An interview with Dr C V Ramanan| Director| IMM

Q1. Institute of Marketing Management stands as one of the premier institute in India. How far has IMM grown as a center of excellence in different aspects of management education from its establishment?

In the year 1969, Dr. Jagjit Singh, a Fulbright scholar, an exemplary teacher and a visionary established IMM a premier educational society, to spread the gospel of marketing and management education in India. He inspired thousands of students, by instilling a love for learning through academically rigorous, value based and globally focused curriculum. IMM has, in the last five decades, successfully created global intellectual capital and continues to do so even today.

IMM is building careers since 1969 and celebrating 52 years of excellence – a privilege enjoyed by only selective institutions of India. The golden legacy is highly regarded by the corporate. IMM also has the honour to have pass outs from the batch of 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s and so on. Most of the alumni are working at senior positions in various Industries. Importantly, to commemorate the 52 years of excellence, IMM has been conferred 6 awards of excellence recognising its endeavour towards innovations in educating and developing management students for happiness and success in their lives and careers.

All specialisations in the field of management education at IMM are taught by utilising analytics tools to ensure that students are not only industry ready but also data centric which the need of corporate houses.

To empower the PGDM at IMM, alongside in-house certifications, courses from Government of India are offered to students for industry readiness.

The partnership of IMM with international universities and international bodies ensures students get adequate global insights.

Q2. How is institute preparing for blended learning? Is it organizing any special training programs for faculty in blended teaching?

At IMM we blend digital teaching methods with traditional classroom teaching strategies to make the entire learning process more effective. On one hand, students are connected with the teachers virtually, while on the other hand, the teachers engage students in an interactive classroom through the tools of technology such as state of the art Smart Boards. This makes the process of learning not only impactful but also appealing, stimulating and inspiring for the learners.

IMM prepares thoughtfully designed and developed blended learning course for its PGDM students. Preparing our students for the blended learning approach has been a critical part during the pandemic. IMM tries to develop the instructors on the following:

 Interacting activities that highlight knowledge and provide constructive feedback (e.g. quizzes).
 Greater retaining and application of content by the student.
 Access to lecture material for assistance in preparing for exams.
 Enhanced student-instructor interaction.

Special training programs are organized for faculty for instructional and technological aspects of blended learning. Faculty are provided technology tools and appropriate support to meet each learner’s unique blended learning needs. Training is also provided to students to learn new technology tools, resulting in the need for teachers to incorporate student orientations, training, practice and other prospects in class.

Q3. What skills and expertise industries are demanding from IMM graduates?

The global business landscape is continuously growing with new trends hitting the market every other day. In such a situation, organizations around the world are continually on the lookout for talented Management Graduates who have knowledge and skills that are in tandem with the modern market demands.

Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills or ‘soft skills’ are always on the top of an employer’s wish list. These include verbal and non-verbal communication, confidence, leadership ,team-building and listening skills, amongst others.

Communication Skills

Another skill that is essential for Management Graduates to possess is effective communication. Since managers have to deal with several people throughout the day effective communication skills is important to ensure impactful deliveries and work in teams.

Leadership Skills

Students possessing strong leadership skills are highly sought-after by leading business organizations as this ensures having a command over team and leading organization to growth.

Strategic Thinking and Planning Abilities

Strategic thinking and perfect planning are important for any business venture to succeed. Hence, employers actively seek these skills in Management Graduates.

Technical Skills

Employers look for Management Graduates with some fundamental technical skills as it augments the chances of being hired dramatically!

Negotiation Skills

The skill to negotiate and crack the deal is something that is required from Management Graduates.

Decision Making Skill with an Analytical Mind-set

Decision making is an imperative skill that is required for Management Graduates. Companies have an inclination to hire graduates who possess analytical skills and act on the situations practically.

Ability to Deal with With International Standards

Students are expected to understand different nations, work culture, work ethics and so forth especially to bag an opportunity in multinationals.

Q4. How is the institute improving gender diversity at campus? Also elaborate about IMM’s best student and faculty centric policies?

We at IMM have a mix of students from all the genders as IMM does not believe in gender bias. The students are from various parts of the country which enriches the socio-cultural aspects. The student pool is a blend of both working professionals as well as non-experienced students. The Economic-Strata of students is vivid as the students belong to diverse places.

The campus has the feel of cultural-diversity which is displayed beautifully through various cultural activities and events.

Q5. What are the key challenges in Indian Higher Education at various levels? What are your expectations from the government in terms of policies etc.?

India ranks world’s third-largest in higher education next to China and the United States. Indian youth and workforce potential are likely to be the largest in the world by 2030. This rapid growth has brought about several relevant issues related to efficiency and excellence and also given rise to challenges to the system under consideration.

Following are some of the key challenges faced by the Indian higher education at various levels:

1. Lack of Employable skills – Recruiters finds absence of employable skills from Indian graduates.
2. Ethical Issues among students – Students have become money oriented at the very beginning of their career instead of aiming to learn as many as skills and knowledge as they can.
3. Dearth of research opportunities – Research opportunities to encourage innovations is another cause of concern. It has been witnessed that even though research publications from India are rising since last decade but it still lags behind other countries.

4. Focus on creating good citizens not just good students-Institutions must create good citizens along with good managers. Knowledge and skills must be imparted by the institutions with a view to provide relevance and meaningfulness to reflect on the social, cultural, economic, ethical, and spiritual issues facing humanity. The vision of higher education in India should be to recognise the country’s human resource potential to its fullest with equity and inclusion.