The 2017-19 batch of the Post Graduate Program (PGP) and Post Graduate Program in Agriculture Business Management (PGP-FABM) at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) is one of the most diverse batches ever, in terms of gender and educational background.
With the registration for PGP and PGP-FABM having closed on June 30, IIMA, in a press statement said that non-engineers constitute 32% of the students in the PGP Program, the highest ever in more than 15 years. Another highlight is that the PGP-FABM class has 50% female candidates.
IIMA Director Ashish Nanda said, “In our discussion-based learning environment, diversity in student backgrounds and experiences helps enrich the learning process by bringing in different perspectives to the class. We at IIMA are delighted to welcome this diverse group of incoming students,” he added.
Over the last three years, the percentage of female students in the PGP Program has also gone up from 14% in 2015-17 to 21% in 2016-18 touching 28% for the 2017-19 batch witnessed a steady growth over the last three years in the percentage of women students, with this year’s batch having 28% women, one of the highest ever.
Non-engineering students, who formed only 9% of the 2015-17 batch, saw an increase of 20% in 2016-18 and 32% for the 2017-19 batch.
Prof. Nanda pointed out that the increase in women representation has been achieved without giving extra credits or holding specific quotas on account of gender.
‘UrbanThela’ founder Anchal Taatya is looking for increasing his technical expertise in business management. He had launched the Superfood Company that claims to “design eclectic and titillating gourmet superfood to meet nutritional needs beyond normal food”.
A combination of active recruitment of women candidates, encouraging discipline diversity of students called for interviews and paying attention to holistic leadership potential among applicants being interviewed were also responsible, he added
IIMA’s PGP-FABM has been consistently ranked Number 1 in the World in Agribusiness and Food Industry Management programs by Eduniversal, Paris, France for the years 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16. The new batch has 45% non-engineers and 50% women representation.
The new batch is also one of the most diverse in terms of the participants’ professional background that includes filmmaking, sports and fashion. It includes Rubaru Miss India Elite 2016 Akanksha Choudhary, a graduate of Shri Ram College of Commerce, New Delhi. She will represent India at the Face of Beauty International in September 2017 in New Delhi on September 23. She plans to acquire the necessary skills for a consultancy career.
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From the world of sports, comes International tennis player Rashmi Teltumbde. She had completed her undergraduate studies from Texas Tech University in the US in 2014 and won 14 academic awards. She has also represented India in 3 junior Grand Slams.
‘UrbanThela’ founder Anchal Taatya is looking for increasing his technical expertise in business management. He had launched the Superfood Company that claims to “design eclectic and titillating gourmet superfood to meet nutritional needs beyond normal food”.
Moviemaker CS Prakhyat has 9 award-winning short films to his credit. He was selected for 17 International Film Festivals, in the USA, UK, Canada, Slovenia and India. He hopes that the stint at IIMA would help him develop a marketing acumen to increase the outreach of his films.
Fashion designer Aditi Agarwal, a graduate from NIFT, who has worked with a hand-embroidery firm in Lucknow, wants to learn the intricacies of management for improving her family business.
