MDI Convocation: G M Rao shares 'mantra of success'
New Delhi : India's premier B School, Management Development Institute (MDI) Gurgaon, held its annual convocation on March 24, 2018. It was an occasion to celebrate and honour the successful journey of its students who are ready to take on the corporate world. Shri G M Rao, Group Chairman of the GMR Group, graced the event as its Chief Guest and conferred diplomas to the graduating students. Shri Rao, who is an industry veteran, inspired the students as they embark upon a new journey in their lives.
Shri G M Rao has travelled a long way in his life. His life journey from a student leader to a trader to a manufacturer to a banker to an infrastructure developer is truly inspiring. Starting his entrepreneurial journey from a small jute mill in the remote village, he went on to create a mammoth infrastructure conglomerate. In the last four decades, he has established the GMR Group as country's leading Real Estate brand. In the field of infrastructure, GMR Group has done some exemplary work with its prime focus on the development of Airports, Energy, Transportation and Urban Infrastructure, including SEZ.
Congratulating the graduating students Shri Rao shared his learning’s while describing his life journey. “He attributed his success to his hardwork and his habit of going into depth and details of the business. In this complex and challenging world it is very important to develop soft skills and positive attitude. As entrepreneurs, one has to come out of the comfort zone and be emotionally detached in achieving the vision. He advised the students, “Never be egoistic but be humble and polite, embrace the change and take risks”.
Delivering the welcome address Chairman of the MDI Board of Governors, Dr. Emandi Sankara Rao, said “MDI Gurgaon gives preference to excellence. The institute prides itself on cultivating what it calls change agents and these students graduate to become catalysts of social revolutions with simple innovations, steeped in both social and business principles with a humanitarian touch. These students will be able to navigate complexity and create opportunities to sustain the world we live and work in. In this stable macroeconomic and progressive policy driven environment, they will be the pivots of change”.
On this occasion, 489 students from various Post Graduate Management Programmes and 5 Fellow Scholars were bestowed upon their diplomas. 24 medals were awarded to the meritorious students for excelling in their respective courses.
Commenting on the success achieved by the students, and encouraging them to adopt a more holistic view of success, Dr. Himadri Das, Director, MDI Gurgaon elaborated the accomplishments of MDI in the academic year of 2017-18. “He exhorted the students to embrace technology and be proactive in finding ways to use it. He said, we are on the cusp of an era where data science, AI and Machine Learning will completely change the way work is done. If you do not use technology to disrupt business models and leapfrog ahead, technology will disrupt you and make you obsolete. You need to stay ahead of the game and be the agent of technology-enabled change”.
Highlighting the achievements of highly-qualified faculty members, Dr Das informed that they have published 9 books, 114 research papers and cases in leading national and international journals. Some of these were published in Harvard Business Review and received awards & recognition at various forums, including Academy of Management. 33 of MDI faculty members presented their research at various national and international conferences. MDI sent around 100 students in 2017-18 abroad under its student exchange programme and overseas learning. 28 foreign students from partner institute visited MDI in the same year.
Total of 331 students participated in the placement process for the batch of 2016-18, with 240 students from the PGPM course, 59 students from the PGP-HRM course and 32 from the PGP-IM course. A total of 119 companies confirmed their participation in the final placement process. 109 received pre-placement offers either from their summer internship organizations or through various B-school competitions. The average CTC across the three courses offered by MDI stood at Rs.19.17 LPA with the highest domestic CTC being Rs.35 LPA. 15 students bagged international offers across industries. The highest overall CTC offered in this season was from Tolaram Group which extended 6 international offers to the students with the annual package of Rs.55 lakh.
This year, MDI received global recognition as an Advanced signatory of PRIME (Principles of Responsible Management Education), an initiative of UN Global Compact. The convocation was a grand affair which began with a splendid colourful procession. The two-day occasion also witnessed a pre-convocation ceremony on 23rd March 2018. The function was made special by the presence of the parents, friends and families of the graduating students. The recent graduates, on the other hand, were cheerful and exuded confidence that reflected the level of preparedness and competence of MDI students to tackle the challenges of the business world out there.
