“Real treasures must be revisited as there is only gain in doing so.”

The wise words were spoken by Shrikrishna Kulkarni, Chairperson of the Board of Governors at IIM Calcutta, in the 58th Annual Convocation 2023 to the graduating class.

Kulkarni was making an attempt to remind the smiling students of all those individuals who had an impact, little or big, on their road to success as they gear up to spread their wings and take on the professional world.

Although an occasion of happiness and a culmination of dedicated hard work over a sustained period of time, Kulkarni was urging the students to reflect on the importance of parents and teachers, and the sacrifices they make just so that young people can reach their full potential.

“We honour them by honouring you. Please join me in thanking all the parents and teachers,” Kulkarni remarked.

The flagship event was graced by Tarun Rai, Executive Director, APAC, Wunderman Thomson as the Chief Guest, who delivered the 58th Convocation Address. The Director of IIM Calcutta, Professor Uttam K Sarkar was also in attendance.

Chief guest Tarun Rai delivers convocation speech.

The impossible challenge

The academic level at IIMs is difficult, to say the least. However, the chairperson had extended a challenge to the batch at the start of their course on 19th June 2021, which was to ensure that everyone in the batch should graduate together and that no student should be left behind.

Acknowledging the fact that out of 479 MBA candidates, 461 graduates stood before him, he said: “This delta has reduced over the years due to efforts of the institute,” urging the smiling crowd to remember those who were left behind and to think what more could they have done to help those who needed it.

“Keep them in your hearts and remain friends. Life is long, very long, and the balance sheet of life is only balanced in the end.”

Kulkarni also spoke on a lot of progressive ideals and social issues that are currently the main concerns of the country. He spoke about how India’s greatest advantage at present, its demographic dividend, can turn into its greatest worry by 2050 when the median age would jump by 10 years in the absence of proper jobs and opportunities for a young population.

He also called upon the students to use their bright minds and address problems of social inclusion, which he deemed as the basis of financial exclusion in a nation that has always grappled with the problem of the concentration of wealth in a few hands.

Chief Guest address

Tarun Rai started off his address as sort of a practical guide for the students. He offered the graduating class something that IIM Calcutta, despite being the first and best business school in India, can’t teach— Experience.

Director of IIM Calcutta, Professor Uttam K Sarkar delivering his speech.

The art of cost management and adjusting to change

Tarun Rai recounted the first time he was tasked with an important job at the Indore branch of Asian paints, which was to reduce the overall cost of operations. He first resorted to reducing the number of free cups of tea or switching off the cooler during lunchtime, which was inconsequential to his total target.

However, the godown keeper, who was unhappy with Rai’s cost-cutting measures, decided to approach the conundrum in a completely different way. Rather than trying to slash costs in minor things, he negotiated the transport cost with truckers by a very small percentage, which met the overall cost-cutting target. Rai remarked, “Real savings lies in big opportunities, not small ones.”

Rai also spoke about the importance of 'being a sponge', absorbing every interaction with every person be it colleagues, seniors or subordinates. He also remarked how disruption lies waiting in every corner and how the Ipad threat to the magazine business in 2012 (when he was heading the joint venture of BBC and Time of India) is just like the threat AI and ChatGpt pose to several industries across various verticals today.

Legacy of placements at IIM-Calcutta

461 students of the 2-year flagship MBA programme, 78 students of the 1-Year MBAEx Programme and 40 students of the 1-Year PGPEX VLM Programme were awarded their degrees.

Listing out a host of achievements of IIM Calcutta of this year, Professor Saha noted the excellent records in both the summer and final placements of the institute’s flagship MBA programme.

The opening address was followed by the announcement of various awards for both academic and non-academic accomplishments across different fields.