Since its inception in 1961, the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) has played a path-breaking role in Indian management through its variety of management programs, from post-graduate level to doctoral to executive training and research. It has maintained its top ranking among the cream of business schools in India and its alumni have been founders and CEOs of prestigious Indian and international firms. 

History of the institution

The IIM-C was the first of a chain of 20 IIMs to be established for post-graduate and research in Management by the Government of India in November 1961 under Prime Minister Nehru. It was established in collaboration with the Alfred P. Sloan School of Management (MIT), the Government of West Bengal, the Ford Foundation and Indian industry. In its founding years, several prominent members of faculty here formed part of its core group, such as Jagdish Sheth and J. K. Sengupta, among others. This institute is located in Joka, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. 

Due to its unflagging quality of education year upon year, IIM-C has been India's first management institute to be Triple Crowned i.e. it has been accredited by all three major accreditation agencies in the world specifically for management education-–AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS.

Programs offered

IIM-C offers five main full-time academic programmes:

• Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) – Two-year, full-time MBA programme
• Fellow Programme in Management (FPM) – Doctoral programme
• Post Graduate Programme for Executives (PGPEX) – One-year, full-time MBA programme for Executives
• Post Graduate Programme for Executives for Visionary Leadership in Manufacturing (PGPEX-VLM) – One-year, full-time Executive MBA programme
• Post Graduate Diploma in Business Analytics (PGDBA) – Two years, full-time BA programme

Being a member of the Global Alliance in Management Education (CEMS), this institute also offers the CEMS Masters in International Management degree.

Full-time MBA programs offered

Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM)

This course is designed to train students to evolve as excellent general managers and decision-makers with a broad strategic vision. A full-time two-year residential program, the PGDM sees management as an integrated process. It aids students develop a global perspective while responding effectively to changes in the economic, political, cultural and technological environment. At the heart of this course is a set of specific skills taught to students in the spheres of finance, accounting, finance, management, marketing and operations.

Admission Cycle

Eligibility for application: Candidates belonging to the general category must hold a bachelor's degree and a minimum of 50% marks or equivalent CGPA. Candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disability (PWD) categories should also be graduates with a minimum of 45% marks or equivalent CGPA. 

Admission Guidelines: Admission is based on a student's performance in the CAT exam, and his or her performance at the WAT, GD and PI and relevant work experience.

Tuition fees: Rs. 19, 00, 000/- for two years

Post Graduate Programme for Executives (PGPEX)

This one-year residential program for executives and mid-career professionals is designed especially for executives with over five years' professional experience. These professionals can increase their skill sets as they arm themselves to take on senior management roles. Since the launch of this program in 2006, several alumni of excellence have taken this course and demonstrated their leadership qualities in their organizations.

Eligibility: To be eligible for this program, executives should have 10+2+3 years of formal education. Also, a bachelor's degree in any discipline and over five years' post-qualification managerial/professional work experience are necessary. A GMAT score valid over the past 36 months is also necessary. 

Admission Procedure: Candidates are required to apply online using a valid GMAT score. Shortlisted candidates will be then put through a Personal Interview (PI) round. The final selection of candidates is based on several parameters, including his or her professional experience, academic record, GMAT score and PI performance.

Selected candidates are required to submit a Statement of Purpose (SOP) and two recommendation letters from people in senior managerial positions.

Tuition fees: The fee for the PGPEX program for the academic year 2019-20 will be Rs. 22,00,000/- (non-refundable) or equivalent US$ for one year, plus tax as applicable. This will be split up into four instalments. Additionally, students will have to pay Rs. 20,000/- as refundable caution deposit. 

The program fee includes tuition fees, cost of study material, accommodation and cost of study tours organised by IIMC. Airfare, visa and medical insurance charges for overseas study tours will be borne by the Institute. However, this fee does not include food expenses, personal travel, electricity, cable TV, other utility and other miscellaneous and personal expenses incurred during a student's stay on the campus or abroad.

Post Graduate Programme for Executives for Visionary Leadership in Manufacturing (PGPEX-VLM)

This is a one-year, full-time Executive MBA program designed for promising engineers taken from Manufacturing and associated sectors who have the potential for being at top management levels. It is a joint program of the IIM-C, IITK and IITM, and is supported by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). 

The program aims to develop leadership and management skills along with awareness of world class technology and proficiency. It comprises 36 weeks' classroom interaction, case studies, tutorials, lab sessions, project work at IIMC, IITM and IITK, totalling 1032 hours of interaction. It also provides learners with an eight-week long internship and industry visits within India and abroad spanning three to four weeks. 

Eligibility: 

Education: First‐class graduate engineers with first division/ first class marks from SLC/ Madhyamik.

Work experience: Self-paying candidates, no longer in service are eligible. They must have between 4.5 to 10 years' work experience in Manufacturing, Engineering and related sectors. They should have held responsible positions in production, planning and control, research, design and development, quality control, plant engineering, maintenance, supply chain, construction, etc. If candidates are sponsored or currently on study leave, they need to apply with 4.5 years' work experience. In such cases, there is no cap on work experience.

Selection process: Candidates will be selected on these criteria:

• A consistently high academic background, preferably first division/class from high school board examination level to graduation, with relevant work experience
• Employer’s recommendations
• Bio-data and essays
• Performance in the Aptitude Test
• Personal interview to be conducted jointly by IIMC, IITK and IITM
• GMAT score to substantiate academic credence

CEMS Masters in International Management (CEMS MIM)

In 2012, IIM Calcutta became a member of the Global Alliance in Management Education (CEMS), an elite club comprising 30 premier international business schools. Since then, IIM-C has been offering the CEMS Masters in International Management (CEMS MIM) degree. Selected students from the PGP program who qualify for the CEMS program are given the option of taking the CEMS MIM as an additional degree. 

Facilities provided

Located in Joka, the IIM-C offers an environment in which students and faculty can find full expression for their desire to learn and grow. There are many facilities provided here where students can enjoy themselves, whether by learning or finding creative expression.  

Campus

The campus is spread over an area of 135 acres (0.5 km2) and is situated in Joka, on the outskirts of Kolkata, India. IIM-C is rated as India's No. 1 business school that offers the best living experience on campus. This campus has world-class academic buildings and teaching infrastructure that are constantly updated to facilitate better learning. The campus also houses classrooms, conference and seminar rooms, and the Management Centre for Human Values, hostels for staff and students, a comprehensive library and an executive training complex are fully equipped for modern teaching facilities. 

This impressive campus is dotted by group study areas, conference rooms, a business/engineering library, offices for faculty and staff and lounges. A 750-seater sophisticated auditorium is also part of the campus. Nature is at its picturesque best here with seven lakes and lush green environs. The campus also houses a bank and a post office, two ATMs of State Bank of India and ICICI Bank and one outlet of Cafe Coffee Day.

Classroom facilities

In keeping with IIMC’s cutting-edge and robust information technology environment, its classrooms come equipped with the ultra-modern audio-visual and multimedia capabilities, including computing, video conferencing and integrated collaboration services. This has been enabled by a high-speed converged voice, data and video network with secure Wi-Fi access all over the campus. From any part of the world, students and faculty can connect to the institute's network securely. All classrooms and lecture halls of various sizes and capacities are air-conditioned. 

Hostel facilities

Students of IIM-C are provided with accommodation in its four hostels comprising single rooms with modern conveniences and recreation facilities. Each hostel is equipped with its own coffee shop, canteen, printer and photocopy rooms, and network connections that provides speedy 24x7 access. 

Dining facilities

Each hostel is replete with its own canteen facility where meals are provided four times a day. Snacks are also provided along with regular meals at the canteen. There is also a night canteen facility, which remains open from 11 pm to 4 am.

Computing facilities

The institute manages a network of 1000 PCs, 4 digital Alpha servers, one IBM RS-6000 server and seven Novell file servers. Due to its leadership in computing resources, it has come to be known as a Centre of Excellence in this area. Electronic databases such as Bloomberg, Capitaline and Prowess provide students and faculty with national and world information of the corporate world. 

Auditorium

IIM-C's 750-seater world-class auditorium is ultra-modern in design, lighting and sound system. It is the venue for all major campus events. 

Library

The B. C. Roy Memorial Library, set up in memory of the institute's first chairman, Dr. B. C. Roy, aims to meet the needs of its academic programs. It has a huge collection of over 1.6 lakh volumes of books and bound journals. It is a member of more than 500 journals and provides access to over 40,000 online full text journals. It is one of Asia's finest management libraries. It is fully equipped with all facilities of a modern library and remains open to facilitate students, particularly during exams. Its hushed ambience makes it the perfect place for students to study. 

Sports facilities

In its Recreation Centre, the IIM-C has a fully equipped swimming pool, courts for tennis, table tennis, badminton, football, basketball, etc and a gym. All the courts are fully illuminated and students can be playing at any time. There are times when students also indulge in canoeing and kayaking on the campus lake. 

Management Centre for Human Values

This entirely non-denominational centre is built among lush environs in a stupa-shaped building. 

Financial Research and Training Lab

Set up in 2008, this lab provides students with an opportunity to test financial models using live information. It is fitted with a Bloomberg terminal that provides real time access to national and world financial information, market data, business news, etc. This lab is also equipped with a trading exchange simulator (XSTrade) with real time data feed from NSE- Cash and F&O, BSE-Cash, NCDEX and MCX.

Quality of faculty team

 IIM-C has its own place of pride in terms of having a superb faculty team. This team combines relevance with academic robustness, and takes diversity in form, teaching methodology and content into account, while also maintaining plurality. Some of the finest scholars can be seen here who combine their research knowledge with industry needs. 

Tie-ups with other foreign institutions

IIM-C is India's first triple accredited management school to receive accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) and Association of MBAs (AMBA). It is also India's only business school to be a member of the Global Alliance in Management Education (CEMS).

Placement facility provided

Placements are conducted over two stages: one, the lateral process when firms come to the campus and interview students with work experience. They offer them mid-level managerial positions. The second stage is also called the final placement process where firms are grouped into units based on the profiles they offer students. Usually, IIM-C achieves 100% placements year after year. 

The verdict

A heady combination of brilliant minds among students and faculty and state-of-the-art facilities and technologies available here produce the finest candidates for Indian industry. No wonder this continues to be the preferred business school for many.