IIMB welcomes largest batch of 23 students, including 12 women, to PhD programme
IIMB Director Prof. RT Krishnan advises the cohort to benchmark themselves against the best in the world and build a strong research community and network
10 JUNE, 2024: Faces filled with excitement and anticipation, twenty-three young people, from different parts of India, from Bihar to Bengal and from Varanasi to Ujjain, began their doctoral programme journey at IIM Bangalore, this morning.
Talking about what motivated them to enroll for the PhD programme in areas ranging from Information Systems to Finance to Economics to Entrepreneurship, the students listed a deep interest in research and a deep desire to find research-based solutions to society’s challenges.
The new cohort has 12 women participants, making up over 50 per cent of the current batch. Interestingly, a couple of the students are from IIMB’s NSR Pre-doc programme and the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) programme; a few are from the start-up sector while some have worked in the defense sector.
Welcomed to the programme by the PhD Chairperson Prof. Ananth Krishnamurthy, Director Prof. Rishikesha T Krishnan, Deans Mukta Kulkarni and Sourav Mukherji, faculty members Prof. Srivardhini Jha, Prof. Anil B Suraj and Prof. Sushanta Mishra, they were offered an overview of the programme and the facilities and resources on campus.
The Director Merit List (DML) awards were given to first- and second-year students, and the achievements of the PhD students were also celebrated on the occasion.
“Doing a PhD in India need not be a disadvantage”: IIMB Director
Prof. Rishikesha T Krishnan said he was delighted that the students were clear on why they want to embark on the PhD programme at IIMB. He began his presentation with a quiz on global thought leaders, pioneers, solution-finders and problem-solvers – all of whom did their PhD in India.
His quiz featured Padma Shri awardee Prof. Anil Gupta and his Honeybee Network which works on grassroot innovation; Prof. Sujata Ramadurai, the algebraic number theorist and SS Bhatnagar awardee; Prof. R A Mashelkar, a pioneer in encouraging awareness of IPR in India; Dr. Ramachandra Guha, author, historian and cricket writer, and Dr. Manindra Agarwal, Professor of Computer Science at IIT Kanpur.
“Doing a PhD in India can be a great opportunity for all of you,” said Prof. RT Krishnan, offering the students examples of alumni from the programme at IIMB such as Dr. Anirvan Pant, who is now a faculty member of IIM Calcutta, and Prof. Srivardhini Jha, faculty in the Entrepreneurship area and Chairperson of NSRCEL, the innovation centre at IIMB, whose work in entrepreneurship and strategy is widely cited.
Offering some words of advice, Prof. RT Krishnan said: “Benchmark yourself against the best in the world; don’t be a one-trick pony, instead build familiarity with a large variety of research methods; embrace contemporary approaches; seek interesting research problems and embrace rigor, relevance and conceptual contributions; build a strong research community and network; and build your personal brand as an expert.”
Addresses by the Deans
Prof. Mukta Kulkarni, faculty in the OB&HRM area and Dean of Academic Programmes at IIMB, recalled her own doctoral programme days and encouraged the students to build lasting professional relationships and intellectual partnerships at IIMB and beyond. “Participate in Brown Bag seminars – a wonderful initiative of Prof. Ananth Krishnamurthy, and Research seminars led by cutting-edge researchers and policy makers from across the world,” she said.
Prof. Sourav Mukherji, faculty in the OB&HRM area and Dean of Alumni Relations and Development, said he was sure that everyone in the batch would make a mark for themselves as researchers and problem-solvers. “Dream big because education gives us choices to change the world for the better,” he said, emphasizing the importance of process rather than outcome. “IIMB’s PhD programme is extremely strong on process and rigor, so take advantage of it and be the best in your field,” he added.
New beginnings
Earlier in the day, the students watered a tree planted by alumni of the PhD programme, symbolizing strong roots and new shoots. As part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations in February this year, 100+alumni from the doctoral programme had gathered at IIMB, and as part of a three-day celebration, had planted this tree. Today, the new cohort strengthened the bond with this gesture, encouraged by the PhD Programme Chairperson Prof. Ananth Krishnamurthy, staff of the Doctoral Programme Office, faculty members, students of the NSR Pre-doc programme and seniors from the programme.
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