On July 28, 2020, during the induction programme, the chief guest Shri Ajay S. Shriram shared his experiences as being part of successful leading business group, DCM Shriram Limited. While addressing the students he said that due to Covid-19 pandemic their first year will be very challenging as it will be mainly E- learning trimester to begin with. He appreciated the gender diversity in the current batch. He encouraged students to give top priority to their coursework while attending the programme from home environment and keep an open mind during online sessions. He emphasised on the ten traits of a good leader which are value system, networking, optimism, open mind, agility, empathy, humility, communication skills, digital expertise and family roots. Further, he shared crux of his 40 years of corporate experience starting from a sugar factory to making into the top position in DCM Shriram Limited. You should never hesitate to jump in wherever you can, like I did. he encouraged. He added further that besides studying, the students should participate in sports as it promotes team building and networking among peers. Apart from motivating students to read books/magazines and adapt to e-learning, he also asked the students to work on their value system, ethics, credibility and discipline; which surely help them in the long run. Lastly, he urged students not to hesitate to ask questions and focus on upgrading their digital expertise and all too while keeping close connection with family.

During virtual induction programme, Prof. Neelu Rohmetra, Director, IIM Sirmaur welcomed all dignitaries and students and stated that during these pandemic times, this year has opened a new dimension of learning. The pandemic forced us as an institution to rediscover and innovate to convert the challenge of connectivity posed by the remote location into an opportunity to connect globally. Today we have grown to connect with experts virtually from across nations she said. She stated that IIM Sirmaur is starting two new regular programs, i.e., Ph.D. program and MBA (Tourism and Hospitality Management), apart from its flagship MBA programme. She also shared that IIM Sirmaur is the only IIM in the country to first time launch a Tourism Management programme. She also cited that our current MBA batch is very balanced in terms of gender diversity as it includes nearly 40 women students.

Shri. Vinayak Chatterjee,Founder, Chairman, Feedback Infra (P) Ltd and member Board of Governor delivered keynote talk and dwelt upon the tricky management perspective. He encouraged students to place equal emphasis on the courses which are generally neglected over the numbers and analytics Values EQ,SQ and AQ have become extremely relevant in todays context he mentioned.

The second keynote talk was delivered by Shri Sumant Sinha, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of ReNew Power India's largest clean energy company and member of Board of Governor As one builds business, one has to build the organisation he said. While speaking virtually to students, he emphasized on smart working, the importance of employee engagement, and how roles change in large companies. He opined It is important to be self-aware all the time to allow people to own responsibility for the roles/tasks they are hired for. He advised students to work hard intelligently; groom themselves as broad personalities and not switch over jobs very often.

Prof. Pradipta Patra the Chair (Programmes) IIM Sirmaur presented a vote of thanks, Prof. Vikas Kumar, Chair Admissions also attended as panellist.

It may be mentioned that established in 2015, Indian Institute of Management Sirmaur (IIM Sirmaur) has undertaken several new initiatives along academic infrastructural development, industry collaboration, accreditations and linkages. IIM Sirmaur has become a Business Education Alliance Member of The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) which is a prestigious business school accreditation body based in USA. According to Director IIM Sirmaur, Prof. Neelu Rohmetra, this initiative is part of the vision of IIM Sirmaur to internationalize its curriculum and bring it at par with the best practices in top accredited business schools of the world. The institute is already a member of prestigious professional bodies like CII, NHRDN, AIMS, and AIMA among many others, she said. IIM Sirmaur would soon enter in MoUs with the prestigious international institutions in USA, Europe, Africa, and Asia as part of its focus on expanding international outreach and collaboration in teaching and research.

From July 2020, IIM Sirmaur has started two new regular programs, i.e., Ph.D. program and MBA (Tourism and Hospitality Management), apart from its flagship MBA programme. Renowned experts from industry, government and academia from India and abroad are going to interact with the fresher's/new batches during the week long induction programme beginning July 28, 2020. The MBA programme in Tourism and Hospitality Management is part of the commitment of IIM Sirmaur to contribute to the tourism sector of Himachal Pradesh and the local economy in a sustainable manner. IIM Sirmaur has signed MoU with Goethe Institute, New Delhi for course in foreign language (German) for the MBA students.

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