The Higher Education Review

In the history of Indian social entrepreneurship, Vinoba Bhave, the man who not only made headlines for initiating what can only be described as the biggest land reform movement of the country but was successful in persuading many land owners in donating huge portions of their lands to the landless. He was one of the greatest community leaders the country saw. He was also able to achieve his goals due to his determination, perseverance and discipline and that is what LM Thapar School of Management (LMTSM) instills in their students. In the words of LMTSM Director, Dr. Padmakumar Nair, “We prepare our students in not only occupying jobs but also creating them, by refining their spirit of social and commercial entrepreneurship and we are the only business school in India with special focus on social entrepreneurship.”
In 2014 the institute hosted the ‘Start up Weekend’, which is a flourishing event initiated by Google. In the event many aspiring entrepreneurs presented their ideas and the students of LMTSM also actively participated in it and many of the students also presented their business ideas. One of the initiatives that have taken off is the ‘Business Incubation Program’, through which many students have been able to set up their own ventures by the time they graduate. From the time it was started there are number of business ideas that have been incubated through the program. The students get help from industry experts and the highly experienced faculty in creating their business plan and once it is incubated, the institute helps them through the whole process of setting up the business. The ideas are selected on the basis of the proposal the students submit which includes all the details of their business plan.To lead an organization one not only needs a good idea and a plan but also requires leadership skills and that is why the institution has a particular center to help the students become a better leader in academics and the corporate world. The ‘Centre for Academic and Corporate Leadership’ trains the students according to their individual requirements and makes them industry ready. The centre organizes several programs such as seminars, conferences and symposiums on leadership skills and arranges for

corporate meets, where the students visit the industries and interact with the leaders. The center also invites eminent corporate leaders for lectures and interactive sessions or group discussions. Due to the excellent guidance provided by the center the students of LMTSM clear the interview with ease and the excellent guidance from the institute is also the reason why reputed companies such as IBM, Philips, HDFC Bank, GATI, Reliance ADAG, Practo Technologies and TCS visit the institute year after year for recruitment.The excellent placement results are partially a result of the excellent collaborations the institute maintains with several national and internationally reputed universities. As the collaborations result in exchange programs, which help the students get a wider perspective and understand the markets in the countries they visit and also gain different cultural experiences. LMTSM maintains collaborations with University of Texas at Dallas, USA, Free University, Amsterdam The Netherlands, University of Waterloo, Canada, Tel Aviv University, Israel and Trinity College, Dublin to name a few. Students are sensitized on global practices not only through exchange programs but also faculties visiting from international educational institutions such as Prof. Gerhard

Fatzer, MIT, Kenichiro Akiyama, MINORI Management Research Institute Tokyo, Japan and Dr. Bhaskaran Nair from the University of Cambridge.The institution believes in the holistic development of the students and that is why they are equally focused on every aspect of students’ requirements. Apart from all the other facilities, the institution has set up several centers of excellences for the students to enhance their knowledge about business and analytics. Centre of Business Analytics and Excellence is a centre of excellence which acts a platform for academicians, students and industry, where they can come together and work on ideas that can lead to organizational brilliance. The institution has seven other centers of excellences on several aspects of business education. Having all the right amenities, the institute is one of the most preferred B Schools in the country today.