IIM-A To Raise Rs. 16 cr From Corporate, Govt Bodies
“We have some of the brightest alumni in this country and abroad, who feel strongly a desire to contribute to their Alma Mater. For example, Raghuram Rajan, Governor, RBI; KV Kamath, Chairman, ICICI Bank; Dr. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, Chairman, NABARD; and KV Srinivasan, CEO, Reliance Capital are all a part of the distinguished IIMA alumni group who came forward to contribute and maintain IIMA as the premier institution for management education and research,” said Prof. Ashish Nanda, Director, IIM Ahmedabad.
IIMA, in the recent past, has been following a three-pronged approach – connect, nurture, and grow – which is reflected in this initiative. IIMA is increasing its connections with alumni, corporates, researchers, and the local community by reaching out pro-actively. It is endeavoring to nurture an environment of autonomy to its faculty and staff while encouraging them to achieve stretch goals. And the institution wants to grow in scale and scope while maintaining its strategic intent and quality focus. These resources will enable the Institute to do better on the ‘connect, nurture and grow’ dimensions. “IIMA invites all interested stakeholders to partner through various support mechanisms to enable IIMA to be counted among the top institutions globally,” said Prof. Arvind Sahay, Dean (Alumni and External Relations).
The current funding will contribute towards new areas of research. ICICI Bank has sponsored the Professorial Chair in Strategic Management, RBI the Chair in Finance & Economics will be supported by RBI, JSW the Innovation and Public Policy Chair, and NABARD the Chair in Agribusiness.
At the conference, some of the members of the contributing bodies were also present.
“ICICI Bank is delighted to be partnering with IIM-A to establish the ICICI Bank Chair in Strategic Management. We believe this will make a significant contribution to the development of new insights into strategy and management in our rapidly changing world.” said Mr. TK Srirang, Senior General Manager & Head – Human Resources, ICICI Bank Ltd.
According to Shri. MK Mudgal, CGM, NABARD: “The organization is happy to grant in principle approval for instituting a Chair in IIMA for an initial period of three years. Priority will be accorded to research in areas like Climate Change, Rural livelihood, Financial Inclusion, Value Chain Management, Agricultural Marketing and Financial Product Development.”
IIMA alumna Chandrika Tandon is supporting Faculty Fellows in Entrepreneurship and Leadership. Entrepreneurship & Marketing are also being supported through Faculty Fellow positions by Reliance Capital and a PGP alumnus who wishes to remain anonymous.
“Enterpreneurship has always been the core DNA at Reliance. We, at Reliance Commercial Finance, realize that a lot needs to be done in this space to enable sustainable development of entrepreneurs. This sponsorship of Faculty Fellow in Enterpreneurship and Marketing is a small initiative in that direction,” said Mr. KV Srinivasan, CEO, Reliance Commercial Finance.
Several other prominent alumni and industry leaders have also come forward to support meritorious students through scholarships. A total of 10 scholarships are being supported by the Europa Group, Dunia LLC., and Samir Bhandari, among others.
IIMA has entered a new phase, where it is not just an academic institution offering educational programs, but it is an organic community that nurtures talent and thought leadership, and creates new opportunities through meaningful collaboration. This initiative is a critical part of this phase. “We are hoping to get an even stronger contribution from our alumni and wellwishers in the corporate sector and government in the future,” Prof. Nanda added.
