Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ranchi, has planned an academic revamp after 10 years with the introduction of courses on tribes in India, tribal languages and the science of happiness in its curriculum.

The Jharkhand-based institute will start the new courses in June-July this year.

“The institute as part of its strategic plan 'IIM Ranchi@2030' undertook a detailed review of courses across the programmes. The changes were deep and comprehensive and have been aimed to bring the latest developments in the industry and the society to the classroom,” said IIM Ranchi director Deepak Kumar Srivastava.

The academic council of the institute recently completed the process of reviewing its course curriculum across the undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes in its faculty retreat which was recently held after a long interval.

The Integrated Programme in Management (IPM) has undergone a comprehensive review process for its courses with the perspective of providing a multidisciplinary programme that includes courses which could bring a positive change to the lives of the students.

“Elective courses called 'Enrichment Electives' have been introduced across all the first three years of the IPM. These electives would provide a fresh perspective to students through courses like cinematography, Socratic dialogues, water management, sports management, storytelling, human connect, drama and theatre, art and painting, etc,” said a spokesperson of the institute.

“The compulsory courses for the undergraduate part of the IPM have also undergone a sea change with new courses such as science of happiness, sustainability, social work, and tribes in India, which aim to provide a holistic learning experience of important life skills while also connecting students to the roots. The students also have the possibility to learn a local tribal language in the language elective course scheduled in the second year,” added the spokesperson.

Considering the focus on liberal arts as a part of the comprehensive revamp of the courses, the institute has also created a new area called Liberal Arts and Sciences through the merger of pre-existing general management and humanities and applied sciences areas.

“The strategic management area has also been renamed as the strategy and entrepreneurship area to highlight the new focus areas of the institute. With the new area dedicated to Liberal Arts and Sciences and renewed emphasis on entrepreneurship, the institute expects to send a deeper message to its students about learning for a better and fulfilling life while sharing a deeper bond with society,” the spokesperson informed.

In the postgraduate programmes, the concept of elective courses received a major boost as the second year in all three full-time postgraduate programmes of the institute has been made completely flexible. Compulsory courses in the three terms of the second year have been completely replaced with elective courses. Students have the possibility to select electives from across all study areas of the institute in all three terms of the second year.

Mid-term examinations have also been made flexible to provide greater academic freedom to faculty members. This development is expected to encourage faculty members to introduce new and innovative courses which cater to industry demands.