This Teacher's Day, we want to pay tribute to those individuals who have played a crucial role in shaping careers and moulding future leaders. These are individuals who work day in and day out to make every classroom experience packed with pure insights and knowledge. These are individuals who are loved and adored by their pupils, many of whom are even in awe of their teachers and the expanse of knowledge they possess! Here's a curation of our best stories about b-school faculty and interviews with professors who share their invaluable insights and classroom stories with us!
InsideIIM's Professors of The Year Across Top B-School Campuses
Through the surveys and polls we conduct with the MBA community, we discovered that the top reasons why anyone wants to pursue an MBA is either to earn a higher salary, get an opportunity to network with smart peers, or get a glamorous job and move up in their careers. However, only rarely could one find the mention of wanting access to world class faculty and learning from the very best in the domain. That, unfortunately, is the reality of MBA education today.
The contribution of a business school professor will become visible a little later into your career when, faced with a business challenge, you are reminded of that lecture that taught you a concept so well you could apply it perfectly and solve the problem. Often it's some years into your career, that you really come to appreciate your education, more than your degree. By then, the student has lost touch with the professor and that one thing for that a student can give a professor in return for all he/she has done for the student, is denied to him/her - recognition.
To bring to b-school professors the recognition they very well deserve, we launched the Professor of The Year series, asking MBA students to share with us the names of professors who had a profound impact on their lives, who changed the way they learned in the MBA classroom, and those who made those 2-years at a business school absolutely priceless! Here are our most popular stories from the PoTY series in 2020:
Prof. Debjit Roy is IIM Ahmedabad's Professor of the Year in 2020! Apart from winning awards for his research from various reputed bodies, Prof. Roy is also the lead author of the first book on Trucking Business Management published by McGraw-Hill. Find out why students at IIM A love his classes and how he
"glides through the course like a knife through butter!”
Dr. YLR Moorthi is IIM Bangalore's Professor of the Year in 2020! Having worked for several years in the industry in varied fields like Production Planning, Oil Exploration, Mechanical Design, Systems Analysis, Software Development etc., Dr. Moorthi brings his rich experience to the classroom at IIM Bangalore. Find out why students at IIM B think he’s a “cult personality” who “creates love for the subject!”
This year’s InsideIIM’s Professor of the Year at IIM Calcutta goes to Professor Peeyush Mehta! Professor Mehta has already won the “Best Professor in Operations Management” in 21st Dewang Mehta Business School Awards, 2013 and has won the IIT Kanpur senate citation for teaching excellence from 2005 to. 2011. Here's what makes Dr Mehta
"the best".
Dr. Anirban Chakraborty is IIM Lucknow’s Professor of The Year 2020! With more than 5 years of industry experience, this IIM Bangalore Fellow brings fresh perspective and clarity of concepts to the classroom at IIM L. Here's what his students have to say about him.
Professor A.F. Mathew has been voted by students of IIM Kozhikode as the InsideIIM Professor of the Year in 2020! Dr. Mathew, who has previously taught at MICA, is currently a professor of Humanities & Liberal Arts in Management at IIM Kozhikode. Here's why, even in the absence of enough chairs, MBA students at IIM Kozhikode love him enough to sit on the floor and attend his classes!
Dr. Harshal Lowalekar has been chosen by students at IIM Indore as the InsideIIM Professor of The Year in 2020! Dr. Lowalekar, who has won the 'Best Teacher of The Year' award at IIM Indore thrice, narrowly missed out on becoming InsideIIM's Professor of The Year in 2019, but is IIM Indore students' favourite professor this year! Here's what makes Dr. Lowalekar
"out of this world."
Dr. Soma Dey and Prof. Amit Bardhan have tied for the title of InsideIIM Professor of The Year 2020! Meet Dr. Soma, an Economics Professor and Prof. Amit who teaches Operation Management at FMS Delhi and find out why MBA students at FMS Delhi have voted them as their favourite professors of the year!
Dr. Soumendra Bagchi is XLRI Jamshedpur’s Professor Of The Year 2020! He emerges an overwhelmingly loved and admired professor as per this year’s survey. An IIM Ahmedabad Fellow, Prof. Bagchi has robust industry experience in various domains. Here's why students believe that Prof. Bagchi is “the best of the best as well as knowledgeable, kind and cooperative.”
Prof. Boman Moradian is JBIMS’s Professor of The Year in 2020! The 70-year old gentleman teaches Operation Management at the college, and has been voted overwhelmingly by JBIMS students as their favourite professor! Here's why MMS students at JBIMS love Professor Moradian enough to vote him the InsideIIM Professor of The Year for a second consecutive year.
From The InsideIIM Community
A Letter Of Gratitude For A Professor At IIM Kozhikode - A heartfelt letter written by an IIM Kozhikode graduate as gratitude toward a particular professor at the institute. The letter is written in first person and showcases positive reflections of education at IIM K!
How To Make Professors Laugh And Why You Shouldn't Mess With Them - "
Never mess with the professors. They silently come to the lectures, say what they want, throw some of us out, some of us just don’t make it as a 9 AM class rightfully starts at 8:58 and sometimes even we mess up by showing up without completing our homework (pre-reads). A humble advice the last one is a disaster in the making. But something changed a few days ago, and why not, it was Teacher’s Day."
Why Are We Ignoring Our Teachers? - "
India has a lot of burning social issues - lack of jobs, inequality, lack of skilled labour, rising mob vigilantism and a deep resentment towards a system where the vast majority just cannot move ahead fast enough where as the elite live the good life. India's human capital problem can only be solved if we start focusing on our teachers. Appreciate them, empower them and invest in them." - by the Founder and CEO of InsideIIM.
The Portrait of Our Professors - "
This is an attempt to interpret rather than judge the IIM professor. For that, I’ll fall back on an old trick- a 2*2 matrix, a well-meaning mathematical device whose noble intentions have been derailed by MBA’s to present themselves in a ‘structured manner’."
Interviews With Esteemed Professors At Top Business Schools
What Makes IIM Ahmedabad India's Best B-school Ft. Prof. Debjit Roy, Professor Of The Year 2020
Teaching for over 8 years at IIM Ahmedabad, there is one thing that Prof. Debjit Roy can proudly say, ‘students at IIM A can really see the bigger picture'. And how exactly does it happen? Is it because of the kind of pedagogy that is in place, the alumni connect or the kind of professors that are there? It's actually a mix. InsideIIM's Professor of the Year 2020 from IIM Ahmedabad, Prof. Debjit Roy, speaks about the things that differentiate an IIM Ahmedabad student from the rest and why the school continues to be the best for decades!
How IIM Professors Prepare Future Leaders - Inside An IIM Classroom With Prof. Ankur Jain
With only a year of teaching at IIM Rohtak, Prof. Ankur Jain has already bagged his students' affection and appreciation, being voted as the Professor of the Year 2020. What is it about his method of teaching that appeals to his students so? In this video, Prof. Jain talks of his teaching experience, and tells us a few anecdotes from his classroom!
3 Major Skills Every Marketeer Needs To Have Ft. Dr. YLR Moorthi, IIM Bangalore
Prof. YLR Moorthi takes us through some very important insights from the world of marketing. From examples of companies who have nailed the marketing game, to skills that you will need to develop if you want to build a career in marketing, he covers it all. How does psychology play a role in branding and marketing? What is the world of marketing going to look like post-COVID? Get answers to these questions and more in this video!
Do What You Love; Money Will Come Ft. Sanjeeb Kakoty, IIM Shillong
What makes one the Professor of the Year? Is it their way of teaching? Their connection with students? Or simply the way their mind functions, which inadvertently inspires their students? Well, whatever it be, it's always a pleasure to speak with such gifted individuals who not only possess a plethora of knowledge and skills, but are also involved in shaping future leaders. In this video, we spoke to Prof. Sanjeeb Kakoty, who emerged as InsideIIM's Professor of the Year in 2019.
MBA Placements And B-School Admissions Explained Using Game Theory - Prof. Sumit Sarkar, XLRI
Should you go to b-school only for stellar placements? Are your 2 years at b-school the investment you make just to get a good job? And does your education really teach about the real world? Why does b-school teach you things that you may not use in your day to day work life? And what’s the importance of all those theoretical academic concepts? Prof. Sumit Sarkar, Professor of Economics at XLRI Jamshedpur, an expert in Game Theory, talks about the importance of academics and just why they matter.
B-School Is Not A Placement Agency - Dr. Himanshu Rai, Director - IIM Indore, IIM Ahmedabad Alum
In this video, Dr. Himanshu Rai, Director at IIM Indore, Ex-Faculty at XLRI, IIM L, SDA Bocconi, Ex-Tata Steel, IIM A Alumni, talks to us about diversity and equality at IIM Indore. He talks about CAT and other entrance tests, students and their commitment to excellence as well as recruitment at IIM Indore. If you are curious about why diversity has weightage and how to create inclusivity in classrooms, this is for you!
"Teaching is a very noble profession that shapes the character, caliber, and future of an individual. If the people remember me as a good teacher, that will be the biggest honor for me." -
Late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam