Essence Of Excellence

Change continues to be the only constant in business, but IIM Ahmedabad is two steps ahead and already preparing for the future

- Karthik Ravindranath/Ahmedabad

THE WEEK-HANSA RESEARCH NATIONAL SURVEY

It is a humid afternoon in the iconic red brick campus of IIM Ahmedabad. I am told that most students who are free from classes are busy with their work—reading case studies, preparing for surprise quizzes or completing assignments. Even the few lucky ones who can afford to ‘lounge’ in the cafeteria do not seem relaxed; it is only a short break from their punishing schedules. Two students from overseas are sitting opposite the cafeteria, smoking cigarettes. Behind them, across a green lawn, is the magnificent Louis Kahn Plaza, the open auditorium where the graduation ceremony takes place.

Saurabh Chandra stands out in the crowd because of his relatively formal clothes (jeans, shirt tucked in and a black blazer). He is also calm and collected. Chandra, currently an engineering leader at Amazon, has 17 years of work experience, in the US, Europe, Brazil, China, Israel and India, at various Fortune 500 companies and unicorns (privately held startups valued over $1 billion). He has authored two technology books and holds three patents. Looking at his CV, one could be forgiven for assuming that he was here to give a talk. But Chandra is a student at the institute’s new ePost Graduate Programme (PGP).

“The whole dimension of business changes every five years,” says the 36-year-old. “If you are not in touch, you are lagging behind. There were two options. One, take a break and scan all the industries. Or, come to a place where all these things come under one roof.” Chandra says the learnability goes up ten times at IIMA because the professors are world class and the students high quality.