Focus on knowledge, creativity, team work: IIM Cal chairperson

Kolkata: IIM Calcutta board of governors chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar has asked graduating students to focus on higher-order skills such as judgment, creativity, deep domain knowledge, ability to work in teams and ethical reasoning, as many of the works are now being automated.During his convocation speech, Kumar said there are major shifts happening in three spheres — knowledge, workplace and power. "Today, we have enormous information. The challenge for us is to transform this information into knowledge that can guide us in our judgment and action. To be able to do this, you should be able to question, validate, verify and examine. In the workplace, as many of the works are being automated, you have to focus on higher-order skills such as judgment, creativity, deep domain knowledge, ability to work in teams and ethical reasoning," Kumar said. "If you want to meaningfully contribute, adapt quickly, learn continuously and lead with an essence of purpose."A total of 459 students from the 61st batch of the two-year flagship MBA programme and 90 students from the 1-year MBAEx programme were awarded their degrees. Diplomas, along with certificates, were conferred on 40 students of the PG Programme for Executives for Visionary Leadership in Manufacturing (PGPEX-VLM). The institute also conferred 12 students with their PhD degrees. The chief guest of the convocation was Praveer Sinha, MD & CEO, The Tata Power Company Ltd.The convocation attire has been carefully curated with use of Kantha stitching — a traditional Bengali needlework art form. "We want students to carry a bit of Bengal along while going back and keep with them wherever they go," said director Alok Kumar Rai."At IIM Calcutta, we strive to nurture leaders who are not only professionally competent but also socially conscious and globally relevant," he said, adding, "In QS Master's in Management Rankings 2026, our flagship MBA programme has ranked 50 in the world and third in India. In QS Global MBA Rankings 2026, our MBAEx programme has ranked 64 in the world, 11th in Asia and third in the country." Rai shared that the institute was re-accredited by AACSB International for a period of six years and re-accredited by EFMD EQUIS for three years.