Dual course: CFTI students receive diploma from IIM-V

Visakhapatnam: In a first for any Indian Institute of Management, IIM-Visakhapatnam had launched a unique dual-degree programme for students of the centrally funded technical institutions (CFTIs) about a year ago. Under this PGPMCI initiative, IIMV has so far onboarded 16 CFTIs, including several National Institutes of Technology and IIITs across the country, to offer management education.
This programme allows students to pursue a one-year diploma in business management from IIM-V concurrently with their engineering degree. Upon completion of the diploma, students may choose to extend their studies with IIMV in a hybrid mode for an additional year to earn an MBA degree. 72 students from four CFTIs, including NIT Warangal, NIT Andhra Pradesh at Tadepalligudem, the IIITDM Kurnool, and the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy, Visakhapatnam—as well as students from the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship Programme cohorts of different IIMs, who were onboarded in the first phase a year ago, received their diplomas during a convocation ceremony held on Saturday.
The students received their certificates alongside the 124 executive MBA students of the 2023–25 batch, who hail from 17 states/UTs and four foreign countries. IIM-V conducted a special convocation for the EMBA 2023–25 and PGPMCI 2024–26 cohorts in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
D Shivakumar, operating partner at Advent International, attended as the chief guest. Addressing the graduating students, he spoke about five key themes related to self-worth and urged them to embrace authenticity over the desire for universal likeability.
"Sacrificing your true self merely to be liked, or moulding your identity for the sake of approval, only dilutes your inherent value," he said.
Prof Janat Shah, officiating chairperson of the board of governors of IIM Vizag, spoke about the immense entrepreneurial opportunities available in India today, urging graduating students to embrace the startup culture and aspire to build the next unicorn.