Before the first classroom term begins, students are sent to stay in different villages of Gujarat as part of the Induction Fieldwork Segment (IFS). The stay exposes students to ground realities and helps them gain a practical perspective before they head to the classrooms. The academic endeavours begin with the first classroom term comprising fundamental courses in the fields of Management including Organizational Behaviour, Economics, Finance, Rural Society, and Research.
The Village Fieldwork Segment (VFS) is one of the main components of the two-year Post Graduate Diploma in Management (Rural Management), or the PGDM(RM), the flagship programme of the Institute of Rural Management Anand. Apart from providing the students with first-hand experience of spending seven weeks in the villages to understand rural life and society, the VFS also gives them an opportunity to get involved in practical activities of the host organization. Over the years, VFS has been singled out by all the students as their most memorable experience at IRMA. The VFS consists of two distinct components: Village Development Report (VDR) and Rural Action Component (RAC).
The Village Development Report is designed to give students a deeper understanding on broad themes important for rural development such as health, education, governance, land tenure, agriculture, livestock, employment and business structures, financial inclusion among others. Detailed surveys at both village and household levels are administered by the students. Data thus collected is keyed in by the students and analyzed to make recommendations.
The Rural Action Component (RAC) is designed to be a mutually beneficial component wherein the host organization involves students in a problem- solving or an action-oriented task by giving them practical exposure to some development actions at the grassroots. The tasks for the RAC are selected by the host organization and can be allocated to students either individually or in groups.
This year, the students of PGDRM 40 travelled to some of the most remote areas of our country such as Attappadi (Kerala), Dungarpur (Rajasthan), Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh), Vidarbha (Maharashtra) to name a few. The students submitted comprehensive reports detailing their findings to the faculty and their reports were added to the Ravi J Matthai Library.
Building on the experiences of VFS, the second and third classroom terms place emphasis on gaining wider knowledge and applying it to managerial and organizational scenarios. The knowledge courses during these terms include: Macro Economic Perspectives, Understanding Organizations, Production and Operations Management. Implementation-oriented courses from all functional areas of management including Operations Management, Human Resource Management, Financial Management, and Marketing Management help participants evolve from observers to analyzers.
The Summer Internship Segment (SIS) is a nine-week long internship programme scheduled from June right through August after the completion of Term-III of the PGDM(RM) programme. The SIS aims to provide students with an opportunity to work closely with experienced managers in an organizational setting as well as with grassroots organizations. Students develop practical skills and gain a realistic idea of the managerial functions of rural organizations and development interventions. The SIS also offers scope for application and appreciation of theories, tools and techniques learned in the classroom as well as Village Fieldwork Segments. Hence, SIS acts as a prelude to what the students are likely to encounter in their careers as rural managers.
This year, 214 students of the 40th batch undertook the SIS beginning from June 7th, 2020.
The fourth, fifth and sixth terms are the final classroom terms in IRMA’s academic calendar and the focus is on reflecting on the experiences from the SIS and on building specialization. This allows students to reflect on their learning from previous terms and build higher-order management skills. This is manifested through courses like Strategic Management, Project Management, and Managing Collectives. During these terms, students are given the freedom to judiciously choose electives that would shape their IRMA journey.
There are electives aimed at providing in-depth understanding of various paradigms of development processes such as Corporate Social Responsibility, Monitoring and Evaluation, ICT for Development, Public Policy Analysis, and Microfinance as well as those that build a critical perspective on business domains such as Sales and Distribution Management, Agribusiness, Quality Management, Supply Chain Management, Social Marketing, Brand Management, and Strategic Sourcing Management.