At the convocation, 255 students from the Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) received their diplomas. Planning Commission's deputy Chairman Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia was the chief guest on the occasion. Mr Vijaypat Singhania, Chairman of IIM A board, presided over the ceremony.
Addressing the graduating students, Dr Ahluwalia said, "IIMs is one of the handful of Indian academic institutions that have achieved international recognition. It is important to sustain this reputation with supply of talented faculty members."
In his address, business leader Mr Singhania sent out a strong word asking for autonomy of institutions like IIMs.
Delivering his first convocation address as the director of IIM-A, Dr S K Barua said, "I have had a wonderful association with IIM-A since I joined as a faculty member. It has since been a wonderful journey. IIM-A continues its march as the premier Indian B-school. PGP has achieved dominant position."
At the convocation, three PGP students were awarded gold medals. The recipients were Kapil Modi, Prateek Jain and G Arjun.
Apart from the PGP students, 72 candidates were awarded the diploma for completing the Post Graduate Programme for Executives (PGPX) successfully. Shaleen Garg of PGPX was awarded the gold medal for meritorious performance.
Diplomas for several other programmes were also awarded. For the Post Graduate Programme in Agri Business Management (PGP ABM), 31 students were awarded the diplomas. For the Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy Management (PGP PMP), 31 students were awarded the diplomas. Syed Ali Murtaza Rizvi won the gold medal for excelling in PGP PMP. Eleven scholars successfully completed their fellow programme in management (FPM).
The convocation proceedings started in the evening of March 29, at the picturesque Louis Kahn Plaza of IIM A. The convocation procession was led by IIM A Chairman Mr Vijaypat Singhania, Dr M Ahluwalia and Dr Basu. Along with the addresses by Chairman, Chief Guest and Director, the diplomas were handed out to close to 400 candidates. The gathering, which included parents and relatives of passing out students, erupted in joy once the convocation was declared closed.
