Eminent educational institutions in the country have been witnessing a surge in the number of young candidates coming from an arts background.
The very notable Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad too saw an increase in the number of young professionals enrolling in the b-school with an arts and humanities background.
Well, the movie has been memorable since over the past few decades the institution was well-known for students enrolling in from an engineering or technical educational background. Several students have been joining the MBA programme with greater enrolments as compared to the previous 3 years.
Students from diverse backgrounds for a positive learning experience
The enrolment in flagship courses at IIM, Ahmedabad has witnessed an increase to 5 per cent from 3 per cent in the previous year.
However, it has been a decrease in enrolment of candidates with a commerce background. Considering the rise in arts and humanities students, the institution has initiated several programmes based on an association of art subjects with the curriculum of a b-school.
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad has initiated new programmes like MBA food and Agri-Business management for new batches. The curriculum will be delivered through virtual classes due to the closure of institutes and colleges.
The global pandemic has pushed universities to adapt to the virtual model of learning; however, this has not stopped the authorities to embrace positive changes in the sphere of education. The rich diversity amongst students from different educational backgrounds has been reflecting upon a positive learning experience among the peer groups.
Moreover, the authorities believe that diverse opinions, perspectives, and values nurture a holistic learning environment bringing the best out of young professionals.
IIM Ahmedabad using virtual teaching techniques
The global pandemic has been created havoc in different sectors of the society, thus, bringing an economic crisis amongst diverse groups. The educational institutions have been facing several challenges since the imposition of nationwide lockdown and restriction on travel and transportation.
However, these hurdles have not stopped the authorities in taking the necessary steps in the correct direction. The MBA programmes in Food and Agri-business management will be bringing a transformation in the industries and the food sector.
Moreover, these courses will also be acting as a supportive educational pathway bridging the gaps between arts subjects and their possible applications.
The online sessions for the new batches have been initiated on 2nd August 2020 with a batch of 47 students. Due to the closure of the universities, the sessions were inaugurated through online mode.
However, the new batches usually saw students coming from science or commerce background, but time has changed drastically. Students from diverse humanities and arts background have been embracing career aspects like business and management.
The new session has also witnessed students having age groups between 21 and 25 years. This indicates that the younger generation of the country has been coming forward to eliminate the existing gaps between the technical and artistic fields.
Greater networking opportunities
A slight shift has been witnessed in the academic background with eminent students coming from a science background than from the engineering one. Previous years have always seen a surge in the number of engineering students coming forward for admission into an MBA programme.
However, with changes in recent time academic sphere, 45 per cent student belong to the science backgrounds. Moreover, comparatively 48 per cent of students come from an engineering background. The share of students with a commerce background is 18 per cent.
The Food and Agri-based MBA programme will be opening the career pathways into several diverse fields and sectors. It is considered to be a world-class programme with a well-structured curriculum and a holistic learning approach towards students.
The MBA programme requires a great networking environment amongst peer and industry mentors. Therefore, with diverse social and cultural backgrounds of students, peer-to-peer networking would be fruitful for the students for their career stability.
Hence, the shift in the academic backgrounds of students has been considered as a positive change in the academic sphere.
To summarise, the percentage of academic diversity as reflected in recent batches has been mentioned below. The following data indicate the educational background of the students joining in for the MBA programme at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
| Batch | Educational Background | Percentage of students enrolled |
| 2018-20 | Arts | 3 per cent |
| 2018-20 | Commerce | 23 per cent |
| 2018-20 | Science | 7 per cent |
| 2019-21 | Arts | 3 per cent |
| 2019-21 | Commerce | 21 per cent |
| 2019-21 | Science | 2 per cent |
| 2020-22 | Art | 5 per cent |
| 2020-22 | Commerce | 18 per cent |
| 2020-22 | Science | 1 per cent |
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