Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kashipur launched its Experiential Learning (EL) initiative in 2021. The program aims to serve local communities and tackle developmental challenges within the state of Uttarakhand. The program is structured such that students work in teams with regional organizations and businesses to solve social and economic issues. This ensures value addition to both sides where students get hands-on learning experience of real-life business problems while communities benefit from management expertise that the students bring in. The initiative is governed by EL Chair Prof. Vivek Roy, Prof. Vaibhav Bhamoriya, Prof. Kumkum Bharti, and Prof. Abhishek Srivastava.

An initiative that is first of its kind distinguishes IIM Kashipur from other elite leagues of IIMs. The entire EL which is of one credit is mandatory for all the students in the flagship MBA program. After an introductory theory course in the first year, students take up and deliver on projects throughout their second year.

The agenda is segregated into three different thematic verticals, namely (i) Environmentally Sustainable Business Practices (ESBP) (ii) Unlocking Rural Potential (URP), and (iii) Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME). Even during the time of the pandemic, last year's batch has done tremendously well in helping and learning from the organizations.

As of now, 55 organizations have partnered with EL, offering 62 intriguing projects to the current batch of 2023. Partner organizations range from small businesses and NGOs to CSR wings of large corporations and government enterprises. Current EL partners include the Central Himalayan Institute for Nature and Applied Research (CHINAR), Mount Valley Development Association (MVDA), MSME Development and Facilitation Office, Government of India, Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), Gandhi Fellowship, and ICICI Foundation among others. The entire Experiential Learning team is actively working on expanding the range of partners offering high-impact projects and giving back to society.