The Retailers Association of India (RAI) and the Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur (IIM Sambalpur) have signed an agreement to work together and strengthen ties between the retail industry and academia. This partnership aims to improve retail education, research, and skill development. By doing so, it will help students and future leaders gain both knowledge and practical experience to handle the fast-changing and dynamic retail sector in India.
Through this collaboration, IIM Sambalpur students will get more opportunities to learn directly from the retail industry, understand new business models, technologies, and real-world challenges. The partnership will also include training programmes, research projects, and workshops to help bridge the gap between classroom learning and industry practice.
Partnership Objective and Vision
Through this partnership, IIM Sambalpur will leverage RAI’s sizeable retail network to encourage its students to engage with new technologies, business models, and political discussions, transforming the $1 trillion retail sector in the country. The primary goals of the partnership will be to jointly design experiential learning opportunities, tailor executive education programs, and enhance faculty-industry collaboration while ensuring that academic rigor and research are embedded in real-world experiences.
As part of the membership, RAI will give IIM Sambalpur an academic membership to enable IIM Sambalpur faculty and students to attend major retail industry events, including the Retail HR Tech Summit, ReTechCon, and the Retail Leadership Summit. In response to rapidly shifting demands in the retail sector, both institutions will collaborate to develop executive education and short-term certificate programs.
Commitment to Developing Future Retail Leaders
Underlining the importance of the partnership, Prof. Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director of IIM Sambalpur, commented: "At IIM Sambalpur, we believe that management education must be grounded in practice. Our partnership with the Retailers Association of India grounds that notion into practice, marrying academic rigour with industry insights. Together, we want to build the next generation of retail leaders who are innovative, responsible, and can navigate the rapidly changing consumer landscape."
Joining in this vision, Kumar Rajagopalan, Chief Executive Officer, RAI, noted, "Retail in India is at a tipping point - growing at a rapid pace, leveraging technology, and generating new formats almost every day. This partnership with IIM Sambalpur allows RAI to continue its work on bridging the gap between industry and academia, and to fulfill our commitment to ensure the next generation of leaders have the skills, exposure, and mindset to build modern retail."
