Jammu: The Sixth Annual Convocation of IIM Jammu was successfully held on 16th June 2022 at the Convention Centre Gulami Bagh, Canal Road, Jammu. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India was the Chief Guest on the occasion and delivered the convocation address. Dr. Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) (MoS I/c) for the Ministry of Science and Technology and Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office; Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space, Govt. of India, and Shri Manoj Sinha, Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor, Union territory of J & K were the Guests of Honour on the occasion.
After the arrival of the dignitaries, the convocation commenced with the briefing on the progress of the Permanent Campus of IIM Jammu, followed by an Academic Procession to the Convocation Venue, national anthem, lighting of the lamp by all the dignitaries on dais, and Saraswati Vandana. The Convocation was declared open by Padmashri Dr. Milind. P. Kamble, Chairman, Board of Governors (BoG), IIM Jammu.
A total of 232 students were conferred with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree this year, and 27 students of the First Batch of EMBA were conferred with an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) degree. So, in total, 259 Students were conferred with degrees this year. On this occasion, the Institute conferred the Chairman’s Gold Medal, Director’s Silver Medal, and Chairperson MBA’s Bronze Medal for their scholastic performance of the Batch 2021-23. Chief Guest and Hon’ble Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, presented the medals and certificates to the students. Shri Anirudh Kaushik was awarded the Chairman’s Gold Medal (MBA), Shri Sanyam Sehdev received the Director’s Silver Medal (MBA), Shri Nikhil Beniwal got the Chairperson Bronze Medal (MBA), and Ms. Smita Priyadarshini with Chairman’s Gold Medal (EMBA).
Union Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan on the momentous occasion mentioned that the nation looks at the youth neither as the Job-Creators nor as the Job-Seekers but as the Wealth-Creators of India as the nation has huge expectations from institutes like IIM Jammu and the students graduating today. He further mentioned that the students graduating today from IIM have a huge responsibility on their shoulders toward the nation, towards their families and they must be ready to face every kind of challenge without sleeping in their comfort zones. He reiterated that IIM Jammu has come a long way to create a niche for itself among the top management institutes of the country, with a fast-paced journey since its inception in 2016. The expansion into fields beyond academics and research marks the way for holistic development with ‘Centres of Excellence’ providing an impetus to skill development and entrepreneurship in Jammu and Kashmir.
He emphasized the youth of today have a greater responsibility to play in the next 25 years ‘the Amrit Kaal Period’ to make India a ‘Vishwa Guru’ in 2047 through innovations, ideas, business models, etc. He further added that our higher education institutes must play a key role in nurturing local aspirations, harnessing the full potential of the region, finding sustainable solutions to 21st-century challenges, and furthering the socio-economic progress of Jammu & Kashmir. During his address, he mentioned that the world is facing the five biggest challenges today, the demographic dividend, inequality, technological challenges, climate concern, and the pandemic. He exhorted that the youth today must find universal solutions to these challenges to make this world a better place to live in. He stressed that IIM Jammu has a major role to play in this transformation as they will be providing a platform for knowledge transfer, experience-sharing, research, and innovation thereby contributing to the nation-building exercise.
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh guest of honour on the occasion said, J&K being the birthplace of Aroma Mission (Lavender Cultivation) in India is a torch bearer in Agri-tech start-up movement in India & value addition to it will be done by the entrepreneurs and Agri-technocrats under Aroma Mission. He mentioned that this is the era of innovations, the era of ideas under the Hon’ble PM of India as the government is providing every kind of support for ideas and innovations to grow and contribute towards making of New India. He further mentioned that India is leading the Start-up Ecosystem in the world with more than one lakh start-ups & more than 100 unicorns today, what is desperately required is a change of government job mindset and stressed that the parents can play a pivotal role in it.
He stressed that the greatest sustainability of startups lies with the management students like those who are graduating today from IIM Jammu who can contribute to the Start-up revolution that is progressing in India. Quoting the National Education Policy as the cornerstone of education in India, he mentioned that students today are the beneficiaries of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) which ensures universal access at all levels of schooling and should have been done long back. Dr. Jitendra Singh said, the era of working in silos is over and there is a need for greater integration among the institutions. The youth of 2023 will define India @2047 who are blessed both with the challenges and opportunities and who can contribute to making India a Vishwa Guru in 2047 leaving behind the best economies in the world.
Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of J&K, Sh. Manoj Sinha said India is emerging as a new knowledge economy on the world horizon, and it is growing at an exponential pace. He spoke at length about the transformational work in every sector that is driving the nation on the path to becoming a powerhouse. He further said, today’s youth represent the Indian generation that has Vedas in one hand and Artificial Intelligence in the other and the perfect balance of both is what sets them apart. He mentioned that excellent collaboration of modern technology tools and human leadership will contribute to nation-building. He reiterated that human values powered by technological capabilities will transform businesses in the future and technology alone will not make the change, but modern technology combined with human leadership will be the most powerful tool for prosperity and progress in human history. He mentioned that IIM Jammu is proliferating in executive education, research, training, and consultancy apart from its core management teaching. He emphasized IIM Jammu’s efforts to bring prosperity to the region through education, training, and consultancy is greatly appreciated and sure to yield wonderful results as time goes by.
Dr. Milind P. Kamble, Chairman, Board of Governors (BoG), IIM Jammu in his welcome address gave an overview of the Institute and mentioned that IIM Jammu provides a conducive environment for nurturing talent, excellence, and innovation. He reminded everyone of the importance of adaptability and preparedness in this new era and wished success to future corporate leaders. He urged the students that IIM Jammu believes in developing leaders and entrepreneurs and making an everlasting difference in the corporate world and nation. He extended his wishes to the graduating students and urged them to make enriching contributions to society and mankind.
Prof. B. S Sahay, Director, IIM Jammu presented the highlights of IIM Jammu in his report, wherein he spoke about the progress of the Institute in the form of research publications, academics, infrastructure development, and fast-paced construction at the state-of-the-art campus at Jagti nearing completion along with the commencement of new academic session from the new campus. He gave an insight into the programmes currently offered by IIM Jammu and mentioned the various MoUs that have been signed between IIM Jammu and various institutions nationally (15 MoUs) and internationally (19 MoUs). He mentioned that the placement scenario at IIM Jammu has been on the rise with 126 companies visiting for final placements highest CTC offered this year was Rs 64 Lakhs, while the average was 16.5 Lakhs. He congratulated the graduating students and wished them good luck in their future endeavours and urged them to give back to society and mankind.
On this momentous occasion, an MoU was signed between IIM Jammu and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to leverage its expertise in this field to create a supportive ecosystem for entrepreneurship in the country. As part of this MoU, joint initiatives/projects would be launched as part of the IIM Jammu-SIDBI partnership to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country. The MoU was signed between Prof. B.S. Sahay, Director, IIM Jammu, and Shri Sudatta Mandal, Deputy Managing Director, SIDBI in the presence of Chief Guest Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India and other dignitaries present on the occasion.
The event was attended by Shri. Vijay Gambhire, Member, BoG, IIM Jammu, Prof. Jabir Ali, Dean Academics, IIM Jammu and by all the faculty members, officers, staff members, graduating students, their family members, and media personnel in large nos. Dr. Milind Kamble, Chairman, BoG, IIM Jammu declared the Convocation closed. The event ended on a positive with the national anthem.
