A CELEBRATION OF TALENT
From food festivals to a business museum, the institute blends cultural sensitivity with welfare initiatives
Irealised the true meaning of ‘unity in diversity’ at the annual food festival on the campus,” says Surabhi Verma, a second-year management student at the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode ( IIM-K). “The sheer variety of cuisine from different parts of India was amazing.”
The food festival is a major event in IIM-K’S calender. The culinary and cultural extravaganza is completely managed by students, right down to the cooking of dishes. It is part of an effort to increase interaction between faculty and students on the campus. Says Abhishek Gupta from Mumbai, “It provides a platform for many students to showcase their talent before the IIM-K community, which also prompts further informal interaction between students, faculty and staff.”
But it is not just an explosion of aromas and tastes that draws people to the food festival and IIM-K. The institute’s sylvan campus, tucked away on a small hillock surrounded by the lush green Kerala landscape, is an experience in itself. Besides, dean Saji Gopinath says, “IIM-K is a confluence of Indian cultures and ideas.”
At IIM-K, students learn not only in lecture rooms but also through nonacademic activities such as food and international festivals. “The festivals provide students an opportunity to organise, manage and market events by themselves,” adds Gopinath.
Saksham Srivastava, 24, a post graduate diploma in management student from Lucknow, and his classmate Niranjana Narayanan, 21, from Chennai agree. “We come away learning a lot from the experience,” says Niranjana. “In the midst of our demanding academic schedule, the food festival showcased talents of the students. The festival aroused our creative sensibilities and sparked a new energy in the campus. It’s the most eagerly-awaited annual event here.”
Indeed, IIM-K, set up in 1996, has never been short of the creative impulse. “The Indian Business Museum at IIM-K is a unique initiative,” says Aparajith Ramnath, lecturer in Business History at the B-school. The