Jamshedpur, May 26: XLRI Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur and Adviya Institute of Coaching and Mentoring LLP (Adviya IOCM) have announced a strategic partnership to establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Coaching and Mentoring, aimed at advancing human-centred leadership development in an increasingly AI-driven world. Anchored in academic rigor and practical relevance, the non-commercial Centre of Excellence will serve as a platform for research, education and thought leadership focused on shaping the future of leadership development through reflective, ethical and human-centred practices. The partnership formalises a shared commitment between XLRI and Adviya IOCM to advance knowledge and practice in coaching, mentoring and leadership development. The CoE will seek to bridge academic research with practitioner insights to create evidence-informed approaches that help individuals and organisations navigate complexity, strengthen adaptability and foster sustainable leadership cultures.
The Centre will pursue a broad agenda spanning applied research, executive education, practitioner capacity building, policy advisory and thought leadership initiatives. Its activities will include rigorous studies on coaching and mentoring outcomes, development of executive education and certification programmes, workshops and supervision for coaches and HR professionals, as well as conferences, seminars, white papers and case studies aimed at influencing leadership practices across sectors. The Centre also aims to support organisations and governing bodies through collaborative projects focused on piloting interventions, evaluating impact and scaling promising coaching and mentoring models. By integrating scholarship with practice, the initiative seeks to build practitioner capability across industries, advance research-backed leadership development frameworks and help organisations cultivate reflective, resilient and purpose-driven leadership cultures.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. (Fr.) George Sebastian, SJ, Director, XLRI, Jamshedpur, highlighted that the establishment of the Centre reflects XLRI’s longstanding commitment to leadership development that is both humane and empirically grounded. He emphasized that the collaboration would help generate research and learning that addresses the evolving leadership challenges faced by organisations today.
Dr. Rupinder Kaur, Founder Director, Adviya IOCM, stated that the partnership with XLRI would help create a meaningful platform where scholars and practitioners can co-create knowledge and translate insights into impactful organisational practices.
Dr. Sai Bhargavi, who will co-lead the Centre of Excellence from a research perspective, underlined the importance of human-centred development approaches in enabling leaders and teams to navigate change with resilience, adaptability and purpose.
The collaboration marks another significant step in XLRI’s continued commitment to advancing responsible leadership, executive learning and institution-building through globally relevant and socially conscious initiatives.