IIM Udaipur has been noted to be one of India’s fastest improving IIMs. Set up in 2011, IIM Udaipur was ranked as 5th best management institute in the country in teaching and research. Prof Janat Shah, Director IIM Udaipur has been given a lot of credit for this rapid rise of IIM Udaipur’s stature.

One of the prime aspects of Prof Janat has been his inclusive approach in building IIM Udaipur. He has been noted to have involved the entire IIM Udaipur community including students, faculty, staff members, industry partners etc in creating the mission, culture and core values of IIM Udaipur in 2012-13. Five years since then, he is embarking on yet another community exercise for setting up the IIM Udaipur plan for the coming five years. Below is the letter that he wrote to the IIM Udaipur community about the initiative. We thought of sharing it with our readers as it gives a peek into the thought process of what goes into building a world class institution. Here is the letter:

Dear students, alumni, faculty members and staff, I have often said that building an educational institute is a 20 year journey but what one does in the initial years has huge impact. When IIM Udaipur began our journey, we set ourselves a very lofty goal – by 2030 IIMU would take its place among the best management institutions in the world.  As I reflect over our first 6 years, I think we can all take great satisfaction in having created such a strong foundation:

• We are ranked amongst the top 5 management institutions in the country in terms of research
• We are in the top 15 in the MHRD NIRF rankings
• We have consistently received very positive feedback from industry about our graduates from the first 5 batches
• We are the first of the new IIMs to move to our permanent campus

It is easy to put our finger on these tangible outcomes but to me what we have tried to do in terms of building IIMU’s unique culture is probably our most valuable accomplishment.

All of you have contributed with your hard work and dedication. I want to congratulate and thank each one of you for your efforts.

The Ministry of HRD and the IIMU Board of Governors have shown their confidence in the path that we have taken and have entrusted me with a second term as Director of IIM Udaipur.  The next five years will be critical.  I am confident that our solid foundation will serve us well for many years to come but we must continually aspire to quantum improvement in everything we do.

To plan for the next stage in IIMU’s journey, I am reaching out to ask you to share your ideas, experiences and inputs. Over the next couple of months, we intend to organize a series of sessions/workshops with all our key stakeholders (students, alumni, faculty, staff, corporate partners, local administration, and other members of the community) with a two-fold objective:

1. a)    To reflect in depth on our Mission, Core Values and Culture.  They have been a key factor in building IIMU to this point.
   • are any changes or adjustments needed as we go forward
   • how can we continue to raise the bar in all our activities to provide a truly transformational experience for our students, faculty and staff
2. b)    Planning for the next 5 years
   • How can we build on our momentum and keep IIMU on track to become a globally recognized management institute

Over the next few weeks, I will share with you a more detailed plan for this exercise. I now invite you to start thinking about these important issues and actively join with us in:

Letter source: IIM Udaipur website