A manager is the backbone of organizations! Every employee and organization require a person who can meet their needs and lead them towards growth. As we know, a manager not only helps the firm and employees in achieving its goal but also takes care of the operation of each department in an organization.

Every human has management skills instilled in themselves, as they come across many life challenges, and to overcome those challenges, people need to make many decisions to reach the right solutions. But from where did a human get these management skills? Everyone learns management skills at home and later from schools and colleges.

But the concept of management learning is not new; it was introduced thousands of years ago, probably in the era even before the birth of Christ people did conduct overseas business and managed all the records manually.

If we talk about the best managers, our freedom fighters were pre-eminent examples of proper management and great leaders/managers. They led and integrated each country’s citizens to fight against the British. Mahatma Gandhi was the only freedom fighter who didn’t commit any violence while fighting for the country’s independence. He co-operated with the common people and led everyone toward the path of truth and non-violence.

Much before the country got independence, a number of freedom fighters also focussed on education to educate the youth and make them ready to take over the development of the country. A very prominent among them was Dr K.M. Munshi, who worked under Mahatma Gandhi’s guidance. Based on his beliefs, Dr Munshi established Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, in 1938 and set up schools and colleges all over India.

Later in 2007, when leadership decided to start a Management Institute in New Delhi, the Indian steel tycoon Shri. Lakshmi Mittal and Smt.Usha Mittal came forward with financial help and support, thus Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan’s Usha & Lakshmi Mittal Institute of Management (BULMIM) was born and started offering AICTE approved PGDM courses. The institute teaches and develops the management skills that help the students become successful future managers. Its robust industry interface helps them place their students in renowned organizations.

In an interaction with The Knowledge Review, Dr M. Durgamohan, the Director of the BULMIM, shared his experience, learning and future vision mission for the growth of an institute.

Background Story of the Institute

Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan’s Usha & Lakshmi Mittal Institute of Management (BULMIM)was established in 2007 with the support of the Indian Steel magnate Shri. Lakshmi Mittal, and Smt. Usha Mittal. The institute commenced its operation in the same year when it got approval from AICTE to offer a full-time PGDM course.

The uniqueness of the PGDM course is that it has a dual specialization of equal weightage, as well as the institute has special German language classes for the students. It also has an active student exchange programme with the Universities for Applied Sciences, Dornbirn, Austria, Sprott Shaw College, Vancouver, Canada, Inalco, Paris, France.

The institute is based on the four pillars that are essential for Business School and accountable for the BULMIM’s success. The first pillar istheir parent organization Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan which was established in 1938 by Kulpati Dr K.M. Munshi; he was a freedom fighter who learned many things under Mahatma Gandhi’s guidance. The second pillar is the faculty member of the institute, the third one is Industry Interface, and the fourth and an equally important pillar of the institute is its alumni.

These four pillars help the BULMIM to successfully implement the ‘Outcome-Based Education’ with the attributes necessary for graduating future managers, which has become the driving force of the institute.

The success of the institute leads it to achieve special accreditation such as ‘Premier Institution’ by ASIC, UK in 2020. It is also renowned for its placement services, as it successfully placed 96 to 100 per cent of students in the last four years, even during the pandemic.

Dr M. Durgamohan- Visionary Academician

It is often said that someone is always behind someone’s success. Similarly, Dr Durgamohan is a noble person behind the BULMIM’s success. With 18 years of industry experience and 27 years of academic experience, he has taken the institute to newer heights. Apart from his working experience, he has a tremendous academic record and holds a PhD from Dr B.R Ambedkar University, Agra. He was also an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi.

Dr Durgamohan was an active member in organizing six annual international conferences, strengthening the industry interface, which has been creating employment opportunities for the students. His primary aim is to bring outcome-based education to the institute and incorporate the employability skills in their curriculum.

Enlightening the Vision, Mission, and Core Values of an Institute

While conversing with the Dr Durgamohan, he inspired us with the vision, mission, and core values of a BULMIM and cited-

Vision

To impart value-based, holistic management education with entrepreneurial and leadership traits ensuring sustainable growth of the society and capability of handling future challenges.

Mission

• To create opportunities for students to enable them to realize their full potential and develop the capacity to face changing future challenges in a highly competitive business environment.
• To equip the students with value-based management skills with high intellectual, moral, and cultural standards for a sustainable societal future.
• To provide creative and formative education for harmonious and all-round development of students to function and excel responsibly for transformational changes in society

 Core Values

• Quality Education at an affordable cost student-centric approach, in which the student is considered the most important stakeholder.
• Transparency and open-door policy.

Learning Standards and Feasible Educational Attainment

While talking about the objectives of the course and its outcome on students, the institute has set the following goals, which are mentioned below:

• The course enables the students to contribute to business acumen and take care of organizational growth and sustainability.
• The institute prepares its students to anticipate future trends in the business environment and be able to make decisions that create value for stakeholders and society at large.
• BULMIM train and nurture the students to ensure excellence in business, which is also relevant for societal good.
• The institute inculcates ethical values in business management. The institute indulges the following attributes in the students, making them significant business acumen leaders.
• Deep knowledge of the domain and broadening intellectual capability.
• Problem-solving, decision-making, and critical thinking skills.
• Effective communication skills and teamwork.
• Leadership quality.
• Intercultural and Ethical Competencies.
• Global adaptability.
• Digital Capabilities.

E-learning Outcomes on the Institute

Since 2017, BULMIM has been using the E-learning facility in the institute; in the provided facility, they encourage students to watch videos of MIT open courseware topics that have been discussed on another date and day. It is a kind of blended learning system.

However, the pandemic has become the source to shift the institute’s teaching/learning process to online mode, as the government imposed a strict lockdown in the country. The faculty members of BULMIM used Google classroom, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet to make the teaching/learning process more effective and easily accessible for students and teachers.

The institute provided laptops to the students as a part of their induction kit, which helps the student to have the necessary essential equipment. Even after starting an offline class, the faculty members continued using Google Classroom as an effective tool for assignments, disseminating information, background papers, and many other things.

Future Endeavours for Students’ Educational Learning

When we asked Dr Durgamohan about the college’s initiatives for the students’ future endeavours, he asserts, “BULMIM endeavours to make students life-long learners by updating and upgrading their skills consistently. The students imbibe these values during two years of the course. We make students realize that end of the course is not an end but a new beginning to their learning expeditions.”

Non-Pedagogical Activities

The institute focuses more on cocurricular and extracurricular activities. The co-curricular activities include the annual international conferences, HR summit, Roundtable discussions on budgets, seminars/ webinars on current topics related to Marketing, Finance, Business Analytics, Operations, HRM, International Business, Digital Marketing, and Supply Chain Management, and many other activities.

The institute achieved an award in the annual Inter B-school case study competition and ‘Adhyayan’ competition which was in collaboration with the Multiplier Brand Solutions.

The college’s extracurricular activities are the annual Management Fest’ Aspire-Soaring High’- a two-day inter-institutional event, Diwali mela, New Year’s celebration, freshers party, farewell party, and many more intercollege events.

The essential benefit of arranging these extracurricular and co-curricular activities is that the students learn to work in teamwork by organizing the events with the support of their faculty and staff members.

Striking Achievements of the College

After sharing the gigs of the institute’s co-curricular and extracurricular activities, Dr Durgamohan also shared the college’s most notable achievements, and they are-

• Accreditation as a “Premier Institution” by ASIA, UK.
• The Inter-Business School Case Study Competition “Adhyayan.”
• Top-up degree (MBA) from International American University, Los Angeles, USA.
• BULMIM is an all-India ranking B Schools by MBA Universe, it has been holding the consistent 60-61 (All India Level) position for the last three years, and at the Delhi NCR level, BULMIM stands in 18th position.
• The student exchange program with the University of Applied Sciences, Dornbirn, Austria was extended for another five years in 2021.

Envisioning the College’s Future

When we asked Dr Durgamohan about his envision for the future of BULMIM, he shared,

“The future of BULMIM is dovetailed with the strategic plan, and it will be listed in the Top 20 by 2025. This Strategic Plan has six segments. They are:

• Enrich the Brand Equity.
• Vibrant Center of Learning and Skill Development.
• Improve the overall student experience.
• Strengthen knowledge and intellectual capital.
• Augment employability.
• Enhance industry interface.

Apart from the above, BULMIM would like to offer twinning programs with foreign universities. The foreign universities would be from Western Europe, with whom the initial discussions have already been done.

From an Indian perspective, taking other institutions as knowledge partners on board in the areas of Analytics, Finance, and Digital Marketing would enhance immense value to the institution.”