Back to school for Kerala cabinet: Ministers hit IIM benches for high-stakes masterclass in governance

Kozhikode: Kerala's top political brass is trading secretariat files for lecture halls this weekend. In a rare and striking return to campus life, Chief Minister V D Satheesan and the entire Council of Ministers checked into the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIMK) for a rigorous two-day residential strategic leadership retreat titled 'Reimagining Keralam' on Friday.

This marks only the second time in Kerala’s legislative history that a sitting Chief Minister and cabinet have headed back to the classroom en masse. The precedent was set back in 2011, when the then-cabinet led by former CM Oommen Chandy spent a day at the same institute. Conceptualised as a high-level strategic dialogue following discussions between the Chief Minister and IIMK Director Prof Debashis Chatterjee, the retreat is designed to pull leadership away from the exhausting cycle of day-to-day administration and into deep, future-focused reflection.

"We are attending the 'Reimagining Keralam' training with great enthusiasm and high expectations," remarked Chief Minister V D Satheesan, emphasising that the program's ultimate aim is to inject absolute professionalism, efficiency, and transparency into state governance.

There are no grades, exams, or individual evaluations waiting for the ministers on this campus; instead, the curriculum is built around candid peer dialogues and international insights. Over the two days, the classroom canvas stretches from transformational leadership in the age of artificial intelligence to the behavioural science of turning policy into tangible ground reality.

Global expertise anchors the programme. Faculty members are joined by international authorities from Japan's Keio University and King's College London. Meanwhile, Dr Aravind Srinivasan, Chief Medical Officer and Director of Projects at the Aravind Eye Care System, is leading a specialised segment on healthcare and wellness.

Debashis Chatterjee noted that the primary objective is to create a shared space for collective deliberation on the massive forces shaping the state's trajectory. The packed academic timetable tackles critical contemporary fronts across technology, economy, environment, and society. The curriculum ranges from governance in the era of artificial intelligence, employment, entrepreneurship, skills amid technological disruption, and the renewal of Kerala's economic and fiscal foundations, to climate resilience, community-based disaster preparedness drawing on international case studies, public health, ageing, and the emerging silver economy, alongside excellence in higher education and positioning Kerala as a compelling global brand.