‘IIM-Ahmedabad will launch its first international campus in Dubai in September’: Director

While stating that the placements this year were better compared to all previous years, the IIMA Director announced that six students decided to become entrepreneurs and had been enrolled in the Mavericks Fellowship Programme.

Asserting that “education can be a significant financial burden”, Professor Bhasker said that 68 students had received full tuition waivers and 128 had received partial tuition waivers. He said that IIMA was committed to “increase the number of tuition waivers”.

He said, “This year for the PGP (Post Graduate Programme) batch, the tuition waiver letter will be sent to the students along with the acceptance letter.”

Professor Bhasker also announced the establishment of a new ‘Madan Mohanka Centre of Excellence in Case Method of Learning’, backed by Madan Mohanka, a prominent industrialist and an alumnus of IIMA from PGP 1967.

During the convocation, 630 students were awarded degrees. The list included 22 scholars from the Doctoral Programme in Management (PhD), 405 students from the two-year Post Graduate Programme in Management (MBA-PGP), 45 students from the two-year Post Graduate Programme in Food and Agri-business Management (MBA-FABM), and 158 students from the one-year Post Graduate Programme in Management (MBA-PGPX).

Five students were awarded gold medals by the Chief Guest in recognition of their outstanding academic achievements. These included Abhi Bansal, Ishaan Jain, and Aanchal Chadha from MBA-PGP; Yogesh Kumar R from MBA-FABM; and Aashruth Rangarajan from MBA-PGPX.

The students received their degrees from the chairman of the Board of Governors of IIMA and Chairman of Zydus Lifesciences, Pankaj Patel. Addressing the gathering, Patel said, “With rapid technological advancements and data-driven decision-making, businesses are constantly evolving. There is an increased demand for business professionals who can keep up with the latest trends. Your ability to adapt to situations, embrace change, and learn new skills will be your biggest strength and will set you apart in the crowd.”

While sharing that he was also an IIMA alumnus, former ISRO chairman and chief guest, Dr S Somanath said, “To truly unlock the potential of our nation, we must continue to innovate and collaborate”.

“Innovation requires a culture of curiosity, strength to face failure, and an insatiable hunger to seek answers. At ISRO, we faced numerous challenges over the years, but each failure only strengthened our resolve to try again, to find better solutions, and to reach greater heights,” he said.

“India is now at the cusp of a technological and scientific revolution. The future holds immense possibilities, in space exploration, artificial intelligence, sustainable development, and beyond. The responsibility to shape that future lies in your hands. I urge you to cultivate the spirit of innovation and apply your knowledge to solve real-world problems whether in science, humanities, or social sciences, because innovation has a place everywhere,” added Dr Somanath.