Fieldwork@IRMA – An Integral Part of PGDM(RM)

Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) was founded in 1979 by Dr. Verghese Kurien. It has the legacy of producing changemakers and professional managers. No one understands the socio-economic ecosystem of the country as well as students at IRMA. The institute is known to integrate the rural and modern management acumen in it’s students.

The unique curriculum, coupled with experiential learning, transforms its students into thinking and passionate individuals. Experiential learning is the essence of many management programs and IRMA's PGDM (Rural Management) epitomizes that. The intensive fieldwork helps the students learn about real-world problems and strategy execution, which forms the basis of management education.

The fieldwork at IRMA is divided into three segments which gives a better understanding of the socio-economic situation of the rural sector –

Induction Fieldwork Segment (IFS)

Duration: 4 to 5 days
Time: Start of the program
Aim: To help students get real experience of the lives of the under-served communities in rural India.
Exposure: Students get an opportunity to live with host families in villages in Gujarat and interact one-on-one with the villagers and other village stakeholders. This gives them a deeper understanding of the village economy, society, and polity.
Partners: The segment is facilitated by IRMA's partner organizations and major dairy unions.
Presentation: Students can share their learnings in the form of vignettes of rural stories, picture stories, or videos.

Village Fieldwork Segment (VFS)

Duration: Eight weeks
Time: End of the first term
Aim: To help students build a deeper understanding and sensitivity towards rural people and communities' concerns.
Exposure: Students must execute small action-oriented tasks given to them by local host organizations, also known as Rural Action Component (RAC). Additionally, they participate in research work in collaboration with the faculty members. It is a holistic learning experience as students get feedback from host organizations and faculty members.
Partners: Local host organizations
Presentation: Village Development Reports and presentations and discussions based on the VDR.

Summer Internship Segment (SIS)

Duration: Nine weeks
Time: In June through August
Aim: To help students work with experienced management professionals in organizations with a rural footprint across sectors.
Exposure: The students get to put the classroom learnings and previous field work learnings into action during SIS. They get a realistic idea of the managerial functions of rural organizations and development interventions. The nine-week experience is a prevue of what their professional careers would like in the future. Students can also bag pre-placement offers.
Partners: NGOs, Cooperatives, and Government Development Agencies.

In addition to the above, here are ten reasons why IRMA is perfect for you. The PGDM (RM) is AICTE approved, NBA accredited, and recognized as equivalent to Master's degree in Rural Management by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) and approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Admissions are IRMA for 2021-23 batch are underway, and you can apply for here.

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