IIM-K Director Debashis Chatterjee addressing Chief Minister and Council of Ministers as part of leadership retreat “Remaigning Keralam on Friday.
A two-day residential strategic leadership retreat for the Kerala Council of Ministers, titled ‘Reimagining Keralam’, began at the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIM-K) on Friday, bringing together policymakers, academics and experts to deliberate on the long-term challenges and opportunities facing the State.Chief Minister VD Satheesan inaugurated the retreat and 20 of his cabinet colleagues participated for a series of focused and interactive sessions on the opportunities and challenges shaping Keralam’s future. The programme features discussions on artificial intelligence, climate resilience, public health, ageing, employment, higher education, entrepreneurship and fiscal sustainability.IIM-K Director Debashis Chatterjee, who conceptualised the programme following a meeting with the Chief Minister, said the retreat was designed to provide the political leadership with an opportunity to look beyond the immediate demands of administration and reflect on forces that could shape the future of the State.The programme is not structured as a conventional training course but as a series of dialogues and reflective conversations among policymakers, practitioners and scholars. There will be no examinations or evaluations of the participating Ministers.The sessions will cover transformational leadership in the age of artificial intelligence, behavioural approaches to translating policies into lasting change, climate resilience and community-based disaster preparedness, and public health challenges arising from an ageing population.The emerging ‘silver economy’, strengthening Kerala’s economic and fiscal foundations, employment and skills in the face of technological change, entrepreneurship, excellence in higher education and positioning Keralam as a global brand will also be discussed.IIM-K faculty members will lead the sessions along with experts from Keio University, Japan and King’s College London.According to Chatterjee, the retreat aims to build a shared understanding among the State’s political leadership of the long-term forces shaping Kerala and promote evidence-based approaches to translating policy intent into sustainable outcomes.The Ministers engaged closely with faculty members and international experts, participating in discussions, posing questions and reflecting on the implications of the themes for Kerala’s long-term development.This is the second dedicated leadership programme for the Kerala Cabinet hosted by IIM-K. The institute had earlier conducted a day-long leadership and management programme for the Cabinet led by the late Oommen Chandy in 2011.Published on September 4, 2026
