As over 600 graduating students of the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIMK) prepare to face life outside the institution, the simple advice of their chief guest at the 16th Annual Convocation will probably ring in their ears for a long time to come.

Success without ethics is hollow and a sure road to loss of credibility, Ranjana Kumar, the first woman to head Nabard and the chief guest on the occasion, advised them.

Later, she elaborated on how giant corporate houses have collapsed since 2007 due to the sheer greed of the men and women who led them. Their “short-lived happiness” toppled leading businesses and the lives of the ordinary employees, she said.

The solution, Kumar said, would be to focus on lessons in ethics and credibility at business schools.

Saturday evening saw the IIMK campus decked in a flush of satin blue and the gold-brocaded black gowns of students leaving the campus to face the world. The institute, in a sober but impressive ceremony, felicitated 348 students of the Post Graduate Programme (PGP), 312 from the Executive Post Graduate Programme (e-PGP) and six from the Fellow Programme in Management (FPM) as part of the annual convocation.

Five students from the PGP16 batch were awarded gold medals. The awards stress both academic as well all-round development. The gold medals for scholastic performance were awarded to Balakrishnan V, Apoorva Bajaj and Biswa Prateem Das. The all-round performance gold medal went to Sneha Gangadharan and Biswa Prateem Das.

Ranjana Kumar’s presence was an expression of pride the institute had in its 95 girl students, who formed 34 per cent of the graduating class this year, as achievers. IIMK Director, Debashis Chatterjee, said the percentage of women graduates would increase to 54 next year. He termed them a “powerhouse of talent”.

Another woman achiever also graced the occasion as the guest of honour – Chitra Ramkrishna, MD & CEO, National Stock Exchange (NSE).

When asked about her definition of success, Ramakrishna said perceptions of success differ among individuals and talent has multiple ways of expressions.

“Eventually, each student finds his chosen path, it may take some 10 years or 20. There are no readymade answers to what success means to individuals. But it is heartening to see at least a section of students setting new standards in the business community by not measuring success by the monthly salary and perks. They give back to society. There is definitely a shift towards corporate social responsibility,” she said.

The convocation ceremony began with A.C. Muthiah, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIMK, stressing that adherence to ethics and integrity should never be abandoned at any cost.

He told students to be prepared for discontinuous change and constantly enhance skills, however talented they are.

In her convocation address, Kumar highlighted the fact that effective communication, a creative bent of mind and continuous development are the keys to achieving success in today’s world.

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