Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director, Nestle India, has exhorted the newly enrolled students at the IIM-K to set the bar high amidst the challenges and uncertainties in the COVID-19 situation that is gripping the world. Delivering the inaugural address at the e-inauguration of the four full-fledged programmes on the IIM-K campus here on Thursday, Mr. Narayanan emphasised that courage driven by compassion could overcome any obstacle both in personal as well as professional life. He encapsulated his thoughts to the greenhorns through a presentation detailing the importance of the 10 Commandments of Leadership lessons.

Underscoring the importance of positive inspiration and leadership skills, Mr. Narayanan shared practical examples from his 35-year corporate career on qualities to be imbibed by the young generation of managers.

Presiding over the session, Prof. Debashis Chatterjee, Director of IIM-K, said that the institute had anticipated the thrust of the multi-disciplinary approach of the New National Education Policy (2020). The commencement of the two new programmes PGP Finance and PGP-LSM was a hallmark of the institute’s capability to be ahead of the times in the education sector.

He expressed happiness that the IIMK had also brought back gender diversity into the national discourse with three of the programmes being inaugurated, including the flagship PGP, recording more than 50% women.

The online classes of the Post Graduate Programme in Management, Post Graduate Programme in Finance (inaugural batch), Post Graduate Programme in Liberal Studies and Management (inaugural batch) the Doctoral Programme in Management (PhD) will begin next week. Along with classroom teaching, the program also facilitates frequent industry interactions and field visits to national and international financial hubs.

The e-Orientation session for the new inductees also began on Thursday. Prominent guest speakers - Amitabh Kant (CEO, NITI Aayog), Vinay Sahasrabuddhe (President ICCR), Sanjeev Bikchandani (Founder, Info Edge), G. Balagopal I.A.S (Retd.) and Parvin Dabas (Actor/Director) will address the students. The sessions will also feature talks by renowned IIMK alumni - Ashwin Bhaskaran, First Secretary and Head of Chancery, High Commission of India to Seychelles; Shalina Bhatia, Director -PwC India and Madhavi Das, Founder - Bamboo tribe.