IIM Sambalpur-IAE Bordeaux Collaboration brings together Global Business Leaders from Six Countries for India's First Executive PhD-DBA Dual Degree Immersion Programme

50 senior leaders from the USA, UK, Germany, Singapore, the UAE and India now make up three active cohorts of the doctoral programme

SAMBALPUR, India, Nov. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Indian Institute of Management, Sambalpur (IIMS), welcomed its 2026–2029 cohort to the Executive PhD & DBA dual-degree programme, alongside its Immersion of 2025–2028 and 2024–2027 scholars. The three cohorts together bring 50 accomplished professionals into a single research community: Chairpersons, Managing Directors, CEOs, Founders, Senior government officials and Defence professionals working across India and abroad for a 3-day immersion programme held at Sambalpur from October 30 to November 1.

Offered with IAE Bordeaux University School of Management, France, the programme is India's pioneering dual-degree doctoral initiative for working professionals. Successful scholars earn two qualifications: an Executive PhD from IIM Sambalpur and a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from IAE Bordeaux. It is designed for leaders who want to turn decades of industry experience into rigorous, publishable research, without stepping away from their careers.

"Our Executive PhD & DBA scholars bring real organisational problems into the research room, and they take evidence-based answers back to their boardrooms. Partnering with IAE Bordeaux allows us to offer rigorous, world-class training in research methods that meet global standards, while keeping the programme deeply relevant to the challenges Indian and global businesses face today," said Prof. Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director, IIM Sambalpur.

Three cohorts, one global community of scholars

Cohort 2026–2029: A distinguished group of global business leaders. The newest cohort comprises 14 senior professionals holding roles such as Executive Director, Chairman, Director, Vice President and Founder & CEO. They come from leading multinational and national organisations in technology, automotive, consulting, renewable energy and engineering.

Cohort 2025–2028: Cross-sector expertise and leadership. Twenty senior professionals bring experience from technology, finance, defence, energy and healthcare. Their research interests span some of the most consequential sectors of the economy.

Cohort 2024–2027: Bringing industry and academia together. The 16 scholars of the founding cohort represent organisations including the Adani Group, NTT DATA, HPCL, Korn Ferry, Google and LAVA International. They include managing Directors, Vice presidents, CEOs, a joint president and directors, as well as entrepreneurs and senior government officials.

• The Induction & Immersion programme brings together leading academic voices to discuss contemporary management challenges, global business trends, leadership and the evolving role of research in practice. The programme had commenced with the welcome address by Prof. Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director, IIM Sambalpur, followed by the Chief Guest and Keynote Address by Dr. Rajiv Kohli, John N. Dalton Memorial Professor of Business at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business, William & Mary, USA. The programme will also feature an address by Dr. Jorge Cardoso, Programme Director, International DBA Cohort, IAE Bordeaux University School of Management, who will share his perspectives on the programme and its international academic significance.

Building research-driven leadership for a changing economy

As artificial intelligence, energy transition, geopolitical realignment and digital public infrastructure reshape how organisations compete, demand is growing for leaders who can ask sharper questions and answer them with evidence. The programme helps experienced professionals step back from day-to-day decisions and study them systematically. The research they produce is grounded in practice and holds up to academic scrutiny.

The breadth of the three cohorts, across industries, geographies and functions, makes peer learning a central part of the experience. A defence professional, a renewable energy chairman and a technology founder bring very different lenses to the same problem, and that diversity sharpens both the research and the network that grows around it.

IIM Sambalpur expects its Executive PhD & DBA scholars to become influential contributors to management thought, organisational transformation and evidence-based business practice, in India and worldwide.

For more information, please visit https://iimsambalpur.ac.in/programmes/executive-phd-dba-dual-degree