Prof BS Sahay & Prof Jabir Ali
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aimed at addressing the many growing developmental imperatives of India and emphasized on creating a holistic leaning environment. This paper presents the changing educational landscape after NEP with the help of a case study of the Indian Institute of Management Jammu, which has implemented various components of the new policy in collective and inclusive manner such as a more holistic and multidisciplinary education with multiple entry/exit options, revamping curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, student support for enhanced student experiences, and internationalization of education through exchange program. The experience of IIM Jammu across various programs in line with the implementation of NEP 2020 has been elaborated, which may be helpful for other institutions looking for revamping their educational program to align with the NEP2020. The unique collaboration with IIT Jammu and AIIMS Jammu in launching joint program has also been discussed to show a path of the academic journey in implementing the NEP 2020.
Education has always been a prime focus in policy-making due to its importance in achieving full human potential, developing an equitable and just society, and promoting national development. India is committed under Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. The key principle of the National Education Policy of 2020 is to develop good human beings capable of rational thought and action, possessing compassion and empathy, courage and resilience, scientific temper and creative imagination, with sound ethical moorings and values, aimed at producing engaged, productive, and contributing citizens.To achieve this vision, IIM Jammu constantly encourages experiential and blended learning, applied research, and global exposure. The Institute is striving to embrace innovative practices in teaching and research to generate a positive and constructive impact on all its stakeholders and society at large.
Implementing NEP 2020 requires significant changes in academic, logistics, and financial commitments from all stakeholders. In its 7 years of operation, the Indian Institute of Management Jammu has taken several steps to improve its quality and relevance and now runs five long-duration programs, several short duration training programs for executives, faculty members, and students and has collaborations with national and international institutions of repute and are in the process of developing strategic plan titled Vision 2030 which shall incorporate the growth of the institution along with the processes.
IIM Jammu focuses on holistic and multidisciplinary learning across all the courses offered by the institute. Mandatory preparatory courses in all programs are conducted to impart academic foundation on Business Communication, Financial Accounting, Quantitative Techniques and IT and Analytics. These modules provide a common grounding for the students irrespective of their educational backgrounds. After completion of the core courses across the programs, sufficient elective courses are provided to the students. The electives are from various areas of specialization and will be announced on a year-to-year basis depending upon the functional areas. Students can choose courses from different areas considering the requirement of the industry and their career prospects. A five Year Full-time Integrated Program is strategically designed with a blend of science, social science, and management courses. The program’s ultimate aim is to integrate management education with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and has been started in the Institute during the academic year 2021. The final year of Integrated Program in Management has elective courses similar to MBA. The elective courses are from various functional areas thus, giving students the flexibility in choosing multidisciplinary courses in different functional areas.
In line with the NEP 2020 IIM Jammu has launched programs with Multiple Entry and Exit. Under IPM, the students would be provided an exit option with a BBA degree/ certificate subject to completing the required norms.
MBA (Hospital Administration and Healthcare Management) program commenced from year 2022, jointly offered by IIM Jammu, AIIMS Jammu and IIT Jammu and intends to build experts in hospital administration and healthcare management who will have adequate knowledge and expertise to improve processes, raise quality and reduce costs – essentially to help health professionals deliver better, faster care at affordable prices.
The Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) in blended mode is a program for working executives with a minimum work experience of three years. There are many qualified professionals who could not pursue formal management education due to different reasons. EMBA in blended mode provides an opportunity to such experienced professionals with minimal disruption to their work routine and personal pursuits. These experienced professionals may be from industry, corporates, government organizations, armed/paramilitary forces, NGOs and entrepreneurs. To ease the learning process for them, the program combines the on and off-campus learning modules spread over two years.
IIM Jammu already has already registered itself in the Academic Bank of Credits to implement various credit transfers. IIM Jammu also participated in NIRF Ranking by Ministry of Education and was ranked 36 in 2022 and 41 in 2023, having already applied for AACSB international accreditation and the initial eligibility application of IIM Jammu has been accepted by AACSB. The process of BGA accreditation has also been initiated and is under process. IIM Jammu plans to undertake EFMD and EQUIS international accreditations going forward.
The balanced curriculum at IIM Jammu ensures that the students not only acquire academic knowledge but also develop as responsible citizens of the world. Some of the initiatives to imbibe life skills and thinking and emotional learning are Mentor-Mentee Programme, Anandam: The Center for Happiness, Social Responsibility Committee and Disha – Skill Development Committee.
IIM Jammu undertakes various programs both academic and non-academic in nature to bring in a digital culture: many Faculty Development Programs, Entrepreneurship Development Programs and Management Development Programs for all stakeholders of education through online mode have been organised.
IIM Jammu aims exposure to global issues through an internationally-inclusive curriculum and faculty/student body. To facilitate the achievement of this goal, IIM Jammu has established an international exchange program for both students and faculty to develop collaborative relationships towards developing academic curricula, exchange of students/faculty to gain international experiences, and organizing events of research dissemination and executive training. IIM Jammu in a very short span of time has developed partnerships with 15 global institutes of repute.
The programs of IIM Jammu are outcome-based, in alignment with the NEP’s vision. The outcomes of the programs are usually expressed as knowledge, cognitive and practical skills, and/or attitudes, and these achievements are assessed using Appropriate Assessment Methods. The programs are designed to imbibe discipline knowledge, critical thinking competence, interpersonal competence, intercultural awareness, social/societal engagement, active participation at a local level and at a global leveland communication skills.
We, at IIM Jammu strongly believes in the philosophy of nurturing and developing the best managerial talent. In line with the NEP 2020, the prime focus of the Institute is to design practice-oriented learning and a contemporary industry-focused curriculum. With the implementation of NEP 2020, the Institute is striving to embrace innovative practices in teaching and research to generate a positive and constructive impact on all its stakeholders and society at large.
(The writers Prof B.S Sahay & Prof Jabir Ali are Director and Dean Academics IIM Jammu respectively) .
