IIM Indore has won the Association of MBAs (AMBA) Business Excellence Award 2019 in the category of Business School Impact on Community and Society for its Rural Immersion Program.
Professor Rohit Kapoor, Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Indore received the award on behalf of the Institute at a ceremony in London on February 1, 2019.
The Rural Immersion Program was introduced in 2009 as a part of the main curriculum in the first year of the 2-year Post-Graduate Program (PGP).
It aims at raising the awareness of the budding managers/entrepreneur participants of the programme about the various schemes undertaken by the government in villages and to study and analyze their execution and effectiveness.
Spread over a week, across several districts in Madhya Pradesh, the program’s main objective is to provide insights into the various dimensions of district-level administration, focusing primarily on the policy administration and the execution gaps, while dispelling several stereotypes associated with the rural population at large.
The participants are divided into groups of 10 each, based on their own choices. While the programme is organized in coordination with the State Secretariat, coordination with the Block Development Officers and Nodal Officers about their travel itinerary is left to the students.
The entire week is spent on visits to various blocks in the district where students critically analyze the execution plan of numerous government schemes and survey villages to observe the actual level of implementation.
Through this process, they assess the challenges faced in the execution of the schemes while identifying operational gaps that could possibly be bridged through better planning and management strategies.
The students submit a report of their analysis and make suitable recommendations that could prove to be helpful, not only at the rural administration level but also the district level.
The immersion is oriented towards ensuring that the participants get a chance to apply their classroom learnings to a real-time environment. Additionally, it offers the students a chance to explore the rural markets and identify implementation gaps or business opportunities, which can help fill these gaps.
The program also sensitizes students towards social issues and help them develop a different perspective.
The award honours the AMBA-accredited Business Schools that share its commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and are passionate about making a difference. It recognizes the Schools that have taken the initiative in creating a sustainable future and teaching MBA students about social values.
IIM Indore also received the certificate of commendation for the Himalayan Outbound Program under the MBA Innovation category.
IIM Indore Director Professor Himanshu Rai said, “We couldn’t have started the year on a better note. In line with our mission to be socially responsible, we will continue to strengthen such endeavours.” An initiative with the local and state government will soon be rolled out, he added.
Professor Ranjeet Nambudiri, Professor, OB & HRM and the Dean (Academic) at IIM Indore, said the Rural Immersion was a critical element of the MBA program. “Not only is it unique in its own right and differentiates the IIM Indore MBA from other similar programs across the nation, but it also links directly with the Institute’s Mission of creating socially conscious managers and leaders,” he added.
