IICSR organised seminar to discuss CSR in academics

With the mandate of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in India, there has been an urgent need of skilled professionals to carry out implementation of the law. A panel discussion was held in Mumbai, stressing on the need of having a well organised training centre in India that imparts knowledge and skill training to CSR professionals. The discussion was organised by International Institute of Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility (IICSR) and IES Management College and Research Centre (IES MCRC) for Masters Business Administration (MBA) students. CSR practitioners emphasized how the current gap of trained CSR graduates could be bridged by MBA students, who could enhance their understanding of the subject on CSR. Thereby, they can pursue careers in this emerging field by either doing post graduate studies in CSR or undertake CSR certificate programs. Dr. Pragnya Ram, Group Executive President, Aditya Birla Group of Industries was also present at the event addressing students. She spoke about the career opportunities in the field of CSR for new students. The professionals trained in CSR could pursue training others in CSR programs or could choose to become auditors with an Accreditation company. Armed with skills in auditing projects, strategy and analysis, they could also become fund raisers, and work in rural development, rural livelihood mission, etc. She reiterated how the industry located in different towns and cities need specifically skilled and trained professionals. “The Make in India” campaign by the government needs support of the industry to make the India growth story responsible and sustainable. Deepak Arora, Group Head CSR & CEO, Essar Foundation, spoke about how CSR which started by being understood as philanthropy has evolved in the last 100 years and has become more structured since last few years evolving from an individual effort (philanthropy) to an organized CSR framework and guidelines with clarity on reporting. Harsha Mukherje, director, IICSR explained about the CSR courses with internships provided by IICSR. The objective of this program is to bridge the skill gap arising for CSR Professionals in times to come.