IMC Awards for Excellence in Management Education

In 2013, to advance the vision of the Indian Management Conclave of documenting and codifying best practices in Indian management education, the 1st IMC Awards for Excellence in Management Education were instituted. Popularly known as IMC Awards, the platform was conceptualised with a clear mandate: to identify, document, and recognise the best-practices and successful initiatives undertaken by Indian B-schools across strategic domains, including admissions policy, curriculum and pedagogy, industry engagement, faculty development, learner-centricity, outcomes assessment, and education technology.

Over the past 13 years, IMC Awards have emerged as India's most respected platform celebrating innovation and impact in management education. Past Awards have been presented by the Former President of India, Union Ministers, Global Management Thinkers, and Business Icons. Award-winning initiatives have been published by leading global publishing houses such as McGraw Hill and Pearson, ensuring that the documented best practices reach a wider scholarly and practitioner audience.

As a not-for-profit initiative of the IMC Conference, the Awards uphold an open and inclusive ethos with no registration or participation fee.

IMC Awards: Defining Highlights

• India's most prestigious awards for Excellence in Management Education
• Conceptualised for documenting and recognising best-practices from Indian B-schools
• Unbiased, eminent jury evaluation purely on the merit of the nominated initiative
• Awards presented by Former Presidents of India, Union Ministers, Policy Makers, Global Thinkers, and CEOs
• Award-winning initiatives published by McGraw Hill and Pearson
• Not-for-profit initiative; no registration or participation fee charged
• Anchored to, and aligned with, the annual Conclave theme

The IMC Awards Process
The IMC Awards follow a rigorous, transparent, and merit-based selection process designed to ensure credibility and academic integrity:

Stage 1: Theme Announcement: Each year, the IMC Awards theme is announced a few months ahead of the Conclave. The theme reflects the most pressing imperative for Indian management education.

Stage 2: Open Call for Nominations: A nationwide call for nominations is issued to all AICTE-approved B-schools, IIMs and IITs, university departments of management, and standalone PGDM institutions. There is no participation fee.

Stage 3: Submission and Documentation: Participating B-schools submit a detailed write-up of their initiative, supported by evidence of implementation, outcomes, and impact metrics.

Stage 4: Shortlisting and Finalist Selection: A pre-screening committee shortlists nominations. Finalists are invited to make a presentation before the eminent IMC Awards Jury during the Conclave.

Stage 5: Jury Evaluation and Live Presentations: Finalists present their initiatives to the Jury and an audience of academic leaders. The Jury evaluates each initiative on innovation, rigour, scalability, and demonstrable impact.

Stage 6: Award Presentation: Winners are announced and felicitated during the IMC Valedictory Session by the Chief Guest in the presence of academic and policy leaders.

IMC Awards 2026 Jury 

• Dr Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Vice Chancellor, Ashoka University
• Dr Varun Nagaraj, Dean, SPJIMR Mumbai

IMC Awards 2026 
The IMC Awards 2026 Call for Nominations is closed. The finalist, theme and evaluation framework is given below. 

IMC Awards 2026 Theme
Leveraging AI for Curriculum and Pedagogical Innovation to Enhance Student Learning
Generative AI has moved from novelty to infrastructure in under three years. More than three out of four organisations now use AI in at least one business function (McKinsey & Company, 2025). As AI demonstrates the potential to automate and replace routine analytical tasks, employers are redefining their expectations of MBA graduates (Gaur et al., 2026).

AI has witnessed rapid adoption among both students and faculty in Business Schools. Several studies have highlighted the potential benefits of AI adoption in management education (Clegg & Sarker, 2024; Krammer, 2023; Mollick & Mollick, 2023). However, emerging research also suggests that unregulated student use of AI may undermine learning outcomes rather than enhance them (Bergenholtz et al., 2026; Larson et al., 2024; Valcea et al., 2024).

Academic leaders and faculty members are therefore grappling with fundamental questions about how to redesign curricula, pedagogical approaches, and assessment practices to preserve and advance student learning in the AI era. These questions lie at the heart of the 16th Indian Management Conclave (IMC). Business schools cannot afford to remain on the side-lines. They must actively shape the curricula and pedagogical practices that will prepare students to harness the opportunities created by advances in AI.

In this context, the theme of the IMC Awards 2026 is: “Leveraging AI for Curriculum and Pedagogical Innovation to Enhance Student Learning.”

IMC Awards 2026 Finalists

Bharathidasan Institute of Management, Tiruchirappalli
The AI-to-Industry Continuum: An Integrated AI Curriculum Coupled with Paid Corporate Consultancy Projects Executed by Students
PRESENTED BY
Dr. Asit K Barma, Director, BIM Trichy
Dr. Sridevi Tandley, Assistant Professor, BIM Trichy

At BIM Tiruchirappalli, the AI curriculum does not end with an examination; it ends with a paying client. Nineteen sequenced courses of about thirty-eight credits build capability from a common foundation to enterprise architecture and generative AI, and that capability is then applied in consultancy engagements which corporates commission through the Centre for Industrial Consultancy. Faculty members lead every project and student teams deliver the work. The contracted value stands at ₹1.12 crore across clients in five countries, and proof-of-concept clients have chosen to pay again. Course attainment, student feedback and placements have moved together with this change, and the same capability is now being turned inward through Sūtradhāra, an agentic AI framework for the student lifecycle, built governance first.

Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Patiala
MBA in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence, offered in knowledge partnership with EY India
PRESENTED BY
Dr. Devesh Bathla, Director, Centre for Analytics & Data Excellence, Chitkara University, Patiala

Chitkara University's pioneering Artificial Intelligence initiative emerged as a strategic response to the accelerating digital transformation of business, education and society. It has evolved into an industry-integrated model for developing AI-literate, data-driven and future-ready graduates. This program of MBA in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, offered in knowledge partnership with EY India, integrating management education with analytics, AI, FinTech and technology-enabled decision-making. Through an "industry-as-classroom" approach, students engage in expert sessions, live business problems, projects and case-based learning across management functions. The initiative also emphasises responsible AI, ethics, human–AI collaboration and innovation. Supported by faculty development, curriculum renewal and industry engagement, it strengthens analytical thinking, adaptability, employability and digital leadership, offering a scalable model for AI-enabled higher education.

Fortune Institute of International Business, New Delhi
FIIBX: An Educational Operating System for a Variable Future
PRESENTED BY
Dr. Kokil Jain, Dean (Research & Outreach), FIIB New Delhi

FIIBX is FIIB's educational operating system, launched publicly in June 2026 after a year of design and piloting. It rebuilds the architecture beneath the PGDM - redefining capability, how it develops, and how it is proven - while allowing courses, platforms and technologies to evolve without disrupting the foundation. Capability development progresses through four stages: Foundation, Connection, Analysis & Intelligence, and Judgement & Impact. Three multipliers amplify the journey: AI, Networks and Responsibility. Learning is organised around six career pathways leading to ten specialised career tracks mapped to corporate competency frameworks. Students build capabilities through ActionWorks and demonstrate them through EvidenceWorks - a portfolio of applied problem-solving, leadership, innovation and real-world immersion. FIIB's AI-powered Career Simulator (www.fiib.edu.in/career-simulator) helps students test pathways and assess readiness before choosing one.

Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon
AI for Judgement
PRESENTED BY
Dr. Raj Krishnan Shankar, Director, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon
Dr. Poornima Gupta, Programme Director, PGDM, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon

AI for Judgement is Great Lakes Gurgaon's institution-wide effort to rethink management education for an AI-enabled world. Instead of focusing only on the quality of the final answer, students are now expected to make decisions, build solutions, question AI outputs, verify evidence and defend their thinking. This approach is being embedded across strategy, accounting, operations, finance, marketing and consumer behaviour through simulations, live business problems, AI-enabled projects, hackathons, prototypes and individual vivas. The initiative is supported by faculty capability building and responsible-AI governance. Early evidence includes strong student feedback, 26 AI Mini Hackathon submissions, 9 shortlisted teams, working student-built AI solutions and greater student participation and questioning.

Institute of Management Technology, Hyderabad
PraxiEdge™: IMT Hyderabad's “From Knowing to Doing” Framework Leveraging AI in Traditional Pedagogies
PRESENTED BY
Prof K M Baharul Islam, Director, IMT, Hyderabad
Prof. Vinay Kumar Kalakbandi, Associate Dean (Accreditations & Rankings), IMT, Hyderabad

PraxiEdge™ is IMT Hyderabad's signature framework for turning managerial knowledge into execution capability. Derived from the Greek praxis — informed, reflective action — it rebuilds the PGP learning architecture across four equal quadrants: AI-augmented classroom sessions, mandatory industry-recognised AI certifications, individual business problem-solving and collaborative group business challenges. Assessment is redesigned on a 50–50 Know–Do principle that weights conceptual mastery and applied execution equally, and generative AI is embedded purposefully in every quadrant as a pedagogical instrument rather than a syllabus topic. Every student exits each course with at least two AI-domain certifications mapped to its learning outcomes, building a verifiable portfolio of campus-to-corporate readiness. Early evidence points to markedly stronger analytical depth and shorter onboarding for graduates.

Management Development Institute, Murshidabad
AI-enabled Competency Development Framework for Future Management Professionals
PRESENTED BY

MDI Murshidabad's AI-Enabled Competency Development Framework for Future Management Professionals integrates artificial intelligence across the teaching–learning process rather than treating it as a standalone subject. AI-enabled learning is embedded in classroom instruction, case analysis, assignments, research and co-curricular activity, with students using AI tools for problem-solving, data analysis and decision support under clear ethical guidelines. Faculty adopt AI-assisted pedagogies and experiential, industry-relevant applications, supported by Friday faculty seminars and the Institute's Centre of Excellence for AI & ML. Rolled out in phases through 2025–26 — from faculty orientation to curriculum integration and continuous review — the framework aims to build AI literacy, critical thinking and responsible decision-making, preparing future-ready managers for an AI-driven business environment.

RV Institute of Management, Bengaluru
RVIM 360° AI-Enabled Learning Ecosystem
PRESENTED BY
Dr. Sumera Aluru, Associate Professor, RV Institute of Management, Bengaluru
Dr. Jahnavi M, Associate Professor, RV Institute of Management, Bengaluru

Management education today demands more than theoretical grounding—it calls for adaptability to an AI-driven business landscape. In view of this, RVIM offered embedded AI courses across its MBA and PGDBA curriculum. This transformation is supported by six interrelated pillars—curriculum, pedagogy, experiential learning, digital infrastructure, faculty development, and industry engagement. Together this, supports RVIM 360° AI-Enabled Learning Ecosystem, in preparing students ready to apply ethically and responsibly AI across diverse managerial contexts.

RV University, Bangalore
From AI as a Tool to AI as a Learning Partner: An AI-Integrated Pedagogical Framework for Management Education
PRESENTED BY
Dr Veena A, Programme Director, MBA Regular, RV University, Bangalore
Dr Madhvi Sethi, Dean, SOEB, RV University, Bangalore

AI is changing how students learn, but its value in management education lies not merely in generating content or answers. This initiative at the SOEB, RV University, positions AI as a learning partner while keeping faculty-led conceptual learning at the centre. AI is integrated across course planning, classroom activities, case-based learning, projects and assessment. The framework follows a simple cycle: Concept → AI Activity → Student Analysis → Comparison with AI → Application → Assessment. Students use AI to explore business problems, generate cases, develop ideas and solutions, and critically evaluate AI outputs against their own reasoning. This approach encourages students to question, refine and apply rather than passively accept AI-generated responses. Implemented across Business Function Analytics, Generative AI, Design Thinking and ML, the initiative demonstrates a shift from AI-assisted content consumption to active, application-orientated and reflective learning.

School of Business Management, NMIMS University, Mumbai
Building AI-driven Business Analytics competence in students for effective decision-making
PRESENTED BY
Dr Ashu Sharma, Professor (Operations & Data Sciences) and Programme Chair (MBA Business Analytics), NMIMS University, Mumbai

The MBA Business Analytics programme advances an AI-driven, competency-based initiative that differentiates itself through admitting only students who have strong technical and mathematical background, and a structured learning progression-based curriculum. The curriculum moves from foundation in management and analytics-based courses to domain-integrated analytics for AI-enabled decision-making, culminating in interdisciplinary integration. To build knowledge and skills students undergoes projects, Coursera, workshops, capstone, and hackathon ensure interdisciplinary experiential depth. Analytica cell fosters competitiveness in students through competitions. Beyond the learning outputs, the programme emphasizes on roles alignment and employers feedback outcomes, tracking industry readiness and social impact of graduates through start-ups and ESG initiatives, thereby cultivating adaptable professionals capable of responsible, AI driven, Analytics oriented Business solutions.

Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, Gautam Buddha Nagar
From Policy to Practice: A Sequenced Faculty-Development Program for Redesigning Assessment in the Age of Generative AI
PRESENTED BY
Dr Samiksha Bajpai, Director, Centre for Writing, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, Gautam Buddha Nagar

Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence adopted a five-level AI Assessment Scale in April 2025, requiring every assessment component in every course outline to declare how Generative AI may be used, and binding that declaration to its Academic Integrity Policy. A two-semester census then showed what a policy alone achieves and what it does not: declaration rose from 64.3% to 84.2% of outlines, but prohibition remained dominant and the highest levels barely moved. The University's answer was a second phase of faculty development teaching a three-question diagnostic that derives the permitted level from the course's core cognitive outcome, and a rule that each level must be paired with a task design that holds without relying on student honesty. Management education recorded the deepest change of any school on every measure of assessment differentiation. The chapter reports the method, the evidence and the limitations.

Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development, Pune
AI @ SCMHRD
PRESENTED BY
Dr Akhil Damodaran, Director, SCMHRD Pune 
Dr Pankaj Sharma, Deputy Director, SCMHRD Pune

AI @ SCMHRD is an institution-wide effort to embed artificial intelligence in the everyday functioning of a business school, not merely to teach it as a subject. At its core is an ecosystem of thirty-plus subject and functional GPTs spanning strategy, marketing, finance, HR, case analysis, learning support and career preparation, complemented by AI-enabled business simulations, AI-assisted assessment and viva systems, and ARIA, a conversational assistant built around institutional knowledge. Faculty use AI for course planning, assessment design and learning-outcome mapping, while an AI Lab exposes students to generative AI, AI agents and locally hosted language models. By experimenting with controlled, locally hosted environments, SCMHRD treats itself as the laboratory — building an interconnected, continuously evolving AI-enabled model of management education.

T A Pai Management Institute, Manipal
From AI User to Accountable Manager: An Integrated AI-Enabled Curriculum and Pedagogical Innovation Ecosystem
PRESENTED BY
Kartikeya Bolar, Professor, Information Systems and Analytics, TAPMI Manipal

TAPMI's initiative makes accountability, not fluency, the outcome of AI education. In Learning through AI, MBA students work eight human-in-the-loop desks — verifying claims, adapting prompts, auditing generated audio, recovering blind spots, red-teaming recommendations, restoring authentic voice, deconstructing a case through CRISP-DM — and close by correcting a deliberately flawed report and signing it in their own name. Six further self-contained HTML environments carry the same loop into statistics, analytics, visualisation, research methods, an interactive case film and a business simulation. No server, licence or installation. Term I feedback: 9.40/10 across 116 respondents.

Submission Guidelines
The IMC Award Jury evaluates nominations on three key criteria — Student Learning Impact, Uniqueness, and Applicability & Scalability.

Student Learning Impact: What has been the impact of the initiative on student learning outcomes? How was the impact measured? What evidence and documentation support these outcomes?

Uniqueness: To what extent is the initiative innovative in its conception and implementation? Does it demonstrate originality or a thoughtful adaptation of global best practices to the Indian management education context?

Applicability and Scalability: Can the initiative be adopted by other business schools? Is the model capable of being implemented and scaled across different institutional contexts?

Institutions are advised to prepare their nominations with these evaluation criteria in mind. Completed nomination forms may be submitted by email to [email protected].
 

IMC Awards 2025: Winners
Theme: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in B-Schools: Approaches and Outcomes

The IMC Awards 2025 saw participation from 25 leading B-schools across India.

Jury Members:

• Dr Varun Nagaraj, Dean, SPJIMR Mumbai
• Dr Arvind Sahay, Director, MDI Gurgaon

Winners:

The Awards were presented by Shri Vineet Joshi, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India during the Valedictory Session of IMC 2025.

Finalist B-schools included: GIM Goa, Jaipuria Institute of Management, LM Thapar School of Management, Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance, and TAPMI Bengaluru.

Read the full article on IMC Awards 2025

Past Award Presenters and Chief Guests
Over its journey, IMC Awards have been presented by some of the most distinguished leaders shaping policy, business, and academia:

• Late Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Former President of India (IMC 2019)
• Shri Ram Nath Kovind, Former President of India (IMC 2022)
• Shri Vineet Joshi, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education (IMC 2025)
• Mr Prabhjeet Singh, President, Uber India & South Asia (IMC 2024)

IMC Awards 2026 — Process Opens Soon
The 16th edition of the Indian Management Conclave 2026 will be held on September 18-19, 2026, with Artificial Intelligence in Management Education as the broad theme.

The IMC Awards 2026 Call for Nominations will open shortly. The theme, jury, evaluation framework, and submission timelines will be announced through the Indian Management Conclave website and on MBAUniverse.com.