26th August, 2019: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Institute of Management Science, Kolkata (BIMS) in collaboration with Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS) recently hosted AIMS Eastern Regional Conference.
The objective of the conference was to explore the untapped potentials for management education sector in India that can be achieved through innovation and proactive contributions to global learning and reach to solutions for India to become a global leader in management education and attain excellence in the field.
The Conference brought together senior academicians and management educators who shared their valuable inputs and insights derived from their own regional experiences discussing on the theme of ‘New Paradigms of Management’ and as well as highlighted the best practices.
The inaugural session was graced by eminent academicians like Prof. R. C. Bhattacharya (Chairperson, AIMS, West Bengal Chapter), Dr. Saikat Maitra (Vice Chancellor, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology- MAKAUT) as the Chief Guest, Dr. Dhrubajyoti Chattopadhyay (Vice Chancellor, Amity University, Kolkata) as the Guest in Chief, Dr. Priti Ranjan Majhi (Principal, RCM, Bhubaneswar- Executive Board Member, Eastern Region – AIMS) as the Guest of Honour, Dr. Sujata Mangaraj (Director & Dean (Academics) Bhavan’s Centre for Communication & Management, Bhubaneswar & Regional Vice President, AIMS Eastern Region), Shri. Sitanath Mukhopadhya (Dept. of MSME) as the speakers along with Dr. R. K. Patra (Principal, BIMS, Executive Board Member, Eastern Region & Organizing Secretary, AIMS) and other dignitaries.
Delivering the Welcome Address at the session, Prof. R. C. Bhattacharya (Chairperson, AIMS, West Bengal Chapter) emphasized on the need of modern learning techniques and curriculum in management education. He observed, “In modern management education, we have come to know a lot of new techniques have come like Artificial Intelligence, IOT, etc. and we need to imbibe in our own these kinds of topics, otherwise our students will fall backward. Also, as per a study by AACSB in the US, a lot of students are opting for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), so we should look inside and realize if we need to include such topics in our curriculums.” Talking about the conference, he said, “We chose the theme of the conference ‘New Paradigms of Management’, so that we can see the various changes that have been happening in the world and in India. There is a need for us to relook at our management education and find out the right strategies. I am sure after today’s deliberations, we should be able to decipher some new ideas and topics, which we should include in our curriculum to make management education more relevant in present scenario.”
In her address, Dr. Sujata Mangaraj (Director & Dean (Academics) Bhavan’s Centre for Communication & Management, Bhubaneswar & Regional Vice President, AIMS Eastern Region) said, “The Management education is undergoing a continuous change in pursuit of excellence and delivery of values. Business has become more complex and competitive, working environment has witnessed numerous changes. While following the path of change, business schools are compelled to resort to new perspectives leadership and prepare future managers to conquer challenges of global business. The emphasis has now moved to a different arena that include critical thinking abilities, data analytics, digital disruption, innovation, creativity, social entrepreneurship, etc. In this newly emerging educational universe, we should now recalibrate current business education model and replacing those which have become obsolete for the industry norms. It is in this context, AIMS Eastern Region thought it is appropriate to organise the convention, on the theme New Paradigms of Management Education the new era of Industry 4.0.”
The Conference also hosted two panel discussions and paper presentations. The first panel discussion session on the topic – ‘Industry 4.0 in the New Era – Imperative for B-Schools’ was participated by Mr. Debargha Deb (Regional HR, Dabur India Ltd.), Mr. Nadeem Kazim (Group CHRO, Tractor India Ltd.) and Mr. Sitanath Mukhopadhya (Dept. of MSME) as the speakers.
In the second panel discussion session, the speakers – Mr. Manmeet Singh (Senior Associate Director, Commercial Excellence, Kellogg’s India Ltd.) and Dr. Chandrima Banerjee (Director, Unigrow Solutions Pvt. Ltd.) with the moderator Prof. (Dr.) Shantanu Ray (Director, SNU) discussed on the topic – ‘Touch Point to Trust Point’.
The Conference concluded with the Valedictory Session which was graced by Dr. Rajagopal Dhar Chakraborti (Director, IISWBM & Patron, AIMS, WB Chapter), Dr. Ajay Pathak(Director, ICFAI Business School, Kolkata),Dr. Naveen Das(Director, NSHM Business School, Kolkata) and Dr. Tapas Saha(Director IMS, Kolkata and Treasurer AIMS, Kolkata Chapter).
Talking about the conference, Dr. R. K. Patra (Principal, BIMS, Executive Board Member, Eastern Region & Organizing Secretary, AIMS) said, “At Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Institute of Management Science, we endeavor to harness this inherent potential through meeting the growing needs of professional education in the area of management and science. We are happy to host this conference at our campus. We believe that the solutions of the deliberations held at the conference, will inspire our students to achieve academic excellence and as well as help and enlighten our faculty in imparting the relevant management education.”
