SHILLONG:
Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Shillong, inaugurated its Business Management Certificate program for defence officers at its IIM Shillong campus, on Friday. To reduce the knowledge-action gap and manage the altering dynamics of the military and commercial sectors, the 6-month Certificate program intends to give executives exposure to analytical, strategic, and entrepreneurial thinking.
The chief guest was Air Marshal D K Patnaik, AVSM, VM, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Eastern Air Command. Professor D P Goyal, Director, IIM Shillong, Professor Sitanshu Sekhar Das, Programme Coordinator, and Professor Vibhas Amawate, Chair, MDP & Consultancy along with Brigadier Vinod S, SM, VSM, ADG DRZ – East were present for the inaugural event.
The inaugural ceremony commenced with an address note by Professor Vibhas Amawate, Chair, MDP & Consultancy, followed by the lighting of the lamp.
Air Marshal Dilip Kumar Patnaik, AVSM, VM, Air Officer Commanding in Chief (AOC in C), Eastern Air Command, in his inaugural address shared his own experience of imparting executive learning and told the participants that this was a great opportunity to further their education from IIM Shillong while working in defence. He further advised participants to learn by giving their best shot and adopting different worldviews in order to become leaders.
“The ‘FAUJ’ is a very different area in itself from the corporate world. It is important to unlearn what you already know to absorb the information the faculty exposes you to”, he said.
Describing how appealing and beneficial the programme is for the country, he added that the recognised course seeks to emphasize experiential learning to the defence forces through interactive lectures, case studies, sessions with industry experts, management games, simulations, and student participation.