We Should Be Remembered As A Pioneering B-school: Debashis Chatterjee, IIM Kozhikode

IIMK has a standing in the top-rung B-schools. What has gone into making the institute a success that it is today?

The reason why we have succeeded is that we are not standing, we are running. We are ranked third in NIRF, 77th in the world for our open learning programmes and 72nd for our postgraduate programme. It’s a continuous progression from where we were. We have achieved this through one operative phrase – pursuit of excellence in whatever we do. That defines the IIM brand. 

The simple thumb rule in launching any initiative is to do it. If we are convinced about it and once we start it, we give it our best. 

IIMK has always set the benchmark for other management programmes in the country – in terms of gender diversity, diversity of management programmes. In 2013 we had 54 per cent women in our flagship programme. It was a defining time for other B-schools. It used to be 8 to 10 per cent before we brought that number of women. IIMK should not be remembered for being a ranked business school, it should be remembered as a pioneering business school. 

Excellence is the operative word but the ecological footprints of excellence are inclusiveness, diversity, hi-tech and social capital. All of these are critical elements that build brands of a B-school. 

If you ask me to define the IIM journey, it has been intellectual capital multiplied by social capital, which becomes reputation capital. And our reputation is more important than rank, although we have been ranked pretty high.

We are talking of industry 5.0 now. What are the changing industry expectations, and how are B-schools meeting those expectations?

B-schools do not run according to the QSQT (quarter se quarter tak) syndrome of industry. We are an education institution and do not always get led by industry; we lead industry through our knowledge and systems.   I am not beholden to industry; I am beholden to the currency of my thinking and the industry will follow us. For example, I wrote a coffee table book called 2047 which was given to all the stakeholders in the country and it gained currency from there. 

Rather than asking what has changed, you can ask me what has not changed and what is not going to change. And what is not going to change is the pursuit of learning, acquiring the ability to see that the frames of the past are not going to get you there. The problem is not the change. The problem is that we want to address change with the thinking of the past.

And Industry 5.0 is not going to be radically different. It will be a point of technology taking over. Rest of what technology cannot take up becomes a province of business, of management, and of leadership. What AI cannot do is intuitive thinking, connecting the dots, recognising patterns from data. 

How is technology impacting management education? Already, Covid catapulted us into a different trajectory and now with AI knocking at the doors, how do you plan to imbibe that?

AI has significantly changed our mental models that we have to be analytically sharp. This is old school system. Things that AI can do, it should be allowed to do. There is no reason why the recruiter who is doing the preliminary check on students should come down to the campus. A lot of recruitment has gone online. All the fringe aspects of corporate life are taken care of and technology has made it very transparent that you don’t have to waste time and energy these. IIMK has been a pioneer in interactive distance learning. We were the first ones in Asia, to introduce this in 2001.   

At the same time, there are somethings that technology cannot do, which is non-routine. Technology will take over routine work but if you look at the non-routine, complex work, that’s where the province of the human is. You cannot interview me on future of India which require flagship deliberations, reading between the lines, discerning what the person is conveying. 

For example, at IIMK, we ideate, discuss about climate future, among other things. We are setting up a climate lab, comparing multiple districts of India. What technology can do is micro picture of districts, and what we have to do is make decisions and policies based on that. In B-schools too, there has been a shift from nano stakeholder view of reality to a larger ecological view. For that, you need a vision. You require human capability. 

How are Indian B-schools sensitising students about diversity?

We were the first IIM to have 54 per cent women. It meant that toilets had to be redone, hostels had to be provided for. It meant another kind of intelligence and learning. 

There are other forms of diversity which are critical to our growth. We started four new programmes in one year - MBA Liberal Studies and Management; MBA Finance, one-year MBA in Business Leadership and Ph.D in Management for Practice Track Professionals. 

We look at diversity not just in terms of gender but diversity in any form. Diversity is not just about human rights; it’s about living rights and it includes flora and fauna. We have cat shelter and dog shelter, and we don’t allow a single tree to be cut except with director’s permission. It has to be a larger ecological and economic perspective and the sensitisation has to come from multiple angles. This year, during induction, I asked the faculty not to tell the students what we are all about, but to let the students discover on their own. It sensitises them to the diversity of narratives, rather than top down, which is typical of B-schools. 

Covid has brought in a different narrative among the youth, especially regarding work-life balance, mental health and gig work. How is that resonating on the campuses? And how are B-schools responding to the changing aspirations of students?

We mismeasure aspirations; we think students are here only to get a job. That may be a want, not an aspiration. And this is not an employment exchange. The deeper aspects of aspirations are what we cater to. Although we get them good jobs too. In the business of enhancing employability – connecting you to what you are good at and honing the skills in what you are natural good at. We give them a portfolio of options. Like our Liberal Studies in Management was a way to get a chef or a national cricketer to come to join the campus. So we have stiff entry barriers but provide multiple exit options. 

What are some of the biggest challenges that B-schools must overcome?

The biggest challenge is that we come in our own way of success; we do more of the same. The approach that brought us success earlier might not yield the same results. The future will not be replicated the way the past played up. It will be a unique combination of forces that impact the future and also our creative ability to shape that future.  I would like every student to believe that he or she is in the business of shaping that future, rather than job seekers. The question is not whether India has enough managers or doctors or engineers; the question is, does India have enough dreamers, and we would like to create a school for dreamers. 

Meha Mathur

BW Reporters The author works as Senior Associate Editor with BW Businessworld