The IIMA Alumni London Chapter was delighted to welcome the Director, Prof. Errol D’Souza and Dean-AER, Prof. Rakesh Basant of IIM-A, in the first week of June. We at IIMA Alumni London chapter focused on building, the brand, strengthening the relationship with the patrons and creative ways to contribute to the institute.

On the 6^th of June, we organized an interaction with patrons and other senior alumni active in the community at the House of Lords hosted by Lord Jitesh Gadhia. In addition to members from the ExCo, the attendees included a cross-section of illustrious supporters of the IIMA community, including Dr. Mohan Kaul, Mehmood Khan, Salil Shetty – Secretary General, Amnesty International, Vikas Nanda, Sidin Vadukut,, Sudhir Dole, Manish Tiwari and Saikat Sen Sharma of the High Commission of India. The session focussed on priorities of the institute and how the chapter & London patron community can help with the vision & priorities of the institute.

The institute leadership informed the audience of the academic and strategic priorities of the institute and the vision in engaging with external stakeholders. The discussion included the increased focus on research, the need for specialized streams for the research topics and also on globalization of the programs by acknowledging the overseas demand through a newly planned engagement centre in Dubai. Within the institute, CIIE has become one of the largest accelerator in the country for new start-ups and has taken up Big Data & Analytics and Fintech as two key areas of focus.

The professors also advised on how the newer programs such ePGP & PGPX have been great additions to the mainstream PGP while the diversification is closely supported by various expansion/renovation activities of the campus infrastructure. The institute’s contribution to public policy is well recognised since its founding days and this is recognised at a new school of public policy under construction. The institute continues to play a stronger role in other advisory means formally through workshops & trainings and informally through various other means.

London community insisted on leveraging the stronger London community for setting up an engagement centre in London & the High Commission of India agreed to consider providing the necessary support

On 7^th of June, the Chapter organized a session with the professors in the heart of the City of London with support from Tulsi Naidu (PGP ’96) – CEO Zurich Insurance, UK. The event was exclusive to IIM A Alumni for an frank and open discussion with the faculty and we discussed on the aspirations of the chapter & institute and how the community can help in various ways. The discussions included numerous of the themes raised on the previous days, with particular focus on the

If you are an alumnus who wants to know more or want be involved in the chapter’s activities, please write in to us at iimalondonboard@gmail.com.

From Left to Right – Vijay Ganesan (PGP ’13, ExCo IIM A London), Saiket Sen Sharma (High Commission of India), Ravi Topno (PGP ’03, ExCo IIM A London), Mehmood Khan (Founder-Chair, IIMA UK Alumni), Dr. Mohan Kaul (Ex Dean & Founder IPF), Manish Tiwari (Managing Director, Hear & Now365), Prof. Rakesh Basant (Dean – IIM A),  Sidin Vadukut (Editor – Mint), Lord Jitesh Gadhia (Member, House of Lords), Vikas Nanda (Advisor – Genpact), Prof. Errol D’Souza (Director – IIMA), Sanchay Singla (PGP ’12, ExCo IIM A London), Swastik Nigam (PGP ’08, ExCo IIM A London), Sudhir Dole (CEO, ICICI UK), Salil Shetty (Secretary General, Amnesty International), Sharath Devasani (PGP ’12, ExCo IIM A London)