Blind Scholar Earns PhD at IIM Ahmedabad to Pursue as an Assistant Professor at IIM Bodh Gaya

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Tarun Kumar Vashishth, a visually impaired student earns PhD from IIM Ahmedabad, aiming to pursue a career as an Assistant Professor at IIM Bodh Gaya. read full details here!

Blind Scholar Earns PhD at IIM Ahmedabad to Pursue as an Assistant Professor at IIM Bodh Gaya

New Delhi: Tarun Kumar Vashishth, a visually-impaired individual from Uttarakhand, earned his PhD from the prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad.

According to reports, Vashishth, aged 42, is the first blind doctoral student at IIM Ahmedabad. His research focused on examining the experiences of visually impaired employees within corporate settings in India.

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Born blind, Vashishth plans to pursue his career as an Assistant Professor at IIM Bodh Gaya this month. According to experts, he could potentially become the first completely visually impaired professor at any IIM.

Reflecting on his journey, he acknowledged the support from his family and an environment that never made him feel limited by his disability. Vashishth attended a mainstream school and even pursued subjects like mathematics, typically not chosen by students with visual impairments.

After completing his BSc degree, Vashishth faced challenges during the admission process at IIT Roorkee. Despite clearing the entrance exam in the general quota, the administration, upon realising his blindness during the interview, denied admission, citing concerns about his ability to cope with the study requirements.

However, in 2018, he secured admission to the doctoral program at IIM Ahmedabad under the general category. Being the first candidate with a disability to enroll in the PhD program since its inception in 1971, Vashishth highlighted the uniqueness of his experience. He emphasised that the PhD journey is individualistic, requiring him to delve into documents daily as part of his academic exploration.

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