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56 Defence officers from Army, Navy, and Airforce registered for the six-month programme
The 19th batch of the Certificate Course in Business Management for Defence Officers (CCBMDO) began at IIM Indore on September 26, 2022. The batch was inaugurated by Prof. Himanshu Rai, Director, IIM Indore. Lieutenant General K H Gawas, Commandant MCTE, MHOW, was the Chief Guest. Prof. Kousik Guhathakurta, Programme Coordinator, CCBMDO; Prof. Subin Sudhir, Chair – Executive Education; and Col. Gururaj Gopinath Pamidi (Retd), CAO, IIM Indore were also present.
Prof. Himanshu Rai, in his address, spoke about ‘PEN’: identifying the ‘Purpose’, augmenting the ‘Emotional Quotient’ and ‘Networking’. Sharing personal experiences of his transitional journey from working in an industry and shifting to academia, he emphasized identifying the purpose of one’s life. ‘I figured out my purpose and decided that I wanted to be in academia. Despite what others said and warned me about not making this career change, I trusted my competencies, identified my goal, and chose academia as my life’s path, he said. You are now a part of a management programme, but you need to find out why you are here. Get a vision in your life and add a pinch of imagination to it. ‘Use this imagination to create the world you want to step into as corporates’, he said. Mentioning that the defense training prepares an individual in an emotionally stoic way. However, the world this batch will now step into has people who will challenge and compliment them at every step. ‘You are trained to accomplish a task and administer it. However, once you graduate, you may have room to make decisions before executing your plan. People may or may not implement what you order them. Thus, it’s time to transition from listening to responding to listening to understanding’, he explained. He encouraged the officers to interact, engage and network with people from diverse backgrounds. ‘This will enable you to build strong relationships and learn from and with each other, for everyone has something new to teach’, he said.
Lt. General Gawas noted that this robustly designed course by IIM Indore will help the officers build their goal step by step and achieve their dreams. ‘What happens when somebody throws a stone at you?’, he questioned. He said that each one of us has a different reaction to the situations in our lives. ‘You could throw the stone back at the person, or you could dodge, or you could also collect all the stones and create a house out of it’, he said. He said that this programme would provide a platform for the defense officers to manage the stones in a way that helps them build their dreams. The course will augment the pre-existing skills you gained during your training and assist you in gaining a new perspective on life. ‘A ‘fauji’ is believed to be adept only at administration. However, CCBMDO aids you to explore new horizons and open doors for opportunities in operations, logistics, finance, entrepreneurship, etc.’, he said. ‘Discover yourself in this six-month journey with IIM Indore, let life unfold, and only then will you realize that this was a turning point in your life’, he concluded.
Prof. Kousik Guhathakurta also welcomed the batch. He mentioned that this programme is an initiative by IIM Indore to serve the nation. ‘The last 18 batches are a testimony to the fact that this course has been immensely beneficial for the defense officers in a smooth transition from defense to the corporate’, he said. Prof. Subin Sudhir briefed the participants about the institute’s ranking and initiatives. He noted that CCBMDO, like all the other flagship programmes, focuses on participant-centric learning. ‘You will get an opportunity to learn beyond the classroom walls, indulge in group activities and discussions, prepare and learn from case studies and each other as well’, he said.
The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Col. Pamidi. A total of 56 defense officers have registered for the programme. These include 32 army officers, 12 navy officers, and 12 air force officers (48 male and 08 female officers).