Corporate Social Responsibility is a priority topic for a business school whose aim is to prepare the management executives of today and tomorrow. The Center of Excellence – CSR was created in 2016 with the aim to explore how companies in India address this sensitive issue as we see this to be a growing area of importance in India. The Center of Excellence – CSR is an active promoter of the CSR culture among students and practitioners contributing to organize CSR internships for IMB students, guest lectures and conferences. It is to be noted that in India as per the Companies Act 2013, the Indian government has introduced a mandatory CSR Regulation for all companies above a certain size and based on profitability. India is, therefore, the first country in the world where committing and implementing CSR program by listed companies is compulsory.
- Generate a social awareness among students, so that, as management practitioners, they are aware about the developmental needs of India.
- Create a comprehensive record of the annual internships undertaken and the learnings through field activity.
- Undertake Research Projects which are related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) sector in India.
- Publish articles and research papers on various topics.
- Encourage & Mentor students participating in CSR & Sustainability Competitions.
- Organize CSR internships for students with the support of the students’ Social Club. CSR Internship is an initiative where our students work on the field project for various NGOs or CSR department of the companies for the period of 2 weeks. These internships are procured by students based on their areas of interest like education, healthcare, sanitation or women empowerment etc. Center of Excellence-CSR provides support for some of the CSR internships opportunities in Mumbai, Pune or nearby area.
It is proposed that COE-CSR will collaborate with the relevant team in SDA Bocconi School of Management, Italy studying the CSR Best Practices in multinational groups.The team is led by Prof Francesco Perrini in Milan. In India, we will study the CSR policies of the relevant Indian subsidiaries. We will explore the need for local adaptation which has been undertaken by Indian subsidiaries based on Indian Law in India. Currently we are exploring the MNC subsidiaries in India whom we will approach for research purposes.
As we believe that CSR should be part of a B-school culture, the Center of Excellence – CSR is promoting social activities to students, staff and faculty:
- CSR Internship: PGPB6 students (batch size 84) interned for a period of 2weeks at various NGOs and CSR Departments of Companies. They covered a wide varied segments of initiatives ranging feom the Educational sector, women empowerment, environmental to Cancer related initiatives. A certificate of Merit recognizing the students who had done exceptional work was awarded to Top 10 Projects.
-Blood donation campaign
-Voluntary days at NGOs
Some of the activities are run in collaboration with the students’ Social Club. - COE CSR RESEARCH – 2016
The first completed research project focused on CSR practices of European Multinationals operating in India. A joint effort by SDA Bocconi Asia Center and CESVI (leading Italian NGO with experience in 23 Countries), the CSR Research pointed out that companies are aware of CSR relevance, but often they need support to make their investment really effective from the social point-of-view. - Events
– Opening ceremony of the Center of Exellence in CSR, April 2016
– Presentation of the research results of the CSR, August 2017 - Alumni Engagement
Sector Learnings.