How the diversity at JKBS campus ensures versatile learning and exposure for students

• June 3, 2019 / admin

‘Diversity is the art of thinking independently together.’ – Malcolm Forbes

Diversity encourages innovation by melding various perspectives. Cultures, societies, and nations are enriched by diversity. Diversity is a necessity in today’s global business contexts. Virtual boardrooms, international projects, and multicultural and multinational teams are already integral to the corporate ecosystem. Future managers of the global society will need to seamlessly transition into this eclectic environment straight out of the classroom. At JK Business School, students get to learn on a campus that is rooted in diversity. It acts as a microcosm of the corporate world they will inhabit and lead in future.

Diversity and multiculturalism at its core

The lush JKBS campus attracts students from all over the country. Here, diversity is not only experienced, but celebrated. Students thrive in the multicultural environment where they often encounter different points of view for the first time. Geographical location, gender, religion, socioeconomic background, age, academic qualification, and work experience are just some of the markers of diversity seen here on campus. Interestingly, the diversity is not restricted to the student community. Faculty members, many with industry expertise and others with strong academic experience, and staff enrich the learning environment.

Efforts to promote diversity

‘To augment our classroom learning experience, we look for diversity among students and overall heterogeneity in the batch,’ shares Dr. Sanjiv Marwah, Director, JKBS. The B-School makes concerted efforts to ensure that the diversity on campus is maintained through various initiatives. For starters, a primary endeavor is to maintain a ‘60:40’ gender ratio, which is one of the best among management schools in the country. JKBS also has a policy of accepting not more than 10% of the batch size of students from different states in the country. The B-School takes extra care to look out for students from different academic backgrounds during the selection process.

The result is a culturally and intellectually rich campus buzzing with ideas that support all-round growth of students. The teaching methodology, classroom interactions, and extracurricular activities are all inspired by diversity. As it gets harnessed through comprehensive initiatives across the board, diversity becomes a way of life for the young learners and leads to their social development.

Multiple benefits of a multicultural campus

However, the benefits of a multicultural campus go well beyond social development. It enables students to imbibe diverse skills and prepare for the corporate world.

• This resonates with the experience of Deeksha and Babita, who hail from small towns in Rajasthan and Jharkhand respectively. They had studied in Hindi-medium colleges and had limited exposure before joining JKBS. The opportunity to interact with students from different states helped them to develop communication skills and build confidence. Overall, the learning experience has led to improvement in their academic and extracurricular performance.
• Students from different academic backgrounds bring their perspectives to classroom discussion. This makes the discussion sessions more lively and engaging.
• The opportunity to work closely with different social groups brings students out of their comfort zones. This helps to develop their ability to perform in different environments.
• The exposure to diversity on a daily basis allows students to effectively address multicultural issues, broaden their horizon, and build a global perspective.
• Students like Rajat get the opportunity to take the multicultural experience to the global stage. He was chosen for the BRICS International Forum, which took him to Russia as part of a team of students from India. These defining moments have a long-term impact on the life of a student.
• When young minds from diverse backgrounds work together on a project, they get to learn about their strengths and weaknesses. They are also able to gain insights into the real meaning of teamwork.
• Interaction with peers from different backgrounds helps to improve active thinking, intellectual engagement, and decision-making and problem-solving skills, which are crucial attributes of a competent manager.

The JKBS campus, rich in diversity and multicultural ethos, shapes independent thinkers who are empowered to meaningfully contribute in global corporate environments.