When 643 minds converge at the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, it is not just another year of studies. It is a statement of where India is headed — towards inclusive excellence, inter-disciplinary exploration, and humane leadership.
The thrill of Day One at any top business school is there — new faces, nerves, and aspirations are tied tightly into blazers and formal footwear. But at IIM Lucknow this year, the figures tell a tale of mission. With 30% of the incoming cohort being female, and over 50% of the students hailing from non-engineering streams — from commerce to the arts — the message is stark and simple: Indian business leadership is transforming, and so are those who will transform it.
This isn't about checking diversity boxes. It's about redefining who gets to lead and why. Indian business schools for too long were copies — engineers, men, sometimes of limited emotional range. But the world has moved on. Business leaders today must be learned to listen as well as to strategize, to feel as much as to optimize. And IIM Lucknow appears to be stepping up to this task with intent.
The most powerful message came from Prof. Sanjeet Singh, who highlighted the fact that the job of students should be to build the right questions and not inquiring for pre-set answers. In a world where numbers are crunched by AI and algorithms predict demand, it's the human factor — critical thinking, empathy, ethical sensitivity — that will distinguish good managers from great managers.
What lies in wait for these students is more than a sequence of internships and placements. It's a call to look within, to discover, and finally to redefine leadership in India. This initiation is not a ritualistic function — it's a guarantee. That IIM Lucknow will not merely educate students on how to create businesses, but on how to create character.
Because in the end, as the institute so rightly says, this is not merely the beginning of a career — it's the beginning of becoming.
IIM Lucknow's New Chapter: 30% of the incoming cohort being female
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