A virtual event on the Silver-Jubilee Symposium of Strategic Management Forum was organized on Friday with six directors from IIMs and other significant business schools addressing the programme.
Through the symposium, which was moderated by a noted corporate leader and management guru Prof. Arun Aditya Sahay, Dean-Research at BIMTECH in Greater Noida, the directors of IIMs and premier B schools called for more efforts in collaborative and creative management education, while also focusing on National Education Policy (NEP), a joint case-writing and open access publishing initiative launched as a part of ‘Education Alliance for Sustainable Development.'
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Rishikesh Krishnan, Director, IIM-Bengaluru stressed that to make research relevant, one has to select the research topic in such a manner that the output is not only limited to conceptual knowledge but also has practical use for industry and organizations. He noted that the rigour and relevance of the research should not be viewed as a mutually exclusive dimension.
Director of IIM Nagpur Prof. Bhimaraya Metri highlighted the need for higher publishing standards in India to promote relevant knowledge and quality journals instead of relying on other countries. He added that effective management education is essential for sustainable development.
Director of Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) Prof. Umakant Dash emphasized that not understanding the real purpose of research may create challenging situations both in terms of quality and relevance of the output, while also adding that it is important in management research to transfer the knowledge to practice.
Prof. Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director, IIM-Sambalpur insisted that the learning design for high-level learning outcomes should be achieved through application-focused research. He highlighted the need for research in classroom learning.
Director of IIM Trichy Prof. Pawan Kumar Singh suggested the need for continuous innovation in management research methodology and felt the need for promoting and integrating the Indian knowledge system in Management's multidisciplinary field.
Prof. Wolfgang C. Amann, a professor and academic programme director at HEC-Paris, Doha recommended that research must be understood at the levels of individual, institution, and society to bring effectiveness to it. He called for a shift from knowledge to practical wisdom.
Professor Shiv K Tripathi, Vice-Chancellor of Atmiya University(Rajkot), announced a collaborative case-writing and publishing initiative as a part of the Educational Alliance for Sustainable Development. While delivering the inaugural welcome, Prof. Tripathi mentioned the need for inter-institutional collaborative efforts in research and publication.
The session was also addressed by Prof. Saurabh Pandya, (IIM Nagpur along with Prof. Srinivasan Iyengar, JBIMS, Mumbai University), while the programme was anchored by Prof. Reetu Kulshrestha, and vote of thanks was delivered by Prof. Shalini Rahul.
Other dignitaries such as Prof. Krishna Kumar (Former Director, IIM Kozhikode), Dr Ernst von Kimakowitz (Co-Founder, Humanistic Management Network, Switzerland), Prof. Hitesh Shukla (Sourashtra University, Rajkot), Prof. Kamal Bhowmik (RCM, Bengaluru), and Dr Vishal Khasgiwala (Dean, Faculty of Business and Commerce, Atmiya University, Rajkot) addressed the session on case writing and publishing orientation of faculty and students.
