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IMI Kolkata hosted the 19th ISDSI Global Conference from 26 to 29 December, bringing together directors of leading Indian business schools, global scholars, accreditation bodies, policy makers, corporate leaders, investors and startup founders to discuss the emerging role of management education in a technology-driven and sustainability-focused economy.
The four-day conference was attended by 26 countries and presented 1,218 research papers and 220 business and startup ideas, involving all 21 IIMs, leading IITs, universities, business schools and incubators. The scale of participation underlined ISDSI’s position as one of the largest global platforms for management research in India.
Senior academic leaders from IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Tiruchirappalli, IIM Ranchi, IIM Sambalpur, SPJIMR, IMT Ghaziabad, IMT Hyderabad, IIT Kharagpur (VG-SOM) and other institutes participated in the plenary sessions and panel discussions. International perspectives were provided by representatives from accreditation bodies such as EFMD, AACSB and AMBA-BGA, as well as scholars from universities in the US and New Zealand.
The inaugural session was addressed by Professor Bharat Bhaskar, Director, IIM Ahmedabad, who spoke on the role of technology in achieving sustainability goals and emphasized that India must harness digital innovation for broader social impact in line with the vision of Developing India 2047.
A panel of two directors moderated the academic discourse. One focused on the implications of technology and digitalization for the future of MBA education, with speakers agreeing that while AI will transform productivity, management education must prioritize judgment, adaptability, and long-term career flexibility. The second panel examined the role of business schools in India’s net-zero transition, highlighting the need to integrate sustainability into curriculum, research, campus operations and industry engagement.
A separate panel on Indian knowledge systems explored how traditional knowledge frameworks can inform contemporary leadership and organizational decision making.
The conference also marked the launch of the Global Investment Summit under IKN Innovation Foundation, the business incubator of IMI Kolkata. After mentoring in two months, 57 startups attracted investors, of which nine ventures secured investment commitments of Rs. 5.1 crores.
Concluding the conference, Professor Mohua Banerjee, Director, IMI Kolkata, said the event has strengthened collaboration between academia, industry and policy makers, while Professor Bhimarai Mettri, President, ISDSI-Global, described the 2025 edition as a milestone in advancing global management research.
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