The Indian Institute of Management Nagpur (IIMN) organised a series of interactive sessions by eminent speakers across domains, under the “Orientation Programme for the Field Immersion Module”. Ram Bhogale, Chairman, AITG, Poonam Dhanwatey, Co-founder, TRACT, Kshitij Agarwal, CEO, Sahyadri Farms, and Amrut Bang, Programme Coordinator, NIRMAN, addressed the students during this event, conducted recently.
Under this module, students are attached to partner organisations from four broad sectors. For the PGP batch of 2019-21, the module began with a weeklong orientation. At the outset, the students were briefed about the process by Profs Varsha Khandker and Vishal Arghode. The briefing covered the objective of the module, its evolution since the first batch, the nature of work, the challenges that past batches encountered and how to tackle them.
The professors also addressed queries and concerns that the students had about working on the field, towards the end of the briefing. This was followed by guest sessions in which speakers from the four domains outlined managerial challenges in their respective sectors and how IIM Nagpur students could contribute to their resolution. Poonam Dhanwatey spoke about the threats to the environment on various fronts. She emphasized on the need for policymakers who are sensitized to grassroots realities and offer sustainable solutions.
Amrut Bang is involved in shaping the strategy, building partnerships, and project management as the Programme Coordinator at NIRMAN – a joint initiative of the Society for Education, Action and Research in Community Health (SEARCH) and the Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited (MKCL). Bang’s talk enabled students to appreciate the peculiarities of the social sector, and emphasized on the need for professional management to bring about a difference in disadvantaged areas.
Kshitij Agarwal’s session acquainted students with many avenues for sustainable enterprise in the agribusiness sector. He sought advice on the implementation of new projects such as the cultivation of medicocrops, economical, eco-friendly packaging solutions and a sustainable model for foraying into the organic food market. Ram Bhogale spoke about the challenges faced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as a result of inefficient management, lack of foresight and infeasible policies. He exhorted managers in training at IIM Nagpur to bring their insights to such businesses for improving their overall efficiency. The Orientation progressed with a discussion between first and second year students of PGP, wherein the senior students shared their experience on the field during their FIM in 2018.
Five students from the senior batch, who had worked in different domains during their FIM, spoke to junior batch about importance of being proactive, and identifying problem areas by interacting with all stakeholders on the field.
