572 IIM-K students get diplomas, fellowships

As many as 572 students received their diplomas and fellowships at the 20th convocation ceremony of the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIM-K) here on Saturday.

As many as 378 students were awarded postgraduate diplomas in management. Seven students completed doctoral programme and 187 students completed executive postgraduate programme in management. IIM-K gold medals for scholastic performance were awarded to Tulsiani Avijeet Mahendrakumar, Ayush Gupta, and Manju Murali. The IIM-K gold medal for all-round performance was awarded to Shruti Kapur.

Janmejaya Kumar Sinha, chairman (Asia Pacific), Boston Consulting Group, the well-known consulting firm headquartered in the United States, was the chief guest.

Speaking on the occasion, he urged management graduates to pursue their profession in such a way that it could be a message to others. Mr. Sinha quoted Mahatma Gandhi’s famous remarks, “My life is my message,” to drive home his point.

“How wonderful it would be for you at the end of your career and life, to just say, my life is my message. But to be able to say that, you will need to live your life in a manner that others find inspiring,” he said. Mr. Sinha also quoted six others and elaborated what their words meant to him.

He told the graduates that it was just a beginning. “At the end, it will be the simple things that will count. Being kind, persevering, having courage and integrity. Just the simple things that will make your mothers proud,” he said.

Quoting the Buddha, he said that the path to the goal was more important than the goal itself. Drawing inspiration from Confucius, he advised them not to be reluctant to pursue an innovative course of action if the existing ones are not sufficient. Mr. Sinha also quoted Martin Luther King Junior, Plato, Mohammed Ali, and Nelson Mandela. A. Vellayan, chairman, IIM-K board of governors, and director in-charge Kulbhushan Balooni were present.