Indian Institute of Management Calcutta

Since its inception in November 1961 as the first national institute for Post-Graduate studies and Research in Management, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) has created a niche among the Ivy League B-schools, world over. Established in collaboration with Alfred P. Sloan School of Management (MIT), the Government of West Bengal, The Ford Foundation and Indian industry, IIMC is the breeding ground for the best in industry, academia and research.

Teaching Programs:
For the past four decades IIMC has been a pioneer in professionalising Indian management education through its Post Graduate and Doctoral Level Programs thereby fulfilling its vision of “emerging as an International Center of Excellence in all facets of Management education.”

Presently the Institute offers four major teaching programs:

Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGDM): A two year programme designed to meet the dynamic needs and demands of the business scenario in which students are exposed to situations requiring solutions to complex and unstructured problems.

Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Aided Management (PGDCM): IIMC has kept pace with the changing times and in 1994 started this exclusive two-year full-time programme with special emphasis on Information Technology (IT) and its application to business.

According to Prof B N Srivastava, Dean IIMC, “PGDCM aims to develop students to fulfill the demand for Techno Managers in the world by providing intensive IT skills combined with Management perspective in every functional area of management.”

Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (PGDBM): A three year evening programme, also launched in 1994, aimed at offering working executives the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge of various facets of management.

Fellow Program in Management (FPM): is a full-time advanced study and research programme at a doctoral level in management and related areas, aimed at providing knowledge suited for research and teaching careers.

Eligibility Criteria:
A Bachelor’s degree (10+2+3 system) recognised by the Association of Indian Universities/AICTE is eligible for Postgraduate studies OR an equivalent degree in Agriculture, Arts, Commerce, Engineering and Science.
Candidates appearing at the final bachelor’s degree (10+2+3) or equivalent degree examinations are also eligible to apply provided they complete all their graduating requirements including practical examinations/assignments before June 30 of the proposed year of admission. No formal specialization in either computers or management would be required for admission to the PGDCM program. However IIMC prefers students who are “Techno-savvy with at least Graduate level Mathematical knowledge to be able to endure the rigour of the programme”

Admission:
Admission to IIMC is through the all India Common Admission Test (CAT) followed by a Group Discussion and Personal Interview conducted by the institute.

“Ours is the most objective and transparent selection and there is no preference for students with work experience, any particular qualification or demographics”, says Prof Srivastava. “We look for highly intelligent, meritorious students with capability and potential to rise to high positions in their careers and business. We value the abilities, potential and sensitivities of the applicant,” he says.

Scholarships and Loans:
According to Prof Srivastava, “Large number of scholarships and prizes sponsored by various companies and charitable institutions are available to students. There are also merit-cum-means scholarships from the Government. Some scholarships are also of very high value and even cover the entire fees of around 1.3 lakhs.”

Pedagogy and Curriculum:
In its endeavour to promote a rich pool of knowledge, IIMC encourages dynamic exchange of ideas and shared learning among students that challenges, motivates and provokes new ways of thinking. Perhaps what sets it apart from its peers is the mixture of diverse learning opportunities IIMC presents to its students – a combination of case discussions, direct instruction or classroom lectures, multimedia presentations, practical exposure in field project, group discussions and skill workshops.

According to Kunal Dutta, PGP Representative in the Students’ Council, “Presentations and quizzes form an integral part of any course. While case studies help the students in understanding the problems faced by the industry and come out with their feasible solutions, the lectures help in providing grounding in the fundamentals of the field.”

The PGDM and the PGDCM curriculum review happen once every two years.

“The IIMC curriculum is dynamic.” Says Prof. Ashish Bhattacharya of Finance And Control Group, IIMC. ” Within the broad framework of a course the instructor has the freedom to decide the details. Each individual instructor is expected to update and to upgrade their material and the curriculum to suit the changes in the environment to equip students with all that they will face in the corporate set up” he says.

The review is an ongoing process. According to Prof Srivasatava “Every year some new courses are added depending on the feedback and information from the alumni and the corporate world.” A committee with representation from all the groups of the institute reviews the feedback and the curriculum is revised in accordance with their recommendations. Besides the institute is also actively pursuing career-counselling initiatives. An interview and group discussion workshop programme is currently in the pipeline for the second year students.

Abhishek Sharman, Placement Representative adds, “The Institute also ensures that a large number of the courses are taken in association with top firms like HLL and Deutsche Bank as partners. Case Studies and Business competitions conducted by industry majors like P & G and ITC are an integral part of IIM C’s academic life.”

Electives
Students in IIM Calcutta study the fundamentals of Management theory and practice through 22 compulsory courses in the curriculum and have the flexibility to choose from over 91 electives in fields like Marketing, Finance, Systems, Behavioral sciences, Economics, HRM, Human Values – the highest number of electives among all IIMs.

Other than these, different initiatives are taken up by students, like foreign language courses (French, German) to prepare them for an international career. A hands-on interviewing and communication workshop is in the offing.

Infrastructure and Students’ Activities
IIM C has state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities. Spread across a sprawling 135-acre, far from the din and bustle of Kolkata, the campus is unrivalled in its scenic beauty, lush with trees and seven lakes.
The Institute has 3 hostels, each with 24-hr canteen facilities and utility shops apart from academic and administrative blocks, library, auditorium and faculty quarters. In addition to outdoor sports facilities, a modern gym and indoor sports facility is nearing completion.

In keeping with its reputation as having the best Management Information Systems in India, IIM C was the first to develop an Institute-wide network and online Academic Information System. According to Ajay Prasad, General Secretary of the Students’ Union Council of IIMC “IIMC’s Library and networking is second to none, in comparison to top foreign Universities”

The network has over 1000 nodes and operates on 2 Mbps of Internet connectivity. Every student has a network enabled PC in his room. “All these systems are managed by the Internets Solutions Group and Lansquad that are student bodies of IIMC, yet another unique achievement.” Says Ajay.

Faculty:
IIMC is renowned for having one of the best faculties in the continent with doctorates from leading institutions like MIT, Wharton, Cambridge, Stanford, etc. They publish papers in leading international and management journals and take up teaching assignments with leading institutions both in India and abroad.

Extracurricular activities are an integral part of IIM C. All student activities and matters relating to the student body are taken care of by an elected Students’ Council under which a dozen associations and clubs like the Consulting Club, Finance Club, Marketing Club, Entrepreneurship Cell (E-Cell), Adventure Club, External Relations Cell, Dramatics Club and so on operate. Initiative for Community Action (INCA) and Parivaar are two IIM C initiatives, which help reinforce social commitment. IIM C also has the single biggest group of MENSA members in India.

Student Exchange Program
IIMC has an active student exchange programme with top B schools worldwide like Copenhagen Business School, Denmark; CERAM Sophia Antipolis, France; City University of New York, USA; E.M. Lyon, France; University of California, Davis, USA and Wake Forest University, USA to name a few. Known as The STudent Exchange Program (STEP), its objective is to expose students to myriad social and business culture and broaden their perspective of the global business environment. In the year 2003, 65 students visited universities abroad under this programme.

Placements
The Summer and Final placements process is organised by the Career Development and Placement Office (CDPO) under the supervision of the Chairman, Placements, a senior faculty member and is managed by Student Placement Representatives.

Summer Placement: Students on completion of their Third term work on projects in various organisations aiding their understanding of real-world issues and practical problems. Students are recruited by the companies on the basis of various criteria such as their past records, interviews, group discussions etc. Good performance during the ‘summers’ can result in the company offering the student a Pre-Placement Offer (PPO) or a Pre-Placement Interview (PPI).

Final Placement: The most important aspect of B-school final placements are that it is usually held for a period of 5 days in which Sixth Term students appear. Companies are assigned slots based on their Ranks calculated from ranking points collected from the students. This rank collection and collation in itself is a complex process, and crucial to the entire placement process.

Students also receive Lateral Offers; if they have requisite work experience (over 22 months as per IIM-C rules). The Laterals process goes on from November to February, and is the best in the country. In the placement process, students are allowed to receive multiple offers. The order in which interviews are attended is also determined through the rankings given by individual students to companies. As soon as a student receives and accepts a final offer, or withdraws from the placement process, he is Out Of Placement Service (OOPS).

Some of the top companies that recruited from IIMC in the year 2003 were:

AT Kearney, Accenture, Bharat Petroleum, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Capital One, Citibank N.A., Deloitte &Touché Consulting Group LLC, Deutsche Bank, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Eli Lilly, GE, Hindustan Lever Limited, IBM, Infosys Technologies Ltd, JM Morgan Stanley, Microsoft Corporation, Mindtree Consulting, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Procter & Gamble, Glaxo Smithkline, Tata Administrative Service, Tata Consultancy Services, Thyssen Krupp, Torrent Limited, The Boston Consulting Group and Wipro among a few.

Student Recruiter Meet
Taking a cue from top International B-Schools, IIMC organised a Student Recruiter Meet for the first time in India for Summer Placements 2003-05 with an overwhelming response both from the recruiters and the student body. Held for a span of two days it attracted more than 30 recruiters like American International Group (AIG). P&G, IBM, PWC, Coke, Gillette, Roulac, Tata Motors, DRL, Marico, Citibank, WeP, SBI and so on.
According to Prof Srivastava, “This meet was planned with multiple objectives in mind (a) provide opportunity for one to one interaction between students and recruiters (b) minimise the day to day problems of adjustments in schedule of classes and class room facilities (c) accommodate different requests from the corporate world (d) to organise pre-placement talks at the Institute and (e) to create an environment of enquiry, comfort and informal engagement.”

“This is the period when students have the opportunity and time to learn. Once they join a company or start their own business they might find it difficult. Students should always assess the potential to become a successful entrepreneur. They should not take the blind view that service in a reputed organisation is the best option,” mused Prof Bhattacharya.

Ajay says,”There is no short cut to the IIMs except hard work and good preparation, but the rewards are great, in terms of the knowledge, skills and the people we meet here”

So are you ready to enter the portals of this coveted institution?

Ex-student Munira Lokhandwala’s testimonial
The two years that I spent in IIMC have been the best of my life so far. I have learnt so much from so many varied sources that it makes the experience unforgettable. Learning takes place everywhere; in classrooms with professors, industry experts; in the canteen, with fellow students; or may be in the basketball court with the team. The whole atmosphere is extremely friendly. I have also formed my best habits, skills and relationships here.