Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi (IIM-Ranchi) is competing with the global management institutes and not other IIMs, according to its director, Deepak Kumar Srivastava. In a conversation with The Free Press Journal (FPJ), Srivastava unveiled the plans of IIM-Ranchi, which was established on Dec 15, 2009, including international collaborations and student-centric initiatives.
Srivastava, a former faculty of IIM-Kozhikode, joined IIM-Ranchi in August 2022. He also shared insights into IIM-Ranchi’s other activities.
FPJ: Where do you see IIM-Ranchi in the next five years?
Srivastava: IIM-Ranchi is a second-generation IIM and last year we moved to our new campus. We have also made some changes keeping in mind the marketing needs and have come up with a strategic plan which is called IIMRanchi@2030. It focuses on four things—education, impactful research, social impact and international collaboration.
We want IIM-Ranchi to be known as a globally known and locally responsive B School.
FPJ: Are you going to bring about changes in the curriculum?
Srivastava: Revamping our curriculum is something that we have started to look into so that it can be more aligned with the market requirements. The decision regarding the same will be taken by the curriculum review committee.
We also did a restructuring of the curriculum to make it more holistic. A set of courses known as Enrichment Electives were introduced for the students last year, namely, Water Management, Sports Management, Tribal Language, Theatre and Cinema among others.
FPJ: Does IIM-Ranchi plan to embrace the tribal culture that Jharkhand offers?
Srivastava: Under social impact, we have introduced a human library which is already very popular in Europe. Human library essentially means when a human is considered as a book and the students get to know his experiences. We have also launched a community library to give back to society.
The names of our buildings are after popular spots in Ranchi which again enhance local commitments.
FPJ: Are there any international collaborations in the pipeline?
Srivastava: We have started a programme known as Young Changemakers. Under this, we invite international school students for five to six days. They then visit a nearby village to understand their social problems. This helps in developing social intelligence among them. This year, our initiative saw students from six countries coming to Ranchi and taking part in it.
We are looking into more international collaborations as well, and have already cleared the AACSB final round, which is a non-profit organisation that accredits business schools and MBA programmes. So, hopefully, by next year, we will get AACSB accreditation.
FPJ: How do you plan to make IIM-Ranchi globally known?
Srivastava: IIM-Ranchi has started a new international visiting professor position, and has identified six to seven professors. I am confident that at the beginning of this academic year, they will be here on campus for three to six months.
FPJ: What are some student-centric initiatives that you have undertaken?
Srivastava: We have a merit-cum-means scholarship, which is awarded to 20 academically bright students who have financial constraints. We also consider the disability angle in it. However, it must be noted that this is given to students who are not in benefit of other scholarships. It will be given term-wise, which will bring more inclusivity to our institutes.
The motive behind launching this is that we must understand many students come here after taking hefty loans and not everyone has the financial background. It is also beneficial because students can use this in their resume that they have won a competitive scholarship.
FPJ: Do you look at the old IIMs as a benchmark or competition?
Srivastava: Other IIMs are not our competition, yes they have a positive influence over us since they have a long legacy. However, each IIM has its own style of working and our competition is with global institutes.
