While gender diversity has become a big issue affecting higher educational institutions, one simply cannot rule out the fact that the true measure of gender diversity lies in representation and inclusivity.
Though increasingly IIMs are trying their best to address the gender diversity issue, in a batch size of more than 200, the true measure of gender diversity depends not only on gender alone but also on approach towards inclusivity and diversity.
Maintaining a steady growth, IIM Kashipur has inducted 255 students for its flagship MBA programme. Representation of female students has witnessed a whooping growth rate of 388% from the past batch. It is encouraging to see that there is a representation of female students with an average work experience of around one year. The new MBA batch has a healthy representation of female students from 13 states with diverse disciplines such as Physics, Accountancy, Mathematics, and Hotel and Tourism Management etc. In an interesting development, IIM Kashipur has also admitted one overseas female candidate. There is also representation of male students from 22 states. It is important to note that despite being situated in the hilly state of Uttarakhand, IIM Kashipur has attracted more than 20% of students from the southern parts of India. The newly inducted batch represents majority of the states which brings in rich cultural and geographic diversity to the campus.
Indian Institute of Management Kashipur, in an effort to attain true diversity, has modified the admission policy for this year without violating any norms or compromising quality. It has also put an extra effort to reach out to prospective students, parents and has offered campus visit to female students before the admission process. As part of its inclusivity stride, IIM Kashipur has offered seats to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) as per MHRD directives.
The institute kick-started its 8th batch of MBA programme with a total number of 251 students. Speaking at the inaugural function on Thursday, Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, Axilor Ventures, resonated the need for technological innovation that caters many. In a world full of emerging technologies, disruptions must bring positive change. While speaking to students, Mr. Gopalakrishnan, who was also the founding member of Infosys, highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary approach towards new business models at the intersection of technology.
The institute has come a long way since its inception. Starting from 100% placement to successfully running major government and international projects, IIM Kashipur has committed itself to an entrepreneurial spirit. It’s newly formed Foundation for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development (FIED), and Design and Innovation Centre (DIC) are providing skill development, entrepreneurial training and creating an approach towards design thinking and innovation. IIM Kashipur is focussing on Analytics and Machine learning for past several years by creating an Analytics track with an industry led curriculum.
Prof Kulbhushan Balooni, the new director of IIM Kashipur, while welcoming the new batch in his first ever inaugural speech, spoke about how IIM Kashipur has created a name for itself for its location, academics and its effort towards inclusivity and diversity. “IIM Kashipur, being located at the foothills of Himalayas, is many a times better than studying in business schools located in heavily crowded and polluted big cities, depended on water tankers’’ he emphasized.
The institute also admitted PhD students to its 5th batch of PhD programme.
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