Insightful Discussion with the Professor of Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal

These are unprecedented times where technology has played a significant role in aiding communication through the internet. This has helped us in bridging the gap between aspiring managers and industry experts through the following conversation.

This is a special Blog where we invite Professor Yogesh Dubey who has been a part of the esteemed Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) for the last 20 years. Sir is an M.Sc in Wildlife Science and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Management.

The questions are being asked by Mr. Rakesh Rai, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Hitbullseye. He has been helping deserving candidates to realize their dream for the last 2 decades.

The quest to generate and share knowledge with the young minds of the country has been a key factor. It gives immense pleasure to be part of the carrier building journey of a student and see them bloom and contribute meaningfully to the growth of society. Space for innovation and creativity is another key factor that helps me to remain connected with the education sector.

MBA as a degree provides much-needed exposure and experience to the student to learn to manage affairs. Businesses are all about managing the commercial affairs of an enterprise. MBA as a degree equips a candidate with all the business skills needed to help enterprises run successfully and sustainably. The students who are desirous of carving a niche for themselves in the business environment definitely will benefit from after acquiring a Post-graduate degree in management. The same thing would apply to life in general also as it makes an individual capable of handling several unforeseen situations.

Though the pandemic situation has created several hindrances and on the other hand, it has also created several opportunities. Experienced faculty and industry experts put forth their views and participate in discussions via online webinars. The advent of online education would not have started but for this pandemic. We must look at it positively. Online Education has opened several avenues. It might also make education far cheaper than what it is right now. Once the pandemic is over the right mix of offline and online teaching would perhaps be the new future. I see immense scope and opportunity for students to get global exposure with online education if it happens in synchronous learning mode.

The sector to which the IIFM caters in the field of Natural Resource Management, Development Management and Environmental Sustainability management are highly dynamic and ever changing. The biggest challenge is to keep the curriculum updated and abreast of changing environmental and development scenario in the country. I strongly believe that this an opportunity for IIFM to constantly innovate and evolve contemporary course curriculums.

My only suggestion to these aspiring managers who have given CAT is to very closely match and map their long term career interest while applying to B-Schools.

IIFM has a full-fledged Students Affairs Council and it forms the centre spread of the overall experience that a student receives while being on the IIFM campus. The Student council comprises a number of activity clubs that conduct extra-curricular activities throughout the year. The major activity clubs, include cultural club, literary club, nature club, sports club, adventure club, Pratibimb the Theatre Club, and movie club. These clubs contribute significantly to building the personality of these students by honing their communication skills, leadership skills, managerial skills.

Kalpataru, the annual festival is a gala event, hosting various literary, cultural, and sports activities. Not only does it provide students with an opportunity to hone their organizational skills, but also serves as a platform for them to interact with other members of the IIFM fraternity.Coalescence is an annual three-day festival inviting participation from all the leading B-Schools of India.

Proper women representation is not just important in MBA programs but is important in all spheres of education. Good gender balance ensures a better diversity of thoughts which is extremely important for any educational Institute in the Country. IIFM is very deeply committed to ensuring a proper representation of women in all our programs by encouraging gender diversity. Right now women form 25% of the total student population. We endeavour to encourage more women to opt for careers in Natural Resource Management and Sustainability Management by joining our programs.

Environment and Sustainability are going to be the key challenges that every business will have to address. The Institute’s vision for the next decade is to create cutting-edge knowledge in the field of Natural Resource Management and Sustainability Management. Both the programs are carefully crafted to create industry and society ready professionals who can bring a positive change to the overall developmental and sustainability scenario in the country.

The greatest strength of the Indian Institute of Forest Management is the inter-disciplinarity embedded in both the Programs namely Post Graduate Diploma in Forestry Management (PGDFM)& Post Graduate Diploma in Sustainability Management (PGDSM). IIFM Graduates are a perfect mix of conventional & sectoral management skills. Green Managers as we proudly call each student is a prodigy in themselves. Passion to bring about a positive change in society, environment and sustainability landscape helps them to stand out from the rest of the crowd.

Placement indeed is very important for each student while applying to B-Schools. IIFM in its sector has been able to successfully place all its students since its inception. IIFM’ites as they are popularly known the world over, have created an impact in all walks of life across the national and global landscape. The students must also look for Institutions that can help them to build, create & chase new dreams in life. IIFM is a place that lets you dream and also fulfil it.