Ph.D. Programme

Endeavor is the development of high quality Scientific, Managerial and Engineering manpower with a broad grasp of the fundamental principles of Management and the scientific methods, with deep understanding of their area of specialization, innovative ability to solve new problems, and the capacity to learn and interact with multi-disciplinary groups. The students develop the capacity for free and objective enquiry, courage and integrity, awareness and sensitivity to the needs and aspirations of the society. The program is designed to impart knowledge, and strengthen concepts and intellectual skills through course work, seminars and project/thesis work and thus cater to the needs of Industry, R&D Organizations and the Educational institutions.

The program is designed to prepare students to enter their professions with a perspective and breadth of knowledge related to the principal divisions of their respective fields of specialization through courses and research experience.

The Department of Industrial and Management Engineering at IIT Kanpur teaches management methods, techniques and skills relevant to the students with diverse backgrounds who may wish to subsequently pursue a career in Management, R&D or Academics. Research covers all the areas of management including Economics, Infrastructure and Public Systems; Finance and Control Systems; Information and Knowledge Systems; Management of Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Marketing Management; Operations Management; Operations Research and Quantitative Methods; Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Development; Strategic Management and Business Policy.

Head's Desk

How professional management has propelled the Ambanis (Businessworld, November 30, 1998) and the lack of it has nearly bankrupted the Ruias of the famed ESSAR House (Economic Times, August 9, 1999) goes to show that effective management does not emerge by accident. Effective management combines many arts and artifacts and it is proactive. A good manager establishes a vision and the goals for the organization, chalks out specific patterns of decisions and actions (strategies) to achieve those goals, and then executes them.

The able delivery of these musts in today's fiercely competitive business world is often no less demanding than the skills required to play a laser on sarcoma two inches deep within a patient's skull. That is why society dearly values the toil of good managers and rewards them several fold in their weight in gold - literally. A striking attribute of any well-managed organization is its management process. What is remarkable about such a "process" is that you may not see banners of it publicly displayed, but you can always feel it when it is effective. In a business enterprise the pinions of its management process are functionalized through marketing, finance, and operations management. Top management must harmonize these functions and act out their vital roles, actualizing the company's strategic plans.