PANAJI
India’s B-school, Goa Institute of Management (GIM) has opened its doors to its students. Physical classes coupled with online sessions are slated to commence shortly. Over the past year, due to the pandemic, students and faculty have interacted only through a virtual platform.
However, students have now started returning to the splendid 50-acre campus in Sankhali. Over 300 students have already arrived with more students due to return in a phased manner in the coming weeks, informed GIM Director Dr Ajit Parulekar.
“In a management school, the core of learning happens within teams where the faculty and students exchange ideas, discuss and deliberate on it. We are delighted to have students back on campus. From our end, we are ensuring all SOPs are being maintained strictly. Our massive campus allows us to socially distance ourselves responsibly while also engaging with each other,” said Parulekar.
The students and faculty who returned to campus have had to be fully vaccinated and submit a vaccination certificate, negative RT-PCR test report and signed undertaking to follow quarantine norms as well as Covid protocols before returning to campus, he added.
On arrival, students will have to mandatorily quarantine themselves for seven days before venturing into the outdoors. Even after the quarantine period, students are not allowed to leave the campus or have visitors from outside enter into the campus to meet. GIM has set up a campus war-room with adequate nurses and healthcare practitioners equipped with oximeters, isolation rooms, pharmacy and ambulance services round the clock.
The students who are on campus are delighted to be back and have shared their enthusiasm by posting videos on a popular social media platform called Instagram.
Heeral Rawal, a student of the PGDM, batch of 2020-2022, says, “I am thrilled to be back on campus after returning from my home in Jharkhand. The experience of living and learning on campus is unparalleled.”
Another student, Osiya Gupta, has returned to the campus after being double vaccinated. She said, “I’ve just gotten vaccinated and have travelled from Indore to the GIM campus in Goa.”
Nikhil Chandwani, a student from Goa also showed his excitement by sharing a reel on Instagram.
