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Faced with the prospect of escalating real estate costs and the lack of adequate finances, the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) is experimenting with “off-campus housing” to accommodate additional students from the next academic year. If the experiment works, it may set a precedent for other IIMs. With its campus in Bannerghatta already brimming, the institute has decided to take 50 apartments (150 rooms) on lease in a nearby residential building called Ajmera Complex. The plan is to lodge students from the one-year full time Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management (EPGP) — to be launched in April 2009 — in the leased apartments.

“Unless we experiment, we wouldn’t know if this is the way ahead,” reasoned Pankaj Chandra, Director of IIM-B, on the initiative. IIM-B may also accommodate some students from the Post Graduate Programme (PGP) and doctoral programme at off-campus locations. The institute is planning a bus service from its premises to the off-campus housing to make it convenient for students to travel.

In its recent report, the IIM Review Committee — led by Maruti Suzuki India Chairman RC Bhargava — suggested that IIM faculty and administrative staff residences could be moved to off-campus sites, and accommodation bought/rented there so that “the existing infrastructure could be more intensively used”. Chandra said the institute had received Rs 29 crore from the human resources development (HRD) ministry for the OBC quota expansion, but the overall expenses of accommodating new faculty and students is expected to be much higher than that. Subsequently, the institute is keenly looking at financial support from corporate houses and alumni.

Unlike IIM-Ahmedabad and IIM-Lucknow, which have two campuses, IIM-B hasn’t had any major construction activity in the last 10 years. Chandra added that the institute has taken up the off-campus option despite plans to commission some construction from this December. The institute has hired an architect for a new hostel facility, 10 classrooms and 24 faculty homes. The institute has over 950 students from various programmes on its campus at present. From the academic year of 2009-10, the number of students in the PGP and doctoral programme is expected to go up from 640 to 690, the Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management (PGPPM) will have an increased intake of 63 from 33, and the one-year EPGP is expected to have 75 seats, making it an intake of 150 new seats at the campus.

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Source: http://www.indianrealtynews.com/real-estate-india/bangalore/real-estate-crunch-affects-iim-bangalore.html

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BANGALORE: The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) here has been ranked the top B-school in Central Asia by the Eduniversal International Scientific Committee. It is also among the top 27 B-schools in the world.

The institute will be honoured at the Eduniversal World Convention at La Sorbonne, Paris in November, Prof Pankaj Chandra, director, IIM-B, said at the 35th Foundation Day function on Friday. The selection was made by a 12-member expert committee.

Also, the deans of the thousand best business schools from 153 countries have elected IIM-B among the best business schools in Central Asia zone, with a recommendation rate of 398 per thousand, followed by IIM Ahmedabad (379) and IIM Calcutta (321), Prof Chandra, said.

Speaking at a seminar on Innovation in Healthcare organized as part of IIM-B’s 35th Foundation day, Dr Deviprasad Shetty, chairman of Narayana Hrudyalaya, suggested that IIMs should consider an MBA course on Health Management. Healthcare is the third largest employer in the world, he added.

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Source: http://www.varthe.com/ShowNews.asp?NewsUrl=http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1202470

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Unlike the UPSC which conducts a common interview for the various cadres of the Civil Services Examinations, the IIMs have been conducting separate Group Discussions (GD) and Personal Interviews (PI) for each IIM. This has allowed each IIM to maintain its own discretion in selecting students as per its criteria – over the years we have often noticed that a students may get an interview call from say IIM Ahmedabad but not from IIM Bangalore or he may get a call from IIM Kolkata and IIM Lucknow but not from IIM Indore. This was because of certain differences in the selection criteria adopted by an IIM – in the last few years, it has been observed that IIM Bangalore prefers to give a GD PI call to a student with work-ex compared to another candidate who may have performed better at the CAT. Similary, the other IIMs had their own selection system.

Now an IIM Review Committee headed by R C Bhargava has recommended a common GD PI System for the IIMs. With the number of IIMs slated to increase to upto 13 in the coming years, the committee feels that it will no longer be feasible for candidates who get multiple Group Discussion & Interview calls to manage. It is also a waste of time, since the same job can be accomplished with much fewer GDs & PIs if the system was unified by the IIMs. The final allotment would then be similar to what happens after the IIT JEE or the Medical Entrance Exams – starting from the 1st rank students can choose the IIM they wish to enrol in.

However, the report adds that not all IIM Directors were happy with the recommendations and as such it may be initially implemented on a voluntary basis. While a common Interview System for the IIMs has its obvious benefits, the existing system had its own merits.

Different admission criteria allowed a larger pool of students to have a reasonable chance of making it to an IIM – a student may have been weak in a particular aspect, but if even one of the IIMs had a relaxed outlook on that particular point, this student stood a chance of realizing his IIM dream. The unified system would now have one ‘ideal profile’ or ‘aggregate sum of points on one set of admission criteria’, thus ruling out many bright students.

Another benefit of the separate GD PI system was that it reduced the pressure on the interviewee – just one bad day wouldn’t make or break him; while a bad candidate would always be found lacking, a bright student who might have had a bad interview or GD at a particular IIM would get a chance to redeem himself in the next one.

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Source: http://iitjee-iit-jee.blogspot.com/2008/11/common-gd-pi-for-all-iims.html

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A group of students at IIM-Ahmedabad, India’s most prestigious business school, has won a case study competition on introducing innovative marketing techniques for Mumbai’s famed office meal delivery service, the dabbawallas.

The students believe this network of 5,000-odd people, who deliver home-cooked food to 2 million office-goers everyday, could be impacted by the economic slowdown at a time when competition from delivery units of fast food chains, changes in eating habits and higher incomes could present new challenges.

The dabbawalas have been described as masters of supply chain management by management guru CK Prahalad. They are known to make just one mistake in six million deliveries.

The case study was submitted at Insight 2008, the contest held in collaboration with Starcom MediaVest Group, under IIM-A’s marketing fair.

“Students have suggested creative ways for the dabbawalas to reach to the next level of growth by integrating all aspects of marketing and communication,” said Ravi Kiran, CEO, South East and South Asia, Starcom MediaVest Group.

“The winners suggested a marketing campaign that leveraged both the aspirational and emotional benefits of the dabbawala service,” said Prateek Agarwal, secretary, Insight 2008, at IIM-A.

“They suggested that channel partners would tie up with the dabbawalas either due to their distribution network or the strong sense of pride they instill in Mumbai’s citizens,” Agarwal added.

The students also worked on a publicity campaign that met the objective of extracting “maximum bang for the minimum buck”. This included, among other things, word-of-mouth, local radio, tying up with the Indian Premier League cricket team Mumbai Indians and garnering local political and NGO support.

They also suggested that the service could leverage the current mania for social networking by working on an online campaign driven by a blog attached to the dabbawalas website.

Another solution was to create campaigns to build a brand that would sustain the emotional bonds between dabbawalas and their clientele so that the brand endures every downturn or slowdown. Bollywood actors who represent common people could endorse the service.

Students have also suggested building a database that includes a detailed profiling of customer food preferences, offering vouchers and movie tickets everyday to loyal customers, who earn the maximum points.

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Source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=339037

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BANGALORE: The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (II M-B) will expand its intake for its flagship Post Graduate Programme (PGP) by adding another section of 75 seats for 2009-10. This was announced on Friday by IIM-B Director Prof Pankaj Chandra following a meeting of the Board of Governors. The institute will also expand its intake for the one-year Executive PGP by 75 seats for the next academic year. The long-term vision of the group, drawn up under the leadership of Board member K L Chugh, is looking at expanding intake of the PGP to 750 in a span of five years, said Prof Chandra. “We are embarking on an ambitious programme to expand our capacity to meet the needs of the nation,” he said. In the current academic year (2008-09), the IIM-B has an intake of 271 for the PGP, an increase of 22 seats over 2007-08. There has been a gradual increase in the intake for the PGP from 187 in 2004-05 to 271 today. This is also the first year of the implementation of the Other Backward Caste (OBC) quota, where the Institute has set aside seven per cent of its seats for reservation. The institute is planning to begin construction of 300 hostel rooms, 9 classrooms and syndicate rooms as part of the state-of-the-art green classroom complex by December. Additionally, 24 faculty houses and a sports complex will also be constructed. Prof Chandra said that IIM-B was planning to raise money for the expansion, but did not cite how much it would have to raise.

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Source: http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=IIM-B+to+add+75+seats+for+PGP&artid=D6LqGk3JQWo=&SectionID=Qz/kHVp9tEs=&MainSectionID=Qz/kHVp9tEs=&SEO=&SectionName=UOaHCPTTmuP3XGzZRCAUTQ==

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AHMEDABAD: Kinjal, 8, just cannot stop smiling these days. This class III student has got a benefactor from Pune  Paresh  Bhavsar who  is  an  IT  professional  from Pune.

The little girl is part of an unique endeavour Prayaas that is rooted in the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A). Prayaas, initiated by the students of the institute to support the education of slumchildren around the institute had for the first time kept the option open for people outside IIM-A to contribute for the children of Prayaas.

And, girl child is top on the list of all those offers that have flooded Prayaas. Senior citizens, corporate houses and even individuals have joined hands with Prayaas. For instance, Bhavsar learnt of Prayaas hrough a report in TOI.

Since the beginning of this academic session at IIM-A in June, six children have been adopted by people outside the institute. The people who have adopted these children include senior citizens, businessmen and the employees of an investment firm. And, in most cases education of a girl child was most sought after by interested people.

Prayaas has opened its doors to accept donation or help in any form from people outside the campus because it has chosen to expand its operations.

“A total of 29 children, 12 from June 2007 and 17 from June 2008, have joined a private school Sahajanad School. Of these, 15 children are fully sponsored, at a cost of Rs 12,000 per head. Of these, one girl child each has been adopted by Baldev Handa and another by a group, Senior Citizens of Shaligram,” said Sameer Gandhi, the co-ordinator of team Prayaas.

Handa lives at the IIM-A campus with his son, Sunil Handa, a professor at the institute. Senior Citizens is another group of compassionate people, residing at Shaligram apartment in Satellite, who have extended their help.

Three boys have been adopted by a group of employees of Future First. Eight children have been adopted by students of the institute itself.

“We are happy with the response that we have got but are hoping to reach out to more people because there are still a lot of children who have to be moved to private schools. The word has spread and people know about us but the response could be better. The response of the alumni is still not encouraging,” said Gandhi.

Prayaas was one of the many classroom projects that the students of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, do as a part of their curriculum. But four years down the line, Prayaas has become a regular feature of the institute, which has a special working team dedicated to it. Started only to help students of nearby slums with their school work, Prayaas has grown into something much bigger, where the IIM-A students are helping these children to get better education by funding their education in private schools. The project is under the guidance of Professor Anil Gupta.

LIKING IT IN BIG SCHOOL

Pooja Dhobi

Class III

Father: Dhobi

“I joined the big school last year. I like it more here because I have more friends, better classrooms, nice teachers and a big playground. Initially, I had thought that I will have to study more in the big school but the studies remain the same. I have made friends and I am very happy. When I come back, I tell my father all about my day at school.”

Yogesh Mali

Class III

Father: Rickshaw driver

“I have started liking all the subjects now but my favourite period is PT period. After I came to the big school, I know what I want to be. I want to be a doctor because not many kids from where I stay get to study as well as I do and there are so many people falling ill and in pain. I want to help them.

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Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ahmedabad/Prayaas_bears_fruit_little_dreams_fulfilled/articleshow/3666061.cms

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BANGALORE: Unimpressed by the current system of governance at Indian Institute of Management (IIM), the five-member committee appointed to review the functioning of the seven IIMs has proposed setting up of a Pan-IIM Board to ensure greater governmental control over running these institutions. The 15-member board to be headed by an eminent person appointed by the Prime Minister, will have the task of approving the Vision and Mission statements of IIMs, give guidelines and review the performance of IIMs once in two years. The review will include achievement of business plan targets, quality of governance, financial constitution, status of faculty, besides quality and quantity of research. The board will consist of five members nominated by the Central government, while the rest will be independent working professionals of eminence and record of success, living in India or abroad. The R C Bhargava Committee has recommended that the proposed board should oversee the establishment of the six new IIMs and ensure coordination in the working of existing IIMs so that the brand image is enhanced . Seeking to trim the size of decision-making bodies, the report submitted to HRD Minister Arjun Singh last week suggests that the Board of Governors should be reconstituted and it should consist of 11 members against the present 24 to 26. “No person should be a board member for more than six years, with a single term of three years. Board members will be expected to have a minimum of 75 per cent attendance. The membership of any member of the board, whose attendance is 50 per cent or less in a 12-month period, should be deemed to be automatically terminated”.The IIM Review Committee has recommended that the director of each IIM be selected and appointed by the respective Board of Governors and the Chairman should be selected by the Pan- IIM Board. The chairpersons will have a 3-year term, renewable for three years, based on performance. The HRD Ministry had called for the review of IIMs after a gap of 15 years. The other members of the committee are: Rediff.com CEO Ajit Balakrishnan, former deputy Comptroller and Auditor General Anasuya Basu and eminent management professional Ram S Tarneja.

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Source: http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Panel+moots+pan-IIM+Board&artid=VIjLxsvN2Sg=&SectionID=Qz/kHVp9tEs=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=UOaHCPTTmuP3XGzZRCAUTQ==&SEO=

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The IIMB has been announced as best business school in covering in Central Asia covering Central and South Asia and the Middle-East by Eduniversal said IIMB Director Prof Pankaj Chandra at the 35th foundation day function today. The award would be presented during the Eduniversal World Convention scheduled to be held in Paris on November four and five.

“IIM-B has also been ranked amongst the top 27 business schools in the world from a list of 1,000,” he said.

The award recognises the three best institutions within each of the nine Eduniversal geographical zones – Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Latin America, Northern America, Central Asia, Far Eastern Asia and Oceania.

The deans of the 1,000 best B-schools from 153 countries have ranked IIM-B as the best business school in the Central Asia Zone, with a recommendation rate of 398 per thousand, followed by IIM-A (379) and IIM-C (321), classified under “internationally known”.

According to IIM-B, Eduniversal selection endorses its international reputation and influence, defined as the capacity of a business school to make a student valuable and thus to improve their employability in domestic and international spheres.

The process of selection involved a global mapping system, meeting the criteria universality and the international reputation of each academic institution.

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Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Services/IIM-B_ranked_as_best_B-school_in_Central_Asia/articleshow/3660325.cms

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BANGALORE: Faced with the challenge of carrying out 54 per cent expansion by 2010, the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) is toying with the idea of borrowing external funds to meet its growing costs. The Board of Governors headed by Reliance CMD Mukesh Ambani is meeting on Friday to consider the proposal put up by the institute on seeking the HRD Ministry’s approval before going ahead with the borrowing. The Board had earlier requested Ravi Parthasarathy, Chairman and MD of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited, to submit a report on whether it was mandatory under the Memorandum of Association (MoA) of IIM-B Society to get the Central Government’s approval for borrowing funds.Out of an estimated Rs 70 crore required to carry out the expansion plans of the institute, the HRD Ministry has committed to releasing only Rs 33 crore. Other issues topping the agenda include summer placements and amending the MoA to carry out expansion plans of the institute. IIM-B Chairperson (placements) Sovrav Mukherji will make a presentation on the changing strategies and trends in summer placements due in second week of November in the wake of global financial slowdown. IIM-B professor Trilochan Sastry is slated to brief the Board members on the status of the committee constituted to make recommendations on amending the MoA of IIM-B. Amending MoA is essential to support the institute’s application for IT exemption under Section 12A of the IT Act 1961 and to expand and diversify the portfolio of activities both within and outside India. One of the Board members had earlier proposed to delete reference to by-laws in MoA and to incorporate new procedures notified by the Centre for appointment of Chairman and Director. The Board meeting will be followed by the Foundation Day lecture on ‘Innovations in Healthcare Delivery’ by Devi Prasad Shetty, chairman of Narayana Hrudayalaya.

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Source: http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=IIM-B+might+borrow+to+carry+out+expansion&artid=R2IjI6rLk%7CI=&SectionID=Qz/kHVp9tEs=&MainSectionID=Qz/kHVp9tEs=&SEO=&SectionName=UOaHCPTTmuP3XGzZRCAUTQ==