Dr. Trilochan Sastry, Decision Sciences area, is retiring from the services of the Institute with effect from 31^st March 2025, after 22 years of service at IIM Bangalore. Honoring the milestone, Dr. Sastry will deliver a special lecture on ‘Life within IIM Bangalore and life outside’ at 11.30 am, in the IIMB auditorium, on 3^rd April 2025.

To watch the livestream of the lecture, click here: https://youtu.be/fLl8oadg67M

“The future is faster than you think and the world’s biggest problems are its biggest opportunities as well. And we can solve the biggest challenges with the help of technology, at the same time being aware of its impact on life and society” said Chief Guest Dr. S. Somanath, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Professor and Former Chairman, ISRO, during his special address at IIM Bangalore’s Convocation ceremony, on 28 March 2025.

Watch here for video: https://youtu.be/S0jR3B5wIpA

How can India woo its STEM diaspora to lead the global tech race? Dr. Rishikesha Krishnan, Director, IIMB, and N. Dayasindhu, Co-founder & CEO, itihaasa Research & Digital, explore potential solutions in ‘STEM diplomacy, special schemes—how India can attract diaspora to lead the global technology race’ for The Print.

With tighter immigration and funding disruptions abroad, India has a rare chance to bring back top STEM talent. As the nation pursues its goal for ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’, strategic ‘return to home’ interventions could emerge as the game-changer.

Professor Trilochan Sastry from the Decision Sciences area, superannuated from the services of IIM Bangalore on 31^st March 2025 after 22 years at the Institute. Before joining IIMB, he was a Professor at IIM Ahmedabad.

Prof. Sastry has obtained his Ph.D  from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, MBA from  IIM Ahmedabad and  B. Tech from  IIT Delhi.

Prof. Sastry  has been a Visiting Professor at the International University of Japan, Niigata, Japan; Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA; and Associate Dean (Research) and Professor at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

Prof. Sastry’s interests and work include supply chain and operations, social entrepreneurship, rural development, and good governance. He has published in international journals related to Operations Research and on broader topics related to Supply Chain Management, Telecommunications, Software, Automobile Industry, and Social Entrepreneurship. He has, to his credit, a number of management cases on Operations Management, Ethics, Change Management, and Electoral Reforms. Recently he published two books “The Essentials of Hinduism: An Introduction to All the Sacred Texts” and “The Essentials of World Religions: An Underlying Harmony” by one of the world’s leading publishers. He has also written widely for the popular press.

Prof. Sastry has consulted for various corporate, government, and international agencies on wide-ranging issues such as corporate strategy, restructuring of organisations, evaluation of large development programmes, cooperatives/producer companies and governance. He has served on the boards of various companies and NGO’s.

Prof. Sastry’s work for civil society has been recognized and he has received various awards which include the CNN-IBN, NDTV, TOI Indian of the Year, Distinguished Alumni Award from IIT Delhi, Outstanding Young Teacher Award from the Association for Indian Management Schools etc. He was also conferred with Satyendra K Dubey Memorial Award from IIT Kanpur for his contributions to bringing about transparency in public life. The Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) also conferred an Award on him in 2024.

Prof. Sastry was  Dean at IIM Bangalore from 2008 to 2011, and a Faculty Member on the IIM Board before that. He was the founder of two notable NGOs. Centre for Collective Development (CCD) was founded in the year 2003  with a vision to transform the lives of small and marginal farmers by helping them build a sustainable livelihood. Under the banner of CCD, he also founded Farmveda where fresh produce from farmers is sourced to create a diverse range of high-quality packaged foods. He was the Founder Member, Trustee and Chairman of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR ). The goal of ADR is to improve governance and strengthen democracy by continuous work in the area of Electoral and Political Reforms.

IIM Bangalore thanks him for all his contributions towards the Institute and wishes him luck for his future endeavours.

The Data Centre and Analytics Lab (DCAL) at IIM Bangalore will host the 7^th annual Women in Data Science (WiDS) Bangalore Conference on April 12, 2025, from 8 am to 5 pm in Classroom N-001, at IIMB.

To register, click here: https://dcal.iimb.ac.in/WiDS_Conference2025/

At the PhD programme farewell hosted by the Office of the Doctoral Programme at IIM Bangalore, 18 students, along with their friends, families, loved ones, faculty, and the IIMB community, gathered to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of the graduating class of 2025. Dr. Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director, IIMB; Dr. Mukta Kulkarni, Dean Programmes; Dr. Dinesh Kumar, Dean Faculty; Dr. Jayadev Madugula, Dean Administration; Dr. Sourav Mukherji, Dean Alumni Relations and Development; Dr. Ananth Krishnamurthy, PhD programme Chairperson; and Alok Apte, son of Late Prof. Prakash Apte, former IIMB Dean and Director, gathered to present the inaugural Professor Prakash G. Apte Research Award on 26^th March 2025.

IIM Bangalore will host the inauguration of the 2025-2027 batch of its two-year MBA for Working Professionals: Post Graduate Programme in Enterprise Management (PGPEM), batch of 2025-27, on 5^th April 2025.

Pranam S Karpur, Vice President and Sr. Partner – Data, Tech & AI, Genpact, and Sangeeta Bavi, Chief Operating Officer, YourStory, who are alumni of IIM Bangalore, will be the Chief Guests on the occasion and deliver special addresses.

The PGPEM is specially designed for high-performing professionals from across industries to develop holistic management competencies as they continue working. The course is scheduled on weekends over two years.

“Hard work, perseverance and resilience, continuous learning and work ethics are my top takeaways from EPGP. The rigors of the programme would be challenging, but the same would prepare you for the real world in a way that you cannot even imagine today”, said Abhishek Khandelwal, Chief Financial Officer, Snow Leopard Ventures, during his special address at IIM Bangalore. He was the Chief Guest at the inauguration of the 2025-2026 batch of IIM Bangalore’s one year full-time MBA for experienced professionals, Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management (EPGP), on March 26^th. This year, IIMB welcomed 73 students into the globally ranked EPGP.

A team of three students from the 2nd year Post Graduate Programme in Enterprise Management (PGPEM)—Vishesh Garg, Gourav Kumar, and Naveen Rathani—emerged as national winners of ProdWhiz, the flagship product management case competition of IIM Indore, held from 20^th January to 16^th February.

Kavi The Poetry-Art Project is a venture from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women that transforms recycled material like cork, seed paper, waste bottles and reclaimed wood into unique, eco-friendly gifts. This venture is on a mission to merge sustainability, creativity and social impact – empowering grassroots communities while redefining conscious gifting.