to design a course in a domain that has traditionally been outside the purview of management education. I urge all of you to apply what you have learned. We are eager to plug any gaps that you have found. So, do share your feedback”, he said.
In the closing remarks made by Prof. Haritha Saranga, faculty of Production & Operations Management (POM) and course instructor for Healthcare Operations Management, she said, “The programme is supposed to be a magnifying glass for you to review care operations more critically”. She encouraged participants to see technology as an enabler to eliminate obsolete tasks and redesign processes, especially in the Indian context, where the doctor-to-patient ratio stands at approximately 1:1000.
Click here for photo gallery