Now for the world

Its sylvan campus and great faculty have always given the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) a captivating aura that attracted the best students, not only from India but from all over the world.

IIM-C is currently eyeing an international accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) to attract more foreign students in the coming academic sessions.

“The vision of the institute is to emerge as an international centre of excellence in all facets of management education. We are currently working on international accreditation and we are the first IIM to do so,” said Souguata Ray, dean and professor in-charge of IIM-C’s students exchange programme.

Explaining why the institute is going for international accreditation, Ray said, “For us, this is not just an exercise to help improve IIM-C’s brand image. This accreditation will help us in our international collaborations and make our students more coveted in the international job market as well as attract more foreign students.”

Following accreditation, the institute will also be considered for various international B-school rankings, something that all IIMs miss out on because of lack of international accreditation.

Students, meanwhile, swear by its faculty.

“I got calls from both IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta but chose the latter because of its envious line-up of teachers in finance and economics. So, despite being from Chennai, I chose IIM-C over IIM-B,” said Samyukktha Thirumeni, a second-year student of IIM-C.

Another attraction of IIM-C is the lush green 135-acre campus with seven natural lakes. One of them even has a jetty, where student bands often play.

“This is, I think, the only IIM campus where you can actually go bird watching. Then, a replica of Howrah Bridge over one of the lakes is another popular hangout.
It is a pleasure to dangle our feet in the water from the bridge and get drenched in rain,” said Hariharan Sriram, another second-year student of IIM-C.
And what does the industry has to say about IIM-C?

“At P&G, we look for candidates with strong leadership qualities, the ability to take responsibility at an early stage, a strong value system and a result-oriented approach,” said Sonali Roychowdhury, associate director & head of human resources, P&G India.

IIM-C students obviously fit the bill, for P&G is a regular at the campus placements.

Ashok Banerjee, a Class of 1970 alumnus of IIM-C gives the institute all the credit for whoever he is in life today. The former vice president (Indian subcontinent) of Fosters’ and current professor of strategy and marketing at the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, said: “I was part of the fifth batch of students at IIM-C. Even then, the curriculum was designed in a manner to help students take up any challenge and emerge as a winner.”

Factfile
Main course offered:
Post Graduate Diploma in Management
Course fees: R12.50 lakh
Current batch size: 362
Male-female ratio: 319 (m): 43 (f)
Faculty-student ratio: 1:5.5
Placement season: 2010 - 5 days; 2009 - 10 days; 2008 - 3.5 days
Number of offers: 310
Highest domestic salary (2010): R25 lakh
Average domestic salary (2010): R15.32 lakh
Highest international salary (2010): $250,000
Average international salary (2010): $123,450
Foreign placements (2010): 19
Famous alumni: Indra Nooyi, Chairperson & CEO, Pepsico; Ajit Balakrishnan, Founder Chairman & CEO, Rediffusion; Mohanbir Sawhney, management guru
Top recruiters: McKinsey & Co., Bain & Co., Boston Consulting Group, Hindustan Unilever, P&G, Tata Administrative Services
Fun factor: Great campus, bird watching