Union Minister - Smriti Irani Takes Classes at IIM Udaipur

Udaipur: Hon'ble Union Minister Smriti Irani donned the hat of a ‘Visiting Professor’ as she engaged in two academic activities central to an IIM Professor’s life – Research and Training. She was invited to IIM Udaipur as a Guest Faculty by Prof Kunal Kumar, a full-time faculty member at IIM Udaipur in HR Area.

Smt. Smriti Irani presented a Research on “The Necessity and Pitfalls of Ranking Management Institutions: The NIRF Experience”. The research has Smt. Smriti Irani as the lead author, Prof Kunal Kumar (IIM Udaipur) & Prof Sushanta Mishra (IIM Bangalore) as co-authors. In their research, they explore the importance of having a National Ranking framework that takes care of India’s huge diversity (ex: regional and linguistic diversity) and rewards institutions for doing their bit of ‘care’ for those who are socio-economically disadvantaged.  The presentation clarified the necessity of the framework, what it tries to achieve, and its current challenges. The Research Seminar was engaging, insightful, and nuanced.

On 1st March 2023 the Union Minister taught a session on ‘Job Analysis’ for the HR class for students of the MBA Program.  She also took three back-to-back sessions (of 75 minutes each) in the Core Course “Human Resource Management” of IIM Udaipur’s flagship MBA program. Smt. Smriti Irani engaged the MBA class through Case Method wherein she discussed the Harvard Business School’s case “ClubMed.” She based the class on four Ds – Do, Discuss, Debate, and Deliberate. The class ended with the students doing the Job Analysis of a Minister. Prof Kunal and Prof Soorjith, who attended the sessions, were all praised for the teaching style of ‘Prof’ Smriti Irani. According to them, the classes were insightful, inspirational, and very well received by the students.

IIM Udaipur began the Celebration of International Women’s Day with a series of month-long activities. Union Cabinet Minister, Mrs. Smriti Zubin Irani. inaugurated the event. On March 1st 2023

Ms. Payal Pitliya- Head of Learning & Development, welcomed all the guests and briefed the audience about the celebration around the theme Magnificent ‘U’- Embracing the journey of women leaders & the uniqueness of every woman.

Director, Prof. Ashok Banerjee, spoke about how IIMU is playing an equitable role in bringing about gender parity across programs & roles within the Institute.

Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, in her Inaugural speech, spoke about various government initiatives directed towards women's empowerment and appreciating the multi-tasking facet of women and also highlighted a lot of important work being done at the global level.

The event was followed by a Panel Discussion on the topic ‘Forging Gender Parity’. The diverse panel of women leaders from Udaipur consisted of Ms. Nandita Singhal- Director, Secure Meters, Ms. Smriti Kedia- CEO, Sadhana, Maharaj Kunwarani Sahiba Nivritti Kumari ji Mewar of Udaipur, Ms. Preeta Bhargava- Ex DIG, Ms. Dolly Taldar- Director, Ramada Hotel & Resorts and moderator Priyanka Sangani- MBA first-year student.  

In the ensuing discussion, the Panelists spoke about their challenging yet inspiring stories, views on gender balance and bringing that change in the mindsets to make society more equitable.

Adding to the celebrations, the Institute has also planned a digital sensitisation workshop and upskilling course for women in housekeeping, security and F&B at IIMU. The same is followed by essay writing competition, and health & wellness workshops for women faculty & staff. The celebration will culminate in the March end with a three days Holistic Wellness retreat for women leaders across the country in partnership with Coach & Coachee.

The event was organised by the Learning & Development Team of IIMU and concluded with a vote of thanks by Ms Neha Ostwal from Learning & Development.