Media Release
Udupi, Jul 4: T A Pai Management Institute (TAPMI) kicked off the new academic year and welcomed the 35th batch of PGDM, eighth batch of PGDM – Healthcare and fourth batch of PGDM - BKFS students during the student induction ceremony held in Manipal, on July 1 and 2.
Chief guest and guest of honour for the event were Chandana Agarwal, managing partner, Ogilvy and Mather and Aruna Pannala, director, Deloitte Consulting, who are also notable alumni of TAPMI with Dr H S Ballal, pro-Chancellor of Manipal University presiding over the event.
The ceremony was inaugurated with a welcome address by director Dr Madhu Veeraraghavan in which he highlighted the role of TAPMI in building future managers. He said, “At TAPMI, our aim is to create thought leaders, inspire innovators and produce dynamic leaders. We plan to do this by transforming, motivating and creating inspiration for our students.”
Following this, the outgoing admissions chair, professor Vishwanathan Iyer, highlighted the profile of the batch of 2017-2019.
The new batch consists of students from 24 states of the country. The 471-strong batch with an average CAT score at 87 percentile has among them poets and writers, foreign language instructors, a self-financed world traveller and founder CEOs.
Delivering the keynote address, Chandana Agarwal said, “There is magic in the air of TAPMI as it transforms you. What it does is kick the ladder out from under you and encourages you to reach greater heights. At TAPMI, they aspire to create professional ‘doers’ instead of ‘talkers’, and every individual must inculcate such qualities in their professional as well as personal life.”
Aruna Pannala, director, Deloitte Consulting, and alumna of batch 2000-2002, recounted a few of her interesting experiences at TAPMI that transformed her into who she was at present.
The induction programme was coupled with the launch of a book written by the dean of Academics, professor Simon George. The book, published by Manipal University Press, titled ‘Cases in Brand Management and Strategic Marketing’, was released by Dr H S Ballal, pro-chancellor, Manipal University. The book contains 15 real cases of companies and their brand management and strategic marketing techniques.
The ceremony concluded with an interactive session with the parents where the director of TAPMI and faculty members networked with the families of students to improve the connection between the parents and the institute. The rest of the two-day induction programme consisted of a campus tour and a primer to the curriculum, facilities and life at TAPMI.