Inclusivity, openness to new-age courses make new IIMs preferred choice for students – Times of India

Keen to expand


Janat Shah, director, IIM Udaipur, says, “Envisaging the need for digital technology in Business and Management education due to the pandemic-led changes in the nature of the industry, IIM-U has introduced a full time one-year course on Digital Enterprise Management, which has helped the institute create a niche in the area of digital.”

At IIM Raipur, modern day MBA education has been introduced in the form of a Centre for Digital Economy, which provides courses like Supply Chain Management, says Ram Kumar Kakani, director, IIM Raipur. “The fact that an institute as young as ours has an National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) of 15 shows that we are on the right path of providing future-relevant courses,” he adds.

Bhimaraya Metri, director, IIM Nagpur, says, “Pandemic transformed the industry and rapidly changed the products in the market. Situated at the core of an industrial hub, we are focused on upskilling and reskilling executives who can cater to the shifting demand. Our niche is in providing long-term executive education and short-term certificate courses. In this format, Blockchain, Cyber Security and Data Science are our specialised programmes.”

DP Goyal, director, IIM Shillong, says, “Inculcating compassion and a value system in all students is our focus. We have introduced a compulsory community internship, wherein students visit nearby villages, understand their issues, and come back with possible solutions. Our teaching-learning process also focus on sustainability,” he adds.

Inclusive in nature

Kakani says that while certain HEIs may have a slightly lackadaisical attitude towards inclusion of students from marginalised sections, the newer IIMs are going out of their way to ensure all students feel welcome. “At IIM Raipur, of the total student strength of 519, 261 students are from socially challenged categories of SC/ST and OBC.

New IIMs are focusing on increasing gender diversity as IIM Nagpur has 25% of the total student strength comprising of girls, and IIM Shillong has 40% of female students.

Clear the misconceptions

For IIM Shillong, the location was assumed to be a deterrent for students. “Earlier, few companies might have hesitated in visiting our campus for placements but the shift to an online mode during the pandemic has helped. We saw, 25% rise in recruiters in the last two years. We have also opened a satellite centre in Guwahati to enable recruiters to join our placement process,” says Goyal.

On the newer IIMs not having access to quality faculty, Metri says, “As a new IIM, access to funds is a small issue due to which retention of quality faculty may be problematic. We may have to depend on visiting faculty for a bit but are making efforts to find a solution to this as soon as possible,” he says.