A Golden Period For IIM-A!

IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A) celebrated its Golden Jubilee along with which it conducted its 46th Annual Convocation. Held on 11th December 2010, the ceremony was honored by the presence of the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh as the chief guest. A total of 416 graduates were awarded the prestigious IIM-A Diplomas which was indeed a proud and spectacular moment for the parents of those graduating students.

Dr. Singh delivered a motivating speech in which he addressed the IIM graduates drawing in certain issues which needed attention including the quality of the Indian managers and the prospective rural markets in the country in context with the post economic reforms. Quoting the Prime Minister, ‘the pace of reform in India will depend on how far our policies meet the test of democratic consensus and take into account the vulnerabilities of different sections of our population. We should recognize that our high growth is not sustainable unless it is made more inclusive in a manner that helps reduce social tensions and disparities.'

IIM-A set a benchmark for the nation and has proven that India is one of the best training grounds for future managers. The above statement is justified by IIM Ahmedabad's Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives which debuted in the 11th place in The Financial Times Global MBA Ranking of the world's top 100 business schools, 2011. Last year, IIM-A was placed in the 8th position for its Post graduate Programme in the Financial Times Masters in Management, 2010. This has put the Indian B-School among the top management institute of the world giving a tough competition to institutes like Harvard and London Business School. As a result of the world ranking, we witness a sudden rise in the number of foreign students in IIM-A from 69 (2009-2010 batch) to 75 (2010-2011 batch).

International campuses

Apart from the fact that foreign students are flocking in to the B-school, IIM-A is planning to go abroad. By 2013, IIM-A will have international campus in Dubai or Singapore or in both, amidst various criticism and disapproval from the government and the masses. The Ministry Human Resource and Development (MHRD) had already approved of IIMs to go abroad in October 2009. "We need a good faculty pool to launch a full-time management programme. We will also look at the cost of structure and a local partner..." said Samir Barua, Director of IIM Ahmedabad. However, privatization of IIM-A and its going abroad is whether an academic venture or just a business strategy is arguable.

The Center of Action

Founded in 1961, IIM-A was established with an objective to integrate the essence of a developing nation--agriculture, education, health, transportation, population control, energy and public administration with industry. Started as a school of management 5 decades ago, IIM-A has come a long way evolving and molding itself through time. Now, IIM Ahmedabad has proudly claimed its position as the best B-School in the nation and one of the best in the world.

IIM-A currently offers six programmes that includes Post-Graduate Programme in Management
(PGP) and Post Graduate Programme in Agri-business Management (PGP-ABM) as its flagship programmes. The curriculum of these programs follows the course structure of Harvard Business School. IIM-A has also mastered the famous case study approached in management education due to its collaboration with Harvard. Moreover, there are also certain changes in the coursework also. IIM-A made a record for offering a staggering 94 elective to its students in their 2nd year who graduated recently.

The Star Course

The PGPX Programme has shot IIM-A to 11th position in the Financial Times Global MBA Ranking of the world's top 100 Business Schools. The 2011-2012 batch shows a tremendous increase in the number of students in the 1 year post graduate programme in management for executives from 86 in the 2010-2011 batch to 102 students this year. With the 6th batch of PGPX, we saw some changes in the profile of the programme. The average GMAT score has improved from last year's 712 to 714 this year. There is also an increase in the international work experience figuring up to 4 year 6 months from last year's 4 years 4 months. In terms of placement, the average salary of a PGPX graduate is a swooping $174,440, which is higher than those who have graduated from London Business School and the Harvard Business School.

Source: Ningombam Biswamitra Singh (Shiksha Team)

Date: 28th April, 2011