Chief Financial Officer of SBI Cards Rashmi Mohanty delivers special address; Distinguished Alumni Awards for Ashok Reddy, Abhijit Roy and Samina Bano
12 June, 2023, Bengaluru: IIM Bangalore welcomed the new batch of students to its two-year fulltime MBA programmes: Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) and the Post Graduate Programme in Business Analytics (PGP-BA), 2023-2025 batch, with an inauguration program on 12th June 2023. This year has a record number of students joining the cohort, with 531 gaining admission into the PGP and 75 joining the PGP in Business Analytics. The orientation program will be conducted from 12th to 17th June 2023.
Batch profile
Prof. Ashis Mishra, former Chairperson, Admissions & Financial Aid, and faculty in the Marketing area of IIMB, discussed the batch details. “Out of the total 606 students who have gained admission, 531 have joined PGP and 75 have opted for PGP in Business Analytics. A total of 82% are from Engineering background and more than 30% are women students, and that is praiseworthy. The average work experience and average age are 24 months and 24 years, respectively. For Business Analytics, the average work experience is 31 months. I wish you all the best in your demanding journey here with countless activities.”
Distinguished Alumni Awards for 2023
The evening’s event also saw recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Awards (DAA) for 2023 being felicitated, and addresses by the DAA award winners – Ashok Reddy, PGP 1995; Abhijit Roy, PGP 1991, and Samina Bano, PGP 2010. Instituted in 2007, the Distinguished Alumni Awards are given to alumni in recognition of their achievements of exceptional merit and excellence in their chosen field of endeavour – be it industry, management, entrepreneurship, research, academia, or social service. Each awardee receives a citation and her/his name is engraved on the IIMB Wall of Fame.
Special address
The inauguration ceremony featured a keynote address by the Chief Guest and IIMB alumna from the PGP batch of 1995 Rashmi Mohanty, who is currently the Chief Financial Officer, SBI Cards. In a professional career spanning 27 years, she has worked across the banking, non-banking and metal & mining sectors. Her areas of expertise include corporate finance, treasury, investor relations, corporate strategy and risk management. She is a Computer Science engineer from Delhi Institute of Technology (now NSIT) and earned her postgraduate degree from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.
Sharing her academic journey, especially at IIMB, as well as her career journey, Rashmi Mohanty advised the students that hope and courage are pivotal to success. “Listen, take what resonates and leave the rest behind. This way you can unleash your full potential, go ahead and distinguish yourself and the institute. The academic journey here with its case studies, projects submissions, exams, etc. will challenge you, but it will be well worth it."
“With the wealth of your education at IIMB, expand your mind, find your calling and write the script of your own life. Be accountable for your decisions and do not succumb to peer pressure. Take on projects of your interest…and in all this, look for role models and mentors. Be open to explore.”
She had a special word of advice for the women of the cohort – to break the glass ceiling of gender-based constraints in order to make a difference. “It will be difficult. Make sure your sacrifices are worth it. In case of tough choices, seek guidance and prioritize. And then trust your decision, turn the page and have no regrets.”
Pointing out that career paths are rarely linear, she said, “Add value to your roles and see what you can learn from them, how it will challenge you, and remember that salary and perks are just by-products. The challenge and quality of your work will make you satisfied.”
“Identify and overcome your fears by stepping outside your comfort zone. Seek strength from your triumphs and failures. Be a lifelong learner. Leverage knowledge and embrace change. Also, take your learning outside the classroom. Network, build bonds and also leverage the same.”
She concluded by urging the students to focus on their passion and hobby, which, according to her, should be to keep fit, be creative and to network. “When you are doing what you love, it does not feel like work. So, always keep your passion at the core of what you do. Look after yourself and have fun in the process.”
Welcome addresses
The event also included welcome addresses by Professor Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore, Deans, Programme Chairperson, etc.
IIMB Director Prof. RT Krishnan, in his welcome address, advised the students to be adaptable on multiple fronts, in order to handle all the changes that businesses are undergoing due to technology and other factors. “We have reviewed our programmes and changes have been incorporated into the curriculum relating to digital, data and ESG. You need to keep track of all the changes happening outside. When needed, ask faculty and peers to help you grasp the changes and track other sources of information. So, prepare yourself for a lifelong journey of learning and change.”
“The programme will help you think, make sense of the data, so engage actively in the class learning process, analyze different situations and use the tools of the MBA programme.”
“Managing people is a tough challenge, as I learnt from feedback from alumni. So, try to understand the OBHRM module well, which will be an important factor of your success. Engage with people and events. Another important thing is attending guest talks and interacting with them. Get the insight from these people as they share a lot of tacit knowledge.”
"Manage time, get good sleep and exercise. Be physically and mentally fit for the rigors of the course.”
Calling the students brand ambassadors of IIMB, he said, “Remember the ground rules, read the manual properly. There is no room for compromise on academic integrity. Moreover, there is no room for harassment or discrimination of any kind. Be conscious of your behavior towards others. Study well students, have fun, interact and use all facilities that IIMB has to offer.”
Prof. Rahul Dé, Dean, Programmes, and faculty in the Information Systems area, gave an overview of the programmes, highlighting the top rankings achieved by IIMB. “We do not follow the lecture and exam pattern. Our courses are finely tuned to the needs of the students and industry. We have added, dropped and revised aspects of the programmes based on needs of the future. We want you to engage with the study material: listen-analyze-apply; take part in extracurricular activities, contests and international exchange programmes; interact and network with students of other programmes, learn from them and share knowledge; be sensitive while interacting with people; make use of institute resources; choose your Elective courses wisely and be conscious of academic integrity,” he added.
Prof. R Srinivasan, Chairperson, Post Graduate Programme in Management and Post Graduate Programme in Business Analytics, and faculty of the Strategy area of IIMB, introduced the Chief Guest. In his address to the students, he said, “In the next two years you will have enriching lives and the learning will propel your careers in the direction you desire.”
DAA awardees thank their alma mater
Prof. Sourav Mukherji, Dean, Alumni Relations & Development and faculty in the Organizational Behavior & Human Resources Management area, introduced the DAA awardees, who received their awards from the Director.
In his acceptance speech, Abhijit Roy listed empathy, positivity and strong communication skills as the three character traits which are critical for leadership roles, that IIM Bangalore helped him hone.
In her address, Samina Bano shared how her academic journey at IIMB helped her go beyond constraints and carve a niche for herself.
Ashok Reddy said that IIMB provided the foundation and confidence to translate his aspirations into action.
All three urged the new students to stoke their entrepreneurial instincts, engage in initiatives that address social challenges and use the IIMB platform to take India forward in its journey of progress.
SAC welcomes students; awards and scholarships announced
The day’s events also included an address by the Students' Affairs Council (SAC) President Harshav Bessariya, on 'Life at IIM Bangalore'. Announcements of the Director’s Merit List, Director’s Honours List and other scholarships were also made. The inauguration ceremony ended with a cultural program.
Orientation program to follow
The orientation program from 13th to 17th June will cover interaction of the new students with faculty members and other senior officials (Deans, Chairpersons) of the school regarding introduction to the programmes, learning online, administrative matters, IIMB’s other programmes, activities, centres, committees and facilities, and more. Interaction with alumni groups has been scheduled as well.
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