I have had the pleasure and honor of working with Kathmandu College of Management (KCM) — the first college to introduce BBA program in Nepal — from its inception in 1996 in advising capacity. From the initial phase till date, I have been involved in designing courses at the college. As all world-class organizations, KCM had a humble beginning -- it started running classes in a rented facility in the morning. However, like all world-class organizations, it had its vision and strategy clear from its inception.
KCM only admitted students on merit, and took the best students. Even the relatives of the founders told other people that if the college did not consider their own children meritorious, they had to be sent to other colleges. KCM used only American management textbooks to raise the quality of education from its first year of operation. It did not compromise despite the steep cost of procuring the books from USA. Classes were always run on time, and for the full duration. I don't remember not having a scheduled class ever at KCM. All faculty members were provided administrative support with quizzes and examinations so that they could focus on providing the best instructional experience. Every day without failure, parents of students who were absent in class without prior information were called by telephone to ask about their son or daughter's absence. This created a partnership with the students' family and created a safety net which caught the students in good time preventing failure.
KCM always acquired the latest technology including DLP projectors, computers, and internet service, needed for business education, often at a very high cost, never allowing resources to interfere with instructional objectives. Within the first few years of operation, all classrooms were fitted with the latest DLP projectors. KCM also took initiatives to invite faculty from all over the world to offer specialized courses despite the uncooperative structure of the university system in Nepal. I remember a colleague from the University of Hawaii, who taught a course in Internet Marketing when such a course was not even offered in many places in the USA. He was amazed by the infrastructure created for his course.
KCM has always gone beyond traditional learning methodology, and has been a leader in starting internships, self-learning projects for students, and extra-curricular activities for the overall development of the students. KCM's weekend retreat for new students is an idea that is only used in executive MBA programs in most American universities and very few MBA, let alone BBA programs use it internationally. Having attended one of the recent retreats in its entirety, I know what a welcoming and uplifting experience it is for students. This event also offers leadership opportunity to senior students who practically run the program under the supervision of the administration. I was also privileged to attend an annual award ceremony, and saw the parade of talent of KCM students. This event too is designed and implemented by students providing the opportunity for them to develop leadership skills.
I have given many seminars at KCM, and the participation of students has always given me intellectual joy. I was privileged to teach a management course at KCM during my sabbatical in 2002. The quality of the students inspired me to teach and learn from them. Yes, I did learn many things from my students in the class discussions. Many of my students have done MBA from Australia and USA and are doing well professionally, and I have kept in touch with them. I must add that the administration paid for my airfare from Hawaii to Kathmandu demonstrating that KCM is never shy of spending money for quality education. KCM students also worked on a research project with me and conducted focus groups and survey data from 500 people. They learned to do all the research tasks, and sent me the data in an Excel file.
Many years ago when I was returning from Nepal on the flight to Bangkok, I remember talking to three young students who were heading to the USA to study business. I asked them if they had considered KCM, because I thought it was a good school. I will never forget one of them telling me that he was heading to a US business school because he was denied admission at KCM! KCM has been a reach school (safety, match, and reach refers to schools with whose first year students the credentials of an applicant are higher, equal, or lower) for many students who have gone outside Nepal to pursue business education.
KCM has emerged as a world-class business school in the last seventeen years when Nepal has seen much political turmoil from massacre in the royal palace to the Maoist revolution, and the country has gone through strikes (Nepal-Band) and power outage that makes running a college simply impossible. But the leadership of KCM has stood the test of time and turned impossibilities into an opportunity to raise the standard of business education in Nepal. The partnership with Siam University of Bangkok is one such step, and I am delighted to be a member of the KCM family when it steps outside Nepal to bring international quality business education to Nepal.
It is a proud day for Nepal and all Nepalis living all over the world to see one of our academic institutions reach new height thought impossible only weeks back. I am honored to be a part of the KCM family, and hope to grow with KCM in the decades to come.
Prof. Dr. Dharma PS Bhawuk
Professor of Management and Culture and Community Psychology
Shidler College of Business
University of Hawaii at Manoa
