Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Director-BCG India, Presides Over Inaugural Function at IIM Indore

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Director-BCG India, Presides Over Inaugural Function of 11th PGP Batch at IIM Indore

"Business school is the last time in your life that you can say something really stupid and get away with it."

The 11th batch of IIM Indore was inaugurated today by the Director, Prof. P. K. Singh,

the Chair of the Post Graduate Program, Prof. Ganesh, and the Director of Boston Consulting Group India, Dr. Harsh Vardhan. The batch strength of IIM Indore has been currently increased from 180 to 240 students. The PGP Chair remarked that this posed a new chapter for IIM Indore, having completed 10 years and having increased the batch strength. This, according to him, posed both challenges and opportunities for the faculty and administration of the institute.

The participants were then addressed by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, who was experienced in teaching and recruiting students from business schools across India and across the world. Dr. Vardhan remarked that he was always keen on going back to schools and spoke about his experience of teaching in business schools in the US for 3 years. He compared this inaugural function to his first day at IIM Calcutta and remarked that the IIMs have come a long way since then. Addressing the incoming batch, he remarked that the students were joining the institute at a very crucial stage in economic evolution of India and that, in spite of the current situation of the markets, the incoming batch has come at an extraordinary time.

Having recruited students from campuses all over, Dr. Vardhan said that he had been observing a certain pattern. Students from campuses all over might be brilliant when it came to analytical skills and problem solving capabilities. Students might calculate option values in their heads these days. But what he clearly found lacking was the depth and the maturity. He did not find students involved in broader reading, even if they might be going in depth with their subjects.

At this crucial juncture for the incoming batch, Dr. Vardhan reminded them that the competition did not stop at getting through CAT, but rather, started after it. The most important strength that he felt should be developed is the ability to make friends with those who they compete with. He also encouraged the students to go with their gut feeling, rather than peer and monetary pressure. Throughout his experience, he had seen people make mistakes when having chosen the latter.

Various questions were posed to him, given his experience in various fields. The questions were related to entrepreneurial skills, the current oil crisis, and the state of education in India.

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* Contributed by -
Gaurav Gupta,
Media & Public Relations Committee,
IIM Indore.

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