Jammu, August 22: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today called upon IIM Jammu to build a distinctive academic identity and aspire to become one of the world’s leading business schools, as he joined the Board of Governors, faculty, students, alumni and dignitaries to mark the institute’s 10-year journey.
Reflecting on IIM Jammu’s growth, the Lieutenant Governor noted that the institute began a decade ago with just 56 students in a temporary campus on Canal Road and has since emerged as one of India’s fastest-growing and internationally engaged business schools.
He said IIM Jammu has become the fifth IIM in the country to hold both AMBA and EFMD accreditation and has developed academic partnerships with institutions across France, Morocco, South Korea, Greece, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Poland, Sweden, Taiwan and Brazil.
The Lieutenant Governor also highlighted the institute’s growth in research output, noting that published research papers had increased from just two in 2017 to nearly 350 this year.
Commending Director Professor B.S. Sahay, faculty members and the Board of Governors for their efforts, Sinha described IIM Jammu’s decade-long trajectory as a model that other business schools are beginning to look towards.
Recalling the founding stories of Harvard, Stanford and Wharton, the Lieutenant Governor said each institution built its reputation by developing a distinctive strength and pursuing it consistently over generations.
He said IIM Jammu now stands at a similar point where decisions taken over the coming years would shape its identity for decades.
Sinha outlined four priorities for the institute, including developing a distinctive academic identity rooted in Indian enterprise and the realities of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh; strengthening experiential learning; focusing research on border economies, sustainable development and frontier entrepreneurship; and making placements and entrepreneurship part of a broader nation-building effort.
He called upon IIM Jammu to develop its own tradition of case writing based on the logistical, entrepreneurial and developmental challenges unique to the region.
“Every student should undertake a real, tangible project before graduation, whether through the institute’s Entrepreneurship Centre, a policy challenge, or direct engagement with local businesses supported by its Centre for Small Business Development,” he said.
The Lieutenant Governor stressed the need for sharper research on questions related to border economies, sustainable development and frontier entrepreneurship, saying IIM Jammu was uniquely positioned to lead in these areas.
He also said graduates should be encouraged to contribute to the creation and transformation of enterprises, with the institute’s placements viewed as part of India’s broader development journey towards becoming a developed nation by 2047.
Sinha said the real examination of management education takes place in corporate boardrooms, markets and real-life situations, where information is often incomplete, stakeholders have differing interests and there are no ready-made answers.
“IIM Jammu’s growth must now be converted into new discoveries. IIM Jammu must ask itself what can be done in the fields of administration, sustainable development and entrepreneurship in the economies of border areas,” he said.
The Lieutenant Governor expressed confidence that if the institute continued to move forward with ambition and confidence over the next decade, it would earn global recognition and respect.
On the occasion, Sinha released seven coffee-table books of IIM Jammu.
Padma Shri Dr. Milind Pralhad Kamble, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIM Jammu; Sriram Dandekar, former Chairman, BoG, IIM; Anand Kripalu, Member, BoG, IIM Jammu; Professor B.S. Sahay, Director, IIM Jammu; S. Shivakumar, Operating Partner, Advent International; Vice Chancellors of various universities; heads of departments, faculty members and students of IIM Jammu; prominent citizens and senior officials of the police and civil administration were present.
