The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-Ahemdabad), a premier global management institution, recently welcomed its largest cohort of 148 students to the Class of 2024 of its Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (MBA PGPX)- a group drawn from diverse backgrounds from defence personnel to journalists and engineers to government officials, the cohort brings together experienced professionals from diverse walks of life to be part of a programme.
The batch size has increased by eight candidates from the Class of PGPX 2023 when the 140-candidate cohort presented talent from different sectors ranging from manufacturing to IT/ITeS, defence and security to planning and architecture; shipping and logistics to education; socio-economic backgrounds, job roles, academic profiles.
In its 18th year, the one year full time MBA PGPX programme tailor-made to provide experienced professionals today has as many as 1, 574 of its alumni who are making their mark in the industry and as entrepreneurs in India and abroad.
Around 36 per cent of the class comprises ¬professionals who come with international work and study experience of about four to 15 years. They have worked in the USA and European countries in sectors including banking and financial services, manufacturing and engineering, defence and security, IT, energy and utilities, administrative services consulting, shipping and transportation and social services.
Additionally, 4.73 per cent of the batch has students who have been residing outside India. About 9.28 per cent of the students have studied at international institutes.
The 2024 cohort includes a good representation of professionals from government bodies and administrative departments, such as the Ministry of Home Affairs, NITI Aayog, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Ministry of Railways, Government of Haryana; and defence forces such as Indian Navy, Indian Army as well as the CRPF. These professionals bring a different perspective in areas such as critical decision making and crisis managements, which adds to the peer learning in the class.
Women students of the PGPX, Class of 2024 come with work experience ranging from 6.5 years to 8.5 years. Before joining the programme, they were holding roles such as Regional Manager – uniformed forces, Consultant, Assistant Registrar, Research Engineer, Continuous Improvement Manager, Senior Analyst, Entrepreneur, and come from sectors that include IT and ITeS , BFSI, Manufacturing, Consulting, Public sector, Retail and e- commerce, Government bodies, Social sector, and FMCG. The others come with domestic as well as international work experience.
Besides their professional achievements, a couple of the women students are also hands-on mothers who are harmoniously balancing their motherly duties along with their academic pursuits, which many women students in the past have described as one of the toughest yet equally fulfilling experiences during their IIMA PGPX journey.
The Class was welcomed by Professor Bharat Bhasker, Director, IIMA; Professor Pradyumana Khokle, Dean Programmes and Professor Viswanath Pingali, Chairperson, MBAPGPX at IIMA.
Sharing his views with the students, Professor Bharat Bhasker said, “PGPX is a transformative journey that will enrich you professionally as well as guide your thought processes beyond classroom learning. A combination of world-class curriculum, taught by a great faculty pool, learning current best practices and a collaborative learning environment makes PGPX one of the most sought-after management programmes in the world.”
Sharing details of the class profile, Chairperson Professor Viswanath Pingali, said, “The quality and profile of the IIMA PGPX students is comparable with the top business schools across the world. A selection process that considers academic rigour, leadership potential and diversity combined with scholarships to encourage the meritorious and deserving professionals allow us to get the best of students year on year.”
Other students in the class hail from sectors such as healthcare, media and entertainment, FMCG, academic and education, advertising, communication, media, entertainment, aerospace and aviation, government enterprises and public sector undertaking, infrastructure and construction, pharma, bio-tech, healthcare, hospitals, retail, ecommerce, shipping, transportation, logistics, telecom, travel and hospitality.
A majority of the students in this class come from cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Ahmedabad.
The batch size has increased by eight candidates from the Class of PGPX 2023 when the 140-candidate cohort presented talent from different sectors. (Image source: IIM Ahmedabad) 
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