S. Vishnu Sharma
IIM Calcutta professor Somprakash Bandyopadhyay launched a book ‘Social Knowledge Management for Rural Empowerment: Bridging the Knowledge Divide Using Social Technologies.
The book has been authored by Professor Somprakash along with Sneha Bhattacharyya and Jayanta Basak from Social Informatics Research Group at IIM Calcutta.
IIM Calcutta professor launches great book on rural empowerment
They have attempted to provide a theoretically embedded practical guide-map to achieve holistic rural empowerment in developing nations using the connecting spirit of contemporary digital technologies through the book.
The book authored by IIM Calcutta Professor and his team was conceptualized to study the aspects of rural Indian marginalization and in turn, work upon devising holistic empowerment strategies for the marginalized rural population by deploying a social knowledge management framework.
The book, an outcome of a five-year-long journey undertaken by the research group at IIM Calcutta, covers diverse issues such as conceptual foundations, bridging the rural-urban knowledge and information divide, information and knowledge asymmetry, a knowledge-theoretic perspective of rural empowerment to provide a comprehensive outlook on building a knowledge society through digital empowerment.
Professor Somprakash Bandyopadhyay, Head of Social Informatics Research Group at IIM Calcutta said their book attempts to expand the notion of knowledge management as practiced inside business organizational
perimeters to social knowledge management, referring to the aspect and effectivity of managing social knowledge for rural empowerment.
Social knowledge management in our context is a framework for rural empowerment using knowledge creation, assimilation and dissemination through digital connections and social collaboration, enhanced by contemporary digital technologies.
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We have attempted holistic rural empowerment by facilitating rural urban virtual community formation through our proposed social knowledge management framework, whose motto is dedicated to eradicate knowledge asymmetry of rural members and empower them in the process by triggering purposive virtual collaborations, he said.
Professor Anju Seth, director at IIM Calcutta congratuated the team for bringing out the book. ‘I’m delighted to hear about the accomplishment.’
This will be a most valuable scholarly work on an important topic for India and other developing countries, she said.
Published by Routledge (Taylor and Francis Group) on 1 September this year, the book is currently available for purchase on Amazon.
Welcomes students
IIM Calcutta welcomed the students pursuing one-year full-time MBAEx students on campus experience starting September.
Following the recent Central and State Government advisories and regulatory guidelines, the students arrived on the campus in small batches to undertake quarantine in the campus hostel, while still attending classes online.
The batch, a very enthusiastic cohort of 62 bright young men and women having rich and diverse work experience across industries, started their MBAEx journey in April 2020.
They have demonstrated great perseverance and resilience during the past four months in successfully pursuing coursework from their home locations online for a programme that is designed for considerable experiential and interactive work as a cohort in the short span of a year, while also facing serious difficulties with extension of rent leases and other constraints.
IIM Calcutta has also prepared a campus entry process that entails strong protocols including mandatory testing, quarantine measures, and other campus protocols for their safety and that of
all campus residents.
Director of IIM Calcutta Professor Anju Seth said following regulatory guidelines, their faculty, officers and staff are delighted to welcome and support their MBAEx students to finally arrive on campus, thus enabling their continued progress towards the world-class educational experience with significant peer-to-peer learning components.
‘Our students are the reason for our existence, and we look forward to their continued success.’
IIM Calcutta has had a prominent digital presence for a long time.
It has been further strengthened by creating technology solutions for the MBA students to mimic the classroom environment by using ‘beyond-the-blackboard’ methods in online mode.
The students are equally excited about stepping into the campus for the first time and embracing the ‘Joka
Experience’.