Indian Institutes of Management
The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are the premier management / business schools of India, located in the cities of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Indore, Kolkata, Kozhikode, and Lucknow. They award post-graduate diplomas in management (equivalent to an MBA) with various specializations. The programs are of a duration of two years. Apart from the flagship programs, the IIMs also offer various shorter duration management training programs as well as part-time MBA programs for various organisations and individuals. All the IIMs are completely autonomous institutes owned and financed by the Federal (Central) Government of India.
Admission process
The CAT (Common Admission Test) conducted by the IIMs is a very competitive test conducted for admission to around 1200 graduate programs in management at the six campuses, and is usually considered one of the most competitive exams in the world, with a success rate of less than one in a hundred. Each institute conducts group discussions and personal interviews to evaluate the students shortlisted after the test. Around 80% of the sets are General category, that is that they are filled through open competetion. Around 150,000 students compete for less than 1200 general seats in the IIMs which makes it even more selective than all the top US business schools put together. Even with a top 1% score, a candidate must also successfully pass the equally stringent group and individual interviews. The overall acceptance rate ranges from around 0.15% to 0.4% of the applicants (compared with the acceptance rate of around 5-10% in the top US schools) depending on the rank of the individual IIM, with the rate progressively increasing roughly according to the following order IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore or IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode, and IIM Indore.
The IIMs are amongst the top business schools in India. These six IIMs along with the Indian Institutes of Technology (Engineering and Technology), the Indian Institute of Science (Science), the Indian Statistical Institute, the National Law School of India University (Law) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Medicine) form the elite club of the best centers for higher education in India and are comparable to the best in the world. Though initially constrained due to the closed nature of the Indian economy prior to the reforms era, with the opening up of the Indian economy in the 1990s and with thousands of alumni placed in important positions in the top companies and locations all over the world, the IIM alumni network is now rapidly enhancing the influence and reputation of the Indian Institutes of Management on the global business scene like the IITians have done in the field of technology. With the increasing international awareness and interest in India, in recent years, the older three IIMs (Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Calcutta) have regularly started featuring among the top business schools in Asia and the world in many respected international surveys and the "Indian Institutes" are slowly but surely gaining international recognition.
IIM Ahmedabad
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Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad was established in 1961 as an autonomous institution by the Government of India in collaboration with the Government of Gujarat and the Indian Industry and is the second oldest IIM. Vikram Sarabhai, a noted scientist and industrialist and other Ahmedabad-based industrialists played a major role in the creation of the Institute. It was registered as a society with a Board of Governors to oversee the functioning of the Institute. The Board has representatives from the Governments of India and Gujarat, the Industry, the IIM-A Society, the IIM-A faculty, etc.
IIM-A was conceived not to be purely a business school, but a school of management. Its mission is to professionalise Indian management through teaching, research, training, institution building and consulting. It also aims to professionalise some of the vital sectors of India's economy such as agriculture, education, health, transportation, population control, energy, and public administration.
In its formative years, IIM Ahmedabad collaborated with the Harvard Business School. Largely as a consequence of this collaboration, IIM-A pioneered the case method of teaching in India.
IIM Ahmedabad is considered to be the toughest business school in the world to get into. (Source: Economist Intelligence Unit - "Which MBA"). At IIM Ahmedabad, there were 532 applicants for every seat in 2005. It is the premier B-School in Asia-Pacific.
Its current chairman is N. R. Narayana Murthy.
IIM Bangalore
Established in 1973 and building on the base of its accomplished faculty and motivated student body, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore has evolved into a premier centre for management education and research. The flagship Postgraduate Programme in Management (PGP) and Fellow (Doctoral) Programme in Management (FPM) are rated highly and IIMB alumni occupy senior managerial and academic positions across the globe.
Besides the above mentioned programmes, IIMB offers several management programmes which include:
1.The Post Graduate Programme in Software Enterprise Management (PGSEM) launched in 1998 is a management education programme designed for the specific needs of professionals working in the software and information technology industries;
2.The Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management (PGPPM) launched in 2002 is helping to hone policy-making and managerial capabilities in government.
3.The International Masters Program in Practising Management (IMPM), an international collaborative executive education program jointly offered by IIMB with INSEAD, McGill University, Lancaster University and a consortium of Japanese universities is globally recognised as a major innovation in executive education;
4.In addition to the long-duration programmes (PGP, PGSEM, PGPPM and FPM), IIMB offers a wide range of top quality executive education programmes to meet the continuing education needs of business executives.
Established through a generous endowment, the N.S. Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL) at IIMB is a catalyst for entrepreneurial activity.
Apart from the faculty, curriculum, a student body and infrastructure IIMB has adequate industry linkages that are thought to be vital for a business school to create well rounded corporate leaders.
IIMB provides its students with a unique perspective. The focus is not just on academics but also on personality enrichment to enable future leaders to take shape. This can be seen in the various student activities on campus. Apart from the usual meetings of business leaders and seminars conducted by the FII (Forum of Industrial Interaction), IIMB also offers its students opportunities in various other clubs. These include ICON - the consulting club which sources live consulting projects for the students, Vikasana - the students' social service club, MARS - the retailing club that operates a state-of-the-art store on campus which boasts of increasing its turnover 6 times from half a million to about 3 million rupees.
Like many other academic institutes, IIMB runs a student exchange programme in the country; partner schools include NYU Stern, GSB Chicago, Anderson (UCLA), WHU Germany, the London School of Business and the LAOTSE network of leading European and Asian universities. In order to provide more students with an international exposure, IIMB has a course on international business that involves project work with a participating company at a foreign location. The international linkages at IIMB are so strong that about 70% of the batch has some international exposure during the course.
The annually held student festivals - VISTA(the management fest) and UNMAAD (the cultural festival) - attract enthusiastic participation from colleges and industry across the country and abroad.
Its current chairman is Mukesh Ambani.
IIM Calcutta
The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, was established as the first national institute for Post-Graduate studies and Research in Management by the Government of India in November 1961 in collaboration with MIT Sloan School of Management, the Government of West Bengal, The Ford Foundation and Indian industry. During its initial years, several prominent faculty formed part of its nucleus, including Paul Samuelson, Jagdish Sheth and J. K. Sengupta.
The institute offers the following programmes of study:
- PostGraduate Diploma in Management (PGDM)
- PostGraduate Diploma in Computer aided Management (PGDCM)
- PostGraduate Diploma in Business Management (PGDBM), a 3 year part-time course
- Fellow Programme in Management (FPM)
IIM Calcutta shifted to its new campus at Joka, a suburb of Kolkata, with the admission of the thirteenth batch. As of 2005, forty batches have passed out of this unique campus, loved for its lakes and its emphasis on freedom of thought, and renowned for its quantitative bent of mind. Alumni are working in government, the corporate sector, academia or forging their own path.
IIM Calcutta was one of the first Indian colleges to implement an extranet connecting faculty, students, alumni and corporates - a nice demonstration link is provided on its website. IIM Calcutta is also known for its cultural pursuits - the annual festival Intaglio, and music bands famously named after the public transport bus routes that 'connect IIMC to civilization' - Joka Band Stand and 12-C.
INCA, or INitiative for Community Action, is a voluntary student body that works closely with NGOs in the Kolkata region.
Intaglio is the annual international business school festival of IIM Calcutta. It is one of the premier business school fests in the Asia Pacific region inviting participation from the top business schools across the world including Harvard Business School, The Wharton School, the Tuck School of Business, Yale School of Management, the Kellogg School, NUS and many more.
Its current chairman is Y.C.Deveshwar.
IIM Indore
Indian Institute of Management Indore was set up in 1998 and is the youngest of the IIMs. In its rather short journey, IIM Indore has carved a niche for itself in the Academia and the corporate world. The essence of management, IIMI believes, lies in managing one's own ambitions and forging ahead consciously.
"A strong theoretical foundation is the basis of good corporate practice" - this is the underlying theme of the Post Graduate Programme (PGP). Spanning two years the programme is benchmarked against the best business schools in the world. Experiential learning, IT orientation, and Social Sensitivity are the unique features of the programme.
To support this IIM Indore developed a solid infrastructure ranging from the beautiful 193 acre (781,000 m²) campus to a strong IT backbone to the latest of pedagogical aids. The campus is the largest among all the IIMs and became fully functional in 2003.
IIM Indore has gradually been increasing the annual intake of students for its flagship two year PGP (MBA) program from around 50 in 1998 to 120 in 2005. The intake is expected to increase to 180 students from the academic year 2006 onwards.
On the academics side the students are trained to become world class managers by participating in workshops,seminars etc where they get to interact with some of the best minds of the industry.
The recently started International Student Exchange program ensures that the students are exposed to the latest trends in management across the business schools of the world. The institute had its first student exchange of six students with Ecole de Management de Lyon (EM Lyon) a premier business school based in Lyon, France in 2005. The exchange program has advanced rapidly and the institute currently (as of 2006) has exchange programs with two business schools in France, one in China and one in New Zealand with several others on the anvil.
The activities of the students are co-ordinated by the Students Welfare Activities Council (SWAC), an elected body of student representatives. Sub-committees look after various aspects such as academics, sports, infrastructure, etc.
The annual management festival 'IRIS' provides an opportunity for IIM Indore as a place where the best minds of the country unite to compete and to exchange ideas.
The exclusive annual quizzing event Nihilanth for IITs and IIMs has its roots in IIM Indore that hosted the inaugral edition in 2003.It is the only event that has participation from the two pillars of Indian Academia the IITs and IIMs.
If someone wants to further upgrade his knowledge then various interest clubs are the answer: Mercur-I - The Marketing Club, Equit-I - The Investment Club, The Entrepreneurship and Consulting Club, Infinit-I - The Systems Club, The Quizzing Club. Other interest groups include adventure, operations, movies' etc.
Its current chairman is B.N.Kalyani.
IIM Kozhikode
The Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, was established as the 5th IIM in the country in 1996 by the Government of India in collaboration with the Government of Kerala, it provides education, training, consulting and research facilities in management.
The institute is located at Kozhikode, in Kerala, South India. The picturesque campus is spread over two hills which are part of the foothills of the Western Ghats.
IIMK emphasises on the development of analytical skills and focuses on global cross-cultural issues. It also stresses on social responsibility, and has a two year social development project as a compulsory part of its flagship Post Graduate Programme in Management (referred to as the PGP and equivalent to an MBA).
IIMK incubates the Centre of Excellence(CEx), where youth from the marginalized sections of society, such as the SC/STs, are imparted training to make them intellectually and emotionally capable of joining reputed companies and educational institutions. The skills taught also make them capable of clearing entrance exams of various educational institutions. The CEx now functions as the Kerala Chapter of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).
Its current chairman is A.C.Muthiah.
IIM Lucknow
Situated on the outskirts of the historic city of Lucknow, the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, was established in 1984, by the Government of India, as a national school of excellence in management science.
IIML 's mission is to be a global, socially conscious and integrated school of management, contributing towards management development, both in India and abroad. Towards this, IIML undertakes a diverse range of academic activities and interventions aimed at creation, dissemination, and application of management knowledge and practices. These include : the Post Graduate Programme; the Fellow Programme; the Management Development Programme; Research Programmes; and Consulting Programmes. IIML is also entering into collaborative arrangements with leading business schools and research centres in India, Europe, Canada, South and Southeast Asia.
The Institute has state-of-the-art computing and class-room facilities, supported by an extensive library of books, journals, films, and databases. IIML academic programmes are fully residential. The serene and pollution free campus is well equipped to meet all the essential requirements of its residents.
Alumni
In year 2005 leading alumni of various IIMs founded alumni organizations in various parts of the world. One of the stated objectives of these alumni associations is to form a dynamic community of leaders and thinkers who make a difference across the world.
New IIM at Shillong
The Government of India, in a decision taken by the Union (Fedral) Cabinet of Ministers, bowing to the popular demands of the people of the Indian North-East, has recently decided to approve the opening of a seventh IIM at Shillong, the capital of the north-eastern state of Meghalaya. The Institute is proposed to be known as Indian Institute of Management Shillong (IIMS). This new IIM will start operations in a few years. The GOI press release:
- It has been decided to establish a new Indian Institute of Management (IIM) for the North East Region at Shillong; This institution would help in setting the highest standards of management education in the region. A detailed project report for establishing a full fledged campus is under preparation. The IIM would start its academic operations soon.
Criticism
In India IIMs are regarded as prestigious Management Institutes but in terms of some parameters IIMs still have a long way to go. IIMs need to focus on following things to churn out world class graduates.
- Instilling entrepreneural zeal in graduates as current ratio of entrepreneurs per batch almost negligible.
- Developing the sense of taking risks instead of chasing pay packets.
- Instead of preparing Industry ready graduates IIMs should focus on producing people who can create Industry. Because even an ordinary college also now a days producing so called Industry ready graduates.
- As Indian economy booming like never before IIMs should encourage graduates to create innovative domestic services by combining with technical forces.