‘We’re now among top 2% business schools globally’

Interview: Prof Dheeraj Sharma, Director, IIM Rohtak

IIM Rohtak is now among top 2% business schools globally.

Established in 2009 as the first among the six new IIMs announced under the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12), IIM Rohtak has come a long way by its 14th year. It has become the largest IIM in terms of number of students (1,600 on the campus) and has the best gender diversity globally (over 70% female students in its flagship MBA). Prof Dheeraj Sharma, director, IIM Rohtak, says that post receiving accreditation by the Association of MBAs (AMBA), IIM Rohtak is now among top 2% business schools globally. In an interview with FE’s Vikram Chaudhary, he adds that the next step is to crack the QS Global MBA Rankings. Excerpts:

While IIM Rohtak is a relatively younger IIM, in which areas is it punching above its weight?

IIM Rohtak is in its 14th year. Although it’s relatively new (compared to first-generation IIMs), it is the largest IIM in terms of number of students. IIM Rohtak has more than 1,600 students studying in long-duration programmes. There are seven such programmes, including four full-time — Masters in Business Administration, Integrated Programme in Management (BBA+MBA), Integrated Programme in Law (BBA+LLB), Doctoral Programme in Management — and three blended learning programmes, including Executive Post Graduate Diploma in Sports Management and PG Diploma in Management for Executives.

IIM Rohtak has the best gender diversity globally with over 70% female students in its flagship MBA. This is historically the highest diversity ratio for any co-educational institution in the country.

All our faculty members publish research in high-quality journals and other outlets. During 2022-23, over 67 research papers got published and accepted in leading journals, of which 36 got published in A*/A-category journals. In terms of research output, this makes IIM Rohtak faculty amongst the best in the world.

Are there courses that are unique to IIM Rohtak?

It was the first IIM to introduce BBA+MBA in 2018, which allowed students an exit option after BBA. The same year, we introduced PG Diploma in Sports Management — it has one of the best curricula in sports management and attracts faculty from across the globe. In 2021, IIM Rohtak forayed into legal education by offering a unique five-year BBA+LLB. It’s the only IIM that offers aforementioned programmes. We host faculty from more than 50 foreign institutions to teach in these programmes.

For how many more years do you think the new-age IIMs will need government support?

The IIM Act was intended to offer autonomy to IIMs. The most important step in availing that autonomy is be self-funded. I believe IIMs need funding support in the initial few years. But the agenda for IIMs should be to successfully establish themselves as self-sufficient institutes that are fiscally prudent to manage their capital and operational funding requirements. A strategic plan that envelopes funding sources such as student tuition fees, consulting, executive education, and other revenue-generating activities to balance the long-term projected operating expense and future capital outlays will need to be created.

What advantage does IIM Rohtak have being situated in the National Capital Region (NCR)?

You’re right — it’s the only IIM in Delhi NCR. I believe primary drivers of growth of the NCR are a juxtaposition of policymaking, availability of superior and growing infrastructure, and excellent educational and research institutions. There are several thousand SMEs employing millions of people, in addition to several hundred large enterprises employing several million people, all in the NCR. As per the Oxford Economics’ estimates, the NCR, with a GDP of $370 billion (PPP), is the 30th largest metropolitan economy globally and is forecast to occupy 11th rank by 2030.

We have leveraged our strategic location in the NCR with state-of-the-art facilities at the 200-acre campus to work closely with industry. IIM Rohtak is committed to public policy work, and has worked on consultancy projects with the ministries of home affairs, agriculture, consumer affairs, tourism, as well as the National Disaster Response Force and the Prasad Bharti.

But will you have a campus much closer to Delhi?

We are, in fact, building a new campus in the heart of Gurugram (Gurgaon). I believe it will be a game changer for management education in the NCR.

In which all ways have you contributed to the development of Rohtak?

We’re committed to serving the people of Haryana. We organised the G20 summit in February 2023. We are working on a project for Haryana government to produce rural consumer confidence index and MSME confidence index for the state. Last year, we started the rural immersion course, where MBA students stayed in villages of Haryana for a week, to understand the rural ecosystem and institutions like panchayats and rural businesses.