IIM Ahmedabad Opens 25th General Management Programme Cohort for Senior Executives

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) has opened admissions for the 25th cohort of its flagship General Management Programme (GMP), aimed at mid- and senior-level professionals seeking to broaden their management and leadership capabilities.

The nine-month executive education programme, approved by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), Dubai, is designed for professionals working across the Middle East, GCC, Europe, India and South Asia. The milestone cohort follows 24 previous editions that have brought together experienced professionals from multiple industries and geographies.

The programme comprises 100 sessions, including 60 live online sessions and 40 face-to-face sessions. The in-person component includes 10 days of immersion at IIMA's Dubai and Ahmedabad campuses.

According to IIMA, the programme focuses on helping experienced professionals move beyond functional expertise and develop a broader understanding of enterprise-level decision-making. The curriculum covers areas including economics, accounting, organisational behaviour, technology, marketing, finance, operations, supply chain, human resources and organisation design.

The programme also addresses competitive strategy, business-model innovation, leadership, entrepreneurship and governance, alongside emerging areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, analytics, digital transformation, change management, ethics, sustainability and stakeholder management.

“Senior leadership increasingly calls for more than functional expertise,” said Prof. Sunil Sharma, Dean, IIMA-Dubai Campus. He said executives increasingly need to connect strategy, technology, people and performance while making decisions amid uncertainty.

A major component of the programme is case-based learning. Participants work through around 40–50 cases covering different industries and business functions, including cases from IIM Ahmedabad and Harvard. Live online classes, peer discussions, assignments and a capstone project are also used to connect classroom learning with workplace challenges.

The programme follows a “Prepare–Learn–Reflect–Apply” approach, under which participants are expected to prepare before learning sessions, engage with faculty and peers, assess the relevance of concepts to their work and apply the learning within their organisations.

Previous GMP cohorts have included professionals with between eight and more than 25 years of experience. Participants have come from countries including the UAE, Kuwait, the US, Canada, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and have represented sectors such as technology, telecommunications, consulting, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, retail, engineering, transportation and BFSI.

The programme is particularly positioned around the changing demands on senior managers as organisations navigate technological shifts, evolving business models and changing workforce requirements.

Participants who complete the programme will receive an IIM Ahmedabad Certificate of Completion and IIMA alumni status.

Admissions for the 25th cohort are currently open.