Mumbai, Maharashtra, India:
- 12 students were conferred with PhD.
- 863 students were conferred degrees in the online ceremony
- Degrees awarded for Full Time MBA, MBA in Entrepreneurship and Family Business, MBA in Pharmaceutical Management and MBA in Human Resources
The convocation was presided by included Chief Guest Kaku Nakhate, President and Country Head at Bank of America, Shri. Shalin Divatia, Nominee of Honourable Chancellor, SVKM’s NMIMS; Dr. Ramesh Bhat, Vice Chancellor; Dr. Sharad Mhaiskar, Pro-Vice-Chancellor; Dr. Meena Chintamaneni, Registrar; Dr. Bala Krishnamoorthy, Officiating Dean, SBM; and faculty members of SBM, Prof. Seema Mahajan, Director of PDSE&FB an SBM’s initiative along with faculty members of PDSE&FB. The ceremony was compered by Prof. Papiya De & Prof. Santana Pathak, Faculty, SBM.
During the welcome address, Dr. Ramesh Bhat, Vice Chancellor, NMIMS Deemed-to-be University, congratulated the graduating students and shared his words of wisdom, “The pandemic did not come with a rulebook. It presented us with an ambiguous situation and the university rose to the challenges faced in ensuring academic continuity amid the uncertainty. We take pride in how we worked together and continued to stay resilient. The pandemic has given an experience of VUCA world on campus to the graduating batch. They learned core management lessons of distributed leadership, teamwork, importance of risk-taking and responding instead of reacting, by observing how NMIMS dealt with the internal VUCA. I would like to congratulate the batch for graduating from this institute of imminence and urge them to use the skills they have imbibed to make a difference.”
Acknowledging the various achievements of the students, Dr. Bala Krishnamoorthy, Officiating Dean, SBM, said, “School of Business Management, Mumbai has been a forerunner in building the Brand NMIMS. School of Business Management, NMIMS, has always been responsive to the market, a forerunner in developing customized programs, and contributed meaningfully to the development of management education. Befitting its position as a top leading management institute, it draws its strength from various stakeholders – Students, Faculty and alumni among others. The SBM- NMIMS model is unique in several ways as it blends delivery with Innovation, lays strong foundations of industry partnership, believes strongly in developing a large pool of academicians, and contributes to the holistic development of students entering its portals.
SBM instils in students a capacity for independent academic learning, critical judgment, academic integrity, and ethical sensitivity. Excellence in teaching and learning involves students as active participants in their educational experience rather than as passive consumers. We have adopted Assurance of Learning in our teaching-learning process and continually strive to improve our pedagogical approaches more suited for current learning styles. I congratulate them for successfully embracing the year full of uncertainty with grace and positive outlook.”
Delivering the convocation address, Chief Guest Kaku Nakhate, President and Country Head at Bank of America, shared her memories and learnings, she said, “Traditional ways of working are giving ways for new approaches to doing business. ESG models are gaining tremendous significance in today’s corporate world and will be key to the future. The workplace of tomorrow will operate in a different paradigm where rewards will be in terms of responsible business, which creates value for itself and stakeholders in the long run. Being wholistic (environmentally responsible and inclusive) in approach will be a credo. When a company embraces the value of employees from different backgrounds, they get the rewards. Companies of the future will have to be resilient (learn, unlearn and relearn) and hierarchies have to be agile, laying the way for cross-functional efficiencies and higher performance. To be successful in careers, one must:
(a) take on challenges head-on, be curious, be fearless and speak up what you believe in and one learns by asking questions
(b) have no attitude, only gratitude
(c) does not shy away from assuming new roles, grab opportunities
(d) Broaden mind by reading, traveling different places and use this opportunity
(e) do not give importance to comparison, you can always do better, never make comparison with other
(f) whenever you feel complacent, get out and seek new projects and assignments, ask for change, the idea is to constantly evolve
(g) have mentors with whom you can debate your career options
(h) focus on human connection.
Pay attention to the future landscape as Robosapiens are the future of the workplace. Working with what you know will not be adequate, but building trust and respect, developing talent, skill, and imagination, communicating authentically, and listening will help you inspire people around you”. She concluded her address by quoting Sir Winston Churchill – Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never–in nothing, great or small, large or petty–never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
The top-ranking students from each program were part of Dean list and gold, silver medals and certificates were awarded to all the meritorious students. The ceremony concluded with vote of thanks by Dr. Sharad Mhaiskar, Pro Vice Chancellor, NMIMS University.