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    IIMs go big on offbeat courses to build leadership skills, cut stress

    Synopsis

    The latest to take the plunge is IIM Ahmedabad, which is drawing lessons from the Bhagavad Gita to train future corporate leaders.

    IIMs go big on offbeat courses to build leadership skills, cut stress
    IIM Lucknow is introducing a core course titled Human Values and Responsible Citizenship from the academic session that begins in June.
    NEW DELHI: The premier Indian Institutes of Management are incorporating courses on spirituality and human values to help future managers maintain equanimity under pressure.

    The latest to take the plunge is Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, which is drawing lessons from the Bhagavad Gita to train future corporate leaders.

    IIM professors told ET that this is also an attempt to reduce stress levels and anxiety among management students.

    Similarly, IIM Lucknow is introducing a core course titled Human Values and Responsible Citizenship from the academic session that begins in June.

    “We are attempting to carve out well-rounded managers for the corporate world. Over the years, we have felt the need to have a course on building resilience among students to an ever-changing corporate world,” said Vikas Srivastava, the chairperson for the institute’s post-graduate programme. “In the corporate world nowadays nothing is static. This course will be able to build leadership skills that would endure volatility in business environment.” The new course at IIM Lucknow will be of 1 credit and will be compulsory for all its 450 students.

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    Meanwhile, starting this academic year, IIM Ahmedabad is introducing an elective course (of 0.5 credit) titled Understanding Bhagavad Gita in its one-year post-graduate programme in management for executives (PGPX). The institute is first trying out the course with students who are part of its two-year post-graduate programme (PGP) for the academic year ending this month. “We are extending this new course to PGPX students from the coming academic year as it has greatly helped the PGP students. We found that their stress levels were reduced,” said Sunil Kumar Maheshwari, professor HRM and Strategic Management, IIM A.

    At IIM A, enrolment for the elective course is currently capped at 50 students. But seeing the response, the institute is looking at raising the ceiling. “Demand for this course is more… We may admit more students in this elective starting next year,” said Maheswari.

    IIM A admits about 425 students every year in its PGP and nearly 140 students in PGPX. The content of this course includes topics like Criteria of Decisionmaking-Analytical or Devotion, process and outcome using both routes, process of defining purpose, norms of ethics and assessment of the self. The course would also cover topics like understanding and defining relationships between matter, jeeva, iswara, kaal and karma; nature of material and its relationship with living entity; and resolving decision dilemma and morality. “The objective is to promote peace of mind and ethics in decisionmaking,” the IIM A professor said.

    Other IIMs, too, are upbeat about introducing offbeat courses. For instance, IIM Indore introduced Himalaya outbound programme (HOP) for its PGP second-year students in 2010. Every year since then the programme takes place across various popular trek routes like Kedarkantha, Dayara-Barsu, Bedni-Bugyal, etc.

    “Students go through multiple rounds of training, focusing on adventure sports and real-life challenges, designed to test their managerial and leadership skills,” said Kamal K Jain, dean (academic), IIM Indore. HOP includes activities like rock climbing, rappelling, river rafting, yoga and pranayama.

    Three years ago, IIM Calcutta had introduced Management through Films as an elective course as part of PGDM. “The course is offered in the last term of the programme. Students have received the course with much enthusiasm and every year the course has received full enrolment,” said Biju Paul Abraham, dean (academic), IIM Calcutta.

    IIM Kozhikode has courses like Game of Poker: Competitive Strategy, which was introduced in 2014-15, and a course on Discovering Self, introduced eight years ago. “Reaching an understanding of the strategy of poker is not only for the professional player but also for students of its strategic thinking skills for use in a business setting,” said Debabrata Chatterjee, dean (academic), IIM Kozhikode.


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