Former President A P J Abdul Kalam will begin teaching at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, (IIMA), from September 12. A course that he and institute professor Anil K Gupta have jointly designed: “Globalising a Resurgent India through Innovative Transformation” (GRIT).

“This will be his first full-fledged teaching assignment after he stepped down from Presidency,” Gupta told The Sunday Express. He said the course has been designed around Kalam’s vision of India 2020.

“We will have students brainstorming on various issues of governance and policy-making, including synergy between the agriculture, industry and service sectors, reducing the rural-urban divide and poverty eradication,” Gupta said.

After the initial lectures, the students will be required to submit project proposals for creating scenarios based on multiple options for specific policy and institutional changes.

“We will share the outcome of our course with the Parliamentary standing committee as well, which they may in turn take up with the respective bodies to initiate any change they feel is plausible,” Gupta said.

“While Dr. Kalam will visit IIMA thrice during this term of the course, he has promised to give more time from next year,” Gupta added.

Speaking to The Sunday Express, Kalam said that while this will not be his first assignment for delivering lectures at a management institution, for IIMA, he will be actively engaged with the students in more ways than delivering lectures.

“I have sent the students a mail with ten pointers pertaining to my vision for India 2020, where from they will pick one area of their interest and think about the policy interventions, formal and informal organization structures, communication system and implementation methodologies needed for realization of the vision,” he said.

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