Xavier School of Management, one of India’s oldest and premier B-Schools, celebrated its 21st Graduation Ceremony of VIL and Corporate Programmes in the Tata Auditorium, XLRI Jamshedpur on April 18, 2023. The Chief Guest for the event is Mr. Sanjiv Paul, Former VP, Safety Health & Sustainability at Tata Steel. XLRI will also be celebrating its Platinum Jubilee of XLRI between October 11, 2023 – October 10, 2024.

The 21st graduation ceremony is for the students for long duration programs who successfully completed 1 year and 16th Months postgraduate certificate programs of XLRI. There are 839 students who qualified to receive their certificates on 18th April 2023 in various programs such as Postgraduate Certificate in Business Management (PGCBM) Postgraduate Certificate in Human Resource management (PGCHRM), Postgraduate certificate in Senior Leadership (PGCSL), Postgraduate Certificate in Business Analytics (PGCBA), Postgraduation Certificate in Human Capital Leadership (PGCHCL), Postgraduate Certificate in Finance (PGCF), Executive Diploma in Human Resource Management (EDHRM) and  Executive Diploma in Advanced Management Program( EDAMP).

The Graduation address was delivered by Mr. Sanjiv Paul. He congratulated the crowd by saying, “It is for you to act and not desire the outcome. And just because you don’t desire doesn’t mean you don’t act. Be in love with what you are doing.” He also shared an example of how the Legendary Mahindra Singh Dhoni believes and follows the mantra of controlling the controllables.

Mr. Paul also discussed mass extinctions and the several reasons behind it. “Two things that are common in all mass extinctions are they cause major changes in the ecology and they happen at a relatively rapid rate. Scientists believe that we are in the midst of the 6th mass extinction. The last few decades has seen an extinction of a large number of species.Today we are at 8 billion and we suspect this will be 10 billion soon by 2040 in terms of life expectancy rates. This is causing a tremendous pressure on resources on Mother Earth”, he said.

He also mentioned the current situation i.e. the melting of polar caps, rising of sea levels, acidification and how the Indian subcontinents are the most vulnerable to the impact of global warming. Stating all these facts, he recommended students to follow science & sustainability. “Because climate change and loss of biodiversity are the two challenges faced by mankind. If we don’t act fast it will have an impact on life on this planet. I am hoping all of you will act”, he added.

Dr. Sanjay K Patro, Dean of Academics, XLRI presented the medals of academic excellence to the 13 rank holders. Following are the medalists:

The graduating certificates were then handed over to the students by Fr S George SJ, Director, XLRI Jamshedpur & Chief Guest, Mr. Sanjiv Paul, Former VP, Safety Health & Sustainability at Tata Steel.

VIL Programs came into being with the objective of upgrading the business acumen and managerial skills of working executives while they continue with their jobs. In the beginning, XLRI successfully rolled out Postgraduate Certificate Programs in disciplines like Business Management and Human Resource Management with many successful batches followed by Programs in disciplines like Business Analytics, Senior Leadership and Finance. Since the inception, 10,093 students have successfully graduated from these courses.

The live classes for VIL courses are conducted with the help of technical partners like Unified Collaboration Services (UCS), TCLL by Times group, Talent edge, and Emeritus. The students enroll for these programs from different parts of India and attend the live sessions.