Announcements

“Abhyudaya not only works in Andheri West with high-potential students, but the mentors are students of SPJIMR. While it’s nurturing talent, it’s also telling management students that they have a duty to society.”

With these words, Gurcharan Das, distinguished author, public intellectual and former CEO of Procter & Gamble India, captured the distinctive ethos of SPJIMR’s Abhyudaya initiative at the ‘High Potential Students Nurturance Convening’ hosted by Central Square Foundation (CSF) in New Delhi.

A key highlight of the event was the launch of The Long Bet, a compendium of best practices from nine Indian organisations building nurturance pathways for high-potential students. The publication features a chapter on SPJIMR’s Abhyudaya, positioning it among leading models shaping this emerging field.

Representing SPJIMR, Arati Nagaraj, Director – Abhyudaya, participated in a panel discussion focused on designing enabling ecosystems for underserved, high-potential students. The panel explored how organisations are addressing hidden layers of disadvantage, embedding inclusion at the design stage, and creating programme models that respond to systemic barriers, particularly those affecting girls.

Drawing on the Abhyudaya model, Arati highlighted the power of sustained, long-term engagement between SPJIMR PGDM students and young learners from municipal schools. She emphasised that meaningful outcomes for high-potential students extend beyond academic achievement, calling for greater attention to socio-emotional development, confidence-building and mentorship continuity.

She further reflected on critical gaps in current approaches, noting that “Often, there is a gap between what is designed for students and what they truly need to thrive in their contexts. When programmes prioritise scale over depth, they leave little room for sustained, meaningful engagement.” Her perspective reinforced the need for programmes that are not only academically rigorous but also deeply contextual, inclusive and responsive to the lived realities of students.

Arati’s participation brought the Abhyudaya experience into a national conversation on educational equity, highlighting how institutions such as SPJIMR can play a transformative role by combining student mentorship with social responsibility.