Best Practices of ISBR : Rural Immersion Program

Brief Background of Best Practices:

Today’s management students are the business leaders of tomorrow. It is imperative that students are nurtured holistically to develop an understanding and sensitivity towards socio-economic and environmental challenges so that they are developed as responsible leaders.

With this objective in mind, ISBR Business School has introduced Social Immersion programs for every new batch of students to create awareness and sensitization. This orientation is followed with a year-long 3 credit course on Rural Immersion.

Rural Immersion is one of the best practices for holistic development of leaders of tomorrow which is implemented in very few educational institutes. Rural Immersion is one of the unique offerings of ISBR Business School.

Rural Immersion Programme is introduced as a part of the curriculum in the first year for the PGDM students. ISBR believes that the future leaders and entrepreneurs of this country must be equipped with good social and political knowledge. It is essential for the students to be aware of the livelihoods of people from all walks of life in order to lead them and this country to prosperity. This was an unforgettable experience for both the rural residents and the students. Through this rural immersion, students were able to develop deep understanding and empathy towards the livelihood of the villagers.

Objectives

Develop an understanding and sensitivity towards socio-economic and environmental challenges.

Learn to identify and structure the problem areas through observation and unstructured data and information, understand role of empathy and define the problems.

To recognize the applicability of management principles and how they can be applied to unstructured problem areas in the real world.

Learn to apply the theory of change and project management principles to define, execute and monitor and control the project and execute the projects in a dynamic environment.

Develop professional skills such as understanding of group dynamics, coordination, collaboration and working in teams for larger objectives

Ways of Implementation:

Rural Immersion is offered as a 3-credit course spanning the entire first year.

Each trimester has a phase of Rural Immersion course, accounting to 1 credit, 10 hours.

Each trimester has specific objective:

Trimester 1: Field visits to provide exposure to students to understand challenges and opportunities.

Trimester 2: Idea generation, project definition, planning and execution of social impact projects in teams.

Trimester 3: Working in groups for a larger cause aligned to the problems identified. Students work on the planned social impact projects in teams, outside of these class hours.

This 3-credit course that nurtures students to contribute to rural ecosystem, socio-economic development and environmental protection. This provides an academic framework for working on societal problems, their solution, delivery, reporting and assessment. It promotes inter-disciplinary approach in higher education guided by live contexts. The students are empowered to collaborate with social catalysts, establish connect with NGOs and local bodies for getting in touch with the rural settlements. Students conduct door to door surveys, work closely with NGOs, meet representatives as a part of the study, see first-hand the benefits and drawbacks of working and living in a rural community.

Challenges in Implementation:

Key challenges in implementation are related to time constraints of students and conflicting priorities

  • Students find it challenging some times to work on these projects along with their other academic requirements. Integrating it into the curriculum has really helped students to manage this.
  • Identifying partner social organizations aligned to the location, academic calendars, and matching interests and skills of students has been a challenge. Structured partnership with a social organization has helped in this regard.
  • ISBR celebrates diversity and has students from more than 20 states. Lack of proficiency in Kannada sometimes act as an obstruction for students to establish empathy with everyone. There is lack of receptivity from the end of beneficiaries to have trust on students which delays the process and deadline.
  • Students willing to undergo ethnographic studies feel this challenging as the far flung areas do not have basic infrastructure, thus affecting the level of commitment from the students.

Outcome of Best Practice:

Rural Immersion has been a huge success in terms of developing student perspectives, developing their professional skills and making a social impact.

  1. Students have developed understanding and sensitization towards real world problems and connect with self, society and surrounding.
  2. Students have developed professional skills, interaction and communication with different sections of society and different stakeholders, problem identification and definition in a real-world context, and working in teams.
  3. Students have made commendable social impact through projects. To name a few

 (a) Workbook development for government school students

 (b) Food distribution for the poor

(c) Awareness about government schemes

 (d) Contribution to Swacch Bharat mission

 (e) Engaging elders at old age homes

 (f) Health awareness in collaboration with ASHA workers

(g) Mentoring students

 (h) Refurbishing and painting a government school in Thimmayyanadoddi Village, Anekal Taluk

  • Creating responsible leaders by providing value based education to make a meaningful contribution to the region.
  • The program allows students to develop sensitivity to rural issues through direct experiential learning.

      A Case Study of Safety Sarathy:

Continuing with the tradition to offer a holistic education, the social immersion program was organized for students to help them connect with self, society and surrounding. The immersion was followed by Safety Sarathy, a mega drive to create awareness on road safety. 250+ students were at 11 traffic signals to create the awareness. 150,000 Indians lose their lives to road accidents every year. It is increasingly becoming a cause of concern. To create this awareness and remind citizens of Road Safety Etiquette, Safety Sarathy, a traffic awareness and road safety drive was conducted across 11 junctions in Bengaluru on Saturday morning, 6th August in collaboration with LetsTagOn and industry partner Ready Assist 24/7 Roadside Assistance and with support from Bangalore Traffic Police. The drive was flagged off at Traffic Management Centre (TMC), Infantry Road and students marched from TMC to Kanteerava Stadium rallying for road safety. Students were across 11 junctions in a group of 20-25 and drove home the message of road safety with catchy and informative placards, posters and banners. Students also noted the traffic violations and reported on the public eye application. 1.72 plus lakhs steps covered by 250+ students for this drive are donated towards #1CroreSteps initiative for Road Safety by Drive Smart Drive Safe, an NGO working for Road Safety. Safety Sarathy emphasized on lane discipline, safety precautions and pedestrian safety.

Photos

Students creating awareness about government schemes     

About ISBR: ISBR Business School, Bangalore-based, Top Class B School for PGDM or MBA, Consistently ranked as best B School in India, AICTE-CII Platinum Category, with multiple specializations

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