Institute of Management Technology Hyderabad: Prof (Dr) K M Baharul Islam's Vision

Brief Bio:

Prof K M Baharul Islam brings over thirty years of distinguished expertise in corporate law and development communication to his role as Director of the Institute of Management Technology, Hyderabad. Before joining IMT Hyderabad, he served as Dean and Chair Professor at the Centre for Public Policy and Government, Indian Institute of Management Kashipur, and has been a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics since 2022.

Prof K M Baharul Islam, Director, Institute of Management Technology Hyderabad

His academic and advisory career spans continents, with teaching engagements across Asia and Africa and strategic assignments with the United Nations—most notably shaping national e-Government strategies and ICT policies for several African nations. In recognition of his scholarly contributions, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland in 2020.

Prof Islam’s academic credentials include a D.Litt., two PhDs, an MA, an MBA, an LLM, and a B.Ed., complemented by postdoctoral research at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok. He is also a fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, the KAICIID Dialogue Centre in Lisbon, and the US-India Policy Institute in Washington, DC. A prolific author, his recent publications include a volume on Literatures of the Northeast (Routledge) and a widely adopted textbook on Business Communication (Wiley).

Interview Transcript:

Prof K M Baharul Islam, Director, Institute of Management Technology Hyderabad

Q. What are the three things that your institute/college/university is doing that will enable it to differentiate itself from competition?

IMT Hyderabad has a distinguished three-prong strategy focused on transforming the students into employable management profession through its unique teaching-learning approach. We focus on the transition of students from ‘knowing’ to ‘doing’ by giving them opportunity to provide ‘solution’ to management issues in classroom, develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skill through design thinking framework and honing their persuasive communication skills.   

Q. What are the top three initiatives undertaken by you that are helping your students become more industry ready?

We have introduced daily Reflective Learning Journals where students revisit what they have learnt or issues they faced every twenty-four hours. It is a unique approach in a b-school where learning is continuously evaluated by the learners themselves. We have setup Oxford Union style IMTH Debate League where all students mandatorily participate every week to defend their position on any topic. This gives them the persuasive communication skills that is needed to succeed in any interaction be it job interviews or professional team workspace. We also develop our students as ‘responsible leaders’ through our DAAITVA (Developmental Action for Awareness, Involvement, Training, and Voluntary Action) initiative where they provide structured community that forms an integral part of the curriculum. The initiative reflects the institute’s commitment to raising socially responsible management professionals who combine business acumen with ethical sensitivity and civic awareness. DAAITVA ensures that each student step out of the classroom and engage meaningfully with real-world community challenges.

Q. What are the key attributes that a student should have in order to: (a) Qualify for your institution and (b) Get top grades in your institution

We look for students who have a ‘problem-solving’ approach to their learning – where they try to provide solution to any given problem by using their ‘learnt’ knowledge. Instead of just remembering theoretical ‘knowledge’ and reproducing them from memory we want to see whether they can apply those learning to create solutions. Hence, top grades are obviously given to those who can evaluate a set of given data, issues, and challenges in a given scenario and provide a potential solution.

Q. Which programme/s would you say is/are your best? What is it that helps your institution differentiate itself for this programme?

All our programmes are curated in a unique way to make them the best in their focus area. While the mainstream PGDM programme create professional managers, our specialised PGDM in Finance, Marketing, and Supply Chain & Logistics offerings creates specialised management professional who are trained in a specific domain and that puts them ahead in a career in the relevant industry. Our PGDM in Supply Chain & Logistics, for example are delivered in collaboration with CII – the reputed industry body – who co-teach the courses focusing on industry-needs and make the graduates ready to lead their teams from day one when they join their workspace.

Q. What are you doing to improve/drive better campus placements for your current students and alumni? What kind of jobs routinely come to campus? What would you say are the key recruitment trends for your college (observed over the past five years)?

We start preparing our students for campus placement from the day they join us and do not wait till the second year when the placement season starts. Through a specifically designed diagnostic test we place students in groups and provide training in areas where they get a chance to develop their overall personality, communication, and subject knowledge. Identifying their strengths and weaknesses at the very beginning gives them an opportunity to enter a transformation cycle that makes them ready for the placement when companies start visiting us in the second year.

Over the past five years, we have observed a significant upward trajectory marked by an impressive rise of nearly 70% in both average and median salary packages. This growth has been accompanied by a notable increase in recruitment from the IT/ITeS and financial services sectors. An encouraging trend is that the recruiters are now seeking graduates who are proficient with advanced technology tools — whether in HR Analytics, performance marketing, marketing analytics, or digital banking operations. This shift is also reflected in our programmes’ broader digital transformation that underscores the value of a versatile, tech-enabled management education.

Note: The views expressed in this article are of Institute of Management Technology Hyderabad and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha.