The Retailers Association of India (RAI) and the Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur (IIM Sambalpur) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance collaboration between academia and the retail industry in the areas of education, research and skill development.
The partnership aims to create hands-on learning opportunities for students, develop executive education modules and promote faculty–industry exchanges. It will also give IIM Sambalpur access to RAI’s extensive industry network, allowing students to engage with emerging retail business models, technologies and policy discussions.
Under the agreement, RAI will provide academic membership to IIM Sambalpur and facilitate participation in flagship industry events such as the Retail Leadership Summit, ReTechCon and the Retail HR Tech Summit. The two institutions will also collaborate on short-term certification and executive education programmes. In turn, IIM Sambalpur will contribute academic expertise, research capabilities and thought leadership to these initiatives.
Professor Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director of IIM Sambalpur, said the partnership reflected the institute’s belief that management education should remain closely connected to industry practice. He noted that the collaboration would help build a new generation of retail leaders who combine innovation and responsibility with a strong entrepreneurial mindset, aligned with the institute’s values of innovation, integrity and inclusiveness.
Kumar Rajagopalan, Chief Executive Officer of RAI, described the initiative as a timely effort to bridge the gap between academia and the fast-evolving retail sector. He said that with Indian retail undergoing rapid transformation, the partnership would help ensure that future leaders possess the skills and perspective needed to guide the industry towards a sustainable and technology-driven future.
