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.

Summary of the video

Dr. Himanshu Rai talks about diversity and inclusivity in classrooms. He shares just why diversity matters. In a well thought and reasoned discussion, Dr. Rai tells us just why diversity and inclusivity in the classroom are a nation building activity.

Dr. Rai then talks about why recruiters benefit from diversity and how IIMs and other institutes are able to create positive social change due to their hands on approach to learning and education. Next, Dr. Rai tells us why he thinks his students are “rockstars.”

He paints a picture of hard work, commitment to excellence and readiness to innovate as the hallmarks of students studying at IIM Indore and other top b-schools. Finally, he talks about just why IIMs exist. He shares how the purpose of elite b-schools is to create worthwhile leaders. He shares how b-schools achieve this and how newer institutes are needed to serve a nation of almost 2 Bn people.

Last but not the least, Dr. Rai talks about CAT. He shares how CAT is one of the exams for shortlisting candidates for b-school, not the only exam. He shares the reason behind CAT being an accepted method to cull out the cream of students. If you want to know how education can improve, and how each one of us needs to think in order to create a progressive society, check out this video.

Key Takeaways

1. Merit means you have the capability & potential to become what the program wants you to become. Merit is not just clearing an entrance exam
2. Equality means we treat people who have gotten equal opportunities, both physically and psychologically, at par.
3. Mission of IIMs = To create responsible leaders for the future.
4. Diversity boosts classroom participation, learning and thought.
5. The dominant learning at any b-school happens because of the discussion within peer groups.
6. An inclusive classroom is the only one which will help people make decisions which are inclusive in nature.
7. IIMs are not a placement agency.
8. Great educational institutes need good faculty, good infrastructure and good practices.
9. Ultimately one of the big tasks of leaders is to make decisions.
10. The 3 skills required of a good decision maker are comprehension, quantitative methods, and data interpretation.
11. CAT scores are a very good predictor of the overall performance of a candidate.