The Indian Institute of Management Lucknow (IIM-L) is an Indian autonomous public business school, situated in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. It was set up in 1984 and is the fourth IIM in line to be established by the Indian Government after Calcutta, Ahmedabad and Bangalore. India's HRD Ministry recently recognized it as an "Institution of Excellence". IIM Lucknow is also a mentor institution for the IIMs in Jammu, Rohtak and Kashipur.

History of the institution

Situated on the outskirts of Lucknow, IIM-L has a sprawling campus of 200 acres. When the Post Graduate Programme (PGP) began 1985–86, there were barely 30 students. At this time, classes were held in Butler Palace's rented rooms. Soon after, they moved to Giri Institute of Developmental Studies. In 1992, the current campus was set up on the outskirts of Lucknow.

Due to the efforts of noted academician Ishwar Dayal, this institution came into being. He was also the founding director of IIM-L for four years. The chairman of Board of Governors in 1991, industrialist Hari Shankar Singhania, served in this capacity till 2007. Today, it also has a sister campus on a 20-acre site at Noida which offers a one year full-time MBA program (IPMX) and executive education in management. It is the first and only IIM in India to have two campuses.

Different programs offered

IIM-L offers four full-time academic programmes:

• Post Graduate Program in Management (PGPM), 2 years, full-time
• PGP in Agribusiness Management (PGP-ABM), 2 years, full-time
• PGP in Business Management for working managers (WMP), one year, full-time
• International Program in Management for Executives (IPMX), one year, full-time
• Fellow Program in Management (FPM), 4 years, full-time
• PGP in Sustainable Management, 2 years, full-time
• Executive Fellow Programme In Management, 4 years, part-time

Full-time MBA programs offered

Post Graduate Program In Management (PGPM): Scores of the Common Admission Test are applicable to students appearing for admission to the two-year PGPM and fellowship programmes. For the International Programme in Management for Executives, a one-year full-time residential program equivalent to an MBA program, GMAT scores are applicable. Both programs are accredited by AMBA, the worldwide accreditation body. 

Admission Cycle

Eligibility for application: Candidates holding a bachelor's degree and a minimum of 50% marks or its equivalent CGPA are eligible to apply for this course. Students belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disability (PWD)/Differently Able (DA) category can apply with 45% marks awarded by a recognized university or equivalent qualification, recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India. 

Also, those candidates appearing for the final year of bachelor's degree or its equivalent examination and who have appeared for the final year under-graduation exams and are awaiting their results are also eligible to apply. 

Admission guidelines: Candidates need to clear the minimum CAT cut off mark, as declared by the institute. On the basis of their performance in this test, they will be called for the Writing Ability Test (WAT) and the Personal Interview (PI). Weight will be given to the candidate's performance in the student's performance in Classes X and XII, work experience and diversity basis. 

Tuition fees: The fees for this program is Rs. 16,00,000 for two years.

PGP in Agribusiness Management (PGP-ABM): The objective of this course is to develop entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and agribusiness leaders to have a vision, an attitude for agribusiness and competence to develop and grow in agro-based industries with an international outlook.

Admission Cycle

Eligibility for application: Candidates with a bachelor's degree in Agriculture Science/ Agricultural Engineering or allied subjects are eligible to apply. They should have scored a minimum of 50% at the under-graduation level while students of the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disability (PWD)/Differently Able (DA) category can apply with 45% marks at the under-graduation level or equivalent examination, recognized by the Indian government. The bachelor's degree or equivalent should include 10+2+3 years of education.

Alternatively, the candidate should have a bachelor's degree with 50% marks or equivalent examination and recognized by the Indian government. Students belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disability (PWD)/Differently Able (DA) category should have obtained 45% in the qualifying examination. 

Admission guidelines: This is done on the basis of past academic records, performance in CAT, work experience, group discussion and personal interview.

Tuition fees: The fees for this program is Rs.12,65,000 and is inclusive of tuition fees, cost of course material, library, computer facilities, cost of international travel, student activities, hostel and mess charges. Students of this course will stay at the Executive Centre, Noida.

PGP in Business Management for Working Managers (WMP): The Working Managers’ Programme (WMP) is designed for working executives, professionals and entrepreneurs who want to hone their skills and managerial knowhow through a specially developed curriculum at one of India's premier institutions, while still pursuing their jobs. The programme is structured to meet or go beyond the learning needs of the attendees so that they are attend these classes without disturbing their professions. 

Admission Cycle

Eligibility for application: Candidates with a bachelor's degree in any discipline and adhering to the 10+2+3 format are eligible. Their degree should be recognised by the  All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), UGC and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India. Besides, they also need to produce proof of professional work experience of three years done after graduation. 

Candidates that belong to the general category should apply with a minimum of 50% or a CGPA of 5.50 on a 10-point scale. For SC, ST and PWD category students, the minimum marks they should obtain is 45% or a CGPA of 5 on a 10-point scale. Apart from this, the scores of any of the following is necessary: 

• GMAT score for the test taken between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2017
• CAT score for the test taken in years 2015 and 2016
• XAT score for the test taken in years 2015, 2016 and 2017
• GATE score for the test taken in the year 2015, 2016 and 2017
• WMP Entrance Exam scheduled on April 16, 2017 (at IIML Noida Campus)

Admission guidelines: Candidates should fill out the application form and provide a copy of their GMAT/CAT/XAT/GATE score card, or they can decide to take the WMP Entrance Exam. Shortlisted candidates will then go into the Personal Interview round.

Tuition fees: The fees for this program is Rs. 11,77,000. 

International Program in Management for Executives (IPMX): This is a one-year, full-time MBA program designed especially for working executives. It is designed to increase executives' professional growth and managerial skills by giving them international exposure.

This course is taught at IIM Lucknow's Noida campus. Candidates with a minimum of five years' work experience can apply. The course is divided into four terms of 10 weeks each, including one term to be spent at a partner university and another at the Lucknow campus.

Admission Cycle

Eligibility for application: This course is eligible for those executives who hold a bachelor's degree in the 10+2+3 academic curriculum in any discipline or equivalent. They should have a valid GMAT. They should also have a minimum of five years' full-time professional experiences after graduation as on March 31, 2018.

Admission guidelines: Candidates should possess a bachelor's degree in any discipline and have post-graduate qualification. He or she should also have five years' full-time work experience or relevant GMAT scores. Candidates who have demonstrable intellectual curiosity, leadership qualities and the will to succeed should apply.

The admission process includes an interview by the interview panel who will also conduct a WAT, ask for a Statement of Purpose, initiate a Group Discussion and hold a Personal Interview.

Tuition fees: The fees for this program is Rs. 20,00,000/- for the 2018-20 batch. This will include tuition fees, cost of tuition, course material library, international study tour, career counselling, student activities, accommodation and mess expenses, etc. Internet, transport costs and stationery are to be borne by the student. Further, every student needs to pay Rs. 20,000/- as a refundable deposit for security. 

Fellowship Programs

Fellow Programme in Management (FPM): This is a four- Doctoral programme in Management which began in 2000. 

Eligibility for application: Candidates holding Master's degrees or under-graduates in Engineering are eligible to apply. Apart from this, they should apply with any of these qualifications: A Masters’ degree or its equivalent in any discipline with at least 55% aggregate marks or a bachelor’s degree in Engineering with 60% marks or equivalent grade point average; Professional qualifications such as CA, ICW & CS with a minimum 55% aggregate marks. They should have obtained a minimum of 55% marks in all the public examinations they have appeared for, beginning with the secondary level.

Students appearing for their final year examination of under-graduation may also apply. However, they will only be admitted into the course if they complete all the requirements that relate to obtaining a degree before 30th June, 2018. 

Here, mandatory course work is done in the first year, while the second year comprises specialization. In the third year, students start research on their thesis after an important examination. 

Those students who have a PGDM certificate from any of the IIMs are admitted directly in the second year. Under this program, the specializations offered include Economics, Human Resource Management, Decision Sciences, Finance and Accounting, Operations Management, Information Technology and Systems, Strategic Management, Marketing Management and Operations Management. The institute does not charge any tuition fees neither does it charge for hostel facilities. 

How to apply    

Applicants should download the FPM Application Form from the official IIM Lucknow website, which is www.iiml.ac.in. Each applicant may submit applications to two areas, not more. Two sets of application forms would thus be required with all supporting documents such as copies of mark sheets and certificates of all public examinations starting from Class 10, experience certificate, relevant score card, age proof, etc. These should be sent together in one envelope. 

Along with the completed application form, a draft of Rs. 10,000 for students in the general category and Rs. 500 for those belonging to SC and ST categories should be drawn in favour of IIM Lucknow payable at Lucknow. It should be sent to: The Administrative Officer (FPM), Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, Prabandh Nagar, IIM Road, Lucknow-226013, India. 

Age Limit: Candidates should not exceed 55 years of age as on 30th June, 2018 or they will not be given any financial support from the institute. 

Admission guidelines: Candidates should apply with either their CAT/GATE/GRE/GMAT/JRF scores. If applicants have a certificate of one/two/three year full-time classroom-oriented PGDM program from any of the IIMs/WMP of IIM Lucknow with at least 6 points out of 10 on the CGPA scale. Such students will not have to take any of the exams listed above and can apply directly using the application form. They can also get a waiver of one-year course work and can join the second year of the program.

Applicants shortlisted on the basis of their academic record and performance in the competitive exams, will be called for a personal interview and successful applicants will be chosen from those who fare well in this round.  

This program is also open to overseas applicants including foreign nationals and NRIs. They need to present their GMAT/GRE scores with a year's validity. 

Financial Support 

All Indian resident scholars who are taken into this program are given fellowship and contingency allowance up to four years and six months, or three years in the case of exempt scholars. They are given a fellowship stipend worth Rs. 29,300/- per month and a tuition waiver for four years and nine months to cover their living expenses. In year 1, they also get a start-up grant of Rs. 75,000 to meet their expenses such as hardware, software, etc. 

In years 2-5, they are given a contingency grant of Rs. 25,000 for purchasing hardware, software, books and for photocopying expenses. Apart from these, there are other grants they receive to meet their conference costs, and HRA whether they live  on-campus singly or in married people's quarters.

Facilities provided

Campuses

The main campus of IIM-L spans 200 acres (0.81 sq km). It is located in Prabandh Nagar on the outskirts of Lucknow. It is 21 km away from Lucknow railway station and 31 km from Lucknow Airport. Its satellite campus is situated at Sector 62, Noida, and has an area of 0.081 sq km. 

Academic infrastructure

The academic buildings of this institute are constructed in red brick wall texture, so typical of historical buildings in Lucknow. The major buildings on this campus are named in Sanskrit and denote activities held inside them. The classrooms seminar halls are situated in Bodhigrih-I and II, Manthan (MDP block) while faculty resides in the Chintan block. State-of-the-art computing facilities are conducted at the Computer Centre while Samadhan remains the administrative block.

Hostel facilities: IIM-L offers residential accommodation to 75 faculty members and 500 students. This institute is a township with all the basic amenities of a town, including a shopping mall and transport facilities. 

Gyanodaya: Or the library, this impressive block comprises five reading halls and has a seating capacity of 250 people, spread across 30,000 sq. feet. The Gyanodaya is a huge and ever-growing repository of 40,000 books and 500 periodicals, apart from online subscriptions to 1600 e-journals and 34 e-databases. 

Computer Centre: The Gyanodaya building also houses the famous Computer Centre, apart from the Enterprise Resource Planning Lab, the audio-visual lab and a video-conferencing hall. The Computer Centre spans an area of 15,000 sq ft and is equipped with a complete fibre optic backbone network. It provides seamless wireless connectivity to all the buildings on the campus. 

It provides world class facilities with its sophisticated computing resources that cater to the needs of the academia and administration. The network is capable of providing accessibility of 1300 nodes to all the servers for sharing hardware and software resources.

Manthan: This is the Management Development Block that caters to the short-term executive programs. It houses a computer centre, an exclusive library and Patanjali, a guest house, for participants of this program. 

Abhiyan: IIM-L's incubation centre is called Abhiyan that supports students' and faculty's entrepreneurial ventures.

Umang: Or the campus' Sports and Recreation Centre, here you will find students playing all kinds of sports and participating in recreation like a gym, swimming pool, squash and billiards. Students have separate sports fields for playing cricket, football, tennis, volleyball and badminton. Besides, most hostels here have their own badminton and table tennis courts. The campus holds several intra-mural events through the year that students participate in keenly while others follow with equal fervour. The Inter-Hostel 'Sikandar' trophy is awarded every year to the best hostel in the realm of sports. 

Samanjasya: A multi-purpose utility hall for all cultural activities here are held in this hall. 

Health Centre: IIM-L has a health centre with in-house and visiting doctors available 24x7. Students and faculty can also avail of an ambulance service to reach associated hospitals quickly.

Chanakya and Patanjali: These are the campus' two guest houses, with a combined capacity of 128 serviced rooms. 

Convenience services: A students activities complex houses two banks, a travel agency, medical shop, post office, supermarket, saloon, coffee shop, ice cream parlour and three restaurants. 

The Centre for Food and Agribusiness Management: This department takes on agribusiness research and consultancy projects and offers students an Agribusiness Management course.

Tree plantation drive: As part of its environmental responsibility, IIM-L undertakes to plant several trees on its Foundation Day on the campus which was converted from barren land into a vibrant eco-system of all kinds of fauna. It is now home to peacocks, monkeys, snakes, monitor lizards, porcupines, the Great Indian horned owl and a variety of rare birds. Besides, the main campus is designed to have open lawns and tree-lined avenues. 

Quality of the faculty team

A high level of excellence is always looked for when selecting the faculty of IIM-L. Members of the faculty team here are always in a state of preparedness to move up the quality chain from being adequate to being excellent. This campus is entirely residential, a fact that gives both faculty and students more time together to guide and be guided outside the classroom but with equal fervour and zest for excellence. 

Each  member of the faculty here is endowed with several years of industry experience and great respect among his or her peers. This is a great source of encouragement to students who see their teachers as their guides. They don't just impart the education they have to their students  but also keep them continually updated with events and trends in industry. Through their research papers and the consultancy assignments the faculty works on, one can understand their desire to strive for excellence not just to promote their careers but to nurture the young talents around them.

Tie-ups with other foreign institutions

The IIM-L has tie-ups with about 28 prestigious universities for its student exchange program. Students who go to foreign universities on this program expand their knowledge and come back with a new vision. Each year, about 50 students from IIM-L go to Canadian and European universities on this exchange program. On the other hand, students who visit this university from abroad, bring their own new and interesting insights that fuel class discussions and learning among peers. Students of this institute do all they can to make their friends from abroad comfortable and adapt quickly. 

Placement facility provided

Almost all the big players of Indian industry from all sectors come to IIM-L for the summer and final placements each year. The placement process at this institute is always very well organized and very efficient, and favours both students and recruiters. The number of offers these recruiters make to the students every year bears testimony to the fact that the placement process is highly robust and that India Inc values IIM-L's excellent quality of education. 

Over the years, this prestigious institution has also seen an increase in international offers being made to its students. Another noteworthy trend being seen over the past few years is that several  multinational firms offer students niche profiles, which mark a shift away from traditional mainstream roles. This gesture is a recognition of the diversity of the batch's work experience in their pre-MBA days. 

The verdict

Now a fully-grown integrated global management school in India, IIM-L is consistently being ranked among the top business schools in India. While the institute's many programs marry management theory's latest principles with the best practices of top organizations, the faculty and students work hard to keep the reputation of the institute soaring above its peers. Students acquire specialized knowledge and skills required for augmenting their performance through a rigorous curriculum structure.