The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore celebrated its 43rd Foundation Day on October 28, 2016 with sports events, cultural programmes and an award function.
In the Foundation Day lecture, recipient of the Magsaysay award and Co-founder SELCO India Dr. Harish Hande spoke on ‘Social Inclusiveness and our Education System’.
He said IIT and IIM graduates should convert India’s numerous challenges into opportunities. He urged them to work towards creating social equity, sustainability and inclusiveness.
“Your generation needs to make the change and create a level playing field for all. The financially poor are not necessarily of poor intellectual capability,” he added.
Chief Guest Dr. H. Harish Hande, Co-founder, SELCO India and MD, SELCO Solar Light Pvt. Ltd., delivers the 43rd Foundation Day lecture on ‘Social Inclusiveness and our Education System’
“Issues pertaining to poverty and sustainability need to be solved. We need to be inclusive in the thoughts, processes and business models that we create. We can showcase our country as a leader of sustainability. Our education system needs to be designed to solve complex problems of our country,” Hande said.
“We need to strive to make this world sustainable financially, socially and environmentally. Relook and rethink…you are at an apt position. You can make this country a superpower of solutions. Do not be ‘one-exam wonders’; prove yourselves,” he added.
An IIT Kharagpur and University of Massachusetts alumnus, Dr. Hande is recognized as a pioneer of rural energy service across the world.
Distinguished Alumni Awards
The recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Awards were Ramesh Srinivasan, CEO, Ooyala Inc., and Haragopal Mangipudi, CEO & MD, finUNO.
Srinivasan (PGP 1984) and Haragopal Mangipudi (PGSEM 2001), received the award from SN Agarwal, Member of the Board of Governors, IIM Bangalore.
Stating that his was the first batch that moved into IIMB’s Bannerghatta campus, he praised his batch mates. “The best friendships in my life were made here. Calling my batch star-studded would be an understatement as my batch mates have gone on to make a mark in academics, manufacturing, business, government, finance, and above all work that has deep social impact.”
His message for students in the audience was “Work hard, be relentless with your efforts and enjoy the journey. Listen well, over-prepare for opportunities which are sure to come your way, get the basics right, be people-centric, and remain curious, humble and self-aware.”
Expressing a desire to give back to his alma mater, he said he would gladly sign up for any mentorship program.
Haragopal Mangipudi said, “This recognition from IIMB and from my beloved teachers is very precious to me. IIMB has been a launch pad for many illustrious careers. In my case, IIMB fostered my leadership journey all through.”
Earlier in the evening, Professor Sourav Mukherji, Dean, Academic Programmes, introduced the Distinguished Alumni awardees. In keeping with the institute’s tradition, each recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award received a citation and his name was engraved on the Wall of Fame at the institute.
IIMB Achievements Report 2015-16
IIMB Director Incharge Professor Raghavan Srinivasan presented a report on the institute’s achievements in the year 2015-2016. He highlighted the school’s global rankings, research endeavours and partnerships, social impact work and faculty accomplishments.
About IIMB’s contribution to social impact by delivering world-class education to all, through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), he said, “While we continue to offer MOOCs on the Harvard/MIT edX platform, we are also on the GoI SWAYAM platform. We have agreed to coordinate management courses on SWAYAM.”
Hailing the contributions of the alumni, Prof. Srinivasan said: “Our alumni are a key part of our success story. They support us in very many ways for which we are grateful.”
