Mumbai, July 2, 2024: IIM Sambalpur has commenced its 10th batch of the flagship MBA programme with a remarkable 76% female representation, significantly higher than the 24% male enrolment.
This year also saw a significant rise in the percentage of non-engineers, who make up 60% (194 students) of the batch, compared to 40% (126 students) from engineering backgrounds.
Of the 320 students in the 2024-26 cohort, 244 are women and 76 are men. The new batch includes a diverse range of academic backgrounds: 19% from science, 19% from commerce, 12.5% from management, and 4% from arts. Additionally, 46% of the students have prior work experience, while 54% are freshers.
The inaugural event on Monday featured distinguished industry leaders such as Subrat Tripathy, President-Business Development of Adani Group, as the Chief Guest, and Sumit Sangwan, Vice President - Sales and Marketing at Havells India Pvt Ltd, as the keynote speaker. Prof Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director of IIM Sambalpur, delivered the welcome address.
Prof Jaiswal highlighted the institution's commitment to gender diversity, noting, "Before 2017, the percentage of women students in MBA classes across IIMs was less than 11%, including IIM Sambalpur. In 2017, we implemented a policy to provide an additional 5% cutoff reduction for female candidates, achieving a 50% female enrolment from 2017 onwards, a model now adopted by all IIMs."
Chief Guest Subrat Tripathy emphasised the integration of innovation with empathy, quoting Swami Vivekananda: "Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached."
"As we stand on the threshold of a new era, we must embrace the transformative power of technology while grounding ourselves in the timeless values of humanism. The journey ahead will be defined by our ability to integrate innovation with empathy, creating a future where progress and compassion go hand in hand," he said.
Keynote speaker Sumit Sangwan likened career progression to a marathon, urging students to navigate the phases of their career with perseverance and resilience.
“We all call our life a marathon. Career is a marathon. Triathlon is the toughest race of the world. It's like a triathlon, and today marks the flag off of that triple end. Phase one is your current stage; phase two is when you start your job or become an entrepreneur, and phase three is when you progress further in your career,” he said.
The event also included an introduction to the MBA programme by Prof Atri Sengupta and insights into IIM Sambalpur's accreditation journey by Prof Soumya Guha Deb. Prof Siddharth G Majhi provided an overview of the new batch, and Prof Diptiranjan Mahapatra delivered the vote of thanks.
The orientation programme featured a briefing on the MBA Ordinance and Anti-Ragging policies, followed by a Case Analysis Workshop led by Prof Nilesh Khare and an Online Simulation Workshop by Prof Sabyasachi Sinha from IIM Lucknow. Upcoming sessions include a CHRO Panel Discussion on "How to Kickstart Your Corporate Career from Day 1" and a Leadership Roundtable on Sustainability, along with a workshop on Gender Sensitisation & POSH Training.
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