Hope And Optimism At B-Schools: How Real Is It?

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: * Almost as soon as the first year for the new batch of students at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta has started, they have got down to work in right earnest: the students are in the process of organising IIM-C’s global business plan competition “Ideas to Implementation” (i2I).

* At IIM-Ahmedabad, there’s a fresh air of excitement, of expectation and a wee bit of apprehension at the fresher’s dorm where 175 new entrants are just settling in barely a week after commencement of this year’s post-graduate programme in manage- ment.

* In Hyderabad at the Indian School of Business, despite the fact that last year’s placements could definitely have been better, the new batch that has joined has put all of that behind.

It’s the beginning of a new academic year. Despite the slowdown that impacted last year’s placements and salary levels, there is however a fresh mood of optimism at the various management institutes in the country today. Clearly, at these B-schools, it seems to be business as usual—albeit with some directional changes. India Inc. takes a close look.

New Optimism
New entrant at IIM-C, Mudit Agarwal, who had earlier worked in the capacity of deputy general manager, Department of Telecom (DoT) for eight years and was in charge of operations in Noida and Greater Noida, says “ The meet like i2I goes a long way in honing our talent in this era of mergers and acquisitions.”

Mudit, who hails from Delhi, is pretty optimistic about his upcoming two years at IIM-C. “The feeling is great. What I am looking for here is good academic inputs in economics, strategy planning and finance. As the industry is very competitive, so you need these tools to maintain the edge,” he says.

Another incumbent in the first year, Gagan Deep Singh Chhina who has completed his studies from Jalandhar Mechanical Engineering, is more particularly upbeat about the faculty cooperation he has got so far after joining IIM-C, “ Most importantly, the teachers are making an extra effort for the new recruits in the campus so that they get tuned to the frequency of teaching here,” Gagan says.