A Teacher's Gratitude: Reflecting on a Journey of Learning and Growth

On this special day, as we celebrate Teacher's Day, I find myself reflecting on the incredible journey that I have been privileged to undertake over the past several decades. My career as a visiting professor began with the inception of the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIM-K) in 1998, where I had the honor of being part of the founding visiting faculty from Industry. This was initially started out of adhoc campus of then called REC – Calicut engineering college classroom and then moved into the sprawling and beautiful campus on the hill!.

?For over a decade, I had the privilege to teach subjects that remain crucial to the evolving world of business and technology, such as Project Management, Software Estimation and Pricing, Corporate IT, Enterprise Computing, and SAP ERP.

The path of education is a two-way street. While I had the privilege of guiding bright minds through their MBA (PGDM) journey, I also learned immensely from them. Today, many of my former students have gone on to become successful entrepreneurs, senior leaders, and change-makers across various industries. Knowing that I contributed, even in a small way, to their growth and success is an incredibly fulfilling feeling. Your achievements are the greatest gifts any teacher can receive.

Beyond IIM-K, my journey as an educator extended to other prestigious institutions like IIM-Indore, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, College of Engineering-Trivandrum, Asian school of business and Thakur Engineering & Management College-Mumbai etc. Each of these interactions enriched my understanding of how education, technology, and business must evolve in harmony with one another to meet the demands of a rapidly transforming world.

Currently, as a member of the advisory council at IIM-K’s Center of Digital Transformation and Innovation, I continue to engage with the thought leaders of tomorrow, participating in jury sessions on digital payments, currency, and evaluating research papers. It is heartening to see the innovative thinking that is shaping our world today.

Centre objectives and Activities (https://forms.iimk.ac.in/research/cdit/)

• Developing expertise in the emerging areas of Digital Technologies and their applications in Organizations, Government and Society.
• Facilitating the Digitisation / Digital Transformation of IIMK
• Supporting and empowering the Society in the use and adoption of Digital Technologies

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To all my students across institutions—those who have showered me with respect, gratitude, and affection over the years—I want to say a heartfelt thank you. The recognition and honor I have received from you all are deeply cherished, and I am immensely grateful. It is your love and the joy of seeing your accomplishments that fuels my passion for teaching and mentoring.

As you continue to scale new heights, remember that learning is a lifelong journey, and the pursuit of knowledge is an endless adventure. Keep raising the bar, not just for yourself but for those around you. I am proud of each one of you and look forward to seeing you achieve even greater success in the future.

Happy Teacher’s Day!

Sunil Gupta

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